7QTs - First Full Week of 2020

Linking up with Kelly ... the first week back

---1---

Everyone seems to have survived the first week back at school without much ado. I really did like the schedule we had going over break... me go into work early, come home for lunch, Lee go out and do stuff, quiet-ish nights at home. That's all gone to pot with school starting back but ce la vi. 

---2---

The Wizard of Oz showed up in pajama form... 

Not be confused with this same crowd

Swapping the Wicked Witch for the Great and Powerful Oz and you basically have the same crew. 

There was numerous questions as to what and why J was... the tin man for Halloween. I mean clearly Dorothy and her crew would be absolutely incomplete without the tin man and he even has a tin man-ish hat on. 

---3---

Work has been super busy and after 10.5 years I'm finally moving on up to my own office - which is weird on a ton of levels but probably first and foremost that I have been working for a company for that long. Decorating updates to follow... maybe, maybe - I've got a bunch of soccer plaques that are in my current space plus my diploma is collecting dust at the house so thinking about getting that up in the office? 

---4---

Speaking of decor, Lee graciously hung/rehung pics in the family room (maybe because he got tired of me asking or maybe he wanted to get the new frame off the kitchen counter- either way it got done). I wish I had a before and after of tonight but here is the original before and after.... 

We had been in our house for five years before any pics were hung on this wall and the MAIN reason behind hanging photos was we hosted a Christmas party (for a small handful of adults) #adulting ... nothing like a deadline to make you get stuff done 

A decorator helped put my vision of the photo wall/collage into action because I cannot think outside the box and while I love a photo wall my OCD couldn't get past the different size frames and stuff. The wall has served us well over the last two years as I try to change out the big frames with a winter/summer individual pic of the kids and the smaller frames get freshened up about once a year. Well along came another Kibbe baby so we HAD to get another big frame up and filled. 

I'll see about snapping a pic of the new layout when I can get some natural light. 

---5---

I've got high hopes for putting up a few pics in the master bedroom using some bigger frames we got as wedding gifts and never survived the move and getting rehung in our house - which was nearly 8 years ago. I need one more non-photo piece to go with them so maybe once Christmas credit card bill shock is over then I'll snag what I'm eyeing. Also, I'm on the look out for lamps for the master bedroom. I got two lamps for the entry way a few years ago at a winter sale locally and I ADORE the lamps. So weird, I never knew I could like lamps that much. #iamold

---6---

On tap for the weekend is skipping a swim meet - but don't worry there's one next weekend. J is getting baptized/chrismated/communicated. Yay Chrism! A has been asking when J is going to 'get blessed' so it is finally here. I've got to get a 10 mile run in as on a 12/31/19 whim I decided to run in a 1/2 marathon at the end of February. A whim might be a bit of a lie but a 2020 price increase helped my cause. I'd been looking for a 1/2 marathon to run that was close and convenient time wise and this Raleigh 1/2 marathon literally came into my inbox on 12/31 and I had worked up to 7.5 mile runs in December so I just ran with it... more on that I'm sure. 

---7---

E insisted that we stay up until midnight on New Years and of course the big girls were all in on it too.

There was some intense train matches that coupled with tired siblings turned into tearful train matches. We made it down to the double fours before we called it quits. E wanted to watch the ball drop in NYC but I think the acorn in Raleigh would have been better - the local coverage of the acorn was better so maybe we'll do split screen next year? 

Theme Thursday - Thumb

Caught...

Almost in the act of thumb sucking... Actually the girls - weirdness I should qualify the girls as the big girls - really only suck their thumbs if they have their Ninis. I have told E she cannot get her fingernails painted until she stops sucking her thumb. I am not crazy about the idea of painting fingernails for little girls but the thumb sucking 3 yr old is driving me crazy. She does it subconsciously. 

Anyway... here are a few other pics from Saturday before church. 

Hello... what are you doing?

Another picture???

Yes they are matching and yes I love it!

Can we come back and play?

Sunday Snapshot - Weekend Van Destruction

The van post church




Now this van was 100% item free before we loaded up... I think that some of this disaster area is due to the following sequence of events: 

Friday 4 pm - load up van at Jibbes house
           5:30 - van gets completely unloaded
Saturday 9 am - load up van for E's swim class
               2:30 pm - Lee completely unloads all papers and trash; reloads with weekend supplies

               4:15 - get ready for wedding in the van 

               8:10 - get ready for night-night post-wedding, pre-meltdown (in van)

Sunday 7:30 am - load up van at Grammy and Grandpa Joe's 

             8 - get ready for church in van

So we had 4 different outfits that were changed in the van in the span of 14 hours? Impressed? We had a great time at the wedding which was a good distraction from the madness of moving back into the house plus always great to see people from the old stomping ground. We actually got a fantastic family pic courtesy of Uncle Kev and the imaginary dog that was in the camera (only way we got E to look at the camera). That's on the 'real' camera whose battery is SLOWLY dying without a charger... 

