Claire's 1st Football Game

I have never been a huge football fan.  Many might think that un American, but I didn't grow up watching it so I've never understood all the rules.  I don't know when I'm supposed to cheer, and for the longest time, I was amazed at how quickly they were able to paint that yellow line on the field between plays (I felt like an idiot when Mike patiently explained that you only see that line when you're watching on TV because it's not really there in real life).

It looks like my baby feels the same way about the game.  We took Claire to her first football game on Saturday- Old Dominion University, my alma mater, versus William and Mary, Mike's current school.  She was completely indifferent to the whole thing.  She even napped through a quarter and didn't stir when the mascot went crowd surfing right next to her. 

When we first started dating, Mike would make fun of me for attending ODU because we didn't have a football team and his alma mater, Virginia Tech, was at the pinnacle of their football glory.  Fast forward nine years and look who's laughing now.  Not only does ODU have a football team, they are pretty darn good, AND they beat William and Mary! 

Happy Halloween

Claire was a pink parrot for her first Halloween.  It was Grace's special request since Grace wanted to be a pirate and every pirate needs a parrot.  And if you're a pirate princess like Grace, not any parrot will do.  It MUST be a pink parrot.

So I scoured the internet for a pink parrot costume that I could buy.  No luck.  Next I searched Etsy.  Too expensive.  Finally I went through Pinterest for ideas on how to make one.  I compiled a few ideas and gathered my materials. 

That was about a month ago.  I started on her costume the day before Halloween.  Nothing like some good old procrastination.

I finished the costume by powering through a crying baby during the day and staying up until two in the morning.  Considering Claire only wore the costume for a total of about fifteen minutes and could not have cared less what I put her in, I felt a little crazy for going through all the trouble. 

But Grace was ecstatic that she had her pink parrot sidekick.  And that parrot was pretty darn cute, so in the end, I guess it was worth it after all.

Getting ready to start on the parrot costume with my two 'helpers'.

This little 'helper' didn't enjoy that I was preoccupied with her costume and couldn't hold her all day long.

My Pirate Princess only trick-or-treated for half an hour before calling it quits. 

Happy Halloween!

"Arrrgh, matey!" 

Stinky Face and Selective Hearing

I don't know if it's an official 6 month milestone, but it is for my girls- the making of the 'stinky face'.  A couple of days ago, Claire mastered this new little trick where she scrunches up her nose and makes sniffing sounds whenever you say, "Stinky face!"  Grace used to do the exact same thing at the exact same age.  It cracks me up! 

Most days, it's very bittersweet to  see how quickly my baby is growing up, but I have to admit that this  phase of babyhood is so much fun. 

My other baby is also going through a little phase.  The 'selective hearing' phase.  You can whisper about going to Chick-fil-a or eating a candy treat and she will hear you just fine.  But you ask her to do something like clean her playroom and all of a sudden, she can't hear you. 

One day Grace got in trouble for not listening- we were getting ready to leave the house and she walked out the front door after I told her to wait because I was still strapping the baby into the carrier. 

Afterward, she came to me and apologized for not listening.  I told her she needed to make sure she always had her listening ears on. 

"I do, but I think they're buried in my hair, Mama." 

Sometimes it's so very hard to keep a straight face when you're trying to discipline 3 year olds.  They say the funniest things!

Sweet girl making her daddy some lunch.

She even peeled his orange for him.

Livin' Life

We have been busy, busy, busy.  Mike has been busy with school.  So has Grace.  Claire has been busy teething and growing bigger by the day.  And I've been busy trying to keep up with them all.

The laundry may pile up, there may be a thick thin layer of dust on all the furniture, and home cooked meals may be rare these days, but I am enjoying my little family.  There are some days when I feel slightly overwhelmed, but I know in that in the future- when both my girls are busy with school and activities- I will realize that these were actually my easy days.  If my biggest stress is trying to catch up on laundry and housecleaning while trying to help Grace gather items for her nature wreath school project, I know life is pretty awesome. 

Livin' life and lovin' it!

Here is a quick picture summary of what we've been up to...

Visited the Army Transportation Museum with Grandpa.

Spent a free Saturday in Washington D.C. checking out the sights.

Grace enjoyed the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum.

Went to the pumpkin patch.

Auntie Michelle came to visit for the day.

And just a couple of random things that made me laugh...

Seeing Grace drag her stuffed puppy around with a piece of string for a leash is deja vu for me.  I used to do the exact same thing when I was a little girl. 

