California Dreamin'

So, we are back! We had a fabulous time...minus Kidd-O's ear infection, my cold, lack of sleep and losing my cellphone. I learned lots of things on my first trip West of the Mississippi and I thought I would share some of my lessons with you!

Lesson 1: I'm terrible at adjusting to a major time change...Kidd-O is a pro!Lesson 2: Taking a baby to the zoo is a piece.of.cake compared to going with 9 adults. That's all I'll say about that.

Lesson 3: People have told me that the weather is perfect in San Diego and people would be right. This southern girl fell in love with that West Coast climate for sure.

Lesson 4: I learned that I do NOT enjoy taking pictures of things that don't involve people. But I forced myself to try, and I ended up with a couple that I like.

Lesson 5: Having an accommodating host is the key to a great trip, and we had the best!Lesson 6: The flowers are perfect. I just HAD to take pics, even if I don't enjoy that type of photography!Lesson 7: The fruits and veggies were even more perfect. I did enjoy photographing them because I'm in love with food and I shoot what I love.Lesson 8: I felt that the beach was just for looking and not for touching. The water is frigid compared to that warm gulf water I'm used to and the sand isn't quite as appealing either...But, it is OH.SO.BEAUTIFUL!Lesson 9: Needing to find a pediatrician on vacation is an interesting experience. Especially when the Doctor is wearing hemp bracelets...and is 70...and when you go to get the scrip filled and the pharmacy has to call the doc back to verify that I, in fact, don't have a 4 year old, but a 10 month old...and then for the docs office to tell them that they have no record of our visit 2 hrs earlier. Yes, good times. For the record, we got it worked out...and then I lost the paper work that I was supposed to send in to insurance....I'm still working on fixing that problem-o.Lesson 10: I want to go back. Soon. I did not see near enough, but I'm thankful for what I did get to see and the time I got to spend there and for the relationships that were built.Now off to Destin for a week and Mr. Clean finally gets to join us this time! See y'all next week!

My Monday Mind Dump...On Tuesday- BFF edition

Well, let me start by introducung myself. I'm Amy and I'm Ashley's best friend of 20 years. She's out gallivanting around San Diego this week, so I'm filling in. Since Ash and I are going to be celebrating our 20th year of friendship this Summer, I figured I'd write a special Monday Mind Dump about our friendship. And I'm doing this on Tuesday in honor of # 10 on this list. Enjoy!

1. It all started with a pink Skip-It. You remember those, right? Her family had just moved in next door. She and I were riding our bikes in the cul-de-sac saying nothing just waiting for the other to say something first. She finally broke the ice and said " Hey- I've got an extra Skip It. Do you wanna play?" Not sure of the exact dialogue there but it was something like that and that's where our story began.









2. Ash has taught me a lot of things over the past 20 years. Three very important things she taught me- 1. How to braid hair 2. How to swim and 3. How to make a mean fluffernutter sandwich.

3. In the early 90's we used to roller skate in her basement and pretend we were ice skating in the Winter Olympics. We used to argue about who got to be Nancy Karrigan and who would be Tanya Harding. Neither of us wanted to be Tonya Harding, because really who would want to be her anyway?

4. When we were 8, Ash dragged me into playing softball with her. We were usually back to back in the line up. She'd hit first and get on base. I'd hit next and run so fast that I'd literally be at her heels yelling at her to go faster and she'd be screaming and waving her arms around in the air the whole way. (If you know her surely you can picture this.) We were quite the duo.

5. When we were 12 she became obsessed with Titanic. And Leonardo DiCaprio. And along with that came her obsession with that song. You know which one I'm talking about. Yes, "My Heart Will Go On". And lucky me I was subjected to hearing this song on repeat. Every day. For months. And months. If I ever hear this song again it will be too soon.

6. When we were 14 we became obsessed with *NSYNC. Before they hit the big time we went to their concert in the Macy's parking lot at Lenox. And there it happened... Joey Fatone waved at us. Yes he did. And that's all we talked about for a while. We were also "guest stars" in their tour video. Our starring appearance was for approx. 3.5 seconds and if you blinked you'd probably miss it, but it didn't matter. According to us we were famous.

