the dynamics of vacation

dynamics, n. :: an underlying cause of change or growth.

Everything changes when you have a kid. I knew this before having a kid; everyone told me. Constantly. But I didn't really know it, until it happened. I will refrain from discussing just how many aspects of my life changed after introducing Natalie into it. But I will talk about how much vacations change with a kid. Especially with a toddler. :-)

We take a summer vacation every year with my dad's family. We go to Vogel State Park, nestled in the North Georgia Mountains. It's an awesome place. It has always been the most relaxing vacation that I personally take. You know - the kind where you actually don't feel like you need a vacation from your vacation? We stay in cabins, where there are no TVs. We eat a lot of food & take lots of naps. We read lots of books & play lots of board games & go on lots of walks. This picture doesn't do it justice, but typically this is the essence of the trip:

Two years ago, the "this is the most relaxing vacation EVER" aspect of this trip changed. That was the first year we had a child of our own with us. Now there are diapers to change, meals to struggle over, cousins to discipline, and naps to work around. But...there is a reward for all of that. It comes in the form of memories like these:

Basically, I love it. I love watching Natalie have a blast. She loves being outside, and she had so much fun! She was spoiled, of course, having so many family members around her. We had fun, just like we do every year!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go pack for our week-long beach vacation with the other side of the family. Have I mentioned I love summer?! :-)

the great escape

I've been longing for this weekend for awhile now.

Baron & I, along with another couple-friend of ours, are going to the beach. This has been a long-awaited vacation for me, for sure! I cannot WAIT. {Side note: we are leaving Natalie with my parents. For the whole weekend. Three hours away from ME. Of course I am SO looking forward to the break...but I know I will miss my baby girl while I'm gone! I digress.}

Pre-kiddo, it took me all of about 20 minutes to get ready for a weekend trip. Now, it takes me a full week of mental preparation, along with several days of laundry/packing/1,000-trips-to-WalMart-because-I-keep-forgetting-stuff. Natalie is not going with us, so I don't have to pack beach stuff for her...but she is going to my parents' house {Mimi & Paparoxy}, so her packing is for an entirely different trip. In all this preparation, I've noticed the difference between Baron getting ready to leave, and me getting ready to leave. It goes something like this:

Daddy's prep:
Thursday night, he is playing PS3. I kindly point out to him that he should probably pack. {Friday night is game night & we are leaving directly after the game, and this leaves him no time to pack on Friday, as he is at the school all day on Fridays.}
Spend all of about 15 minutes packing.
Pay bills. {He likes to do this whenever we go out of town...in case we die while we're gone? I'm not sure why.}

Mommy's prep:
Type up Baby's schedule, because I'm OCD mom & feel the need to tell my parents how to take care of a baby even though they've raised 3 of their own. {Ok, fine...it's not just a schedule. It's a schedule, with directions on how to mix formula & cereal, and tips for how Baby likes to spend her play time, etc. Gimme a break, it's my first kid. :)} Revise Baby's schedule because it changes about once a week & I typed it too early.
Laundry.
Bathe Dog so he's not disgustingly skanky when visiting Mimi & Paparoxy's. {Hmmm...guess same goes for Baby, too... ;) }
Trip to WalMart #1 - items forgotten from weekly grocery trip.
Get oil changed in car. {Or, as the oil dude said, "Gettin' that erl changed?"}
Laundry.
Mental prep: how much of this baby junk will Baby "need" at Mimi & Paparoxy's house?
Trip to WalMart #2 - need more baby food so we won't be depleted when we come back.
Print coupons for outlet mall trip on the way back. {Baby desperately needs some clothes that fit!}
Laundry.
Pack Baby's bag. Don't forget sound machine & monitor, to be packed later, since they are in use during the day. OCD moment #2: measure out cereal into bowls for 2 breakfasts & 2 lunches. Label each bowl "breakfast" or "lunch", of course.
Call Mimi: Do you need the Bumbo? Do you want her playmat? Should I bring her bath seat? {Note: reserve U-Haul next time to lug baby crap to g-parents' house.}
Clean out trunk to make room for 4 adults' luggage.
Stop to blog about all this. {Seriously...why am I blogging? Procrastination much?}
Pack my OWN bag.
Pack the DOG'S stuff.
Put address for beach condo into GPS.
Wash & pack baby bottles.
Make bed, finish putting away laundry, etc. {I can't stand coming home to a messy house!}
Trip to WalMart #3 - how did I not know we were out of baby food veggies? And also, we will need some sort of breakfast food for tomorrow morning at the beach. Thank you, Pop-tarts, for existing. And also...being the kind wife that I am, purchase major caffeine/sugar supplies for late-night drive to the beach tonight.
Kick myself over & over for not getting baby food veggies at WalMart YESTERDAY. UGH. It's not like I can just run to the store & back anymore! Geez Louise.
Take Baby & Dog to Mimi & Paparoxy's house.
Cry. {I know, I know. Baby will be fine. But it's not HER I'm worried about! :)}
{Insert whatever I've forgotten to do HERE. Because there is always inevitably something that's been forgotten.}

Shew. I only thought I needed a vacation before, but after all this preparation, the beach is looking more & more desirable! Catch y'all on the flip side!

mullett & old man tights

We went to the beach last weekend, but we forgot to take pictures until Saturday evening. And by then, I was nice & greasy from the tanning oil/lack of shower, so I'm afraid I won't be posting the pics of me. :-) However, we did manage to get a shot of an awesome mullet and an old man with legs so white it looked like he was wearing white tights. Enjoy.

