What to do next?

Every so often I get blogger's block and can't think of anything to write. I get to a point where I feel like people can only read so much about my life before they get bored. Sure, I have some drafts of posts that I need to finish (an update on Preston and his feeding therapy, some of my summer favorites), but I just haven't felt pushed to complete them. I've sat down to try to write something several times over the past two weeks, but I've come up empty. So, I thought I'd turn to you for some ideas!

In thinking about what I'd like to write about, I kept going back to the movie "Julie & Julia." The main character cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year. I think I'd like to do something like that. Whisking and basting my way through Child's monumental tome might be a little more than I can manage (plus, you know, it's been done), but the idea of working through something and completing little challenges like that seems fun.

I realize that there are some big changes coming up in the next five months and spare time to complete an ongoing task like this may disappear, so I'm not going to put a tight time constraint on it, but I would like to have it to go back to when I'm needing something to do for me.

So, my question is this: What should I do? It could be cooking through a cookbook (maybe one centered on budget-friendly dinners — something I'm always needing more of) or working through a self-help book (I have a book called 52 Ways to Wow Your Husband that has been sitting, unread, on my Kindle for a while), learning something new through a how-to book, or attempting 50 Pinterest pins. I'm open to anything you might suggest! Let me know your ideas in the comments or elsewhere, and I'll go from there.

Side note: These pictures are from our trip to Memphis this past weekend and have absolutely nothing to do with the post. I just wanted to share them!

Preston turns two, part 2

I guess when you turn two, you have to have two parties to make it official. That's at least how Preston celebrated turning the big two with his second party this past weekend. We (obviously) went with a Cookie Monster theme, Preston's favorite among the Sesame Street gang. This made it extremely easy to decorate for. We didn't buy any of the Cookie Monsters for the party. I just grabbed them from the toy bins while Preston was napping before the party. We even had the glass milk jug sitting around, and Scott filled it up with water and a little acrylic white paint to look like milk. I got the rest of the decorations from Oriental Trading, which I had heard of but never ordered from. Afterward, though, I wondered why I hadn't used them sooner. I got plates, napkins, bunting, paper straws and paper snack cups for $17! Super easy and affordable — just like I like it.

Preston's grandma made his Cookie Monster shirt and a local bakery made the cupcakes and cookies. I'm not good under pressure, so I can't bake or even think about baking the birthday cake without feeling incredibly anxious. So I was glad to give that task to someone else. They turned out much cuter that way.

All of that paled in Preston's eyes to the balloons that were floating in the kitchen when he woke up from his nap. I think we could get him a balloon next year and he'd be pleased as punch.

It was a simple party but definitely a good one. There's nothing that warms my heart more than celebrating this sweet, goofy little boy with the people who love him as much as we do. That's reason enough to have two birthday parties!

Lots to celebrate

Birthdays, hoodings, graduations — oh my! We had a very busy couple of days this past weekend as we traveled to Nashville to celebrate my sister's graduation from pharmacy school as well as Preston's second birthday, which means we not only had a lot to celebrate, but also a lot to photograph, so please excuse the overabundance of pictures.

On Friday, after we had gone to Courtney's hooding ceremony and Preston had taken a very lengthy nap, we celebrated our boy turning two (even though it feels like we just brought him home). He woke up to find a giant Elmo balloon waiting for him, and I'm pretty sure he would've been happy with just that. But he also got a couple of things from my parents and sister. He was elated when he opened the little computer my parents got him, but the biggest hit was probably his own little set of golf clubs. When Mom brought them out, he shouted, "Golf!" and the rest of the afternoon was spent hitting and chasing the plastic golfballs all over the house.

After dinner, it was time for cake — a super blue Cookie Monster cake to be exact — and Bubble Guppies masks. The cake left us all extremely blue in the mouth region, so it was best that it was shared among family only. I was very proud of Preston for actually taking a bite of the cake, even though I think the blue icing frightened him a bit. It's a huge step from where he was this time last year.

Saturday was graduation day, and in addition to the ceremony itself, Mom and Dad had planned a party at their house afterward with most of our family and friends coming for both. We had quite the cheering section for Courtney as she crossed the stage. We were just a few rows back from where she crossed to return to her seat. When Preston saw her, he shouted, "Hi, Coco! I watched you on the steps!" Since most of the arena was quiet so that each person's name could be heard when called, he was heard by everyone in our general area and got a laugh out of them.

Let me just take a minute to brag on my sister. While she was in school these past four years working to get to this point, she's really been working much longer than just her time in pharmacy school. She has been determined to do her best for as long as I've known her, and all of that determination paid off. I'm so proud of my sister, Dr. Courtney Harris.

Back at my parents' house, we ate lunch and celebrated the new doctor and new two year old. Courtney's cake congratulated her "Breaking Bad" style. After lunch, Everyone ended up outside while Preston and others tested out his collection of bubbles that my grandmother gave him for his birthday. We were all a little pollen- and bubble solution-covered when we came back inside.

It was wonderful to spend time with family and celebrate these two occasions!

It was even better to take a nap afterward.