Three-nager to Four

In March out little girl turned 4 and like her brother, she could not wait to be another year older. I believe we began keeping track of the countdown to her and her brother's birthday back in December. But I get it, birthdays are special and all about you. I'm a big fan of being pampered and celebrated.

As she looks up to her big brother, she wanted to celebrate her day at the same place...Skyzone. And so we did...they jumped and laughed and we even had some tears. But that is life with a newly minted 4 year old. All drama. All. The. Time. I am not looking forward to the preteen or teen angst or drama. But hopefully I will be better prepared to deal and function during that time in her life.

After Skyzone the birthday girl requested we eat at Cowfish...a sushi burger joint that is pretty awesome. I mean, it has to be awesome if the kids are asking to go, right? We have yet to have a bad meal there and I have to admit when they ask to go, I giddy too.

This is how our favorite girl has grown from the side eye giving newborn to the sassy princess. Everyone says they grow up in a blink of an eye but I don't feel it. Not yet. I hope time always moves at the pace it is going and that my little girl is always my little girl.

Snow Days

This last month and a half presented some colder than normal weather here in Raleigh, which in turn produced snow. I was happy to see it and mostly okay with the snow days and of course a snow storm is not complete without taking the kids out to play in it...even if they only lasted about 30 minutes before wanting to go back in!

There were moments that it truly was magical, especially when we didn't have any place to be. I see now why at Christmas it is such a wished for event.

50

That's the number of days since I last updated. I wish I could say that we've been so busy doing so much fun stuff that I just haven't had time to update. But that would be a lie. We have been busy and some of it has been fun but the real truth is that there just aren't enough hours in the day. And when I get a moment to jump on the computer I have a list of all the things I need to look up, check, buy, pay, etc. Which leaves little time for old blog. C'est la vie, right?

We moved into our new home and I am happy to say it went very smoothly. Thankfully this will be the last time we have to move in quite a while. The next time will either be to the beach or an old folks home. I have my fingers crossed it's the beach...

It took about two weeks for me to settle into life in our new home and for the first week when the Husband was at work, I was scared to venture to the first floor. Lots of windows, a big scary backyard and no curtains had me pretty freaked. Once I got use to the noises of the house and the neighborhood it was much better. We still don't have curtains (*don't judge*) but I now know where all the light switches are which is way helpful. Especially since we have some banging floodlights around the house.

The kids pretty much settled right into the house. They both got new beds and fresh paint and they never made a peep about missing the 'green' house. I don't blame them...I don't miss it either. It was a great place to get our Raleigh bearings but that's about it.

In June we added to our family and rescued a cat. The Husband really isn't a cat person but he let me get my way on this one. Mojo, which is what we named the furball is pretty laid back. Especially since the kids never get tired of chasing him. He runs but then always comes back for more. We could not have picked a better cat.

The kids have spent the summer taking swimming lessons and getting ready for our yearly fall trip to the beach. We are hoping that they will be more inclined to jump in the pool now that they've had some practice. Time will tell.

In a few more weeks Spencer will go back to school and Teagan will start her first year. She is ready to go and I don't expect her to shed any tears. I may be the only one that does that day. I recently took Spencer for a play date and Miss T had a full on fit because she wanted to stay. Anyone that knows me, knows that I just don't leave my kids. It was probably a small miracle that Spencer has graduated to play dates where I don't stick around. So imagine my surprise when the other mom told me I could leave her. Luckily they have a 2 year old girl as well so it wasn't like T was alone tagging after the boys. So I left her...for 3 hours. She didn't miss me until about 5 minutes before I came back. Little stinker!

So that's all I got folks. My next update won't be as long, I have a review of Blog Design for Dummies coming so stay tuned!

 

11

11 is the number of months we have been calling Raleigh home. And we like it, the vibe and the whole city in general just seem to suit us. And now that we've closed on our forever home, we are ready to lay down our roots. To make this city, ours.

I am now only blogging once a month. I have lost the oomph to keep it up and keep up with all things social media. I remember when Twitter was my vice and now I rarely go and visit and when I do I never find anything that I missed. Though there are people I miss but they too have moved on and I am sure not missing me. I think social media is sort of fickle that way...

I've gone back and forth with possibly saying good bye to this little spot on the internet and maybe starting fresh. After having my first child and finding the "mommy bloggers" I went all gung-ho with it and really feel like I'm more lost than I was before. I was never really looking to make money from this or any blog really and I think I got wrapped up in all the excitement of things that were happening for other bloggers. They were attending a slew of conferences and I thought I should be too. They were getting invited to cool events and I thought, why not me too? The difference? They were working hard for those opportunities and branding themselves and their blogs. They were/are turning their blogs into businesses. I was just following along, thinking I needed to do the same. Only I didn't. And I haven't.

So that is where I am. Do I keep going and just change the name of this blog, along with the url or do I being anew? I've had this blog for 5 years and already changed the name once. I know that I don't want to let it go completely but is starting fresh the way to go? Just when I thought I had the answers...

30

That is just about how many days before we have a permanent residence in Raleigh. The first time Hubby and I looked for a house...I didn't step foot in it until we were married and on our honeymoon. I saw pictures and if I remember correctly, I found it online and he went to see it and next thing I knew he was buying us a house. This was all before kids and after living in apartments, living with crazy roommates and in shoeboxes (long story for another post) and so my requirements were minimal. I didn't know enough about Georgia and was ready to get my suburban swerve on and so we did.


This time around I once again found the house online and because of the market here, didn't waste any time doing a neighborhood drive-by. That proved to meet our basic requirements and so I followed up with our agent to see it ASAP. I poured over the pictures, trying to look for things that were missing and really just trying to get a feel for the house before we went to walk inside. A picture is worth a 1000 words but in real estate I find that a picture leaves out 1000 words. We had learned this lesson in several of the previous homes before this one.

