Snacktime BFF

Today MMO was closed in observance of MLK Day.... so once of E's friends mom graciously and bravely - she has a 2 yr old and a 5 mo old - offered to have E over to play while I could work in peace and not go through my purse!

I must admit I was a bit nervous leaving E with another mommy knowing that there would be 3 under 2 to contend with. With the promise that I would be called if there was any sort of crisis or meltdown I left.

E and J had a super great time from what I heard and had good playtime and snack time. E was so sad to leave. I left with the standing order the favor would be returned.

Side notes of thought. Highlight was picking E up and getting to chat with J's mom. I need J and her fam live on our street not just so I can have a mom friend 5 secs away but so E can have a BFF close by. With being less than 12 hours from moving I wonder if E us going to have neighborhood friends like I did. Pretty sure we are making a good decision to move and hoping E can make super great friends to play with and have sleepovers with!

T-Minus 28 days for Baby #2 and T-Minus a Hot Minute for Moving?

Today is officially 28 days until this baby comes - which is still mind-boggling. I went to the Dr. yesterday and said all systems are go and baby can come pretty much any time now --- but wait we are moving in less than a week!

The House Hunting process is coming to an abrupt (and welcomed) close so that we can get situated before Baby K #2 comes. I'll post pics from move day when it actually happens. Lee has 100% kept to his word about me not having to pack anything - which has been awesome for me. I just get updates about what has been packed and what is left to be packed - though I think I'll end up doing some stuff in E's room over the weekend because I am responsible for E's room and new baby's room in the new house - which is great!

So things I am trying to get organized about the two rooms I am in charge of:

1. Glider for new baby's room - check. Got that on Craiglist last week and LOVE IT! Expensive glider is totally worth the splurge especially if you can get one used.
2. Crib - TBA. I am checking out options on Craigslist and would like to have something figured out soon
3. Nursery set - PBK (love) has a new line of Dr. Seuss bedding. It is a bit more boy-ish than last season's. I was able to get last season's bumper marked down and I won't need the comforter this winter. I think I have an extra Dr. Seuss Crib sheet but now that our life is in boxes finding that low on my priority list
4. Unfinished small pic frames - I have book covers and scenes from Dr. Seuss books I am going to put up. We actually have them thumbtac-ed to the walls now but I would like to avoid them again. I have looked at Michaels but all their wooden frames are finished and I want to paint the frames with bright primary and secondary colors.

Hmmm... thats pretty much it. Which is perfect-o for me because I am not stressed at all about the move!

I'm one of THOSE people now...

I have a confession to make... I am now one of those people who carries (and uses) two cellphones. I have my smartphone (for work) and my dumbphone (for personal use). I really like being able to send emails for work when I am waiting 45 minutes at the doctors office and responding to our Chinese suppliers at 9 pm at night with relative ease. But I don't like the perception that goes with having two phones. I always thought that people who had two phones were being excessive - there was a guy I sat next to on a plane once who had three! However, with two I can keep the work phone calls to the work phone which is great. It seems that I have been better about keeping track of both phones too. I would more than occasionally misplace my phone - but now that I have two to contend with it is more difficult to misplace both phones!

Fast Fact - I Don't Look Preggo?

Today we went to close on the refi of our house/soon to be rental. E tagged along for the closing because well who doesn't want a toddler to help close on a house! Anyway we were signing (our lives away) and the lawyer looks at E and then looks at Lee and me and asks "So is this your only one?" I look at him and then Lee and I try and not look at him too strangely and say, "Another one will be here in less than a month"

Yes t-minus 30 days! I cannot believe it! I must say I was a bit flattered by the unobservant lawyer as it is a testament to my good eating and exercising regiment. Ha! Silly lawyer.

Editor's note - Lee said it would not be fair to note that the Land's End vest I was wearing could have been a factor in the lawyers perception of my prego-licious state.

Babies in the Air... well in Tummies

After my long hiatus from Facebook I had Lee log me back in on Sunday (just temporally). I think it had been about 3ish weeks since I had last logged in. Regardless, first two people that show up in my feed are announcing pregnancies! Probably another 10 women I am friends with are also pregnant or just had babies so there was tons of great baby info on Facebook!

Tip from a great friend of mine - eat chocolate. In moderation of course but pregnant and new moms need to feel great and chocolate (even in small amounts like a Halloween sized M&Ms pack) can get those endorphins pumping to put a pep in your step!

Here's to all the 2012 babies!!!

A Southern Belle and her Southern Gentleman!

