RUF SuCo 2013

Every year Chris takes a group of college students down to Panama City for Summer Confrence or "SuCo".  (Remember Chris is an RUF Campus Minister?)  Anyhow, RUF hosts three weeks of SuCo each year with 600-900 students from various universities each week.  Its a big deal folks.  And if you're in college its a pretty fun week.  Heck, even the RUF campus ministers families love to go down to the beach for the week.  You can read about our trip last year, here.
It's not the nicest of accommodations- camping for the week might be a bit better- but its a great time of fellowship not only for the students, but also for the wives and kids.  Originally the girls and I weren't planning to go this year.  I just wasn't sure I could handle the travel and accommodations with a newborn and toddler while Chris was working.  (Although Chris was a HUGE help to me this year, it is still a work week for him.  It takes all the CM's to make this week happen.)  But because Haddie Grace has been such a good sleeper we decided last minute to head on down to the beach.  It was a really fun week, but it was also a little stressful for me as well.  We will be bringing a babysitter next year to help (Hannah...hint, hint)
The first thing you do when you get to Lauguna Beach Christain Retreat Center is tape up the windows.  I don't know how you people on central time handle the sun coming in your windows at 5am.  Oh wait, you probably have shades.  These rooms don't so we make due like this:

Yes, we all stayed in one (small) room.  Phoebe is in a big girl bed at home and has been since she was 17 months.  She won't sleep in a pack-n-play, so she was on an air mattress.  She doesn't know she can get out of her bed at home so it works well for us.  She does however know that she can get off an air mattress.  This made bed time and nap time a bit tricky....
We spent a lot of time at the pool because Phoebe didn't like the sand at all!  In fact, she hated it and cried if any got on her.  Not a good time folks, and certainly not worth hauling everyone and all our stuff out to the beach.
So Haddie Grace spent most of her time at the pool in the stroller in the shade while Phoebe and I played.

(P.S. Mommys- these puddle jumpers are WONDERFUL floaties for a toddler!)
One of the fun things about RUF and SuCo in general is seeing the students interact with your kids.  Our students love Phoebe and Haddie Grace; they might actually miss them more than us!  Just kidding...I think.

One night the students drew names from a hat and made each other airbrush shirts.  Classic Panama City... They even made shirts for the girls

A huge thank you to Christa for taking some great pictures while we were there!

Happy Memorial Day!  Hope you have a fun day!   We will be inside packing :(  Boo.

fridays letters

Photo courtesy of Christa Prince

Dear Kristin and Julie,  Thanks so much for coming over last night to help pack!  It was AMAZING to come upstairs and see so many more boxes filled!  Dear Julia, Thanks for watching Phoebe on Monday so I could have a couple hours to put things in boxes without little hands taking things back out or playing with the cutter on the tape dispenser...  Dear Chris, Date night was so fun!  Thank goodness for  Chick-fil-A coupons, free babysitters, and movie passes.  Dear Hannah, Thanks for babysitting!  I'm serious, I really want you to come to SuCo with us next Summer to watch the girls.  Dear Matthew, You are not very good at your job.  Really, I'm sorry that is rude, but I have never worked with someone as incompetent and unprofessional as you are.  Wells Fargo should have never hired you as a mortgage officer.   Dear Christa, Thanks for taking such amazing pictures last week at Summer Conference.  Can't wait to post about it!

New Front Door

There is a long list of things we would like to do to our new house and in our new house.  Many of them won't get done for a couple years.  We are definitely laying hardwood down in the family room to match the rest of the downstairs and refinishing the current hardwoods because they are showing some signs of wear and tear.
A few other minor things we will be doing in the more immediate future include pressure washing and painting the front step rails and awning, pressure washing and re-staining the deck out back, and painting the front door. 
I've always wanted a fun colored front door, and I think it is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to spruce up the front of the house.  Remember what our new house looks like?

The current door and shutters are a dark grey/black.  We will not do anything with the shutters, but I'm thinking about a yellow front door.  Not a bright, bright yellow but more of a mustard/dull yellow.  I think the yellow would look good with the color of the brick.

Here's some food for thought-

source

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Or I've thought about a turquoise door too, but I think I'm leaning towards yellow.

What do you think?  Do you think the house would look good with a yellow front door?

{WIWW} College Dining Hall

Kennesaw State has gone through a lot of changes in the past seven years since Chris has been there with RUF.  It is in the process of moving from being a commuter campus to a traditional campus with on-campus housing, a dining hall, and a football team.

