A funny little thing happened.....

We recently purchased a video monitor, of which I'd been wanting to have so badly just so I could peak on Finn to know he's safe and not to disturb him or let him know I was near...helps with all the sleep training. I couldn't bear to spend full price on one so I scored an awesome deal off of ebay...brand spankin' new $100! I got the Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Video Monitor 2000 and love it. So glad we got it because....

I was out to dinner the other night with some girlfriends for a GNO. Naturally Lyle would be home with Finn & doing the night time routine since I wasn't there. He got him to bed then headed to his office for some studying...I got this text from him around 10:00:

Somehow Maddy (the cat) was in Finn's room hiding & I just checked the monitor & look where she is now. Cuddle Kitty! 

I've been waiting for something like this to happen! She's so sneaky. Lyle said he actually saw her peak into the crib, then jump in, walk around & plop herself down. Hilarious (not safe though:).

And on a different note, Finn has grown so much in the last couple of weeks! He is now tearing up his Jump-Jump-Jumperoo since his feet are touching the ground!

Happy Wednesday!

lauren

Wordless Wednesday.

Maddy's Gym.

She likes birdies too.

lauren

Look at Our Garden Grow Again!

Last summer I showed did a post on our garden late June and mid September. It was a lot of fun to get to watch our garden slowly grow. We got a late start last year due to having just moved into the house and such. Well this year we got started a little earlier. Look at these beauties! Aren't they gorgeous!

The garden's just been taking off so far this spring. We still have some more to plant, but right now we have strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and snap peas. 

We also have some tomato starters that my friend Camille started for us. We haven't gotten them all into the ground quite yet though. The herbs are doing really well, but they lasted from last season. There's a special pot for the cats too....catnip from scratch!

This one in particular is going to love it! 

Although right now she's really just loving the gorgeous sunshine. 

lauren

Makes Me Happy...

To be honest...these little critters of ours make my (our) hearts oh-so-happy. Today's Photo Challenge is a tribute to the Ry-Man. He's getting some love on the blog today. 

I took this photo when practicing taking some shots after a photography class. No editing here other than a little bit of cropping. Isn't Riley a beauty?

lauren

New Years Eve 2011

Lyle & I have a nice little fire pit in our backyard, so this year we decided to host a NYE party and have some of our friends over for a more mild new years celebration. We ended up having a decent turn out and a fun time. It was really nice to get to spend some time with some of our friends; it had been a while. Thanks all for ringing in the new year with us!

Riley Cat perusing the fence looking for trouble.

Happy New Year 2012!

lauren

Merry Christmas Eve! What are your plans today? Lyle's on call today and tonight so I have a few things planned. I'm going to head to the gym for a bit, then do my Christmas cleaning to get the house spruced up for tomorrow, and possibly do some last minute shopping....we'll see. I was planning on going to church tonight, but our church isn't having a Christmas Eve service! Can you believe it? Maybe we'll go in the morning.

I was lying in bed unable to fall back asleep this morning, with my kitten snuggled up on my chest, and thinking about the little things I'm loving right now aside from my darling husband and family. I thought I'd share them with you. This image above is off of Kelly's blog.

1) Cozy kittens. So sweet.

 Maddy doesn't really look so sweet here though....

2) Bartlett pears...I'm eating these up like crazy! They have been so very delicious to me. Check out their nutritional information here.

3) Clementines is another fruit I'm eating up as well; just like every year only with a little more vigor this year. They're so juicy and easy to peel. Check out their nutritional information here. 

4) My REI CamelBak green BPA free water bottle! It's helping me stay hydrated for sure. You can get this here, but without the Greenville Staff logo; it's reserved for a select crowd.

5) This darling nursery bedding that I found yesterday. Isn't it perfect for a gender neutral room? I'm in love with it. It goes really well with the colors in the room we have for "Little" already and I can spruce it up with some pops of color to accent. What do you think?

I think "Little" really likes the nursery bedding. I'm getting lots of thumps right now.

Merry Christmas Eve. Enjoy your holiday. I'll be back with a very exciting post tomorrow!

lauren

Little Projects.

The other day Lyle had a few projects to get done around the house. I came home from work and he'd been up after his post call sleep and was already hard at work...with Riley's help. He just couldn't hold himself back.

And then a cat's peaceful rest. Oh Riley. Ruler and protector of the backyard and all things catish. 

lauren

Sunday, Sunday

I haven't been sleeping very well the past several nights; waking up at 3:00 and then not being able to fall back asleep, the cats wanting to be fed and go in and out through the back door, and some random meowing and pawing to get my attention. Oh the cats. One in particular at the moment. Hopefully tonight will be better. So anyway, needless to say, I'm taking a lazy Sunday because I'm exhausted. The lack of sleep is catching up with me. Lyle went up to West Virginia for the weekend to do some rafting and kayaking with some old medical school friends. That left me with a weekend to myself. Hmmm, starting to become the norm these days. At least I'm getting good at it.

