I've got my cup of coffee & it's in the 70's outside

We left SO alte yesterday morning, around 11am. To my knowledge this was also the first time we've ever left for a trip during the day, usually we drive at night. This works out quite nice, though, as we can stop during the day to do things. Usually we're in a rush & don't ahve time to stop so driving at night makes sense.

Yesterday we were in a hurry to get to our hotel but we did have time to stop at a couple places for picnic meals.

Our first night time stop was in Asheville, NC - we haven't been here in over four years - I was pregnant with Addison! I do wish we could stay here longer & go to the Biltmore but it's not in the time or monetary budget.

We stayed st a Doubletree last night (one of the Hilton brands) & they offer free warm cookies at check-in. The girls were already compeletly stoked to be at the hotel & totally giddy running around the room & laughing - the cookies only added to the fun!



Breakfast this morning was munchkins - more sugar! I made sure to get a sausage biscuit so there would be some protein.



I have no idea where we're staying tonight, I let Ray take care of all of that, I'm just along for the ride!

Packing, packing, packing

I stayed home from church this morning to pack. Totally goes against my nature, too, my whole week feels wonky when I miss the meeting! But, IF we leave tomorrow (it's still not a definite) we plan to leave first thing in the morning & if we're going to be packed I had to stay home this morning. I work all afternoon & even if I stayed home from the evening meeting I'd have the kids & then after the evening meeting Ray works & I take care of the kids & get them to sleep. Which means if they're sleeping I can't be in their rooms to pack (& Clay still sleeps in our room).

Anyway, Ray took the girls this morning & Clay & I stayed back to pack. It was definitely a good decision on my part. I do believe I'm nearly done, at least as far as clothes (right down to shoes, socks & traveling outfits for tomorrow!). Now I just need to gather things like the books I want to take with me, hair accessories, & car activities for the kids - we're still one of the few without a dvd player in our van so the kids make-do the old fashioned way. I love those traveling magna doodles!

In the midst of packing I'm also cleaning out - too many clothes that never get worn or that don't fit anymore. We also seem to be brimming over with "stuff" & it's driving me crazy! Part of it is simply lack of space to put the things but, if we don't have the space, do we really need it? I can't wait to find out if my sister is having a boy or girl because I'm compiling some of the extras we have to pass along her way! Babies grow so fast that it seems some things never even get used.



See? See how fast they grow? Clay will be 10 weeks tomorrow!

We have an overabundance of cereal - so much that I don't have room for all of it on the pantry shelves so some of the unopened boxes are on the pantry floor.

Addison had been asking to eat some of the cereal & after I continued to refuse she took matters into her own hands (it didn't take the girls long at all to figure out that they can get away with more things while I'm sitting on the sofa nursing Clay).



Later in the day I found her with another box - at least she gets tupperware containers out to dump them in!

This was an extremely challenging week with my dearest eldest child. When my mom called Thursday to let me know she had a dentist appointment on my side of the coast Friday I took advantage of my parents' visit & went out alone. Granted, it was only for about 45 minutes, but it was enough to really help me regroup & feel rejuvenated.

I also can tell that having meals already prepared for the days I work are a huge help so this morning I went grocery shopping & spent today preparing meals. I made a double batch of lasagna, a double batch of baked penne with chicken and dried tomatoes, a double batch of vegetarian enchiladas, a batch of chili & a batch of white chicken chili.

As for our vacation we've put it off for a couple of days & now we're aiming for a leave date of Monday. I'm busy with last minute preparations - I don't find it too difficult to pack for the kids (thankfully, kids really don't require much!), I just find it difficult picking out the clothes. The weather is so different up north than it is here that I'm not too sure about choosing a wardrobe for everybody!