I know this is not the most flattering picture, but I just want to document how I eat my meals most days- one handed with a crying baby on my lap.

Mike dressed the girls for church and accidentally put Grace's blouse on Claire.  Big sister's size 3T fit 6 month old baby sister!  And it doesn't even look ridiculously big!

Maybe Not

Mike was working on a big project this weekend and since it was too rainy to go out with the girls, I packed the girls up and we headed to Virginia Beach to visit with grandparents for a couple of days. 

We started our two day getaway with a night out at the movies with Lola, Lolo, and the uncles.  Grace thought Nemo in 3D was awesome.  The grandparents and uncles loved watching her giggle and try to 'catch' the 3D characters.  And I was busy rocking the baby in the hallway, doing my best to keep her calm and quiet, while still trying to catch glimpses of the movie. 

Next day was shopping day.  Since I always seem to run into old friends, former co-workers and students while I'm looking my absolute worst, I decided to step it up a notch and straighten my hair, wear some makeup, and actually wear my one cute outfit. 

I went solo to the first store and was feeling pretty good.  I even got a few stares and I thought to myself, "Hmmmm, I may still have quite a few pounds to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight, but maybe I still have it."

Not five minutes after having that thought, a lady came up to me and whispered, "I'm not sure if you know this, but you have a big Halloween sticker on your butt." 

I immediately bust out laughing and thanked her for telling me so I wouldn't have to go through the whole day with a jack'o'lantern on my behind.  Maybe I still have it?  Maybe not.  Ha!

You gotta love three year old little girls who decorate their mamas with Halloween stickers!  Kids certainly keep you humble, that's for sure.

A Little Love Affair

I've just finished a little three day love affair.  No worries, I was still faithful to my wedding vows and my husband.  In fact, my husband was the one who instigated the affair.

It all started about a month ago when I put a big old scratch down the side of Ruby, my trusty Volvo, as I was pulling into the driveway and ran into the mailbox.  I was mortified, but that's another story entirely.

Fast forward to earlier this week when Ruby finally went in to the auto body shop to get all prettied up again and Mike got me a rental in the meantime.  He came home with what I have always wanted since finding out I was pregnant with Grace- a van AKA the Swagger Wagon.  If you don't know what a Swagger Wagon is, google the term and prepare to laugh hysterically.

When we moved back stateside after Japan and were in the market for a family car, I begged and begged for a van.  But it was all for nothing because as amazing my husband is, the man is stubborn when it comes to vehicles.  He refused to even entertain the idea of a van as our family vehicle.  And so we adopted Ruby into our family.  While I still sometimes pined for a van, especially in those parking lot moments when those wonderful automatic sliding doors of a Swagger Wagon would be such a godsend, Ruby treated me so well that I just had no room for complaints.

But when Mike came home with a van, that was the beginning of my little affair.  Please forgive me, Ruby, but my goodness, that white van made my life with two small kids so much easier those three days!  Hands full while it starts to rain and you have a baby carrier and a toddler to quickly heft into the car?  No problem!  With a press of a button, doors magically slide open and the toddler can climb in by herself while you set down the groceries/etc. and click the baby carrier in place.  I was actually looking for errands to run, just so I could drive the van around town. 

I could go on and on about the advantages of a van, but I know my husband would just roll his eyes, so I'll stop here.  In his defense, the few times I went out without the girls, I did feel a bit like a bus driver.  But since most days I run around without any makeup on, my hair in a bun, wearing clothes that are more functional than fashionable, I was okay with that.

Seriously though, these are my true loves...

Love #1

Love #2

Love #3

Happy Fall

One of the things I was most excited about when we moved to Virginia was that we were finally going to experience fall weather.  I couldn't wait to wear sweaters, scarves, and boots- things I couldn't wear while living in Florida. 

Well, it's officially fall but it's just as hot here as it is in Jacksonville!  And humid, too!  Come on, fall weather, I'm ready for you!  To help lift my spirits about the lack of cool weather, I ran to Bath and Body Works this afternoon while the girls were sleeping and Mike was home studying and bought as much 'Cider Lane' and 'Pumpkin Caramel Latte' scents as my coupon would let me.  It doesn't feel like fall yet, but it sure as heck smells like it in my house.

On a completely different topic, my baby girl is growing bigger by the day and has now learned to do two things.  She has somehow figured out how to undress herself and she knows how to stop her baby swing.  Not quite sure what I can do about the first, but her swing days are officially over. 

The Longest Blog Hiatus Ever

I’ve been on the longest blog hiatus since I started this blog a few years ago.  I keep saying that I will catch up.  And maybe some day I will.  But being a bit of a procrastinator, I think the best thing now is to just jump back in.   If I don’t, I fear that I’ll be completely overwhelmed and never get started again. 

It makes me sad to think of all the little stories about my babies that are already beginning to fade from my memory because I haven’t been able to find the time to record them on the blog.  I’ve been storing random tidbits on my phone, but now it’s time to put them in the blog.  I’m letting go of the guilt I’ve been feeling about not doing my job as the self-appointed family historian and starting fresh. 

So here goes- a quick recap of the past few months and then hopefully I will get back on track and stay there. 

JUNE 2012

June was a whirlwind.  So much change!  Grace had her very first dance recital.  She did awesome despite having a high fever.  Poor girl was not feeling her best, but I gave her some Motrin and let her get on stage anyway.  She had worked all year long (not to mention all the moolah we invested in her lessons, costumes, recital fees, etc.) for her to miss out on it.  In the end, it was a wonderful experience and I was bursting with pride sitting in the audience watching my baby girl twirl away.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Jacksonville and all the friends we made while we were there.  I may have complained about my time in Jax, but as I was driving away from the place we called home for the past two and a half years, I had tears in my eyes.  I made some priceless memories there- I survived a deployment and I discovered a strength in me that I didn’t know I had, I made several lifelong friends, and my sweet baby Claire was born there.   

 Our last family picture in front of our Jacksonville home.

 Coming home to Virginia!

 JULY 2012

The biggest event in July was moving in to the house we will call home for the next couple of years in Williamsburg.  With Claire’s birth and the ship’s schedule, there wasn’t an opportunity for us to do any house hunting.  We had to do it all online and pray that we were making the best choice.  Thankfully, my brother, Carl, was able to drive to Williamsburg and preview the house before we made an offer.  It definitely gave us peace of mind to know he approved.  And it didn’t hurt that the house is two minutes away from the outlet mall! 

The playroom was the first finished room of the house!

Big sister kept little sister busy while Mike and I worked to get the rest of the house done.

Still, it was a tough transition.  I didn’t arrive at the house until thirty minutes before the movers.  I was still trying to work out where all the furniture would go when the movers arrived looking for direction on where to place things.  Add to that a newborn who constantly wanted to be nursed and it made for an extremely stressful day.  But after working nonstop for the next three or four days, the house felt livable.  The closets are still a work in progress, but for the most part, I feel settled. 

AUGUST 2012

The best thing about August was enjoying Mike’s time off before starting his classes at William and Mary.  We drove around Williamsburg familiarizing ourselves with the area and looking for family-friendly things to do.  We went to Busch Gardens with the uncles and aunt.  We visited with friends who haven’t seen in a long while.  And we celebrated Mike’s birthday with homemade birthday cake. 

Found a great Farmer's Market

Hot day at Busch Gardens

Then it was off to MBA school for Mike and Pre-K3 for Grace.  But Grace’s first day of school deserves it’s very own post, so I will talk more about that later.  That is a promise I will most definitely keep.  

SEPTEMBER 2012

We kicked off September with a BBQ cookout at our house.  What was meant to be just a small little get together turned into a huge event, complete with a humongous rented bouncy house that we kept for three days.  No, the party didn’t last for three days, but I would’ve been fine with it if it had.  After living in a tiny, two bedroom condo for the past couple of years that had barely enough room for our family, let alone party guests, it’s nice to be able to host friends again. 

The rest of the month was spent just trying to get into a routine.  It has gone very smoothly so far.  Grace’s school is literally a minute away from Mike’s school so he drops her off in the morning and then Claire and I pick her up.  It’s worked out very well for me since that means I can still stay in my pajamas until pick up time. 

The big challenge so far is giving Mike time to study and work on school projects.  He has an awesome office, but unfortunately, it is not enclosed so it’s hard to get things done when Grace is awake.  We are not ones to have televisions in the bedroom, but when we bought Grace’s new bedroom set, we got a free TV.  So we put it in our bedroom and it has been a lifesaver.  Especially when the baby changes over from her ‘sweet during the day’ to her ‘cranky and high maintenance in the evening’.  Many nights you’ll find the Augustine girls hanging out in my bedroom, sprawled out on my bed watching cartoons, or once the girls go to sleep, ‘American Pickers’- my new favorite show.  Weird, I know, but I’m obsessed.