Since I've been gone

Much has happened since my last post. I'm going to make an attempt to catch up. I know that some of the details will escape me, but I have to try.

The last week of school before the winter break was a super busy one for us. The movers came to the house to pack all of our things and load them all into the big truck. It was pretty hard to see everything getting boxed up. I was quite glad though that it wasn't me doing all the packing. We have so much stuff. I felt like we got rid of tons, but the boxes just kept on coming.

To make things harder, I came down with something awful on one of those days. I had the chills, a fever, and horrible sore throat. Chris was on the east coast, and it was just me, the movers, the kids, and all the work of getting us moved out and into my parent's house. Thankfully, my parents and in-laws were there to save the day. I couldn't have survived it all without them. They brought me soup and meds so I could make it through.

On the second night at my parents' house I was putting the kids to bed as usual. We were all sharing one big room, so Neil had a hard time settling down. I was pulling him back to bed for the hundreth time and he started crying loudly. I had no idea what was wrong with him, but after a few minutes he fell asleep, and I didn't think much of it. That night was horrible! He woke up every couple hours crying in pain. I still didn't know what was wrong. I debated going to the ER, but he kept falling back asleep. I made a 3am run for motrin and waited til the morning to bring him in. By then I was pretty sure he had something dislocated. Sure enough, it was his elbow. Poor kiddo. The Dr. quickly popped it back in, and all was well. It made for a traumatic start to our vacation.

The next day, Chris and I closed on our house. What a crazy feeling to sign away your first home. So sad and surreal. I wasn't quite ready to leave. We had so many good times there, and so many wonderful friends. That night we went out to look at Christmas lights. It was nice to do something relaxing and non-move related.

Chris finally joined us the weekend before Christmas and we were all so excited to see him! All our work was done, and we could finally enjoy the break together along with all the extended family that came to town. We had so much fun playing games, going to movies, chatting, eating tons of junk food, and even making planking pyramids.

(Chris on bottom, me, Keara, and trying to add Claire...you know you want to try it)

Christmas Eve was spent making rubber band bracelets, and eating more food. We were lucky enough to score 2 Christmas dinners this year! Time to break out the fat pants. The kids had a blast decorating cookies for Santa (although 6 each was a little excessive....Santa probably had to throw some away).  We also opened up our traditional Christmas PJ's.

Christmas day was wonderful and crazy. Between both our families, and running across the street a couple times, things were chaotic. So many people, and so many gifts! I was glad that I had bought myself more luggage. I needed all of it! 

Gift highlights: Claire...clothes, glitter shoes, books, nano bot fish, minnie mouse, monopoly, Frozen princesses, and lots of accessories.  Grace...tons of my little ponies, castle, Doc Mc Stuffins paraphernalia, a Frozen doll, and clothes. Neil...this was the year of the airplane. So many planes! He also got magformers, cars, Scout the dog, books, and clothes. Me....Chris broke the pact of no gifts. He bought me some nice diamond stud earrings. Thank you sweetheart! Chris....he got some pop rocks among some other small things. (yet to have them)

 

Over the Christmas break, we all passed around this nasty 24hr bug. All three of my kids succumbed to it over the 3 week period. Not in a row though. So every night I would wake up the second I heard a kid get up, just hoping not to hear the terrible sounds. It was hard to get much quality sleep that way. Thankfully, Chris and I managed to escape it. I was glad that he was with me to help when it was Neil's turn. Never fun on your own. I only mention all that because it really was a huge part of the break. Everyone just trying to stay healthy. 

Since both my sisters were in town, we decided it would be fun to host a baby shower for Bree. She's having a girl, so what better way to see some cute girly clothes? Our Aunt Hilary had it at her house, and my mom, Keara, and I tackled the decorations and food. We went with elephants for a theme, and it turned out pretty nice.

The baby shower was a success, and afterwards we headed to the Hancock's house to play some games. We sure are going to miss all our game nights. We always have such a good time!

