I love growing sunflowers. Last year, though, my late planting resulted in poor looking sunflowers stalks. The one that survived only grew 3 feet tall and never bloomed. My friend Meghan, on the other hand, grew a monster in her front yard. I’ve never seen such a tall sunflower! It was beautiful! So, I decided that this year I would properly plant seeds this spring and hope to grow one taller than hers. Thus, the 2008 Sunflower Competition was born. The winner gets a good bottle of wine from the other. Then, Rob, a fellow Canadian friend, also joined in. Well, today my first sunflower bloomed! I have 6 more stalks growing tall but I fear I haven’t babied them enough with Miracle Grow. I didn’t measure it, but I’m 5′7″ tall so it looks like I might be buying that wine…
My first sunflower blooms... not as tall as Meghan's.
In case you missed Nick’s big head on the TODAY show this morning (you can watch it by clicking HERE), be sure to check out the new show American Originals: Budweiser. It premieres tonight on CNBC at 9PM and 12AM Eastern Time. The show will re-air at the following times/dates (All Times are in ET): Sunday, July 20th 10PM, Sunday, July 27th 12AM, Monday, July 28th 9PM/12AM. The show was filmed before the InBev takeover deal, so the title of the show is a bit ironic now. And just to answer everyone’s concern, we’re not really worried about Nick’s job security. I think we’re more concerned about possible negative benefit changes and other budget-cutting measures, even though InBev promises better bonuses. We’ll see, I guess. Anyway, below is a synopsis about tonight’s show. Nick’s hoping his face makes another TV appearance for his acting-career resume.
American Originals: Budweiser taps into the beer industry, as CNBC reveals how Anheuser-Busch cultivated its Budweiser brand to remain a leader even as it was losing market share. CNBC gained unprecedented access in order to show viewers how Budweiser executives built the brand and how they respond to one of their most challenging issues yet: how to battle relentless competition from exotic brands from overseas and microbreweries as well as favorite local brands and other national beers. The fate of the last of the independent American beer brands is at stake and CNBC shows you what is being done to maintain market share lead.
Today is a perfect day in Saint Louis. No rain and 80 degrees! Xander enjoyed watching the colorful lights of our fireworks and didn’t seem to care about the loud noises coming from the sky. Hope everyone had a great 4th!!
It’s been a long time since I posted a video of Xander. Here’s one I filmed this morning. Xander LOVES his Daddy and anything Daddy does. It’s like he’s mesmerized by Nick. For example, he likes watching Nick push the lawn mower. When Nick’s finished, Xander goes over to the mower and tries, unsuccessfully, to push it. So this morning, Nick allowed Xander to ‘help’ mow the yard. It was super cute.
Logan left for the Middle East earlier this month and today he finally got a chance to call my mom to say: “I’m here.” He’s presently in Kuwait waiting to fly north into Iraq. In case you didn’t know, Logan’s stoplossed (click HERE to read how the army screwed him). Anyway, he’s been real sick since he left the USA (pink eye in both eyes and a horrible cough/cold) so he’sready to settle into his new home (aka Baghdad). Apparently living out of a duffel bag isn’t fun. I’ll keep everyone posted.
I think Nick secretly dreads when I say: “I have an idea!” Usually that statement is followed by an activity that involves extreme manual labor, a ton of time, and maybe some blood, sweat, and tears. Okay, no blood or tears yet but definitely a nasty amount of sweat. So what was my idea? A lovely new patio area in our backyard! The back of our house faces west so we have lovely sunset views, but it gets painfully hot and our unshaded back deck and yard are not usable until the sun goes down. In addition, we have poor drainage in parts of our yard so in the spring and after a storm we have a very wet, muddy yard. Now that we have a very active child, I thought it would be nice to have a shaded, brick or cement patio under our wood deck. That way we could use our backyard in the hot summer afternoons or after it rains. I plan to put Xander’s sandbox on the patio and some chairs. It’ll also offer a flat surface for his pool. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Well, the good wife that I am, I suggested we get ‘estimates’ from local contractors. We had several contractors come out to give us a price for pavers, brick, and cement patios. The cheapest estimate was $8,000!! In today’s housing market, that money would be a complete waste so we said ‘no thanks, dudes.’ Instead, Nick got to work. We opted for a patio made of pavers stones. He’s not just setting them on top of the grass. Instead, he’s making the effort to install them correctly (digging down 6+ inches, adding a gravel layer, making slopes etc etc). This summer project has taken up 3 weekends now, and thankfully he has had a ton of help from neighbors and friends. See his progress below.
Back of our house. This is the “before” photo.
We rented this big digger from the local hardware store. Nick felt like a man this day.
The hole. We had piles and piles of dirt. We pawned it off on friends and neighbors.
Next, Nick shovels gravel in the hole with the help of a neighbor. We borrowed his compactor machine to press it down. We’re currently waiting for a second shipment of gravel so Nick can finish this part of the patio-building process!
I can now cross-off “Run a 5K” off my “100-Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die” list. Yes, I have one of those lists. ‘Get married,’ ‘Have a baby’, and ‘Go zip-lining,’ have been crossed off already. I’m still working on ‘visit all 7 continents,’ ‘learn to scuba dive’, ‘live in another country’ etc. I started training for my 1st 5K in April. Xander has enjoyed his daily runs in the jogging stroller, watching the passing cars and playing peek-a-book with the stroller’s sunshade. Jogging with Xander isn’t easy, I find it difficult to push his 22 lb body and the stroller up the steep hills near our house. I burn extra calories that way, but I’m not helping my ‘time.’ Anyway, I felt ready and energized for this weekend’s 5k.
I chose to participate in the Susan J. Komen Race for the Cure with the Anheuser-Busch group. As many of you know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in May so the race had extra meaning for me. I ran for you Mom! So, Nick, Xander, and I got up early and drove downtown this morning. Anheuser chartered buses from the brewery to the middle of the race activities, plus they handed out free water and 180 energy drinks. NICE! They even had a Clydesdale out for photographs. Xander kept calling the horse a ‘dog.’ It was funny. Anyway, the race itself was packed with spectators, racers, walkers, and survivors (who wore solid pink shirts). The news said that this year the event expected over 70,000 people!! And, I believe it! The first 1/4 of a mile was shoulder-to-shoulder and it was impossible for me to actually ‘run.’ But, I managed to weave around the walkers and strollers. It was great to see all the spectators lining the streets, holding out their hands to give you a high-five as you ran by. Local businesses stood on the sidelines handing out water and cheering the runners/walkers on. Bands were playing, cheerleaders yelling, and local radio stations encouraging everyone. There were ‘mist’ stations along the way which was nice since there were 0 clouds in the sky and the sun was fierce. I’m proud to say I ran the entire 5k and I finished under 30 minutes even with the slow start. Nick & Xander were waiting for me at the finish line. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year!
Here’s a blurb on the race from the Komen website:
One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime. The Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure® raises money to fund education, screening and treatment programs for these women and thousands of others in our own community and supports the national search for a cure.
The Komen Race for the Cure® Series is the largest series of 5K run/ walks in the world. Since its origination in Dallas in 1983, the Komen Race for the Cure® Series has grown from one local race with 800 participants to an international series of 117 races with more than 1.3 million participants.
To search for upcoming Race for the Cure events in your city, click HERE. Orlando and Cleveland have their annual race coming up later this year. I encourage anyone and everyone to sign up, even if you decide to just walk the fun 1-mile.
Hard to believe, but, Xander is 15 months old now! Today he had his checkup with his doctor and everything went smoothly… well, until he had to have 3 shots in the thigh. He didn’t like that. And he REALLY won’t like it when I take him to get his blood drawn this afternoon. He weighed in just over 23lbs (30th percentile) and measured 32.5 inches (90th percentile) so he’s still my tall skinny mini! He’s right on target developmentally and looks healthy so the Doc gave us 2 thumbs up. On our trip to Florida he said two new words: ‘yum’ and ‘done.’ He’s been signing ‘done’ since January, but now he says it too. He recently learned to shake his head ‘yes’…. shaking his head ‘no’ was learned looooong ago. Xander continues to love the water. In Florida he enjoyed Memaw & Papaw’s pool, the blowup pool at Nana and Grandpa’s, the kiddie pool at Hamlin’s Landing, and the rolling waves at Indian Rocks Beach. He likes water on his head and sticking his head in the water. He has zero water fear. He mastered turning the door handles at Memaw and Papaw’s but luckily still hasn’t figured it out here in Saint Louis! He’s such a copycat, too. If he sees me do something once, he’ll immediately imitate me. For instance, he saw me remove the vent in the dryer to clean off the lint and he immediately went over and removed it right after I replaced it. Or, he watched how Memaw opened the pantry closet door and suddenly he was opening it soon after trying it get out the can goods. New dangers lurk everywhere! He’s likes climbing onto the couch, trying to to walk upstairs, or running down the driveway. He’s always looking for me to turn away so he can walk into the road. Ah, the joy of having a toddler.
Photos from our FL trip can be viewed on Flickr by clicking HERE.
Logan left for the Middle East earlier this month and today he finally got a chance to call my mom to say: “I’m here.” He’s presently in Kuwait waiting to fly north into Iraq. In case you didn’t know, Logan’s stoplossed (click 
I can now cross-off “Run a 5K” off my “100-Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die” list. Yes, I have one of those lists. ‘Get married,’ ‘Have a baby’, and ‘Go zip-lining,’ have been crossed off already. I’m still working on ‘visit all 7 continents,’ ‘learn to scuba dive’, ‘live in another country’ etc. I started training for my 1st 5K in April. Xander has enjoyed his daily runs in the jogging stroller, watching the passing cars and playing peek-a-book with the stroller’s sunshade. Jogging with Xander isn’t easy, I find it difficult to push his 22 lb body and the stroller up the steep hills near our house. I burn extra calories that way, but I’m not helping my ‘time.’ Anyway, I felt ready and energized for this weekend’s 5k.
I chose to participate in the Susan J. Komen Race for the Cure with the Anheuser-Busch group. As many of you know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in May so the race had extra meaning for me. I ran for you Mom! So, Nick, Xander, and I got up early and drove downtown this morning. Anheuser chartered buses from the brewery to the middle of the race activities, plus they handed out free water and 180 energy drinks. NICE! They even had a Clydesdale out for photographs. Xander kept calling the horse a ‘dog.’ It was funny. Anyway, the race itself was packed with spectators, racers, walkers, and survivors (who wore solid pink shirts). The news said that this year the event expected over 70,000 people!! And, I believe it! The first 1/4 of a mile was shoulder-to-shoulder and it was impossible for me to actually ‘run.’ But, I managed to weave around the walkers and strollers. It was great to see all the spectators lining the streets, holding out their hands to give you a high-five as you ran by. Local businesses stood on the sidelines handing out water and cheering the runners/walkers on. Bands were playing, cheerleaders yelling, and local radio stations encouraging everyone. There were ‘mist’ stations along the way which was nice since there were 0 clouds in the sky and the sun was fierce. I’m proud to say I ran the entire 5k and I finished under 30 minutes even with the slow start. Nick & Xander were waiting for me at the finish line. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year!
