It's 3:30pm and I'm still in my pjs

It's just one of those days. It's chilly, I had no where to go, so I'm still in my pjs. Lise' is too. What a day. I'd love to say that I lounged all day, but truly I haven't. With 2 kids I'm not sure that's possible. Where I'd really love to be right now is curled up with both of them in my bed for naps underneath the quilt, but it's not going to happen, so why even try. Instead, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the move one week from today. It's not going so well. I've started the wash, I've put away most of the clothes from our trip to Louisiana last week, but there are still piles of mail and other things cluttering my kitchen counter.

It's that stuff, like coupons, that isn't something I have to keep, but maybe I'll have an urge to buy something at Bed Bath & Beyond, and then I'll really wish I had that coupon.

Then, there are other random things that enter my mind a mile a minute. I'm worried about remembering to set things aside so they don't get packed by the movers such as keys to this house, garage door openers and the like. I'm worried about remembering what to pack for the road trip to NJ. I'm worried about emptying my refrigerator in the most efficient way and remembering to empty the sugar jar so the movers won't pack it full. I'm worried about finding things when the boxes do arrive in NJ, etc. I'm just becoming a total worry wart. On top of that, with every hour that passes, I'm a little sadder to say goodbye to Tuscaloosa. When I started this post, we were down to 7 days. As soon as I finish, I'll go to bed, and when I wake up, it will be 6. It was so easy to talk about the move when we didn't have a house. Then we found one, and it was still ok b/c we hadn't closed on the house. Now B is actually in the house and ripping carpet out, and it's all very real. We're now down to the point that when the doc says I need to bring Abri in for a follow up on her reoccurring ear infection, I have to say that I can't because 10 days from now we won't be here. I can't even order Christmas presents online because I can't ship it to AL b/c I won't be here, and I don't want to send it to NJ b/c I won't be there yet. MY LIFE IS IN LIMBO!!!!!!

I know I'll be back, and I know I'll always have the friendships that were started here. I also know that New Jersey will be great, and there are great friendships ahead of me. It doesn't make it any easier though. Just know that I'm putting on a strong show here. I'm doing my best not to get emotional for me, the kids and those I have to say goodbye to. Although our time here was short, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Enough of the emotions. I'm a girl, I'm entitled!

On another note, I had an enjoyable experience tonight. With all the craziness that surrounds my life these days, it's easy to put the holidays on the back burner. Tonight though, my friend Jennifer (aka Momma Jennifer) invited me and the girls to FUMC this evening for the Hanging of the Greens Worship Service. I've been around the church for at least 6 months now, so it's not a new thing, but this service was unlike any other I have ever encountered. It wasn't stuffy, it wasn't long, it was just plain beautiful. Apparently it's an old English custom of decorating with evergreens and other items to celebrate Advent and Christmas. As each item was presented, the meaning behind that custom was read and the item was brought forward to decorate the sanctuary. By the end, the church had been transformed into a celebration of the season. I will never look at lights in a tree the same way again. Thanks Momma Jennifer!


PS, I promise I didn't wear my pj's to church :-)

And the Countdown Begins..8 days

:-(

The girls and I have officially made it back from our final visit to Louisiana before we make the trek north. What a great time we had. After Thanksgiving on Thursday, B and I took our seats in Death Valley for the final game of the season. What a game. We're still glad we went, but man, what a game!

On Saturday, we headed to Hammond for a little after Turkey Day party. The food was great, the company was even better, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. It made it that much harder to say goodbye.

B flew back to NJ on Monday morning, and as much as we wanted to stay behind, I needed to get back to Alabama to start the goodbyes.

We've been here 28 hours, and we've already had 2 dinners with the Colvins ( Ira, Flossie and Momma Jennifer). Last night, we joined them for their jaunt to the Home Depot for their Christmas tree. We then followed them home and watched as Momma Jennifer almost crunched the tree as she pulled into the garage. OOPS :-) Luckily for the tree, Momma Jennifer still has her hearing, and she stopped just shy of the tree shreiking in pain. With the disaster averted, the tree was brought into the house, and a little team of elves helped decorate. They were sure proud of their designs.

