I feel bad, it's been so long since I've written. Life is just flying by, and we are out living it! Not a lot of time to sit and write. So figured I'd attempt to update....
First an update on Ashley. She is 3 1/2 already. Crazy! I have to say, I always thought the baby time was my favorite age--I LOVED newborn, infant, and early toddler ages, and was really sad to see it go. But, I think 3 is my new favorite age--or perhaps more like 3 1/2. The first half of 3 was actually rough with lots of "threenager" behaviors that can test a saints patience. We still have our moments from time to time, but we have been moving past that more and more since the last time I wrote. It went from being my least favorite age to my favorite age. She is just lots of fun!
It's just so fun to watch Ashley. I love watching her play and use her imagination and pretend, I love watching her dress up (she always loves to dress up), and she also enjoys dressing herself. She has a wardrobe of clothes, but wears the same 3-4 outfits over and over again. She likes dresses with "tutu's" on them--her purple and grey striped dress with a butterfly, her light pink dress with flowers on it, her light blue polo dress, and her blue and one striped dress. Occasionally she'll pick something else out, but that's usually her wardrobe. Then she has to find a matching headband, and when she has her breakfast she needs a matching plate to go with the color of her pajamas or clothes. Too cute.
She is just a sweetie. First off, she now will say "I'm sorry" if she does something she's not supposed to. If it's an accident she'll say I'm sorry, and then remind you that "accidents happen sometimes". Lol.
She is very bright--she does great with letters, numbers, spelling some basic words, she knows the days of the week, months of the year, her birthday, our address, she's learning the planets, she knows lots of facts about animals and other things. She has also majorly entered the "why" phase, wanting to know and understand more about everything.
She is overall very kind and caring toward her sister and other kids. She's always been very social, she loves to walk right up to kids and say hello, still tries to give kisses and hugs, etc.
Her favorites:
Right now her best buddies are Tyler (our 3 year old neighbor), Hannah and Amanda, and then still of course Katie and Eli from SC.
Favorite lunch: PB and nutella ("chocolate"--she could live on that stuff if I let her.
Favorite song: Frozen, Katy Perry Roar and "burping song" (Dark Horse)
Color: Pink
Hairstyle: ALWAYS wants to wear a headband (even to bed). If we are lucky, she'll sometimes let me put it up in a pony tail with it.
As far as Emily, she is also growing in leaps and bounds. As someone put it, it's "painfully beautiful" to watch your babies grow right before your eyes...painful for how fast and fleeting the time is, and beautiful at the same time to watch them grow and change and discover. She is definitely a "little girl" now, no more baby. It absolutely amazes me with how much she can do. She def has an older sister that she wants to be like and do like, so she really gets around and does a lot. For instance, the playground had been my nemesis. I hated it because I still had to keep and eye on Ashley to make sure she was behaving and also overlook some of the things she'd do/play with there. At the same time, I'd have to follow Emily like a hawk to make sure she didn't fall and get hurt. Now, she can climb and get around totally on her own at the toddler playground. Even at the bigger playground she does great. We walk to the school playground sometimes, and she can even climb up the rock climbing wall on her own (I still of course stay nearby on the bigger kid things). And forget about the baby slides, she wants to go on the big kid slides--and can--all on her own. She does great. I'm so amazed by her.
She is also saying so much more now. She even sings. Her FAVORITE all time song is Katy Perry Roar. I hear her singing it to herself when she's in her crib, she sings and asks for it all the time. It's so cute hearing her sing and "roar" like the tiger. I love it!
She's also becoming a little stinker. She likes to mess with Ashley and start trouble. She will walk up to Ashley, yank off her headband, and run away laughing. Or she'll steal a toy she's playing with and do the same thing. She thinks she's hysterical.
She is fascinated with body parts--loves to stick her fingers in my ears, or poke us in our eyes, or play with my hair when it's wet.
She's starting a little of the normal temper tantrum stuff--figures, one is growing out of it, while the other is just starting...lol.
She is not potty trained, nor am I planning to push it anytime soon, but she will hold her diaper to let me know she's gone potty (particularly after poopy diaper). We do let her sit on the potty and try from time to time. There were a couple times when she'd want to sit on it on her own. She had just been changed and was dressed, so I let her sit and pretend to go...well, sure enough she did go in her diaper . So I think maybe she was really needing to go and telling me.
She is a great eater (most of the time), particularly breakfast time. She will eat 3 pancakes just like me. Also with eating, she can climb into her chair on her own now, and likes to practice buckling her straps in her seat and also in her carseat.
