Where did it go?

Where did my summer go?  This is the first summer I had entirely off in over 3 years and I had BIG plans for it.  As the saying goes, "Man plans and God laughs."  We have been super busy, but I will NOT go back to work feeling rested in the least.

First, we put our house on the market.  This decision came after many years of discussing, debating, and improving on the house.  We loved our little house, but we were outgrowing it rapidly, plus it was nowhere near our family, friends, or Jewish community.  With baby number 3 on the way, our small house wasn't going to cut it anymore.  Ten days after putting it on the market, we had an offer on our house!!!!  I freaked out because I thought that I had plenty of time to find a new house in the area we wanted.  Boy was I wrong!!!  After closing at the end of June, we moved our family of four to a two bedroom apartment and signed a short term lease.  The apartment is lovely and we would have stayed longer if they had 3 bedrooms, but they didn't.

Then the traveling began.  First, we took the girls to visit my parents and Sea World.  D loved the shows, animals, and water park.

Little L loved dancing to Elmo and Friends!  The trip was rushed, but everyone had a great time.  My mom is now out of the cast and feeling better.

Shortly after our trip to San Antonio, it was time to visit my in laws in Florida.  Neither girl has been to the beach, so I was curious as to how they would act.  D couldn't get enough of it!!!  She loved the crashing waves, the sand on the beach (but not in her shoes), and would have stayed even longer if we would have let her.  Little L was more hesitant, of course, but she warmed up quickly.  She really liked putting sand in her bucket and pouring it out, and even braved the waves with us.  D liked watching the Blue Angels who were putting on quite a show for us.

When we got home from Florida, the search for a house continued.  We knew what we were looking for (and had looked at a LOT of houses), but we still had not found our house.  The day after we got home, we looked at a house and it was perfect!!!  We looked at it 3 times that day (once with my Sister-In-Law, once with realtor, and once with Brother and Sister-In-Law).  The house was just right for my family.  So, as of right now, we are closing on August 8th, which is after Husband goes back to work.  That makes it a little tough, but well worth it.  We hope to be mostly settled before I return to work.

So, it was a crazy, full, busy summer.  It was great and my children got to do things they have never done before.  I just wish it wasn't so darn hot!!

It's Been a While

So, I need to start off with an apology of sorts.  Life got a hold of me and I stopped updating my blog.  I found out recently by several of you, that this is basically how you keep up with what is going on with me and my family. 

Since I last wrote in March, things have been rolling along cheerfully, for the most part.  In April, I took the girls by myself to Houston.  D and Little L enjoyed walking around Buc-ee's.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it is better than a gas station with some of the largest and cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen.  We got to spend three nights with Gigi, my grandmother, and they totally had a blast.  Gigi took us shopping for matching outfits, bought us a bunch of toys including two large balls, and took us to the park across the street.  The time went too quickly, but it was a lot of fun.

May was a month of celebrating.  My mother took her mother (Gigi) to the Kentucky Derby!!  They both wore fancy, but tasteful hats (no Prince William's wedding style hats here!) and had a blast.  The men were southern gentlemen who helped them out whenever they turned around.  Both of them knew it was a trip of a lifetime and a wonderful way to spend Mother's Day.

My dad came to visit us for Mother's Day.  D had her very first dance recital so he came to watch.  She did a tap and a ballet number and my almost 4 year old actually danced!!!!  I was completely prepared for her to just stand up there, but she didn't.  The tap routine had them dancing with a stick, which made the other mommies and I worried.  There were no casualties or injuries.

Shortly after Mother's Day, we put our house on the market.  Our nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath house was not meeting our needs anymore.  Since most of our family, friends, and activities are in Dallas, we decided that we didn't like missing out on things because we live too far away.  Ten days after our house was listed, we had a total of 21 showings and two offers.

On June 30th, we will be closing on our house and moving into an apartment for a few months.  We found a nice apartment that specializes in short term leases while we look for a house in Plano/North Dallas.  Since we were not expecting our house to sell so quickly, we hadn't really been looking at houses, but we have spent a lot of evenings and Sundays looking now.  Hopefully we will find our home soon enough.

Husband finished up his first year as an Educational Diagnostician and had a great year.  He has a group of friends and feels like this is a great place for him.  I finished up my first year back at teaching and LOVED it!!!  It was a nice reminder of why I got into education in the first place.  D and Little L had a great year at their dual language campus and D is singing and telling us words in Spanish all of the time.  I will try to write soon with our new updates and progress on the move.

Coincidence?

Today a coworker/friend lent me two books that she highly recommended.  I love books and am thrilled when someone else recommends them because I know that at least one person found value in the book.  The books are: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Cinderella Ate My Daughter.  So, what is the coincidence you ask?

Today in the mail, my oldest daughter D received a special delivery. 

A couple of weeks ago, I entered a contest to win a free shoe delivery from Snow White through Pretty Princess Parties (DFW).  We found out this morning that the shoes were on their way, and when I checked my mail, there they were!!!  So, Cinderella Ate My Daughter and Snow White shoes on the same day?
D LOVES her new shoes and the note from Snow White. 

She asked where Snow White was, and we told her that Snow White was at her castle.  She immediately put on the shoes and started prancing around the house. 

We made sure that the shoes were in a place where she could see them as she drifted off to sleep. 

I am sure she is dreaming about Snow White, the castle, her new dress up shoes, and her personal letter from Snow White.  Sweet Dreams!

