My mom gave me a code for a free Shutterfly book several weeks ago. I wasn’t sure what kind of book to make. At that point we were pretty certain we were moving, but my man hadn’t officially been offered a job. I decided to go out on a limb and make a book of our time in Vermont.

(Please pardon the pictures. I had to dig the book out of a box and my backdrop was more boxes.)

I put in pictures of my man and I when we first moved here.

Then there were three of us….

Most of the book was divided by seasons. I tried to include activities unique to Vermont; things the kids might not experience in Texas.

Poor Buddy just didn’t get to do as much here, but I put him in there skiing, maple sugaring, and apple picking.

I’m so excited to have this book! It turned out better than I imagined, and now we can read through it and be reminded of so many memories made here in New England.

I’m working on another book that I can’t wait to share with you!

I’m digging out to type this short post. Digging out from under the boxes. We are in full-steam-ahead packing mode now. I’m learning to live in a continual disaster zone. It’s fun. Really.
We have seen several friends who refused to say good bye to us, which will actually make it easier in the long run. About once a day Baby Girl tells me, “I don’t want to move to Texas.” In case you were wondering, a 3 year old definitely gets the concept of moving from everything that is familiar to her.
We are getting there, though. Saturday we’re having a moving sale. Oh, please, Vermonters, come buy our stuff! We could use the money to pay for the move and we have tons of stuff! I’m just hoping a good chunk of it sells, even if I’m selling sweaters for a dime. That’s fine by me.
Well, I need to get back to packing. Or maybe I’ll nap. Buddy and I seem to have caught a cold, which is really killing my productivity.

* I spent almost $20 for lunch at the airport yesterday. Highway robbery! But when you’ve been up since 4:30, you gotta eat.

* At this point, my kids have flown several times each, so I feel that I have it down to a science now. I know what foods I can bring for them, what foods they need to see at security, what outfits are easiest for us to wear. When Baby Girl was a baby they made me take off her shoes at security. Thankfully they’ve changed that now! Really, though, we enjoy flying. It’s just exhausting…have I mentioned that yet?

* Buddy hasn’t slept well since we left. I think he’s overtired. Hopefully we get back on track (maybe even a better, sleeping-through-the-night track) very soon!

* I have several activities I want to do this week, leading up to Easter. I need to find Easter basket goodies, buy ingredients for a few baking projects, and clean for my in-laws’ visit. Good thing I am refreshed from my relaxing weekend. Ha!

* I realize this is up for debate, but in my humble opinion, I have the sweetest, cutest, funniest children. Buddy started blowing raspberries while eating. He’s figured out peek-a-boo with his blanky and sometimes does “How big is Buddy?” Then there’s Baby Girl. Last night she directed a choir with a stick she found. Then she bowed and said, “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.” Where does she get this stuff?

* I’ve been trying new styling methods with my curly hair. They’ve worked wonderfully up north, but I felt like my hair was HUGE  in Texas! My man told me it looked good. It was just so much bigger than I’m used to.

* My man’s Ohio State lost Saturday. My Huskies lost last night. Now neither of us care about the national championship games. But Bones starts again tonight! I love Bones!

* Enjoy your week!

Buddy Boy is 8 months old today! 8 months! Yesterday at his doctor’s visit, I scheduled his next appointment. For June. His one year visit. How did we get to that already? Unbelievable!

Buddy is a sweet as ever! Everyone he meets comments on “what a happy baby he is”. And he really is. He seldom cries, only if I leave the room when he feels that he NEEDS me, or if he falls on his head or closes his fingers in doors. Or when his sister cries. Baby Girl was in her room for a brief “break”. Buddy crawled around the corner to find out what all of that racket was (her sobbing). When he saw her crying, he put his head on the floor and began sobbing himself. Even after I calmed him down, he kept gulping for air. Poor little boy. He did not like seeing his sister upset.

He is so active! I can barely change his diaper and his clothes. In fact, the doctor mentioned yesterday that I should put something on him for his diaper rash. I joked that I was lucky to get the diaper on before he was halfway across the room.
He bangs on everything. Some kids explore by taste or by feel, Buddy explores by slamming his hands on tables, floors, people, etc. He gave me a fat lip the other day by slamming me with the end of a tube of Butt Paste. Lovely.

He’s 95% for height and 72% for weight. Baby Girl was the opposite; off the charts for weight and high for height.

I think we’ve settled into a routine. Short nap in the morning, then down for a morning nap around 9:30. And afternoon nap after lunch and bedtime at 6. He’s now eating just about anything I give him. He tried some hamburger the other day. He kept making horrible faces but never refused it. We’re still waiting for his first teeth. Poor boy has been teething since he was two months old!

Buddy, I love you! You are my sweet boy. Please don’t ever change.

(So tired from a walk on the beach.)

I’ve been writing this post in my head for several days. I’m still not sure I can effectively communicate how fantastic our trip was. I kept thinking that this might have been the best trip of my life. Then I felt guilty. I mean, I spent four amazing weeks in the Cayman Islands when I was in college. Then there was the trip my man and I took for our honeymoon. So with those two other trips mentioned, I will say this was one of the best trips of my life! The kids were so well-behaved! They were angels on all four flights and just about every moment in between. I dealt with a three-year-old, who is definitely asserting her independence, but overall, she made me proud.

The time with my family was so special! We had nothing pressing, no “to-dos”, just the time to enjoy each other. Before I left home I really felt that I needed this break to survive the winter. I know, sounds so dramatic, right? I just felt so many burdens weighing me down. Then we got to Florida. What a reprieve! I told my dad that I should’ve probably gone a little later in the year, when it was high 70s, but I needed the break right when I got it. I “put up with” 60s and 70s in order to be completely refreshed when I needed it most.

Now we’re back. It’s 24 degrees. But I’m so grateful for the time we had in Florida. I can’t complain about being back. I flew over my friend Tasha’s house and my church as we descended into our home airport. So instead of being depressed, I sat and looked forward to all of the friends I would see the next day at church and in the days to come. I needed that reminder! Because I cried buckets when we left my parents. Baby Girl held on to her Papa! When he put her down she started crying a heart-broken, silent cry. Leaving was hard. But now we have so many memories and millions of pictures! And the promise that next year will be just as sweet!

Thanks, Papa and Nani! We love you!

*Just as an addition to this post: One thing I didn’t put in my suitcase on purpose? My mousse. It was almost gone. I figured I’d be fine without the little bit left. I thought I had another one at home. I didn’t. So I’ve spent the week with my hair in a ponytail. Oops. And it would have fit in my suitcase. So that’s awesome.

I’m still working on writing my how we met story, but this little trip to Florida has sort of put that to the side. But I had to share this story today, because seven years ago today, February 12, 2005, my man asked me to be his wife.

Valentine’s Day was on a Monday that year. We had classes, so we decided to each plan a weekend on either end of Valentine’s Day. My man decided he wanted the first weekend. All he told me was to dress casual. I sort of wondered if he would ask but I tried really hard not to think about it. I wanted to be surprised. I tend to over-think everything, which makes surprising me difficult.

He picked me up around 9, I think. I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie…so fancy, you know? He had a cooler, maps (before GPS), and lots of secrets. I tried to guess what we were doing the whole time. I finally figured out the first thing. We were going horseback riding! He remembered the one time I mentioned that I had never ridden a horse by myself. We rode through the woods with Table Rock Mt in the background. We had fun!
Next stop was for lunch. We drove to a state park for lunch. Earlier in the year we had visited a state park in the area. My man thought we were heading to that park. Little did he know that he mixed up two nearby state parks. We drove around the state park trying to find where we thought we were supposed to be. At this point I started thinking, “There’s no way he is proposing today.” My man is thorough. He would have maps printed, exact times set, etc. There was no way he would get lost on the day he was going to propose.
We settled on a nice spot by a lake (with Table Rock in the background) to eat our lunch. The park was fairly empty (it was February, after all). We sat and ate a delicious lunch and chatted. After lunch I was just sitting on the blanket, and my man says, “Wanna skip rocks?” At this point I thought, “This is our special date? We’re skipping rocks?”  We started picking up our lunch. I was shaking out the blanket when I heard him call my name. When I turned around he was down on one knee. I was shocked, and maybe a little ashamed that I had those few unkind thoughts moments earlier. I don’t remember exactly what he said. I wish I did. But I know I said yes. (I might have said, “Seriously?” first.)

We ended up finding the other state park, and it was crowded. We’re pretty glad we had our own private lunch at the first park. We headed home, where I found a dozen roses waiting for me. We dressed up and went to a Japanese hibachi grill for supper, then downtown for ice cream. My man even stopped so that I could tell my best friends in person.

We’ve been through a lot in the last seven years. We’ve lived in five homes, two states, finished grad school, had two kids, and the journey is just getting started. I know this, though, I wouldn’t take back that “yes” for any reason.

I love you, Babe! Thanks for asking.

