{ going on a trip: dollywood }

And so we come to the final day of our trip.

It didn't start out as a great day.


Turtle developed a new phrase. "I don't WANT to eat in a restaurant."


I'll be honest. It's not my favorite. Because Mommy greatly enjoys eating in restaurants. Because someone else cooks. And brings the food. And cleans up. And it's really quite fabulous all the way around.


He pulled it together enough for breakfast at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, which had been highly recommended.

I'd love to tell you it was delicious. I really would. The apple fritters with apple butter were quite divine.

Sadly. I never really got to touch my egg beaters. Turtle decided, quite on the fly, that scrambled eggs were suddenly his most favorite food EVER. And ate all mine up.


Alrighty then.


The biscuit was lovely, though.


Really.


We piled back in the car and were about to head off to Dollywood when I realized that my memory card was not. working. I. Freaked. Out. 


Fortunately for me (and the males on the trip), the nearby Wal*Mart carried just the memory card I needed. And we were back on the road.

We really didn't get to see much of the park. Turtle was, sadly, in a mood. What can you do?

We headed straight to the kiddie section, and tried to entertain him with the offerings there. 

Like the carousel.

And the flying elephants.

And the games of chance. He won a really cute dragon, by the way.

Perhaps his favorite part of the day was riding this authentic coal-powered train. It was really great. And we learned something new. Apparently, coal-powered trains throw off sparks and soot. We were all flecked with ash by the time we exited the car. Awesome. Really. But aside from that, it gave a really great view of the whole park.

We wandered around a little more and then stopped for lunch. Where Turtle entertained himself with the salt and pepper shakers. We are in an incredible amusement park and he plays with spices. Go figure.

We left shortly after. It would have been nice to see more, but it is what it is.


We spent the rest of our last day, packing and tidying and just resting for the long drive ahead. 


It was hard leaving these sunrises behind...

I can't wait to go back.


I would love to make a winter trip, but the idea of driving through those mountains kind of terrifies me. A lot. We'll see in a few years, though. It would definitely be wonderful to enjoy the fireplace and the snow.


There are more places we'd like to hit when we return. I'd try to work up the courage to visit some of the underground caverns, and I would love to get in a horseback ride. 


But, all in good time. There are so many more amazing destinations out there, and we hope to give many of them a try!

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{ then and now }

Then. Three years ago.

And now.

Still friends.

Still fans.

Still adorable.

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{ training tuesday: 9/27 edition }

Well, kids.

This is it.

This is the weekend of the Epcot Food & Wine runs. 

Good luck to all my friends who are running/walking/crawling through the races and through the culinary delights to follow.

I may honor them all by sampling a few glasses (or bottles) on this end.

Love you all. You're going to rock it.

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{ dear friend }

About a month or so ago, a mom on an online community to which I belong organized a Pen Pal Exchange for anyone who was interested. At the time, I was kind of on the fence, not really sure if Turtle would "get" it, not really sure if I wanted to add another thing to my ever-expanding to-do list. 

And by the time I thought it would be fun after all, sign ups were closed.

Such is life.

But all was not lost! Just last week, another mom spoke up, offering to oversee a second Pen Pal Exchange, since she had missed out on the first go-round and was hoping to participate on behalf of her two littles.

This time, I jumped right in.

We were matched up with a little boy named N, who is just about a year older than Turtle. 

We got right to work.

Obviously, Turtle's not REALLY writing yet, so I did the actual "letter."

In crayon. For authenticity.

We included the letter, a family picture of us from Dollywood, a pack of stickers and one of Turtle's lovely watercolor originals.

Turtle couldn't wait to get out to the mailbox.

In other news, when the hell did he get tall enough to get in the mailbox all by himself?

He even knew to put the flag up. 

This kid. He amazes me more and more each day.

We are excited for N to receive his mail and hope he loves it. We also can't wait to find out more about him and his family.

It's a really great activity for little ones. They love getting things in the mail and it's a great way to "meet" and build relationships with faraway friends.

Give it a try and report back!

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{ we're going on a trip: clingman's dome and penguins }

The thing is, you can't go to The Great Smoky Mountains without actually seeing the mountains.


It's an unavoidable fact.


