Memorial Day weekend was busy busy busy! On Saturday we went to my parents' house for lunch with my family. There was pulled pork barbecue, baked beans, corn, potato salad, roasted broccoli and carrots, cole slaw, and more!
For dessert there was banana pudding and strawberry cheesecake. I typically loathe bananas but I always make it a point to try them when I get a chance because I love the way they smell and I wish I did like them! I am not a picky eater by any stretch of the imagination but I just can't get over my hatred of bananas. One day, one day...
It's nice to be around family and extra hands to help entertain our fussy little guy. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to eat a meal without his cries making my stomach churn or without having to eat one-handed! He loved petting my dad's beard.
My Mawmaw was there and we don't get to see her very often. It was so special having Jasper meet his great-grandmother.
Since Jasper's nap schedule was out the window with all of the travel and additional activity, I snuck away from the crowd to rock him to sleep in my arms. He only slept for about 20 minutes, but it was something. He was pretty upset during the car ride home because he was so tired, so as soon as we got home I did his bedtime routine even though it was much earlier than when we usually put him down for the night.
Annnnd this was the scene about 15 minutes after getting home. Poor guy. Pardon the image quality - it was mostly dark in his room and I was not about to flip on a light for a photo! Gotta say though, I think my iPhone did a pretty darn good job with the darkness.
After a much-needed night of sleep he was all smiles the next morning. Little buddy just needed to recover from such a big day!
On Memorial Day we were scheduled to spend an overnight at the Margaritaville Island Hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN to put together a great trip journal and hotel review for you guys. That post will be live in the next couple of weeks and I am really excited about it, so stay tuned!
It was Jasper's first time staying in a hotel room and ended up being a good trial run for a larger trip that we have planned in the coming months. Phew, it was certainly an adventure, to put it nicely. We tried to stick to his usual routine as closely as we could as far as his nap and bedtime routine and I think we did a decent job of that - he just doesn't like change. At all. I made a few notes and reminders for future travel and let's just say that there's nowhere to go from here but up!
But seriously, I'm really excited about sharing the details of the hotel with all of you so please be watching for that post!
I bought an adorable Boppy shopping cart cover for the grocery/Target trips when he refuses to ride in the carrier. He may look content in these photos, but approximately 0.5 seconds later he was in nuclear meltdown mode. I made a big mistake of leaving the carrier in the car so there was little I could do to calm him down. He didn't want his toys or chewie and didn't want me to dance or sing to him (and yes, I am willing to do both of those things in public if it means preventing my child from breaking the glass display cases in the deli section with his screams!). I eventually alternated between holding him and one-arming the shopping cart (I don't recommend that) and putting him back in the cart and doing what I could to distract him.
Oh, and to the gentleman whose path we crossed several times, don't think your exaggerated annoyed gestures and whipping your head around to give my baby a death glare were lost on me. Really, it gives me great joy to annoy the other shoppers when I'm already stressed out trying to keep Jasper calm while I try to complete a simple task like buying some darn groceries! *roll eyes*
Lesson learned - always have the cover and the carrier with me at all times.
May 28th was our 10th wedding anniversary! That's crazy to me. I blinked and suddenly we've been married 10 years, and now we have a baby! That's some Twilight Zone stuff right there. Initially, we planned to go to an upscale-to-us restaurant that we've been wanting to try for a long time. A couple of days before our anniversary I sensed that Matt wasn't really "feeling it" and realized that I wasn't either. When I asked him about it he said, "You know what? I kind of just want to pick up some pizzas, grab a bottle of wine and a blanket, and go lay outside at a park and just enjoy the quiet."
That sounded absolutely fabulous to me. Matt's parents are in town for a month and they offered to watch the baby for the afternoon so that we could have a break. Jasper is what is clinically called a "high needs" baby. He drains every bit of energy from the two of us every day, and still he needs more. We love him more than anything but are now realizing that we must make time to take care of ourselves so that we can be the best parents we can be for our spirited little guy. Therefore, a baby-free afternoon was just what the doctor ordered. No pressure to get dressed up, no forcing ourselves to do something fancy because the occasion was one that typically calls for it... just comfy clothes, food, sunshine, and each other.
Sign. Me. Up.
We ordered pizzas to-go from an amazing and well-loved local pizzeria, The Tomato Head. We also brought along a bottle of delicious Apple Blush wine from a local winery and cider mill, The Apple Barn. My pizza had a pesto base and was topped with sliced Roma tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, onions, chicken, and mozzarella. Matt's pizza had tomato sauce topped with spinach, feta cheese, kalamata olives, red onion, sliced Roma tomatoes, banana peppers, and andouille sausage.
Deliciousness. They totally hit the spot. The ingredients are so fresh and the crust is the perfect balance of soft and chewy. It's the kind of pizza that, after eating it, makes you feel good instead of like death.
We ate the pizzas using Repurpose plates and utensils. While the pizza was not guilt-free, our dinnerware was at least! Repurpose products are made from corn, sugar, and bamboo which are annually-renewable resources. They are BPA, chlorine, and petroleum free and only soy-based inks are used.
They're really sturdy and I was impressed that they didn't go all soggy after being used with an oily meal like pizza. Have you ever been to a cookout and tried to eat a hearty burger and all the fixins' off of a flimsy paper plate? Yeah, disaster waiting to happen. They also make bowls, coffee cups, and cold drink cups that we'll be trying out next week, so stay tuned for more! Visit RepurposeCompostables.com for additional information.
An afternoon lying on a picnic blanket with nothing more than the sound of the birds singing and rippling water from the nearby river was just the refresh we needed. We knew Jasper was at home being spoiled and loved and we were able to unplug, de-stress, and relax.
I'd call that a successful 10th anniversary celebration!
After park 'n pizza we ran a quick baby-related errand (we couldn't totally shirk our parental responsibilities for the afternoon, ya know!) but then continued the celebration by pulling into Bruster's Ice Cream for dessert!
I chose a cup with a scoop of birthday cake ice cream and a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Yes, I am an eternal child at heart.
Matt chose a waffle cone with a scoop of abominable snowman ice cream (blue vanilla ice cream with chunks of Oreos and cookie dough) and a scoop of peanut butter puddles (vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate Krispies).
All in all, a perfect way to celebrate 10 years of being married!
We received a complimentary assortment of Repurpose products to try - we do not accept free product or compensation in return for a fully positive review. Remember our motto: if it sucks, we'll tell ya!
All photos in this post taken with iPhone 5s - all photos on the blog taken with a mobile device or point and shoot will be indicated with rounded corners. 🙂
Michelle Ayers
That sounds like an awesome anniversary! I love pizza!
Remi
Those pizzas look miiiiiiighty fine if I may say so. Okay, fine so do you two for a couple of old married birds. :p