By the way, I don’t remember what we did on my date weekend, but I know it wasn’t nearly as exciting as the weekend before!

I am still alive and kicking. I have so many things I want to say. So much going on in my life and in my head. But it’s not been my week for extra time on my hands. Buddy is sick. There’s a tiny part of me that fears it’s pertussis (whooping cough) and part of me that hopes it’s a cold. Needless to say, he’s not sleeping, at all. He is coughing so badly. His nose is non-stop running.
Then I went out to get a hot chocolate with a turbo shot of espresso this morning. What did I find? A flooded downstairs. Not terrible, but that took up an hour or so of our time. I was planning to have my man organize the basement storage room while we were in FL. Ha! Guess we’ll do it now.
So, I don’t have time to write. I will someday. I hope.

My friend Tasha at My Homemade Happiness nominated my blog for the Liebster Award!

“A Liebster Blog Award is a fun way to recognize your fellow bloggers and get the word out about how much you love them! It’s specifically for smaller blogs and those of us who are just getting started! Liebster is a German word that means favorite or dearest.” I was thrilled to be included in Tasha’s list of five bloggers!

Here is my list of great small blogs!

My Homemade Happiness

I have to admit, even if she didn’t nominate me I would’ve put Tasha on my list. She often makes me laugh as she talks about raising three boys (and being overrun by Legos). And her recipes look amazing! I’ve had her cooking and can attest to how talented she is in the kitchen!

Just Another Day in Paradise

I was drawn to Kathy’s blog when I found out she was from Connecticut, but now I just love reading whatever she writes. She shares crafts, stories about her girls and homeschooling, and encouragement for me as a mom. I loved her series on Becoming a Joyful Wife and Mother. She gave such practical ideas and again encouraged me to enjoy my job as mom and wife.

Navigating the Mothership

I don’t remember how I found Laura’s blog, but I’ve been laughing and commiserating with her ever since. She had her baby boy about two weeks after I had Buddy. I’ve enjoyed seeing another baby grow up with Buddy. And sorry, Laura, but I was sort of happy to hear that my son wasn’t the only clingy, non-sleeping baby on the planet. I loved reading her love story and am seriously contemplating trying to write my love story out as well.

The Illiterate Author

My friend Alissa just started this blog a few months ago. She reviews the books she reads and usually has me laughing about something. She will probably be mad at me for mentioning her blog, but hey, I like reading it.  I’m sure she’d love ideas from all of you for some great books to read!

Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees

I think I started reading Melinda’s blog at a blog party a year or two ago. I admit, I’m totally drawn in by her description of country life with Amish neighbors. She has a great sense of humor in every situation.  I’m sorry for any of you animal lovers out there, but her story about Little Bunny Fufu made me laugh out loud!

There you have it, my five nominations for great small blogs! Check ‘em out!

I want to have a post full of other great posts, but I’m sitting down quickly before getting back to my baking. So, you’ll get what you get.

I just read this post about disagreements in marriage. Not that my man and I ever have them. Having a newborn, getting through all the holidays, etc are not at all stressful! We are always happy and loving. Okay, so maybe not. I have been working on “fighting fair” lately, not acting like a little kid fighting with her sibling. (It’s true, baby; I am working on it.) This was just one more reminder to act mature and handle disagreements in the right way.

I’ve shared before about my struggle with just being a stay-at-home-mom. But that’s my job. And I see the importance of it. This post just reminded me once again of how important my job is.

This question has been a problem in our house this Christmas more so than any other Christmas. My man and I have just had to buy gifts while we’re together a little bit more. So, do you still wrap it and pretend you don’t remember what you’re getting? Or do you just use the gift before Christmas? What would you do?

I am taking these rules to heart today and in the weeks to come. You should, too.

And finally, Baby Girl and I sat and giggled through this video last night. This morning she wanted to see it again. This is currently one of our favorite songs. We sing it constantly. Of course, when I tried to make a video she just acted silly.

Any posts you’ve enjoyed this week?

Tonight Baby Girl got to talk to her grandparents. She got to see them. They read her books; she showed them her paintings. She told them all about her day. All through Skype and Google chat. What a blessing! Grandma and Grandpa are in OH (roughly 11 hours away). Nani and Papa are in FL (probably 24 hours away…sniff, sniff). And her adopted Nana and Grandpa are in CT (4 hours away). And she talked to all of them tonight!
Sometimes I wish people talked more, texted less, wrote letters instead of emails, but tonight? I am so grateful for technology! I wish I could’ve talked to my grandparents like that when I was a kid!
So very thankful!