Nerves

Today began Addisons' dance classes & Kates' mommy & me gym class. Because Ray hasn't started his new job yet he was able to come with us this morning. Before we left we tried & tried to get Addison to eat her breakfast. Instead she laid down on the kitchen floor complaining that she didn't feel well. She tried one bite of her eggs (you know, the same kind she loved when I made them yesterday) & spit them out. She didn't have a fever & I concluded that she was just nervous. Poor girl! It was sweet, too, because it shows how much she's growing up that she felt nervous at all.

About to go to class (Addison's hair had been in a nice high ponytail & she pulled it out - it got fixed inside)



Ray took some video through the glass; for most of the other girls this was their second year of dance so it was old hat for them. Addison spent a little more time watching & doing her own thing.



Kate seemed to have fun, too, I think she'll really start to enjoy it as time goes on!



Ray's dad is the one who signed the girls up for their classes & stopped by on Tuesday to drop off Addison's outfit-complete with tights, leotard, pink leather ballet shoes & tap shoes. We're very excited about the tap shoes (yes, we). The crazy thing is those tights were more expensive than any of the other items! ($22 - they better be made out of some magical non-tearing fibers!)



I can't wait to see how things progress, especially with Addison's dance. Their recital is even at our performing arts center!

I've been dying to make this announcement

Ray has a new job!!!

We are so thrilled. He'll be working as an accountant for the city in banking & debt management. I'm so proud of him!

He applied for two different accounting positions back in June & had to take two tests. He passed those & then had to answer a list of qualifying questions. Next, he interviewed in front of three people and the next week they called & asked for his references! We really didn't think they'd ask for references if they weren't thinking of hiring him but I was afraid to get my hopes up. Finally, two weeks ago, they called & offered him the job (& they offered him the better position of the two he applied for!).

We still don't know when he starts but it will most likely be close to the end of September. It's going to be so nice to have a salary & benefits &, most likely, to get a second vehicle! We've been a one car family for almost four years now. But, the job is downtown in city hall; I can't drop Ray off every day & I also don't want to be stuck at home every day so hopefully we'll be able to get another car soon.

The big question everyone has been asking: Will we be able to quit Hilton?

As of now, no.

I don't think it will make much of a difference for me but I'm not sure how Ray's going to do it, that's going to be a lot on his plate. The whole reason we'll continue working Hilton is simply because we racked up debt when the real estate market turned sour &, with it, our income disappeared. If we quit Hilton it could take years to pay off. If we can continue to work both jobs then we'll probably have a tough couple of months in regards to our time but, it will get us out of debt so much sooner. I think I'd rather have several more tough months instead of several more tough years. (This is what I'm telling myself as I really dislike one of us working every night of the week except Saturday)

In anticipation of starting the job we're taking a vacation! As you may remember we like to take Autumn trips when possible but we're obviously not going to take off a month after Ray starts a new job. So, this morning Ray told me we're leaving this Saturday! I'm so excited!!! I have a feeling after going up north it will really get me in the mood for Fall.

GIRLS NIGHT!!!

Each time we have one of these I feel so rejuvenated afterwards. I wish we had more opportunities to do this more often - for now we just take advantage of every few months one of us having a baby & going out to celebrate!

Yesterday was Erin's celebration & we went out to International Plaza (our "fancy" mall with stores like Tiffany's & Louis Vuitton) for dinner & dessert. As I've mentioned before this is in celebration of the mommy with gifts for her - I wanted to get Erin a gift card to her favorite salon for a pedicure but couldn't make the drive over there. I didn't want to just stuff cash in an envelope so I made this "gift card" holder.



For dinner we went to California Pizza Kitchen,. I got the "small cravings" Mediterranean platter - it was excellent! It was so very me - hummus, pita, feta & cucumber, tomato & kalamata olive salad - delicious! Although, I will say, it really was "small cravings." Very tiny portions which I kind of did on purpose because I wanted to save room for dessert at Cheesecake Factory!

Randa, Rach, Me, Ella & Erin



Godiva chocolate cheesecake & coffee!