Overall she and Ashley still play so nice and are best friends, and sometimes they fight like cats and dogs (mainly when Emily's instigating with Ashley...lol). But they are so sweet. Sometimes they will hold each others hands in the car (without prompting). And Ashley will look out for her. Like yesterday, we went to a Children's Museum in Brooklyn (took the train in, made a fun day out of it). Well, at the Museum they had this dinosaur demonstration with a dinosaur that was like 8 feet tall and looked and moved like a real dinosaur. Well Ashley thought it was the coolest thing ever, and we wanted to try Emily. So before hand we explained it was a big pupped, and talked up how cool it was, etc. Ashley put her hands on Emily's cheeks, looked her in the eye, and kept saying to Emily "it's not real Emily. It's just pretend. You'll be ok". So sweet.
Well, that's about it...We've been having fun. Some days we do the typical routine, other days are filled with fun stuff like petting zoos, running in the sprinkler and playing in the pool, going to playgrounds and play dates, few trips to the beach, nature walks and parks, BBQs with friends, visit from grandma, etc. It's been fun....Will try to post pics soon....
Monday, July 14, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014
Update
It's been a while since I have been able to update the blog...Life is just so busy these days. I don't like to/get to do it while girls are awake, and my "down time" has been used to plan Cheryl's bridal shower/wedding stuff, read, take care of work phone calls, etc....
Anyway, just wanted to give a quick update on things.
First, I just got back from Emily's 18 month check up. Everything is looking great! Her weight was 21.75 lbs, which put her at the 38.05%, and her height was 33 inches, putting her at the 85.35%....
A couple months back we noticed her one foot turns in a little when she walks. Matt used to wear a cast/brace for the same issue as a baby so I wanted to bring it up, but the doctor said hers isn't too bad and will naturally correct itself.
Emily's speech has more than doubled since I last wrote in here. She even has started putting words together, like "hi dadda". Prior to this, I was getting a little concerned, but out of nowhere she really took off with it--I looked into things just to make sure she was "on track" with where she needed to be, and she actually is exceeding the "average" for her age.
She was doing great developmentally, and they commented on how she is just so sweet and also so curious. I have to second that--Emily is so kind and loving.
Ashley is doing great too. I requested to meet with her teacher to check in on things. She said that Ashley was doing great in all areas, but she felt her speech was a little weak. She said that Ashley is such a happy and confident girl, she'd hate to see her lose that because people have to keep asking her "what?" I know there are some things, for instance people will ask her her name and she'll say "I'm Ashley Grace Shohen", and they have a hard time understanding her, and she'll say things like "lippers" instead of slippers. Or Emily sounds more like "Emiwee"...but overall people understood her (I of course understand everything, but I live with her).
Anyway, she suggested we look into it with pediatrician and possibly get her evaluated with a speech therapist. I brought up what we noticed with the pediatrician, and she didn't think it was too big of a concern. But I like to be proactive rather than let things turn into bigger issues, so we had an evaluation done yesterday.
Basically, we were told that Ashley is another Matt when it comes to her learning style. She is very bright— she “gets it” quickly and is ready to move onto the next thing, and her body can’t keep up with it. She also speaks very quickly, and expects the listener to come up to her speed—she is not adjusting hers.
Anyway, just wanted to give a quick update on things.
First, I just got back from Emily's 18 month check up. Everything is looking great! Her weight was 21.75 lbs, which put her at the 38.05%, and her height was 33 inches, putting her at the 85.35%....
A couple months back we noticed her one foot turns in a little when she walks. Matt used to wear a cast/brace for the same issue as a baby so I wanted to bring it up, but the doctor said hers isn't too bad and will naturally correct itself.
Emily's speech has more than doubled since I last wrote in here. She even has started putting words together, like "hi dadda". Prior to this, I was getting a little concerned, but out of nowhere she really took off with it--I looked into things just to make sure she was "on track" with where she needed to be, and she actually is exceeding the "average" for her age.
She was doing great developmentally, and they commented on how she is just so sweet and also so curious. I have to second that--Emily is so kind and loving.
Ashley is doing great too. I requested to meet with her teacher to check in on things. She said that Ashley was doing great in all areas, but she felt her speech was a little weak. She said that Ashley is such a happy and confident girl, she'd hate to see her lose that because people have to keep asking her "what?" I know there are some things, for instance people will ask her her name and she'll say "I'm Ashley Grace Shohen", and they have a hard time understanding her, and she'll say things like "lippers" instead of slippers. Or Emily sounds more like "Emiwee"...but overall people understood her (I of course understand everything, but I live with her).
Anyway, she suggested we look into it with pediatrician and possibly get her evaluated with a speech therapist. I brought up what we noticed with the pediatrician, and she didn't think it was too big of a concern. But I like to be proactive rather than let things turn into bigger issues, so we had an evaluation done yesterday.
Basically, we were told that Ashley is another Matt when it comes to her learning style. She is very bright— she “gets it” quickly and is ready to move onto the next thing, and her body can’t keep up with it. She also speaks very quickly, and expects the listener to come up to her speed—she is not adjusting hers.