The KSU Commons (the campus dining hall) was built 3 years ago.  Chris has had weekly lunches there with the students for the past couple years and has always raved about how good the food is.  Yes, he loves the campus dining hall.  How many of you can say that about your college campuses?  Mine wasn't awful, but I certainly took every opportunity I had to eat elsewhere.

A few weeks ago Chris took the girls and me to the KSU Commons for lunch.  And you know what?  I was super impressed.

But first thing is first- today is Wednesday so here's what I wore (to the KSU dining hall):

Scarf: Target

Cardigan: GAP

Shirt: GAP

Pants: J Crew

Shoes: GAP

It was a pretty spring day for walking across campus, so the bright colors were appropriate.  I got these green pants in college (how appropriate...) and was obsessed with them- ask my roommates.  I remember prancing around my apartment with them on for several days... They are very comfy (although this particular day they were a bit tight because let's be honest there's still a few more pounds of baby weight that will eventually need to come off) and they're GREEN!  Yes, I love the green.  I think it goes well with the orange cardigan and patterned scarf.

I might have stuck out a bit on campus where most people roll into the dining hall in yoga pants and a t-shirt, but then again we also had two kids with us so that probably made us stick out even more in a college dining hall.  But you know the surprising thing?  They had multiple high chairs and booster seats available, so we must not be the only family who dines there...

One of the most impressive things about this dining hall is that, at least in word, it is attempting to be local, green and self-sustaining.  Not only do they feature some organically gown produce, but they also feature local produce and grow some of their own lettuce in hydroponic containers that are located around the perimeter of the dining hall.

The variety and healthy options are significantly larger than when I was in college.

hydroponic lettuce

Not at all healthy, but they also have one of these amazing soda machines (Coca-Cola Freestyle) that has over 100 Coke product options

You know you're not in college anymore when...

you can no longer make a Belgian waffle at the waffle machine.

FAIL

Did you have waffles at the dining hall in college?  I ate them ALL THE TIME.  How was your college food?  Have you been back to a college dining hall since graduating?


Linking up with: Pleated Poppy, Random Wednesdays 

Two Months

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It feels as if I just posted my one month update on Haddie Grace.  Oh wait, that's because I did.  I didn't get it done until she was about 6 weeks.  So in attempts to get back on schedule here we are.  Haddie Grace turned two months old on Saturday.  She is no longer a helpless newborn.  She is alert, aware, and interested in everything going on around her.  She doesn't like to be left lying on the floor or in her car seat with no view.  She wants to be up on your shoulder observing the world around her.  She is much more aware and engaged than I recall Phoebe being at this age.  

I certainly have two very different children.  Haddie Grace is rolling over from her stomach to her back.  She started doing this at 7 weeks.  Phoebe did not roll over until she was 5 or 6 months.  Haddie Grace also seems a lot stronger to me.  She kicks her legs more, holds her head up better and longer and is more vigorous in general.
Weight: 11lbs 9.5oz (50th percentile) Length: 23 3/4in (90th percentile)
She smiles A LOT.  She first smiled at 6 weeks and now I feel like she smiles all the time and her smiles get bigger every day!  It melts my heart.
Haddie Grace had lost all her hair on the top of her head by her one month birthday, but it has started growing back over this past month.  Her head is full of peach fuzz now and it feels so soft!  She does look like an old man.

Don't ask me what this face is...

Haddie Grace is a good eater.  I'm still nursing her when I can and then supplementing with pumped breast milk or donor breast milk in the bottle.  (Thank you Anna!!)  She nurses best in the morning when my supply is at its peak, and then each subsequent time she eats she seems to nurse less vigorously and for a shorter amount of time.  I've been able to pump four or five times a day after nursing her.  And if we're in a hurry to get somewhere or out somewhere, she just gets a bottle.  She takes anywhere from 2oz up to 5 or 6oz each feeding, and she is eating about seven times/day.

She is a great sleeper too!  I think I had mentioned how starting around 3 weeks she was doing a 6 hour stretch and a 4 hour stretch.  Now she sleeps 8-9 hours- not every night, but most nights.  That makes one happy mommy.  I swaddle her and put her to bed sometime between 7-8:30pm.  Then before I got to bed around 10ish I wake her up to give her a 2oz bottle (she won't ever take more than 2oz).  She goes right back  to sleep and sleeps till about 6:30am.  
This past week I've had success with getting them to nap at the same time in the afternoon.  I admit I do lie Haddie Grace on her belly to nap most of the time because she tends to nap a little bit better and I am desperate for a few minutes to myself in the afternoon. 

Chillin' at the pool

Linking up with Monday Mingling, YOLO Mondays, and Mom's Monday Mingle