When we finally made it inside and I was able to look around...the home struck me. I could suddenly see myself there and that had never happened with any of the other homes we had seen. We had actually fallen in love with another home but for one thing or another it wasn't meant to be. And when it became obvious that it wasn't, I was let down but not as much as I should have been.

But this home? I was very nervous it would be snatched up because walking through it has given me a sense of belonging. For whatever reason, it is where we are meant to be. And we can't wait!

Anyone want to lend me their interior design skills?

6

That's right, December marked our sixth month here in North Carolina. And it is beginning to feel more comfortable. Though I will be over the moon ecstatic when we finally get into a house that is truly ours. But aside from that I think things are falling into a groove that is comfortable for all of us.

New Year's came and went without much fanfare and just as last year was a big year for us, looks like this year will also be big. Maybe big isn't the right word...full is a better word. We are now amping up our search for a home to buy and it's not as easy as it might seem. Tim and I go back and forth when trying to decide about long term. The only factor that is constant is that we know we want to stay in North Carolina. Do we stay where we are, do we move closer to the airport? Do we venture further from both (like we did in Georgia) and get more house for our money? And then there are the things we need in a house versus want. Those seem to change depending on the house we look at! Today we love a big yard and then tomorrow we don't. But in the end, I think we will both know when we have found our house...because it will just feel right.

And while we have a house search going on I would love to say that I found my niche and am surrounded by wonderful new friends for the kids and myself. But it hasn't happened. I was all gung-ho when we got here and then I began to doubt myself and how involved I really want to be. Call it a midlife crisis (40 is slowly creeping closer) or a motherhood rut. I've made a few friends but the reality is that they all have their own friends and it's hard being the new gal and wondering where and how to fit yourself in. So I'm back to the drawing board with that one. It really is hard to make new and good friends as you get older. Ugh!

3 Weeks

So today marks 3 weeks since we started calling Raleigh home. And yet even with all our items in the house and the kids settling in...something feels off.

 It may be the fact that I need to get our routine back or maybe just get use to the layout of the house. Or it could just be that I know this home is not our last stop and subconsciously I am anxious, not able to let myself truly relax. I may be over thinking things but hopefully I will find myself settling down and just enjoying our new surroundings soon!

Spencer really enjoys the playroom and has found a few toys he had forgotten about (probably because we hid them) and Teagan enjoys that just about everything is within her reach. Though the other day I did catch her trying to climb up the bin shelf! If I had to bet, I would say she is way more daring than her brother was at 16 months. He may have been walking before she did but that has not slowed her down in the least.

We've been having a hard time with finding a school for Spencer. Or really, just having them call us back. But we do have an appointment to tour one tomorrow. Not sure if it will be THE one but at least it is a start. I waffle back and forth with sending Spencer to school but then he does something over the top and I wonder why I can't send him 7 days a week! Ha-ha! I really think he needs more than I can offer him at home. I have a hard time STILL with both kids. When is that suppose to get better?

I'm hoping to make some outings and meet a few mom's and hopefully make a friend or two, for me and the kiddos. Maybe that will help me feel more settled? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile he are some pictures from these past 3 weeks.

The playroom. Can you hear the angels sing?

Blurry..but T was pretty happy playing at PlayNation!

Someone gets up TOO early and so he MUST nap.

Peek-a-boo at Honeycutt Park

Raleigh or Bust

The movers came last week and spent all day trudging from the house to the truck to load all our belongings. Neither my husband or I have ever dealt with movers and so we had no idea how long it would take. We both figured it would take 3 or 4 hours. We were both wrong. But we were happy to not have to be doing all the moving. Trust me, the packing was enough.

My last view of the home we brought both children to was bittersweet. I tried not to think too much about it as Tim circled around for one last look. I did manage to grab my Blackberry and snap a photo:

Last look

The ride to Raleigh actually went pretty smooth. We had one tiny tantrum and that's because baby Girl was tired. We've figured out the key to road trips is stopping about every 2 hours to let the kids stretch their legs and get some energy out. For this trip we were hoping to make as few stops as possible. Tim loaded up the car with treats and gifts for the kids and that was a lifesaver.

Seeing our rental, it was just as cute as we remember the outside to be and of course I had to herd the family together for a photo to commemorate the occassion:

And while this house is a stopping point as we determine whether Raleigh is a good fit for us and look for a home to buy...it is home. Home because as long as I have my kids and my husband, any place is home.

It's Official, Yo!

So we now have a place that we will be calling home come June and for the next year. Who knew that renting would be as stressful as it was? Not that I was really stressed, it just seemed to take longer than it should have. Apparently the rental market in Raleigh is doing quite well!

We went back and forth between renting and possibly just buying a home. Our realtor was adamantly against us buying anything without having lived in the area for a bit. And I get that, a good realtor should steer you that way. But when we bought our current home, I came not knowing what I was in for. I moved from a place we called the shoebox to a 3 bedroom home 25 minutes south of the Atlanta airport. I didn't step foot in our new home until after we were married and spent the night before we took off for Maui. And the only thing I had issue with? The bright green wall that made the living room seem tiny. Oh and the 90's wallpaper. But I knew that first night it was home and I wasn't worried.

But in just a few weeks (1 month and 2 weeks to be exact) we will be calling a new place home. I am most excited about the fact that there will be an actual bonus room...where I can stash all the kids toys and shut the door. No longer will I have to walk into a living room that looks like an aisle at Toys R Us. Seems silly that something as simple as a bonus room has me excited...but there you have it.

And without further ado...this is where we will be calling home for the next 365: