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October Happenings

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Here is the truth…I hate when I am so busy that I don’t have time to blog right after an event.  Ultimately what ends up happening is that I still find it important to include the event in my blog, but it becomes more of a chore as each day passes and brings me further away from the event.  So I sit here on a Tuesday night (granted it will probably be the end of the week before I finish my blog) on my couch, laptop on my lap, under DJ (the name of our comforter that I have had since I was 10, which “happened” to be the same comforter that D.J. Tanner from Full House (who I wanted to be by the way) had) and I attempt to write my blog.  Justin is out of town and Avery and Emerson have come in my room at least six times in the past two hours since I put them to bed so I’ll be lucky if I finish this paragraph before I fall asleep on the couch.

So October….October 5 Justin and I woke up at 3:45 a.m. to make our 6:00 a.m. flight to TURKS and CAICOS!  We had wanted to go away just the two of us for our 5 year anniversary.  Well Harper came along and was 6 weeks old at the time of our 5 year anniversary.  We figured we would do something for our 6 year anniversary instead. That too didn’t happen as we had just moved and were trying to figure out our financial situation with our mortgage and expenses.  Naturally we figured we would do something for our 7 year anniversary instead and when spring came around this year, we actually started planning for it. I had seen pics of Turks and Caicos beaches the past few years and while I knew we wanted to go to the Caribbean for this trip, I thought Turks and Caicos was out of my league.   But once we started planning, we quickly realized that Turks and Caicos was the place for us.  I even bought a skimpy one piece, if there is such a thing.  I’ve reached a point in my life where my time for wearing two pieces is over….the last time I wore I two piece I rocked it…we were in Greece in 2010…I was 30 years old and not once did I think to myself that that would be the last time I would wear a two piece.  Since then I’ve been wearing mom bathing suits…yes, one’s with a little skirt portion at the bottom….cute but certainly a mom bathing suit. I feel great about my body now, with the exception of my stomach and my boobs, which I have a lot of excess skin:(.  Anyway, I didn’t want to wear a mom bathing suit to Turks and Caicos and while I did bring one bikini that I wore once in seclusion, I found a hot one piece that certainly wasn’t your ordinary one piece.  I figured I have many years ahead of me to continue wearing my mom bathing suit.

We spent 5 days/4 nights in pure luxury.  Our upgrade to a 1500 suite was more space than we knew what to do with especially considering we spent most our time outside.  The beaches were breathtaking.  The trip there was actually quite easy and we were at the hotel by 1:00.  Justin and I just looked at each other with the same thought, which was “why don’t we do this more often”?  Literally once we were there it just seemed so easy. 

We spent plenty of time at the beach…

We spent some time at the pool…..there were more kids at the resort that I would have liked and a few of them were being loud and I was trying to relax thus I wrapped the towel around my head (my legs were slightly burned thus the towel around my legs).  Justin thought I looked  like Aunt Jemima!

We went to the Local Fish Fry Thursday night via the beach!  I ate a lot of fish tacos and conch while there. 

We went out to eat three times for dinner…twice to the same restaurant which was just a short walk on the beach….once to a sister restaurant of the hotel where we were staying.

We did a snorkeling excursion and saw some of the most beautiful beach scenery that I have ever seen before.  It was breathtaking.

And of course we had fun just being silly and trying to re-create a picture that we took on our first real trip together to Mexico in 2007.

While I missed the kids, I was completely okay with being away from them.  I knew they were in good hands and it was nice to truly be able to relax, get some good sleep, connect with Justin, and not have to worry about work, making dinner or lunches, doing laundry, putting kids to bed, or doing laundry.

The week after we got back, we met with “Bridgette” who two weeks earlier had done a family portrait session of our family.  We had never done family pictures before and while it was pricy, I knew that this was something not only would I not regret, but something I wanted to do periodically to capture our awesome loving family through the years.  We ended up buying 20 digital images in addition to the two canvases we bought. We’ve slowly been blowing them up and putting them around the house…our house is truly becoming a home and I love it. Here are some of the images that we purchased (primarily the ones we haven’t put up around the house…yet)!

We had the photo session on our anniversary actually and it was really special….Justin and I have been together for almost 15 years, married for 7, and we have three beautiful little girls.  I feel so blessed and these pictures capture our love for life and one another.

In mid-October we took the girls to the Reston Pumpkin Patch, where they had fun jumping in the moon bounce, playing on the slide, going for a ride on the train, and doing funny poses for the camera.

The following weekend in October we went to visit GiGi, which I blogged about separately.

Then the last weekend in October was Halloween!  The girls changed their minds on what they wanted to be almost daily, if not more, for weeks leading up to Halloween.  I finally let it stop bothering me as I realized they were having fun with it and I realized that we had quite a few dress up clothes that I could work with to come up with a handful of last minute costume ideas. 

In the end, Avery was a witch…although she didn’t want to wear her hat, or use her broom.  Emerson was Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  And Harper was Anna from Frozen.  My sister and Gabo were visiting from London and they joined in the Halloween celebration.  By the way, they are ENGAGED!!

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year and since we had been so busy the week before, we hadn’t yet had a chance to carve our pumpkins.  My idea was to carve them Saturday with my sister and Gabo.  There was definitely more basketball and soccer playing occurring than there was pumpkin carving.

Justin carved all three of them though….mostly by himself….

Apparently Avery was less than impressed with his pumpkin carving skills….

She carried a pumpkin…

As Emerson played ball in the street with Lauren and Gabo…

Lauren was practicing her mad basketball skills….I must say I was impressed…I think she is a better dribbler at age 33 then she was at age 12!

The girls got dressed and we took a few pictures of everyone including Ludmilla before she went off to her bar crawl.

We failed to get individual pictures of the girls this year….truthfully I was way less stressed about us getting ready then last year so I don’t know if I really forgot as much as I was enjoying going with the flow and was okay not to try to get them to take individual pictures in which I knew they likely wouldn’t want to take.

The evening was fun….Gabo had never experienced Halloween before and we joked that this Halloween experience wasn’t the norm…he was truly experiencing a 5 star Halloween.  It started out with a “dinner” costume party at our neighbors, followed by trick or treating in the neighborhood, where multiple houses were handing out adult beverages, followed by a bonfire in the cul-de-sac.

Here is Joe Dirt himself.

Day after Halloween was November….hard to believe it is November already.  Justin and I went out to dinner Monday night with them to celebrate their engagement before they headed to NY and back to London.  Girls spent the night at my parents which they love!  Tuesday morning Justin left for Nashville and I been playing single parent in the eveningsL.  The weather has been gorgeous the past few days…sunny, 70 degrees, no wind….best fall weather a person could ask for.  I’ve worked from home the past two days so I was able to manage to take a 45 minute walk each day around lunch time and it was glorious.  Being outside in great weather always puts me in a good mood.  While I know the cold darker days are approaching, I’m hopeful that November brings more fall like weather than winter weather. And if winter weather is what November brings, I hope we take advantage by making lots of crock pot recipes and homemade chocolate chip cookies!

Love for My Little Humans

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Today I am in just one of those moods where I am truly in love with these little humans that I have the privilege of raising.  It is so amazing to be able to watch each of my daughter’s personalities blossom.  It’s the little things that have brought such joy to my face the past few days.  Sunday evening I took Harper to her first birthday party where her sisters were not there to accompany her.  We stopped off at Wegman’s on the way home where not only was she my little helper in the cart, but also we were engaged in conversation during the whole hour in a half we were shopping.  We got home at 8:30 and instead of falling asleep on the way home, she was wide awake as Justin and I put away the groceries.  She was full of energy running in circles around the main floor singing ABC’s and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Today I worked from home and I decided to have Ludmila leave Harper at home this afternoon so she could nap while the older girls went to ballet.  I was going to put her down right away but for a moment, I realized that I say too often “I’m about to join a call” or “I have to get to my next meeting” and our discussion (she is now talking in full sentences) was so joyful….she was so precious….we sat in her chair and read five books while we rocked and read.  

Last night when I got home from work and wasn’t in the best mood, Avery and Emerson were each singing their own made up songs as the circled around the first floor as I cooked dinner.  My mood immediately changed as I was listening to and watching these awesome little humans.  

Don’t get me wrong…they often push my buttons…in fact, this is almost a daily occurrence but they bring me so much joy…I literally have so much love for them that I have to remind myself not to squeeze them so tight…I just like to get every last inch of love!

Visit to GiGi’s

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This past Friday Justin and I took the girls to go visit GiGi.  It’s our first time visiting her since she moved into her new “home” in June.  She has actually been in and out of the hospital quite a bit since she moved in and had actually just come home from the hospital yet again the previous night. 

Anyway, she is doing okay….I know the girls time with her is limited and I know she knows that as well.  I know every time she sees them she is thinking about the cycle of life and she is happy and sad all at the same time….happy to see her offspring thriving but sad  that the wonderful life she had felt like it literally happened just overnight.  

She still found a way to spoil the girls….letting them have chocolate, popcorn, juice, muffins, and chips!  While I could have stopped it, I know that the older girls are at an age now where they just might remember GiGi and if their memories of her are visiting her at her “home” and eating fun snacks in the bistro, I will be grateful that they have that memory.  

Harper’s First Dentist Visit

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Today marked Harper’s first dentist visit!  Lucky for her, she has been visiting the dentist with her sisters the last few years so the concept wasn’t foreign to her.  I took all three girls by myself and they did awesome.

 The girls playing in the fun playing room before being called in for their turn.  

Justin had come up with a plan the previous night for the order in which the girls would get their teeth cleaned.  Avery was supposed to go first, followed by Harper, and then Emerson.  That plan quickly changed as Avery decided she no longer wanted to go first.  It took some coaxing but finally the promise of an extra ring, swayed Emerson to hop on into the chair.  Okay so maybe hopping is a little bit of an exaggeration…I just may have had to pick her up and physically place her on the chair, but once she was on, she was pretty excited.  She had a smirk but was trying very hard not to smile.  She sat so still and did exactly as the dental hygienist said.  She even got to wear some cool shades! 

Harper and Avery watched in anticipation.

While I had still planned on Harper going second, Avery was so excited to go after having watched Eme….although, she did insist that I hold her hand the entire time.  

She was very excited to get her pictures taken as well.  Look at that smile! 

 

Avery and Emerson love the dentist…largely in part to the treasure chest!

After each cleaning, the girls get to pick out their own treasure…something that they frequently talk about at home each night while brushing their teeth. 

Finally it was Harper’s turn.  She kept saying that she didn’t want to get her teeth cleaned, but she got in the chair without much hesitation.  I had to hold her hand the majority of the time.  She was playing games with the dental hygienist and kept turning the opposite direction of the hygienist.  In the end, they counted her teeth (20 in total….the bottom molars are all the way in and the top molars are halfway through).  She too did great!

Avery and Emerson both have a lot of spacing overall which is good for the permanent teeth.  Emerson’s molars are very tight together and she had two pre-cavities.  I generally shrug off the dentist’s recommendation to eliminate fruit snacks as I feel like you have to take it in stride.  The dentist recommends cookies and ice cream over fruit snacks and gummies.  Every time they say that to me, I can’t help but chuckle because different doctors all have different priorities Would a cardioologist’s recommend th same?!?! Point being, I have always felt that fruit snacks here and there are fine until the dentist said that Emerson  had two pre-cavities!  I head the warning!  I’ve already told the girls no more and they were fine with it. Avery’s teeth showed a little bit of grinding but nothing that needs to be done to address it now.  I don’t notice it during the day, so she must do it at night. Harper teeth are very tight on the bottom but the dentist didn’t seem that concerned about it.  My guess is she will need braces in time to make space.  Her top teeth are starting to form to the shape of her thumb, which I already knew.  They said she needs to stop sucking her thumb but she is still fairly young to really understand, especially if she is doing it mostly at night.  She only does it during the day when she is tired, but I’ll make an effort to do what I can to help get her to stop.  On another positive note, the results of the girls initial X-rays which showed the top and bottom front four teeth, indicated that those eight permanent teeth do exist.  Emerson’s permanent teeth were definitely further developed than Avery’s and I could clearly see them.  Avery’s weren’t as far along but the dentist said that they were there.  We’ll continue to keep our fingers crossed that they have all their permanent teeth and if not, we will address it when the time comes.  But for now I am so happy to report that they all did great today….they were patient, well behaved, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more!

 

Nags Head 2015

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This blog is hard to write as I didn’t do it right away.  But we literally have at least 500 pictures and we had a good vacation (overall), so while it will be an abbreviated version of what I would have written a month ago, at least it is something.  On a related note, Justin got me a personal laptop for my birthday, which I still need to actually pick out.  My main purposes are using it for email and internet, which I can easily do from the couch at night and it will be easier to blog without feeling so cut off from Justin at night on the home computer.

We left Saturday August 22 for Nags Head to vacation with the Brophy’s for one week.  The girls had a blast and LOVE Erin, Brian, Hannah, and Quinn.  They feel just as comfortable around them as they do with family. It’s awesome.

The house we stayed particularly the room we stayed in smelled of mildew.  Justin and I are “see the flowers” type people so we tried not to focus on it.  Justin’s body though felt differently and by day two his asthma symptoms started to kick in.  He was a trooper and tried to keep up but by mid-week he was really feeling lousy and at 4:30 a.m. Thursday he drove himself to the ER, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.  Again, he tried to still do some stuff but he really was sick.  We ended up leaving a day early when Justin developed a rash from the antibiotic he was prescribed, which landed us in the Reston ER the following morning, where again the diagnosis was pneumonia. 

While the vacation certainly was disappointing in that aspect, we still managed to have a good time. We spent several mornings at the beach.  Playing in the sand….

Taking a dip in the water….Harper that is…Avery and Emerson are scared of the water and don’t want anything to do with it.

Looking for shells….

We also spent one late afternoon at the beach going for a walk….

We went out to dinner twice…once the 10 of us and the second time the four grown-ups.  We cooked several yummy dinners at home.  We made cookies with the girls. 

The girls did a lot of playing and running around the house. We went to two Piers.  First Jeanette’s pier where we attempted all kinds of pictures…

Had some fun playing ring around the rosie with Erin…

We went to Hatteras Light House on a cooler windy day as evidenced by some of these lovely “do’s”…

We went to Nags Head Pier and took a day time stroll!

And before we knew it, our vacation had come to an end.  The girls were quite sad especially considering we abruptly left Friday instead of Saturday.  Fortunately, Ludmilla had a great idea to bring sand and shells home so that the girls could recreate the beach at home!

A Kid On A Carousel

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Saturday morning on our way to the gym, Avery and Emerson started talking about parks. A few different ones were discussed as well as the fact that we hadn’t visited a few of them in some time.  Anyway, Justin and I decided to fit going to Frying Pan Park into our day Sunday.  Here is Ms. Independent walking ahead of the gang.

And here is the slower of the gang.  Avery who decided to dress herself that this morning in a bathing suit, wanted us to be chickens.  So here we are saying “bok bok”.  

And yes that is Harper wearing a tutu.  Once we agreed to let Avery wear a bathing suit and a mismatched skirt, Harper too wanted her pick at her outfit.

Just Harper and me strolling along.  I’ve been bringing back the bun lately (sorry Justin)….but it’s a low side bun so that isn’t really a bun right?!?!?

While Avery took a little break in the stroller…..

And Emerson took in the sights of the goat…

Joined by Harper who wanted to do exactly as Eme was doing….

Followed by a stop riding the stationary tractors…..

They were having fun until the boy in the green shirt came along.  He was actually very nice and asked the girls if he could join them.  I said yes and he was trying to teach them about the tractor parts and then play a game with them.  Emerson and Harper wanted nothing to do with him as can be evidenced by their facial expressions.  I later tried to tell Emerson that he was just a nice boy wanting to play….I think a stranger being so nice was a little bit uncomfortable for her. 

We then headed towards the carousel.  As many times as we have been to Frying Pan Park previously, we have never ridden the carousel.  It only runs a few times an hour at most and today was the first time the timing worked out well.  The girls ALL had a blast as we rode it.  They were giggling and smiling and it was contagious.  

As we were riding it, I felt carefree and just loved the fact that at this moment in time, my girls were loving life and had no other cares in the world.  To be a kid on a carousel….that’s how we should all live life.

The girls then played on the playground for a little while. 

Ms. Independent who didn’t eat that much of her picnic lunch got hungry while she was playing on the playground and decided to go help herself to the remaining crackers in the stroller bag. Apparently she was eating and meditating at the same time. 

To be a kid on a carousel….

First Day of Fours!

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Today was Avery and Emerson’s first day of pre-school in the 4’s class….hard to believe considering it is mid-September!  Anyway, it was a success!

I was a little nervous based on last year’s first day…and second day….and the fact that I thought the reality of being in different classes this year may sink in.  Both did fine though…Emerson walked right in to the point of almost not even saying goodbye…Avery was scared and refused to hang up her bag without me, but once I helped her she took the teacher’s hand and gave me a big hug and kiss and she too was off.  When they got home from school, Avery was full of smiles.  She said she had a great day and was very brave for going to school without her sister.  Emerson said she had fun in the same breath that she started misbehaving and having a temper tantrum.  After she calmed down she was able to tell me that her feelings were hurt at school.  The knot in my stomach subsided when she told me the reason her feelings were hurt were because she didn’t get to see Kris Denise.  We talked about the girls day at dinner and they each told one another a few things that they each did at school.  At  night we said what we were thankful for and much of our thanks revolved around a great school day with wonderful friends.  God came up as He often does during our discussions…I assume much of it they get from chapel or music.  As the lights were out and we were tucking Avery and Emerson in, Emerson asked me if God made little vaginas parts for men too!  I had to leave the room and compose my laughter and lie to my daughter as to why I was laughing before I could answer her.  As for sweet (and spoiled) Harper, I think she wants to go to school too; however, something tells me that she will thoroughly enjoy her alone time with Ludmila.  All in all, a good first day of school!

A Great Day in Annapolis

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Today Justin and I took the girls to Annapolis.  Justin had never been and to my recollection I had been once or twice as a kid, but hadn’t been in well over 20 years.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful September day.  We walked around, ate lunch (at an okay restaurant with crappy service but in a way met expectations as we waited to eat until close to 2:00 to eat and by then the girls were starving and we didn’t have much time to scope places out), and then walked around some more.  The sun was strong…in fact, pretty darn hot at times, but it truly was a wonderful day.  In fact, it’s been a wonderful weekend so far.  The girls are getting older and everything is becoming that much easier to do with three.  For example, last night we took them to Passion Fish at Reston Town Center.  Many people go there for a nice romantic dinner and I was that lady who brought her three young kids!  They were very well behaved though.  I just feel kind of high on life right now.  Perhaps it could be too because the last two nights I have watched two tear jerker movies (and I barely watch TV) and it just opened up my emotions in a way that I am feeling so blessed and so happy with my family and life right now.  Anyway, I had originally envisioned taking lots of pictures of the girls in Annapolis but it was way busier than I envisioned and since we were enjoying ourselves and getting pictures of the girls can be look pulling teeth sometimes and Justin still wasn’t back to his normal self from his pneumonia recovery, after he took out the camera the one time, I didn’t pester him to take it out again. Anyway, it was a really great day.

