Topsail 2012

We drove home tonight from Topsail Island, NC.  It was our 4th consecutive year which we traveled to Topsail over the Memorial Day weekend holiday.  What a week!

Nana and Papa drove down with me and Katie on Sunday.  Matt was not able to join us until Wednesday due to work and school commitments.  I was so grateful to have Nana and Papa's help - particularly on the long drive down.  Katie loves her Nana & Papa time.

Last year Katie had NO FEAR of the ocean.  I assumed it would be the same this year.  Boy was that a bad assumption.  For the first 3 days I could barely get her onto the beach.  When I did - she stayed as far away from the water as possible (like standing on the sand dune).  When her daddy arrived on Wednesday, he was able to coax her onto the beach and finally into the water for some fun.  It got progressively better from Wednesday until she was back to her ocean loving self.

Since Katie was iffy on the ocean, we spent a large amount of time at the pool the first few days.  We played with everything from plastic horseshoes to tennis balls.  Each day we would be at the pool by 9 AM and dragging her away at lunch time.  Katie loves to play in the water!

I tried to mix things up a bit and do more than just beach and pool activities during the week.  We found a playground a couple miles from the condo and took Katie out to play there a couple afternoons/evenings.  I also tried to take her to the pier so she could see people fishing....but that didn't work out due to afternoon rain.  It was odd actually, because we had GREAT weather all week....only 2 short rainy periods.

Several of Katie's books talk about flying a kite.  I thought it would be a fun adventure to let her fly one for the first time at the beach.  Popa and I went out one day while Katie was napping to purchase a good kite.  Once she woke from her nap, she, Nana, and I took her out to try it out.  Katie was so excited - giggling, laughing, yelling, and running all over the place.  The first day we flew the kite, it wasn't extremely windy which meant we some running was required to get the kite up.  But, the light wind made it easy for her to fly by herself (and not blow away)!  We took the kite out several times during the week....and I'm so glad we tried it.

Such a wonderful week!!!  As always, I'm exhausted after returning.  There is a mountain of laundry to do and a million things to take care of before I return to work on Tuesday.  Back to reality....ugh!

Below is a video montage of our beach week.  When I watch this, I want to rewind the week and start over again.  Well, minus how tired I am.  :-)

Neighborhood Block Party

Each year our home owners association hosts a party for the neighborhood.  They block off an entire section of streets, set up a huge tent with food, and a playground area for the kids.  Normally its hosted on a weekend when we are out of town.  Luckily we were around this year and able to attend.

When Katie got up from her nap we headed over to her friend Noah's house to meet up with his parents and little sister.  Then, we all walked over to the party together.  Since Noah lives right across the street - he and Katie are buddies and play together often.  As usual, they had a blast together at the block party playing with jump ropes, bouncy balls, frisbees, and several other games.  Their favorite part of the afternoon was when the ice cream truck arrived.  They both got to pick out their very own ice cream.  After all the kids had made their selection, we lined them up on the curb....letting them all eat their treats together. 

I've tried to prepare Katie for the upcoming move and the fact that she won't see Noah very much after we relocate. She says "yeah, I'll miss Noah when we leave." But, I really don't think she gets it. So sad to separate these two pals....and Matt and I are going to miss Chris and Laura (Noah and Marley's mom & dad). Just hoping we can make new friends in our new neighborhood, and Katie will find new compatible playmates.

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day we took a trip to the Chesterfield Berry Farm.  Its strawberry picking season - and the weather was perfect for a day outside.  Katie was definitely on board with the plan - since she will take any opportunity to ride a tractor.

When we first arrived we headed to STRAIGHT the moon bounce.  I think she would have stayed in the moon bounce a full hour if allowed.  Next up, the animal farm.  Katie got to see rabbits, sheep, chickens, guineas, a turkey, goats, cows, and an emu.  One of the chickens escaped the chicken coupe.  Pretty amusing, actually, to watch one of the staff members chase the chicken.  For the record, chickens are pretty fast......at least this one was!

Finally, we headed over to the tractors to catch a ride out to the strawberry patch.  When we arrived, Katie insisted on carrying her own basket and picking strawberries herself.  She definitely won the award for most diverse color range of strawberries picked.  The adults stuck with the perfectly red ones, but not Katie.  Nope - she liked the white ones, the green ones, the red ones, the black ones (yep, rotten ones). 

