Solo Trip

I did another bold thing this past week. I drove myself and a one year old from Raleigh to Northern Virginia and back again. Logan had to work, so he couldn't come with.

I've never driven more than 2 hours by myself - let alone with a one year old in the backseat - so I was more than nervous. I kept picturing us getting a flat tire on the highway and not knowing what to do. I pictured Hudson crying the whole way up. I pictured us running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

Luckily, none of those things happened on the way there and back.

It helped that I drove during Hudson's nap time because he slept most of the way there and back. I also had plenty of snacks handy. I didn't stop on the way up, but on the drive home I stopped once - about 30 minutes before home. It's about a 4 hour drive. Impressive, huh? I think yes!

While in VA, Hudson and I spent some time with both sides of the family. I love that our families live 10 minutes from each other. It was nice not planning anything, and just going with the flow. We played at the park, ate at Cafe Rio, shopped at Ikea, attended my brother's soccer game, and just hung out with family. It was so low-key and perfect. Now that I know I can do the drive by myself, I might have to do it again! :)

And now, the best part, pictures --

One night, we went through storage at my parents' house and found this little gem...

 Grandma Lynn bought Hudson some super cool sunglasses. 

 We went to a playground one night with the Corbetts and my mom. 

Hudson loved running around, going down the slides, swinging, and getting dirty.

I spy a monkey...and a Grandpa Corbett...

H went to bed early one night, so mom and I snuck out to get some fro-yo. 

Don't mind that I look tired, please. 

I introduced mom to Cafe Rio and she approved!

Btw, there is one in my hometown now. Of all places!

After lunch, we headed to this place.....LOVE!

Hudson and his Grandpa Sam replaced the brake pads on our car one night. 

What a good little helper H was. Until he threw a wrench down the sewer. 

This has got to be my favorite picture of Hudson and his Grandma Lynn.

The lighting is perfect and I just love the weeping willow right outside my parents' house. 

We spent a lot of time outside while we were there. The weather was beautiful. 

Oh, and I joined the colored jeans bandwagon finally - love them.

On our last night, we traveled to Fredericksburg to watch my brother play college soccer. 

It was quite the game to be at! UMW came back to win 3-2. 

Golden goal made by my brother in OT. Plus he had two assists as well. 

I'm such a proud big sister! 

Love this picture. Just missing Logan and my sister, Amanda. 

Being Bold

I've never been much of a risk-taker. I get that from my parents, I think. They are pretty cautious people. I grew up never running out the house without shoes on. Never cliff jumping. Never swimming in super deep water. Never touching an animal besides a dog, cat, or horse. Never drinking water from the tap. Never buying things unless it was name-brand.  

Then, I married Logan. A bold choice, some may say. :)

And, things inevitably changed.

He taught me that it is okay to do things a little out of my comfort zone. So, little by little I started to. I've been barefoot a couple times (not my favorite). I've been cliff jumping and LOVE it. I've swam in deep water. I've touched a snake, lizard, hamster, frog, and other gross animals. I started drinking water from the tap. And, I buy generic brand items - saves so much more money, and just about the same difference.

You may think those are easy things to do, especially if you are a Corbett. But for me, those things were a little hard to do looking back. I look at myself now and I am amazed at all the "hard-ish" things I've done.

I don't want that feeling to go away. I want to be someone who can do those hard things. So, I made a goal/wish for year #25 - to take leaps of faith, to be bold, and a little braver. Because sometimes there might be a huge surprise at the end. A greater reward. And maybe a greater understanding of what I am capable of. At least that is my hope.

So, to initiate my new goal. I got a hair cut with bangs. I've never had bangs, besides the side swept ones which always got pulled back.

But it's a new season for boldness and I decided to take a leap. And this is what I got....

On another note, I invited (yes, me!!) the girl who gave me this so-called bold new hair cut and her husband to a picnic tonight with some other families. Apparently, my conversation with her about faith, family, work, and life paid off. Because they are coming. This is a huge deal, friends. Because I don't have conversations with strangers. I don't even like talking to anyone while they do my hair (don't want them to mess up). I don't ask for phone numbers. I just don't go beyond the casual weather conversations because anything deeper just gets me all nervous.

But a spark ignited in me. I want to be the person who will be bold. Who doesn't ask the shallow water questions. I want to connect and invite. Because I believe people are genuinely wanting to be heard and cared about. Someone once did that for me, and it was something I won't ever forget. And I've been grateful ever since.

Here's my challenge to all my blog friends - do something bold this week, no matter how small. You'll be surprised at how good it feels.

Baby, where are you?

Has anyone seen baby Hudson?

He's not here reading a book with a friend.

 

 He's not here sitting quietly looking at picture books. 

He's not here chasing after a duck.

 He's not here carefully petting our frog.

 He's not here having a tickle fest with second cousin, Aiden.

 He's not here swinging.

 He's not here splashing water at his mother during bath time.

He's not here playing hide and seek. 

He's not here jamming on his drums.

He's not here climbing on those tiny playground steps.

And, he's definitely not here going down the slide ALL BY HIMSELF.

Where the heck is my baby?

The one I could hold in my arms for hours on end. 

The one I could rock to sleep.

The one that let me feed his bottle to. 

The one that rolled over and army crawled.
The one with a toothless grin.

Oh, right. That baby is gone and a big boy has taken his place.

Some days I want my baby back. 

And right now is one of those days.  

How do mothers do this?
He's only a year old and I already dread this growing up business. 

Birthday #25

It's crazy how fast birthdays come around. When I was younger, I couldn't wait for a birthday. But now, I think birthdays should come a little slower. I was just starting to enjoy 24, and now I'm a year older. A quarter of a century old, to be exact. I feel so blessed to have made it to this point in my life. The past 25 years have been good to me. I can only hope the next 25+ will be just as good.

One thing is for sure, birthdays tend to get more laid-back as the years go on. At least for me. My birthday this year consisted of grocery shopping, no cooking (thanks to lunch at Noodles & Co. with some "girl" friends and a birthday sandwich from Firehouse Subs for dinner), and then dessert at our place in the evening.

A few friends came over to help us consume all the birthday sweets. So glad they came because there was plenty to go around.

We didn't have enough candles, so we had two candles on one side and five candles on the other side.

I even forgot to make a wish! How does one simply forget to do that?

Logan made this Peanut Butter Silk Cake the night before.

I offered to make it myself over and over again (mainly because I was worried he wouldn't get it right). Luckily, it turned out perfectly and I enjoyed it. And so did everyone else. 

Birthday singing and candle blowing video

A few days later, Logan and I went out to dinner (sans the toddler - thanks to our friends, the Hills, for watching him) to celebrate my birthday.

We went to Sushi Nine and it was perfect. 

We grew to love sushi while living out in Utah - Happy Sumo anyone? 

We have had a hard time finding a sushi place here in Raleigh that is affordable and still good. 

Well, we are happy to say we found one! 

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so great. It was a very sweet, very simple birthday. 

Just what I needed.