On New Year's Eve we all got together with both families and ate appetizers and played some games. Then, when it was time.. (about 8:30pm) ..we taped glow sticks to our limbs, cranked a super fun dance party playlist, turned off the lights, and busted a move! It was our second time doing this. Last year our good friends, the Masons, introduced us to this really fun party activity. Our family all loved it! We had probably 15 people shakin it in the dark. We danced until we were all tired out. It was a perfect way to end the year. I think it will be our new tradition. :)

We also got together as a fam and made this little gem... (I should clarify that it was mostly the girls and my sister)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpebCWDAwrs&feature=share

Chris had to go back to Virginia on New Year's day which was sad. The kids and I stayed for another week at my parents house. Things went well. We relaxed, went back to school, and just enjoyed spending time together. I was able to have another fantastic girls night out with my wonderful lady friends. It's always a good time with them! We laughed so hard and took many hideous selfies. We were super hot! As usual, we closed the place down on a school night. I am seriously missing all my friends. You are my rock and my support. Please don't forget about me. I promise that I will be back and want to stay in the loop with your lives. I care about all of you, and can't wait until we can party again. 

Our last night in Hillsboro was difficult. We had a pizza party with both the families and really had a good time with each other. It was very hard to say goodbye. I'm not sure yet when I'll get to see them all again. I miss you all already!

Saturday morning was the big day. I am SO thankful for my parents and all their help over the entire 3 weeks, but especially on our big move day. I had 5 checked bags, 3 car seats, 1 stroller, 4 backpacks, 1 other bag, and 3 kids to move. My dad was great! He loaded us all up, got us the luggage carts, and helped me get everything checked in. Both my parents were able to walk us all the way to the gate. We made it just in time to board. Again, goodbyes were hard, but we made it on the plane. Phew! 

As soon as we were on, I decided I needed to break out the benadryl. Neil was already giving me a hard time, and I couldn't fathom 5 more hours of the same. Thankfully, it kicked in really fast. He was so pleasant and quiet. I was thinking, this is fantastic, this flight will be a piece of cake. It lasted like that maybe 2 hours or so. The problem was he was very tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. So he got very cranky. At one point he melted down because he didn't want to wear the seatbelt. Too bad it was quite turbulent at that point. He lost it again before landing when his ears hurt. Overall, it really wasn't too bad. Just those 2 difficult times. Unfortunately, we always seem to end up in the back of the plane. It's so hard to wait to get off. By the time we could deplane, Neil was throwing a fit. I had to drag him (while he's refusing to walk), and 2 of my bags off the plane. Thankfully, Claire was able to help with Neil's bag, and the nice airline people had my stroller already set up and waiting for me. I plopped him in and walked quickly out of there. By the time I was approaching the area where I knew Chris would be, I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. I was losing it. I handed him the stroller, and tried to regain myself. I had made it. It was over. 

Small and Simple Things

Sometimes it's all about the small miracles in life. I had to take Neil in for another hearing test the other day. Usually we both leave there in tears and with me wondering why I even bother. Maybe it was the tootsie pop that I brought with me to keep him happy, but he cooperated so well! I was actually pretty shocked at how well he did. I was so grateful for a pleasant appointment!

 He found this comfy blue chair to plop himself on while we waited for the audiologist to do his thing. No tantrums today!

Another typically hard thing for Neil is haircut time. He still doesn't like it much, but he is getting so much better. I think I might just survive this toddler. He's starting to turn a corner and I can see the light.

Yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary. It was hard to spend the day apart. That's never happened before. It definitely made me miss Chris even more. I did get some kid free shopping time and even scored myself these tasty chocolates from Goody's. I had never been there before and it was a pretty nice little candy/ice cream shop. It was my mini celebration of sorts I guess.

 It's pretty cliche, but time really does fly by. I can't even remember what it was really like before I had Chris with me. We were such babies when we got married! I'm sure everyone thought we were way too young. So far so good. I'm nervous for this next chapter in our lives coming up, but I know that as long as I have him then everything will be ok in the end. Happy anniversary sweetheart!

