Snow Day (part 2!)

When the weather guy warned us that a "Historical Storm" was coming we didn't really believe him.  We were wrong.  The snow started Tuesday morning and finally (FINALLY) quit Thursday morning!  Which meant lots of wet snow clothes, dirty floors and cabin fever!  But we had a great time playing in the snow and will be happy to see it again.  In about 3 years.  :-)

When we woke up to very little snow Wednesday morning (and none on the roads) we wondered if the forecasters were wrong, however the BIG snow started around 8 am.  Within an hour the roads, and everything else, were completely white!  The below pictures were taken shortly after the snow began on Wednesday, when there wasn't too much snow piled up yet.

Later in the day Kate and Mommy went sledding!  The roads had lots of snow and almost no cars - perfect for playing!  We found a big hill just down the street where many neighbors were sliding down the road on anything from real sleds to something that looked like a large sheet of plastic.  It was big fun!

 

 

 

And here is what we had by Thursday morning.  Finally the snow stopped and all was quiet first thing in the morning when Max and Mommy went for a birthday morning stroll.  It was so beautiful out!

 

 

 

 

The sun eventually came out mid day on Thursday and is quickly melting away our snow. 

 

So now seems like a PERFECT time to go skiing in the North Carolina mountains!  Boone, HERE WE COME!!  Swish Swish - Snow Bunny pictures coming soon!

 

Snow Day (part 1)

So this week we are experiencing a "historical storm" or so the media is telling us.  Yesterday we had a couple of inches fall and naturally everything grinded to a screeching halt in South Carolina well before the snow came.  (gotta love the south!)  We loved it - especially Kate, who spent the bulk of her day outside playing.  Lucky for me we have a big, flat back yard that I can see from the kitchen!  And a large dog to protect Kate when she's outside without Mommy (who likes to watch the snow from inside!). 

 

 

When Kate wasn't outside playing in the snow she was inside enjoying hot chocolate! 

 

 

 

All in all it was a good day!  Wednesday should prove to be even more fun because Daddy will be home too!  He's closed his call center because the storm is supposed to get much, much worse.  More soon!

\



Where to begin?

So I'm more than slightly ashamed of myself!  I've not updated my blog in almost 3 months.  Wow.  Yes, lots has happened since my last post but that's absolutely no excuse!

1) We house hunted in Greenville - 20+ houses in one weekend.  After Brett spent lots of time with our realtor before I ever flew in to help.  After thinking we'd be living on the street, or perhaps in a condo in the mountains, we finally decided on a house!  We put our house (the most fantastic house EVER!) in Texas on the market.  Sniff sniff.  And though it took longer than we expected it sold.  :-(

2) We moved.  I'd like to say it was an easy move but not so much.  3 days of men packing the house and us skipping town JUST before Dallas got iced in for 5 days, several days in a not-so-fabulous hotel and a long, slow move into a house that we don't love like we loved our Frisco house.  Yet, after our brief 3 year stint in Texas we are back in our beloved Carolinas!  Not quite my Charlotte home of 16 years but pretty dang close!  And while I'm THRILLED to be here I've discovered that I actually miss Texas!  (whoda thunk?!?)  At least some things about Texas, well about Frisco.  We don't have parks on every corner here, everything isn't brand new, and we've actually walked into a restaurant (well Brett did) where people were smoking!!  (hello 1995, nice to see you again!)

3) Kate is in yet another new preschool.  After being in her Charlotte daycare from 4 months until the day before we moved to Texas this is her 5th new preschool in 3 years.  Sigh, I guess I couldn't get my act together in Texas - though in my defense we did move twice causing two of the changes.  Regardless, she seems to be taking it all in stride.  Though I feel bad for her because, at this point, she has 1 friend in Greenville.  Thank God for the gobs of family and friends we have nearby!  :-)

4) We've been busy!  We have had visitors - LOTS of visitors!  We've traveled to see friends in Charlotte and Atlanta.  And we've left our children with family to enjoy a much needed childfree weekend on Marco Island!  Man its nice being back in the Carolinas!!

And here are some picture highlights! 

The move!  Anna Clare thought the big truck was cool.  The mustang was taken away on a carrier.  Max and Brett cuddled on the first night of our trip back east.

 

 

Christmas was a blur!  Thankfully Santa found us in our new home and even brought Kate a new bike!

 

 

 

 

Anna Clare finally started walking (at 17 months)!  Now she's ready to play!  Kate got a big girl haircut and Max has a girlfriend!



 

 

 

We had lots of adventures!  In Greenville and in Georgia with our friends!

 

 

And we even got a little snow.  Kate and Max loved it.  Brett was enjoying the sun in Florida and Anna and I were wishing we were with him!

But of everything that we've done since November I think our weekend away was my favorite!  Nothing like south Florida in January!

 

 

Well Hello Peer Pressure!

