Peaches & Honey: Shenanigans and Sangria

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Ours was really boring but really busy at the same time. Probably because of the busy toddler. First of all, I did this:

Ignore the fact that I don't know how to take a selfie.

I haven't been brunette since high school, so it was a big change for me. The only reason I went darker was to combat these tragic baby hairs that are coming back in from my postpartum hair loss after Vivi.


I entitle this "Grievances Against My Children." Also, Botox is going on my Christmas list.

Why do people not warn you about this? I honestly did not realize I was losing an inch of hair right around my face until it started to grow back in. The hairs are too small to foil, but my stylist was afraid they might break off if we painted bleach to them; and they looked incredibly foolish kept dark with bright blond hair. I decided to just go for the dark since it is fall/winter, but I'm still having trouble recognizing myself in the mirror. And Vivi seems wary of the the whole thing, as well.

Bob is a typical dude and didn't notice.

Speaking of the Cat, he was a busybody this weekend. He woke up at 6am Friday ready to go. We went down for breakfast, where he promptly demolished the baby gate in the kitchen. I was in the process of putting it back together when he got a 90-second head start on me running upstairs. In that span of time, he managed to dispense an entire package of baby wipes into the toilet and then feed his sister her entire morning bottle. I wasn't even mad. I was impressed at his sheer speed.

After lunch, Vivi creeped on the pool boy for about 15 minutes. She has the biggest crush on him and stops what she's doing to peep at him every time he comes.

I would prefer for her to aim higher, like a doctor or a lawyer. Or at least a realtor. But the heart wants what it wants.

We are in the full throes of toddlerhood now, where I cannot even run to the restroom without some sort of shitshow going down. I literally ran to the restroom and returned to Bobby with a mouthful of suspicious contraband. I did a mouth-swipe and retrieved a diamond earring, a battery, and a small houseplant.

You can't make this stuff up.

My finger was a casualty.

Later Friday afternoon, Bobby and I put out our Thanksgiving decorations.

The creepy wall of pages from the Guiness Book of Records circa 1982 remains, since I cannot find the step ladder to remove it.

I don't go as crazy with this decor as I do with Halloween and Christmas, but it is my way of stalling myself from putting up Christmas decorations on November 1. It mainly consists of tossing out some old leaves, pumpkins, and fur. But the turkey needs to have his day in the sun.

Then the delivery man made his daily stop at our house to deliver Vivi's new boots.

You know how you just sit around sometimes in your underwear and fur boots? It's empowering.
{fur booties}

Afterward we made a bunch of cornbread, which will be featured in this Friday's post. And then we ate a lot of cornbread.

Some more than others.
{cake stand}

And yes, I realize Viv is getting a jump start on Christmas.

I do not love it getting dark so early. Since we are on central time, it starts getting dark at 4:30, which doesn't give us much time to get our late afternoon let's-scare-the-neighbors walk in. But we managed to do so anyway.

You know how when you are really waiting on an event to get here, time seems to stand still? Well Friday was the day that wouldn't end. It kept going and going and going. So we cracked open a cold beer and then dumped an entire basket of (clean) laundry into a (full) bathtub. Not pictured.

Trying to get a selfie with a toddler is surprisingly difficult. It's the most exercise I've had in a while.

I put the babies to bed and sat downstairs by the fireplace by myself, breathing a huge sigh of relief that Alex would be back on Saturday. It occurred to me at that moment that I hadn't eaten fruit or veggies in days (or really anything besides some cereal and Cheese Its) and downed an entire pouch of pureed baby food. I've hit an all-time low.

Saturday morning was ~~perfect~~ less of a disaster. I woke up and made Caramel Apple Sangria.

I've been working on this recipe for about a month now, and I think I've finally perfected it. It has a ton of booze in it, but it comes out tasting just like apple juice, which can be disastrous. Recipe is included at the end of this post. I promise it's delightful!

My friend, Jazzy, came over to watch the UGA/Kentucky ballgame. We walked to get pizza (oh the irony), drank sangria, and watched the Dawgs bring home a win.

Bobby's face. I die.

Saturday evening marked the end to Alex's 9-days-yet-neverending TDY to Japan, which left me with 2 babies under the age of 2 and many behavioral inconsistencies. We were ALL ready for him to return. I have done much longer TDYs and a deployment, and I don't mean to complain, because 9 days is definitely NOT long at all in the military-wife world. I don't know why this trip seemed so long. I am inclined to blame it on Robert. (Side note- how many times must a toddler bust his ass climbing on something before he learns to not climb on the furniture?)

We were thrilled for Daddy to be home, but alas, he was incredibly jet-lagged and only of minor assistance to me ;)

Sunday was as chill as a day with two beasties can be. We didn't leave the house, we lounged, we caught up on our DVR, and we got Chinese takeout for dinner. It was glorious. But honestly, I'm still very exhausted. I need days of sleep to catch myself up from this.

We are looking forward to a week of relaxation.

Just kidding.

Keep on keepin' on!
-Annette