Williamsburg Wedding Weekend

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This past weekend we went to Williamsburg for my cousin Brett’s wedding.  Brett and Jesse both met at William and Mary, just like Justin and me, so they decided to get married at Wren Chapel and have the ceremony at the Alumni house.
Since Justin and I rarely go to Williamsburg and the girls had never been, we decided to make a long weekend  out of it so that we could truly enjoy our time there.  We left Thursday right after lunch with the hope that the girls would fall asleep on the car ride down there.  Avery and Harper fell asleep for a good chunk of the trip.  Emerson was up but was patient and quiet, even when she was mouthing the lyrics to frozen quite dramatically.
Thursday night we rode around campus and saw all the highlights of our old stomping grounds.  They definitely have built a lot of new buildings since we graduated!  That night we went to a Mexican Restaurant that was built since we graduated.  We went basically for the signature “white sauce” that is served in Mexican restaurants down “south”.  It was okay….service was so-so and the white sauce was good but not great.  Portions were huge and we definitely had some leftovers.  Anyway, the girls were tired by the time we left as it was already after 8:00 but we talked them into going to Duke of Glouster (DOG) street for a late night walk in the strollers.  It was dark out but it gave Justin and I some much needed exercise to feel better about ourselves after our massive Mexican dinner. It also gave the girls something to look forward to see during the day.
Friday morning our first stop was to William and Mary Campus.  We spent some time at the Wren Chapel….
The Sunken Gardens….
Bryan Hall…
The Crimdell…..
We then went back to DOG Street where we ran into much of the Petchenick clan at the William and Mary Bookstore.  The girls each picked out their own William and Mary BPA Free water bottle.  We did some exploring.  We checked out the horses….
Visited an old time jail….
And had a picnic lunch from The Cheese Shop!
The store was ridiculously packed but lunch did not disappoint.
We attempted an afternoon nap which didn’t work out so well so we took a quick dip in the indoor pool hot tub before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner at Sal’s.  At least Harper caught a few z’s during our morning outing.
Saturday morning we took a quick trip to the outlets as Justin didn’t bring enough shirts and I was potentially looking for a pair of heels that went with my dress options better than the one’s in which I brought.  I have always hated outlet shopping and this trip proved that I still do!
Saturday was the wedding.  Emerson loving on Harper while waiting for Mommy and Daddy to get ready.
Here we are on our way to Wren…way early may I add…thus we had time for some pictures!
Family picture (minus Harper) taken by my dad…not a bad picture besides the angle…just tilt your head a little.
The ceremony was literally the shortest ceremony I have ever attended…literally it was probably seven minutes from beginning to end…no joke…I’m not complaining though.
We had an hour after the ceremony ended until the cocktail hour started so we ventured to Paul’s Deli for a drink for old time’s sake…..slowly taking a few more pictures along the way.  
The girls happily ate their snack from Wawa and had a fun time coloring!
At cocktail hour, my dress seriously malfunctioned!  Good thing I was indecisive and brought a second dress and my husband so graciously drove back to the hotel during cocktail hour to get me my other dress.
The wedding was lots of fun.  Food was great and the girls especially had a great time dancing and hanging out with cousins Christine, Katy, and Jessie.
After the wedding, we went back to the hotel, got the girls in their pajamas and dropped the girls off in my parents room so that Justin and I could head to the deli’s for a little.  We were planning on picking them back up but they were all sound asleep in the same bed when we got back to the hotel around midnight that my mom didn’t want us to wake them.  Anyway, we went to a new deli “The Brick Tavern” first because that is where the wedding party was.  After staying there for a little, we went back to Paul’s for old time sake and so Justin could have himself a Hot Holly.  The Hot Holly didn’t disappoint although he did have to share it with the bride and groom and the little speck of mold on the bread didn’t deter either!  Justin said he felt nostaligic a few times during the weekend. I had a great weekend and it was certainly good to be back and to show our girls where we met, but I can’t say that I had that sadness feeling associated with nostalgia.  In a way, it felt like just yesterday that we were there and in other aspects, it felt like it had been the 15 years that it has been!  Either way, it was a great weekend!