March Miscellany

March has been jam-packed with fun activities for us. We started off the month with a fake surprise party for Desiree’s 60th birthday at Rescue’s Smokehouse. She has been no-so-subtly hinting that she wanted a big blow out party but we had a double whammy in the works. We had a thinly veiled “surprise party” at Rescue’s Friday night with a “dismal” turnout, a store-bought cake, and no gifts. There were about 15 of us there. We really got her and caught her off guard when the big surprise party was held without a catch the next day on Saturday when she was feted by 50 or 60 of her friends and family! Amanda even made a cake with all 60 candles on it!

 

I love this shot of Wyatt cleaning up his playroom in his pjs. He wants to vacuum all the time and it’s just a fun Saturday morning around our house. I really wish he would keep this up for the next 15 or 20 years but I think I’m going to find myself out of luck in that department.

The kids found this adorable little turtle in the yard at Sheldon and Desiree’s house one night. Before they let it go, I had to snap a detail shot of its shell—look at the detail!

 

Justin cured some pork belly from when we butchered the hog and we had the chance to slice it up. I mentioned this on Instagram when I posted a picture: “Women of the world I STRONGLY urge you to not seek out a man that will just bring home the bacon. Find one that will butcher it, cure it, smoke it, and then lets you slice it on his big mamma jamma slicer. And THEN he cooks up a few pieces for a late night snack!” I’ve got a fun and amazing husband, that’s for sure!

 

On one of our Friday night visits to LaHa in Ashburn, Justin got an enormous margarita. Liam and Wyatt were dying to have some but since the alcohol content could power a race car, Jorge whipped them up some non-alcoholic strawberry frozen drinks. The Gonzalez family is so good to us. They love Wyatt and Liam and do everything they can to make our boys feel special! That is the real beauty of living in a small town.

 

Of course, Pax man showed all the cuteness he contains with his little hooded baby blanket that night, too!

 

A few weekends ago Mama, Daddy, Sami, Wyatt, and I loaded up in the truck to head down to Jacksonville to find some treasures. Our main stop was Eco Relics, an architectural salvage store. I have been dying to visit and it was a really neat place. First, we stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for a potty break and fresh orange juice. They have an amazing visitors center!

  

Sadly, Eco Relics was a disappointment. Pricing was inflated and way out of my range. I know I am just used to South Georgia prices. It’s part of my cheap heritage—I come from a long line of cheapskates. I would say that the huge warehouse was about 2/3 remnants from a hardware warehouse, 1/3 reclaimed architectural elements.

Their vintage factory carts in marginal condition started out at $449! We bought our cart in Georgia for $100 and could have had three at that price.

We didn’t strike out completely though. We ran into our cousins Katherine and Jennifer and they sent us to an antique store called Sugar Bear’s.  I scored the cutest café patio set in lime green for $45, got a framed mirror a friend had been looking for for less than $20, and Wyatt got a Cat in the Hat from his Pop. Thankfully it wasn’t a completely wasted trip!

 

Sami made this adorable embroidered piece for my kitchen for Christmas, but she finally remembered to get it to me. I love it! It totally fits me to a “T.”

 

Another fun project I have recently started tackling is embossing. Sami bought an embosser and makes her own custom stationery. I fell in love with the process and snatched up an embosser and a multi-pack of embossing powders at JoAnn’s when they were on sale. I love these little mason jar tags we can use for our home canned goods. I hope to host a preserving swap on day this summer and I think they would be the perfect way to identify products.

Wyatt got to tag along with Jake, Ben, and Rivers’s homeschool group to visit the Air Evac unit in Cordele and also the Cordele Fire Department. Justin was on duty that day and loved hosting the kids. Wyatt even told me that the “helicopter nurse” told them not to text and drive. I am amazed to see how these simple visits stick with even the smallest kids.

 

I tell you what. Three year olds are so fun. They have no reservations wearing swim goggles for supper. I love that Wyatt is his own person and has a free spirit!

 

Fourteen years ago, “Goober” was the cutest boy I could set my eyes on and we started dating. We made it through my high school and college years, got married, and had Wyatt. Two houses later, we are still the same sweethearts we started out as so long ago. We spent our “anniversary” playing bingo with our families at the Fire Ant Festival fundraiser having a ball.

 

This child--the one I can BARELY DRAG out of bed for school by 7 a.m.--was positively BOUNCING at 6:00 a.m. fully dressed and ready to go turkey hunting with his daddy. I’m glad Justin is so involved with Wyatt. There are so many kids these days that don’t have a good paternal influence and it is one of my greatest blessings in life!