Basically the woman said to try to slow her down a little by setting a timer for 5 minutes and using that time to have slow, focus time/short segments. She did not feel that this her issues are complicated or long term. She mainly wants us to focus on F’s and S’s (she said not to even worry about the blends).
She gave us a couple of exercises and suggestions to do at home, and that should suffice. So I am glad....
Anyway, that's their latest developmental stuff. I am on a time crunch, but will write again soon to fill in on some of our latest happenings and also to update pics.
Monday, April 28, 2014
17 Months!
So my "baby" is 17 months old! I cannot believe it. I look at pictures now and am like, wow, she's not a baby anymore. She's looking and acting more and more like a big girl. I really see her wanting to keep up with her sister these days...anything Ashley is doing, Emily wants to be doing. No holding this girl back ;)
Emily continues to be such an incredible blessing. I am not going to lie, having kids 23 months apart can be a little hairy at times, hectic and crazy...but it's also jam packed with lots of joy, laughter and fun. I would never change it for the world. We love you Emily!
Emily continues to be such an incredible blessing. I am not going to lie, having kids 23 months apart can be a little hairy at times, hectic and crazy...but it's also jam packed with lots of joy, laughter and fun. I would never change it for the world. We love you Emily!
Friday, April 25, 2014
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter! We had a fun holiday. The weekend before we went to Oakland's Easter Egg Hunt/Festivities. Grandma was in town so she went along with us. After the egg hunt, daddy drove Grandma into NYC to the train station (she was going on a trip), and he and Ashley made a day of it in NYC...they had a very fun, special daddy-daughter date. They went to the top of the Empire State Building, they went to Central Park, they visited some of Ashley's characters, went to eat, etc.
Emily and I also had a fun mommy-daughter date. We hung around the Easter festivities (they had games, crafts, and the Easter Bunny). Emily wasn't a fan of the Easter Bunny though.
Easter day was fun. We opened Easter baskets and played with some of the goodies that the Easter Bunny had left. Then we had the slowest egg hunt ever--Ashley wanted to stop and open up every egg as she found to see what was inside and Emily didn't quite grasp the concept yet. It was cute though.
We finally found a church we like here, but we ended up watching church online because Emily had had a fever the day before and we didn't want to bring her in around other babies. So we watched church online, then got ready to go to Aunt Lauren and Uncle Andrew's house for Easter lunch/dinner. We had a good group with them, Ben, Grandpop and Grandmom, then Seth and Ethan Katz were also there.
We had another egg hunt, played outside, went fishing, etc. Nice leisurely day, for the most part. We did have quite a scare though! As I mentioned we were fishing off their dock. Daddy was helping Ashley, and she was also using a fishing net to try to catch things while we were all nearby supervising. Well, she reached just a little too far, and went headfirst into the water. Without hesitation, Matt jumped in with all his clothes on to get her. We had to pull her out, then him out of the water. I swear I got a grey hair from that. As much as some of the occasional "threenager" behaviors can drive me nuts at times, I love my girls more than life. Seeing her in the water, struggling to swim to the top scared me to death. She's my baby. It definitely scared her and she was crying, but (despite being scared to death), we all remained calm, got her inside and in a warm shower, and handled it well. So hopefully it wasn't too traumatizing. Definitely an Easter that will go down in history! Lol.
All in all though, it was a real nice day.
Emily and I also had a fun mommy-daughter date. We hung around the Easter festivities (they had games, crafts, and the Easter Bunny). Emily wasn't a fan of the Easter Bunny though.
Easter day was fun. We opened Easter baskets and played with some of the goodies that the Easter Bunny had left. Then we had the slowest egg hunt ever--Ashley wanted to stop and open up every egg as she found to see what was inside and Emily didn't quite grasp the concept yet. It was cute though.
We finally found a church we like here, but we ended up watching church online because Emily had had a fever the day before and we didn't want to bring her in around other babies. So we watched church online, then got ready to go to Aunt Lauren and Uncle Andrew's house for Easter lunch/dinner. We had a good group with them, Ben, Grandpop and Grandmom, then Seth and Ethan Katz were also there.
We had another egg hunt, played outside, went fishing, etc. Nice leisurely day, for the most part. We did have quite a scare though! As I mentioned we were fishing off their dock. Daddy was helping Ashley, and she was also using a fishing net to try to catch things while we were all nearby supervising. Well, she reached just a little too far, and went headfirst into the water. Without hesitation, Matt jumped in with all his clothes on to get her. We had to pull her out, then him out of the water. I swear I got a grey hair from that. As much as some of the occasional "threenager" behaviors can drive me nuts at times, I love my girls more than life. Seeing her in the water, struggling to swim to the top scared me to death. She's my baby. It definitely scared her and she was crying, but (despite being scared to death), we all remained calm, got her inside and in a warm shower, and handled it well. So hopefully it wasn't too traumatizing. Definitely an Easter that will go down in history! Lol.
