The Suits Sisters

Happy 3rd anniversary  to our cozy blue house with a red door 

True Story: A story that should start with "You probably had to be there..." but try to imagine... Last night at 3:30AM Baby Suits was sad and hungry (Sleep training officially began today. More on that later, but I am wearing my Superman shirt and it seems to be working) When she wakes up, I normally bring her back to bed to feed her unless... A) I'm feeling super nice and don't want to wake Kent up or B) Kent has a busy day coming up and I don't want to wake him It's usually always B. Like last night, the reason was B and I stumbled down the steps with sad Baby Suits. Whenever I stumble down the steps, I always think, "How creepy would it be to see somebody walk across my front porch. Or worse, what if somebody stuck their face in the window and looked at me." Not sure why I think this every.single.time.  And if you're a local reader, it wouldn't be a funny prank to play on me. My heart would literally stop beat

Goal: Homemade Braided White Bread Level of mess {to clean up}: Medium (so many bowls) Eatable: Yes Bottom Line: EPIC FAIL  I set out to make homemade bread this week. I'm a super-novice when it comes to bread making. My dough turned out beautiful and while I kneaded it, I felt like a baking pro. My hopes were up for an hour while I waited for it to rise...until it didn't. FAIL. It just sat like a big, fat, lazy lump.  Although we didn't end up with soft, fluffy, warm bread to slather butter on, in the end there were two highlights... 1. African Mama saved the dough when she fried it to make delish BLTs 2. I met a sweet old lady on the baking aisle at Walmart. She was buying bread flour and seemed just as clueless as I was.  Tips from all the accomplished Susie Homemakers out there? 

You know it's time to move to another state when... you run into a guy from your 9th grade English class working at the local Starbucks. On Earth Day we hugged a tree and took our reusable mugs to Starbucks for free coffee. Only a few Starbucks were participating this year and we knew ours was one of them. However, somehow the workers at Starbucks were caught off guard. Kent stood in line for forever- long enough for me to get the "Ohgeezthisisawkwardlet'sjustleave" feeling, but it paid off in the end when our "World's Best Dad" tumbler and candy cane mug were filled up for free.  please note the coffee grinds floating all over the top of my candy cane mug. kent graciously plucked most of them out.  And to top things off, the guy from 9th grade English recognized me (after making a coffee grind pool party in my mug) and we had the obligatory awkward conversation.  Free coffee cheers to that! 

Dear Baby, Last week we went to Target by ourselves, survived our first road trip, kept your 4 young cousins from accidentally stepping on you/dropping you/etc., AND went to`church for the first time. We deserved a medal, but settled for a cozy Sunday afternoon where you caught up on your PEOPLE magazine reading and we all took a nap together while watching golf. High-five, Mom

That awkward moment when none of your clothes fit...

"So you're tellin' me I'm 1 month old today?"   "Not sure how I feel about that. Gimme a second..."  "YAYYYYYY!!!"

HAPPY NATIONAL SIBLING DAY honorary blog post complete with old photos and unrelated memories ... to Annie Practicing more makeup and prom worthy hairstyles than I can count   ...to Benji Throwing banana peels at mailboxes on the way to high school  ...to Wizzo  Laughing until we almost wet our twin beds at Gran's house over Summer Break

Today marks the last day of our Post Baby/ Post Africa Staycation. It's hard to explain... you just had to live it, man. (Said in our best hippie voice) We were an endless cycle of eating and sleeping. We high-fived each other if we took showers that actually included washing our hair and we didn't even cook half of the meals. If we weren't eating or sleeping, we were playing on iPads, watching Downton Abbey or holding the baby.  Today was our last hoorah because Big Poppa Chuck comes in tomorrow. Mom will have to become a missionary again with an actual to-do list (and not just the multiple hypothetical ones we made up in our heads) and "I just  had a baby" can only last so long (don't worry, I intend to use it for at least a few more weeks).  To celebrate our last hoorah, Ma and I went shopping for the afternoon (4 hours!) and we ate Papa Johns for dinner. YumO.  Disclaimer: During the Staycation, Kent continued to attend his classes and was only la

Dear Baby Suits, Today is THE day.  April 6th. Your arrival day! It was on all of my medical forms and ultrasound screens. And everyone's favorite question to ask was "When is the baby due?". April 6th.  It was our goal and our light at the end of the tunnel.  All along I snapped pictures in the bathroom mirror.   Some just for memory sake and some to send to Grandma and Grandpa.    You grew. I grew. And we inched closer to April 6th. Today we took our last bump picture together. ( T hey're a lot harder to take with you wriggling outside of my body) If I'm being honest, Baby Su, I would've changed a lot of things about your arrival. It didn't happen at all like I thought it would, but I'm glad we've had 4 extra weeks with you! Love, Mom

don't let the suit fool you  there's about a foot of extra space in the arms and legs and if you flip the legs up to her head, she looks super flexible  I am way too postpartum for... This commercial This piece of writing and This country song with sappy lryics like this... Hey pretty girl, you did so good Our baby's got your eyes And a fighter's heart like I knew she would Hey pretty girl, you did so good Hey pretty girl, when I see the light And it's my time to go I'm gonna thank the Lord for a real good life A pretty little girl and a beautiful wife

The countdown to Anna's college graduation is officially ON. One month from today we'll dress up, pile into multiple cars, drive to the coast and sit through tons of random names being called out  her graduation ceremony. We'll high-five her because after 4 years, 1 change of majors,different jobs, different roommates, room color scheme changes (and many different bedspreads to go with it) tests, papers and weekend trips home...she's entering the REAL WORLD <insert scary music here>.  A nd how many people can say that their parents moved to Africa in the middle of their college career? Go Anna. Move In Day of freshman year, I think...

pssst.... there's something behind you...