Self medicating for the wrong thing

Sunday, as you read in my last blog, was a very busy day for us.  So, when my neck and upper shoulder started hurting, I thought I had just pushed myself a little too far.  I thought I had strained a muscle or something like that.  Instantly, I went into self-medicating mode.  First, I took Advil and applied heat.  Then, I tried Tylenol and applied heat.  Finally, I attempted Excedrin and once again applied heat.  None of these truly eased my discomfort, but the hot pad and Bengay released some of the tension in my neck for a VERY brief time. 

Then, this morning I woke up and couldn't turn my head at all, brush my hair because it hurt to extend my arm in that direction, and needed help putting my shirt on.  Okay, I finally decided that maybe I need to see a doctor.  I checked into CareNow at 5:45 (I was up anyways) and they would have me in their system when they opened their doors at 8.  I arrived at 7:55 and checked in.  Soon after, I was hustled back to the room.  Two hours, one steroid shot, and two prescriptions later, I was diagnosed with Mono.

I thought this was a teenage disease from kissing.  At my age, this shouldn't be a concern of mine.  Turns out, it is a virus in the spleen.  The doctors treat the symptoms, which vary greatly from sore throat to exhaustion, but cannot treat the disease.  You actually get Mono two to three weeks BEFORE you show symptoms, and you can continue to show symptoms for up to a MONTH after you have been diagnosed!!!  The doctor told me to drink lots of fluids (hard when it hurts to swallow) and get lots of rest (hard with two young children who don't really get that mommy is sick), but told me I could go right back to work.  Oh yeah, she also told me to avoid contact sports.  I told her I avoid those without a doctor's orders!

What a Weekend!

What a crazy full weekend we have had in our household!  The focus this weekend was on the lawn.  We started by mowing the front yard.  We put grass seed down two weeks ago, and were told to water it often and wait two weeks to mow.  So, Friday afternoon, it was mowed.  Then the yard work and chores increased. 

We Kashered our pantry to prepare for Passover (which starts Monday night in a week).  We started to clean out the fridge and freezer as well, so we will be eating a lot from those two places before Passover.  To Kasher the pantry, we started by emptying everything out.  As we took the items out, we separated them into two piles-Kosher for Passover and not Kosher for Passover.  Then, we scrubbed down the shelves and scrubbed the floor of the pantry.  Since it was empty and needed sprucing up, we put shelf liner on all of the shelves and reorganized it as we reloaded it with items okay for Passover.

Then, we moved onto yard work.  Husband power washed two-thirds of our deck.  To some, this may not be a big deal, but our deck has three layers and each layer could easily fit an outdoor living room or dining room (so it is BIG).  The power washer got tired a couple of times and needed to rest, but husband didn't stop working.  I weeded the front landscaping so that we could replant with fresh new flowers.

Today, the BIG work started.  We removed rocks from the side of our entry to make way for flowers.  Big sister D got some work gloves and lent a hand.

Little L hung out in a pack and play filled with toys.  Mostly she stood up and talked to us, but she did play some.

D was so excited with her new gloves, that she had to show them off to anyone who would look.  Little L was a captive audience.

It took us two trips to Lowe's, one trip to Marshall's Grain Company, one really long nap by both girls at the same time, and the entire day.  After the first trip to Lowe's, we realized that we had grossly underestimated our needs, so I schlepped back (thank goodness it is right around the corner).  The back of the Mom Mobile was PACKED (and we still didn't have everything we needed)!

After all of this got planted, we headed to a different store, Marshall Grain, to pick up some taller plants.  The front is almost done.  We still need to get mulch, but it is looking good.  We even had enough energy to wash 6 loads of laundry and start mowing the backyard.  Hopefully, the Advil will keep the body pains at bay, because everyone will sleep well tonight!

Laundry Day

So, I am NOT a fan of doing laundry.  The problem isn't the collecting from hampers, putting it into the washing machine, or transferring to the dryer.  I really don't like the folding, hanging, and putting away.  It is time consuming.  It takes longer to fold, hang, and put away one load of clothes than to empty the dishwasher (or fill it up for that matter).  Plus, the most annoying part is the pile of stray socks that I am stuck with.  How these socks lose their mates is beyond me.  I think I will be buying all white socks in both girls sizes, then no matter what, they will match something.

Hmm..I don't know if I can give up the socks that match with the girls' outfits quite yet.  Hopefully, I will find a use for all of those mismatched individual socks one day.

A Time for Family

Several times over the last three days I have been reminded of how precious family is.  Last week, husband and I decided that since I am off for Passover break (a week and a half!), I should take the girls to see my grandmother.  The drive will be a minimum of 5 hours, depending on crying one year old, potty breaks for 3.5 year old, and caffeine for me. 

My grandmother, the last of all of my grandparents, is 91 years old.  She asks me during each of my weekly phone calls about the girls and is terrified that she will not ever see them again because she cannot travel easily (though she offered to fly here to drive back with me.  Sweet kind woman that she is!). 

I am not taking the trip for myself, even though I deeply love my grandmother and want to see her.  I am not truly doing it for her, though I think she believes that I am.  I am taking the girls on a road trip by myself for my girls.  They deserve wonderful memories of their great grandmother.  They deserve pictures of her with them.  They deserve to be spoiled rotten by her.  Most importantly, they deserve HER!!

My grandmother with my big girl, D, at her baby naming.

My grandmother with BOTH of my girls celebrating her 90th birthday just 3 weeks after Little L was born.