Fiddlyfart in Photos

This is my 500th post! Woohoo!

***

Our A/C stopped working this morning. The brand new unit that we just had installed a couple months ago? Yeah, that one. We normally keep our A/C set at 72 (which is mostly Brad's doing; my mom used to keep it at 68, so it took me awhile to get used to). By noon, it was at 77.
I immediately called up my dad. The guy who works with him installed our unit, so I was hoping there was an easy, over-the-phone fix. I checked the breakers, checked underneath the unit in the attic for water, and all other kinds of things. Somehow the power wasn't connecting right. The fan wouldn't even turn on. My dad told me the guy could come out tomorrow, but he was booked all day today. Great.
My stepdad happens to be an electrician, so I figured if it was power-related, maybe he could think of something. So I called him up and started to explain the situation. And by some sudden miracle... the A/C switched on. ???
Brad called him again later, just to see if $100 would magically show up in our account. No such luck. But at least we're not roasting.

***

I guess y'all have heard we're expecting a visit from Ms. Irene this week. Really, it's not supposed to hit our area (of course, that's what they said about Hugo). But Brad immediately informed me last night that we are "not at all prepared!" and we don't have any backup supplies and blahblahblah. I calmly proceeded to show him all of the non-perishables we have that would easily last us a few days. Plus, I don't see the Apocalypse happening this week. I could always be wrong, but I'm just not seeing it. Who knows though. We've already had earthquakes. I'm sure it seems perfectly rational to most people. However, for me? It's nothing short of comical when my husband comes home with 9 gallons of purified water and a bunch of brand new flashlights (because again, it's not supposed to hit us). It's especially comical when you inform him that you had indeed asked to buy purified water months ago, because really, you don't like drinking the tap water in this county anyway.
(notgonnasayItoldyouso)

***

Sunday night we had our monthly shindig at the grandparents' house. We were celebrating all of the August birthdays (Noah, my brother, my uncle, and cousin-in-law). And of course Noah decided to boycott sleep that day. He fell asleep that morning in the car for about 15 minutes, then was wide awake for the rest of the day. I tried multiple times to get him to go down (all afternoon, in fact) to no avail. So wouldn't you know it? At 5:45, he zonked out in the car. The party started at 6. So what did we do? We kept the car running in the driveway (don't worry, he was still strapped in his car seat) and kept checking on him every 5 minutes. Actually, we all took turns... aunts, uncles, grandparents. Finally, I got him up around 7, and he was soooooo not happy with me. But I didn't really feel like going to bed at 2am. Sorry, buddy. Next time take a nap at a normal time, k?

I made Noah's cake (chocolate with cream cheese frosting) and then attempted to decorate it myself. I actually did take a cake decorating class when I was 8/9 months pregnant and still have all the tools. But for some reason, I thought I'd try the can frosting that comes with its own little tools for this. I just wasn't in the mood to make a ton of homemade frosting. Big mistake. This can was so tempermental. Next time I'll do it the right way. Of course, Noah didn't care, as long as he got to eat it. And thank goodness for the George topper, because otherwise? It looked like a St Patty's Day cake. I wanted to put fruit snack bananas or something on it, but it didn't happen in time. Oh well.

I secretly look forward to the August birthdays. My uncle's favorite dessert is my MamMaw's banana pudding, which I also happen to be a fan of. I guess I shouldn't be shocked that I didn't lose as much weight this week, huh?

Noah ended up being extra clingy to me all night. He wanted me to hold him when everyone sang "Happy Birthday". He wanted me to sit next to him at the table. And he wanted me to hold him while opening presents. Not gonna lie... I kind of liked it. He's too busy most times to just let me hold him, so I took advantage.

He still is confused when people start singing to him.
(and look! *gasp* I do exist! With Noah wanting me all night, Brad was in charge of the picture taking instead)

He practiced blowing out the candles right before,

but once the singing started, he kind of forgot about it.

And then he just got annoyed and wanted to be put down.

His baby cousin Easton (who is 10 months old) just thinks Noah is just the coolest. Easton is SO close to walking, but not quite there. When Noah runs circles around him, he just giggles and thinks it's hilarious. I remember when Noah was that little and thought his cousins running around was hilarious. Crazy to see how much changes in such a short amount of time.
Once Easton catches up to Noah, he likes to pull up on him, so he can stand just like him. It freaks the crap out of Noah. And it's pretty darn funny.

But I think they're going to be good buddies.

***

Last week, we had a little going away party for our friend Shante. She, her husband, and little Jack were only here for the summer, but it was fun getting to know them. I hate they had to leave, since it was nice for Noah to have another boy around. He helped even out all that estrogen flyin' around.

Alice and Jack...

Jess and Shante...

(crossing my fingers that baby "zebra" waits until after Noah's party Saturday to show up)

Me and Shante...

Wanna know what was going on during these pictures??

***

Noah drew his first piece of artwork last night! One of the gifts he got for his birthday (from Easton, actually) was a bunch of washable markers and paint (thank you Lord for washable...), and lots of paper. Because Noah totally screwed up his schedule (again), I was hurting for ideas to calm him down and still occupy him. I had to literally force him to sit down long enough for me to show him, but once he focused? He was SO into it.

I mean. Look at the concentration.

He takes his work very seriously.

Last night's final product:

Which of course went on the fridge, next to Brad's Target name badges that say "Special Brad", "Loser", and "BoomBoomBoom" (along with pics of us at the beach, at prom, the pups, etc).

***

I've officially been doing the Weight Watchers thing for 2 weeks now. I've lost 5 lbs, which I know doesn't sound like a lot. But I'm this close to my goal weight, so at this point? I'm doing the happy dance with any kind of weight loss.

The hardest part is that I'm at their lowest point allowance possible. So I find myself staaarving by the time breakfast/lunch/dinner rolls around. But it definitely makes you think about what you're putting in your mouth and just how much. Gotta make those points last! :)

***

Hope everyone's having a great week!

xoxo.