Another freezing winter day in Florida.

I Remember Now...

Thanks to my mom for picking up my camera & snapping photos, I saw that on Christmas Eve I gave Clay yet another hair cut. His hair grows so quickly.



My sewing scissors do come in rather handy for giving him a trim, but, I think he may be due for a "real" cut.

It's Thursday Already?!

The past week is a complete & total blur!

My family came on the 23rd (my moms actual birthday) & we had an early Christmas gift opening. It was really fun watching the kids, I let them pick out presents for the family from the dollar spot at Target. They were so excited to pass out the gifts to everyone & kept asking if there was more they could give. It made my mommy heart happy that they were so eager to give rather than receive. We finally got them to open their own gift from my parents - a tent with tunnel attachment! We plan to connect it to another tent that they have.






My mom brought the girls sparkling cider to drink in fancy glasses - they were quite pleased!



After opening gifts we went on a walk to look at lights around the neighborhood together.

Admittedly, I barely remember the next day. I'm pretty sure there was some coffee and shopping involved!

Migraine

I'd post something more substantial, but, I have a terrible nausea inducing migraine this evening. Ray has the girls at church but Sarah took the time to work on some pressure points to help relieve some of the pain.

My back somehow went out on my left side & it shoots pain up my neck & around my eye socket affecting my sinuses & making me congested as well. I think I may need a trip to the chiropractor, I've not been in four months!

FWD:

Movie night with sarah - sherlock holmes!!! (nearly empty theater!)

My brain is in an exhausted fog. The weekend was very busy with very little sleep.

Today was spent with a house full of old friends & Eddie & Sarah are staying with us for part of this week with their kids.

The kids are all asleep, Sarah & I are doing the pinterest thing & the guys are out night fishing!

Merry Christmas!

(Photo courtesy of Megan)

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Today is my mom's birthday and we went to the mall after putting the kids to bed tonight. Walking by Hollister, the "Hollister Guys" were standing at the entrance where all the teeny bopper girls stop to take their picture.

As we walked by I convinced my mom that she should get her picture taken with them - sine it's her birthday. I made sure to tell the guys it was her birthday & she commented that she's 50.

I wish you could have seen the guys face on her left. His eyes opened wide & his eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Really?!" It was PRICELESS! As we shopped later in the night I kept busting up laughing whenever I'd remember the look on his face. (It was especially funny since when we'd walked by earlier he'd noticeably checked her out!)

Seriously, she doesn't look fifty at all. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Just Like Mommy

Addison proudly walked out of my room during rest time yesterday & presented me with her decorated face. She was incredibly pleased!



She wasn't happy because she was wearing make-up, she kept telling me that she wanted to be "just like you, mommy, wearing make-up like mommy." Addison was so happy to be like mommy.

If you wonder why your gifts are slightly crumpled this year & why is a lot of random tape on the packages, it's because the kids had a blast helping me wrap them!

Fabulous Fifty!

My mom is turning 50 this Friday the 23rd & a few of us through her a super surprise birthday party this past weekend. It was fabulous, but, one of the best parts is that she was truly surprised!


It was a very small affair, with just a few of my moms closest friends, most of whom she's known for over twenty years. When it came to the decorating, Megan & I infiltrated my moms pinterest. I know we pulled it off when my mom commented, "It looks like I walked into my pinterest!"



It looked so beautiful with bistro lights strung across the lanai with ornaments hanging from them.



My vision for behind the food table was different. It didn't turn out. Imagine it fuller & swoopier. That's what it was supposed to look like. I still love the silver snowflake curtains I made out of ornaments, though!



I saw this on her board & knew we (meaning Megan) had to make it. A photo collage "50." My dad scanned the photos & Megan made the collage. How cool is that?!




The party favors were little silver boxes tied with red ribbon & holding a Ferrero Rocher.



One of my favorite "little details" was the guest book. I picked up the December 2011 issue of Vogue, perfect for my fashionista mom! Plus, it was so much fun going through the magazine & randomly finding the funny blurbs people wrote to my mom!



Sarah, our fabulous interior designer, with my mom. Sarah worked magic on rearranging the lanai into a super cozy space!



Megan, my mom & I. I need to explain the matching dresses. My mom also owns this dress & she said that it's been her dream for us to have matching dresses. We had hoped my mom would wear hers to the party so that we could give her another surprise & get our photo together.

I Had Planned More

Really, I did. I was going to post photos from the surprise party we had for my mom over the weekend or something fun like that. But, I just don't feel like it right now.

I've spent the better part of the last hour crying as I miss Ellie & today marks four years since her death. I really can't put into words how I feel, I just really miss her & can't stop crying.

I also had SEVEN, yes, SEVEN!!! different teeth filled this morning. Bonus: there were multiple cavities on some of the teeth (equals more money for the dentist) and there was at least one cavity in each quadrant of my mouth meaning that they had to numb EVERY bit of my jaw. Awesome. Another bonus? The way to numb your bottom jaw is essentially the same way they do a spinal block (except in your jaw, of course!). Only, I would be the person for whom it wouldn't quite work. I ended up with quite a bit more injections to numb my mouth than they initially gave me (after some painful drilling!).

The epinephrine combined with nerves made me super shaky for a short while & tonight my jaw aches from holding it open for so long today. I'm so thankful to have this done, though!

I went 23 years without ever having a cavity, but, I've now spent nearly a full six years constantly pregnant and/or nursing and it's done a number on my teeth. Most of these cavities have been along the gum lines of my front teeth. I'd never even heard of that before it happened to me! It's really embarrassing to me that my teeth have become this way even if there was little I could do to control it. (I take care of them, I even carry a toothbrush & toothpaste in my purse & will brush anywhere!)

As I said, I'm just thankful to have this taken care of now. It's been weighing on me heavily for the past few months & causing little moments of panic.

I have a lovely inkling that tomorrow will be quite a bit better!

My Angel

Tonight was the annual Christmas program at church - by far, one of my favorite Sunday nights all year! It's even more fun now that my kids are old enough to participate more.

Kate was supposed to sing a couple of songs with her Sunday School class but was too scared.

Addison, on the other hand, is our performer & loved being up there in front of everyone! (She doesn't get that from me at all, I was always terrified by that kind of thing!)

She sang with her Sunday School class as well & then also participated in the play as an angel & singing with the other kids.



She's the second from the left in the below photos




Can you tell Addison was enjoying herself?

Happy 50th, mom!!!

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The Deer in Orlando

No, there are no deer at my parents house in Orlando. Yet, we had to close the doors leading into the screened in patio & close all of the blinds in the house because Kate is convinced that a deer is going to "get" her.

Several weeks ago we actually had a deer in the backyard at our house. I don't know that Kate has mentioned the deer since, but, tonight it's all she can talk about.

"That deer came up & went 'roar!'"

No, no it didn't. It saw all of the kids through the window of our house & quickly ran back into the woods.

Regardless, she's acting rather terrified at my parents house tonight. To top off matters, my mom has a little wood deer in her foyer which I'm resisting moving next to Kate's bed. I just couldn't do that to my child! (although, it really makes me laugh to think about)

Little Gymnast

Today the girls each received medals in gymnastics. I love how proud Kate looks!

A wonderful Christmas Time!

This morning the girls were very excited to make some cookies with me! We made one of Ray's favorites, peanut butter blossoms, which, aren't really a Christmas cookie, yet, I always make them at Christmas time.




When Ray arrived home this evening we finally decorated our tree - we didn't even get it until this past Sunday! That was a fiasco unto itself. We stopped at two different tree farms, each quite a ways north of here, & they were already mostly out of trees. There was nothing at either one for us & we finally ended up getting a tree from Home Depot. It's only between 6-7 feet tall, I'm not used to having such a tiny tree anymore! I did get to buy my favorite kind of Christmas tree, though, a Frasier - it's the little things.

Before decorating the tree we also finally took our Christmas card photo. It made for some fancy decorating photos!

My handsome little guy



Check it out, Addison is totally my daughter. We weren't trying to pose like each other for these photos, we were just minding our own business decorating the tree...




Multi-tasking: eating a quesadilla while decorating



When my parents were first married my mom bought boxes of these little heart ornaments. We always used them as a kid, so, though they may not be the most chic, I always add some to our tree for sentimental reasons.



Ray adding the finishing touch!

TWO cars!!!

As of this past Saturday we are now a two car family!!! We're all thrilled! We've been a one car family for five years one month two weeks and five days - not that I'm counting! However, if you are counting, you'll note that we went down to one car before Addison was even born.

The Lord provided this vehicle at just the right time. It belonged to Ray's step-sister & all we had to do was get some work done & it was ours!



Isn't it cute? Ray looks *so* fabulous driving his "girl car." (His words, not mine!) I can't wait to get my hands on it - I haven't driven a stick shift in a long time & it's well-known that an automatic just isn't nearly as much fun to drive!

I can't begin to explain the relief that we both have a vehicle to drive. If you've ever been in this situation you know what I'm talking about! I know the kids & I don't have to be stuck at home all day (especially if an emergency came up!) & I also don't have to wake the kids up early in the morning to drop Ray at the bus stop if I did need the car. No more stopping everything in the middle of the afternoons so that we can pick Ray up from work. I'm SO thankful for this vehicle, it's such a blessing!

For the second time in a week & a half my mom, Megan & Oliver drove over from Orlando for a visit today. These short day trips are so fun & low stress! Almost every time we visit it's for an "event" & we try to squeeze in the "extra" fun things & are usually too tired to fully enjoy them.



We all needed our coffee and some window shopping. We all love looking at the Christmas decorations! On Friday Ray will be on another camping trip so the kids & I are going to drive to Orlando to visit my family again!

Crazy Insane Day

Today was very long & very exhausting, but, we finally made it home 12.5 hours later. We weren't supposed to be gone all day. However, the night ended on a nice note with lots of laughing with friends!