7. Another reason we're famous: we were models. Well, OK not exactly. But we did get to pose for an ad for our orthodontist when we were in 10th grade. The ad ran in a local newspaper. We were absolutely mortified when this ad also appeared on our high school newspaper for all of our classmates to see. Yikes...

8. Her hubby Chris, better known to all of you as Mr. Clean, was actually my Junior Prom date! Funny huh? Don't worry, there was no funny business or anything. We went strictly as pals. He and Ash fell madly in love soon thereafter and the rest is history, baby.

9. Ash has always been there to catch me when I fall. Sometimes literally. Like the time we watched her Momma give birth to little Davianna our Senior year. I was the videographer that day and as little Davi was making her way into the world, my head was spinning. As she was squishing out I told Ash that I thought I might pass out. And I did. And she caught me.

10. If you know her at all, you know that Ash is chronically and habitually late. Getting to school was no different. Since we lived next door to each other we of course rode to school together. Well she made us late so many times our Senior year that we both got suspended.

11. On the day she and Chris got married it wasn't just her dad giving her away that day. I was giving her away too. I was giving her away to her new best friend, her husband. And I think I cried more than anybody! Well, maybe second to her Mom.

12. I'm always here for her to give her advice when she needs it and she knows that. But I always found it funny that when she was prego with Kidd-O she'd always ask me questions about being pregnant and giving birth. You know the "what if?" questions and stuff. However, I have no kids and have never been pregnant. And we enjoyed laughing about all the weird and sometimes gross things that were happening to her prego body.

Well folks, there you have it. Actually, no you don't. It's impossible for me to sum up 20 years worth of stories, experiences and memories into just a few lines. As I was writing this I had probably a hundred different stories and memories flash before me. Our friendship is indescribable and only if you know us and are close to us can you really get it. She's a housewife rookie and a mom (a great one). And I'm a corporate working single lady. Yet, as different as our lives are, there is no one in this world that is more like me than she is. She knows what I'm about to say before I can even say it. She's the Lucy to my Ethel. The Laverne to my Shirley. And the peanut butter to my marshmellow fluff. She's my best friend and my Summer Sister and I wouldn't be who I am without her! Love you Ash!

My Monday Mind Dump...

1. My baby sister told my other sister to"hang on to that horse" at dinner the other night and proceeded to tell her that that meant she needed to have "puh-hay-chence". I love her.2. Here's my new favorite commercial. If I may step on a soapbox for just a tiny second. I can't STAND when people use the "R" word. It hurts my heart more than you know. It is rude and disrespectful to those who can't defend themselves against such slurs! Do everyone a favor and expand your vocabulary just a tad when you want describe your irritation with a "rule/law" that you find annoying or when calling your sister a mean name...or better yet, if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all. Stepping off soap box now. Thank you.

3. Kidd-O has 3 uncles, but they are always uber-busy and waaay too cool to hang with their old fart sister, but when they do hang out with kidd-O, there is nothing sweeter than seeing a boy play with a itty bitty wittle baby.

4. Girly sleepovers are the best (they opted for the floor instead of the bed)......complete with popsicles and bubbles!

5. At this EXACT time last year a bird laid eggs in our fern out front and this year was no different. I remembered anticipating the arrival of my little one around the same time her babies would arrive. I checked every.single.day until they hatched. And when they did, I cried. And that's when I knew I had lost my marbles.6. OH, I almost forgot! Remember how a few moths ago I was ranting and raving about the Babies documentary??? Seriously, I went on for DAYS about it? and if you saw me in person, I would go on for YEARS about it? Wellllll, I have a new one for ya, and might I say that I think it might even be better than my beloved Babies documentary?! Yes, indeedio! It's called God Grew Tired of Us. It is a MUST see!!! That's all I'm gonna say about that...for today. Just watch it...Go ahead!
7. Y'all know I love gift giving and making them pretty, well it turns out that I like making presents for kids even more! It is WAYYYY more fun!
8. This is what I came home to on Saturday afternoon...
and this is what rolled in later that afternoon...
and this is what happened to my living room. Kidd-O thought it was Christmas morning!
9. The folks that know Kidd-O know that he is a busy little bee all.the.time. A happy bee, but a busy one. Here's his latest adventure....

10.I'm VeRy happy to announce that my BFF will be guest posting for me next week while Kidd-O and I are in San Diego! I hope y'all will stop by!!!