Here's a pic or two of the night as well as one from Uncle PJ's birthday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great day here in Baton Rouge. We spent the day with the Dysart clan, and as usual, the food was excellent and the company was even better. Lise' had a great time. She even surprised us by asking my Aunt Theresa if she could go home with her. My aunt actually lives in Houston, but she is staying at my cousin's home who has twin 6 year old boys. So, we packed her up and sent her on her way. When B and I went to get her later in the evening, she didn't want to leave. She had a ball.

Abri on the other hand is having a rough go of things. Last night broke the streak of sleeping thru the night. She was restless all night. We got a little shut eye here and there, but nothing like we were getting used to. Tonight, it looks like we have another rough one ahead. We're beginnign to think that her ear infection isn't getting any better. We'll see how tonight goes.

B's got big plans to hit Target in the morning. Good luck to all you other shoppers out there. I may go with B, otherwise, I think I'm just headed to the Red Door with my mom, and then on to the LSU game.

Before I go, I thought I'd let you all know a few of the things we're thankful for this year:

1. For all our friends and family. Whether you are near or far, know that each and every one of you are in our hearts.

2. For our kids. What fun they make our lives. We can't imagine it without them.

3. For B's job. We're just thankful he has one at this point.

4. For the opportunities that have come our way and for those we have yet to see.

Happy Turkey Day everyone. We love you.

Not a coupon, but close

As the holiday shopping is near, I wanted to let a few of you Internet shoppers out there in on a secret you may or may not know about. Whenever you are about to buy something off the Internet, before you click order, do a quick search on your favorite search engine to see if there are any promotions going on out there. For example, within the last week, I've ordered things from both Land's End and the Company Store. Before ordering, I typed "Land's End promo code" into Google and a list of sites came up. The same happened for The Company Store. For both, I ended up with a code for free shipping. And, copy down several. Sometimes it takes more than one try before you get a winner. Some sites require you to sign up before they will let you in on the free secrets. I don't use those. Instead, I stick to the ones like www.retailmenot. It's a dollar here and a dollar there, but remember, it all adds up.

And that, as my good friend Martha would say is, "A Good Thing."

Happy Birthday Uncle P.J.!!!

Yes, little PJ is 28 today. We had a family birthday party for him last night. Lise' was the party planner. She chose Elmo as the theme for the plates. There were party hats too. Lise' doesn't believe in a party without hats. She also chose blue as the color of the cake. Grandma cooked a feast that was enjoyed by all. Thanks for turning a year older PJ.

PS...In the event you're keeping track, Abri has now slept 6 nights in a row. Hip, hip, hooray!

With that, I'll sign off. Tomorrow is a big one.

Give Abri a Hand!

She's slept 5 whole, entire nights!!!! That is huge news to a sleep deprived mama. After 9.5 hours, I'm more than happy to get her out of her crib at 5:30am. It will be interesting to see if she completes a 6th tonight. See, we're now in Louisiana, and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the location change doesn't mess with the Mojo.

To be continued.....

It's official

We are homeowners in the Garden State. B has the keys, and has even shared a beer with our real estate agent as they pondered over which wall should come down first.

The countdown begins. The moving company will arrive on Monday, December 3 to begin the packing. It's a 3 day ordeal, and then we will be on our way to New Jersey. We'll roll in just in time for Christmas. So, for all you Christmas card senders, here's our new address: (removed for the freaks out there, so if you're friend, call, I'll give it to you.)

For a good laugh at my expense

Ok, it's no secret that I flew back from NJ with the girls alone last Tuesday. When we got to security, I was busy showing ID when the security guard suggested a nearby newscrew interview us for a piece on traveling with kids. I thought they were just videoing the children, and I went on with my business of proving that I was in fact the person on the boarding pass. During that time, they started interviewing B. I was thrilled they were talking to him b/c it meant I didn't have to be on camera. That all changed when they asked him how he prepares for a big trip with kids. B's answer, "you should really talk to her (ME!). Yes, so I was thrust into the spotlight. Be kind when you view this. I could let this just go unmentioned, but in the spirit of giving, I thought I'd share a laugh! Click here for fun.

