When Mommy is away...

The boys will play....

So i've had the opportunity to leave K for a few days here and there over the past year. It's weird to think that for the first 2 1/2 years of his life, he was with me every day. The first time i left him was so hard. But i'm getting better. Plus it allows for K and Jeff to have quality daddy time, which is equally important as mommy-time!

So back in April, i left for a girls weekend. I came back home feeling totally rested and rejuvenated. It...was...awsome! And so necessary. I'm thinking a yearly girls trip is required for all mommas.

So while I was away, Jeff took K out on big brother's old scooter.

Of course, i had to be a "mom" and give the hubby crap for K's lack of helmet here.

This past month, i've been in Washington DC as part of our summer scholars program. So it's 2 1/2 weeks without my bubba (and 4 weeks without the hubby - thanks to Grammy (my mom) she's coming to DC next week with K for the last week and a half that i am here). It's been good - i've gotten lots of work done and had some me time without feeling too guilty about it, plus K has been able to have some  quality daddy bonding time without too many meltdowns about missing mommy.

And what do Daddy's do when mommy's not home....i can't help but think about that Brady Bunch episode here...."Mom always said don't play ball in the house"!

Mommy Day photos with JeniRae

Today, K and I spent the afternoon at Fairview park with a mommy friend, JeniRae. She took some really amazing pictures of the two of us... Just in time for mothers day! Jeff always thinks I'm strange for always having K's pictures taken...ok so maybe I did have his pictures taken every month when he was just a baby, but now it's just a few times a year. He is just growing up and changing so much all the time that I want to make sure I remember things... Or at least be able to document how he grows and changes. You see, I see him every day, so he doesn't really look all that different to me. It isn't until I see pictures of him over time that I realize that my baby is growing up!

www.jenirae.com

The Beauty of Iphone

Ok, so I get that I'm a bit slow on these things, but it just dawned in me today (as we were searching for apps for Jeff's new IPhone - yup that's right folks, he's come to the apple team!) that maybe... Just maybe..... There might be an app for blogger where I could post blogs right from my phone or iPad, and maybe, just maybe, post in my blog more than once a season. Voila! Of course there's an app for that. And here's the proof- I'm typing this entire blog on my iPhone....,as if I needed something else to do on my phone.

So over the past few months, there's lots of things going on in the Mallicoat-Randolph household. Perhaps the big thing is that I'll be headed back to Washington for the month of June. I'll be on my own for the first two weeks and then "Grammy" will be flying out with K - just in time to celebrate our birthdays.

Last month we went to NYC and Rhode Island. Jeff and Tay joined us for a few days and we did all the tourist things. Then K and I headed up to visit the McGrady's. We had so much fun that K still asks to "go on airplane and see me friend" - he can't quite wrap his tongue around "Ethan"
Here's some fun pics from our trip...

New Year....New Intentions

I started off last summer with the best of intentions of updating my blog for all our adventures from Italy. I did pretty good for a while. And then...life took over. Then i thought, well i'll do a monthly update. Highlight the fun times like Halloween and Christmas. And then.....life took over again.

So while i'm at it, here's some of the fun times that rounded out the second half of 2011...

Somedays, it's stil a dream to me that we spent the summer in Italy. I look at the pictures and life there seems like a world away. Yet it was just a few short months ago.

Towards the end of our trip, we spent a weekend at the Amalfi Coast. The word "paradise" doesn't even begin to be able to describe the magic of that place. Sorrento was this great family oriented town where lovers would stroll the streets hand in hand, children would run and play (at night, the main drag was closed to traffic) and tourists would wander in and out of the local shops until midnight (yes, things were open that late and everyone was out to enjoy the night!)













So here we are again. New year, new intentions.

I'm going to try and post once a month - if nothing else, i'm noticing that my memory is fading. Must be mommy brain or something. But i look at Mr. K and i think he's always looked this way, that he isn't growing up as fast as i think. And then i look at a picture that's 3, 4, 6 months old and i go, wow! Or i see younger babies, and i can't ever remember him being that tiny, which i have to admit is a thought that makes me a little sad.

So being that it is still the month of January (for at least another day or so...) here's my post for the month....of course i'm posting about an event in December, but hey, that's the last time i synched my computer with my camera, and i can't seem to find the camera cord at the moment to upload the latest pictures so that's as good as it gets right now....

Back in the beginning of December, we went with the family up to a cabin in Lake Arrowhead. Let me revise that statement....we stayed at a mansion! Jeff's cousin Elise works for a property management company and this was the owners house. Gorgeous!!!! And right on the lake too. It was wonderful. We had lots of fun sitting around the big table for dinner, making smores and painting pottery. But the best part was going tubing in the snow. Keegan LOVED it. Every time he went down the hill, he was like "again". Needless to say, we'll have to go up to the snow "again" soon!