All in all though, it was a real nice day.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Just a quick update on what the girls are doing these days...
Emily:
Emily's vocabulary....
My favorite that she says a lot "UH OH" with her cute little pouty lips
mama
dada
hello
up
dog (dogs are by far her FAVORITE animal, she gets sooo excited)
some funny word for Ashley
what's that? (wdat)...lol
word for grand mom/grandma
drink
milk
Scott (she started saying it on our trip)
bye (with a cute wave)
hot, hot (she says that for all "danger" items, not just hot things which is even cuter)
I know there's a few more, I just can't think of them at the moment.
She comprehends everything your saying.
She can point and identify things when you ask her to.
She is running at this point.
She is starting to do a good job fitting shapes into the appropriate spots.
She absolutely LOVES to dance/listen to music/play with instruments.
Even though she is very independent and loves to be on the move, she still is a snuggle bug and loves her cuddling, hugs, and kisses. She opens her mouth and leans in to give you a kiss now which is so cute).
She is aware of her body parts.
She loves her sister and playing together.
She is an absolute sweetheart--with a little bit of "stinker" mixed in with her mischievous side ;)
She can climb the steps (has been able to for a month or two now)--still needs some assistance getting down.
Climbs on everything.
Ashley:
Ashley is a pro with the potty. She RARELY has an accident, and can even sleep through the night and wake up dry.
She counts up to 20.
She has songs memorized.
Can identify any object, shape, color, etc.
Her "threenager" behaviors are still there at times, but have gotten much better lately thank goodness.
Other than her threenager behaviors, I absolutely LOVE this age for it's creativity and imagination--she loves loves loves to play dress up or pretend to be a character.
She has a cute little lisp with some words: i.e. she calls her slippers, lippers.
When anyone asks her what her name is, she will say "I'm Ashley Grace Shohen".
She can tell you what town and state she lives in. Our street name is a little difficult to pronounce for a 3 year old.
She was coloring a picture of the statue of liberty and was able to identify that it was in fact the statue of liberty.
She loves to help--cooking, cleaning, just about anything.
She has her moments where she steals toys from Emily or even just go up and push her for no reason, but overall she is very kind and loving with her. She gives her kisses, hugs, helps to take care of her/ looks out of her without me even asking.
She is sensitive to others feelings. Still loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone.
I'm sure there is so much more. Sometimes I feel like a slacker mom--my sister will ask (since her baby is 2 months younger than Emily) what Emily's latest word or doing is, and I'll really have to stop and think about it. When you have more than one, especially when they are so close in age, it's hard to keep track of the "firsts" or big deals like you did with just one baby. I think in my case it's just the fact that they're so close in age more than anything. It can get pretty hectic and hairy at times, especially with Emily on the move (or running and climbing) now. Ashley is pretty independent, but I still need to monitor some of her behaviors when interacting out in public, and Emily is running in the opposite direction and into everything. I don't have time to sit down too often these days. But again, wouldn't change any of it!
Emily:
Emily's vocabulary....
My favorite that she says a lot "UH OH" with her cute little pouty lips
mama
dada
hello
up
dog (dogs are by far her FAVORITE animal, she gets sooo excited)
some funny word for Ashley
what's that? (wdat)...lol
word for grand mom/grandma
drink
milk
Scott (she started saying it on our trip)
bye (with a cute wave)
hot, hot (she says that for all "danger" items, not just hot things which is even cuter)
I know there's a few more, I just can't think of them at the moment.
She comprehends everything your saying.
She can point and identify things when you ask her to.
She is running at this point.
She is starting to do a good job fitting shapes into the appropriate spots.
She absolutely LOVES to dance/listen to music/play with instruments.
Even though she is very independent and loves to be on the move, she still is a snuggle bug and loves her cuddling, hugs, and kisses. She opens her mouth and leans in to give you a kiss now which is so cute).
She is aware of her body parts.
She loves her sister and playing together.
She is an absolute sweetheart--with a little bit of "stinker" mixed in with her mischievous side ;)
She can climb the steps (has been able to for a month or two now)--still needs some assistance getting down.
Climbs on everything.
Ashley:
Ashley is a pro with the potty. She RARELY has an accident, and can even sleep through the night and wake up dry.
She counts up to 20.
She has songs memorized.
Can identify any object, shape, color, etc.
Her "threenager" behaviors are still there at times, but have gotten much better lately thank goodness.
Other than her threenager behaviors, I absolutely LOVE this age for it's creativity and imagination--she loves loves loves to play dress up or pretend to be a character.
She has a cute little lisp with some words: i.e. she calls her slippers, lippers.
When anyone asks her what her name is, she will say "I'm Ashley Grace Shohen".
