for the haters.

This post is for those of my friends {you know who you are.} who constantly are lecturing me on the importance of answering my phone. I've had all kinds of voicemails left on my poor phone over the last several years including phone calls of a certain friend {you definitely know who you are.} singing "Let me be your hero, baby..." {the reason why eludes me to this day.}, friendship threats that sound something like this "If you do not call me back SOON, I'm going to call your Mom just to make sure your among the living and aren't camped out in a cave.", and messages that sound a little like this "I know you hate to talk on the phone, but..."
This is for you, my friends. Believe it or not, there are actually reasons I {never} make it to my phone. Believe it or not, there JUST MIGHT BE someone who needs me more than you do. {I know you find that hard to believe.} I decided today, for some crazy reason, that during lunch time, with 2 toddlers, it would be a good time to answer a phone call from a friend who had been trying to reach me. I was quickly reminded why I do not answer the phone. EVER. You never know what might happen when you do. THIS scene, that you find pictured below, is what happened on this day. Layne decided to help himself to his applesauce. The applesauce that I feed him. With a baby spoon. The applesauce that I usually so very carefully keep out of reach of his chubby little hands.

{we might as well skip a few steps... and just let him feed himself. why bother spoon training?}

{no mess involved at all. let's do this again.}

 So. The next time you think about harrassing me for unreturned calls, unanswered calls, and missed calls that have gone unlooked at... Consider what I might be doing.

{You know I love you - you know who you are - just the same and what would a day be without at least ONE resentful voicemail to listen to?!}

wirick family multi-purpose gathering.

How does life get so busy that a {small} family cannot manage to get together for Mothers Day, 2 birthdays, and Fathers Day until 1-8 weeks after the actual date of these events? Somehow, it obviously happens. Yesterday, we had my little Wirick family over to celebrate all of the above mentioned. It was

a super fun day with perfect weather! 



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The family {minus Layne and Elliot who were both snoozing}.





For lunch, I tried a new recipe which was fabulous. You should try it. Really. 

Garlic rosemary chicken wrapped in bacon. And grilled. Amazing.

Recipe:
4 chicken breast
4 tsp. garlic powder
S & P to taste
4 generous sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 slices of good bacon
4 toothpicks
Cover each breast top and bottom with 1 tsp. garlic powder. {Yes, one tsp. EACH} and S & P to taste. Lay sprig of rosemary on top of breast, wrap bacon around it, and secure with a toothpick. Grill about 20 minutes. Or till done.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and having fun! Miles adores his cousins... so in his book, it was the best day he's had in a LONG time!!



He was very careful at first...



He asked Cline to hold his hand...

He even convinced Mammaw Gaga to come "fwimmin'"...

This adventure was so taxing and it was just time for a drink...

 My beautiful, virtuous momma holding my littlest adorable little who had an unfortunate reaction to his sunscreen... if you can see his poor eyes are all red...

In other news:  

Layne Asher is 9 months!!!

Pulling up and standing up! 

Layne statistics and things he's doing:

He weighs almost 23 pounds! {Solid boy.} 

He's very long. {I forget how long.} 

He's wearing mostly 18-24 months clothes.

He has one, lonely bottom toofer. 

He is the happiest baby, truly, that I have ever seen. 

He shakes his head "no". {Neat.}

He "drags" himself everywhere... No actual "crawling".

He pulls himself up whenever he can. {Where's the 'delay' button when you need it?!}

He is an absolute JOY and DELIGHT to have around! What would we do without this giggly, ticklish, hilarious little boy? God knew he was just what we needed. And we thank Him for this little OFTEN! {And the other little, too!}  



A {sweet} day.

Several weeks back, me and a few girlfriends decided it was time for a day out... So, a date was set. A meeting place was arranged and babysitters were called. Anyone who has children knows the absolute joys and blessings they bring. Days of laughter, love, and fun. But also days of frustration, grouching, and well, just plain old stress. I am a firm believer in a day off now and then. I have found that it does them {the littles} a world of good and it does me a universe of good. So today arrived. It truly was a day of goodness. A day I will look back on in the next few weeks when I have those frazzling moments. A day to connect with other women and share about the woes and the triumphs life is currently handing you.
The day started out with a {sweet} 1/2 hour drive through the country to Tipp City- a quaint little town with a darling, restored, and very alive "downtown" full of antique stores and other interesting venues. For those of you who don't know, I love to be alone. And I treasure it now that I have children. Alone time is a very, very big deal to me. So the 1/2 hour drive alone was enough to make my day happy. I resisted the urge to garage sale all the way down St. Rt. 571... Since there were barn/yard/garage sales about every mile, I would consider it a major feat that I was able to resist. I arrived 5 minutes early {shock!} which was perfect because I got to tour my friend's new {sweet} home.
We spent the morning strolling up and down the lazy streets chatting and shopping. A little. But really, the day is more about fellowship. More about a breath of fresh air. And discovering that common ground with others that we forget so often is there and find ourselves dispairing in the boat of "I must be alone in this". After lunch at the fabulous Coldwater Cafe', we stopped at the local cupcake shop. {what adorable town wouldn't have a cupcake shop?!} and got favors to take home to our men and kiddos.

{one of the 2 cupcakes that came home with me}

 And just like that, the morning was over. So quickly. But how refreshed I was. And how I missed my boys and couldn't wait to come home! But I spent the afternoon doing necessary shopping {alone} which was completely fun, too.
When the afternoon was over, nothing thrilled me more to come home to this sweetness:


{I wasn't allowed out of his sight for the rest of the day.}



{love this happy boy!}

{I picked up 2 new pieces of fabric to start the project of covering our bed pillows that are quite bedraggled and dirty...}

{And so, the sweet day ended with littles playing within 5 feet of me and me loving every minute of it.}

the arrival of change.

Since little Layne Asher was born almost exactly 9 months ago, I have been waiting for Miles to "notice" him. You know, really step in and be that BIG brother. To watch out for him, to talk to him, to realize that he is going to be his best friend for life. It's not that Miles was unaware that Layne had come into our little home and blessed our socks off...  He knew. And as far as I could tell, he was perfectly fine with it. But recently... I have been seeing a change. It has crept into our house on little cat feet. It did not come roaring in the drive on 2-wheels complete Miles-style like I imagined. He did not wake up one day and it magically "clicked". But slowly, over the past 2-3 weeks I have noticed him noticing Layne. Stopping to kiss him. Hugging him so hard I wonder about the safety of it. "Holding" him. Talking in a "baby" voice to him. Worrying about him if I buckle Miles in the car first. Worrying about him if someone else holds him and walks away. Giggling with him. Giggling at him. Making him laugh. For a momma, nothing brings greater joy to the heart than when your littles have become the best of friends, the dearest of friends. Nothing makes me happier than loving these 2 boys who adore each other.