Love...in Birthday Party Form

So we had C and B's combined birthday party yesterday.  Our "family agreement" was we would only do parties for the kids every other year.  We decided to bypass our rule this year because we were in a new location and we thought a party would be a good way to get to know some of our newer acquaintances better and open up our home to those we already knew.  Not to mention C is gaga about birthdays right now; its funny how they realize its their special day from 3 onwards.

At the end of the event we felt blessed by those in attendance and those that helped us pull off the event.  Every person in attendance has a special place in our transition to our new hometown.  Now in past years we have had lots of family help pulling off these events; this year our date conflicted with Great Nanny's birthday party we sailed solo on the party preparation and execution.  Given my travel and work schedule of late I started planning this event the day we got back from Disney at Labor Day weekend.  As the event got closer it became clear I needed some help to pull this sha-bang off.

Some of the ways were were blessed by this event were our sweet friend Megan helped by getting up early on her Saturday(no kids, no reason to get up) and pick up our balloons and Chik-Fil-A order. My friend and co-worker Carrie(helped me straighten out the TinkerBell costume on an earlier post) went crazy with the pumpkin cupcakes and kids owl cakes....aren't they the most adorable things??  One of our guests mothers helped "wo" man the laminator and collage activity while Ed and I tended to our guests.  C's name sake Aunt Carol chipped in her creative juices that have graced C's birthday since her very first birthday party....she make these adorable little owl gift bags! Oh and I almost forgot we borrowed "kid tables" from our "street people" friends here on Greenwood Rd.   Have I proven this was a community/village type effort ??

I was concerned about keeping the kids entertained and thus we planned the event to be outside in our big backyard with swing set and jumpy house(bday gift for the kids from us and Ed's parents). However on Friday it was sleeting all day and didn't get warmer than 45.  It rained and snow flurried Friday night and was a gray, rainy and cold Saturday morning.  Needless to say we had to pull our "rain plan" and move inside.  In hindsight it was a blessing in disguise because I was able to get everything 95% ready the day prior so there was no last minute rushing around; especially thanks to Megan and Carrie's delivery service! 

Despite being prepared now we had to think of ways to keep 17 kids entertained inside!  We hired a face painter and she brought a collage setup, we also had dress up stations, kitchen stations, and blocks but everyone had exhausted most of these activities by 10:50......

The sun had started breaking through the clouds by 9:45 so we had rushed and setup the jumpy house outside "just in case".....just in case came and it was warm and sunny enough that kid jumping adrenaline made it possible to be outdoors until time for cake.

 

C and B both had a blast and we think their friends did too.  We greatly enjoyed putting on this event and as I said before felt welcomed and loved into VA by all those that came and especially those that helped us make this a special day for our family.  On to the rest of Halloween weekend!!!!

The Local Trend

So trip #1 of the late October/early November travel surge is behind me; 1 down 2 to go.  After arriving home late last night and spending my vacation day today preparing our home for the kids birthday party that was planned to be outdoors to be indoors(45 degrees, raining, chance of snow tonight) I was overjoyed to realize I already had a freezer full of meat and dinner was only a small inspiration away!

C and B's school....Salem Montessori School is raising funds for a playground at their new campus.  Honestly when I hear the word "fundraiser" I want to run and hide.  I assume someone is going to guilt me into buying something I don't really need.  I need to have a better heart in this area. However I was pleased to receive an email that was offering something I was actually interested in, was good for my family and for our community.

Broadview Ranch a multi-generation family run farm in Lexington, VA is partnering with our school to provide a all natural meat bundle to our school once a month with a portion of the proceeds going to our school.  Apparently this is called Community Supported Agriculture(CSA). Could this be any easier for me??? I think not!  I am getting a month's worth of high quality meat from a local family farm, supporting our kids school, and getting a better product for less.

I realize "buying locally" is a trendy phrase right now and believe me given my day job I am ANYTHING but buying locally on a daily basis, but when I can and it makes sense I love to buy local.

I was so excited to taste my first meat bundle creation, vegetable beef soup.  It was delicious especially given it was thrown together at the last minute. 

If you are a Salemite/Roanoker check out this CSA....if you are not do some searching in your area to see if you can find something similar. 

Ready for the kiddos in the morning....wish us luck!