She can tell you what town and state she lives in. Our street name is a little difficult to pronounce for a 3 year old.
She was coloring a picture of the statue of liberty and was able to identify that it was in fact the statue of liberty.
She loves to help--cooking, cleaning, just about anything.
She has her moments where she steals toys from Emily or even just go up and push her for no reason, but overall she is very kind and loving with her. She gives her kisses, hugs, helps to take care of her/ looks out of her without me even asking.
She is sensitive to others feelings. Still loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone.
I'm sure there is so much more. Sometimes I feel like a slacker mom--my sister will ask (since her baby is 2 months younger than Emily) what Emily's latest word or doing is, and I'll really have to stop and think about it. When you have more than one, especially when they are so close in age, it's hard to keep track of the "firsts" or big deals like you did with just one baby. I think in my case it's just the fact that they're so close in age more than anything. It can get pretty hectic and hairy at times, especially with Emily on the move (or running and climbing) now. Ashley is pretty independent, but I still need to monitor some of her behaviors when interacting out in public, and Emily is running in the opposite direction and into everything. I don't have time to sit down too often these days. But again, wouldn't change any of it!
Feeling a little homesick...
So the title of this post is a little funny considering I am writing this from home. I am actually referring to my other "home", Greenville SC. We just got back a couple of days ago from visiting there. It was the first time going back since we moved nearly a year ago...
Prior to the trip, I wasn't sure how I'd feel going back. I was super excited beforehand, and I was talking to Matt and saying how in a lot of ways, Greenville still feels like my home in my heart. I wasn't sure if it'd feel like that when I got there or not, so I was curious. Well...it did. Very much so.
The second we pulled off the highway onto Pelham Road, it was like "ahhh, I'm home!!" I still got the warm fuzzy's, I still got the "all the world is right" feeling that I got from such a welcoming, clean, new area. It almost felt as though I had never left.
We split up the week staying with a couple of different friends. The first half of the week we were invited to stay with our friends Scott and Leann Barnes, our friends and neighbors right in our old development. I was SUPER excited to stay there, to be back in our neighborhood surrounded by our friends and neighbors. Before we even went to their house, I told Matt that I wanted to go to our street and see our house (our old house). We pulled up and it was so nice. I was pleased to see that nothing had dramatically changed from the outside. The only thing different was that our palm trees had grown a lot since we left. It was weird seeing "my" house again, knowing it wasn't mine anymore.
As we were strolling by, our old neighbor Teresa happened to be pulling out of her driveway so we beeped and waved, then pulled over and we all got out. Then our neighbors Steve and Sandy saw the commotion and came out. It was so nice to be greeted with warm hugs by our neighbors. The girls got out and played while we chatted and caught up a little. Then, I decided to walk with the girls over to Scott and Leann's so we could stretch our legs and also take in the old neighborhood. As we walked, we were greeted by our other old neighbor Kenia and her kids (as well as other neighborhood kids). The kids all played in the quiet culdesac (just like old times) while we chatted for a few. Leann then came out and greeted us. It was just sooo nice. I will forever miss our neighborhood and community that we had there--people sat outside, chatted, kids played together. It was as close to the feeling I had living at college surrounded by friends as I've ever felt. I sooo miss that.
That afternoon we took a walk around our old lake. It's finally filled up and restored back to it's old self--with a couple minor changes added to it. It was sooo nice to do that too--some of my most special and sacred memories are from our (almost daily) strolls around the lake--first just Matt and I, then with the girls as our family grew, and all the talks and dreams we had there.
The next day I took Emily for a walk in the stroller while Matt stayed at the house with Ashley. I had decided to again head in the direction of our old house. As I was walking past, the boyfriend was outside. I asked him if he lived there and he said yes. I introduced myself, told him who I was (that I had lived there), we chatted about how he liked the house and the neighborhood and such. Then Anna (the girl who bought it from us) came outside. She remembered me from when she came over during the house inspection. We chatted a minute and she invited me to come in and see the place. I wasn't sure what to do. In one way, I didn't want to go in because in my heart and mind, that is still MY house. Yes, I live in a new house, and yes I am settled in and have made it our own. But that house is and always will be, my house. The house I had most of my married years in (up to this point), the house I brought my babies home to, the house where they had their baby moments in. Yes we have (and are) making new memories in our new house, but that still feels like my home. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it as NOT my home anymore. But another part of me was really curious to see it. So since she offered, I decided to go in. It was definitely bittersweet. In one way it was nice to see--it was almost surreal. She had kept some things the same (some paint colors like the living room, kitchen and hallway). She kept the light fixtures (the ones Matt and I picked out ourselves), but then other things were totally different--she obviously painted lots of rooms to me them her own, she added an island in the kitchen, and she redid the floors in the bathrooms and laundry room (which needed it). It really was beautiful. So that made me feel good to see it taken care of with pride. But then it was bittersweet because it just showed me that it's not my house anymore. Someone else lives in it now. Life has moved forward. In one way it helped give me closure, in another way it made me sad.
I think I cried like 3 times while being down there. Mainly because I was happier...and angrier...than I have been in awhile. I was soooooo happy to be visiting, so happy to see my house, my lake, my neighborhood, my friends that feel like family, so happy to enjoy the gorgeous 80 degree weather that they were having....
But I was also so angry. I am really really angry. Angry that there couldn't be a better way. I loved EVERYTHING there. I loved my house, my neighborhood, my amazing friends, my job, the area, the newness, the weather, people were a lot friendlier. I LOVED IT. It has always always been a dream of mine to live down south. And I walked away from my dream. And I'm angry.
Now for everyone reading this from up north, don't be mistaken--we are in the right place. I know that as sad and as angry as I am about moving from there, I know we made the right decision to move. It has been really really great living closer to our families, and seeing them on a much more regular basis. We couldn't, and wouldn't trade that for anything. I just wish that is was a perfect world where I could have both. Where I could have everything and everyone from up here in the north, AND have everything and everyone from down there in the south. I'm praying that's what heaven will be like.
I guess I was in some fantasy land where I imagined that we could just all hop on and take a quick flight up to the north and see our family whenever we wanted to, while enjoying the southern benefits. Or in the fantasy land where maybe we could convince our families to move down south with us (my mom actually would, but she had a few more years before she can retire in order to get her benefits for teaching)--but Cheryl is staying in NY, Matt's parents have their friends and family and have been settled for years, and Andrew and Lauren have no plans for that either. Not happening. And I hate it.
There is no quick easy flight. Prior to kids, it was much easier to fly and visit. But eventually we'd have to pay for all four of us to fly (which adds up quick), and even with the quick flight, there are still delays (and even cancellations) that happen ALL the time that make it a huge hassle. Then there's the packing for an entire family and getting through the security line with the family and our things. Just a huge hassle. And driving is just too much. Too long and not fair to the girls to be doing on a regular basis.
So, for now it was time to walk away from the dream....sad as it is. I just get envious because I see Kristyn and Brian traveling the world and living out their dream living in a different country, and I just wish sometimes I was still living out my dream of living down south....but just impossible during this season in our lives. And I would not want our families missing out on our girls lives, nor would I want our girls (or us) missing out on our families lives either. AND, even though living down south was my dream, my biggest dream ever was to have a family and children, and I have that. So I am living the ultimate dream for me. Wouldn't change it for the world. I'd rather live in an area that I only semi-like with my husband and children than live in an area I love without them. ANY DAY.
Anyway...so the trip was great. My only complaint was that it was too short. We had to break our days up into three sections--morning, afternoon, evening. And pretty much every section was filled up every day trying to see as many people as we could. It was a tease because it was not nearly as much time as I would have liked to have had...but I savored every moment we had together, and was so thankful we got to see everyone we did....we had a couple fun game nights/hang outs with Scott and Leann since we stayed with them, we had dinner with the Wagners and the kids had a great time playing together. We had a playground playdate with the Lastinger's and Wagner's (minus Matt W. at work) and then lunch with them, we had a girl outing to get our nails done and chat (with the girls who weren't at work--it was daytime). We went downtown with the Browns and had dinner and walked around downtown with them, we had a playdate with the Heatley's, the girls and I met Leah for lunch while Matt golfed, I had a fun girls night out--had dinner with Jen L so we could catch up a little, then went to Uptown Art where you do a painting class while enjoying a glass of wine--LOTS of fun. Matt had a playdate with Matt W. and kids. I visited work and saw Beth and other coworkers there, stopped for a real quick visit to see my LPC supervisor Dr. Burton, we saw old babysitter Katelyn (or Kay Kay) as Ashley calls her, we visited my friend Shelly and her new twin babies Seth and Annabelle, Matt golfed with Rico and did some morning workout games with his old gang, he went out to dinner with them, we visited some more with our neighbors Gary and Melinda, Steve and Sandy, and Teresa (Tom was at work). I got in my coffee talk with Beth and saw Peter and girls another quick time. Had a nice dinner with Rico and his family while staying with them. Went to the art house with Christi and kids, etc. Jam packed fun. I'm sure there may even be more but that's all I can recollect at the moment. Lots of fun times and memories.....
So now I am just a little homesick...Have that little "void" feeling at the moment....but so grateful that we were able to go back and see everyone. It's funny, it's been almost a year but in some ways I felt like I had just seen them all last week. When you have such good friends you just pick up where you left off. The only way I knew time had passed was seeing the kids--it's amazing the difference just a year makes. They had all grown so much and were talking and doing so many new things. Crazy.
Prior to the trip, I wasn't sure how I'd feel going back. I was super excited beforehand, and I was talking to Matt and saying how in a lot of ways, Greenville still feels like my home in my heart. I wasn't sure if it'd feel like that when I got there or not, so I was curious. Well...it did. Very much so.
The second we pulled off the highway onto Pelham Road, it was like "ahhh, I'm home!!" I still got the warm fuzzy's, I still got the "all the world is right" feeling that I got from such a welcoming, clean, new area. It almost felt as though I had never left.
We split up the week staying with a couple of different friends. The first half of the week we were invited to stay with our friends Scott and Leann Barnes, our friends and neighbors right in our old development. I was SUPER excited to stay there, to be back in our neighborhood surrounded by our friends and neighbors. Before we even went to their house, I told Matt that I wanted to go to our street and see our house (our old house). We pulled up and it was so nice. I was pleased to see that nothing had dramatically changed from the outside. The only thing different was that our palm trees had grown a lot since we left. It was weird seeing "my" house again, knowing it wasn't mine anymore.
As we were strolling by, our old neighbor Teresa happened to be pulling out of her driveway so we beeped and waved, then pulled over and we all got out. Then our neighbors Steve and Sandy saw the commotion and came out. It was so nice to be greeted with warm hugs by our neighbors. The girls got out and played while we chatted and caught up a little. Then, I decided to walk with the girls over to Scott and Leann's so we could stretch our legs and also take in the old neighborhood. As we walked, we were greeted by our other old neighbor Kenia and her kids (as well as other neighborhood kids). The kids all played in the quiet culdesac (just like old times) while we chatted for a few. Leann then came out and greeted us. It was just sooo nice. I will forever miss our neighborhood and community that we had there--people sat outside, chatted, kids played together. It was as close to the feeling I had living at college surrounded by friends as I've ever felt. I sooo miss that.
That afternoon we took a walk around our old lake. It's finally filled up and restored back to it's old self--with a couple minor changes added to it. It was sooo nice to do that too--some of my most special and sacred memories are from our (almost daily) strolls around the lake--first just Matt and I, then with the girls as our family grew, and all the talks and dreams we had there.
The next day I took Emily for a walk in the stroller while Matt stayed at the house with Ashley. I had decided to again head in the direction of our old house. As I was walking past, the boyfriend was outside. I asked him if he lived there and he said yes. I introduced myself, told him who I was (that I had lived there), we chatted about how he liked the house and the neighborhood and such. Then Anna (the girl who bought it from us) came outside. She remembered me from when she came over during the house inspection. We chatted a minute and she invited me to come in and see the place. I wasn't sure what to do. In one way, I didn't want to go in because in my heart and mind, that is still MY house. Yes, I live in a new house, and yes I am settled in and have made it our own. But that house is and always will be, my house. The house I had most of my married years in (up to this point), the house I brought my babies home to, the house where they had their baby moments in. Yes we have (and are) making new memories in our new house, but that still feels like my home. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it as NOT my home anymore. But another part of me was really curious to see it. So since she offered, I decided to go in. It was definitely bittersweet. In one way it was nice to see--it was almost surreal. She had kept some things the same (some paint colors like the living room, kitchen and hallway). She kept the light fixtures (the ones Matt and I picked out ourselves), but then other things were totally different--she obviously painted lots of rooms to me them her own, she added an island in the kitchen, and she redid the floors in the bathrooms and laundry room (which needed it). It really was beautiful. So that made me feel good to see it taken care of with pride. But then it was bittersweet because it just showed me that it's not my house anymore. Someone else lives in it now. Life has moved forward. In one way it helped give me closure, in another way it made me sad.
I think I cried like 3 times while being down there. Mainly because I was happier...and angrier...than I have been in awhile. I was soooooo happy to be visiting, so happy to see my house, my lake, my neighborhood, my friends that feel like family, so happy to enjoy the gorgeous 80 degree weather that they were having....
But I was also so angry. I am really really angry. Angry that there couldn't be a better way. I loved EVERYTHING there. I loved my house, my neighborhood, my amazing friends, my job, the area, the newness, the weather, people were a lot friendlier. I LOVED IT. It has always always been a dream of mine to live down south. And I walked away from my dream. And I'm angry.
Now for everyone reading this from up north, don't be mistaken--we are in the right place. I know that as sad and as angry as I am about moving from there, I know we made the right decision to move. It has been really really great living closer to our families, and seeing them on a much more regular basis. We couldn't, and wouldn't trade that for anything. I just wish that is was a perfect world where I could have both. Where I could have everything and everyone from up here in the north, AND have everything and everyone from down there in the south. I'm praying that's what heaven will be like.