For the favors Rach wrapped up chocolate bars in this pretty little paper - she & Ella also included Starbucks gift cards in the favors - hurray! Such a fun fun night, we definitely need to do this more often.



*I know, I do not make an effort to take very good photos with the correct lighting - I leave that to my sister!

Ray kept all of the kids at home while I was out. When I got home he gave me the run down of the evening & I was very impressed & proud of him! Addison spent a bit of time in time out; so much so that he ended up bathing Kate by herself & then bathed Addison & told her she couldn't play at all with her bath toys because she'd lost that privilege. He's been doing so wonderfully at being incredibly patient & consistent when it comes to disciplining lately. By the time I got home all of the kids were in bed & the house was as clean as when I left! (I truly was surprised by that, I thought it would be a mess!)

This week's crafty



Hair clips I made for Avery's birthday present. Our get together this morning was lovely - Briana did such cute & creative decorations & man, my friends can cook! We never lack for delicious food when we get together! I was a bum & didn't take any photos.

Currently...

I've been working on updating my family room a bit. My new slip cover came last week (it's not perfect but much better than my sofa looked!) & I bought some fabric for some of the updates. Here's a little sneak peek:



I did a teeny tiny bit of crafting this week. Other than that I can't think of much else going on.

Starting work this week has probably contributed to that. So far, so good. It all came back to me just like riding a bike. While I don't enjoy the job & it is a bit mindless & mundane, I still take satisfaction in knowing I do the job well. I do have a feeling of dread that I keep at bay knowing that we're going back to the way things were before Clay was born; one of us working until midnight every night but once a week, virtually never seeing each other & being more tired. It's totally doable just not ideal.

I have had great anticipation for this coming weekend. Tomorrow morning is one of our little mommy get togethers, this time at Brianas' house to celebrate Avery's first birthday! It's been awhile since we all hung out & I'm really looking forward to it. THEN, Saturday night is Erin's "mommy shower" - girls night out!!! That's one good thing about the two nights I worked this week, it was like a little trial run for Ray taking care of all of the kids by himself.

I can't wait to go out!

Peace

Where there's quiet there's usually trouble, at least when it involves toddlers.



I was talking on the phone in the living room this morning & the girls were running around the house happily playing together (they're definitely started bonding & playing together more - I don't know if it's just Kate getting older or if it has to do with the arrival of Clay). Anyway, I didn't think much of it when they ran to the back of the house & got quiet, I thought they were just in their room.

Until I realized it was too quiet & went searching but their room was empty. I found the girls, with the door closed, sitting under Ray's desk in his office happily munching on chocolate they found in his closet.

I couldn't help but laugh & grabbed the camera! Kate saw me & turned & said, "cheese!" They were pretty happy girls.

I was reading a library copy of New Moon when I turned the page & saw this:



Thank you obsessive-teenage-girl for literally making me laugh out loud!

Thursday night Clay took his first bottle ever. He took it like a champ! First kid I've ever had that didn't fight me on it. However, he's also the first one that I tried with the breast-flow bottle first - those things are still the best ever & if you nurse but want your child to try a bottle this is the one to buy (at least if your kids are picky like mine!). I still stand by my review from last year.



The reason I tried a bottle last week is because we have girls night out/Erin's "mommy shower" this coming Saturday - yay for kid free nights! So, I needed to make sure that Clay can take a bottle. Really though, I started back to work today. Yikes! I can't believe I was a little nervous; there was no need to be, everything went smoothly. I was amazed at just how well I remembered to do my job that it made me a little sad - I remember so well because I've done it so much! You can't imagine how I've enjoyed the last eight weeks off. Anyway, working six-hour night shifts, even at home, I only have limited breaks. Possibly not enough time to nurse, so I needed to make sure he could take a bottle (the girls night out just happened to be perfect timing, too!).