In the off chance you are interested in all the items I can point out from that pic (kinda like Where's Waldo in the Kibbe Odyssey?) 

R's yellow diaper bag - only half way filled/usable

E's pink plaid dress for the wedding

E's 'Tutu' pink/green/blue dress from Saturday before wedding (on top of middle seat)

Belk bag that contained E's pink plaid dress

R's purple striped dress from Saturday before wedding

R's pink bow shoes for church

E's black tights from wedding (lower left)

Hanger from one of the church dresses?

E's pink crocs

Wipes - crucial I tell you, crucial

One of E's pink socks from night-night

One of R's black sparkle shoes from wedding

One of E's black flower shoes from wedding/church

Green brush with no hair ties on handle

R's black and plaid dress from wedding

E's Hanna Andersson Ariel pajamas (seriously they are her favs)

R's pajamas

E's pink Nini

E - in white tights and polka dot dress

E - purple tights with Nini

(Note no dirty diapers present!) 

Could we star in our own Honda Odyssey commercial? Yeah we totally could and make it interesting and you know what I just got that infant carrier installed this afternoon... Honda - call me when you're interested. 

Post bday party happiness

E's party was lots of fun. We had family and friends over for nice weather, a cookout out and a knock out cake from HT. I'll post more party pics later. Here's a pic of E trying on her ballet attire (thanks Grammy). I think E is going to be the daughter Grammy never had - at least in terms of doing ballet! E was SO adorable in her leotard and tights and tutu!

Then it was on to Ariel pajamas and the Memory game - which of course - E was crazy good at. (Viola you know her too well).

Thanks to everyone who made her 3rd so special. It was a great day!

Christmas Post Part One...

All the craziness of Christmas started about 1:45 on Christmas Eve as we ritualistically loaded up the car and was about 5 minutes behind schedule for leaving for church. E was a good sport about not napping and ended up sleeping through 2/3 of vespers for the Nativity.

Obligatory fam pic!

After vespers we shared the last Advent fasting meal at church. You would be pleasantly surprised by all the really tasty meatless dishes one can make - though I am not about to go veggie or vegan. My favorite is always the Chopino soup! I think E ate more bread than anything- shocker! Then it was off to the races with the other kids at church! E is one of the younger ones so I am sure she is learning lots of good tricks from the big kids. Like chasing the 3 ft exercise ball down the hallway! : )

We made it to Grammy and Grandpa Joe's at a reasonable hour. After the intense playing with the kids at church - not to mention 2.5 seconds with Uncle Kev - we had to let E wind down before bed. She was excited to see the presents under the tree and was not horribly upset that she had to wait until after her night nights to open them.

Side note, I am pretty much obsessed with her Christmas pajamas : ) Thank you Hanna Andersson for the amazing cuteness.

Helping open and pass out presents on Christmas

So much easier to just dump the bag!

Getting some much needed assistance from Grammy!

E definitely enjoyed opening presents this year. More so than last. Though this year she was more interesting in getting all the wrapping paper off the presents then the actually presents. Last year she just liked the boxes : ) By the end of the day she could get some form of presents out - which was super super cute!

Checking out some of Uncle Kev's presents

After present opening it was on to my mom/ Grammy's famous coffeecake and breakfast bake. So good let me tell you. Also, general consensus among the group was the coffee cake was possibly the best if not one of best yet- I think it is because it was cut about 10 minutes after being out of the oven. Breakfast bake = amazing Guyere cheese + ham = excellence! Then it was off to church that morning.

Another obligatory fam pic.

I could not resist.

Commentary about the pics above two pics.
1. I think I look pretty dang good for being 33.5 weeks prego!
2. Lee always does something weird with his hand and it makes me smile
3. Could not resist the toddler in front of the tree pic and I think there is a similar one of me. Though I am super disappointed I cut off her left foot - but really this is the only one that she does not have a horribly fake cheese smile : )

BGE Chiminea courtesy of Uncle Kev... love my little bro

After church, E unwillingly crashed out for a for hours. The guys got Dad's Big Green Egg Chiminea fired up. Mom got dinner going... Uncle Kev requested lamb - which is the typical Easter dinner but Mom decided we could have it for Christmas too and it was so so so tasty! No pics of dinner prep but trust me. My aunt and uncle and cousins came for dessert and among other things we had our first cookie of Christmas available. They were super good - I will have to do a separate post about them. Then it was time to pack up and head back to the Mount. I think E stayed awake the whole time and talked about her 'books', 'presents' and 'cookies' : )

St. Nicholas Came!!!

