First Comes Love. Then Comes Marriage. Then...

First comes love. 

2008 ( I think.)

2009. (I think. )

Then comes marriage.

Then comes BUYING A HOUSE! 

Wait, what were you thinking?

Friday, February 28, 2014 Coach and I signed about 67376439 papers and officially became first time home owners in a small town that we now call home.

We started the process over Thanksgiving break. We really hardcore started the process mid-January. It was pretty stress free (Coach was stress free. Me. Ha. ) up until literally the last two weeks. Reflecting on everything, there wasn’t anything we could have done differently other than have planned this little adventure during the off season. The only problem is that we kinda don’t have one. Yeah. So we had to arrange everything around baseball games and practices.

The previous owner of the house was the absolute BEST to work with. I would text him, and he would handle it. Also, with this being a small town, I feel like we made a friend in this process! Seriously, best situation ever!

I won’t be posting any pictures until next week. So, the reason behind this post is to thank those that helped a TON!

P&D. Whew. No words can explain where we would be without them. I can’t wait to hear all of the conversations between D and Coach about how to fix something.  

 Mama Bette. She is the best. No words can ever explain. She was the first call we made after leaving the lawyer’s office. The best.  

My mom and family. Thanks for not killing Coach when he said, “We have an announcement to make. (Really long pause…..) We are buying a house!” He thinks he’s funny.

My lunch table (and real life) friends. Y’all are always praying when I ask. And thanks for the 657309675 times of saying, “Carley, don’t worry! It’ll work out!” And I’ll go ahead and thank you for helping me paint. J

My McRae family. We couldn’t live without you. I can’t put words on how thankful I am for God putting y’all in our lives. Seriously.

Danielle. This post had tears streaming down my face. You posted it a week before we closed. It really means so much! I’ll be praying hardcore now that you opened my eyes to this! I am so blessed to call you a friend!

Everyone that commented/messaged/emailed/called/text to say congrats! Thank you! It really means so much! Now come visit us! We can offer a room, meal, and front row seats to a sporting event. (Depending on the season!)

My super amazing husband who had the goals to accomplish, and lets me follow. 

So, my goal is to post pictures before we move anything in. I’ll post these later this week. Hopefully. You know how it goes! 

Love love, 

C^2

Real Life.

Blogs   my blog often seems to only advertise the awesomeness and super cool things going on over here in my life. I must admit, some blogs I read I think, "Wow! Did they really just put that on the web for the world to read." Really, I applaud your guts! I am guilty of only writing what I want you to know. I guess this is the glory in social media. You only know what I have the nerve to post. (Insert evil/ anxious/ guilty laugh.)

Today sweet friends,  (Can I call you friends? You are on MY corner of .com after all.)  I shall keep it 100% REAL. Real life, yo. I really do say yo in real life. 
These are the things happening right now:
I am married to an amazing man. God created him just for me. However, do I want to throat punch him from time to time? Yes. At this moment? Maybe. "Where are the towels?" "Where is so and so?" "What's this?" "Do I have time for a shower?" Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Did he just say he was busy all day and on the go? Really?!?! Yes.

But, man oh man does that husband of mine know how to deal with me. How? I am the world's BIGGEST worrier. Legit. He will also take what I am worrying about, repeat it, and then remind me how cray I am being. He also starts my car on freezing mornings. He will make my breakfast, and keep the smirks to himself when I am having a morning meltdown. Or before dinner meltdown. Not that those happen very often. He walks Dub in the morning because that battle isn't worth fighting with the monster that I know I am before and sometimes after 7am.  Thank you. I think I will no longer throat punch you, Coach. I do love you oh so dearly! I will keep you and your absolutely horrible smelling baseball socks that have my whole hamper smelling like blahhhhh. 

Together we have a beautiful Weimaraner. Isn't he precious.

This post has mad me aware of the amount of pictures I have of my dog. 

Ha. This dog is the definition of CRAYCRAY. Hyper. Crazy. All over the place. All the time. He can open the cupboard, get what he wants, leaving what he doesn't, and have a party! Today was an afternoon feast of chocolate chips and flax seed. Yes. Party, I tell ya. If you are considering getting a Weimaraner, PLEASE do your research! They are CRAZY and I guess thrive with even crazier owners. We are truly a match made in Heaven, Dub. I couldn't live without you and all the messes you leave me to clean up. I guess I shall keep you as well.

I love running. At certain parts of my day I think to myself, "Man. I am so excited to run today." Yes. Real story. Then said baseball socks need washing and Weimaraner parties need cleaning. Today I was scheduled to run 4.5 miles. Did it happen? No. Can I do it tomorrow? Yes. Am I ill. Yup. Is it causing me breakdowns over socks? Yes. Real life.

That's all I have today... I have socks to wash.

Love love,
C^2

The Return.

This little spot on the .com has taken a backseat to… life. Since August Coach and I have come close to conquering the world. No. Not really. However, kinda close. Football season is a time of life that is lacking sleep, and full of football. From games on Friday nights, to Ga Saturdays in Athens. Oh, and meetings on Sunday after church.

 Plus, we attended some pretty amazing weddings… and I was the MOH of one. So, there went October.

