Shad & Nicole, Our Story

September 23, 2010

The Saint Goes Marching One by One ... Hurrah, Hurrah.

What a night! I'm exhausted to say the least.

The week started off with our longest plane ride ever (3 whole hours from St. Louis to Salt Lake City), & our longest layover ever (3 hours in Salt Lake).

Needless to say, I spent those 6+ hours with a tiny, little saint. I just adore my little travelin' man. He's so well-behaved according to the older couple who sat behind us on the our long plane ride (& a

ccording to his mama, of course). They said, & I quote, that they had 29 grandchildren & not one of them was as good as Cashe. Praise the Almighty Lord he's mine! ...

BUT tonight I'm eating my words.

I'm only kidding, but I do have quite a story ...

Here I am thinking I am the coolest Mom ever (because 10.5-month olds can determine what's "cool" & what's not) by letting my child roam the house without a diaper. Cashe loves to be naked. He moves much faster without all that extra "baggage" & he giggles the entire time he can crawl around with some freedom. Well, I obviously gave him a bit too much freedom tonight & I learned my lesson.

I was drawing Cashe's bath in our master bathroom as he crawled around our room giggling & giggling with some toy dangling from his mouth (yes, like a dog would carry it's toy). All of a sudden, the giggling stopped & I noticed it was quiet.

Oh no.

I ran into the bedroom to find a pile (Dairy Queen style) of yellow POOP on my bedroom floor!

Oh no!

Cashe was sitting close enough to it for me to determine it was his (as if it would be anyone else's -- we have no pets!) It took me a minute to figure out what it was though & before I knew it, he had his hands in it.

Oh NO!

And then he started to clap.

OH NO!

And then he smiled & was just about to rub his eyes when I swooped him up (while LAUGHING, mind you) & tossed him in the tub.

Well, the excitement didn't stop there. As I rinsed him off, the tub was covered in yellow chunks (sorry if you're gagging -- try experiencing it first-hand), so I had to get him out & refill the tub. His hands weren't quite clean yet, so I rinsed him again in the sink while I filled the tub to rinse it out.

As I'm rinsing the yellow tub, I set Cashe down on the linoleum & before I know it, he's gone ...

Oh no.

He's made his way through the master bathroom & into the hallway ... where he's peeing on the carpet.

Oh NO!

After all was said & done, my little "saint" was clean & fast asleep while I scrubbed the carpet ... HENCE the reason for my exhaustion. Phew!

Here are a few fun photos from our trip though:

One of my favorite pictures of little man. This was taken at a park in downtown St. Louis. He looks so precious from this angle. The other side of him has a mouthful of grass & acorns.

See? I wasn't kidding.

Enjoying some frozen custard in St. Louis. This is the big dessert item they have there, so we had to try it. It was a big hit. Tastes just like ice cream.

My happy, little saint.

Checkin' out the sea-life exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center.

Playing the Laser Harp at the Science Center.

The Gateway Arch

I love this picture - it looks like Cashe is holding the arch in his hand like a leprechaun would at the bottom of a rainbow. His facial expression kills me too.
(And then there's Shad checking football scores on his phone.)

... More Gateway Arch

The base of the arch. It's HUGE.

Readin' with Dad. This was our favorite hotel so far -- they had Tempurpedic beds (no, we did not do the wine test) & Cashe slept the longest stretch he's ever slept while we were here (13 hrs), so it made St. Louis EXTRA special.

Cruisin' through the Gateway Arch Museum on his own. This kid had better have a killer immune system from all the dirt & germs we expose him to (by letting him eat grass & crawl on public floors - don't judge).

And my boys at the St. Louis Zoo.

September 09, 2010

The Verminator

As a lot of you faithful readers may know, I have had many recent run-ins with several bugs. Shad thinks I have issues, or perhaps that I'm this guy (pictured here). He's Dwayne, the Verminator from the children's movie, Over the Hedge.

Children's movies are totally directed at adults, which really kills me because I wind up laughing at the silliest parts, which obviously aren't meant to be funny to a child.

Anyway ...

My very favorite conversation from Over the Hedge was:

Dwayne: What do we have here?
Dwayne: Didelphis marsupialis virginianus. Approximately ten pounds.
Dwayne: Male.
Gladys: I think it's dead.
Dwayne: Oh, really? Do you in fact have a Associate's Degree from VermTech? I think he wants you to think he's dead.

Well, I may not have gone to VermTech, but I am pretty sure I could easily have an Associates Degree in finding bugs & making sure they're not going to hurt me or my family. It's just a natural talent I possess. (Must be those mama-bear instincts kickin' in.)

My most recent encounter was when we were in Southern California. Shad was inside the hotel room working while Cashe & I were walking outside. I was on the phone with my sister & just about to enter the hotel room when I saw what I thought was a "twig" move. Well, it didn't just move, it did THIS:

What the heck!? I was scared for our lives! I couldn't continue my conversation with Alicia because of my shock. She asked what was wrong & all I could say was, "There's a dragon outside our hotel room."

Don't tell me I don't have every right to start looking into classes at VermTech. This is insane!

Love Like Crazy

I just adore that new song by Lee Bryce, Love Like Crazy. The lyrics are just awesome & a great daily reminder of the things that are important in life.

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I love you

Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy

And love like crazy

Shad & I just celebrated 8 years of marriage. This is the first year in our marriage with a child & after 7 years (+5 years of dating) of just enjoying each other's company, it's been tough to make changes to our 12-year-routine. Neither one of us would change a thing, but life certainly changes & we must remember to overuse 'I love you', never let our prayin' knees get lazy & most importantly, love like crazy.

Happy Annniversary, Love.

September 07, 2010

Summer's Grande Finale

I'm going to do the short & quick version of our Labor Day weekend because I tend to ramble on & on & on & on & on through most of my posts. So, I'll save you all some valuable time & just post a few of the photos from the weekend in Missoula & Coeurd'Alene with my side of the family. It was a beautiful, jam-packed weekend of fun. Here is the evidence in no particular order:

Our collaborative effort to make dinner only took 3 hours. Much fun though & well worth the wait!

Mr. Cashe-man playing with Nana's singing toy lobster.

The gang after our hike to the waterfall at Holland Lake.

Cashe-man's bath at Grandpa & Grandma Dee's house in their kitchen sink.

Lunch at The Staggering Ox in Missoula
(a very "Missoula" restaurant with incredible sandwiches).

Alicia & I on our hike at Holland Lake in Montana.

Matt, me & Alicia at the waterfall at Holland Lake.

He's not a big fan of horses
(his Dad isn't either - apparently, he always gets bucked off).

Cashe & Shad at the cabin on Lake Coeurd'Alene.

The "Rice kids" - Matt, (Cashe), Nicole & Alicia

Cooking dinner at Alicia & Luke's - Matt, Mom, Ali, Alicia, & me.

The Nyquests at Lake Coeurd'Alene.

No, we didn't get a dog. This is my step-niece's dog, Kimber.

Holland Lake

... more of gorgeous Holland Lake
(check out those mountains behind the lake).

Matt & Ali before the hike with their sunflower seeds & peanuts.
They're from Portland.
They're really "earthy" so they eat a lot of nuts, berries, seeds & steamed veggies
(randomly in the middle of the night).
Weirdos.

These two are from Missoula & they're just weirdos.

My handsome boys.

Honestly, who throws the dog's ball directly in front of the mama & baby?

More dinner cooking -- these were candied walnuts. Mmmm...

No, we still didn't get a dog - this is Gunner. He's Alicia & Luke's "tiny" hound.

And we didn't get a chipmunk either.
This is just a cutie, little chippy we met on our Holland hike.

Another cutie, little chippy we met ... named Alicia. Awe.

... who is having another cutie little chippy of her own.

Yay!

August 26, 2010

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

My dear BFFFFF (Shad recommended we call each other that primarily because we can spend hours with each other on the phone, but really because we truly are best friends forever & ever & ever & ever - maybe she should be my BFFE), Angela has provided me some of the best phrases in life to live by. One of those phrases is: Enjoy the season you're in.

Lately, I've found that I'm in such a hurry to travel to wherever Shad's located that I hustle through my time at home. Then, while I'm away, I hustle through the time I'm spending with Shad. And in all my hurriedness, I forget to focus on the here & now & just enjoy it.

I am so blessed to have a beautiful home, live in a great city, have such a marvelous schedule, a precious little boy, a wonderful husband, some truly remarkable friends (not to mention a pretty great BFFE), in addition to having the opportunity to travel every month. Does life get any better than that?

I remember driving by the subdivision we live in now & dreaming of buying a home in here. I loved the area & I loved the diversity of all the homes. And, of course I loved the pool. But here we are now & I am already thinking of what I want in our next home.

I do understand that it's often important to be ambitious in life & strive for greater things & set yourself up with bigger goals. I'm just concerned that I'm not spending enough time enjoying what I have now because I'm ready to move onto the next phase or chapter in life without thoroughly enjoying the current season.

So, with that being said -- I challenge you all to make every season the season to be jolly, not just Christmas. And may we all have a little belly that shakes when we laugh like a bowl full of jelly. (I'm just kidding about that last part.)

And with that, here are some jolly memories we've made throughout this summer season: