tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71543177469972410442024-03-14T06:53:46.867-07:00Don't Blink!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-933008986499064632013-11-06T11:53:00.002-08:002013-11-06T11:53:47.776-08:00Halloween and MudI know. I know. I haven't written a new blog since before the girls were in school. Keeping a normal routine in a new location has proved harder than I expected. Caroline has started at her new school and Summer in her new preschool. They both seem to be fitting in quite nicely with their new teachers and friends. It blows my mind that Summer will be in the same school with Caroline next year, and Bella won't be too far behind.<br />
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Between school, soccer, and exploring our town there hasn't been much downtime. I knew once we got to Halloween the madness would taper off so I have been looking forward to the end of October. This Halloween was different for us. It was the first one in Weddington. Our girls are used to trick-or-treating in a neighborhood that you could fill your buckets just going down one street. Caroline gave me a hard time about wanting to go around our neighborhood this year. We live in an area where the houses are pretty spread out and the majority of the owners have older children or are retired with no children at home. She was worried that the less kids that were out the less candy people would be giving. I personally was excited about less candy and more walking for my girls this night. To be fair we probably only saw 3-4 other groups out, but our new neighbors were thrilled to see little princesses and a fairy at their door. They poured handfuls of candy in their pumpkin buckets and Brandon and I got to enjoy talking with the adults we knew. Everyone had a great evening and we almost made it around the mile loop before Bella hit her limit. With 4 houses to go she couldn't go another step without a drink of water. When I heard the words, "We can get water in a minute, let's go get some more candy" come out of my mouth I realized maybe I was a little more excited about their full size candy bars than they were.<br />
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Before too long I remembered that the next day was November 1st, the day every parent of young kids dreads. They day after you let your kids stay up late, walking around in the dark eating pounds of chocolate and sweets and try to shove them off to school at 6 AM. This year it also coincided with the day I needed to take the girls to Greensboro so they could stay with their grandparents while Brandon and some of our friends participated in the Tough Mudder. Caroline had a soccer tournament the same weekend in Charlotte so my mom offered to drive down to Charlotte, get a hotel room, and take Caroline to her double header games and drive her back to Greensboro until Sunday afternoon. The plan was to meet her to hand off Caroline and then drive to Greensboro myself to take the other 2 to Brandon's parents' house and back in time to meet Brandon for dinner in Uptown for a date. On the way here my mom noticed how bad the roads were with the pouring rain and offered to keep all 3 with her in the hotel for the night. She took them all swimming in the indoor pool, out for dinner and frozen yogurt and shared a room with 3 little ones. I've shared a hotel room with these people before, it's not something I would wish on anyone else, but she handled it. I heard there was a little bit of musically chairs being played in the sleeping arrangements that ultimately ended in my 62 year old mother sleeping on the floor, but she still got everyone up, packed, fed, and out the door in time to make it to Caroline's soccer tournament. Caroline's team finished 2nd place in the tournament and she was ready for me to sign her up for the spring season before the weekend was over.<br />
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The Tough Mudder was a fun time. Brandon signed up because our good friend from back in Cary offered to come down to race with him. Once we started reading about what was involved with the obstacles he wasn't sure what he was thinking. Jumping into a pool of icewater, crawling through a tube half full of mud and water, or being zapped by 10,000 volts of electricity climbing through mud over hay bales sound appealing to anyone else?! These are all just a few things he did in between running 12 miles. As the weekend approached I figured it would be like the Krispy Kreme challenge, he would hate doing it, and would probably hate that he did it once he crossed the finish line, but maybe by the end of the evening and onward it would be something fun to tell people he did. <br />
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To my surprise he had an absolute ball. The miles went by quickly and he seemed to love crawling through the mud. Even the Arctic Enema ice pool was a nice relief on his muscles. I wasn't able to see him on all the events (the spectator trail was an obstacle course in itself), but every time we did see him he had a huge smile on his face. The only downfall to the entire event was I lost his wedding ring. That morning he had taken it off so it wouldn't be lost or damaged and handed it to me. At 6:30 AM putting it my pocket seemed like the perfect idea. Hopefully someone picked it up since I put a claim in for it, but if not I guess I know what I'm getting him for Christmas!<br />
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The orange headband may have gone to his head a little bit because Brandon is ready for the next challenge. He has decided now is the time to finally run a full marathon. He has also somehow talked me into running a half marathon at the same event. The plan now is to race in the Raleigh Rock and Roll so we can support Sixtyfeet and see some of our friends and family in the process. Hopefully training through the winter won't be a bad idea.staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-49498251133609297232013-08-16T09:07:00.000-07:002013-08-16T09:07:35.642-07:00Charlie Herndon February 28, 2013 - August 15, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We met Charlie in the middle of May. We picked him up in South Carolina just 2 days before we moved out of our Apex house. The girls, Brandon and I immediately fell in love with Charlie. He was so gentle with the girls and loved to be with people.<br />
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That first day we took him for his first walk. He did terribly. He only wanted to lay and sleep. The girls couldn't get enough of his soft fur and the little kisses he would willing offer to anyone that got too close.</div>
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About a month after we moved into our new home Charlie fell down the few stairs on the back porch and immediately we knew something was wrong. It didn't look like a bad fall, but he was obviously in pain. The next morning we took him to the vet. They discovered he had broken his elbow. Since this break was in such a bad spot they couldn't just put on a cast. He required 2 surgeries to place a screw in his elbow to hold it in place until the elbow healed. For 6 weeks we had to be extra careful with him. He needed to be carried up and down all stairs, wasn't allowed to run or jump and couldn't play with other dogs until he was healed</div>
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The day before he was cleared to get back to normal activity we found him out in the yard acting very strange. He was walking around very clumsy, almost seemed blind and wouldn't eat or drink. We immediately took him to the emergency clinic and they discovered he had low protein levels and thought it could be due to issues with his liver.</div>
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While we waited for the ultrasound and other tests the doctor had us treat him with several medicines and a special diet. Suddenly he became a dog we had never seen before. He would run and jump and chase the girls. He was so sweet, but obviously completely spoiled rotten from all the extra care he had received.</div>
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The ultrasound showed that he did in deed have a liver shunt. Meaning that instead of the blood being processed through his liver it was going through this extra vessel and the toxins from his foods were being put right back into his system. He could continue on his medication for a little time, but the only long term fix was surgery to close the shunt. Our family prayed about what we should do and over lots of discussion we decided we had to offer him any chance he had to live a long life, so although expensive we decided to have the surgery.</div>
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They asked us to wait 2 weeks for the surgery. So they could get his liver as healthy as possible before they operated on it. All the extra time I got to spend with Charlie really brought us so close. He was such a mama's boy and I fell head over heels in love with him. He finally loved to take walks and would try to visit with each dog that crossed our path. His favorite past time was to find any shoe he could and run off with it so you would have to chase him.</div>
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During Charlie's surgery they discovered that his liver was missing some of its anatomy and it could not be corrected. Blood could not be passed through his liver so his body created the shunt to allow for the passage. The thing that was killing him was the only thing that was keeping him alive. There was no more that we could do to help him. We decided that rather than watch him deteriorate and lose his puppy spirit we would put him down. It has been such a tough decision. I have been crying so much over the last few days that even my face hurts. It just shows you how special of a puppy he really was to touch our lives so much in a short amount of time. I feel so blessed the Lord put him in our lives.</div>
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The girls know what has happened to Charlie and have handled it better than I had expected. They are already asking for another puppy. My heart is going to need some time to recover, but I know we'll get another dog at some point. For now I just like to think of the sweet boy we got to enjoy.</div>
<br />staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-85300950011636724802013-06-10T10:55:00.001-07:002013-06-10T10:55:30.730-07:00What home are we going to?We are in our new house, all the boxes are empty, the girls are signed up for summer activities, and Brandon is back to work. We already love where we live. I still can't stop looking around at all the great detail that was put into the construction of this home. There's enough room to run and play, but it's not so overwhelming to maintain. It seems like we live in the middle of nowhere, but just a few miles down the road in any direction you can find shops and restaurants galore. We are looking forward to trying them all and discovering our new favorite places. We take walks around the neighborhood and meet all the friendly neighbors that seem so eager to hear about us and what brought us to the area. All the updates we did before we move into the house are complete and we can just enjoy life in Weddington. <br />
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I can already picture the girls going off to school on the bus that stops on the corner, family gathered in the kitchen for holidays, the girls walking down the front steps for the prom, their wedding showers in the backyard while the azaleas are in full bloom, and Brandon and I sipping tea under the gazebo on the back deck while we grow old. I hope this is the place we will be forever.<br />
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Over the weekend some old friends from Cary invited our family to the beach for the weekend. We had a great time letting the girls play in the sand, eating way too much, and doing a little shopping. It was a great way to spend the weekend after all the chaos that we have been through the last few weeks. On the way back, when we got about 30 minutes from the house we asked the girls if they were happy about being home. Summer asked which home we were going to. The poor girl has been dragged back and forth from Apex, back and forth from Lake Wylie to Weddington, and then to the beach. She had absolutely no idea what to expect when we told her we were going "home".<br />
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Rather than get too far ahead of myself looking to the future of this home we need to live in it. Read books while snuggled on the couch, play mermaids in the bathtub, make cookies, and run through the sprinklers. Time to do one of those things now!<br />
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<br />staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-58774258688567164052013-05-21T11:24:00.001-07:002013-05-21T11:24:47.204-07:00Saying Goodbye<br />
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It’s officially time to move. Although we have been in Charlotte for the
last 2 months all of our things have still been here at our Apex home. In Charlotte we have spent the last few weeks
letting Brandon settle into his new position with Duke Energy, enjoying the lake,
and changing a few things at our new home so we have it just the way we want it
before we move in this week. In this
process I have still thought of our Apex house as “our home” so coming back
seems normal to me. With all the work we
have been doing at the new house it still just feels like a place that I work
and will have to leave when all the work is done.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last Saturday we picked up our new puppy, Charlie. He is a Golden Doodle. The girls have been talking about him for
weeks and were so excited to finally meet him.
He is a sweet dog and so great with the girls already. He’s been interfering with my sleep since we
are crate training him and is terrible at walking on a lease (he loves to just
lay down and let you drag him), but other than that he is the perfect addition
to our family. I can’t wait to see the
girls playing with him in our new fenced yard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the moment the girls are in Greensboro with my
sister-in-law, Brandon is in Charlotte working before the move and Charlie and
I are back in Apex with the movers. My
house will be completely packed up tomorrow and everything will be on its way
to Charlotte. I’m the only one here
to see the house we have owned since before Caroline was 1 completely empty. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m so excited to be in our new home, but this one holds a
lot of special memories. We brought
Summer and Bella home from the hospital to this house, and all 3 girls had
their 1<sup>st</sup> birthdays here. We
taught our girls to ride their bikes in this driveway, and planted almost every
tree and bush in the yard. For years we
put a lot of long weekends and late nights into making it our home and I think
it’s safe to say that we are leaving it better than we found it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are leaving every doctor and school we have learned to
love and trust. A neighbor that is willing
to watch my kids at a moment’s notice, and so many wonderful friends that we
have collected along the way. I have to
admit I’m a little sad, but I know the people we met and the things we did have
lead us to be the people that we are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Charlotte, I hope you’re ready for the Herndons, because
here we come!<o:p></o:p></div>
staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-70240947264747014612013-04-25T13:10:00.001-07:002013-04-25T13:10:43.067-07:00Almost HomeWe have been down in Charlotte for a little over a month now. It has been so nice to be together and we've had a lot of fun. Brandon is completely in love with his new job and the new commute has not worn on us yet. The girls have had a blast with all the fun things to do outside. They love fishing right at the backdoor. We go on goose hunts in the boat, and the big girls have even done a little swimming in the lake. The girls don't have any friends here so they have become best friends among themselves. It seems like a 2 month long vacation, and it kind of is. The thing about a vacation is at the end of it you've had a great time and you don't want it to end, but it's nice to go home.<br />
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I'm trying to keep my usual schedule. We spend the morning running errands and exercise. Lunch is at home or we try to meet Brandon once a week near his office downtown. The afternoon is for little girls' naps and I try to clean the house and get organized, we try to have dinner ready and everything done before Daddy walks in the door so we have the evening available for family fun.<br />
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Despite all this I still don't feel settled. I don't have any own kitchen stuff, I'm not cleaning my own furniture, and I have to use my GPS everyday to figure out where I'm going. My husband is having the time of his life and doesn't share in my unsettled state. I was beginning to think I was crazy until last night Caroline had to be disciplined for the millionth time that day. We couldn't understand what was turning our little girl into the crazy person that was currently in our home. Brandon sat down with her that evening to have a heart to heart. She said she was struggling being away from home as well. She missed her friends, her school, and her room. I've been so busy trying to keep myself on track with this move that I wasn't noticing the effects of turning my kids' lives completely upside down was having on them.<br />
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This morning all the girls and I sat down together and made a countdown chain to count the days until we move into our new home. We drew pictures of all the things we were excited for, our new rooms (my new kitchen!), our new dog, the girls' new schools, and having all of our things that we loved before in our new home!<br />
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We've all decided to enjoy the time we have left here at the lake house and treat it like a vacation because it's not going to last forever. But boy, is home ever going to be sweet!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-91221873661280527562013-03-19T14:29:00.000-07:002013-03-19T14:29:46.833-07:00In limboIf you haven't heard, we are moving and this is our last full week in Apex. Brandon will begin work full time in his new position at Duke Energy on Monday morning. In February he worked half weeks at both jobs and traveled back and forth between Charlotte and Apex for a number of weeks. He has been here in Apex for the entire month of March so he could assist his former department with the planned nuclear plant outage. It has been great to have him here to help me with the house and also help with all that is to come with the move. <div>
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Thursday is his last day of work. He leaves immediately for an annual golfing trip with some friends from high school and college, but will be back late in the weekend to help me pack for our temporary move. Friday is Caroline's last day of school, but the girls and I will stay in Apex a few extra days so Summer can have her last day of preschool on Tuesday. All the girls will be home with me until school begins again in the fall.</div>
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We have found a lovely home in the town of Weddington. It is in an area southeast of Charlotte with wonderful schools, lots of charm, and most importantly with plenty of room for our family inside and out. I am already picturing my girls spending the warm days playing in the backyard swinging on the new playground, and cool evenings in our living room next to the big brick fireplace playing board games (You see, my girls always get along perfectly in my dreams!) We are scheduled to close at the end of April, but will wait to move in at the end of May so we can do a little bit of updating.</div>
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Our house in Apex went on the market last Thursday. It took a little longer than I had hoped to get everything in order since we decided to do some last minute updates. After 2 weeks of nonstop work the house looks better than it ever has. We've had 15 showings so far in 4 days, and high hopes that it will move quickly.</div>
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For the next 2 months we will be renting a house on Lake Wylie. It is actually a vacation home, right on the water and absolutely beautiful, but only a 40 minute drive to Brandon's office. We were unable to find another furnished rental that would accommodate all of us, but we think a little vacation home for 2 months will work out just fine. It will be nice that we can all be together while Brandon begins work and I won't have to pull my hair out trying to keep my Apex home in tip-top shape while rushing 3 little ones out the door for another last minute showing at dinner time.</div>
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I still feel a little in limbo, but glad that there is an end in sight. Brandon is loving his new job and I know this is where we are suppose to be. I'm hoping for some visitors soon!</div>
staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-84235169963554642242013-02-08T05:57:00.001-08:002013-02-08T05:57:39.201-08:00A big week for us<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thank you all for the birthday wishes. It sure made my day special to hear from each of you. I started the day with hand delivered flowers and a decaf vanilla latte skinny from the little girl I watch and her mom. I got to end it with some of my favorite people at the same place I've been eating my birthday dinner every year since my grandmother Halstead used to take me when I was a kid as a treat from my dad and a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake with white cake and icing (does my husband know me or what?!)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Even with all the fun, my birthday was not the highlight. The big news of the week is that Brandon has landed his first job </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">since he finished school! It's actually with the same company, now </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Duke Energy. He'll be transferring </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">to the Analytics Unit, working with the energy trading models and fuel </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">optimization strategies. Which basically means that he'll be spending </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">his working hours creating spreadsheets, studying data, and telling </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">people the best way they should go about spending their money. If </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">anyone knows Brandon very well, you know that he would probably love </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">to do this even if they weren't paying him. I am so thrilled for him! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The only downfall to this job is that it will require us to move to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Charlotte. We honestly don't know much about the town, but what we do </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">know about it we are very excited to have in our backyard. Charlotte is also </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">closer to my sister and brother, no farther from Brandon's family or </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">my mom, and my dad is coming with us so the family is completely </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">covered. It's closer to the mountains, it's closer to the beaches we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">like, it's even closer to Disney World (Caroline made sure she </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">pointed that out to me). The only thing it's not closer to is our friends in the triangle. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We have met so many wonderful people during our time in the Raleigh </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">area, especially just in the last couple years. It will truly break </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">my heart to wave goodbye to each of you and I pray that our paths will </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">cross again.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Before I start getting tear drops on my keyboard I have some more </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">great news from the week. Brandon received a personal letter from the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Dean of the Fuqua school of Business at Duke letting him know that he </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">was one of the few in his class that was awarded the honor of Fuqua Scholar. This is only </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">awarded to the top 10% of his class based on academic performance. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">They will be presenting him with a special award with special </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">recognition at his graduation in May.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have to admit for <strike>months</strike> years I have been worried about what the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">future held. Many sleepless nights and nail biting days have almost </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">consumed me. It seemed like the difficulties were never going to end, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and maybe they won't. But this week I feel as though the Lord is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">looking me straight in the face and saying, "You see Stacey, I GOT </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">THIS." I'm so glad He does, because we would not have made it this </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">far without Him. For the first time, Brandon has </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">finally admitted to me, yes, it was all worth it!</span>staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-67056880417094538952013-01-02T08:39:00.000-08:002013-01-02T08:39:54.165-08:00Ending the year on a high noteHappy 2013! I don't know if I have ever been more excited to welcome a new year. Last year was probably the most difficult year our family has ever been through. We are looking forward to what this year has in store for us and hope that all the hard work from the last few years will finally pay off in the coming months.<br />
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Brandon finished his MBA program about a week and a half before Christmas. Once he was done we had packed every moment with fun activities and visits that had been put on the back burner while Brandon's school schedule was filled. We made a plan once school was over we would get up earlier in the morning so Brandon could get in his workout before work began and I would do my cleaning before the girls were awake so we could spend our entire evening relaxing together. So far we have stuck with our plan, although Brandon is still finding it hard to just sit still for an hour or so in the evening.<br />
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Our first weekend free we traveled to Greensboro to see both sides of the family. We drove through the lights at Tanglewood in a 15 passenger van the Herndons rented so we could all enjoy the lights together. Trying to pack 4 kids into a car past their bedtimes without dinner is not something that I would recommend. We will be prepared if we are brave enough to attempt a return visit before the kids are in college. The next day we spent time exchanging gifts and ice skating in downtown Greensboro. Caroline is fairly good on her inline skates so I figured she would be able to make it around the rink without falling. However by the time I got Summer and my skates on and made it to the rink Caroline was already racing around like she had been doing it for years. She is already requesting that what we do on our next date night together.<br />
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Christmas was so wonderful. It was so nice that all 5 of us could enjoy every moment together. We decorated cookies, went to a wonderful church service on Sunday and Monday, had a wonderful meal and stayed in our pajamas all day on Christmas day. The girls loved their gifts and were completely entertained by what Santa brought them for a full 24 hours.<br />