Even if you're a nature-disliker, such as myself.


Clingman's Dome is the spot where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Great Smokies. It's supposed to be one of the most incredible views, depending on visibility. On a bad day, you can't see five feet in front of your face. On a good day, you can see for miles in all directions.


Let's ooh and aah, shall we?


We planned on an early morning. Poor MacGyver. He's not a fan of being up with the sun. 


The thought was to hit up The Donut Friar and then, properly sustained, to head into The Great Smoky National Park, drive all the way and then hike the 1/2 mile to Clingman's Dome.


Easy peasy.


The Donut Friar has been in business for over 40 years. 

And for 40 years, they have clearly been making the most ridiculously good doughnuts.


I wish we could have brought boxes of them back with us.

We each had our favorites.

And it was the best quick breakfast I've had in ages.

Then we were off.


The drive to the top of the mountain was hellish. Twisty. Turny. Narrow. I hated every second of it and I had my foot constantly on my imaginary passenger brake.


After about an hour, we parked. 


We were ready to go!

So was Turtle.

His enthusiasm didn't last long. It was a pretty steep hike. All paved, and fortunately, no wildlife of which to speak, but touch for a 3 year old.


It was, however, breathtaking.

Who's a lucky duck who got a ride? Who is?

Thank goodness we're going the right way!

On their way to the lookout point.

And oh, the view.

Loving it!

So gorgeous.

The walk back to the car was significantly easier. But still beautiful.

We got back to town in time for lunch, and devoured an enormous meal near these sunflowers.

And then we went back to the aquarium.


MacGyver had booked Turtle and me for a Penguin Experience.


Swoon.


We got to spend about 45 minutes in a private classroom, with a real live penguin, learning all about her (Maureen, that is), and petting her and loving her.

Turtle was far less interested than me, and after this picture, said "I don't like penguins; I like sharks" and exited stage left to find MacGyver and go back to the shark tunnel.


Whatever. More penguin for me.


I will tell you this. Penguins are soft. And fluffy. And slappy. Lots of violent attitude wrapped up in a fabulously sweet package. How can you not adore that?

But that's not all, folks!


We had one more stop for the day. The Three Bears General Store.


Which, despite being one of the largest collection of retail kitsch I have ever seen, boasted live bears.

Rawr.


We fed them apples and grapes, through little feeding chutes. And Turtle could have watched them for days.

We capped off our day with some homemade ice cream and hit it back to the cabin. 


Next week, we'll share our visit to Dollywood and say goodbye to Tennessee.

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{ on this week }

There are days (and sometimes weeks, if I'm being 100% honest), when I want to pull on my yoga pants and one of MacGyver's comfiest t-shirts, pull the covers over my head, and just not come out.

Or move.

Or think.

Obviously, with the whole three pugs and a no-longer-baby, it's an impractical thought (and clearly a selfish one), but hey. I'm human. I can be impractical AND selfish from time to time.

Rest assured, unless I've been incapacitated with flu, I've never acted on this urge. Nor will I. Probably.

But this week is testing my resolve.

We'll start with Saturday night. Which is technically last night, but play along.

We had just come home from an awesome birthday party. Swimming and playtime and cake, oh my! All of us were pooped and MacGyver took Turtle outside for a few last minutes of fun before shower and bed time and the Hurricanes game.

What we were not counting on were the wasps.

The yellow-jacketed bastards had crafted a nest in the apse of Turtle's swing set. When he climbed into the playhouse to slide, one brave insect dared sting his sweet little earlobe.

Cue hysterical screaming and crying and all manner of awful. Despite icing the afflicted area and dosing him with Benadryl, Turtle's ear swelled up to about three times its normal size. 

Don't cross the Mommy. 

While MacGyver tended to our son, I got my handy dandy can of Raid Wasp and Hornet Killer. I sprayed those wasps from a safe-ish distance of eight feet (muttering DIE, mother-cluckers, DIE!) before sprinting back to the house and watching the wasps topple from their saturated nest and expire from the safety of the kitchen window.

It's possible that I went back several minutes later and bludgeoned the bodies and the nest with Turtle's Fisher Price golf club.

I'll let you take bets on that part.

