A Little Change Goes a Long Way

Someone, ahem, recently reminded me that is has been "ages" since I've blogged...and for me, I guess it has- LAST MAY! As you can imagine, there is quite a bit of living and adventure packed into the last eight months. Brief highlights include a new job (same company), a Disney cruise (divine), a visit to Universal Studios/Resort, turning 37, adventures in Lancaster, PA, Fudge starting 2nd grade, my brother moving to Florida, hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas with the family, and soccer, soccer, and more soccer. Oh, and basketball too. Whew!

So why the photo of a bucket of money? We have an old water cooler bottle that sits in our living room, somewhat hidden behind a chair. The hubs and I throw spare change in there and when we're really living on the edge, paper currency too. I'd say that Fudge throws money in there too, but who are we kidding? He hoards in his piggy bank, which is fine by me. We recently took advantage of Fudge's late January semester break, combined with a wicked good offer from Disney, to head down to see the Mouse and friends for about a week. I decided it was time to trade in the water cooler funds, so I transferred it to a beach bucket and off Fudge and Poppy went to the bank.

Any guesses? Once we weeded out the Mexican pesos and Kuwaiti paper currency (I can explain Mexico but Kuwait? I have no idea.) we had over 36 POUNDS of coins in that beach bucket. Fudge came home from his trip to the bank looking like a little mobster fanning out his cash- about $300! Not a bad jump on spending money for the week, and now the cooler sits empty waiting to be filled up again to put a financial dent in a future adventure.

Where else can a little change go a long way? I've got two major challenges before me this year- getting my home/schedule organized and getting the # on the scale down. Both are really posts of their own, but I've asked myself, what small steps, when added up, make a big contribution? For my JMU grad school buddies "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!"

On the homefront, OCD me is excited that my dad has agreed to build a closet in some wasted space in our master bedroom, which will mean "his" and "hers" closets...as in not-sharing-a-closet-with-the-hubs-anymore! Really, is it Christmas already? Now I just need to get the room cleaned up enough that this work can be planned and started. I also had my favorite bubba cabinet maker out to draw up some sketches for cabinets/shelves flanking the fireplace, and I just anted up the bucks (ouch) for my first Erin Condren Life Planner. I thought my level of anticipation for this planner was just not normal, but I've found online I'm in very good company as I wait for this beauty to arrive. The tipping point for me being willing to give it a try, beyond the rave reviews, was the offer for $20 OFF through February 28th- just use promo code XOXO20.

What changes are you hoping will go a long way in 2013?

Friday Night Leftovers- I'm BAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!

It's been a crazy past four weeks, full of joy and sorrow and a blogging slump. I love writing, so I really do need to make more time to blog, even if just for my own catharsis of having a forum for writing. Here's the latest...

Aruba was AMAZING! Really, my favorite Caribbean island thus far, and I've been to a few. I think our tradition of OBX is on it's way out and Aruba will be on it's way in. My goal is to chronicle our vacation highlights (so I don't forget) and post some pics along with it.

Sadly, my grandmother was killed in a car accident (NJ) while we were in Aruba. We returned home to travel to NJ and say goodbye. Instead of planning the 90th birthday surprise party, the family was planning a funeral. Absolutely heartbreaking. If there's one thing I saw as the entire family came together is that she had a knack for making each and everyone of us feel special- quite an accomplishment when you consider she had more than 55 grandchildren (including great- and great-great)!

Fudge started 1st grade and a huge shout out to the hubs for being super parent while I was in NJ that week.

I am back to being a soccer mom- Fudge swapped out the baseball cleats for soccer this fall and he has not looked back. So, three days a week we are on the field and the first game is tomorrow if we are not rained out.

I did something for myself yesterday- I said YES to an all-day crop next Saturday! Now to get all of those photos printed...I will have a completed album of something yet (said the woman who never got the baby book totally finished).

We've had some parenting revelations around here and cannot wait to share them (separate post, coming soon).

The weekend is off to a good start after this crazy work week: Thai lunch with my mom, volunteering in Fudge's classroom (where one little boy said, "you have awesome, rock-star hair!" ummm,...ok), pizza and a movie with my fellas tonight.

Fudge continues to ask when he's going to get a little sister...in the meantime, he did get a bird. Sir Washington the blue parakeet joined our zoo last week.