OPA!

Last night we had a goodbye dinner for a friend at USF, Beth. We didn't meet until 9 - sad to say, but, that's late for me. We met up at Acropolis, a local Greek restaurant. Fun, but, the food was rather disappointing! Although, in their defense I only tried the tzatziki & a gyro. I make a lot of Greek food at home & LOVE tzatsiki, but, theirs tasted like the spreadable allouette cheese you can buy in a tub at the grocery store!

Anyway, out of a group of 15 people, I was the oldest one there. A sad sad day for me.



I'm also not used to eating a full meal at 11 at night! The gyro was pretty good & the entertainment is fun! There was a belly dancer walking around & the staff go around the restaurant dancing while napkins are thrown in the air (you know, instead of plates)



I'd really hate to be the one who has to clean up this mess every night!

CC Christmas Party!

Yesterday morning we drove down to the lovely south Tampa for our Classical Conversations group Christmas party. We arrived right at 10 so that I could attend a directors meeting & the party began at 11. We ended up with around 35 adults & 90 kids, ranging from babies to students dual enrolled at USF!

I was wondering how one residence in the city would accommodate that many people. The answer is a yard this huge! (The property goes all the way to that fence in the back)



Oh yes, keeping the kids entertained with two huge bounce house slides helps, too. Also helpful? All of those amazing older kids. They're so sweet with the little ones! Also, at one point the kids noticed that there was a problem with the tethers on the sides of the bounce house. Without any prompting, every single one of the kids got off & stood to the side while they went to get an adult to let us know there was a problem. I was impressed.




The food was potluck style on the back porch, with two dessert tables in the yard. Perfect for the kids to run up as they pleased to grab cookie after cookie! (Hey, it was a party!) Clay hung out with me all day, except when he saw the one dad that was able to make it. Clay reached for him & fell asleep o the gentleman's shoulder within five minutes.



And, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the stairs inside the house. How awesome is this?! (I told the owner that I took a picture of her stairs)



A super fun & exhausting day!

Introducing...

The new director for the Classical Conversations Tampa Foundations and Essentials program! This basically means nothing if you're not familiar with the program, but, I promise that this really is huge!

I'm relieved it's finally not a secret anymore & is "paperwork official." I was approached by the current director about this position over the summer & was immediately shocked & excited.

Being as this is my first year homeschooling and my first year in the CC program, it doesn't really make sense on paper that I would be a director next year. This program is full of experienced well-educated women (attorneys, dentists, executives, accountants) so it would seem as if one of them would have been the "obvious" choice.

However, the current director has been ready to step down & praying about a replacement.

Just recently she informed me that at our initial meeting back in March she felt silly offering me a tutoring position because she knew right away that I would be their next director. She could tell that I have a heart for the program & that I'd done my research on it.

This is totally all from the Lord & I'm really excited about this opportunity! I still have so much to learn & I'm sure I don't know the half of what I'm getting myself into, but, this wasn't brought about by me. I was simply thrilled that we were able to participate in the CC program, I never expected to be taking this step of involvement!

I'll be overseeing our k4-6th grade students (around 65 kids), parents and their 10 tutors and basically keep the program running - hiring tutors, accepting new families, taking care of payments, facilities, etc. I feel as if I'm coming into this program ahead of the game because our current director has done a fabulous job setting policies in place and I already have the main supplies that we need. When I was reading about the program most of the negative reviews were people from disorganized groups with poor leadership. The bar has definitely been set high for me!

I am truly humbled to be taking this position of leadership and am thrilled to be involved with a program for which I have a passion!

Poppies!

My dad is currently working only 30 minutes from our home. We've been enjoying this & meeting him for lunch on occasion & this evening Dad came to our house for dinner. The kids were beyond thrilled! Clay kept singing to him (it was so sweet!) & Kate kept climbing on my dad's back: "I wuuuuuvvvv you, Poppies."

Party, party, party!

I love love love Christmas parties! This past Saturday I had the privilege of attending two!

The first was a brunch for the tutors & directors in my classical conversations group at one of the swanky country clubs in the area. As nice as it was the best part was really getting to know these ladies better. We're always so rushed on the days we have class that we barely have time to speak.

In the evening Ray & I had a Christmas party & ornament exchange for the Sunday School teachers & their spouses. One of the best parts? No kids! Rays' dad not only agreed to keep all of the kids during the party but also offered to keep them ALL overnight!




Presents for the ornament exchange! (All I kept hearing in my head was Michael from The Office: "Yaaaannnkkkkeeee swap!")



Ray & I couldn't bring ourselves to simply go home when we had zero obligations so instead we went over to Robert & Brianas house for a night of chatting for the girls & "jamming" on the guitar on the back porch for the guys. It was so lovely! We went home a little after 11 & we were completely exhausted. What a fun day!

The following morning we drove up to get all of the kids & then went to church. We were there until 3 in the afternoon because we had Christmas play practice after the meetings. After practice the younger kids were having a blast dancing together on the stage - they were so sweet!