Sunday was better, despite the tragic double-whammy of Jaguars and Dolphins losses. Thank God for my fantasy team. And Miles Austin. But Turtle's ear was back to normal and despite the fact that MacGyver had woken me up at 2am regarding some phantom gasoline smell and, let's face it, that makes sleep pretty much hopeless, it was a good day.

Monday was good for a while. Until the late-afternoon thunderstorm. When Molly started acting weird.

She's a tough cookie, that pug. She doesn't cry or whimper or put up any kind of fuss when she's not feeling well. 

So when she started spinning and then dropping flat on her belly and kicking her hind legs, wash, rinse, repeat... we figured something was up.

I'll gloss over what we all (vet included) thought it was. Some dogs need a little extra help expressing certain glands in their bodies, and it can lead to discomfort and worse if not handled. 

But after an expression, she was still behaving the same way. So Dr. R. ordered up some x-rays.

The news is not fabulous. It seems Miss Molly has something called Cervical (Neck) Disc Disease. The vertebrae at the top of her neck is narrowing, which is apparently very, very bad. I'll be honest. I really couldn't read through the paperwork. It was full of horrible words like "paralysis" and "surgery" and it's kind of hard to process all that with tears in one's eyes.

On the plus side, it seems we've caught it early. We can't cure it, but we can manage it with some muscle relaxants and keep her on restricted activity to try to keep the narrowing from continuing. No jumping on or off the couch or beds. No climbing up and down the stairs. 

Molly, it must be noted, is not super on board with this plan, despite her prescription meds. If she continues acting up, she'll be crated, and she's going to be less on board with that. I'm hoping we don't get to that point. But I guess, only time will tell.

Her attitude, of course, remains untouched.

Still sassy and spunky as ever, that one.

Long story short? It's not the best week ever.

I'm trying to keep it all in perspective. We're all ok. For the most part. We have a roof over our heads and we have a lot of love. Turtle's all recovered from when the "bug got me" and Molly is trying really hard to do what we're asking of her. 

I'd still take a day to hide under the covers if it was offered, but I'm trying not to complain too much.

Keep Molly in your thoughts, if you can. She's a feisty little pug and isn't loving her loss of independence right now. Hopefully, she hangs in there and we don't ever have to talk about her narrowing vertebrae again. 

Any advice, support and suggestions are welcome to help us deal with this. This little girl is only seven years old and she's got a lot of puggy loving to share.

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{ training tuesday: 9/20 edition }

Interestingly, biking has been going well.

It's been good for my knee and I'm getting a lot of mileage out of an hour. Pun intended. 

I've also decided to ramp things up a little with the 100 Workout. 

I saw it on Pinterest.

Where all great ideas are born. Didn't you know that?

Anyway, it goes a liitle something like this:

100 jumping jacks

90 crunches

80 squats

70 leg lifts

60 jumping jacks

50 crunches

40 squats

30 leg lifts

20 jumping jacks

run for 10 minutes.

or for 1 mile.

or, in my case, bike 8-12 miles.

Whatever works. 

The entire thing doesn't take very long - maybe 10-15 minutes? And that's vital in my busy schedule. If I want to extend my workout, I add in some weights for a strength training circuit. 


What programs do you use to get the most punch for your time?

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{ what if i'm doing it wrong? }

The other day, I woke up in the middle of the night.

As I often do.

You see, my brain and I are engaged in a constant battle. 


I want to sleep.


It wants to torture me.


There are no winners.


But this time, when I woke up, I was really in a bit of a panic.


I thought: Turtle is three year old.


I thought: What if I've done it wrong?


We've only got one shot at this. And while I really think we work hard to be great parents, and we are constantly evolving in our roles, I still worry.


From what I understand, the constant worry is part of the job.


I can accept that.


What I have a hard time with, in the wee hours of morning, are the what ifs.


What if we're doing it wrong?
What if I'm not good enough?
What if I don't make him feel safe enough?
What if I don't challenge him enough?
What if I'm not really so good at this mom thing?
What if I'm doing more harm than good?


Of course, the dark seems to magnify all these doubts.


I'm generally not one to dwell. Much. But three years have gone by. I know we're not going to nail it every single time, but it would be great to be getting some kind of guidance. 


