The Horn Family

Sunday, March 14, 2010

My Guardian Angel

My sister is my guardian angel. She came to my rescue in this especially emotionally draining time. Kris is keenly aware of all the stresses that Nick and I have been dealing with as we approach the last days before he deploys. Our "to do" list seems endless and time is rapidly slipping through our fingers. One thing that kept falling to the end of the list was "Nick and Ali time". Kris reminded me of that while we were chatting on Thursday afternoon. She also told me that she was driving to Tennessee the next day to take care of our baby girl for the night so that we might have a quick get-a-way. She said she wouldn't take no for an answer...So, less than 24 hours later, Kris and my 8 month old niece, Claire arrived on our doorstep and booted Nick and I out the door.

With Emmy in Kris' loving care, we enjoyed a delicious adult dinner at The Red Pony in Franklin. I realized that I had forgotten how to savor food over the past three months! We chatted constantly over our four course meal and then over drinks back at our hotel. As if our night couldn't get any better, we enjoyed 8 glorious hours of uninterrupted sleep! Rested, rejuvenated and reconnected, we arrived home to my three favorite girls!

Kris, I cannot even thank you enough for your selflessness and for knowing what I need better than I do. Nick and I feel so indebted to you for your kindness and your unwavering support. Thanks to you and Clairey, we can now say goodbye after refocusing on what's most important: Team Horn.

My favorite girls!

Clairey saying hello to Emmy

Date night!

Family portrait (Emmy 12 weeks old)

Baby swap!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Just Three Words...

RUB A DUB

Monday, March 8, 2010

Feeling Girly

Not our Last Monday Together!

We got some great news-Nick won't be leaving until the beginning of next week rather than the end of this week!! I am so relieved that this isn't our last Monday together! Now if I can just postpone daylight savings for another week, I could squeeze in another hour...I know, now I'm just being greedy...

Emmy takes relaxing very seriously

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Bedtime with Daddy & Dr. Seuss

The Ultimate Chili Throwdown

I say this with nothing but the utmost love and respect, but my hubby is a one-hit wonder in the kitchen. He can make a mean pot of chili...It just keeps getting better and better in the (now) three times that he's made it since he created the recipe in the Spring of '07.

Nick is rightfully far from modest about his chili recipe and we recently decided that our inaugural FRG fundraiser would be a Chili lunch sale with a twist. Nick recruited 9 guys from work and one of the wives, through relentless trash talking, to enter their best chili recipe in the Throwdown. There was a $10 buy-in to participate, first place took 50% of the buy-in pot, second took 30% and third won 20%. With the help of the rest of the wives in the FRG providing the drinks and desserts, it was on like donkey-kong!

Two nights before the big day, we made a spur-of-the-moment trip to Whole Foods in Nashville so that Nick could pick out some of the best, most fresh ingredients for his chili. He found a few new ingredients as well to hopefully give him an edge over the competition. Fortunately, I took a break from oogling at the beautiful produce department to notice Nick with three bags each containing at least a couple of peppers (serrano, jalapeno, poblano, etc.) We talked about how much heat he would be introducing into his chili should he include all of the peppers that he was holding in his hand...The goal was for it to be prize-winning, let alone edible...So he committed to just a couple of them...Definitely brought a smile to my face.

Anyways, Nick was hard at work late the night before the Throwdown to make sure the crock-pot was doing it's magic for a full 12 hours. It all paid off in the end, because, thankfully, Nick won third place in our competition! Which, of course only boosted his ego, but I don't mind because it went to a good cause "boosting" our FRG bank account as well! Way to go, Babe!!

Here are a few pics I managed to take after the damage was done...

A few of the contenders

It's not a party without balloons and crepe paper!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Just Three Words...(and then some)

CALIFORNIA OR BUST

Nick and I made a last minute decision to fly back to California to visit with family and friends for his second-to-last weekend stateside. This past Friday afternoon, Nick flew in the door from work at 2:20 and we pulled our over-stuffed car out of the driveway a mere 20 minutes later en route to Nashville International. We packed heavy no thanks to Emmy, although one very important item was left behind: a super-sized bottle of Pepto Bismol to calm my nervous stomach. After my last experience flying with my darling niece and nephew, I learned how very important it is to be prepared for anything. Because if there is a time that Murphy will show up, it's when you're traveling with little ones!

Our biggest mistake was that we didn't leave ourselves NEARLY enough time. We pulled up to the departure drop-off area a mere 30 minutes prior to boarding. Nick left me with a mound of luggage and our daughter to park the car in the newly re-organized long-term parking lot. From the moment he walked back in the door, we took off running, all the while I am wasting precious emotional energy worrying about how I will accomplish this feat all by my lonesome once Nick leaves. We arrived, panting and sweating, to our gate just in time for family boarding. I will let you in on a secret we learned after we drove a sweet lady to change her seat (we flew Southwest because they love bags): Always flaunt the small child that you are traveling with, because people won't glance twice at the open seat next to you. You'll have a row (or perhaps a whole section of the aircraft) to yourself in no time. Anyways, to make a long story slightly less long, Emmy did pretty well on her first flight (after four feedings and three diaper changes in the 4 hour and 40 minute flying time). Our second flight from Ontario to Oakland was delayed, due to a small ice patch on the wing. Apparently the airports in sunny California don't anticipate ice, and therefore have opted out of de-icing equipment. As a result, we sat on the plane, for over and hour, WAITING for the ice to melt. I could have chugged that whole bottle of Pepto at this point had I not carelessly left it behind. I have never been so grateful to bring an end to a (very long) travel day.

Saturday morning came quickly, and we headed over to the Horn's house for Emmy's meet-n-greet with many of their good family friends. She did her very best to reciprocate the love that she was shown in the brief two hour shin-dig (one thing that Emmy is lacking is social stamina). It was so nice that so many people decided to share their weekend morning with us! :-) After a nap that lasted a quarter of the time that it took to get her to sleep, we were back to the Horn's house for a special rib dinner prepared by their resident chef, Grantland. It was his first time making them, and he hit a home run. Emmy was able to visit with some of Nick's close friends, and, met the acquaintance of her great-grandfather, my Grandpa Hagg. I was so touched to watch my baby girl gaze into my grandpa's eyes as he recited his extensive repertoire of nursery rhymes to her. It was music not only to Emmy's ears, but to mine as well.

After a good floss, and an amazingly full night of sleep, we were ready for some more action on Sunday. Emmy woke up to the the beautiful sight of her Great-Auntie Jackie and cousin Gracie. She quickly offered up her own 1,000-watt smile! How wonderful it was to watch them get to know one another! We traveled out to visit Emmy's Great-Grandmother (G.G.), my Grandma Odell, where she is recovering from a very recent fall. You would never know it if Grandma was in any pain. She is either a phenomenal actress or Emmy is the strongest analgesic available. Grandma finally met the little one that she had helped me pray for (and had given me tips on how to get the job done, but that is a funny blog post that will stay in my head!) Shortly thereafter, my dear Aunt Kerry arrived! It was amazing to have so many people that I love so deeply in the same room...It made traveling to California Pepto-Bismol-less all worth it.

After this very special introduction, Nick and I divided and conquered. I spent some much-needed and appreciated down time with my parents and brother as Emmy did her best to avoid a nap. Nick joined up with his family for a walk to the park and a good game of frisbee...We reunited for a big night out (Mom, Dad and Jamie put Emmy to bed for us!). We noshed on some Ruth's Chris deliciousness and then watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics back at Nick's parents' house. Very exciting, I know, we are clearly getting old.

After a very sleepless night (Emmy decided that she and I should enjoy some Q.T. between the hours of 10:30pm and 7:30am), we snuck in another playdate at the Horn's house before we were off to the airport to head home. Two flights, a $10 slot-machine win, four feedings, and an angry call to the person who changed the airport parking lot signs later, we collapsed in our bed. Only to wake up a couple hours later, at 3 am, to spend some more Q.T. with our favorite little girl...