Then came November. I finished up the cross country season by taking some amazing kids to their first ever state meet! (Whoop, whoop!) I also became the girls’ basketball coach for the first time here at home. It was absolutely amazing, and probably one of my new favorite parts of my job. (There seem to be many parts!) Oh, then Thanksgiving. So long, November!

 December. Oh, December. Full of Christmas bliss. Oh, and a small AHHHHHMAZING trip to Cozumel, Mexico. Which included making Christmas 2013 the best Christmas ever.

We spent Christmas with our families. Makes my heart smile that more and more of my family is able to be here for Christmas. (Kinda has me pumped for Easter at my house. Just sayin’)

 Knowing that 2014 was going to have little time to eat or sleep, we spent the last few days of 2013 with our family in the mountains.

Then, HELLO January! We finished up our basketball season with a heartbreaking but successful second place trophy. Oh, and Coach still had wresting and started his first ever season as the baseball coach. We had the absolutely coldest month I have ever experienced which sorta cramped my running style!

That brings us to current day, February. Opppsss… actually the END of February. We are loving life right now. The baseball field is home. Dinner conversations are full of baseball conversations. Life isn’t the kind of crazy busy where we complain, or fuss about missing time together. Trust me, I pray daily that we avoid that kind of “busy.” Our lives are the kind of busy that we love, and wake up each day talking about how exciting the day will be and what all has to be accomplished. Last Sunday we were in the 30549 and we were able to attend my favorite place: Southside. Pastor Jeff spoke right to my heart when he said, “When you get real with God, He will show you how to change the world!” Wow.

Oh, and of course this little baby is loving life!

 I have also found some great blogs to link up with. So, it is my PROMISE to post several times a week. I actually thought for a few seconds about leaving this blog alone. Then I had some messages about missing this little blurb. Who knew folks actually READ what I write?!? That brings me up early on this beautiful morning, listening to Dub struggle between who he wants to sit with: me in the living room, or Coach in the bedroom. The struggle is real.

So, until the next time I have a moment to sit at the computer…. I’ll leave you with some pictures of The Cain Life as of lately.

Love love,

C^2  

Christmas in Cozumel 2013 Part I

When I made the “30 Before 30” list, I said that I wanted to plan a trip all on my own. Well, this summer I did exactly that. I worked this summer at “Summer School” which was nothing like summer school, it was an absolute blast. Plus, one of my BFFs worked with me, so it was simply FUN work that added some extra cash to our bank account. Since Coach works half a day 4 days a week all summer with football, plus he would work most evenings with baseball, me being gone from 8-3 was not that big of a deal. We had weekends, and still had the afternoons together. So, at the end of the summer, I was ready for us to book a trip somewhere warm for Christmas break. With us coaching 5 sports ( yeah, you read that right) I knew that come December, we would both need a break and a chance to slow down. Our school also gets out of school an entire week earlier than the rest of our family, so we really just thought it would work out perfectly to take a trip the week before Christmas.

I called a travel agency. I did some research, and doing everything myself just made me nervous. Now that I know that EVERYONE books their own trips, and we talked to some other people, I will just start booking on my own. However, for my first experience with booking an out of the country trip, I am happy I had some guidance aka…. She did everything for us. I called her, told her the days we wanted to go, and about how much we wanted to spend. She sent me several different locations and resorts to check out. Cozumel won. Our resort was called Secrets. It was absolutely amazing.

So, I booked the trip July 3^rd, and did nothing but work hard and count down the days until December 15^th. She sent our airline information, as well as everything we needed to check in at our resort. She even booked someone to pick us up from the airport once we arrived. So, everything was taken care of for us. Did this keep me from worrying? Absolutely not. I could somewhat tell that since Coach did NOTHING to plan this trip that he had some doubt. He was a little concerned that I may have made a mistake somewhere along the way. However, he never let me know. (That helped.)

We finished up school on December 13^th. I started getting really excited because it was just starting to get cold here, and I was really ready for some sand and sun. The 14^th Coach had a wrestling tournament all day. I spent the day packing, and cleaning. This was the best idea! I bleached everything, washed all the sheets and laundry, as well as mopped and cleaned the baseboards. When we came home after our trip everything was clean… ahhhh. That was pretty amazing! That afternoon, when Coach FINALLY got home we packed the car and drove to Atlanta. Coach’s aunt lives about 30 minutes from the airport, and with our flight being early Sunday morning, it just made sense to spend the night with her. Plus, I was able to see her crazy-amazing-beautifully decorated house for Christmas. It was a win-win. I did NOT sleep a single BIT Saturday night. I was just ready to check-in at Secrets in Cozumel, Mexico.

We got up at 6am, got dressed, and set out for the new International airport in Atlanta. We walked right in, checked in, received our boarding passes WITH SEAT ASSIGNMENTS, and checked our luggage. We went right through security, and arrived at our gate about 2 hours early. We loaded up on some $4 Naked Juice for breakfast (seriously, airport food is $$$) and then sat and waited for them to let us load the plane.

