Lucy turns 2!

Okay, really, how did that happen? It seems hard to believe that my baby (my LAST baby) turned two this week. Time sure does fly when you're sleep deprived and too busy, doesn't it?

As usual, we didn't do anything too extravagant for her birthday. We were at the ocean on the big day, so we very happily ignored the event until we got home. Last night we had a small gathering of family and close friends -- no balloons, no games, but plenty of food and good times.

She sure is a sweet little girly-girl who loves all things pink! We got her a bitty baby from American Girls, that she loves (so does Reid, for that matter) and she already has her first beach outfit for the baby thanks to the D. family, which has been on and off her at least a dozen times now. Is it sad that I'm just as excited about the doll as she is?

Here are a few pics I snapped of her in her birthday girl outfit (which has been in the closet since last year and I've been just itching to get it on her)!

Grandma gave her a little pedi in preparation for the party!

I skipped the fondant on the cake this time and opted for swiss meringue buttercream. It was neopolitan themed -- chocolate and white cakes with strawberry and vanilla frosting. It was very good, though my frosting was too soft, which made for a slightly crooked cake. I made the butterflies with chocolate candy discs -- they weren't hard to make, but there was a learning curve to getting them to look the way I wanted.

Sigh...goodbye summer!

Summer seemed to come and go in a hurry this year. Hannah is off to the 8th grade (which is unbelievable to me), Reid started kindergarten (no way!) and Ross is off to preschool (okay, that I can deal with). All three of them seem to be enjoying their new school routines, but Lucy is feeling a bit left out and would be quite happy to stay at preschool with Ross!

Anyway, here are a few shots of the boys on their first days of school:

So, now we're settling into a new -- and busier -- routine. I was completely overwhelmed the first couple of days, but now it isn't so bad. The house is quieter and calmer during the day when Reid (and sometimes Ross) is gone, but I have more running back and forth to keep track of. I'm completely terrified that I'm going to forget someone somewhere.

The only big problem so far is that Reid comes home in one heck of a (sour) mood -- he seems to love school, though. I have several theories on this, but think it mostly the fact that he is exhausted and expends all his good behavior at school (because the reports are that he is an model student at school). So, I'm frantically trying to find ways to sooth this little speed bump!

Is she possessed?

Lately, Lucy seems to be making an exceptional effort at ramping up for the terrible twos. She's always been a pretty laid back kid, and she does still listen exceptionally well for a not-quite-two year old. However, she can get into trouble faster than I can blink (and it is saying something that she can surprise me with anything after her brothers).

Since we changed her crib to a toddler bed, we've had issues with her getting out and playing at nap time. It hasn't been a problem, until this week. Normally, she'll just play for a bit (never trying to leave her room, which is fabulous) and then either crawl back in bed or fall asleep on the floor. So, when she was making noise on Tuesday during nap time, I didn't think much of it. She went to sleep eventually and nothing seemed amiss. She woke up grumpy, which is very unusual for her. I went in to find her covered from head to toe in slime and a wearing a very dirty diaper. It turns out that she found the drawer in the changing table where we keep the diaper ointments, orajel, baby lotion, etc. She had just about every tube/bottle from the drawer out with the cap off. Her toy kitchen dishes were strewn about the floor, covered in muck -- the spoons were full of the stuff, so she must have been "cooking". Plus, she had rolled around and her diaper had leaked. Lovely, just lovely! Oh, and I should mention that she was totally peeved that she was dirty and insisted on an immediate bath (not that I would have let her go anywhere but straight to the tub anyway).

Ugghh...this called for an emergency shampooing of the carpet. I'm really glad we have our own shampooer, though I found ours isn't working right (drat), but it worked well enough to get her room done. So, I better get the part replaced on the shampooer before Lucy can find something else to get into. Hmmmm...she loves the pump of liquid soap in the bathroom, too. Perhaps I should switch to bar soap to avoid anymore unplanned carpet shampooing!

Fourteen!

Somehow -- and I don't really understand it -- but somehow my little girl turned 14 today. I shouldn't be surprised by this, considering the fact that she towers over me at this point, but yet here I sit amazed that she is really growing up so quickly.

I took a few shots today, though I'm not totally pleased with them and think I'll try again tomorrow.

Her cake was a major undertaking for me this year. She wanted fondant and came up with the idea for a giraffe print cake (inspired by one of my favorite bakery blogs). I decided to take a stab at a tiered cake for this, which was really not that hard. Overall, I'm very pleased with the cake!

It wasn't perfect, but that is okay -- I only do these a couple of times a year, so I really shouldn't expect perfection. I tried a few new recipes -- chocolate fondant (for the black) and meringue buttercream (which goes under the fondant). I LOVE the meringue buttercream and doubt I'll ever make a powdered sugar based buttercream again. The stuff was just HEAVENLY!!!! The bottom cake was chocolate and the top was lemon (mmmm....my favorite).

I also tried something new with the fondant. In the past I've kneaded the color into the fondant after making it (as is usually recommended). This time, I added the color to the melted marshmallows before mixing in the sugar. It was much easier this way, though admittedly limits you to a single color per batch.

We had a small get together this evening and had a pretty low-key celebration, which was really nice. Hopefully the next birthday party for Hannah won't creep up again so fast...