Hobbies

Something I personally have struggled with since having children is answering the question "What are your hobbies or what are you passionate about?"  I don't know about other moms but once you have kids it becomes VERY hard to find time for yourself to pursue what YOU want to do.  I did some thinking about this last weekend and I initially was blaming this on being a working mom; but I know the stay at home mothers don't have time to themselves either they are devoted their family 100% of every day. Working outside of home I at least get some minutes to myself at the office but with each new assignment I take at GE this gets less and less.  I have my workday packed to the gills(typically double and tripled booked meetings most of the working day) in order to get it all in to spend time with my family and start the cycle of getting ready for tomorrow.  I have to admit this running at double speed most of the time makes me wonder if I am doing anything well or if I am just doing.  We'll contemplate that in another post...  Thus I came back to the conclusion that this "loss of hobbies" probably is a phenomenon of having young kids not your paycheck status.  There just is very, very little time for you to develop your interests as a person.



After my contemplative weekend we decided to do a Halloween Dry Run on costumes.  This year the kiddos are going as C's favorite Disney character "Tinkerbell" and B is the matching "Peter Pan", we have an eye patch and hand hook in case Papa wants to join the Never land Family.  We decided this shortly after our trip to Disney World. In my usual "just do it' house management style, once decided I hopped on Amazon.com and ordered the cutest costumes I could find.  B's costume is adorable and suits his personality to a tee.  C's costume just looked like any other Disney princess dress and honestly doesn't look that much like Tinkerbell to me at all....not sure what Disney was thinking there. So given my contemplations about my hobbies I decided to take on a Tinkerbell redo by sewing C's costume myself.



The real "Tink" looks like a leaf, not leftover Easter Candy!

Prior to the kiddos when we lived in Roanoke the first time I was into sewing; mostly of the home decor variety but I did enjoy it.  My sewing machine was a gift from my Mammaw Counts when I was in college.  She sewed a lot and we have quite a few quilts she made for us; one I will cherish forever is a wedding ring pattern that was a wedding gift for me.  She made it a few years before we actually got married because she knew she would not be able to sew for much longer.  I am so glad she recognized this and had the foresight to leave these special memories with us in form of warmth.  She is still with us in body but her mind is not there; she recently asked me if I had kids.  You just have to laugh because it is easier than crying.

Thanks to my friend Liz Irwin at Growing Home I had pulled the machine out on the prior weekend.  For the kiddos upcoming birthday party I had made a simple birthday garland and a matching table runner. I'll post better pictures after their party next weekend.  This whetted my appetite and gave me the confidence boost needed to take on Tinkerbell!!!  So being all full of myself I ventured to the Jo Ann Fabric located about 1 mile from our house and bought all the goods needed for my adventure(same cost as the costume already purchased by the way)

I felt relatively confident I could pull off a decent costume. Hurdle #1 was interpreting the pattern grid on how much fabric to buy.  Problem solved I asked the cutting table clerk. Together we figured it out...or so we thought.  I was back on Wednesday for more fabric...d'oh! Hurdle #2 was actually using the pattern, I honestly thought my abilities to read a mechanical drawing would be sufficient to interpret a sewing pattern.  I was wrong. Wednesday I was hauling my pattern and cut pieces into work to ask one of my "domestically enabled" employees to help me get it straight.  It turns out I had 1 piece turned the wrong way and that had me on the verge of quitting.  I was cruising after that and had my sewing mojo on; all that stood in the way was my health.  I was still battling the colds/ear infections the kids had two weeks ago and ended up at the Dr for antibiotics and cough syrup myself.  I am pretty sure the way to recover from any sickness is NOT to stay up until midnight sewing and get up at 6am to go to work all day.  Somehow the love of my little girl and her love of pretty dresses pushed me through to finish Saturday.  What do you think?  She said "Mommy that is beautiful"  just what my tired, congested, coughing lungs needed to hear.

Red tights not part of the costume!

I have tried to spend the rest of this weekend getting well.  A whirlwind of events and travel are about to hit us starting with a quick overnight to Pittsburgh this week, kids party on Saturday, Halloween festivities then a trip to Berlin, Germany for me(G-mama is coming to help Papa).  Until then I am enjoying my re found hobby, it may just be a re-applied hobby adapted to my new status of Mommy.

In Sickness and In Health

We are running weary here at the G house, even with having grandparent helpers here for a full 5 days it has been a rough go at our place for the past 2 weeks.  After our last post both kids ended up being sick with double ear infections.  B has finished his round of antibiotics and C is a few days away.  The unfortunate part is of course now Ed and I are both sick.  I have had out of town visitors in all week at work and supplier negotiations each day so taking a day off to rest and get over it hasn't been an option. 

Despite the sickness kids seem to keep on kicking. We got to spend our Saturday at the pumpkin patch.  It was lots of fun and quite a bit different vs the pumpkin patch we visitied in Georgia.  Despite being crowded it was still much less crowded and the distant view of the Blue Ridge Parkway and "The Peaks of Otter" was gorgeous.