And here are a few more pics from the trip (sans my greasy self):

{this is where we stayed}

a REAL vacation

Once a year, the Wishum clan makes the 5-ish-hour journey up to Vogel State Park in North Georgia. This is the most relaxing vacation that I believe is possible. We spend a week (give or take a few days for some folks) visiting, sitting around, napping, eating, strolling, paddleboating, putt-putting, visiting waterfalls, etc. It is truly a wonderful time to really soak in God's creation in nature. I had a GREAT week, and it was really hard to come back to the "real world". :-) Here are a few of the kazillion pics we took during the week. Enjoy!

anniversary trip

Baron took me to Callaway Gardens this past weekend. I'd never been before, so I was excited about the trip. And to add to the excitement, it was the Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival. I have always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon! And I was already imagining the awesome pics I could bring back with me. :-)

So we got there Saturday afternoon & checked into our hotel. The room wasn't fancy by any means; it was a typical hotel room. Well...until I walked into the bathroom. Those of you who know Baron know that he is a tall man. So when I saw that the ceiling in the bathroom was only about a foot & a half above my head, I couldn't wait to see Baron step in. It was definitely a sight. (I did snag a couple of pics.)

The hot air balloon launch was set for 6:00. At about 5:00, they were making announcements that they would soon decide if the balloons would launch or not, due to the high winds. First of all, I was disappointed that there was a chance of the launch being cancelled. Secondly, I couldn't figure out why they were making a decision an hour before the scheduled launch. Oh well. Anyway, it was cancelled, so we were disappointed but looked forward to Sunday's launch.

So our package for the weekend included free breakfast Sunday & Monday mornings. Breakfast ended at 10:30, so Sunday morning, we both woke up a little before 9:00. We got down to the restaurant at 10:00 & stood at the hostess stand waiting for someone to seat us. Finally someone walked around the corner & asked if she could help us. We told her there were two of us (duh) and she looked at us confusingly. "Ok, breakfast is over at 10:30." To which Baron replied, "Yes, and it's 10:00." The lady insisted to us that it was 11:00. Uh, no, sorry. Baron pulled out his cell phone & showed her that it was only 10:00. She said his phone is wrong, it's 11:00, and we missed breakfast. Ok, I realize Callaway Gardens is in Georgia, which is on Eastern time, but when we got here, we checked our cell phones against the clock in the room & they matched. So we thought we WERE on Eastern time. Wait a minute...so we have been an hour behind the WHOLE time we've been here?! Wow, are we idiots. So of course I told Baron we needed to talk to a manager because it wasn't our fault we missed breakfast, and he asked me to complain because apparently between the two of us I'm the complainer, and I got them to switch our breakfast passes for brunch passes. Problem solved.

All in all, it was a great weekend. We didn't get to see any hot air balloons because of the wind, we were an hour behind for the first 19 hours of our trip, and there was nothing to do after 6:00 in the evening, but it was very relaxing and I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to Baron for planning a great weekend!

Here are some pics from the trip...

congrats to a friend/family vacation

First of all, I want to congratulate my best friend Ashley on her pregnancy! I know she thinks that no one gets as excited about the second baby as the first, but I am just as excited - if not more - about this one than the first because she & I have grown so much closer over the past two years. (AWWWWW) So a big shout out to Ashley, Jamin, Aiden, & Chloe on their soon-to-be newest member of the family!

Ok, so now that the cheese is out of the way, here are a few pics from our family vacation. Every year we go up to Vogel State Park in the North Georgia mountains. My grandmother rents 2 cabins and we all hang out for a week or so - my grandmother, aunt & uncle, 2 cousins, parents, brother & sister, and all applicable in-laws. :-) I really hate that we couldn't stay for a whole week this year. It was especially hard to come back to work while some of our family was still up there!

Enjoy the pics!

say what?

Have any of you ever tried ear candling? Well, if you haven't, you should. It's a great way to get all the gunk out of your ears. This weekend whilst at Last Hour, Ashley, Christy, & I decided to do the ear candles. So I make the trek to the nearest health food store & made the purchase. Before we started, we tried to make bets on who would have the most earwax after the ordeal was over. (BTW, you can see your earwax inside the candles when you're finished.) The first time I did this, with Amy Newsom, I had an AMAZING amount of wax in the candle when we were finished. You would be shocked. So of course I stated that I would have the most wax. And Ashley & Christy thought the same thing about themselves. Once we got started we realized that it would take longer than we thought, and Christy didn't have time to candle her ears with me & Ashley. So I don't have a picture of her wax, but she definitely won by a landslide. Here are the pics...

(I know...I look possessed.)

...and here are our mounds of earwax.

merry christmas!!

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas. Enjoy!!

first christmas in the new house!

the kids playing in the paper

katelyn playing with emma & ella

ella-boo

me & helen

dad got into the eggnog

mom & linz

mak & linz

my grandmama

cuz Russ, Uncle Keith, Aunt Becky, & cuz Grace