Randoms - Take 2

I'm still catching up on some things we've been up to lately!  Unfortunately over the past week, I have definitely not been feeling myself.  A bug has been going around our house & I have been completely zapped of any & all energy.  All you moms out there know what happens when you're under the weather... the house falls into disarray!  Despite feeling yucky this morning & being up for hours last night, I'm going to plug away in hopes to get ready for a camping trip we have planned with friends this weekend.  I'm hoping & praying I can get some rest & feel better before Friday afternoon because camping while sick is no gouda!  Sometimes I think camping in general is no good... I mean, I have a perfectly warm & comfortable house, why in the heck would I voluntarily choose to sleep outside with the bugs in the 40 degree weather?!?!  The things you do for your kids!

 Before the baseball season picked back up last weekend, we took advantage of our last free weekend & did some local, touristy stuff which I love.  When you live near the Gulf beaches of Florida, there are plenty of interesting things to do!

We hit the St. Pete Saturday Morning Market which is an awesome arena of local shops & restaurants with plenty of yummy foods.  The bonus is that the area is positively gorgeous & it's right on the water.

The kids' favorite part was climbing the amazing trees that scatter throughout St Pete.  My not so favorite part was stepping into a huge pile of dog poop that an inconsiderate pet owner left behind!  I dragged my shoe through the grass in attempts to rid myself of the mess as the kids ran away from me because of the awful stench!  Good times!

There was a car show going on & I fell in love with this turquoise VW Bus... what a dream it would be to drive this thing!

In other happenings, I dusted off my inline skates & hit the trail that I often walk on near Reese's daycare.  Lets just say that my outing was not a success.  These bad boys were in my garage, baking in the heat for the past ten years & apparently that took a toll on the wheels.  After feeling like I was skating up Mt Everest, I accepted defeat & did the walk of shame back to my car, in my socks!  Ya win some, you lose some!

The weather has been gloriously chilly so we've spent a lot of time walking & playing outside.

We also opened a level II NICU at my hospital which has been both exciting & challenging.  I'm an acute care, clinical dietitian who has only worked with the adult/elderly population so this is a whole new ballgame!  Of course, the NICU opened in our busiest season at the hospital.  Lets just say, I've been working long hours at a go-go pace!

We've been playing with the many, many games the kids got for Christmas this year.

They asked me if I wanted to play the pie in the face game... "No thanks, I'm good!"

A few weeks ago, we wrapped up the holiday season with our annual kid's gift exchange at Auntie Lo Lo's house.

Lauren's so crafty & creative so she had the kids make an ice cream cone/cupcake Christmas tree which was super cute.

And last but not least, I have been love, love, loving the aviators Mike got me for Christmas!!!  I could totally hang with Tom Cruise on Top Gun now!!

Randoms - Take 1

I love weekends where we have absolutely nothing planned; this weekend happened to be one.  It always seems that we have the most fun when things happen organically & there are no expectations set.  I woke up this Sunday morning to a cool, gloomy day which is perfect for sipping coffee, opening the sliders to feel the cool breeze & lighting a ton of candles.  Since I had some time today, I went through all the pictures on my phone & realized just how much we've done since a bit before Christmas!

 

I love living in Florida, but I have to say summer is absolutely miserable; it's like living under a stifling, wet blanket for 5 months.  We had a mostly hot December, so I'm thrilled that the weather is now cool & we can actually go outside without sweating profusely.  Winters in Florida are the best!



Before Christmas we had a teaser of a cold day so we made sure to spend plenty of time outside.



We hit Largo Central park & the kids had a blast on their awesome playground. 





Then we went to the Florida Botanical Gardens which is so darn pretty.



Although this random face on a tree was just a little creepy.



Years ago, before we had kids, Mike & I visited the botanical gardens & sat in these Adirondack chairs & I made him promise me that someday we'd have a pair in our yard.  They're wooden, sit deep & comfy & even have a foot rest which is a must.  It's been about ten years since then & I don't yet have them in my yard!!



We randomly saw a sign for a place called Heritage Village while we were visiting the gardens, so we checked it out.  It turned out to be pretty cool!  I always love looking at really old buildings & houses.



We were in a really old church & while Cam stood at the front, Mike belted out, Feliz Navidad as if he were singing to a congregation, although the church was totally empty.

After dinner we were right down the street from the condo my parent's used to own for nearly twenty years.  They bought it when I was about fifteen so there are plenty of memories at this beach.  I'm so sad they sold it four years ago!!



It was freezing but the kids wanted to splash their feet in the waves so we let them.



Before we knew it, they were completely soaked but having an absolute ball!

Luckily there's a hot tub at the pool area of the condo, so they got nice & toasty while soaking.  As we sat at the pool area watching them play, Mike made a comment that he wished we were staying the night on the beach.  Then he remembered an app called Hotel Tonight & we found a hotel on the beach for $60.  We called our neighbor who agreed to take our dogs out, ran to CVS for a few essential items & headed to the hotel without telling the kids.  They were so excited when we pulled up & told them we were staying.  Looking back, they say that their favorite thing about it was watching TV in the same room!



I woke up bright & early, before everyone else & walked the beach for nearly two hours.  It was absolute bliss!!  I tend to be an anxious person & being on the water is so calming for me... I dream to live on the beach!



The next morning we headed home but made a pit stop for some bagels & doughnuts.  It was such a great weekend!

 

Side photo I thought I'd share... Before Christmas, I heard the kids playing by our secondary tree so I asked them to leave the presents alone.  In unison, they both said, "Okay!"  Five minutes later I check on them, only to find this!  They listen so well!

Christmas of 2015 & a Happy 2016!

We had a very nice Christmas this year (or should I say last year since it's officially 2016?!)  It was a busy but fun time spent with family over some yummy food.  Christmas Eve was very laid back; both Mike & I had the day off work which was wonderful.  My parents, sister & nieces came up early so we hung out, sipped mimosas, listened to Christmas music & watched a few Christmas movies until Mike & Mel were able to get here.

 

It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without the cousins annual photo in front of the tree.  We started the tradition when we celebrated our first Christmas in our new house in 2012.

It's fun to see just how much the kids have grown over the four years we've been in this house.  That's what Christmas is all about; being with people you love & creating new memories!

I love having extra days off at work to spend with my family during the holidays.  I cherish it before it's time to start the new year & get right back into the hectic schedule.

The kids were super excited to get into their gifts as any child is Christmas morning!  I'm someone who has to open presents on by one vs. everyone just tearing in to things.  I love to savor the morning & try not to rush through it since it's over so quickly anyway.  I also love to see the kids reaction to what they get.

As you can see on Cam's face above, he certainly wasn't trilled to be getting kisses from his baby sister!

After opening presents on Christmas, we headed to my parents house.  Since Christmas fell on a Friday, we all had the next day off so we were all able to spend the night to extend the holiday & family time.  Now it's a fresh new year & I'm ready for it!  I never start the year with resolutions, I just take time to think about how to do things better.  Be a better mom, wife, dietitian, organized, sane person.  I kicked off my first Wednesday off of the new year today by scouring & organizing our laundry room.  Fresh new year, fresh house!  Happy 2016!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

As of Monday night, we're officially done with Christmas shopping & wrapping!  What a relief.

I do 95% of my shopping online since I loath crowds & shopping in general.  But, each year around Christmas, Mike & I take a day off to get the last minute, random items I'm not able to get online.  After we finished Monday, we celebrated over a couple of delish margaritas.  It's a fun way to be productive & to actually get some time together alone while the kids are at school.  I look forward to it each year.

I picked up some pre-made gingerbread houses at Walmart for the kids to work on while we watched the Bears game Sunday.  I must be honest, they did a pretty pitiful job, randomly sticking a few gummies on each house, here & there. 

Since I like to display them on our fridge, I put a little elbow grease into them & finished them myself.

I keep this little tree in our living room as a way to separate our gifts from my immediate family's gifts.  We host Christmas Eve each year & exchange gifts between the grand kids, nieces, aunts, uncles & Grandma & Grandpa.  My own family of four wait until Christmas morning to do gifts & a couple of years ago, I kept our gifts under the main tree & they were a huge mishmosh mix up when my family arrived Christmas Eve.  This little tree keeps them nicely divided.

I decorated this plant with festive ball lights & ornaments & every time I pass it on my way to our bedroom, it makes me happy.

Our family room makes me the happiest though; it's so full of lights!  At night when the kids go to bed & the house is quiet, I love just sitting & enjoying it.  I'm going to miss all these lights when Christmas is over!  Hard to believe that Christmas Eve is a little more than one short week away.

I assembled teachers gifts on my day off today.  I made a German chocolate cookie recipe from the Food Network & my super easy, standard pretzel turtle.  Nothing like a dessert that takes under 10 minutes from start to finish (other than unwrapping each Rollo).  Click here for the cookie recipe & here for the turtle recipe.

This fat little ba**ard of a cat thinks his lounging area is our kitchen table.  I may call him names, but I do love him so!  Random story, but in the thirteen years of owning pets, we were struck with fleas.  When I first saw the dogs scratching, I joked about it while my sister was over, thinking it was nothing.  Lauren said that if it was fleas, it would be awful since she dealt with them, but I totally blew her off, thinking she was exaggerating.  Wrong.  It was AWFUL.  Luckily I vacuum & do laundry constantly, so they never got to be a problem around the house, just on the pets.  Casper (the cat above) licked himself so much that he ended up having a raw backside & losing a ton of weight.  No topical flea treatments helped, but luckily the vet prescribed each pet a pill that killed every flea within four hours.  GOOD RIDDANCE!!! 

Anyway!  We have one more weekend before Christmas & the big day will be here!  The weather will finally, finally be cooler this weekend; it's been hot, humid & quite yucky here in Florida.  I hope to fill the weekend with outdoor activities during the day & Christmas light exploring at night.  My number one favorite day in the whole year is December 24th.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

Sick little princess

Yesterday was my usual Wednesday off & since the weather has been so nice, Reese & I walked Cameron to school.  We had a great morning & Reese was happy as could be.  When we got back home, I told her I had some wrapping & cleaning to do so I put a movie on for her upstairs in our bonus room (which Mike wants to call our rumpus room!)  I periodically checked on her & I noticed she was very often covered up & on the couch but still not complaining of anything.  When she didn't eat the lunch she normally scoffs, I felt her head & she was burning up.

 

The first swipe of the thermometer showed 103.6 degrees; poor girl!  I gave her Motrin & laid with her & within a half hour she was a sweaty mess with a normal temp.



She seemed better as we took the short drive to pick Cam up after school & by the time we were driving home, she was crying that she was tired.  I got her cozy with a movie & she fell asleep until we were just sitting down to dinner.  That's when she woke up crying & as I comforted her, she puked ALL OVER!!  It was a hot mess & the poor girl was in hysterics.  After we both cleaned up, I put her to bed with me & she thankfully slept through the night with no more pukes!!  It's amazing how quickly one can go from feeling well to feeling like garbage.  But, I'm home from work today to nurse my sweet girl back to good health!  On top of Reese being sick yesterday, Cam came home with a swollen lip, all gashed up inside from a classmate punching his water bottle as he drank from it.  This is two days in a row of an injury from the same little a**hole kid (Monday he kicked Cam in the face!!!)  so I was not a happy camper.  On top of it, he had been sent to the clinic at school to treat his lip & no one had the decency of notifying me!  I emailed his teacher as soon as I got home; poor communication makes me crazy!

As much as it stinks that Reese is sick, I'm so glad it's this week & not Christmas!  What a bummer that would be.  I'm praying this bug gets out of our house before then.  Speaking of our house, it's all decked out this year since we put colorful lights around our family room (oddly enough, I got the idea from the movie Home).

Reese was having a fun week before she got sick..  She made a snowman made out of a tube sock & rice at school.



And she went to a princess birthday party for her friend, Sophie.  She loved getting her makeup, hair & nails done; right up her alley!

Reese is 100% girl & loved being pampered & showing off her stuff on the runway.  It was so stinking cute & I think I smiled the entire hour & a half we were there!

I couldn't resist sharing this monstrosity of a picture from a recent "Awkward Christmas Party" we went to.  I picked up these gorgeous sweaters from Target & Mike decided it would be perfect to go without a shirt under the sweater vest.  Of course, it looked like he had a sweater on since he's such a hairy beast!  It was quite hilarious.