Friday morning, my parents arrived shortly after 8 (I asked them to come early!) to spend the day with us (they actually ended up spending the night, too). It's always so nice to visit, I was really looking forward to it. My dad was a big help with the kids too - my mom & I even went out COMPLETELY ALONE in the morning for coffee & shopping - the prices are so much better over here that my mom ends up doing a lot of her grocery shopping here. Plus, I have a small but excellent health food store across the street that clearances - I got a 1/2 gallon of organic milk for 59 cents!!!

My dad & Addison did the entire puzzle together



My mom & the little man



Saturday morning we all piled into the van for Hannah's birthday pool party. Addison was thrilled; on our drive over she kept exclaiming in a high little-girl voice with the biggest smile on her face, "I'm so excited to go to Hannah's birthday party!!!" (Jen said Hannah kept asking if Addison would be there, too) I was also very excited to go. Jen & Gabe will be moving to Philadelphia soon - Gabe leaves next week! I'm happy for them but so sad to see them go. Of course now we just have more friends to visit on our trips up north!

Out of all of the cute pictures of the kids from the party this picture of the dads is by far my favorite:

On Wednesday morning we met up with Amy & her girls at the mall for their weekly kids program. It's pretty great, it's completely free & they have some entertainment, animal balloons & face painting.

Kate waiting for her balloon



A very pretty flower



The entertainment this week was all about gators! The guy was semi-entertaining and brought a little four-year-old gator with him (you know they typically grow about a foot a year until they're eight-years-old - I learned something, it's not just for kids!)





Afterwards we walked down to Barnes & Noble & Amy treated she & I to coffees & the girls to those huge cafe cookies! We took them upstairs to the kids section for a bit & let them play & read.

Addison enjoying her books in the Hundred Acre Wood

I love my guys!

Don't you just hate it when your kids do something funny and simultaneously disobedient?


You have to make that decision between laughing & taking a picture or disciplining. Or, trying to do both.




In this case Ray didn't realize Addison had disobeyed me by taking the candles out of the drawer & instead basked in the cuteness of her telling us that she was "playing happy birthday." (I was nursing Clay in the other room & didn't know what was going on until after the fact).

I'm merely updating for my mom's benefit

I'm still not feeling well today. :( I woke up Sunday morning feeling fine but then noticed some tenderness & could tell I was probably coming down with mastitis. I knew I'd start feeling really icky (like when you have the flu) so, after starting to get ready to leave, I opted to stay home from church. Ray still took the girls & I kept Clay - who slept nearly the entire time. It was so strange virtually having the house to myself for four hours without any responsibility. It was quite the nice break! I had a list of about 10 things running through my head that I could do but, since I wasn't feeling well, I merely rested. (& read mind candy - I'm finally caving to the Twilight series - the rainy weather we had yesterday morning was perfect for reading it, too!)

The rest of the day was spent simply resting, convincing Ray that I needed him to stay home from church that night to help me take care of the kids & Ray surprising me with Five Guys fries! I felt just horrid as the day went on - aches, chills & a 101+ fever. Thank the Lord for those meals I've been cooking & freezing, I pulled one of them out & we had beef stew for dinner.

Anyway, before feeling ill on Sunday we took our family day on Saturday & first went to the library for the end of the summer reading program party for the kids. You had to read at least 20 books to your kids & record them & if they had at least that many than they would get a certificate & could attend the party. It was really quite nice - they had a guy there singing, doing magic, making balloons & he just interacted so well with the kids! They also had snacks & each child got to pick out a book to keep.



After the library we took the kids home for naps & I went out to the mall, taking Clay with me, of course. After that it was time for IKEA! For one, I always love going there & looking around. Two, right now kids eat free. While I was standing in line getting the kids food I saw Rach & Con walk in! They were there with their kids & Rach's three sisters. I love randomly running into people I know & we ended up eating dinner together.





After parting ways we walked the top floor & Addison had to test out some furniture & gave us her verdict.