Well I am pleased to report that St. Nicholas was able to find time in his busy schedule to stop by our house. He picked up the clothes and shoes we left for him to take and left us with some good stuff - even a little something for baby #2!!!

 E was not happy about St. Nik-las having to take Mama's shoe.

After we moved the basket for St. Nicholas into the chapel and E picked through the basket and got over the shoes leaving she looked out the window and said Nik-las Nik-las. I told her St. Nicholas would probably come during her night night time so she took her nap and went to bed saying Nik-las Nik-las.

Papa got home from work in the nick of time to see what St. Nik-las brought. E usually needs some snuggling when she wakes up but we told her she had to see what St. Nicholas brought and the Ni-ni was left behind. She banged on the chapel doors and this is what she found.

Everyone has their own pile. 

 Not sure what to think about the presents.

In E's stack: 1 Hanna dress, 2 pairs of tights, Christmas pajamas, slippers, Hello Kitty underwear,      St. Nik-las icon card

 Papa excited about his new boxers and Code of Canon Law of Eastern Catholic Churches 

(Come on girls - I know there are at least 2 of you whose hubbys will appreciate a book like this)

 Underwear taken out - check, stockings off the hook - check, put slippers on - working on it!

Newborn long sleeve onesies for new baby!

 Sts. Joachim and Anna icon for the family. 

Smelling the flowers that St. Nik-las left for Mama and a new shirt too!

E was 'happy' about St. Nik-las and 'like it'. I had a fun time helping St. Nicholas make his feast day special for our family!!!

Success - check!!!

Shoe Crisis!!!

This morning it was cold and wet (here's to fall weather) and of all morning to be concerned about which shoes she wears - today E chose to care. She has three main pairs of shoes- black mary jane's (I think?), brown boots and pink moccasins (on sale from Hanna last year). Clearly pink shoes with out because the soles of them are soft and I don't think they would survive the rain.

E wanted to wear her black shoes that do not completely cover her feet/stockings which clearly would not bode well in the rain but she got them out anyways and proceeded to put them on - on the wrong feet! I told her that the boots would be better and set those out for her and took off the black shoes. Screams and tears ensued. Really over shoes! I cannot wait to see what she'll pick out for middle school that will inevitably be axed and the screams and tears that go along with that. I think I'm okay with the screams and tears of an 18 month old than a 13 year old!

Fortunately Papa came home (he just had to run out for work) with his boots on and E was much more... hmmm open? to her boots. Crisis averted, problem solved : )

Happy almost-Wednesday!

In the mail...

We have 50 million thousand magazines come to the house and the vast majority of them only see it to our recycling bin. There are a select few that I really really enjoy looking at.

1. PBK - clearly. I have talked about Pottery Barn Kids before but I really like there stuff. The prices are generally high but the product quality is excellent. Nothing came of the PBK photo contest so E will likely end up with the a chair and not a kitchen... Another set of Dr. Seuss crib bumper and quilt will likely be in order for baby #2. (Read something the other day about how the recommendation is now to not use bumpers???)

2. Hanna Andersson - I'd pretty much take one of everything is that magazine. Again can be pricey if you don't get a sale - but St. Nicholas got free shipping on a Hanna order and that saved about 11% on top of the discounts. Also, if you have a little girl please don't waste another dollar on nylon tights. Get the Hanna 'loose' tights and save yourself the trouble. Yes they are $18 - you can get them for about $14 during a sale but E has some of her cousins and they are perfectly great and don't fuzz up or run.

A few of my favs...

This post I will digress from Bibita details and mention a few things that make my life a bit easier...

1. Grandmas who shower the bibis with lots of love and attention (and lots and lots of clothes)
2. Bouncers and jumpers to contain E so she does not roll out of the door
3. Britax carseats. This weekend we just upgraded E's carseat because the carrier is getting a bit cramped. Not only is the Britax probably one of the safest carseats out there, its assembled right in Charlotte , NC but it is so easy to install. You have to check them out they are so great and they last forever!




4. Clothes that last! E was fortunate enough to get several boxes of her cousin's clothes and in it was a bunch of Hanna Andersson stuff. These clothes are made to last and they are amazingly cute! So, I ventured online and placed a post-Christmas order for E for the fall. I am so excited!!!


Also, this weekend I was reminded just hope precious life is. No need to go into details but sometimes I forget how blessed our little family is. So take some time out in your life and count all your blessings.