Could Coach seriously look any more like a coach? He even had a GA Football coach’s bag that he used as his carry-on. He was reading a coaching book, and may or may not have been caught hi-lighting a few quotes he liked. You just gotta love him!!

I let time pass by downloading about 5 books on my Nook, and worried. I was seriously ready for everything to go smoothly, and us be in Mexico. About an hour before our flight was due to board, I went to the restroom. When I got back and sat down Coach told me that they made an announcement that our flight was over booked, and they were looking for volunteers with flexible travel plans to change flights. He said, “I figured we didn't have flexible plans. So I didn't go up there.” Ahhhhhhhhh. Here comes the reasons for my worry.

I went to the gate desk and asked if there was anything else I needed. The sweet lady checked my boarding pass, and reassured me that we were already assigned our seats and were ready to go. I sat back down, and picked up my book.

Five minutes before our flight was going to board, they called Mr. and Mrs. Cain to the desk. They told us that they over sold the flight, and needed us to be rerouted. AHHHHHHHHH……. So, I started crying. Why? Who knows. Maybe no sleep. Maybe the fact that I had worried about this trip for about 5 months??

The airline lady took us to the counter and explained to us, and 6 others, that they were extremely sorry, this happens form time to time, they always over sell some flights, and that they would be compensating us for our troubles. Ummmmm… what?! Yeah, Delta made it up to us, took GREAT care of us, and instead of sending us to Cozumel by 2pm, they sent us to Dallas ANNNDDDD then to Cozumel. I always wanted to see Texas.

Looking back, Coach and I just laugh. I mean, seriously, could this have happened to anyone BUT us?? (Well, it happened to 6 others. Who we quickly became friends with and spent the rest of our day with.) I sent a text to my friend, and she couldn't believe it either. She really couldn't believe the $$$ that they gave us for their mistake. It was kinda silly that I cried. I just don’t travel enough to be ok with things working out differently than what I plan. I was trying to explain to Coach why I was so worried. I told him that when we go to away UGA games, he knows EXACTLY what to do. We can easily go with the flow because we know EXACTLY what to expect. This was NOTHING like that. (Is it bad that the only thing I have to talk about when traveling is traveling to football games?!? Yes, it is HORRIBLE Mr. CAIN!)

So, $35 on airport food later ($30 of that on ONE meal) and about 5 hours later than expected, we made it to Cozumel. When we pulled up to the resort, some other passengers said, “Oh this is SUPER NICE! I’m jealous!” It was VERY VERY nice. I’m ready to be back….

The next post will be about the trip and what all we DIDN’T do while on our dream vacation.

Love love,

C^2 

Five on Friday!

I just realized that the last post I made was on July 29^th. Then I realized that this is truly a clear representation of my life since July 29^th. Non-stop, keep running, never a moment to sit. When I am on the computer, I am making literacy centers, lesson plans, notebooks, or reading blogs. This is NOT me complaining, in fact: I am loving the life we are living right now. It is actually perfect. Coach is a happy man, Dub is loving his life of kids visiting him for pancake suppers, and I am loving my first graders, and cross country kids.

 

With that being said, there are about 50 blog drafts sitting in the box. There really is so much that can be said from the Cain family. However, with this being MY day off for Fall Break… I am going to link up for a little random fun.

Here we go:

One. Did I mention that this is our day off?! Well, it is. Although we have a long weekend each month… last long weekend I was deathly sick. So, I plan to make up for it today. I have no plans that require me to get out of my pjs. NONE. Oh… because the genius (don’t tell him I called him that, Amanda) that worked out our football schedule also made this our off week. This means NOTHING to do tonight. Coach will be gone to a game.. so I am really off duty... I may read a book. GASP! Until then, it is kinda amazing sitting in the chair, blogging, and catching up on our weekday shows that we are missing because we are old and sleeping at 9pm. (Hey... up at 5am... give us some credit!) 

Two. Coffee. You know I am a Spark girl. However, when the mornings are chilly, once a week I feel I deserve the love that comes in my beautiful Butler’s Pantry mugs. Well, last week when shopping I found my absolute favorite coffee… in a bag! What?!?! I may be having two cups this morning. No worries… no cream here. Just black blueberry amazingness.

Three.  Baby fever. What?!?! Yes. From time to time I have the slight fever that rushes over me that triggers my brain and says… “Little baby Cain in a UGA onesie?!” No worries, Coach is quick with the cool rag to chill the fever with the reminder of our schedules, schedules, and schedules. Oh, and did I mention our schedules?! Ok, I am over with that rant… you can breathe now, Coach.

 

a little baby coach?! :) i die. 

Four. This weekend my sweet sweet friend is getting married. I cannot wait to see her say, “I do.” Not to mention it is on the stage of my favorite place on Earth... The Church at Southside. She will be beautiful, it will be beautiful, and her marriage will be beautiful. We can't wait to dance the night away with you! 

Five. My husband. He deserves a major shout out. He really should be number one in this Friday Five. He is giving up kickoff in Athens tomorrow to attend a cross country meet. Yeah. No words can explain. So, I’ll give it my best shot. I love you, and you’re the absolute BEST administrative assistant and husband! Now, go ahead and purchase those Ga/ Fl tickets. :)