Sweet Home Alabama...

For 3 more weeks that is. Yesterday, Lise', Abri and I flew back from NJ. It's sure good to be home.

I'm sure you're wondering how our trip went, and if not then stop reading now.

The four of us left a week ago Monday. We stayed at an Embassy Suites, which was nice for the room and the breakfast. Lise' especially liked the fountain in the atrium. Her day went something like this:

She would wake up and stand outside the hotel room waving good-bye to her Daddy as he left for work. A short time later, me and the 2 girls would head down for breakfast ourselves. Lise' especially enjoyed choosing her own breakfast. Pancakes and bacon was her choice most days. We'd then head to the fountain for her to throw money in. We'd then hang out while she put her hands in the water and played around a little. After a few turns around the atrium, we'd head back to the room where she'd play with puzzles or play-doh. Eventually, we'd eat lunch, take naps and look forward to B returning from work. Lise' sure loved being in the hotel. She loved opening the door and letting herself out (it didnt take us long to start flipping over that little lock at the top of the door), she enjoyed getting ice and especially pushing the elevator buttons. On the last night we were there, she got a little brave and ran out ahead of us. Rather than waiting at the elevator for us, she pushed the button and hopped on. I saw her independence and let the elevator door close just far enough to put her into a panic. Hopefully it taught her a short term lesson.

Overall, the trip was good. It was especially nice to be back together as a family, even if it was only for a week. I did have a car for 2 days, and I'm quite happy to say that I've conquered my fear of NJ highways. If you've never been there, there's absolutely nothing like it. There are just roads everywhere. If it wasn't for the GPS, I'm not sure I would have made it. Even with it, I found myself stuck on roundabouts more than once.

Oh, and I'm sure many of you are wondering how our night out in NYC went. Well, as a whole, it was great. However, if you've been keeping up with the news, the stage hands decided to go on strike the day we had tickets to see JERSEY BOYS. I guess my intro to Broadway will have to be postponed. We still took a limo into the city, so we were able to sit back and enjoy the views. Dinner was at Keen's Chophouse, and it was beyond delicious. B and I shared a 10oz piece of Kobe Beef that just melted in your mouth. There's just no way to describe how good it was. It momentarily made us forget about the fact that we weren't going to a show afterwards. If you check out the website, be sure to read the history. And, if you view the different banquet rooms, look at the ceiling. Those are a few of the 95,000 they have displayed from their collection. The good news is that we'll have the opportunity to return. That's part of the reason we jumped at the chance to live in NJ for a while.

Sorry for the rambling. I'm more than ready to go to bed, but wanted to let you know how our trip went.

Too cute not to tell you

Just finished writing the last blog, and I walked into the den. Abri was fighting going to bed, so I had left her with B. Turns out, she's good at putting him to sleep too.

Look Ma, No Hands

Ok, really she's been doing this for weeks, but I never seem to have the camera around to capture it. If I do, she immediately drops to the floor in a race for the camera. She's a quick one, this Abri. She's a climber too. The other day, I caught her on the first step of a stool we have for Lise'. The next, she was up in the dishwasher. Gotta watch this one. She has also discoverd the toilet paper rolls. It's just the right height for her to stand up and completely unroll the entire thing.

Other than chasing Abri all over the place, the world has been rather quiet around here. We're super happy to report that B came home again this weekend. It's just a little harder everytime he leaves. Lucky for us, we're going back to NJ with him tomorrow. B still has to work, but it sure will be nice to have him back with us at night.




On Saturday, B and I are going out with all the managers of his new plant. The outing includes dinner in NYC and the Broadway show JERSEY BOYS. I cannot wait. I've only seen NYC from across the Hudson, and now, my first visit will include a show. How exciting is that?

Well, I must run. There's packing to be done.