I have kept myself busy though. Yesterday I went up to Charlotte with some girlfriends to do a little shopping and to dink around a bit. Oh how the shopping is good in Charlotte! What a fun girls' day. We even met up with some of Camille's friends from when she lived up there and had lunch....a lunch that lasted three hours! What fun. We also did some maternity shopping for Diane who's four months along now and needed to vamp up her work attire. I was fairly good and was able to resist most things that caught my eye, but did walk away with some minor purchases. I got this quilt at West Elm to go under our white duvet. Lyle gets hot and I get cold, so it's nice little bonus (and cute too).

I also found this great long sweater vest type top at Anthropologie for a steal. They were having an "additional 25% off red line items" sale. I practically got it for free. Can't wait to wear it. I'm sorry I don't have a picture right now; I couldn't find it on their website. Must-get-camera.....

I'm ready for Lyle to get home tonight. I think I'm going to make us a yummy dinner. Light but tasty and fairly easy. This is what I think I'm going to make: Shrimp Tacos With Black Beans (another Real Simple idea). A few changes will take place: saute the shrimp rather than pan fry them with the cornmeal crust and not add the chives ( I don't have any, plus they're not my favorite). I'll let you know how they turn out.

lauren

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

The Awkward:

• This photo of me under the bed with the cat. I like to title it Sometimes I Wish I Were A Cat. What am I doing under there? I'm not sure. I think I may have been trying to get something out from under the bed and stayed a while. This photo was from a while back in the condo in Seattle. 
• Having Lyle come home from work this morning and still being in bed. Oops.
• Almost running out of gas while doing my Meals on Wheels route
• My Swifter breaking on me in the middle of cleaning the floors, then having to use counter spray instead and get on my hands and knees to mop it up.
• Having Book Club at our tiny house tonight with a record number of people attending and wondering where everyone is going to sit. Hmmmm. 

The Awesome:

• Running a little further and finishing my full run without walking:)
• The beautiful cool sunshine
• A clean house
• Looking forward to Explosions in the Sky tomorrow night in Ashville, NC

What's been awkward and awesome about your week?

I saw someone do this on a blog and really liked the quirky idea. I have to give her credit for it. Thanks Kelly.


lauren

Lovely Wednesdays

This is my favorite time of year. I absolutely love fall; anywhere. In South Carolina it brings a feeling of relief and a bit of renewal rather than a sense of an end or closure. And in this new season I'm feeling a bit thankful and wanted to share with you the things I'm "loving".

1) The sunshine without the humidity after a week of pouring rain and damp air.

2) Cool evenings and the ability to open the windows to allow fresh air circulate.

3) Our very sweet and loving cats that think Lyle and I are just the "bees knees".

4) The opportunity to have not only one job, but two jobs!

5) Deliciously crisp apples from Washington.

6) Going to see one of our favorite bands "Explosions In The Sky" Friday night up in Ashville, NC.

7) Reconnecting and visiting with old friends.

8) The leaves changing beautiful and vibrant colors.

9) Family coming to visit.

10) Lyle loving work despite his exhaustion.

Can you believe it's already almost October?

What are you thankful for this new season?

lauren

Maddy's First Kill......

Today we discovered Maddy had officially joined the hunter's kingdom. I squealishly found this in the empty garden bed out back, and then squealed again when I realized it was a sweet little chipmunk and not a mouse. But I have to say that I am proud. Both Maddy and Riley have been indoor cats since we moved into our new home in late March. Neither had experienced the world of hunting, other than a spider and fly here and there, which is the natural instinct of their species. Earlier this season Lyle and I were sitting on the back deck enjoying the evening backyard cool down and found Maddy prancing out of some branches Lyle had piled in the corner of the yard. In her mouth she proudly carried a wriggling mouse. I sat there cheering her on (not because I wanted to see the cute thing die, but because she was doing what most other cats naturally do when they get to play outside), however Lyle quickly jumped up to rescue the little thing. And it safely got away. So that was Maddy's first catch; today was Maddy's first kill. Now I'm hoping that this doesn't become a frequently recurring event in our backyard, and that we don't start seeing these poor little creatures displayed for us as little presents on the back doormats on a regular basis. But I do hope that she keeps that instinct alive and stays kittenish for as long as she can. Especially if there ever happens to be any mice running through the house......

lauren

Time Flies By...and Paralyzed

I'm a bit paralyzed. Last week I decided to put on a casual, no big deal dinner for the new interns and their families at our house this Wednesday. That totals 20 people by the time our class and the third years are included. I've never hosted for that many people before; I'm not sure what I was thinking. Not to worry! It will work out and be very fun. But I continue this morning to sit on the couch, write thank you notes and watch Brothers & Sisters on Net Flix instead of doing productive activities to get ready for tomorrow. I'm completely wrapped up in the show (as well as Dexter). What I need to do is to get my day going and start planning for tomorrow....but I'm paralyzed.

It's interesting to me how life has changed so much from a year ago. Last summer when I wasn't working I had very few things to do: sleep in late, wake up, run, clean the apartment, cook dinner. This summer I'm keeping quite busy with activities and people. Time can really zip by these days. I'm loving the change.

Meanwhile, this is what the cats enjoy spending their time doing.

Watching the bugs go by.

Lauren