I think these two pics are from back in Nov 2010

Probably one of my most fav pics

Okay so maybe not really but toddlers can be well-behaved and have good manners. Just take B-man. He and E are twins - except their b-days are a few days off - but who is counting. Before Christmas E and I got together with B and his mama for a morning of food, shopping and flowers.

Early 2011

First B introduced E to dried fruit - mango and apricot. Something that had not even crossed my mind to give E. She is pretty much obsessed with 'mangoooo, mangooo' and we are well on our way to plowing through our second bag. They were so cute eating their snack together. B kept on bringing E more and more snack!

Then we walked/strolled our not-so-babies into Wil-town for some fresh air and to My Cutie Patootie - if you have not found your local kids consignment shop you are missing out big time. I did find a cute little sleep sak for baby #2 for all of $2.50 - new would have easily been $20. E gave that to her little bro/sis for Christmas (and she got a Melissa and Doug music set in return : )

After shopping and mama talk it was time to head home so we took some obligatory pics of our toddlers. I'm not sure how it started but B found a few Dandelions in his yard and picked them and 'gave them' to E. If by gave them I mean tried to be a gentleman and smoothly hand them off to E but E did not reciprocate B-man's gracefulness. Anyways it was insanely cute! Toddlers = AWESOME

B showing us the flower

Going in to give the flower and hugs

E is unfortunately not too interested in the flower : (

Oooo forward facing carseat!

E is officially a forward facing passenger! Installation of the Britax was not s simple as thought but Lee got it done. I think she likes the change of scenery but not the fact we can see her all the time.

My Friday... Thoughts and Other Musings

Yesterday was an interesting day... Not exactly how I planned on spending it but here goes. 

Started on Thursday with us getting home late from church and E getting to bed late. Lee said he would be up for taking E to MMO in the AM which makes my life monumentally easily for 55 minutes in the morning. Husband = love. Went to work - had a relatively uneventful time there. Did manage to get our $ back from a steamship line that has been holding it for 6 weeks! 

Picked E up for MMO and we got ready to go to lunch with her friend. Now J is about 9 months older than E so she knows the ropes a little better than E. For example the candy jar. MMO has a candy jar that kids get a treat if they were good. This is fine however with naptime impending I don't like E to have anything and most of the candy in there are Dum-Dums and I definitely don't trust her with lollipops quite yet. So it is super cute to watch the drama unfold - as J's mom is taking baby S to the car and E comes out of the room J hands E a Dum-Dum (Blue Raspberry in fact - good choice!). E proceed to unwrap it and pop it in her mouth. The ladies/teachers freakout (kinda - dramatic I know : ) because they know E does not get candy. I'm not up for the fight so I really am not that worried about it. Side note - I really try my best to bring E a treat - those insanely expensive yogurt melts and I think she might actually prefer them!

Anyways we hit up the local Chik-Fil-A for lunch. What pregnant woman does not LOVE CFA? I hear they have not made their way up North and that is a bummer. CFA is awesome because aside from the food there is a dedicated kids play area. You probably will never appreciate this unless you are a parent. McD's is moving in the direction of not having these kid areas but if you have a toddler you know eating attention span is all of 2.5 seconds. E and J decide they are done with lunch and that it was time to play. Now for more wisdom of a toddler... 

Both E and J are either too small or not strong enough to get past the 2nd step on the stairs to the slide. J has mastered the artful craft of begging for help to get up. After about 20 minutes of watching and trying to figure out what to do E convinces one of the big kids to help her. Helpy helpy? she says. Now I am a responsible parent and there was seriously no more than 4 other kids in the play area and they were playing relatively calmly - otherwise there is NO WAY I would have let E go up there. The big kids show her the ropes of the play area and then I hear her screaming... Down the slide. I thought it was her sad/mad scream but seriously when she got out of the slide, she was probably super happy. She only begged her way up one more time before it was time to go. 

J's mom and I had a nice time catching up though I it kind of difficult in the noise of a CFA kids area plus baby S was having reflux issues so hopefully she's feeling better! Once we move I will finally be able to host (or hostess - I guess hostess is not a verb) playdates and kids and moms can be in different rooms! It is still crazy to me that I can relate to women who I really do not know 'that well' but because we have kids about the same age there is an automatic connection which I am so thankful for. Makes me feel less of an outsider in the Mount. At MMO E has two little friends J and E whose mommys have baby #2 or baby #2 is coming so we are totally in the same boat!

