November Recap - Move It In

* Remember, folks, this is Nov -- I'm trying to record all of this for our family, so I'm trying to get it all in (no matter how far behind I may be) *

We made it back to SC in one piece after getting all our belongs into half a moving truck, but the movers weren't able to unload our stuff until Tuesday. Since we had no beds or anything else to sit on, Barry and Cathy were kind enough to let us invade their lives for 2 days. And, it was an invasion.

Normally, Barry and Cathy stay up late and sleep late (after 11 or so) - they're both retired, their kids are grown - we totally envy them this lifestyle and look forward to the day when we can do the same. So, having us show up with children who start getting loud at 7:30 probably was a shock to them. They took it all in stride and we had a great time staying with them - they totally know how to do ice cream (more on that some other time)!

The movers started at the storage unit on Tuesday morning, bright and early, and as Brent had to leave for TN, Barry and Cathy continued to be kind and watched the kids for us. As the movers unloaded the truck and filled the storage unit, I started to get concerned. In Royal Oak, we had a 1,000 sq ft house with a shed and a 10x10 storage unit; in SC, we have a 1,200 sq ft apartment and had rented a 10x20 storage unit. We assumed we would have room to spare in the storage unit . . . we assumed wrong (shocker!) At one point, one of the movers told me, "It's OK - if it doesn't fit here, we'll just take it to the apartment." I told him that wouldn't work as the apartment wouldn't have room for it. Luckily, they used just about every inch of the 10x20 space (seriously, stuff is stacked up to the ceiling) and it fit. The move into the apartment was a cake-walk after that - they got everything unloaded and set-up in less than an hour.

After they left, I set to unpacking a few of the more breakable boxes and getting a little more organized before going back to Barry and Cathy's to get the kids. The kids, as usual, were having a great time (they just love Barry and Cathy). We really lucked out having great relatives nearby who are so supportive and helpful. So, Barry and Cathy (if you read this blog), we really appreciate you and are so glad to have you in our lives.

Since Brent was in TN, the kids were troopers about all the boxes and helping me unpack. It helped that I gave them a giant wardrobe box to play in - it was an ice-cream store, a tent, a rocket, and a slide (the video of that is coming). I (and them) worked my butt off getting all but 2 boxes put away and broken down by the time he got home on Thursday. Which was good, as we left Friday for Houston.

All in all, it's nice to have all of our things - it really makes it feel more like home (even if it's only until May).

November Recap - You Can't Go Home Again

But, you can show up to pack it all up and marvel at everything you had crammed into 1,000 square feet and outside.

This posting starts the recap of our month of November. It was so jam packed and busy that this is honestly the first time I've had to get a posting started. I'll try to be brief, as December is off to a really fun start and I want to share all of that.

In the middle of Nov, we headed back to MI to pack up our house and move our belongings down south. We left Friday after Brent got done working - of course, he got stuck working about an hour or so longer than we had planned, so we were a little past nap-time when we got on the road. And, to make things even better, the "regular" route we would take had a rock slide that has closed the road for around a year (the Army Corp of Engineers has been called in to fix it) and the detour, while completely scenic and beautiful, adds about 90 minutes onto our first leg. We've decided we like stopping in Berea, KY - it's about half-way, has a nice little hotel with an indoor pool (already a great draw for the kids when we're traveling and we say the word hotel) and a Cracker Barrel.

We had a good drive, overall, and were happy to make it to Maxwell's on Saturday for dinner. Sunday, we headed to my parents to more or less say hi, drop the kids off, grab the Tahoe and Dad, and drive to Royal Oak (RO). It was really weird to be back in the house again - I started crying as I walked around, looking at everything. Although we needed to move anyway, it was our first house - we got married there, had our babies there . . . it just has so many memories and, although staying in the apartment is a smart plan for now, I really miss having a house. Oh well - I know we'll have one down here soon enough.

After I had my brief pity party, Dad and I headed downstairs to start work on installing a new hot water heater. Good times, let me tell you. I learned quite a bit about plumbing and torches (those are good fun). While we were doing that, Jerry and Brent made 6 trips to the storage unit and put a ton of boxes back into the house. We all worked really hard and were more than ready to head home when all the fun was over.

When we got back to Grand Blanc (GB), Will was running a high fever and just wasn't feeling well. I stayed up with him until the fever came down a bit around 3:30 (and Mom kept getting up to check on us - all mommies worry about their kids) and we fell asleep in the recliner downstairs until Dad came down and woke us up on his way into the office. I put Will into bed and then I went to sleep in my own bed.

So, our plans for Monday were changed a bit - it all worked out though. Dad came down after his meetings were done and we finished installing the hot water heater. While we were doing that, we had a showing - not exactly the best scenario for a showing, but I'm not turning anyone down at this point. The way they ran through the house, I knew she wasn't interested. Oh well.

Will still was running a fever and ending up throwing up Monday night so Tuesday I took him to our old pediatrician in RO. It was funny when I called for the sick appointment - she looked us up in the computer and said, "Didn't you move? Your records aren't here anymore." I told her we were in town and I wanted Will checked out to make sure he didn't have anything serious. Everyone else in town must have had the same idea and the same thing - we waited an hour to see the doctor. But, she confirmed it wasn't anything serious (not strep) and as long as he wanted to play, it was OK.

The rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday were packing days for me - I sorted everything into Apartment or Storage, made donation runs each day, and took things off the walls. Wednesday night, Brent and I were going to head for dinner in RO but he showed up looking like death warmed over (he got Will's cold) and ended up sleeping while I picked up take-out Thai and completed packing.

Thursday, the packers showed up. Given that we already have a lot of stuff boxed up and down here in SC, I didn't think it would take them more than 4 hours to do the house. Not so much - they showed up at 8 am (very timely - it was nice), took a half hour lunch around 11:30, and kept boxing up everything until 3:30. Wow! So glad I didn't have to do that myself. I did get to read a book and a half though - that was nice.

Friday, the movers showed up. I figured since everything was packed, this should only take the morning. Unfortunately, the movers had a flat tire issue that I didn't find out about 9:00 when they were supposed to be there at 8 - and they didn't show up until 10. That totally sucked as I wanted to make deliveries to Ann and Kristi when the movers where done, and had I known they were going to be late, I could have done that in the morning. Oh well. They did show up at 10 and it took them until 3:30, working constantly - they didn't take lunch - to get it all packed into half a truck. I should have taken a picture - it was stacked up to the roof.

Brent and I walked through the empty house one more time (very sad) and then headed to GB. We hung out a bit and saw what the kids had been doing that week. There was lots of playing, but the thing Will liked best was making a bird house with Dad. He kept showing it to us and still talks about it.

We spent Friday night at Maxwells and then hit the road home on Saturday. We made stops at Ann's house (they were, unfortunately, at music class) and Kristi's house (they were home and it was awesome to see everyone briefly). The drive back was uneventful and we were happy to be back home in SC.

General Update - We're Still Here

Just so everyone knows, we haven't dropped off the face of the earth. We've just been crazy busy and I wanted to sum up everything so you're all in the loop. I promise more details later.

First, we headed back to MI last week to move all our belongings down south. The house hasn't sold (unfortunately) but we actually save money by having a storage unit and an apartment down here. The drive up was made longer due to a rock slide on the best route, but overall, it was good.

In MI, we did the following:
- empty the storage unit and move everything into the house (it took 6 trips in the Tahoe)
- install a new hot water heater and remove the old one (I'm so thankful my dad is handy - I learned how to use an acetylene torch)
- take Will to the pediatricians after 3 days of fever (he had the flu but is totally fine now)
- sort items into "apartment" and "storage" for the packers
- the packers took one full day (8 hours) for our little house (I couldn't believe it really took that long)
- the movers took one full day (5 hours) to pack everything into half of a moving truck - it was jam packed (another thing I couldn't believe)

The only "fun" thing I did was get my hair done and buy new boots (they are super, super cute and made my stressful week better). I am so, so sorry to Ann (whom we didn't get to see at all) Nicole (who I saw for a minute - and it killed me that I couldn't hold baby Ryan cuz I didn't want to get him sick), and Kristi (whom we got to see for 5 minutes on our way out of town) -- I promise we'll see you all at Xmas when we have more time and less to do.

A huge, huge thank you to my parents for watching the kids all week while we took care of everything - I don't know how we would have done it without you.

We made our way back to SC and invaded Barry and Cathy's for two days, as our stuff couldn't arrive until Tuesday. Monday was the planned day - but most of this move did not go according to plan. Barry and Cathy were gracious enough to put us up for 2 days, and they watched the kids for us while we dealt with the movers on Tuesday. We really appreciated their help and support.

Tuesday, Brent left for TN so I was left to unpack by myself. It was a bit daunting, but the kids were great and by Thursday, we had most everything unpacked and put away, with all the boxes broken down.

Which is good because we're packing today to our trip to TX to see Steven, Reshma, and Layla. We can't wait to see them (it's been awhile) and to relax - we've been running for two weeks now and just want a little break from the craziness.

So, that's where we're at. I'll give more details when I have some time - thanks for checking in on us!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween 2009! After much debate (seriously, every time we went to a store to look at costumes, he changed his mind) and an inability to find an Austin costume (Backyardigans character), Will decided to be Elmo. Sofia was Tigger (Will's old costume) -- we pretty much had to grease her into the outfit and pull her out of it.

We started this Halloween on Thursday with Will's school party. It was so cute! Everyone dressed up and they had a parade around the other classroom to show off their costumes and get candy. Fi and I were waiting for them when they came back.



All the kids were excited to see their parents and we disrupted the order of the classroom a bit, but the teachers were Ok with that. We helped get everything set-up to eat the orange cupcakes and then let the kids have at it. It was funny to watch them - none of them actually ate the cake part; they all went straight for the icing and orange sugar. Sofia got it all over herself (she was a Clemson cheerleader at school - thanks for the outfit, Barbara!). After snack, they read a Halloween book and we finally got them wrangled for a group shot (as best as we could). It was a great start to the holiday though!

We started Saturday out with the Fall Fest (see previous posting) and came back to rest. Will was too ready for trick or treat to rest though. He came running out of his room after about 10 minutes saying, "Daddy's sleeping, Mommy." So, he and I headed to Target to get a last minute plastic pumpkin for treats. I had bought one for Fi since I already had a cute bag for Will. After seeing the pumpkin for a day or so, Will decided he wanted one - he called it "the jack o-lantern." I should have just bought 2 - Target was totally out of stuff and we walked away disappointed. I tried Walgreens as a last resort and found a Mickey Mouse one (aren't the mouse ears cute?). That more than worked for Will and we got back before anyone woke up.

After the gang got going, we headed over to Barry and Cathy's for the main event. It was so great of them to let us come over - the kids really love them. We got everyone dressed (praying that we could get Fi into Tigger one more time) and as it got dark, we headed outside.

Of course, Barry and Cathy were our first stop (if for nothing else than the photo op) and we wandered down the street. The rain had finally let up and we had nice weather for a little while.

Most of the houses were decorated really well (not too scary for the kids) and once Will went to 2, he was ready. He kept looking for the houses with the lights on (we told him that meant people were home) and ran up to the doors to ring the bells. Sofia liked it, more or less. There were a couple of houses where the people scared her for some reason (there was no common factor, so I'm not sure what it was) and we "helped" her get candy.

Except for one house - this one lady had a really cool stuffed witch on a rocking chair. The witch actually said stuff (not scary) and the real lady rocked the chair. Will would not go near the stairs - he wouldn't move from the sidewalk. Ali, a super cute teenager who joined us later (the daughter of one of Barry and Cathy's friends), went up and got candy. As soon as Fi saw that, she practically ran up the stairs. She even pushed the rocking chair with the witch - it was great!

It started to rain and Will said he had enough and wanted to go back to Barry and Cathy's. We got back, let them have some candy, and then they helped Barry and Cathy hand out candy.

That was really cute too - Will got so excited every time the doorbell rang. He wouldn't go near the door though if the kids had scary masks. Luckily, there weren't too many of those.