Ok- your turn!

1. Leave some comment love below.


2. Link to your blog/leftovers.


3. Leave some love at the lovely Danifred's original FNL site.

You Mean I Need a Passport for That?

We almost had widespread panic of epic proportion here this evening...

I'm usually a last minute, highly stressed, no sleep packer. You know the type- still up at 2am doing laundry and you're leaving for the airport at 4am. So I am DETERMINED to not delay on preparing for our upcoming vacation. So far, so good. It's hard work being a perfectionist, so there's still plenty of time to hit a snafu, but I am much more prepared than usual. I started prepping for this trip about 2 weeks ago and I continue to prep. I think I could make laundry an Olympic sport these days- it's neverending!

This evening I decided to make sure all of our documentation is on order...flights are scheduled, rental car is booked, resort is confirmed, excursions are being planned, and here we go...one, two passports. WAIT! There's three of us...I need THREE passports. And of course, the missing one was mine. It only took about 15 minutes to find, but the hubs was telling me he'd be sure to send me a postcard. Ha! He didn't find it too funny when I told him that it's expired (kidding!).

So Mama, if you are reading this, I know you are thinking "I told you so." All three passports are ready to go...now I just need to remember to bring them to the airport. =)

Alternate Plans

When I decided to take this week off to have some more adventures with C, I asked the hubs to take one day off so we could all go to the beach together. So we picked today, M was finally able to get the time off, and we were preparing for a day at the beach. The kind of day at the beach where you leave early in the morning, stake out a good spot, and enjoying frolicking in the ocean all day. Great plan, except it does not account for your child waking up with an upset stomach...and being ill past noon. With each of C's runs to the bathroom, my dreams of our beach day slowly faded. I felt terrible for C, I felt terrible for M wasting a day off work, and I was frustrated that a beautiful day was going down the tubes. Seriously, it's the most gorgeous day we've had all summer- lower temps, lower humidity, and a steady, balmy breeze.

Sometime after noon, C decided he was ready to venture out, but he did not want to go all the way to the beach. At least we were getting out of the house, and I could live with that. Once we got past the whining of "why can't I bring a friend?" and "because Mama does not want to be responsible for another kid's life in a large body of water," we packed up and got on the road. Sometimes we lay out the best plans, only to have them changed unexpectedly and given something even greater in return. God is so cool like that.

We arrived at the river beach we had decided to visit, to find that the spot we located was completely uninhabited...except for another family who arrived at the same time as us...who were hiking to the same secluded spot as us...who had one little boy with them. C has never met a stranger and walked up to the boy to say, "Hi, I'm C. Want to be friends?" And the rest was history. We spent all afternoon/evening here, the boys playing, swimming, fishing and crabbing- completely wore C out, which is hard to do!

C and his new friend fishing- caught some catfish and one croaker.

C has no fear- just jumped in and kept on going.

I found a shark's tooth!

One happy boy

We made it!

More fishing

And more fishing

And yet more fishing!

View from the cliff- we hiked down to this beach, then over to the left (out of picture) to a secluded beach.

Ferry ride

Age is Just a Number

Meet "Mimi"- we've had the privilege of knowing this wonderful lady for over 25 years now and while we are "stay-cationing" this week, C and I took a drive out to the country to visit with this amazing woman. And while I would never list her age, seriously, does she even look like she'd be an age that may rhyme with "matey" and "nix"? She still gets out and walks miles each day and keeps active; we were lucky to score some time on her busy calendar!

We had a lovely lunch together and spent the next few hours just catching up. It was humbling to hear about this woman's life, especially as she walked me through her photo albums. She has seen and experienced so much in her lifetime and she continues to have an utter and complete zest for life. Below are some highlights from our visit...

C and Mimi in front of the old corn crib

C trying to get Buddy to play in front of one of the outbuildings- the dog was too hot and old to be bothered.

A fresh picked apple!

Mimi and her peach tree

Hot!

Mimi playing soccer with C!

We saw ALOT of this!

C and the John Deere

Not quite as tall as the tractor's tire!

Wiped out- slept all the way home.

While C did sleep all of the way home, he was wide awake for the ride out there. This gave us plenty of time to talk about the crops we saw (corn, peanut, cotton, soybeans, and tobacco) as we wound through back country roads. We even saw something new for me- tobacco prior to the top flowers being cut! This visit reminded me how critical it is to make time for those important to us- fabulous day!