After a small battle to leave E and I made it home in time (actually way late but its Friday) for a nap. E did not fall asleep in the car which is ESSENTIAL to a successful naptime. Lee and I catch up for 5 seconds check in and get some of those Friday afternoon grind emails done. Then I get a call from my boss who has decided to get me a phone! Sweet!!! Why??? Because I desperately need to be connected to my work email on days that I am not in the office so people are not waiting hours to get an answer. I know it sounds lame but seriously responding to an email in time, saves nine - no, no, save me headache and stress. So I am SUPER GRATEFUL that he agreed but that the phone is an iPhone. I have been an Apple junkie since I started photo-j in 2005 at UNC and I have not been disappointed. In fact my MacBook Pro 2006 model was going to get the dump this year for an upgrade but with new baby and buying a house I think that it will have to hold on a little while longer!

Speaking of buying things my last great adventure of Friday - yes we are still on the same day - was a surprise trip to Raleigh-world to check out and ultimately purchase a glider. Now I have been obsessing over the PBK glider. It is seriously $1000 and not in the cards - at all. In fact I must admit I felt guilty even getting this glider knowing about all the insane expenses we have coming up. I found this glider on Craigslist and the woman said that she got it for $1500 4 years ago - well I did some research on the model and it is entirely possible that she did spend that much but more importantly the price point was the same as the PBK one. She was selling it for about 25% of its original value and there were others interested so journeyed to Raleigh for the second time in 24 hours! On the way I realized I really had not thought this out. How was I going to get this in my car? Where was it going to go - I do not have the tidiest car ever - please just ask Lee. So I call my dad - of course - and tell him about my plan and then I think well I cannot lift anything either so then I call my brother to see if he can help. When you have an hour to drive your gears can really start cranking out good, well-thought out information whereas in the heat of the moment that does not happen. Fortunately Uncle Kev broke from his car activities to help me out! Swung by my parents to get Dad, talked to Mom on the phone, attempted to raid the Famous Amos stash and cookie tin much to Kevin and mine disappointment there were no cookies to be found. Went and picked up the glider - it will probably have to be reupholstered sometime but it is a hardwood piece of furniture that is a keeper for sure. I think I will be living it that chair really soon and I am super excited about it. The woman nursed both her babies in the chair so I have high hopes. Dad and Kevin got the chair in the car and did not even have to leave anything in Raleigh! I treated Kevin to CFA for his trouble and raced back to the Mount. 

Explain to me how this all happened in one day? Probably won't be doing anything similar with two : )

Happy Weekend!

T-Minus 34 days...

Well well well... just pasted the "We'll see you in 35 days mark yesterday!" Better make that... please stay in for another 35 days mark so that we can get our lives reorganized mark! Had a bit of a nervous scare one night this week when I had some Braxtom-Hicks contractions - pretty much thought I was going to end up in the hospital that night. I did not have these contractions with E so I was kinda freaking out. I think it was also due to the fact that I wanted to go into labor with E (so that I would not have to be induced) but this time I was not ready to go into labor so I was trying to ignore the contractions and not really 'work with them.' Long story short baby #2 did not come (thank the Lord) and the next day at my OB appt he said I need to take it easy - less time on feet / carry E around less - like that is fair to her but she doing okay. 

In other news we have official close and move dates so that is very fun and exciting. I'll post pictures of the new house when its really ours. Good thing I'm not much into this whole nesting thing because there is nothing to nest around this house. Though I have been scoping out Craigslist trying to find a PBK glider - should have saved and spent the money on what I really wanted last time! and a crib/dresser set - either for E or new baby. I have found several I like but with the home purchase looming I am trying to be practical and wait out for the best deal possible.

I have Mommy-date - wait I mean - E has two playdates lined up for the weekend. We are going to lunch today with an MMO buddy - which I TOTALLY spaced out on earlier this week and felt like a complete moron. Fortunately mommies understand mommies but still this baby brain is getting to me! And after some plan changes we are going to meet E's baby shower friend for lunch. We we supposed to go down to Wilmington for the weekend but with vicious and impending illness we decided to keep the germ-ies to a mutual and public space. Basically we need to get the infant carrier and a few other odds and ends from some friends of ours who we have not seen in FOREVER! Also, this will be the weekend E gets to be a forward facer (yes I know I'm doing it early). I'll have to post pics of that because she is not going to know what to do with herself. She was forward facing for all of 15 minutes back in October when I did not want to fight with the Britax in someone else's massive SUV so I figured if we got in an accident we would totally win out and it was just to get pumpkins!

Many pics to follow. I guess I'll be doing an E update soon too!