She deemed this sofa "not comfortable."



These two were comfortable, though!





Addison had the best time playing in one of the preview kids rooms they had set up. She'd go through her whole day - declaring "the sun is up!" & getting out of the bed, pretending to get dressed, etc. By the time we made it to the kids toys & let them play for a bit Kate started losing it. She was just too tired & we made a mad dash through the bottom of the store to leave.



One day, someday, I hope to go completely alone & look to my little hearts desire. However, I was so exhausted after our day that after putting Clay in the bassinet I crashed into the bed on my stomach & fell asleep - thus resulting in my mastitis case the next morning!

It's the little things...

Yesterday my new IKEA catalog came in the mail!!! I've been looking forward to it for months (yes, months) & my anticipation was heightened when I received an e-mail the other week stating that I would receive my new catalog in the beginning of August. The kids were even nice & slept in long enough this morning so I could enjoy my coffee and browse the catalog in 30 minutes of peace.

Today I bought a brand new slip cover for our eight-year-old sofa! And, due to a gift certificate & free shipping, I didn't pay a penny! Our sofa has definitely seen better days. It's a nice classic design but due to being able to take off the covers & machine wash only the cushions we sit on but only spot clean the rest of the sofa it's become multi-hued. Plus, water spots look like dirty stains - not cool, & makes for a lot of cleaning if you want to keep the spots from showing.



I was also so excited when I had Clay in his bouncy seat with us in the kitchen today & I looked over to see him reaching for one of his toys! I love seeing the milestones.



There's other news, BIG news, but it's still in limbo so it's not really news. Yet. I'm hoping that changes soon.

6 weeks

Monday marked 6-weeks since Clay's birth, which meant I also had my six-week post-partum visit. I so enjoy going to the birth center, they become like friends, that I find it a little sad to have my last appointment. The nice thing is the invitation to come back for a visit!

Me & my midwife, Bea, who was there for both Clays' & Kates' births



While at the appointment I found out that Clay is up to 11 pounds - that's a 2.5 pound weight gain since he was born!

In totally unrelated news Starbucks ice cream was BOGO this week AND I had two $1 off coupons so I got 2 pints for $1.34! Yay!

The Sponge Docks

Our Saturday family activity this past weekend was a trip to the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs & then to the beach at Fred Howard Park.

The plan was to pack a lunch & leave in the morning. That was the plan. However, time got away & by the time I was making lunch it was nearly lunch time so we ate at home. We ran into several other little delays & didn't leave until 1:45! In other words, we were walking outside at the hottest part of the day. That's why shops in Florida have little signs like this posted on the doors:



It was so hot that before we actually started walking along the docks we stopped into the first shop for the free "movie" about sponges just so we could sit in the a/c for awhile! There are a LOT of different kinds of sponges.

Tarpon Springs has a large Greek community and I've always wanted to stop in for some pastries or dessert but I never have before. Until Saturday. I don't remember the name of the dessert I chose but it sounded delicious - chocolate cake & custard & chocolate mousse.



About to try my dessert! (yes, I shared with everyone)



I'm sad to say it was so disappointing. Ray is much less picky than I am in that area & even he wasn't impressed. But now I have the desire to eat their desserts out of my system! Now I know to just get ice cream to help me beat the heat like the girls did! (actually, they ended up getting yogurt because Addison picked out "pink ice cream" & the only pink one was strawberry yogurt!)





The girls playing in one of the little boats they had set up in a courtyard



Kate catching some air!



By the time we made it to the beach it was around 6:00. It was pretty nice since the sun was getting lower; it was starting to cool off & I found some shade to sit under!



Clay's first visit to the beach!



Little baby feet feeling the sand for the first time



We finally left around 7:30 & we were starving! One of the first places we found was a Taco Bell so we sat down & enjoyed a round of tacos together. We finally made it home at 9:15! We definitely didn't plan to be gone that long but we had a lot of fun together!