Wine & Design

I posted not long ago about Project 52 and our attempt to really carve out time for one another.  I have no idea how many dates we have been one, but we started dance lessons, had movie night, watched a game (or 10) together, etc.  LivingSocial is a great place to find deals!  Last week they offered classes at Wine & Design for half off!  Right up our alley!  For $34 bucks we had a night out sans baby (which we both needed after Saturday), hung out with friends, and came home with two "beautiful" paintings.  :-)  (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?!)

Michelle and I were in grad school together.  So glad we reconnected through the Bible study!

Gotta love a man in an apron!

We are beyond talented.  (Don't ask what I'm doing with my foot.  Phillip did.  I have no answer.)

This date was seriously JUST the thing we needed.  It'd been a rough week with Emory, so it was nice to get out.  (Big thanks to Nana and Poppy for babysitting!)

Project 52: Week 2

For this week's date we decided to take advantage of this GORGEOUS Carolina weather and visit Aw Shucks Farm for a few hours today. 

It's been a long week in the Harris household.  Phillip, yes PHILLIP, got sick.  Then yesterday Emory started this little cough, followed by lots of fun stuff flowing from orifices today.  :-(  We don't want to leave our little guy while he's a little under the weather, so we took him along for the fun.

Emory got to go through his first corn maze, see lots of fun farm animals, play with some pumpkins, and get really tired (just in time for the Clemson/Boston College game).

These goats made me miss the pigmy goats we had in Weddington.

They were too full, so they wouldn't eat out of our hands.

So cute, but so smelly.

Charlie, the mini-horse, was not too sure about Emory.  Emory's sentiments towards Charlie were much the same.

Poor buddy.  His eyes totally tell the world how he feels.  :-(

He loves watching Daddy. 

Emory's first corn maze!  Please note the face he's making. 

This is the sign I like (Phillip really is a hard worker though). 

...and this is what Phillip insisted I take a picture of before leaving.

Maybe by the time Emory is 18 we will have ONE decent family picture.  Check out the child's a.tti.tude in this one.  Wowzers!

We had tons of fun though!  Great news...Clemson remains undefeated this season.  Phillip was concerned about Tajh Boyd following the injury he sustained in the 3rd quarter.  I told him he wasn't allowed to check on Boyd for 10 hours (the length of time he slept during my 21 hours of labor...he still insists that one of us needed to be well rested).  He frowned and then ignored me.  :-)

Hope you are all enjoying this awesome weather!!!

Project 52 for Marriage: Week 1

Everyone knows that babies change everything.  Our marriage has changed in SO many ways over the past 5+ months.  Some good aspects and some...let's call them "weaknesses" have emerged, but we're learning to be parents and spouses.  It's an adjustment for everyone.

I am still not okay with leaving Emory.  I know, he's almost 6 months old (trust me, I'm trying to get better about this).  Phillip is probably beyond frustrated but is gracious enough to not say anything to me.  However, I am realizing that our marriage will never flourish if we only focus on the baby all the time.

That being said, I was reading the Prayer of Hannah blog the other week and saw a post about Project 52.  (I know, I'm starting lots of "Projects" this month.)  However, this one is focused on marriages.  The rules they had set forth may not function for us, but the idea is to have at least one date a week for an entire year.  We can do this, right?  RIGHT!  It had been so long since we have actually dated.  Between the stress of fertility drugs, not feeling well on the drugs or during the pregnancy, having Emory, having surgery, adjusting to life with a baby, etc. we have honestly totally neglected the relational aspect of our marriage.  

Phillip and I made our own "guidelines" to follow:

     1) Phillip has to plan one date a month.

     2) No two dates can be repeated in the same month.

     3) No cell phones, internet, etc. during said date.

     4) There must be at least 2 hours spent together.

     5) Emory can come on dates as long as the focus of the date is still our relationship.

Now we're having to be creative because we are still working on the one salary so there is definitely no dining at the nicest places in town, but we're not really the type of people that need that kind of outing to enjoy ourselves.  Our relationship has always functioned well as a simple one.  I'd like to see it remain that way.  

Last week on LivingSocial there was a deal for dance lessons.  You read that right: DANCE LESSONS.  Phillip and I are admittedly two of the least coordinated people in the world.  I fall off of my front porch at least once a year (and this year I am still recovering from the bone bruise this fall inflicted on my shin).  WE DO NOT DANCE.  

Anyway, I thought that $25 dollars for 5 private dance lessons was a steal!  I enjoyed dancing in college and high school, so I figured that I'd suck Phillip into this one and both of us could be out of our element together.  Ya'll!  I wish I had a video from this session.  All I can say is that our instructor is so precious and kind.  Lord, bless her heart for having to deal with us.  We all laughed...A LOT.  At the end of the day, that's all we really wanted.  Plus we learned the basics for a lot of ballroom dances, some shag moves, and how very short I am compared to my husband. 

The best news is...

I left Emory!  

Granted, it was only for two hours and he was at our house with my mom.  Rome wasn't built in a day!  This is progress.  I didn't even cry!  He seemed to have fun too.  We got home and he was playing with his Nana on the front porch. 

We survived!  Emory wasn't nearly as amused as we were.

We are due to go back next week as long as our schedules work out.  So our first few dates will repeat, but that's ok they still count for spending time together.