Tennessee?

During my North Carolina trip, I was able to catch up with a lot of my extended family, including my cousin's 9-year-old son. Their family lived in Nashville, Tennessee for about a year a while back and as we drove past corn fields on the way to his house, I asked if he'd ever like to live there again. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Me: So, would you ever like to go back to Tennessee?

Him: (in adorable Southern accent) Yeah, I'd like to visit.

Me: Like vacation or something?

Him: Maybe for about a year.

Me: Wow! That's a long visit. Maybe you could go to college in Tennessee then.

Him: (without hesitation) Nope! Ain't gonna happen! WOLFPACK! AWOOOOO!

Now, I don't know much about college sports, but apparently this means he is a fan of NC State. And there's no question about that.

Country Moments

My Grandmother's House in North Carolina

I spent the past week and half visiting family in Georgia and North Carolina, which meant a huge cousin reunion and so many adorable kidisms that I'm slightly overwhelmed! My mom, younger brother, older brother and his family and I all drove up to North Carolina for a mega birthday party/reunion for my Grandma. My brother has three boys and a daughter and my cousin in North Carolina has a son and daughter whose ages match up perfectly with their cousins, or first cousins once removed, I think... But since I don't have kids and my other brother is only 16, they aren't going to have any real cousins anytime soon, so it works. But, anyways...

My family in North Carolina live in a very rural area. I've had several instances of culture shock over the years, especially going to the stores and having random people I've never met come up to me and recount personal details of my life, which happened this time. But the best part of it all is the space and seeing the kids run in and out of the old screen door of my grandma's house and experience the joy of a late country summer. They play next to soy bean fields and dance around ant hills, and in between those sweet cousin-filled memories, they stop by me and say, "I love you, Nay."

Surprise!

Yesterday I arrived home to good ol' Georgia (not the Honey Boo Georgia, or the Real Housewives Georgia. More like the "Georgia on my Mind" Georgia). My sister-in-law braved Atlanta traffic and the confusion of the the airport to pick me up. After a few wrong turns and one seriously confused GPS, we were on our way to get my nephews from school. She had told them that she had a huge surprise for them and they had been left guessing for days. The boys asked if they'd have to share it with their younger siblings (the "babies," aged three and four) and were informed that they would. They finally resolved that the surprise must be cake, and I prayed that I wouldn't be a disappointment, because, after all, I'd probably choose cake over myself too and it's much more sharable.

We drove up to the school and waited for a fifth grader and third grader to walk out the door. I jumped out of the car and saw them beam beneath their recently grown-out surfer locks as they ran towards me. Now that is one amazing feeling! After we all settled in into the car, my third grade nephew smiled and announced that this was the best surprise ever!

I couldn't be happier to be home!

The Enlightenment of the Ice Blocks

Pinterest is my lifesaver when it comes to finding ideas for the kids that I nanny. I recently saw a great idea for using ice cubes to build igloos with kids (Hello? Why didn't I think of this first?!? Kids love blocks, so making them from ice on a hot day is such a great time-killer!). Here's the blog post it's linked up to, in case you were wondering.

Well, igloo building with a five and two-year-old quickly turned into an ice slamming competition until all the blocks were gone...Or so they thought. My five-year-old friend saw a glimmering piece of green ice behind my leg and dodged for it. He held it close to his cheek and whispered "Hallowed be thy name," to the ice cube as if he had discovered gold. If only you had heard him say it!