Jimmy + Justin = Hilarious

Have y'all seen Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake's history of rap? Two of the cutest, funniest guys on Earth giving us a walk through some of our generation's all-time favorite rap songs? Not a a bad way to wrap up a Thursday afternoon.

Please enjoy the looks on the older audience members' faces at the end. Is it that hard to sing, "New Yooooooooork!" with the rest of the crowd, older guy with too-tight tucked-in polo shirt?

(Side note: I can't hear "Empire State of Mind" anymore without picturing the cast of Glee belting it out... I should totally have started a glee club.)

Pop Culture Catch-Up

I may dab my eyes every time I think of Mac's impending birthday, but there comes a time when a girl's gotta stop weeping and start talking about what really matters: Britney Spears and Glee.

Last night's episode was Glee's much-hyped tribute to Brit-Brit and I loved it! (It gave me pause when the glee clubbers said they "grew up" on Britney; I did the math and they've been lip-syncing to our favorite midriff-barer since preschool. Chew on that.)


There wasn't a great deal of character development or plot, but who needs that when you get an hour of singing, dancing, John Stamos, Emma Pilsbury's wardrobe, Mr. Shue and recreations of classic Britney videos? Glee's Brittany can dance like no one's business, so she paid homage to Ms. Spears' moves in a way few could.

(Remember this AMA performance of Beyonce's Single Ladies? That's Heather Morris/Brittany as her backup dancer - just try peeling your eyes off of her mesmerizing hip shaking and hair flipping... The girl's got skills.)

Keep the snake - can I have your abs?

As if I needed further proof of my age, I began to understand last night why Britney seemed so scandalous to our parents - she was! Her school girl outfit didn't bother me a bit in high school; her writhing snake dance only terrified me. Watching "high schoolers" reenact her half-dressed escapades, though, made me realize that I'm more mom than teenager these days. I wanted to cover up those high school tummies and tone down the, shall we say, booty thrusts?

Who doesn't remember this opening?

Regardless, I loved the walk back through Britney's high points - we've seen enough of her lows on tabloid covers. I'll admit that my roommate and I owned Justin and Britney dolls my first year at Clemson; they were mostly a joke and they lived on top of our TV until the sad, sad day the former Mouseketeers' break up was confirmed. What babies they could have had!

In other pop culture news, evidently orange is the "it" color for spring. It's always the "it" color in our house, so perhaps I'll finally be fashionable come March 2011? Go Tigers!

Wordless Wednesday

Rest, Rain and Reminiscing

Lately all I can do is compare everything - my life, my bank account, my closet, my backseat, my (significantly less round) belly - to what it looked like a year ago. I feel Mac's first birthday around the corner and am floored, absolutely flummoxed, by what twelve short months can do.

A year ago this week I was on bed rest. I went from the sofa to the bed and back, entertaining visitors with a delightful case of "bed rest hair" that can be recreated only by showering, then immediately lying on one's sopping head of hair for hours on end. It's a look that will be on the cover of Elle the moment heroin chic comes back in style, mark my words.

I was under doctor's orders to "rest," but felt anything but relaxed. Everything in me was counting down to baby time, thanking God that we were full term already and watching the clock as days eased by on their own sweet time. I felt antsy and ready and full of questions. (Mostly: "When?!?")

A year later, I'm lying in bed with the windows open. The weather has finally caught on that September should mean chilly evenings, not triple-digit temperatures. A near-monsoon is setting the perfect backdrop for what I'm hoping will be a delicious night's sleep.

I can't stop thinking about how restful this all is, how blessed we are to have a baby who has slept through the night for ages, how nice it is to shower at will, walk around freely and not have to check my blood pressure every few hours. Just before Mac was born, I slept eleven straight hours to the sound of a September storm like this one. I thought often of that unbelievable night's sleep in the thick of our newborn days, when two-hour stretches were all I got.

I'm sorry to seem so nostalgic tonight, but what's kept me away from blogging is the constant reflection I've been doing as Mac's babyhood wraps up. I hope I'm not the only mom who has ever felt this odd bittersweetness at the close of a wonderful, incomparable, life-changing beyond belief year. (B asked if I'd feel this way at every birthday; waxing sentimental over every last milestone must be a foreign concept to the menfolk.)

I'm going to stop reminiscing about the twelve months that upended my universe in the best possible way. I'm going to focus on how thankful I am for a for a good night's sleep, sans doctor's orders. (If our house washes away in this downpour, I may be singing a different tune... Send help if you haven't heard from us by Homecoming.)

A Few (Belated) Facts About Football

Last week I read a WSJ piece describing South Carolina as a "state of disappointment" when it comes to the passion versus production ratio of our football teams. We rival Texas, Florida and Michigan for filling stadiums and selling tickets, but our ability to win national, and even conference, championships doesn't live up to that level of commitment.

I winced through the article, but the writer has a point. I was more than ready for our Tigers to prove a point last weekend in a much-anticipated meeting with Auburn. Cue SEC/ACC smacktalk.