Vacation Adventures: Day 2

Sunday morning we awoke to gloriously sunny skies and bid Savannah adieu. Parting is such sweet sorrow, but we have time scheduled in Savannah this fall, so that made up for not having enough time to traipse around the city this go 'round.

On the road again, we found a peach stand at exit 49 and there is nothing like the sticky, sweet, dribbly goodness of fresh Georgia peaches, just off the trees!


We finally made it to Florida!

Are we there yet? YES!

What impressed the kids immediately...

Telling the kids we ARE vacationing together, here, at this resort...

Aaargh!

Resort (notice the rainbow)

Dinner, waiting for the magician to perform

We visit Orlando annually, but this was our first stay at Marriott's Harbour Lake and we would definitely return. While Marriott's Cypress Harbour is still my favorite (right across the street from Harbour Lake), the pirate ship, slides, water play areas, and pirate theming at all pools was a huge draw for C. After a week packed full of theme parks and friends, when asked what the best part of the trip was, C responded, "the pirate ship." And that was our one requirement for a resort this year. After visiting Myrtle Beach last year and staying at a Starwood resort with a pirate ship, C was hooked. We were surprised he asked to return to Myrtle Beach, since we usually go to OBX or HHI for beach time. Digging deeper, it turns out he really doesn't care that it's MB, he just wanted a pirate ship and Harbour Lake delivered. The staff was friendly and helpful and the Key West theming/architecture was a nice touch. This is definitely a resort we'd recommend for those with younger kids.

Vacation Adventures: Day 1

Our wanderlust is insatiable and we get pure joy out of surprising our little guy with travel, and he has been surprised many, many times over the past five years. We struck again with a 10 day adventure in Florida, complete with our best friends. The boys had no idea they were vacationing together, which made it all sweeter. Here are some highlights, more to come...

The boys goofing around as we got on the road...C had no idea where we were going and B insisted we were going camping at the beach. Little did they know!

Opening gifts from Nonna and Poppy

How can you not stop?

Best buddies

Pedro


2010



2009
What a difference a year makes! I need to dig out this same photo from 2007 and 2008.

Savannah welcomed us with a beautiful sunset

Organized Travel for Mamas

We love to travel- it's an addiction around here. If a month or two has passed without an adventure on the calendar, I get antsy; insatiable wanderlust is here to stay. While preparing for an upcoming vacation, I knew I needed a couple of things to get us organized in that why-can't-I-find-that-in-the-bottom-of-my-bag type of way. Now let's hope these arrive before we depart on our next adventure!

1. C's Dopp Kit
With the little man so independent these days, I wanted a way to keep all of his toiletries together so he can go straight to his bag when needed, and voila, all he needs in the bathroom is in one place. It also needs to travel well and keep spills from leaking onto other items in his suitcase. We had to retire his last kit as it received so much use that it recently went to shreds. Finally, I wanted something I could use for swim lessons, when not in use as a dopp kit. And after recently reading that vinyl lining contains high levels of lead, it had to be lined in something else and able to be thrown in the wash. I had a hard time finding exactly what I was looking for until I went to Etsy. Check out this find (9''x11") by monkeyfootdesigns:


2. The Ouch Pouch
What a great concept! I usually throw some band-aids, Neo to go, and other small first aid items in a plastic sandwich bag, but the bag ends up beat up in our backpack we use on day trips, around amusement parks, etc. and the contents spill. These come in various sizes, starting at 4"x5" and various patterns, including "kid patterns" and "mom patterns." Kudos to PillowSewCute for this organized, adorable, low-cost solution:

3. Epi-Pen Pouch
I had no idea these pouches even existed, and frankly, there is no easy way to carry two big syringes around. Do you leave them in the box (which ends up battered and contains all of your Rx info), or take them out and know you are going to be scrounging around in a backpack or purse during an emergency if they are ever needed? Thanks to a beesting allergy, I get to carry two of these syringes with me and now I've got a practical and stylish way to do so. The pattern I ordered no longer shows online since it was sold (to me), but you get the idea from another one below, also by PillowSewCute:

Celebrating 5 Years with Our Miracle!