Oh my gosh they look so big here.....what a change from last year.


2011



2010...a lot less hair!

2010...a little shy



2011 ... a pumpkin diva



Navigating the corn maze...it really was fun!

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This cow ride was crazy....I think my lungs are still coated in dust from this

 We are looking forward to a weekend to rest and get EVERYONE healthly...we have some birthday party planning to do!!

A week in the life of....Hannah and Ed

Recall the post "A Day in the Life of me" a few months ago??  Well this past week has been one of those days over and over.  If you are looking for a good dose of reality life then keep reading.

After a great weekend we headed joyfully into a busy week but we noticed Monday night B felt warm; which was very odd because he was as happy as could be all weekend and Monday. We went ahead and gave him a dose of Ibuprofen and he slept great. 

Tuesday morning I headed off to work before everyone was awake and didn't think twice about him being sick until the dreaded phone call.  If you are a working mother it is the number you never want to see come up on your mobile during the day......the childcare center!!!!  So the call came regarding a certain young lad fevering Tuesday afternoon so I went rushing to get B a Dr's appointment(usually when he fevers it has indicated ear infection in the past) and get him out of school before sharing germs with anyone else. 

Sometimes this juggling act isn't always so bad but my calendar was packed last week.  We are in the middle of our busy season negotiating pricing on all our purchased components and systems for 2012.  I had 2 negotiations a day all last week some of which were with out of country visitors. 

Ed was gracious enough to take B to the Dr while I finished my day and participated in a very difficult supplier negotiation from my Blackberry(NOT IDEAL!).  Luckily for us he just has a virus....but looking back on it the ear infection and corresponding antibiotic sure seems like a faster fix vs waiting out the virus solution.

Be slept well Tuesday night and wasn't fevering Wednesday so we sent him on to school.  In the meantime one of my suppliers declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy that day so the entire day was sent into a tailspin determine our risk and now giving daily updates on POs and shipments to every executive who is concerned...fun times!

The remainder of the week was a blur of being here at work for important moments and relieving Ed of his working dad of a sick kid duties.....it was wild.  It only got better on Saturday when C woke up really grumpy then we realized she was fevering after nap time.  Gratefully she seems fine today after 1 dose of Tylenol yesterday afternoon.  We thought B was all better but he wouldn't sleep for more than 30 mins on his own last night so that put him in our queen bed for co-sleeping....not something any of us are used to but we did get some sleep.

Today B's eyes and nose are still running but his is happy and not fevering. I know that Salem Montessori would prefer I keep him home tomorrow so I am trying to find a sitter so Ed and I can work at least part of the day.  Oh the craziness of it all! These are the weeks and days we will forget as the better memories replace them.  Such as the one below.  The kids fell in love with this crazy yard inflatable at Lowes a few weeks back.  However, we seemed to have forgotten our house was built in 1914 and such a thing as an outdoor receptacle requires running 50' of extension cord through a basement window to achieve the same effect(blessed with a husband who is capable and willing to do this).  On the upside we are all set for Christmas now.   Now in my past I have hated yard inflatables but I tell you the joy I get from watching the kids squeal at this thing in the yard puts my pride where it belongs.  These are the days I will remember; not the running eyes(are they even supposed to do that??) and crusty noses.

Community...the power

Friends this will be a quick post and without the typical pictorial elaboration but this weekend we have enjoyed "Community" here in our new neighborhood this weekend.  Much credit goes to Walter Henegar of Atlanta Westside for helping us understand and embrace the concept of Community.  We have only been in the car twice which is a lovely change of pace vs a former life in a state south of here :)

Friday night we witnessed some local football action walking to our neighbor Patrick Henry High for the game.  The kids enjoyed it and despite the two point loss we had a fun time remembering what the Friday night game is like. 

Saturday morning we biked down to "The Village" for the weekly farmers market and to the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-Op to pick up some local goodness(don't get me wrong I still had to make our weekly Kroger run for the preservative laden non-local foods).  Saturday evening we were able to walk to dinner with some lovely neighbors at Local Roots and enjoy adult time developing new friendships.

Sunday is always a nice time with our church family and we are excited to see the band growing: Ed is 1 of 6 guys on stage vs 3 now!  This evening we were able to bike to our home group gathering via the Roanoke Greenway in about 5 minutes time.  Ed has been getting a workout pulling the kids in the trailer and they are getting used to "weekend commute" via bike!  We are excited to see what our week brings as Ed is planning a mountain bike ride, a guys brewing group(aka Monday Night Brewing for those that know that story) and a potential date night potluck Thursday. 

So we are moving on....moving deeper into home here in the Roanoke Valley.  I trust you have had a moment or two of such joys this weekend yourself. 

Fall is Here!

Its been cool here this weekend and we have been meaning to give camping a try.  Given the age of little brother and that we haven't ever taken C camping we decided to test drive our adventure in our backyard.  The backyard is one of the main reasons we bought our house so why not utilize it right? Oh yes and I have mentioned Ed's love of fire and his firepit acquired in July(everyone needs a campfire then right?)  So after about 45 mins of locating where our camping equipment had landed in the course of the move we headed outside. 

C was mainly excited about marshmallows but once we cut them off from the sugar high they got excited about the tent and we decided to give sleeping a try.  Something about being inside a tent hyped up little brother; after we read a long story and all tried laying down he started rolling around the tent causing a ruckus; pulling hair, biting, annoying little brother stuff!  So we kicked him out of the tent and back to his crib.  If we didn't have to be in the tent together there is no need to right?? 



Keeping this guy out of the fire was a job for an octopus....needed a few more hands.

Given we had 1 kid inside 1 adult had to sleep inside; so that left C and Mama to do a little girl bonding.  I was exhausted from the week so C and I were snug in our sleeping bags snoozing in the cool VA air by 9:30pm.  It was actually nice but I was missing my memory foam so when C awoke at 1am asking for a kleenex I used the opportunity to ask her if she wanted to go inside to her bed.  She agreed with me and off we went. 

Conclusion:  we could do this in "real time" but we may need to get little brother his own tent !!

On some other news we are updating some other overused equipment at our home.  Ed's gas grill has been faithfully serving us for the past 11 years.  We have even replaced some of the critical parts about half way through its life but the spare parts have been end of life'd(spare parts industry speak) so we knew we would have to upgrade soon.  We are a heavy grilling family and Ed is really good at it: we grill at least 2x per week year round.

Old grill guts...its a wonder we haven't gotten sick

New grill guts

Recall our post about Ed not wanting to spend money? The Lawnmower Well we are doing it again; we bought a new floormodel grill(3 burner with a side burner) on end of clearance discount($100) at Wal-Mart last night.  Ed brought it home today and we haven't given it a go yet. Wish us luck!

Our final fall fun look of the weekend is our littlest Hokie...he yells "Go, Go, Go" at the TV when football is on.

Let the Memories Begin

So I have to admit I was very skeptical of Disney before we went.  I thought it would be crazy crowded, mediocre, over priced and under-whelming for the adults.  Boy was I surprised.  Not only did the kids have fun but Ed and I did too.  I was very very impressed with the entire Disney operation.  Every single employee(called cast-members) were totally engaged in their jobs and were genuinely interested in you having an incredible experience.  When I say every employee I mean that; even the food service people were over the top interested in your vacation.  You would think it would get annoying but for the $ you pay to get into their parks I at least felt I was getting some value for my dollar.  I guess my Disney park expectations were of some apathetic teen-agers running rides and a few characters walking around who let you hug them...aka King's Island or Six Flags.  Like I said I was impressed. 

Autographs....we took our copy of "Beauty and the Beast"

When we first walked in the door at Magic Kingdom it began raining so we headed straight to get our "Mouse Ears" on.  B actually wore his for quite a while and C wouldn't take hers off the entire day....I am serious.  Even when it got steamy hot out in the afternoon C was still sporting her Disney spirit.

After we were decorated and sugar'd up we went to meet the Princesses and Mickey Mouse.  Now this is the big moment C was excited about.  If you know C you know that she is shy at first but once she comes out of her shell she is not a shy kid at all. She was tentative with Sleeping Beauty(Princess Aurora) then by the time we met the third princess Cinderella she was exuberant about the experience.  Brother got into the scene too; he knows a pretty lady when he sees one!

Mickey Mouse was another story for our family.  Our kids are big Mickey Mouse fans, especially B.  One of his favorite phrases is from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "Oh Toodles".  We thought B would make a beeline to Mickey but he started screaming the minute he saw Mickey and barely warmed up by the time we left to give Mickey a "high five".  C liked Mickey as much as the princesses and almost knocked him over giving him a hug.

There was lots more we enjoyed at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom; C dressed up as a character each day and the cast members treated her in character the entire time.  Two days was enough of the intense pace and stimulation of the parks and we were glad to head to the beach to relax a little.  While at the beach we got to celebrate my birthday, unfortunately it included a trip to Urgent Care for B due to swimmers ear.  Our hotel in Orlando had a sweet pool that we thoroughly enjoyed our first night in Orlando but apparently B took some of the pool along with him!

Sunset on our first night in Clear water.

Playing in the sand despite feeling bad :(

Disney is exhausting for a little mouseketeer!