Maybe a quarterly check in?


Someone to say "Hey, you're doing great. You're keeping the positive energy high, but let's try to be a little more patient on those whiny days, mkay? Kay. Break!"


I'm just thinking out loud here.


Or writing. If you want to split hairs.


I know I'm being silly. I know this is all so ridiculous. 


But I also know my brain likes to mess with me.


I guess it's a good thing to have some self-doubt. It keeps me accountable, in a way. 


I just really hope we're doing it (mostly) right. So that in 10, 15, 20 years, when I wake up in the middle of the night, my brain looking for ways to rattle me, my heart will tell me that we've done ok.


Fingers crossed.

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{ going on a trip: the aquarium and star cars }

Day 1 in Gatlinburg dawned bright and beautiful.

Can I just say, the weather there was amazing? 50s and 60s in the wee hours of morning and night, 70s and 80s in the daytime.

But I digress.

We had big plans for Day One, starting with....

The Ripley Aquarium of the Smokies.

We had heard RAVE reviews about this place.

Rave.

And we were NOT disappointed.

Especially not Turtle.

There were fish everywhere.

And all other kinds of sea creatures, too.

I think the biggest draw, at least for our little one, was what I can only call The Shark Tunnel.

It was a length of see-through tunnel through a lagoon of sharks, sawfish, barracudas, and a ginormous sea tortoise. You could just stand there and be surrounded. It was eerily beautiful.

At intervals, divers entered the tank to clean. They were great at interacting with the spectators.

One of my favorite parts was the children's interactive area.

Kids could pop up in cylindrical tanks for an inside view of the different species of fish.

Of course, the "Nemo" fish were the biggest hit.

Rawr. See my shark, Nemo?

I thought these jellyfish were exquisite.

Next up? Penguins!!!

I loved how everything is so easily accessible to the children. It's so important for them and helps keep education fun.

One of these things are not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong.

They're just so cute! (More on the penguins next week. Promise).

Aw. Penguin.

These full-wall aquariums were gorgeous.

I couldn't stop with the jellies. They were all so mesmerizing.

This Daddy loves his boy.

We left the aquarium to grab lunch at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. It was decent. I had the sausage sandwich while MacGyver tried the chicken reuben. He was underwhelmed; I was satisfied. It wasn't the best food, but it was good, and the atmosphere was charming.

Our tummies full, we wandered through Gatlinburg, taking in the sights.

I really wanted to get inside the Hollywood Star Cars Museum. 

Rumor had it... my favorite car in the whole wide world was there.

Plus. I really love pretty cars.

General Lee - an icon.

Turtle with the Adam West Batmobile. He has no idea how cool this moment is. None. Pow.

He DID think this T-Rex was cool. Until the "roar" sound effects started up. But he would never forgive me, later in life, if I didn't get this picture.

KITT. When The Hoff was fabulous.

And oh. 

There she is.

Eleanor.

You may know her from a little thing called Gone In 60 Seconds, starring the ever-intriguing Nicolas Cage.

The 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500 that stole my heart. And the movie.

And my heart. Did I mention that?

I may have drooled.

And the bestest part ever? I got to sit in her. Right where Nicolas Cage sat. 

Swoon.

I will never forget how magical that felt. Nor will I forget the knowledge that my legs seemed slightly longer than Nic's, based on how far up the seat was pulled.

Just saying.

I only wish I could have taken her for a wee, little spin.

Dare to dream.

It was incredible. 

We had plans to go out to dinner after we got back to the cabin and got Turtle a nap, but... well....

You know what they say about the best-laid plans.

Maybe it was all the activity. Maybe it was the fresh mountain air. I'm not entirely sure. But Turtle, even after a few hours of hard sleep, was in absolutely no shape to sit in a restaurant. It was kind of a shame because there were so many cute places along the main road that would have been great to try, but... it was take out for us. Fortunately, we had a nice kitchen and dining area, and we could bring in some wine and just relax in the cabin. 

Fair enough. 

Sometimes, you just have to roll with the flow.

Next Thursday, I'll tell you about our great nature adventure and the best doughnuts I've had in over 20 years!

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