Once Ali had enough candy (she was a trooper - she went out in the rain with her giant umbrella and her parents) and everyone was back at home base, we all dug into my chili. I love to make chili and think I have a pretty killer recipe. Cathy doesn't like beans, so I made a beanless batch for her and a pro-beans batch for Barry, who Cathy told me REALLY likes chili. It was a hit (plus the rainy weather kind of sets the mood for comfort food).

Ali and her family left so Ali could organize her candy (I never organized - I just ate it!). We stayed and played for awhile. Like my mom, Cathy saved all the really great toys from her kids - Will played with the old parking garage I remember Steven having and Sofia played with the old cash register.

Eventually, the kids wanted to go upstairs to play with the pool table and ping-pong table. After a little while, Cathy got out a great game - it was a kind of marble maze that you assemble and put the marble down. Will really liked that one a lot.

We finally left and headed home. It was a great Halloween!

We Won at Fall Fest!

Saturday was not only Halloween here in Greenville. It was also the Fall Festival for the Academy, Will's school. It's a pretty big fundraiser for the school. There are tons of activities for the kids (they only charge for the kids with a $40 per household max), a bake/casserole sale, and a prize raffle. We were a little worried that morning as it was raining and I thought the event was outside. Luckily, they had back-up plans and everything fit inside the school gym area.

I made a lasagna for the bake sale and also worked the bake sale for an hour. Brent bought 4 tickets for the raffle and entered one ticket per family member in 4 different baskets (you could choose which basket you wanted to win and put your tickets in there). Brent, Will, and I all lost. But, Sofia won the wine basket! :) Brent figured that since he and I never win anything, the kids would have a better chance. I took the basket so they didn't think we let our 18 month old drink wine.





It was pretty cool - we got a magnum of wine (3 liters!), 2 "regular" bottles of wine, all kinds of corkscrews (seriously, there were 3 different ones in there), wine charms, bottle stoppers, dip spreaders, cocktail napkins, a gift certificate to a local restaurant, and the bag itself (which is pretty awesome). We're very excited! Brent wants to open the giant bottle of wine, but I really think we should wait until there are more than just the 2 of us around.

The kids had a blast with everything. They started with a bouncy house outside, but since it was raining, that ended quickly. They came inside and we all headed into the gym. We started with a little obstacle course set-up by the Little Gym (like Gymboree) - they really had fun there, especially jumping on the collapsed tunnel. I think they liked that better than the tunnel itself.





From there, we headed to the ice rink. Yup - we ice skated inside the gym. It was this kind of plastic floor that you could wear ice skates on - pretty slick! At first, they didn't have skates small enough for Will so they pushed him and 2 other boys around in a little sleigh. He seemed to like that Ok. Sofia wanted nothing to do with it. We tried a couple of times to get her into it, but each time she just hung onto me. A little while later, we got some skates for Will and booties for me (put on over my boots) and we hit the ice! It was hilarious! I was holding onto Will for the first part and kind of pushing him. Then, he saw the other kids moving their feet and he decided that might be OK. But, he doesn't have the right idea of balance yet and we went back to me holding onto him. He then saw the donut tube and wanted to go into that instead of skating. We tried to get Fi in there with him but she didn't want to do that either. He went around a couple more times and then we moved onto something else.

We played some carnival games next. We kicked soccer balls into a net; we kicked a basketball into a tower to knock it down; we went fishing . .

Sofia's favorite thing was the duck pond. She got right down next to it (with both her arms in the pool - she and this other little girl were drenched and loving it!) and kept picking up duck after duck, saying "quack, quack." Very fun.

From there, we waited in line for the indoor bounce house. Sofia loved it and I had to crawl in there each time to get her out. It's a funny process - she gets in there and falls almost immediately because the bigger kids bouncing knocks her down; she spends the rest of her time crawling and trying to stand back up. It's a riot!

Will got his face painted with a blue ghost and got a "smashed bug" stamp on his hand (I think it was supposed to be a spider but just didn't turn out).

They had a great time and came home ready for a nap - I told him he had to rest before trick or treat. You'll hear all about that next. :)

SC DMV

We officially live in the state of SC now - we both got new drivers licenses, plates and registrations for the cars. And, like all trips to the DMV, it was quite the ordeal.

I went first. I went while Will was in school thinking it would be much easier with only one child. That part of it was actually fine - she was wonderful during all the waiting (a lot of goldfish crackers helped out there). I got to the DMV at 11 - this gave me an hour and 15 minutes before I had to pick Will up. I came armed with all the paperwork required - old drivers license, passport, social security card, marriage license, and a bank bill (address needed to prove residency). I can't believe all the stuff I needed - talk about identity theft waiting to happen!

I got a number and some paperwork to fill out. I didn't think the wait would be that bad, as there weren't too many people already there and there were 8 counters working. Plus, there was a great digital screen letting you know who was up next (in case you didn't hear them call you). But as I sat, I noticed they weren't going on a first come, first serve basis. Each "need" is given a different ticket number - I had a D. They were calling all kinds of A, B, C, and J's but they were very slow to call Ds. I watch the clock get closer to 12 and start to panic a bit - Will's school charges a dollar for every minute you're late (past 12:15) to pick them up. Finally, at 12:05, I decide to try to keep my late charge to a minimum and repeat this hellish experience with both kids. As I get up to leave, they call the two D numbers in front of me . . . ARGH!!! I wait . . . and about 1 minute later, they call me. I head to the counter, frantic, and Mr. Slow Country starts to process my paperwork. And he is slow . . . I finally get done with him at 12:20 and they head me over for my picture. She doesn't take too long (thankfully) and I'm frantically trying calling the school to let them know I'm coming.

I finally get to school at 12:35 - and as if I'm not feeling guilty enough, Will proceeds to ask me," Mommy, where were you? Why didn't you come pick me up?" I took a deep breath, thanked Claudette for watching Will, got him in the car, and we all headed to McD for some greasy comfort food.

Brent's experience wasn't quite so bad, although he needed almost as much paperwork as I did. He went first thing in the morning and was in and out in no time - plus, he didn't have to worry about the kids. Lucky guy!

Because of that, I went for new plates in the morning (right after we dropped Will off at school). I was seen almost immediately - by Mr. Slow Country! Too funny. Because we lease and don't have titles to the cars, we had to jump through all kinds of hoops - poor Mr. Country was walked back and forth to his manager at least 5 times before calling me down to her. She took over from there and it took a good 20 minutes. Fi was getting a little antsy at this point (as was I). When we were all done, the manager asked, "Is this all for you today?" I answered, "I sure hope so." To which she replied with a smile, "I was hopin' you were all done, but I didn't want to say so." I totally agreed with her, thanked her and Mr. Country for their help and got the heck of out there.

I'm happy to say that our licenses are good for 5 years and we can renew the plates by mail . . . I hope I don't have to see the DMV again anytime soon.

Maxwell Visit

Wednesday, the 21st, the Maxwell clan came to visit and the kids couldn't have been more excited. We were too, of course! :)

Brent was working, so Barry offered to help us get everyone and everything from the airport. The kids and I waited inside, which was quite a trick. Sofia loved the fountain and kept trying to go swimming in it - she tried to get her hands in the water, knelt by the side, put her feet over the edge . . . she just kept moving. The other people waiting got quite a kick out of it (when they weren't giving me dirty looks for not containing her better). When Will saw everyone, he ran to the escalator, screaming, "Uncle Chris!" He was excited to see everyone else too and gave them big hugs. Sofia was a little unsure, but she did go to Grandpa Jerry at the baggage claim. We went outside, got everyone loaded in with Barry, and then headed home.


Once everyone got settled, we ordered take-out from Fried Green Tomatoes (I had catfish - super good) and just relaxed and caught up. It was really great to just sit back and hang out.

Thursday, Brent took the day off and played with Sofia while I took Will to school and ran some errands. (I finally got to the eye doctor and ordered new glasses.) I got home in time to update Sofia's outfit (Brent thought her leggings were pants - I can't blame him; straight guys just don't get women's fashion) and collect the family to pick Will up.


He was so excited to see everyone again and loved showing off what he made at school. From there, we headed downtown for lunch at Blue Ridge Brewing company - it was such a nice day, we ate outside. After a great lunch, we went to Mast's General Store for the candy run. Jerry is a huge candy freak and the cashiers are always a little stunned when he checks out.

From there, we went to McPhearson Park. This is the cutest little park that the kids and I stumbled upon one really hot summer day when we were "exploring." The river runs through it, there's a public putt-putt course (bring your own ball and clubs), a little pavilion, and a nice playground - super cute! The playground is all sand, which the kids really like, but there is no shade. So, it's not so good on a hot day. But, on a fall day, it was wonderful. Will and Brent played putt-putt while Sofia played in the sand and on the swings. At one point, Fi, Holly, and Carlene were all swinging - it was so cute and I totally should have taken a picture. Holly and Chris got on the see-saw with the kids and that was really cute too.

By the time we got home from the park, it was way past nap time. Pretty much everyone took naps, except me - I decided to be good and work-out instead. That night, Jerry and Carlene offered to watch the kids so Brent, Holly, Chris and I could go out for dinner. We went to Great Bay Oyster House again, but since this wasn't a Monday night (the last time we went all together) but a Thursday, it was super crowded. Plus, they had a 50th birthday party and a charity event going on. Much more crowded and louder than last time. But, we still had a great time and great food. Plus, we played trivia - we did poorly on round 1 and came in 2nd on round 2 (maybe the drinks helped). When we got back, the kids were in bed (always nice to come home to) and we all hung out for a little while longer before hitting the hay.



Friday, it was a little overcast, but after some debate, we decided to head to the zoo - Carlene, Holly, and Chris hadn't been yet. It was a great time to go - the animals were quite happy with the cooler weather. We let Sofia walk the zoo for the first time (I just can't manage that on my own) and she really loved it. We got to see the monkeys moving around; the leopard (or jaguar - I can never remember which it is) was finally off the tree branch and we got to see him roaming around before jumping onto the tree branch; the orangutan family was playing, especially Baby Bob - he was have a great time doing somersaults, climbing the cage, making faces - it was awesome; one of the giraffes was sitting (which just looks super weird); and, Holly and Will got to see the lions roaming around (they're normally sleeping). We capped off the zoo with everyone feeding the goats and playing at the park there.






As if that wasn't enough exercise for the kids (and us), we had lunch at McD's and let them play in the playplace. We let Fi loose too and she climbed all over. Until, something happened and she was crying and wouldn't come down. So, I tested the statement that "Parents can play too" on the structure. I only bonked my head once before we made it to the slide and came down. She was all good at that point and wanted to head back in. We nixed that idea and headed home for nap time again.

Barry and Cathy came over that night to join us for dinner at Sticky Fingers. And, they brought the mini-van so we only had to take 2 cars, which was nice. We had made reservations for 10 but they mixed us up with a group of 12, so we had this huge long table (Brent saw the group of 12 squished into a smaller set-up - ours - in a different spot). Good when you have a large group, but hard to contain children with it. Oh well - we managed and had a great dinner.

Chris didn't feel well, so he, Brent, and the kids left a little bit early (which was more than fine with the kids) so I got to have a little bit of adult time at the end of dinner too. I always appreciate that.

Saturday, we all had an early start. The Maxwells had to vacate the guest apartment (someone else had made reservations before us and needed in) and the kids had a doctors appointment (their cough had been going on for some time and I wanted someone to look at them) - so we were all going before 10. Not unusual for us, but it was for the Maxwells on vacation. The kids have croup, which is just a cough that should clear up, so that made me feel better.

We got the Maxwells checked into their hotel and then we headed over to a place called the Pavilion that has an awesome indoor bouncy house area. There are 6 bouncy things - one just for toddlers, two maze/obstacle course things, 1 giant slide, 1 bouncy place, and 1 basketball court. And, the best part is that adults get to play as well - you only pay for the kids. It was a blast! We were running around with the kids and having just as much fun as they were. Sofia kept trying to ride a turtle in the toddler bouncy house. She'd try to fall off on purpose and laugh like crazy. Will wanted to race everyone through the obstacle courses and beat you down the slide. Such fun!