I guess I was in some fantasy land where I imagined that we could just all hop on and take a quick flight up to the north and see our family whenever we wanted to, while enjoying the southern benefits. Or in the fantasy land where maybe we could convince our families to move down south with us (my mom actually would, but she had a few more years before she can retire in order to get her benefits for teaching)--but Cheryl is staying in NY, Matt's parents have their friends and family and have been settled for years, and Andrew and Lauren have no plans for that either. Not happening. And I hate it.
There is no quick easy flight. Prior to kids, it was much easier to fly and visit. But eventually we'd have to pay for all four of us to fly (which adds up quick), and even with the quick flight, there are still delays (and even cancellations) that happen ALL the time that make it a huge hassle. Then there's the packing for an entire family and getting through the security line with the family and our things. Just a huge hassle. And driving is just too much. Too long and not fair to the girls to be doing on a regular basis.
So, for now it was time to walk away from the dream....sad as it is. I just get envious because I see Kristyn and Brian traveling the world and living out their dream living in a different country, and I just wish sometimes I was still living out my dream of living down south....but just impossible during this season in our lives. And I would not want our families missing out on our girls lives, nor would I want our girls (or us) missing out on our families lives either. AND, even though living down south was my dream, my biggest dream ever was to have a family and children, and I have that. So I am living the ultimate dream for me. Wouldn't change it for the world. I'd rather live in an area that I only semi-like with my husband and children than live in an area I love without them. ANY DAY.
Anyway...so the trip was great. My only complaint was that it was too short. We had to break our days up into three sections--morning, afternoon, evening. And pretty much every section was filled up every day trying to see as many people as we could. It was a tease because it was not nearly as much time as I would have liked to have had...but I savored every moment we had together, and was so thankful we got to see everyone we did....we had a couple fun game nights/hang outs with Scott and Leann since we stayed with them, we had dinner with the Wagners and the kids had a great time playing together. We had a playground playdate with the Lastinger's and Wagner's (minus Matt W. at work) and then lunch with them, we had a girl outing to get our nails done and chat (with the girls who weren't at work--it was daytime). We went downtown with the Browns and had dinner and walked around downtown with them, we had a playdate with the Heatley's, the girls and I met Leah for lunch while Matt golfed, I had a fun girls night out--had dinner with Jen L so we could catch up a little, then went to Uptown Art where you do a painting class while enjoying a glass of wine--LOTS of fun. Matt had a playdate with Matt W. and kids. I visited work and saw Beth and other coworkers there, stopped for a real quick visit to see my LPC supervisor Dr. Burton, we saw old babysitter Katelyn (or Kay Kay) as Ashley calls her, we visited my friend Shelly and her new twin babies Seth and Annabelle, Matt golfed with Rico and did some morning workout games with his old gang, he went out to dinner with them, we visited some more with our neighbors Gary and Melinda, Steve and Sandy, and Teresa (Tom was at work). I got in my coffee talk with Beth and saw Peter and girls another quick time. Had a nice dinner with Rico and his family while staying with them. Went to the art house with Christi and kids, etc. Jam packed fun. I'm sure there may even be more but that's all I can recollect at the moment. Lots of fun times and memories.....
So now I am just a little homesick...Have that little "void" feeling at the moment....but so grateful that we were able to go back and see everyone. It's funny, it's been almost a year but in some ways I felt like I had just seen them all last week. When you have such good friends you just pick up where you left off. The only way I knew time had passed was seeing the kids--it's amazing the difference just a year makes. They had all grown so much and were talking and doing so many new things. Crazy.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Another first...Class trip to the Circus
So I mentioned that back in February Ashley started going to preschool part time. Well, she recently had her very first class trip to the circus. It was her first class trip, her first time riding on a school bus, and her first time going to the circus. Big day!
All in all Ashley had a great day. It was a little long for her age group--we took a 30-40 minute bus ride to get there, then they were expected to sit for the full show. It's tough with her age between everyone needing to use the potty (double tough for us because Ashley is petrified of those silly automatic flushers--they're so loud and go off unexpectedly and scare her), and it's just a long show. By the time they had intermission Ashley was saying she wanted to go home. Up to that point though, she absolutely LOVED it. She was fascinated with all the lights, the performances and the animals. I had so much fun just watching her face. Great time! It was also fun having some mommy-daughter time together.
Here are some pics from the big day.
Riding "the magic school bus" like her show :)
So excited!!!
All in all Ashley had a great day. It was a little long for her age group--we took a 30-40 minute bus ride to get there, then they were expected to sit for the full show. It's tough with her age between everyone needing to use the potty (double tough for us because Ashley is petrified of those silly automatic flushers--they're so loud and go off unexpectedly and scare her), and it's just a long show. By the time they had intermission Ashley was saying she wanted to go home. Up to that point though, she absolutely LOVED it. She was fascinated with all the lights, the performances and the animals. I had so much fun just watching her face. Great time! It was also fun having some mommy-daughter time together.
Here are some pics from the big day.
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