Don't Blink! Life moves faster than you think...

Okay so I love me some Kenny Chesney.  It just seemed like such an appropriate blog title for the moment.

Kate turned 5 last week and I have yet to blog about her birthday or her party!  She had a big weekend!  Saturday (last Saturday, 9/7) was her party.  Rather than hope the weather cooperates and try to have an outdoor party (yeah, tried that last year and had a bunch of screaming kids running around the house when it was too hot to have the party at the park) we had her party at Jump Zone.  They have inflatable slides and climbing structures - it is one of Kate's favorite places.  She had a great time playing with her buddies.  And of course she loved the cake and ice cream - PRINCESS cake of course!

On her birthday we brought donuts to school for her class.  I guess she had enough cake because she chose donuts over cupcakes!  Then we celebrated again that afternoon with friends at their neighborhood pool and yet again that evening with daddy.  No wonder I was exhausted by the end of Monday!  (below she is pointing to the big girl necklace that mommy and daddy gave her for her birthday)

Fast forward exactly one week and we are beginning our transition to our new life in Greenville, SC.  Brett flew out yesterday to start his new job today.  He told me earlier he has basically spent the day saying hello to all his old coworkers and have a steady flow of people into his office to catch up.  Surely he didn't expect to WORK his first day back in Greenville!  I still say they should have held a WELCOME BACK BRETT parade.  Ha!

Tomorrow he begins the house hunt.  Yep, he is house hunting without me.  Kinda scary but honestly he's harder to please than I am.  After all I bought the fixer on Farmbrook!  And after living in the fortress in Frisco it will be hard to make him happy -- good luck to our realtor in Greenville!  We are planning to put our house on the market after we find something in Greenville so I may be a single mom in Texas for a while!

And one last thing...  We are anxiously awaiting fall.  It isn't here yet!  I love that the weather guy on NBC here says it is "less hot."  Uh yeah whatever it is September 16th and it is still hot!  Ah my last Texas summer - wooohooooo!!!!!

Moving On Up!

 So this week school began!  I'll be honest, school makes me one happy mommy!  Tuesday was meet the teacher.  Kate is in TK (transitional kindergarten) with new teachers and mostly new friends since all but 2 from her class last year went to Kindergarten this year.  She is loving school so far - not only does she not cry or cling to me when I take her to school she doesn't even turn around to say goodbye!  Ha!

Not only did Kate enter her last year of preschool this week she also moved up to her booster car seat!  She's such a big girl! 

Welcome to the SOGGY SOGGY SOUTH!

Ya know, I lived in Georgia and North Carolina a long time.  Like since I was 4 years old until I was 40.  A LONG time.  I never, ever remember seeing a summer like this one.  Since the minivan passed thru Alabama almost 2 weeks ago I swear that it has rained at least one time every day.  EVERY STINKIN' DAY!! 

Today was the topper.  After it rained off and on several times I thought I'd take the girls out for a little walk in the community.  So we get halfway down the giant hill just outside our door.  That's when I hear the rain coming - I hear it!!  So I grab Kate's hand, turn the stroller around and we RUN back up the hill as fast as we can go.  Nope, didn't make it.  We were all soaked by the time we made it the short distance back to the deck of our condo.  As we stand there laughing and watching it pour (BUCKETS!) Kate notices there is now a river flowing down the street.  It was a "good mom/bad mom" moment and I caved.  Kate and I played in the river with our shoes on.  Once they were soaked we went back for more - barefoot!  I hope this is a memory Kate remembers when she is older.  I certainly will!

Yesterday, since it had rained for 3 days and we needed out of the condo, we headed to the Boone Mall for some back to school shopping.  They have a Belk and I had a gift card so Kate scored some cute new dresses.  Yay for actually having clothes that every other kid won't be wearing because they aren't from Target!  Ha!  Below are some not great pics of the cute dresses.  The denim dress has been selected for the 1st day of school!

 

Other than shopping and playing in the rain we have gotten in some playtime at the super soggy parks in the area.  Here are some cute pictures I've taken of the girls.

Note the rain boots!

Killing time indoors during the rain!

Taken on a rare hour of sunshine in Boone!


 

Life is a Highway...

So it has been a busy few weeks!  After a long week of a 12 road trip to Atlanta and a 5 hour road trip to Boone we are finally settled once again. 

Going back...  Someone turned ONE!  Wow, I still can't believe our sweet little baby is already a year old!  We had a birthday party for her at our pool with our Grins and Giggles (mom's group) friends.  We ordered pizza and I brought cupcakes.  And everyone swam because it was hot!  It was a simple party but everyone had a great time - especially the birthday girl!  The chocolate cupcake was a BIG HIT!

After a little more celebrating Glenda arrived!  She spent several days in Texas with us before we made the big departure with one very full minivan.  All in all the road trip went well.  I spent much of the trip in the backseat trying to keep the peace.  One was crying or screaming while the other was making constant demands for snacks or games to play.  Whew, already dreading the trip home!

At some point along the way Kate got ahold of my phone and learned how to take a selfee.  Currently there is a home movie of shot after shot of selfees on one giggling 4 year old!

After finally arriving in Marietta we enjoyed a much needed few hours out of the house for some adult time (yay for the next door neighbor that babysits!).  That might have been the best beer I EVER had!  We moved on to Jon's house the following day for some quality time with the cousins and Kate's beloved Aunt Joy and Uncle Jon.  We spent some time at their pool, watched movies in their media room and even managed to see Joy's parents and her brother and his family.  It was a very busy and fun couple of days.  It was so fun seeing Kate with her cousins and Aunt and Uncle.  She just loves them!

After spending the weekend with Jon, Joy and the boys (do I have to quit referring to my now collage-student-nephew Jordan as one of the "boys"???) we moved further north in the Atlanta area to see our ex-neighbors.  Ken and Kristi were our neighbors in Frisco - and some of our closest friends there.  They relocated to the Atlanta area several months ago so we took advantage of the opportunity to see them!  Kate and Emmie were big buddies in Texas and picked right up where they left off!  Even Anna Clare made a new friend!  Though she must learn to stop poking other babies in the eye...  It was so fun spending a few days visiting parks and Chick-fil-a with them.  If only our besties in Texas didn't keep moving away!  Sigh. 

After being on the road for almost a week and sleeping in 4 different locations we finally got to Boone on Wednesday.  We were all worn out and ready to settle in and stay put for a while!  So far we are staying pretty close to home and enjoying the peace and quiet - Anna Clare is catching up on her naps!

These are a couple more road trip pictures.  This one is at our favorite rest stop along I-85 North just after crossing into South Carolina.  Molly had run around this rest stop many times in her day.  It was Kate's turn!

 

 

 

And a shot of Kate at the North Carolina Welcome Rest Area.  :-)



 



 

 

The view from our back deck made the whole trip worth it!  

 

 

 

Anna Clare was checking the place out!  I think she likes it here.  Only she is probably wondering where the step are and why there are no dogs around!

 

 

Our first park visit - to Valle Crucis Neighborhood Park.  Kate enjoyed some bike riding, reuniting with her bear friends and some play time too!  Even Anna Clare got in some swing time!

 

 

Onward and Upward!



 

 

So it's summertime in Texas.  I think.  We have had some hot weather but we've also had some insanely cool, wet days.  Like highs in the 70s.  In Texas.  In July.  Kate has had many fun days playing in the puddles!  We also have 100+ days too so we especially love the break from the heat! 

 

 

 

 

The little one is still causing trouble.  She's not a fan of the "enclosure" so she's often roaming the downstairs looking for something to climb on or into.  We are in the process of putting up baby gates since Anna Clare has decided she can climb stairs.  Fabulous!

 

 

 

Her other new trick is pulling up and holding on to everything.  The coffee table.  The windows.  She especially loves to see what's happening in the backyard!

 

 

 

I am still in denial that my little baby turns ONE on Thursday.  Sigh.  While we are not having a true birthday party for Anna Clare we have several fun get togethers coming up.  I will be sure to share some birthday pics!

 

 

 







A two-fer!

So I haven't updated my blog in a week AND I've had too much coffee this morning so I'll make it a double entry!

1)  Consistency is key!

So after joining the Frisco Athletic Center about a month ago I can finally get in an hour workout without being dragged out of the gym by my ponytail because my baby won't stop crying.  (okay so in reality they write my name on a wipe board and walk around the gym until they find me, but still...)  After taking the girls to the fun zone (fancy name for child care) off and on and often being forced to cut my workout short because someone (?!?) won't stop crying I've finally learned that consistency is key!  We've been at the FAC every other morning at 8:00 and what do you know, no crying!  I think that maybe, just maybe, both girls actually like the fun zone.  Whoda thunk?

I drug my feet on joining the FAC because the fun zone requires a reservation (which can be hard to come by for a baby) but man do I love it!  It's like the YMCA back east on steroids.  Huge gym, big indoor pool with a toddler area including slides, huge outdoor pool with a lazy river and a toddler area with slides, a café, and many other activities and amenities too.  I'm finding myself there twice a day these days!  LOVE the FAC!!


Indoor toddler pool area.  Kate can actually play here without being manhandled into a serious coating of sunscreen first!  Yippee!

 

 

Outdoor pool area.  This makes summer tolerable (well, maybe even FUN) in the Texas heat!



 

2) We have a solution - I hope...

So I've posted before about my little, tiny trouble maker.  She crawls after Max, she gets into the cabinets if I don't close the door quickly enough (or I want her entertained for a few minutes), she begs for my lunch like a small dog. 

Here's some evidence.  Note that she has about crawled INTO the cabinet at this point.

 

 

 

Here's further evidence.  Sweet Max is loves the attention!

 

 

 

 

So finally I figured out a way to keep the tiny one from running amuck! 

 

 

 

While I love Anna Clare's new play area she isn't so sure yet.  The highlight is when Kate (who initially was in the play area too) said "Mommy are you happy you got Anna Clare a cage?"  To which I replied "Cages are for animals, Kate.  Anna Clare is in an enclosure."  It's one thing to have her in a cage.  It's another to call it a cage!  Ha ha.

 

Happy Weekend!

 

 



 

 

 

 





Tick tock...

Sometimes I really wish I could slow down time!  My little peanut turned 11 months old a few days ago.  Sigh.  Since she was about 4 months I've loved the sweetness and the simplicity of having a fun but not-yet-into-everything baby.  It has been a really fun few months.  But before my eyes she is morphing into a toddler and I am NOT READY! 

Now since I'm a bit behind on my blogging I'll go back...  We are turning into redneck central!  Seems our new favorite thing to do is fill up the little pool we got Kate and lounge around the back yard.  Texas heat is so much more tolerable when wet!  Max even got involved in the fun last weekend.  Though I'm not totally sure he'd say it was fun!

 

 

Anna Clare plays in her exersaucer while the festivities are happening around her.  She has been enjoying munching on Cheerios and staying dry!  Max has been enjoying the Cheerios too!

 

Happy 4th of July Weekend!  More soon!  I still have the 4th to blog about!