Unfortunately, our trip to the Berry Farm ended rather abruptly.  It turns out that the combination of 10 days worth of antibiotics, plus excessive amounts of fresh strawberries is not a good combination for Katie's tummy.  Notice the seat of her pants in the the picture below??  (Hint - look at her butt).  She told me she "had to go really bad" when we were in the middle of the strawberry field.  Yep - a full 10 minute tractor ride and 5 minute walk away from a restroom.  As you can see, she didn't make it that long.  As soon as we got off the tractor, we rushed to the car to find whatever we could to clean her up.  This incident was a bit of a wake-up call for me.  I've gotten so used to Katie being potty trained that I didn't have an extra pair of panties, wipes, etc. in the car.  We had to use a bottle of water, napkins, pants (with no panties), and hand sanitizer to clean her.  Lesson learned - always carrry a spare EVERYTHING with you!!! 

Poop incident aside - It was a wonderful Mother's Day which I got to spend with my daughter and my mother.  I don't want to get too mushy, but I do want to say a special thank you to my mom.  Nana - you are the epitomy of selflessness.  A mother has never loved her daughter, or her granddaughter, more than you do us.  We are so lucky to have you in our lives.  Becoming a mother has made me appreciate even more your devotion to family.  I'm constantly amazed at how you accomplish it all.  I don't say thank you enough for everything you have done, and continue to do.  Love you Nana.

p.s.  Nana - I'm so sorry that we never seem to get good pictures of you, me, and Katie.  Making a mental note to work on that!!!

Trying to Stay Positive...

Its been the strangest 2 weeks for our family.  First of all, we were able to sell our house in a matter of 4 days.  Yes - 4 days - in this terrible seller's market!  I couldn't believe it!  We had one open house - the only actual showing of the house.  From that open house, we received 2 offers - one of which was for just above our asking price.  Quite frankly, it could not have gone more smoothly.

I was so excited, driving to our real estate agent's office to sign the paperwork, when Matt called to tell me he was stranded on shoulder of Interstate 95 because his car had broken down.  Turns out - his engine was blown.  We spent last weekend scrambling to pick out a new car and finally succeeded.  We purchased a new Honda CR-V.  I thought to myself....Okay, despite the fact that we now have a car payment - things are going to be fine. 

Then came Monday, when I got into a car accident which totaled my car.  Fortunately.....wait, let me repeat that again.....FORTUNATELY - I did not have Katie in the car and I was not really injured.  But, we are facing ANOTHER big financial expense.  I had hopes of paying for Matt's upcoming tuition bills completely out of our savings.  But, as we seem to be dipping into those funds more and more, I not sure that will be possible. 

To top off a miserable series of events....Katie and I are both sick.  She has strep throat again....though seems to be recovering quite quickly.  I've had a cold/cough for over 3 weeks and with everything else that's been going on....didn't put much focus on taking care of myself.  The result - I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me I have a sinus infection, tonsilitis, and bronchitis bordering on walking pneumonia.  Awesome!  He sent me home with a double dose of antibiotics, a steriod, an inhaler, and cough syrup with codiene.....and a mandatory follow-up on Monday. 

Weeks like these past two make me remember my grandfather's saying that , "when you start planning, God starts laughing!"  At this point, I'm just praying we can all get healthy and avoid another catostrophic event. 

p.s.  Pictures in this post are from Katie's 2 favorite past times right now....."dress up time"......and "playing doctor."  My, my, my how her little imagination has grown these last few months.  Its so adorably cute!!! 

Selling Richmond

Not sure how many folks will get my title. Its a play on words from the show titled Selling New York....if you've ever seen it. Anyways, as of next Tuesday we are selling Richmond...or at least our house in Richmond.

Preparation for putting the house on the market has been CRAZY! I remember doing it when we sold our house in Philly. Somehow I don't remember it being this bad. Maybe its because we now have a 2 year old - and therefore constant mess and a clutter of toys, etc. Or maybe its because Matt and I having separate schedules leaves so very very little time to get things accomplished.

We had a home staging expert come in to help us. She spent 2 hours with us, giving advice on how to stage each and every room in the house including the outside. As we get closer to the listing date Matt and I have started second guessing ourselves a bit. Not about his decision to go back to school, but about selling the house. We are so attached to our current home for many reasons. First, we like it and have made several improvements to "make it ours." Second, its the home where we've raised Katie. From the day we brought her home from the hospital to now, its all she has known. We are both concerned the move and changes will be very disruptive for her, and we may see some backlash - either potty training relapse or general misbehaving. But her reaction is impossible to predict....and the move is not optional. Who knows - maybe she will love the changes and see it as a big adventure. All I can say is I hope the house sells relatively quickly....not exactly the best sellers market right now.

One more thing - some of the clothes Katie is wearing in the pictures of this post are Cousin Claire hand me downs. We like to call it "Outfitted by Claire." :-) Katie gets excited to wear Claire's clothes....I think its because she looks up to her big cousin. Just wanted to say, thanks Claire (and Kat) for giving us such beautiful things to wear for free!!! :-)

Easter 2012

Over the past week we've been getting ramped up for Easter. Everything from dying easter eggs, painting pictures for the Easter Bunny, to "practice" Easter Egg Hunts in the back yard.

Today we headed to Maymont where they have a huge Easter celebration for kids and families. They had an Easter Egg hunt, multiple Bouncy Castles, face painting, a lollipop tree, and lots of open space to roam/picnic/whatever.

The line for tickets was TERRIBLE! It took Matt over 40 minutes to get tickets. Fortunately, Katie was happy to run around and play with some friends we ran into. She also found a fountain, which kept her occupied for at least 2o minutes. Its amazing to me how mesmerized she is by water - in virtually any form! (FYI - I'm just outside the frame of this picture....making sure she doesn't take a header into the water.)

Once we had the tickets we got busy spending them. The bounce house was at the top of Katie's list. Bouncy castles run a close second to water in Katie's world! :-)

After some bouncy castle time, we headed over for the Egg Hunt. Much like the ticket purchasing process, the egg hunt was extremely over crowded. Fortunately, Matt was able to run ahead of us and mark off some eggs just for Katie. Otherwise, I don't think she would have gotten a single egg.

Most of the eggs had prizes and not candy inside. Katie kept asking me where the M&M's were (that's what I used for our back yard hunt). She was super excited though when she found a dolphin ring inside one of her eggs. My favorite moment was when she opened up an egg and found a fake coin inside. She proceeded to tell me that the coin was a choking hazzard and that it was VERY dangerous. Ha! Well, at least we've taught her something. :-)

As much as I'm enjoying this weekend I'm also a little sad. Normally we spend Easter weekend in Woolwine with GG, Nana, and Papa. It just didn't work out this weekend for many reasons (Matt worked through Friday night, Katie has been sick this week, and I didn't have Friday off from work). I just want to say that I'll miss my Woolwine United Methodist sunrise service tomorrow....and I hope everyone has a beautiful Easter Sunday.

GG's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend we headed back to Woolwine for GG's birthday. I decided to take Friday off too so Matt and I could get our taxes done and also check out some preschools in the Roanoke area. FYI - anyone who has recommendations on Roanoke schools...please send them my way. We were quite impressed with the school we toured, but would like to tour at least 3 places before making a final decision.

Friday brought CRAZY weather to southwestern Virginia. In the early morning it was extremely warm. As the day progressed a cold front, rain, hail, and extreme winds moved into the area. Before the cold front moved through we got Katie outside as much as possible.....to include a trip to the creek. She threw about 1000 rocks into the water and asked me to catch her some "creek crabs" (aka - crawdads).

On Saturday, my Dad's brother Troy was honored with a Pioneer of Blue Grass music award. We went to the Music Festival and got to spend a little time listening to him play the banjo. Katie LOVED the music and had a great time dancing.

Finally on Sunday it was time for the birthday fun. Nana, Papa, Katie, me, and Gigi met up with the rest of the family. We had a nice meal, did gifts, and of course....all the great-grandkids enjoyed helping GIGI blow out her candles. It was so nice to have the family together - and I think GIGI really enjoyed it too. We all love you very much GIGI!!!