All things considered

My life is a crazy roller coaster ride of emotion right now. I'm up one minute and way, way down the next. It's hard to sort through everything that I am trying to keep track of. I've always prided myself on being organized...but this whole moving across the country thing is kicking my butt.

I've needed to catch up for a while now, so please forgive this really random post. The more I procrastinate the more daunting it was becoming. So, I want to start fresh. Here we go...

 This was back to our pumpkin carving night. We had so much fun with the family, and Claire free handed this pumpkin snake all by herself. She even carved it out. She is really becoming quite the artist.

My princess Grace turned 6 this October. I can't believe how much she has grown and really changed into a big kid with quite the spunky personality. We moved to Oregon when I was big preggo with her, so she kinda marks our life here. We tend to measure the things that have happened here by her age. I am so grateful for her and how she is always such a good helper. With only half-day kindergarten, she gets to spend lots of time with me and her brother. Life just wouldn't be the same without her quirky facial expressions and little miss sassy attitude. Love her to pieces!

 For her birthday we decided to keep things pretty simple. She invited some kinder friends to come play and have lunch after school with her at the local pizza and play joint. Thankfully, one of my friends came along too, which made it nice for me while the kids played. Grace had a blast and loved all her new monster high dolls! Other than that, we had a family party night at Grandma's house complete with a soup bar and lots of tasty homemade rolls. We had to spend quite a few nights that week out of the house while it was being shown to potential buyers. It also made for too many fast food dinners.

 Pictures from our fun quadruple date night! We met up for Chinese food, and boy did we pack it away! So much food, and a fun lazy susan in the middle to make sure all the food was shared around the table. After we ate, for some reason we thought it would be fun to go run around like crazy people at a laser tag place. I did have a lot of fun, but we were all so full from dinner. We played two games and pretty much got crushed in the second by some hardcore laser taggers. After tag, and after taking group selfies, we headed to the Moss house for dessert and games. We had such a fun time!

I can't even describe how much I love these friends of ours. I can't even type this without getting emotional. I'm so so sad to be the one leaving them. I never in a million years thought that I'd be the one to leave this area. They have been my rock and support through so much over the last few years. These ladies know how to have a good time, they make me laugh until I can hardly breathe, and can listen to anything I throw at them. I definitely need some more ladies night before I'm gone for good. I don't know how I am going to survive without having my friends just down the street.

 On a lighter note, Grace finally lost her first tooth just in time for her dental appointment. Two more are already loose. She is excited for the prospect of some more tooth fairy income.

My badge from work. When I left my job in Utah, they let me take my badge with me. Not so here in Oregon. I guess it makes sense for security and whatnot, but I had to turn it in at the end of my last shift a couple of weeks ago. Let's just say, it was a very hard and significant thing for me to do. I've worked as an L&D RN for almost 10 years now. It has become part of who I am. Even though I am a little excited to spend more time at home, I feel like I am losing part of my identity. Just another part of this whole move thing for me to mourn. At least they took pity on me and let me do a c-section on my last day. It's kinda my favorite kind of birth to be the nurse for. Maybe someday I will work again, and perhaps change to the OR? Who knows. 

We have a family pass to OMSI that we need to get our money's worth from, so on one of our last days with daddy, we headed out there to play. We had a really fun time since it was a weekday, and the place was fairly empty. The girls got lots of time to explore with dad while I chased Neil around. 

We went to eat at a small sandwich shop in Portland called Lardo. It was only alright. That evening the kids had a sleepover with Aunt Katie while Chris and I did some Christmas shopping and hit up Cheesecake Factory for dinner. After that we saw Ender's Game at the theater. Then headed home to get some sleep without having to wake up with any kids.

So....now we are just waiting. We have an accepted offer on the house, already had an inspection. Just waiting for an appraisal now. Then it's closing. Somehow I need to find a way to get Thanksgiving and Christmas sorted, keep the house functioning like normal, organize what we need to pack/not pack, figure out all the crazy moving stuff like starting/stopping utilities, etc. and find somewhere to live in VA. Oh, and do most of that on my own. 

Okay, I think this was therapeutic for me. Felt good to just write it out. Today was hard. We finally found a place we wanted to rent and then found out it was taken already, just this morning. Like if we had put in the paperwork just last night we could have had it. So, back to square one. Again. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Halloween: Mom Fail

Things are a little crazy around here as you might imagine. We are trying to get so much done in a short amount of time that things like Halloween just sort of snuck up on us. At least we already had our costumes picked out ahead of time. And, to be fair, we did make time for the classic pumpkin patch trip out to Lakeview Farms, which was a lot of fun. Until, that is the next day when I discovered that my camera was missing.

The always popular caterpillar tractor ride. 

Neil carried this tiny rotten pumpkin around the entire time. Thankfully, I found a similar one to switch out with it when it came time to buy.

My girls in the bright autumn sun! Love Oregon!

I knew that I had my camera when we got back to the cars in the parking lot. That was the last place I had seen it. I figured it was probably a goner with all the cars that drive through that field on a busy Saturday. Fortunately, when I called, someone had turned it in. I'm so grateful to that random stranger! Thank you, thank you!

The next week we took our pumpkins to Grandma's house to have a carving party along with cookies and cider. Claire got really creative and free handed a snake on hers. She's a pretty good little artist. Pictures are coming. The first of my failures.

On Halloween, I worked all day and didn't make it home until 8pm. By then, the kids were just walking in the door freezing and tired from their trick or treating exploits. They had full baskets of candy and were ready to warm up and get to bed. I was a little bit disappointed because I thought they'd be up for another round with me. Oh well. Claire was a big helper and even did her own makeup for her cat costume. (using my eyeliner...) Grace opted for Pocahontas and Neil straight up refused to wear the dinosaur costume that I had set out for him. I'm sure glad I didn't spend big bucks on his costume. I guess he looked a little weird trick or treating in his regular ol' clothes. He managed to get plenty of sympathy candy out of it.

Here is the fail...I didn't get a single pic of them dressed up that night. I feel like an epic failure. You only get a few Halloweens with your kids when they are still young enough to let you dress them up and walk the neighborhood with you. To add insult to injury, I got a phone call about 9:30pm...."so, are the kids coming over soon?" It was Grandma wondering if they were going to trick or treat at her house. Ummm...ooops. "sorry, they are actually already in bed." Geez, I just couldn't catch a break. Somehow I managed to ruin it for myself and the grandparents.

I guess that's just how it goes when I am gone all day. Note to self...don't work on Halloween in the future. Oh, and yeah Grace's birthday was a couple days before....still need to get some pictures together from that. It's a work in progress.

Transformation and Transition

So, we have lived with carpet in our dining room and near the kitchen for almost 6 years now. We've always talked about doing something different but we were usually too chicken to actually do it. We had our eye on cherry laminate flooring at Costco and it finally went on sale...so we started.

 Had to move all our furniture into the other room. Felt very cramped for a bit.

Pulled out all the carpet, pad, and baseboards. What a giant pain! Millions of staples to pull out. At this point I am beginning to wonder what we got ourselves into.

Finally starting to lay the floor. It actually was pretty easy on the straight sections. Just lots of measuring and cutting involved.

 Had to redo the whole kitchen area too. So that meant pulling out all my appliances. Sheesh, this is getting to be pretty involved. Hadn't even started the living room yet!

We finished the kitchen, bathroom, and dining area including putting up all the baseboards and re caulking everything. It all was looking so nice. Then we took a nice little vacation to Disneyland. When we got back it was a whirlwind session of flooring to get it all done. The living room actually went tons faster. Mostly just a big rectangle. We are pretty happy with the results. It looks so much nicer now, and I don't have to worry when the kids spill all over the place. I learned a lot about renovation and I feel much more confident in taking on home projects now.