Seriously!

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time keeping this thing updated lately. I really miss taking the time each day to look back and review what was going on and what I was thinking. I just need to put blogging back on my to-do list. Of course, my biggest challenge is that Lucy has taken to messing with the laptop if I try to use it. We keep the laptop under one of our arm chairs (and the other one is upstairs where the kids generally aren't allowed because that is where we keep our office and gym equipment), and if I sit down and try to use it Lucy will unplug it, pull the screen down, bang on the keys, etc. I know she'll outgrow it eventually, but for now it is really hard to get anything done on the computer.


So, anyway, I've been busy lately -- not with any one thing in particular, but just a lot of little stuff, one of which is twice weekly physical therapy, which I don't think I've mentioned here before. For a while now I've been having numbness issues in my right hand. It got so bad that I was having numbness anytime I lifted my arms -- shampooing hair, doing the dishes and many other activities left me with numb fingers. The last straw was last spring when I attempted to paint one of our closets -- my hand went numb as soon as I lifted my arm and stayed that way for several hours after. I could hardly get the trimming done, because I don't have good dexterity when my fingers are numb and feel like they've been resting in a snow drift for a few hours (note to self -- the linen closet really should be repainted). I was pretty freaked out -- my active imagination started running amok with all the horrible things that could be wrong with em. So, I ended up at my doctor (along with a slew of other bizarre symptoms --running problems mostly, also on my right side, which now appear to simply have been a result of poor/over training). I was put through a massive amount of tests -- blood draws and an extensive set of x-rays -- and was also referred out to a specialist for some kind of special nerve mapping in my hands.

The specialist discovered that I had a messed up shoulder, which was causing the numbness. I was doubtful when he told me this, but consented to his recommended cortisone injections in my back (which hurt like a *&^#, by the way -- I felt like I had been beat to pulp in my upper body after the shot). Surprisingly (to me), they worked -- or mostly worked. I seem to have some lingering issues that they are trying to work out through therapy, but the numbness is only occurring now when I spend several hours knitting. I can deal with that! Hopefully the therapy will fix the problem completely, but I'm growing quite tired of the frequent appointments, which is just one of the things keeping me hopping. On the other hand, I'd take therapy over the shots any day. He swears they usually don't hurt much, but if you're tense they can be very painful. Apparently, I'm a very tense person -- he told me I need to work on controlling my stress better (hah!). Yeah...I'll get right now that!

July in a flash!

Wow!!! It has been ages since I posted. I guess July has just been a really busy month for us.

We, of course, started the month of celebrating the 4th in our usual fashion. One evening we enjoyed the NC Symphony here in town and then also did the big Ft. Bragg event on post. Both were a lot of fun, though I'm partial to the concert -- it is just a lot quieter and less crowded. The kids loved both, though.

So, here are a few shots of the kids at the 4th events:

Hannah doing her best Ross impression:

The next major event on the calendar was Jeremy & my 10th anniversary. I didn't even get a picture of us, but it is too late to fix that now. We ended up taking a short trip to Greenville, SC (a spot on our list of possibilities for relocation next year) and had a nice time. Their downtown is fabulous and the city is beautiful. The trip ended up being a mixture of house hunting and relaxation, but the fact that we didn't have kids with us was the best part -- we were in need of a few hours sans kids.

Last weekend we made our first trip to the blueberry patch for the year and came home with 17 pounds of blueberries. We ended up stopping about picking up about 10 pounds of peaches on the way home, too. The kids were in hog heaven all weekend -- they are bottomless pits when it comes to fruit (which is a good thing, as far as I am concerned). I need to go back again soon for some more picking -- seventeen pounds won't last us very long!

And then last week we took the grand tour of Virginia for a combination house hunt/vacation. We spent some time in the Fredericksburg area and then headed out towards the coast. We got a day at Busch Gardens in (thanks to their FABULOUS military program it was FREE), which the kids really enjoyed and then headed to Virginia Beach for a couple of days. I'm not quite recovered from that trip. Maybe after the trauma of staying in three hotels over the course of four nights has worn off a little I'll be able to remember the good stuff that happened during the trip. Those pics will have to come later...

Disney!

Uh....I have been so busy. I started this post something like three weeks ago and am just now getting around to finishing it.

So, these are in no particular order. I am too lazy to organize them better.

The last night we were at Disney, as we were getting ready to leave, we discovered a dance party. I think this was almost the most fun we had the whole time. The kids got to dance with the characters and had a blast (even Hannah). Here Hannah is shaking it with Chip (or Dale, is there a way to tell them apart?):

The kids sporting their ears while Ross glowers at me:

Waiting impatiently to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Ross hated it):

You should know who these people are:

Ross being Ross:

A picture at the beginning of the trip of Hannah & I, before we were all worn out:

Grandma & Grandpa with the kids:

Grandpa doing an uncanny impression of Ross (sorry, Dad!):

Waiting for the light parade at Magic Kingdom (yes, I bribed them to sit still with copious amounts of sugar):

Look at that sticky face!

Reid loved his treat!

Grandma & Ross on the teacups:

Hannah being a goon:

The kids getting along nicely (for a change) at the hotel:

Ross posing for a picture: