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.