Looks like new! Which is good because now it's ready to list on the market. :(  Yes, we are moving. Chris accepted a new job in Arlington, VA. Crazy, I know. I never once in a million years thought we'd be leaving this beautiful area. We will miss so much here! All our family and so many good friends. I am still trying to adjust to the idea of it all. So much to do! If you know anyone who needs a nice townhome, with great new floors...send them my way.  :)

Happiest Place on Earth!

Our long anticipated trip to southern California finally came. We had a blast! All of my fears about whiny kids, naughty Neil, and sheer madness were thankfully unseen. That's not to say that there weren't moments, but it was a huge success! I was especially grateful that Neil actually had a really great time and wanted to ride all the rides with us. At all our other fair like trips he has refused or been scared to death to ride things, so I was worried that he would hate our trip. To my great surprise he loved the rides. It was really fun to be able to go on almost every ride together as a family. Totally worth it!!
I want to start by saying it is crazy hard to get decent pictures in Disneyland. It's tough just to get out your camera while keeping track of kiddos let alone snag a shot when they aren't distracted by all the wonderful sights around them.
We arrived in Orange County at 9:30am and managed to get our rental car and head into Anaheim. We stopped for some supplies and lunch, then headed straight into the park. It was pretty hot that day, like 90's. It was great going back to shorts weather, but walking in the heat made us buy a few more ice cream treats. :) Since we knew that we had 5 days, it was nice to take a relaxed approach. We spent most of our time in Fantasyland that day. Neil's first ride was Dumbo, and he thought it was great! He very quickly learned the routine of parking the stroller, hopping out to get in line, and then jumping back in afterwards. It was just the 5 of us that day, and we were able to have tons of fun and keep everyone happy. We headed for the hotel and some dinner in the afternoon before going back to the park for some late night fun. We even stayed to watch Fantasmic and the fireworks. It was a really long day for us!

The next day we were joined by Grandma and Grandpa Phillips! It was great to have them with us! Another pair of adults to help keep eyes on the kiddos is always helpful. We headed down to San Diego to visit Sea World. I have always wanted to go there, and now I can finally check that off my list. Our favorite parts included the manta ray exhibit where you can pet the mantas, the dolphin show, and of course the shamu show. The kids really liked the rides too, and not having to wait in lines for them. 

I think I'm good now. I really enjoyed our day at Sea World, but once was enough. Thanks to Chris for putting up with my need to see Shamu. He wanted to buy me this stuffed whale, but thankfully I talked him into just taking my picture with it. 

The rest of the week was back to Disney! We hit up California and Disneyland many many times over the next few days. One highlight was getting to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater in Radiator Springs. We were able to go right up to them before a line started. It was perfect. Neil was in heaven! It was super cute. I wish I could have gotten a better picture.

We rode almost every single ride, we ate a lot of treats, and we saw all the shows. We stayed busy the entire time! I am amazed at how resilient the kids were. We got up at 7am everyday and played hard until 9 or 11 every night. There was lots of walking, and even one rainy day in the middle, but we all had a great time. One night we splurged and ate dinner at Cafe Orleans and had their famous monte cristo sandwiches and mickey shaped beignets for dessert. Mmmm!

The kids loved all the parades and getting to see all the characters, especially the princesses and Minnie Mouse. One night we stayed for the Halloween Party that they put on. Neil went to the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa and the four of us got to spend a few hours together going on all the big rides like Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain. We also checked out the specially decorated haunted mansion. It was fun to be able to get on most of these rides with very little waiting. It was much less crowded during the party. There was a special Halloween parade and firework show as well. We also got to see several of the villains out that night. It was nice to spend some time with just the girls and explore the park in the dark!

Our very last night was pretty special. We saw Radiator Springs all lit up just like in the movie. We rode the cars and got to stay for the World of Color show. Disney does a really good job with their shows. I was impressed. We bought all of our souvenirs and called it a day. We were exhausted, but wish we would have had more time. There is so much to see and do! I'm so glad that we made the trip. I think the kids all had a great time, and we did as well. Maybe someday we'll have to go back.