After all the tiring fun (we were pretty pooped) we put the kids to bed and grabbed Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Chick-Fil-A was running a promo -- any meal/food you ordered this particular day, save your receipt and you get the exact same order for free any day in November. Since we had 10 people ordering, we're going to have a great meal in November. We just love Chick-Fil-A!

We watched U of M football (well, Holly and I watched while everyone else ended up napping) and after an hour of searching for good reviews and an online menu, ordered sushi for Brent's birthday dinner. The place we picked actually got the entire order correct (not easy) and it was really good - Sofia really liked Holly's yaki soba noodles. Brent got 4 new scotch glasses, a Queen greatest hits CD, and a Grand Theft Auto for DS game. The kids and I got him 2 books.

Sunday, we hung out together before heading in two cars to the airport. We had a great time and were all sad to see everyone go, but it was easier knowing that we'd see them in a couple weeks.

Tuesday Basketball Update

Sorry this update is behind - we've been busy, as you'll soon hear all about. Last Tuesday was the first time Brent got to watch Will play basketball and they were both really excited about it.

Since we finally knew where we were going, we actually got a parking spot in the lot - score! And, while we were waiting for warm-up, a little boy walked in and Will got super excited and started waving. This was a new one for me, since I didn't know who that boy was. It worked out well though - his name is Reid and his mom and I really got along so I see some future playdates, which is nice.

Will and Reid ran off to get some balls while his mom, Jaime, and I talked. Then, they warmed up and then split up into lines to shoot hoops. Will's getting better at shooting it up. And, the coaches got smarter about keeping the kids in-line while waiting; they put little spots on the floor and have the kids move up in turn. Very good plan.



After shooting, they got in a circle on the floor again and practiced dribbling. I'm still not clear on why they need to practice while sitting down - maybe I should ask Coach Jim.

Based on the time, we thought they would be done after dribbling - we never really get the full hour (but based on what we pay, we don't complain). But, they went into lines to practice passing the ball again. Will was doing a lot of talking and wasn't really paying attention, so he didn't get too many turns. Maybe next week.

To celebrate the great time we had, we went to Chick-Fil-A. The one near our house offers free kids meals on Tuesday nights, so we were all over that. It was awesome and quite the event. We pulled up and the cow mascot was out greeting people in the drive-through line - Sofia kept trying to get out of my arms and was going, "Moo, Moo!" We get inside and it's a party - there were balloons, a "mad scientist" doing dry ice experiments which both kids loved, and a prize wheel. Every person in the family got a turn - I won a stuffed Elvis cow and everyone else got breakfast food coupons. Awesome! And, we learned that you can trade in your toy for an ice cream cone, so we finished our fun with ice cream cones. I feel a Tuesday sports tradition in the making!

Sick Day

Will had his first official sick day from school today - he woke up last night at 5 am with a slight fever and a very raspy voice. After a brief debate (very brief - it's just, for the amount of money we're paying for 6 hours a week, I really want him to go all he can - I totally sympathize with day care payers on this one), I called into the school and excused him. He slept until 10 am (about 3 hours later than usual). When he woke up and found he couldn't go to school today, he was very upset. Isn't that cute? I know it'll be all too soon when a sick day for him is a party (just like it was for most of us).

After he woke up, he was totally fine and ready to play. In fact, a short time into playing, he decided to jump off his bed and he "bonked" into Trigger, the plastic horse. He split his lip open and was pretty upset. But, he did tell me what he did (I was washing dishes when the accident occurred) and calmed down pretty quickly, so that was good.

I couldn't get him to take a nap and decided that basketball would be OK (not too much close contact with the other kids there). He had a great time (see future post) and feel asleep early tonight. So, with some luck (and a little children's motrin), he'll be even better tomorrow. I sure hope so - the Maxwell clan is visiting starting tomorrow and he's gonna need his energy.

Kiddie Stories

The kids have been pretty funny lately and I thought I should share.

They have started to take the changing pad off the table and putting it on the floor. Then, they both pretend to go to sleep. Will started it and now they both fight for a turn. Sofia says "ni-ni" with a smile and pulls the blanket over her. It's so cute!

The other night I was putting Will to sleep. As I was getting up to leave, he asks me, "Mommy, do you want to hear a great joke?" I, of course, say yes. He says, "There was a train and two cars." I ask him, "What's the joke?" He says, "The train is pulling the cars," and starts laughing. I had to laugh with him.

Sofia has started saying "mine" - oh no! She looks at you (or Will) and starts saying "my, my" and bouncing her knees (cuz that will help get the point across). She does this a lot when you're talking on the phone - she loves to hold the phone and say "hi."

Turn Up the Heat

Fall has finally hit Greenville and I actually had to turn the heat on in the apartment - finally. I know those of you in MI are playing your little violins for me, but still. I was really enjoying the 70 and sunny weather, so the switch to 50 was a shock.

And, it finds me ill-prepared. I don't know what I was thinking, but I did not pack fall/winter clothes for SC. I'm sure I thought that our house would sell and I would have my entire wardrobe back before it got cold. Not so much - at least Mom told Brent to bring me back a fall jacket the last time he was in MI or I would really be out of luck. I may have to go shopping . . . (poor Brent!) :)

Since the house hasn't moved (quite disappointed on that front), we re-upped on the apartment today for another 7 months. And, we're heading to MI in Nov. to pack-up EVERYTHING and move it down - that will be a very busy week sorting things for donation, for friends, for the apartment, and for storage. A lot will be in storage (the kitchen in the place is actually smaller than the one we had in Royal Oak), but at the same time, it will be nice to have it all close-by in case I need it. And, it will be nice to have our own things again. I think it'll help me feel a little less "temporary" and should help the kids too.

Keep the sale of our little house in your best wishes - maybe a miracle will occur while we're packing everything up!

Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road

Ever since Kristi told me about taking the kids on a train in Korea, I've been on the hunt to find a train ride for us. We tried Amtrak, but to get to Atlanta, we would have had to go through DC first and it would have taken 18 hrs versus the 2 1/2 hr drive. How ridiculous is that?

Luckily, a couple of months ago, I stumbled across the web-site for the Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road (http://www.gsmr.com/). Ever since then, Will asked almost every day to look at the photos on the site and we decided to plan a trip.




Because of our schedules, we picked Oct. for our train ride - the most expensive month due to the color change in the trees (remember "leafers"?) Since we booked the trip, Will has been asking when we were going on "Tober" and where we were going. I didn't want him to be upset that we weren't going to be on the steam engine he's seen in the pictures (and on TV) so we made sure he understood we were going on the diesel engine. He did, and got even more excited when he saw more pictures - he even started telling people in the pick-up line at school and his coaches on sports night. It's been so cute!

So, Friday after Brent drove back from TN, we took off for Cherokee, NC. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Greenville and 20 minutes from Bryson City, NC where the train was. Since the train left at 9 am and wanted everyone there around 8 am, we figured a night in the hotel was a good idea.

Sofia had other ideas. They were excited to be in a hotel (they now understand a little more about "vacation") and we tried to get them calmed down around 10, telling Will we had to get up early for the train.

Sofia would not go to sleep for anything. I gave her food, extra milk, held her, rocked her . . . anything! But, she wanted to play and would scream bloody murder if we tried to contain her. Poor Will even put his fingers in his ears and said," Why won't she let me go to sleep?" I felt so badly for him and the people next to us. Finally, a little after midnight, she grabbed the blanket off our bed and laid down on the floor. I let her because I was pretty tired at this point and a 6 am wake-up call was not looking pretty. She was asleep in a few minutes and we put her in the Pack-N-Play and headed to sleep.

We all rolled out pretty early - Will did not want to wake-up until we reminded him about the train. Then, he jumped out of bed and demanded to get dressed. We got to Bryson City with no issue (and even found a better way to get to Cherokee - a little longer but with less harrowing curves to navigate) and grabbed our tickets. While we were waiting, a bluegrass band played music that we enjoyed and reminded Brent of his Seattle washboard days.


From there, we noticed people walking towards their coaches (we were in the Cherokee coach) and we decided to be lemmings and join in. Unfortunately, they were very, very poorly organized and we waited and waited and waited. Will held up really well, but I was holding Fi and she really, really wanted down. They finally let us through the ropes and we made a break for the coach. Since there was no assigned seating, I wanted to make sure we got 4 together, facing each other. We did and got all organized while others got on the train. Then, I did my good deed of the month - a family was split up on the train (2 groups of 4) and asked if we would trade so they could sit together. We said Ok and ended up sitting across the aisle from an Indian family from Florida. Their little girl, Lakena (lac-ah-nuh - not sure if I'm spelling it right - help, Reshma!), was 3 and ended up joining us for about half the ride. The kids played well together and, although a little annoying due to the extra kid watching, it was fun.

The train ride through the mountains was beautiful. It was a little cloudy, but the fog effect on the top of the mountains was so nice. The leaves were starting to turn (I'm sure it'll be even better in the next 2 weeks or so) and it just had such a great fall feel to it all. The mountains, the river, the forests, the clickety-clack of the train - it was great! The kids looked out the windows for a good portion of the ride, which was gratifying.

It was a straight track, so we got to the end and then they switched power to the other engine. Will was very interested in this idea and we kept explaining to him that we weren't really going backwards. I'm sure it gave him some more fun ideas for his own train routes at home.

We stopped for lunch at the Natahala Gorge Nature Center, but we only had an hour and we promised Will we would eat in the dining car. So, we got off the train, walked down (they had to split it in two so we didn't block the intersection for an hour - Will really liked that), and got back on the train in the dining car. We timed it well as we just sat down and then they were full. The food was Ok (we didn't have high hopes) but Will was loving it. They put the train back together and blew the all aboard whistle while we were eating. After we were done, I held Fi and Brent held Will's hand as we walked through the moving train back to our coach. Will liked doing this too.

Unfortunately, we lost our seats and the coach was pretty full. We found 2 seats across the aisle from one another and, after asking the people sitting by the windows, we sat down. I understand that people want to be by the windows - it's beautiful and they paid the same amount of money we did. But, I feel that as a family (key word here - family) of 4 with small children, one of the couples should have antied up and moved for us. Oh well. It was a short trip back (the stop is after the half-way point) and Will was sleeping for most of it. Again, Sofia was a rock star and just wanted to walk around and play.

We got back to the station and woke Will up by reminding him of the train museum - I knew that if we got in the car and he woke up and we hadn't gone to the museum (he's also seen it on-line and was excited to go), we would be in for a huge screaming fit. He perked up as soon as he remembered the museum and was ready to go.

The museum was pretty cool. They have walls and walls of different Lionel trains (most with price tags next to them) and train tables set-up. There were 2 small ones with buttons for the kids to push. Will liked this until he saw the giant train table -- it took up most of the room and had like 8 tracks going, all with different trains. When he first saw it, he said, "OH MY GOD!!" There were tunnels, a city, construction, bridges, a shed, a turntable -- I'm sure it matches Will's dreams of trains and was very cool. We met up with our little friend again here and they all wandered around together looking at different parts.

We ended in the gift shop (we did not buy any trains - I'm very proud; we did buy an ink stamp set with trains and other vehicles for him though) and then headed home. Sofia zonked out almost immediately but Will stayed awake. He chatted with us, sang us songs from school, told us about stories they read at school, and then played pretend for a little while. We ended the day at home with really good Chinese and then the kids and I were all in bed by 9 (so exhausted!).

If anyone in the area wants a great activity, I totally recommend this and can't wait to take the kids again.

Tuesday Sports - Starting Basketball

Tuesday was our first day of basketball! Will was really, really excited and talked about it most of the day. We tried to get out of the house early, as we were going to a new Parks and Rec locale and they are very, very hard to find (more on that later) but Fi was still sleeping and we had to wake her up. That did not go over well. Oh well - I got the troops locked and loaded a little after 5 and away we went.

