Book Club's Visit from Author Wendy Wax

I've been a part of a book club for awhile now, the Book B*tches. I call it "Alison's" book club, because my cousin Alison is the real motivator and ring leader. I'm the token slacker that comes for the food and wine, but struggles to finish every book. Not because I don't know how to read, or because the books aren't great, but because my sitting quiet time is usually spent doing silly things on the computer, like.....blogging.

Well, Alison (with the idea from Jaclyn) convinced a local Atlanta author, Wendy Wax, to attend our January book club, which happened to be at my house. Holy PRESSURE!!! Not only did I have to finish (which I did at 3:00pm the day of the meeting), but I had to read studiously to lead thought provoking conversation with the author herself. That's a different kind of day when your brain has basically turned to mush from toddler whining, baby snot sucking, dirty diaper consistency checking, and general mother of 2 small children attention span (or lack there of).

Okay, I'm just being dramatic. It was lots of fun to prepare for and the book was great! We read The Accidental Bestseller that follows 4 authors through their friendship, writing expereinces and personal lives. It was a great story and interesting look into the world of writing and publishing. Then in our discussion, Wendy gave us even more insight into her world and journey as an author. It kind of made me want to write a book. But not really. I'll stick to blogging where I can write horribly and use all types of improper grammar, like..................this. But as long as I include a picture of my insanely cute children you'll keep coming back :)

Whoever is hosting the group creates a menu that ties to the book somehow. I went with the breakfast for dinner because Tanya, one of the characters works the morning shift at her local diner. Dressing up is not a hostessing requirement, but I thought it would earn me extra credit with the teacher, I mean author.

Don't I look good as a blond???

Here's the whole group with Wendy (we are missing a few girls)...

Back row: Mia, Kriya, Sarah, Jaclyn, Amanda, & Bree (who woke up after an hour of sleeping a refused to go back to sleep. She was teething AND knew there was a party going on!)

Front row: Alison, Wendy, Alyson, and Angela

CHEERS to a great group of ladies that challenge me to expand my reading horizons past PEOPLE Magazine and Facebook status updates! And thanks to Wendy for coming to meet with us!

Beau's Birthday & Cornhole Tournament

We did a cornhole tournament at our house for Beau's 30th birthday 2 years ago. Remember THIS? And since it was so much fun, we decided to have another one for 32 :) We moved the venue to Beau's parents house because they have a much better set-up for a big outdoor party. You would really think we play Cornhole all the time, but to be honest we had to search for our boards and order new bags because we couldn't find ours.

We stepped it up a notch and drew teams to keep them mostly boy/girl teams at random, ordered real trophies, and "leveled" the playing field putting up 7 sets out on the tennis court.

It was absolutely freezing outside, so we had fires and heaters everywhere. So many in fact, that a neighbor called the fire department! Firemen were trying to bust through the back fence in search of the fire...and then they found it. Beau's dad invited them to the party, but they declined :) The double elimination bracket was very complex, and I still don't quite understand it. But it seemed to work!

Me and my birthday man!

Beau and his partner Brooke made it all the way to the Championship game without losing, so their opponents Stephen and Megan (from the losers bracket) had to beat them twice.But somehow Stephen (DEFENDING CHAMP) and darkhorse Megan were able to win TWICE and crush Beau's birthday dreams ;) It was a good match though!

Don't tell Beau, but I'm kind of glad he didn't win. Otherwise people would think everyone just let him win because it's his birthday. Shhhh...Stuart and Ragan made 3rd place...Beau and Brooke get 2nd...And the Champions (celebrating while Beau is booing)Stephen and Megan take 1st place!All the winners together...Beau ordered a few extra fun trophies including "Worst Cornholer", given to Sarah. I didn't see her play, but rumor has it she never even made it close to the boards.And then we had a "Most Tipsy Cornholer", but no one seemed to be quite drunk enough to be awarded. So my mom, who hadn't had a drop, decided to act like a fool just to get a trophy. Well done Nonna!My brother, Nathan, and his partner Sarah placed 4th overall. And since he didn't get a trophy, I gave him a token corn necklace to make him feel better :)After the competition, instead of visiting the bar...we all went for HOT DONUTS!

There's nothing better than hot Krispie Kreme doughnuts! Gotta love 'em!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAU! I pray you have many many more happy and healthy years to come :) Love you!

Hide & Seek

Wade likes to decide when/where his picture gets taken, so getting him to change his mind (for or against) is a tough job. It takes all kinds of bribes, jokes, games, and the remaining amount of energy I have left for the day :)

Here he's insisting I take his picture instead of Bree's....complete with Mardi Gras beads, miniature flashlight, and #7. I couldn't get him to move...
Then when I really wanted him to sit next to his sister (now in matching Mardi Gras beads), he refused. So I used his favorite game to get him interested. We play Hide & Seek about 132 times a day and although he's not very good at choosing hiding spots, he LOVES it. He loves the counting (9,10,11-teen, 12-teen...), he loves the sneaking around in the dark, he loves to find you and then hide in that exact spot. You get the picture.

So I started counting and gave him the idea of where to hide...

Me: "Ready or not here I come!"

Wade: "Here I am Mommy!"

Then he moved on to a new (completely obvious) hiding spot...Just another afternoon of fun at the Benich's!

Cousin Slumb-over

After many months of talking about it, we finally had the cousins over for a slumber party (to celebrate MLK day). My goal was to spoil them rotten and finally be the cool Aunt. They always call me Aunt Sheesha, not an insult I know, but it would be nice to have my own identity.

Mission NOT accomplished, but I will keep trying.

We missed Colt, but had fun with the rest of the crew. Let me first say I did not take on this task by myself. Enzo & Diane brought Caleb and Cae over and stayed through dinner. Alicia came by and we convinced her to stay the night (sucker!). Beau did all he could until bedtime but then had to bail for a full night's sleep (it was a regular work day for him). Nonna came with Wyatt and Lauren for the night. And since I need to be up with Bree, Nonna was the lucky one to actually get to sleep in the fort with the boys....he he he.

We started with arts and crafts...surprise surprise for those who know me well :) Then after lots of playing, we lured them to the couch with glow sticks and popcorn for a movie. Bree hung in as long as she could!

Then we set-up camp in the fort that G.G. built! Next time he should be the one to sleep up there with the kiddos! :) Lauren did move to the packnplay in another room with Sheesha, but she wanted to be a part of the boys club as long as possible....

Wade and Cae were the night owls of the group and wouldn't stop playing with their glow sticks. So we took them away and then it was just lots of tossing, turning, and bathrooms breaks until Wade and Wyatt were up and ready for more fun around 6:30am! YIKES! Nonna was on the front lines, but I was secondary with the monitor for the room. So needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. But it was so fun and we will definitely do it again soon!!!

Bree is 7 months!

Our baby girl has officially entered a new stage of baby life. She's past the phase when they don't move too much, are pretty portable, don't really have their own agenda, and can be contained in any space/contraption. So we're now entering new territory!
Miss Bree is sitting up, but not yet to the point that I can just plop her down and assume she'll stay that way. Even when Wade's not around, I have to make sure she's cushioned and protected for WHEN she falls over. Any distraction or head twist shifts her weight and she will eventually topple over.
She can tuck her legs under her and rock back and forth. So crawling days are closing in, and I don't think I'm anywhere near ready. As I look around the living room at the moment, there are lamps to be pulled off tables, sharp fireplace tools, and small bits of something unidentifable to choke on. Yikes!

Do you see Wade looming in the distance? He must sense that one of his trains is getting drooled on without his permission...

Wade has started calling her "Baby Girl" instead of "Baby Bree". I know it's because that's what I call her sometimes. I will try and get a video of how excited he is when he gets her up from naps. He starts talking in high pitched baby jibberish saying, "hey baby girl! you sleep good?". With the great snow we had this past week, Bree had her first real snow experience. We pulled out Wade's baby snow suit (it almost fit) and plopped her down.

I. LOVE. THIS. GIRL!

Bree really likes to eat and is doing great with baby food. When she gets hungry, she can DOWN some food. But we're having trouble getting her to take a sippy cup or drink anything. She's even fighting taking bottles right now. She's still nursing great so it's fine, but it makes leaving for long periods of time difficult (and of course...we recently booked our first trip away for the end of February!). We have started giving her this feeder bag with pears, and I dip it in water for her to suck out. She likes it! And since it's the only way for her to get any extra fluid, we'll keep it up!Bree continues to be such a good baby. She is flexible and can adjust to schedule changes pretty well. Generally, she stayed entertained by Wade, simple toys, and even just the dogs walking around. We have some trouble at night when she'll have awake spells or crying fits, but otherwise she really is the best baby.

Teeth are coming in quick! She's gnawing on everything and nothing seems to help her. I'm about to borrow Cali's rawhides to see if those will give her some relief. She giggles and squeals cracking herself up. When daddy walks in from work, she definitely flirts with him. I think she just might be a daddy's girl!

But I get to claim her first word as MAMMA! Or aleast her first repeated intentional syllable :) She loves to say "muh-muh-muh-muh" over and over again to get attention. It's usually a whiny "come move/feed/nap me" kind of babble, but I'll take it. Many others have witnessed it, so I promise I'm not making it up. And considering it took forever for Wade to say "MAMA", I am so excited!

We are so blessed with this smiling, loving, cuddly little girl! Happy 7 months Bree!