House Hunters - Appraisal = Head Scratch!

I heard from the bank today about both appraisals. The new house appraisal was fine. No problems, no surprises. However, this was NOT the case with the rental appraisal. Why? Well... our house appraised for slightly less than it did 2 years ago - seriously we refi-ed our house almost two years ago. Since the refi we reno-ed the kitchen with granite countertops and manufactured hardwood floors - which I mentioned to the appraiser when he came. So please go ahead and scratch your heads with me and explain how we put in all the money and are seeing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in terms of a return on investment. Sign of the times I guess. Yet another reason why we renting this house out because we would have to sell it for nothing.

Adventures of Being Landlords...

Tomorrow marks the first full week that our casita has been on the rental market in the Mount. Let me tell you - it has been interesting. We have had two showings and two other people come to the door and ask what we were asking for in rent. I think that's pretty good traffic for one week on the market - let alone one of the most 'dead' work weeks of the year!

So what are the implications of having a rental house on the market and trying to live in said house... errr... Being ready at the drop of a hat to show the house. Example. Friday I am literally walking out of the door to work and Lee says "Oh realtor called last night and someone is coming to look at the house." Look at him in disbelief because I know that very little real cleaning can be accomplished with E around. I kick off my heels and start tidying up the closet and bedroom - putting things 'away'. Under the bed and stuffed in dresser drawers are still really awesome hiding spots - and I am the mom who is supposed to be patrolling this stuff - ha! Not this week!

Similar situation happened yesterday. We talk to the realtor at 8 am says someone wants to see the house at 10:30 - okay awesome. Its the one day this year I will legitimately have the day off and Lee is home too but whatever. We finish breakfast, do some less intensive cleaning and get out of dodge/ went shopping for the 12th Day of Christmas stocking stuffers.

All in all, I think that we will be keeping a much more tidy house until we find a renter!

Hunter Hunters and our Christmas Tree... an Update

Don't you love the Christmas color coordinated outfit?

I gave in and did the unspeakable... I bought a fake Christmas tree. E and I were adventuring through the Mount one day and were in Target and found it. Well its not the horribly tacky short little LED colored light tree that I was hoping for/expecting to 'like'.

Up close of said tree

This tree is actually a 4ft potted Virginia fur - with adjustable branches - whoo-who! Prelit with white lights. Definitely not thrilled about it but have come to terms with it given the we should be moving in 2.5 weeks and so we don't to think about a tree.

Totally could be worse but does not compare to the greatness of trees in years past...

E has been concerned about all Christmas tree or 'treeeees' as she says and if the lights are on or as she says 'treee on?'

How I spent my New Year's

Let's face it. Being 34.5 weeks pregnant is not the most glamorous thing in the world nor is it the most energy filled. So in that same spirit Lee and I held down the fort in the Mount to ring in 2012. He made probably one of my new top 10 meals that he cooks - Poppin' John - courtesy of Cooks Illustrated and Grandpa Joe and Jibbe came over for dinner too. For dessert Lee had a pecan pie with homemade whipped cream - so good (and my doc said I was supposed to watch what I ate!)

I think I was in bed and possibly asleep before 9 - which actually turned out to be a good thing. I certainly would not have mind staying up to watch the ball (or acorn - oh yes Raleigh-world) but when there are not other people around then New Year's is just another day. I have always had a Scourge-like approach to a new year and have not ever been give a good reason to change it.

Anyways, it was a good thing I did go to bed early because E was screaming four hours into 2012 - I think she has been having bad dreams because she was up around 1 am tonight too - hence I am awake. I remember having bad dreams when I was in elementary school and running to my parents room and waking up my mom (of course) so that I could get tucked back in. What goes around comes around I guess - though I do have a much greater appreciation for my mom's patience with me because I know I had bad dreams more often than she would have like.

Its not like I am horribly opposed to snuggling up with little E and rocking her awhile. I actually find it quite comforting. During the day when I want to snuggle her up she is a ball of energy who stays still for 4.5 seconds and goes away. At night, when she's half asleep we rock and I get to smell her - she does not have that fresh baby smell anymore. I think about when she was super tiny and would have done anything for her to just go to sleep for longer than 2 hours at a time. I think about that I will be feeling/thinking the same thing with baby #2 sooner than I can imagine. I am pretty sure that baby #2 knows when I am having 'my time' with E because he/she gets super kicky and squirmy. Maybe that in part due to the extra little person on my tummy but I'd like to think its sibling rivalry that starts in the womb. Who know!