True to our "let's find t-ball" expedition, this turned out to be much the same. I did think it would be easier this time as I had an actual address (which we lacked for t-ball - luckily, soccer was in the same place as t-ball). However, with as windy and curvy as Greenville is, when the GPS said "You have arrived," there was nothing there. There were houses, businesses, and some other streets in the area, but no Park Avenue Gym. I had written down the cross streets and tried to see them on the GPS map, but I couldn't find it. So, we tried driving in the general area and then I spied a police car. I thought he was stopping, so I took off after him. He lead me into the county jail where the posted signs said no unauthorized vehicles. Oops! I did manage to ask a nice man in blue where the gym was and he gave me directions. I high-tailed it out of there and, luckily, the directions were great. I found it - it would have never happened without asking as it's tucked in behind the county transportation barn, the recycling center, and a cemetery.

Because of where the gym's at, there was very little parking to start with, and by the time we got there, we were #8 on the curb. Except there was no curb and I had to park up on the embankment. Will asked me," Mommy, why did you park up here? Why is the car leaning?"

Coach Jim welcomed us to basketball (we weren't too late) and Will trotted to the circle for warm up. I recognized some kids from t-ball and soccer, and so did Will - that was nice. After warm-up, they took the kids over to some medium hoops to let them try making shots. This one kid was a ringer! They kept moving his "stand here" circle backwards, then off to the sides . . . He hit every shot. Look out!

Will had about 3 kids in front of him when they decided to move all the 3 yr olds to a different group (with smaller hoops). The only issue with this was there were a lot more 3's than 4's, and they had 3 hoops set-up on wall that was probably 9 feet across. Not a lot of space for that many little kids.

They did let Will shot first, which I appreciated. He missed a few and made a few - we'll have to work on it when we get our own hoop back. Then, they moved Will's hoop and group to a different area of the gym. It was much better for everyone that way.

Then they gathered all the 3's on the floor and gave them each a ball. With them sitting on the floor so that their legs kept the ball in place, they worked on dribbling. This had Will laughing most of the time and he did pretty well.

After a brief bathroom break, we came back to the group for passing (see short video). Will's done this before too, but he wasn't quite catching the way the coach wanted. He was very good at throwing it back though - he almost took out the coach! I think it was pretty funny.

After basketball, we celebrated with McD's nuggets and a playplace, since neither of the kids had eaten. Will had fun playing with some boys that showed up. I was inspired by Brent letting Fi run around when I was on my cruise, so I let her tackle the playplace. She really only went up and down the spiral stairs, so I only worried when she was trying to climb down them (she's still working on that part). Then, she really worried me when she found she could hang from the back edge of the top step platform and swing. She did this for awhile, with me saying "Fi, SIT. Fi, DOWN." the whole time - I was freaking out and she was cracking up and gave me her little grin every time she finished. Argh! I might have to find her a gym class too . . .

So, first day of hoops was good fun. I'm excited that Brent will be back next week so he can see all the fun.

New Skinny Jeans

Everyone talks about their "skinny jeans" (Sex in the City phrase). Well, I tried on my old skinny jeans and managed to pull them off while they were still zipped. Yea! I actually had to go out and buy a new pair of skinny jeans -- I'm so excited! I've lost 20 pounds and am quite proud of myself - I couldn't even wait for Brent to get home to take my picture. :)

Thanks mostly to Weight Watchers Online and the Wii Fit - I hope I can keep it off during the colder winter months and maybe even manage to lose a little more.

And, thanks to my readers for letting me brag a bit - like I said, I'm quite proud to actually need new clothes and getting back into others that I haven't seen in a long time.

School Work

I just realized that Will's been off to school for 6 weeks now and I haven't posted any of his art. I've been terribly delinquent - Ann has several posts of Sylvia's artwork (which is lovely - I'm sure she's inherited her mother's creative eye) and she's not even 1!

So, here's a picture of the latest and greatest Will masterpiece. This month's theme is Fall and last week they did quite a bit with apples. They even had an apple tasting and made apple sauce. I'm not sure how they made it, but that's what the flier said and Will said it tasted good.

He's made lots of wonderful art pieces - even branching out into painting. He's definitely still doing "modern" art - he made a picture of his friend, Jackson, and instead of features in the face circle (provided by the teachers), Jackson had squiggly lines.

I'm going to get a little gallery wire think from Ikea to display it all since the fridge just isn't big enough. And, I'll start showing it off here too. Enjoy my little budding artist!

Fall for Greenville

We had a wonderfully busy weekend. There were events all over town for "Fall for Greenville" and we took advantage of all of them.

Friday night, we headed over to the mall for their kids fall carnival. Will was super excited by all the lights and the giant ferris wheel. I haven't been to a carnival in forever and was utterly shocked at how much things cost - we spent $30 and were out of tickets in under an hour and only went on the kiddie rides. Not that we entirely trust the big kid rides - the whole idea of someone taking them apart, moving them, and putting them back together again in a safe manner . . . We've both been through too much automotive life to trust that. :)

But, for Will, we went over to the ferris wheel (they charged us for Fi - how stupid is that). It was early and we were the only ones on it - he had a blast and kept looking at all the lights and the things around us. He really got a kick out of seeing Barnes and Noble from up high. Sofia did well in my lap and didn't squirm until the last bit. I think she liked looking around.

From there, we headed to the merry-go-round. Brent and I both agree that there's just something timeless and wonderful about a carousel. I love them! Before we even got to the horses, Fi was going "neigh, neigh" and trying to get out of my arms to get a horse. Brent held onto Will and I held onto Fi - they both had the biggest smiles. It was great (and they didn't charge Brent and I to ride either, which meant we could do a couple more things.)

From there, Will really wanted to ride the mini-roller coaster (he thought it was a train) but he didn't want to ride it alone (and we weren't sure we wanted him to go on it anyway). He moved onto the Dizzy Dinosaurs and Brent went with him. Brent got it spinning pretty fast (it was hard to get a picture) and Will told him, "Too fast, Daddy. Slow down!" When we were putting him to bed, he actually talked about going on the tea cup ride and spinning at Mickey World - he even remembered that there was a mouse popping up and down. I can't believe he remembered this - it was almost 2 years ago!

We had enough tickets left to ride the merry-go-round one more time and I was able to get a great picture of Sofia enjoying herself. We called it a night and headed home to bed.