Saturday night's game very nearly gave me an ulcer. What a rollercoaster ride! I got up at one point during the game to change my clothes and actually wondered if I should refrain. Would it change the team's momentum? Is it bad luck? Should I keep on my orange?

Fact 1: I don't believe in luck, jinxes or superstition.

Fact 2: I have absolutely no bearing on the outcome of any football game, much less one taking place in another state.

Fact 3: Kyle Parker and Dabo Swinney have no idea who I am.

It crossed my mind, but I swapped tops nonetheless.

Mac slept through the injury-filled game, and with every rush of a gurney onto the field I thought of the players' moms. Having a baby really does change the way you look at everything - even college football!

Fact 4: Mac will never play college football. I made that executive decision as the third player was carted off the field.

Sunday morning I broke the news to our boy that his Tigers didn't win.

So the first half was incredible but we didn't pull out a W?

Our long snapper did what?

All in all, I'm very proud of the showing our Tigers made on Saturday. We could (and should) have won, but if nothing else I'm glad we exceeded everyone's expectations.

Coming from an Auburn athletics' perspective, I was intrigued by this analysis.

Fact 5: Jinx or no jinx, next time we're all wearing orange - even our sleeping son. Just in case!

Eleven Months Old: Still Our Baby

On Sunday the 5th, our Mac turned 11 months old. I waited to blog about it until I captured the "perfect" shot of him sitting still, but that never happened. This is what you get, folks - welcome to our life!

(If you're interested in the side of Mac's head or his little rump in the air as he crawls away from the camera, I could post those images for days.)

This might also be a subliminal tactic to slow down the last month of Mac's babyhood. I love that it's fall and am glad to share a new season with our little guy, but a year ago things were quite different. In three weeks I won't be able to say, "This time last year I was pregnant!" I'll miss that.

In his eleventh month, Mac finally cut his first tooth. It's taking its sweet time, but he has one pearly little nub on the bottom row. The other bottom tooth may be next, so I'm praying the process hurries up; it hasn't been the most comfortable of months for our little guy. (Or my fingers, when he nabs one to gnaw!)


Otherwise, the last month has been so much fun! Mac is more curious and interactive than ever, getting smarter and cuter every day. He dances and laughs and crawls all over the place. He can find a way to get into anything, especially if you're trying to keep him away. He sings and claps and smiles. He points and gestures and babbles and grumbles and squeals and chats. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, folks.

He's discovered how fun it is to open and close doors - then reopen, reclose and reopen them, waving "bye bye" all the while. We could kill thirty minutes this way. He still loves bath time (but has graduated from his baby whale tub - sniffle!) and is entranced by books - upside down, right side up, doesn't matter.


He picks up on so much! If I say "pattycake," "kick," "bounce," or "kiss," even to someone else, he's likely to do it. He'll point to the fan or the dog whenever he hears those words, grinning with pride as he does it. I wonder why he doesn't seem to pick up on "no" when he hears it. Hmm...

Mac is a little sponge soaking up everything he sees and hears, imitating noises, gestures, facial expressions and even our inflection as we talk to him. He speaks his own McLanguage that B and I don't understand yet, but his enthusiasm needs no translation. I love his running narration of each day.

This boy's appetite is still voracious - he eats a full pound of food in addition to milk at all three meals. That's four jars (16 oz.) of baby or table food, plus rice cereal mixed in. Three times a day. It disappears in 7 minutes or less; he's a machine!

He loves the outdoors - walking, rocking on the front porch, peeking through windows, pulling back curtains, giggling at birds. He takes after his daddy that way, and I'm thankful the fall weather will allow us more time outside.

Can we go out there?

As Macky grows, I cherish the compliments we hear about his sweet personality after playdates and as we pick him up from the church or gym nursery. It's mind-boggling that he has interactions and experiences without us, but wonderful to know he is loving even when we're away.

I love Mac's burgeoning sense of humor: he hands me his teddy bear blanky when he's not interested in my request for a kiss. ("Kiss him, Mom.") After I lay one on his unsuspecting lovie, he collapses into giggles and "kisses" the bear himself. I rarely seem to get a smooch out of the deal, but I'm glad he enjoys it.

I am moved by the sparkle in his eye at new activities, the way he smiles and waves at everyone, his determination to get whatever he's after - especially when he shouldn't have it.

I love everything about this boy - from his crazy bedhead down to his chubby monkey toes. Even the tough, gross, trying and tiring moments of motherhood have enriched my life beyond words. I am deeply, tremendously and daily thankful to be his mom.

We couldn't be more grateful for our healthy, handsome boy. He's a blessing to us every day - and I tell him so.

In October my Mac will turn one. We'll put away our "first year" guidebooks and enter a new chapter. Officially he'll be a toddler, but he'll always be my baby.

A year ago I dreamed of what our son would look like, and even now I can't believe my eyes. What an unspeakable, beautiful gift God has given us in him. And I'm crying as I type this, so I'll stop here...

Oh how we love you, Mac Mac - happy 11 months!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Tiny Tiger