I had a reality check from Kate last week.  One day after school she says "mommy, my friends asked me why I carry a little backpack."  Eesh.  Yes, its true, bad mommy had Kate carrying the same little backpack to school that I bought her before she started preschool 2 years ago.  Her friends all carry backpacks big enough to carry a medium sized dog to school!  In my own defense, I had bought Kate a matching Pottery Barn preschool backpack and matching lunchbox a while back.  But it seemed big to me so its been sitting in her closet for over a year.  And, naturally, now its packed away in a box somewhere!  So Kate and I discussed what kind of backpack she would like - a conversation I really didn't even need to have to know the answer!  Thankfully the kids consignment store around the corner from school had one full size backpack with princesses on just waiting for me to find it the very next day!  What luck!  I wonder how long $4.50 will make my children happy... 

Kate was SO SO proud to wear her backpack to school!  She couldn't wait for her friends to see it!  And I kinda like it too b/c her lunchbox, her (new, cool, princess) thermos, and her snack all go inside the backpack so momma is hands free!  Woot woot!  (well except the non-walker I still carry around)

























While Kate apparently had a growth spurt and outgrew all her coats her sister is still refusing to walk!  We see other babies her age who are full on running but not our little peanut.  A friend of ours just gave us their old walker.  Anna Clare quickly learned how to roll all around in it and maybe, just maybe, it will help her learn to walk!

And although she won't walk she's happy to climb all over her sister's toys.  Including the scooter! 

 

Big Day!

Today sweet Anna Clare had her 15 month check up.  I can't believe my sweet little nugget is 15 months old already!  Here are her stats:

17 lbs 13 oz (8th percentile)
30 inches (30th percentile)
18.3 in noggin (71st percentile)


So in a nutshell Anna Clare is a peanut, much like her sister, only perhaps she won't be quite as short.  And they both have what Brett likes to refer to as the "Glenn head" (BIG).

Poor baby had to get 4 shots today, including her 2nd flu shot.  I was actually a bit caught off guard by that because in North Carolina there was no 15 month checkup.  Only 12 month, then 18 month.  What really stinks is that she sees the tray of shots now and freaks out.  And lucky mommy gets to hold her down and hold her hands.  I'll have to be sure daddy joins me next time!

The fact that we have a move in less than a month saved Anna Clare from being referred to ECI (early childhood intervention) for an evaluation.  She isn't talking, other than her single
word "dog", and isn't walking yet either.  I'd say she's been on the verge of walking for over a month.  She'll even occasionally take a step or two but when she falls she doesn't bother to stand back up.  As the doctor is questioning Anna's leg strength the little smarty pants stood up and smiled this big grin at the doctor.  As if she was saying "I CAN walk, I just choose not to!"  Regardless, we'll need to get a pediatrician quickly when we get to Greenville and possibly have Anna Clare evaluated by a therapist.  Though my guess is she'll be talking more and walking by then!



Later this afternoon we had a play date at the house with some of the mom's from a group we're a part of.  I have really come to like these ladies and this group.  There are many girls in it about Kate's age that she plays well with.  So we had a princess party with crafts and cookies with pink icing! 

The big kids had a great time playing upstairs and throughout the house while the moms and the younger siblings played in the living room.  The highlight of the play date occurred when Kate decided to let Max out of the master bedroom.  From the living room we heard screaming, LOTS of screaming!  I immediately knew what had happened.  I jumped up to see a swarm of princesses running away from the back of the house.  All were screaming, some were crying.  And trotting behind them was one very happy dog.  It was the Faulkner version of the Running of the Bulls!!  Poor Max thought he was going to get some attention - he didn't mean to terrorize the kids!

Relocation - just say NO!

My momma taught me that if I don't have anything nice to say to say nothing!  So I've been silent on the blog front for over a month.  Ha!  Brett and I have made so many mistakes with this relo I can't even bring myself to rehash them.  If anything works in our favor we will be settled (or surrounded by boxes if that counts as settled) in our new house in Greenville by mid December.  But the way things have been going thus far I won't be holding my breath!


Halloween was last week and Kate, of course, loved it!  Though truthfully her daddy may have loved it more!  Anna Clare, on the other hand, decided to vomit all over her costume and her buggy halfway through the evening.  Poor girl had her first stomach virus - she and I had a fun evening of dry heaves.  Joy! 

 

I love the photos of the girls in this rocker.  This is a family piece that my parents had when Jon and I were kids.  I have several pictures of us in it when we were little!  I especially love the look on Anna's face.  "Why in the h@ll am I dressed up like a pea?!?"  Kate, of course, was a princess.






Several days before Halloween the girls and I met some friends at our church's pumpkin patch.  We picked out some little pumpkins, went on a hay ride and Kate jumped in several bounce houses.  Here are a few pictures from the day.  I'm not really sure why I have a series of shots with Kate looking just to the left of the camera.  (i'm sure she thought she was hilarious tho!)

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few cute shots from a recent visit to the "red park" down the street.  Anna Clare has so much fun at the park now.  She climbs up the stairs and directly to the top of the highest slide.  I have to quickly grab her by the shirt to keep her from going down head first!  She has become the typical 2nd child - no fear and ready to go!  She also enjoys a good game of peek-a-boo with her sister!  Now if she'd just learn to walk...

 

 

 

 

 

2 more park pictures I wanted to share.  Love the one on the right of Anna trying so hard to climb up the slide.  Any I'd be willing to bet she'll be riding Kate's bike soon! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, even though I hate having to load up the kids in the car every time the house shows, clearly someone thinks its FABULOUS!