Saturday, Barry and Kathy were kind enough to babysit for us so Brent and I could go out to dinner to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. This was the first time they babysat the kids for an extended period of time and we were nervous for them. Not worried, but nervous. We wanted it to go well so that maybe, just maybe they would do it again. :)

We left them with a still sleeping Will (a very unusual thing - he hardly ever naps anymore) and a fussy Sofia (cuz I was leaving). We tried a restaurant downtown, The Brown Street Jazz Club. Choosing a restaurant downtown made driving and parking very hard as all weekend the Taste of Greenville was going on and all the streets that we normally used were closed down. But, we made it.

The venue has great ambiance, they made a killer Huckleberry Cosmo (new one for me - very fun), and we had high hopes. Unfortunately, the restaurant was a disappointment. The food was all over peppered - every dish we had, and I don't add extra pepper to anything - and the service kept getting slower and worse as the night wore on. We wanted to order dessert, but after Brent got cold coffee and it took almost 15 minutes for her to come back to take our order after telling us about the desserts, we decided to call it. With all the other places we haven't checked out, we're not going back to this one.


We got home a little before 10 and walked in the door to 2 very happy children who were running around Will's room. Barry and Kathy were still smiling, which we took as a good thing. They said Sofia never cried, even after we left, and that they all had fun. The piano you see in the picture is actually from Kathy - she's letting us borrow it until we move ours down here - and Sofia loves to play songs to her baby. They've been so good to us and the kids. We were so glad and really appreciated them watching the kids for us - it's so nice to go out and have some adult, alone time.

Sunday was our actual anniversary and we had a great day as a family. We went downtown to hang out for the Taste of Greenville. A ton of restaurants had booths set-up to try different things and there were different bands all over. We walked a little bit and heard a drum circle. We went over to check it out - Brent was really into it, but it was too loud for Will. So, the kids and I wandered around and decided which kiddie ride Will could go on. When we went back to find Brent, Will didn't mind the drums so much so we listened for a bit before heading to the kid zone.

We got balloons first and then Will wanted to do the bouncy slide thing. We let him do that twice (he gets through it so quickly) and then he went in the "normal" bouncy house for a bit. He's so funny about them - he won't go in them alone but has a blast when there are kids in there with him. Luckily, there were lots of kids to bounce with and he had a great time.

We grabbed a slice of pizza for the kids to share and Brent and I both picked out pulled pork sandwiches from Sticky Fingers (anyone who comes to visit will be heading there with us - it's great barbecue). We walked around a little more and listened to some more music before heading home for nap time.

We all had a great weekend and are looking forward to the one coming up - we're going on the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad on Saturday and I can't wait to see how Will likes it.

Picture Day!

Well, family and friends, it's been awhile since I've taken the kids for a photo shoot and today we finally checked out our local JC Penny Portrait Studio. I've been taking the kids to Pennys for pictures since they've been born - my Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike got us a gift certificate there as a baby present and it was one of the best presents we've ever gotten. I really liked the one in MI, but I'm very happy to say that this one is better.

The studio is much larger (thankfully because the one in MI was a broom-closet) and there are more things for the kids to do while I pick and choose which ones I want to buy (always hard, especially when Will's in a good mood - he just takes the best damn pictures!).

The photographer, Patty, was very patient with the kids, especially Fi who hasn't quite embraced her inner super model yet. However, when Patty pulled out a giant Elmo doll, Fi was hooked and we got some good shots. I thought I'd share a few - Enjoy!

Last Soccer Update

Today was our last day of soccer, and to be completely honest, it was a bust. Last week was much more engaging and awesome. Today, they barely did anything and gave out awards after only 40 minutes. It was quite a bummer, especially since Brent couldn't be there last week.

Oh well. Will had a lot of fun - you can see him doing a victory jump/dance after scoring a goal (done before practice started). He warmed up today but instead of running from the fences, they ran from lines today. After almost 12 weeks of fence running, it was a bad change in the routine - for all the kids. Then, they lined the kids up against the fence for stopping the ball. It was not organized at all and the kids were running amuck - climbing the fence (Will and friends), climbing the foul ball pole (Will's friends, not him) . . .



While this madness was going on, Sofia was making friends and playing soccer with Ben's parents (Ben's Mom, Michelle, and I are going to play next week, which I'm totally excited about, but I don't know her husband's name). She was very charming and was having a lot of fun.










Fi also learned how to put the buckles together on her stroller. She's been working on this at every soccer practice, but today, she made the breakthrough and got them together.

The good news for me is that she hasn't figured out how to get them apart. It's bad enough she can now escape from the shoulder straps - I need to have her contained somehow.







At the end (again, way early - it's not supposed to end until 6:30), the kids all gathered around Coach Jim and got their real soccer ball awards. Will now has a size 4 ball to add to his collection. Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike got him his first ball, a 3 (the smallest they make), when he was 1.

After the awards, we played at the nearby park for a bit and then went for traditional post-soccer/sports milkshakes. Good times.

Basketball starts on Tuesday - I'll let you know how it goes!

Shoes and Purses

Anyone who knows me AT ALL knows just how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE shoes and purses. They're just great and a good purse or shoe (even better- both!) can just make my day. It's one of the things I miss about a "real job" - getting to use different purses and wearing all of my great shoes. Heels really don't work well on the playground. :)

Well, it seems that Fi has inherited my love of shoes and purses. The purse pictured here is from Target (gotta love Target). The first time I saw the purse in the store, I looked at it and wasn't sure I liked it, so I tried to put it back. She pitched the biggest fit ever and we ended up carrying it around the store. I put it back right before we checked out (she was distracted by goldfish crackers). The next time we went in, I decided to buy it, take it home, and try it out. I did try it out and still wasn't sure. Normally, this means I would take the purse back and continue my quest until I found one that was just right.

Fi was sure this purse was totally right though - we can't get it away from her and when we try, she throws the biggest tantrums - feet kicking and everything. It's hilarious! So, now she carries it around all the time and I'm not sure I'll ever get a chance to actually use it.

She's also started wearing my shoes around the house. She actually gets them on the right feet (most of the time) and can get around pretty well. It's pretty cute and makes me wonder what it will be like to share shoes with her. Although, her feet are so big that it might happen in middle school for her . . . Guess we'll just have to wait and see. :)