Congratulations Ben!!

I could not be happier to finally be able to make this post: Ben quit working full time at Primary Capital and his last day was Friday. So I guess you could say today is the first day of the rest of our lives!

Ben will be giving some regular hours on an consulting basis to Primary Capital but his #1 work priority is Georgia Solar now, as it should be. We're really excited, nervous, thrilled, anxious to see where the next few months takes us. But I know that with Ben working full time on what he wants to that doors are getting ready to swing wide open for him.

I'm so proud of the way he has worked and juggled and balanced work, fatherhood and husbandhood. I think it's been harder and more stressful than anyone could realize, including myself. Because he's never complained and just pushed through these past 2 years of transition.

So GREAT BIG congrats to Ben! And if you know anyone who needs solar...I gotta guy.

Fall Fun!

Last weekend I planned a "football widows" get together / playdate with a few of our friends. Thinking I'd be a football widow that day and not a solar widow of course! Ben and Craig were working in Blue Ridge on a solar job and poor Ben had to miss another football game. But the girls got together anyway and had a great time. We ate and laughed and laughed and ate, but not half as much as the kids! Jake and Matty were laughing at who knows what hysterically on the sofa together. I guess it was an inside joke?

Then the next day Matty and I drove to Woodstock and met Amanda and Ansley and James and Bella for a Pumpkin Patch morning and hay ride. It was so fun and the weather was perfect. But oh Matty was everywhere! He ran, he dashed, he zigged, he zagged, and I was exhausted afterwards! Hard to keep up with and juggle a 12 pound pumpkin too! Luckily James helped me carry or we might still be in the pumpkin patch :) But Matty was adorable and tried to lift each pumpkin! He also tried to eat a lot of them, I did my best to discourage this activity.

Look at those kissin' cousins! Could not be any cuter!

This past weekend was another jam packed one. One of my bestest friends, Trish and her hubby Matt, held their 1st annual Chili Cook-Off. Had a great time being with the Spauldings and meeting their awesome friends. The Spauldings won their own cook-off. But who knows, maybe next years I'll give them a run for their money! Matty had his own party too. While we were at ours, we went Matty on to the MacIsaac's Tailgate party! We hated to miss most of it but were glad to sort of bookend our night with more friends. Sounds like the kiddies had a great time and Matty found a new girlfriend in Hilary's friend Casey...uh oh!

Then yesterday we finally got around to carving that lovely hand selected pumpkin of ours. Matty was quite as into mushing up the nasty innards as I'd imagined, but that was ok too...less for me to clean up :)

First Getaway

Ben's fraternity brother Jib and his longtime girlfriend, Kristin, finally tied the knot in early October. We had been so looking forward to getting out of Dodge and just relaxing with our friends! We knew we'd miss Matty so much, and we did. But it was amazing to get away and be goofy with our friends, sans toddlers, like we used to all the time. Oh it was a blast! Hanging by the pool sipping daquiris and "Miami Vice"s and playing boys-against-girls volley ball (girls winning of course!) The wedding was fun and the guys even managed to, of course, find the Auburn game on in the bar at the receptiong and not misss a play. Was a total blast and the weekend went by too fast!

But while we were in Tampa, having a Floridariffic time ourselves, Matty, Mama O and Daddy O were having a pretty great time too! Patsy had mailed a giant box of surprises to our house which remained sealed til we left. Oh the fun they had! New toys, playing outside, park, the downtown square Scarecrows...everything PLUS the kitchen sink!

Happy Fall!

Since I last updated, Daddy celebrated his 65th birthday just as he'd requested: surrounded by his loving wife, children and grandchildren in Highlands. It was the first time in quite a long time we'd all been together under one roof given our hectic schedules. We had a great weekend together, lots of chances to just chill and relax together since the weather left all other activities to be impossible! Terrential downpours all weekend meant books, naps, football, fires, wine and trying to explain to an 18-month old why he can't go "side" when it's lightning. But you know you'll never hear complain about doing nothing! And fortunately, the sun did break through long enough for us to get a great family picture to mark the occasion. Many thanks to Kevin for a great shot! PS - do you see the red hair on this child!

As you all know by now, those downpours continued not only in NC but into Georgia the whole ride home, into that night and well into the next few days. Luckily, we were unaffected directly by the flooding in Atlanta. Matty's school did have to close on Tuesday, like all others in town, and while I had planned on taking a personal day to chill with my son, work was such that I felt I needed to head in. So our good friend Caroline rescued me once again and kept Matty for the afternoon while I braved the back roads to head into work. Matty and Jake had a great time! Caroline even called Hilary and Davis to add to their fun and the boys enjoyed their partying together. As I recall, Matty crashed early that evening!

Look how happy this little guy is with gadgets...SO his father's son!

Friday night we were super excited to get a spend the night party with Jake, so his parents could go out to celebrate his Mommy's 29th birthday (again). Matty and Jake play so well together, it is terribly cute. And Matty ran to the door when the bell rang to greet his buddy. They were adorable in matching pjs, no that was not on purpose, watching Seasme Street before bed.

This fall weather has me inspired to dig in the dirt and do some work on the house. This weekend Mimi and Bop came up to help me "smook" some in our newly painted dining room and while the chairs still need recovering, it's a marked improvement from where we were. On Sunday I spent many hours prepping badly neglected beds and finally doing some planting in the yard. Doesn't look like much, but it's a start and that's enough for me right now!