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Two days after Christmas Brandon and I left for Las Vegas, just the two of us. We had been saving this trip to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and also as a way to congratulate Brandon on finishing school. We picked Vegas because we thought it would be a place to completely get away from children on our "adult" trip. We were surprised to see how many kids were in Vegas, and how many of them were up way past our bedtime. We did have a wonderful time. We spent most of it enjoying wonderful meals and sightseeing. We also saved one evening to see the Cirque du Soleil's Love show inspired by the Beatles. It was certainly the highlight of our trip and highly recommended if you plan a visit. We didn't walk away winners from the casino, however, we did see a $35K payout on one hand at our table that was very exciting. We lost that round ourselves, but since we were only betting $10 it was more fun to see the excitement of the big win.<br />
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I'm hoping 2013 will be one for the books. We hope to get away on the weekends as much as possible. We would love to make up for lost time with our friends and family and enjoy our kids. Brandon hopes to put his new degree to good use, and I'm ready for some help around here. Hope to see you all soon!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-29154421608144996562012-11-30T07:47:00.000-08:002012-11-30T07:47:16.759-08:00It takes a gingerbread village..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I was little one of my favorite things to do during the holidays was make a gingerbread house. Each December my Grandma Halstead would mail us a package. It would include sausages and cheeses for my parents and 3 little gingerbread house kits for my sister, brother and me. Sitting around the kitchen table trying to outdo the other's design and munching on candy we would have never of eaten otherwise is one of my best memories. It has always been important to me to carry on those traditions with my girls. But once I started buying more than one kit my little memory was turning into quite a holiday expense.<br />
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Last year we started a tradition of making our own houses from scratch and buying the candy we liked so we could continue as before. Many of my friends have decided I am completely crazy for doing this, but if you have more than 2 kids I think you're crazy not to. It's pretty simple so I thought I would share what I've learned. Keep in mind you'll probably want to plan on this taking 2 days, especially if you're making more than 2 houses. But the total cost of 4 houses was about $15, and we went crazy with the candy!<br />
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<b>Step 1: Make the dough</b><br />
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I used this recipe:<br />
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http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gingerbread-cookies-101-recipe/index.html<br />
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I doubled the recipe and got 3 full sizes houses and 1 smaller version. If you do double, make 2 batches, don't just add twice as much into your mixing bowl. I learned the hard way that it will not fit even in a 6 quart Kitchenaid mixer. If you do not have a stand mixer. Mix the wet ingredients with a hand mixer and then incorporate the dry with a wooden spoon and then just knead in the rest.<br />
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Divide the dough evenly into the number of houses you wish to make. Form into disks, wrap in plastic and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.<br />
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<b>Step 2: Cutting the dough and baking</b><br />
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While the dough is chilling you can decide the shape of your house. I have always just done a normal rectangular house. This year my dimensions were 4 X 4 X 6. Just cut 1 template for the front and back, 1 for the sides, and 1 for each side of the roof. That way you know that each will be exactly the same size. Label the templates because after awhile the roof template will start looking a lot like the side template.</div>
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Sprinkle your counter with flour and roll out one disk at a time. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Lay the template on the dough and cut out your shapes with a sharp small knife. Run a thin metal offset spatula under the cut out and then move it to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Once it is on there you can cut out the door(s) and windows. This year we even added crushed lifesaver hard candies to melt inside the cut out windows. You will probably have to gather the scraps and roll out the dough 2 -3 times in order to get all the pieces cut for one house. Refrigerate the dough if it gets too warm or you won't be able to move it.</div>
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Bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes. If your pieces were a little thicker it may take a little longer. Once baked let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. While they are still warm put the template back on top to trim the edges to match exactly. Let cool completely on a rack.</div>
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If you have any dough left over you can make any extras, like chimneys, doors or gingerbread people. Once completely cool you can start building your house or place in a ziplock bag to build the next day.<br />
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<b>Step 3: Building your house</b><br />
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Once your gingerbread walls are completely cool you can begin building your house. You can put the sides together with caramel or royal icing. I prefer icing. Mix together:<br />
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1 pound of powdered sugar<br />
3 pasteurized egg whites<br />
1 tsp of vanilla<br />
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If it seems too thick add more egg, and too thin more powdered sugar. If you have piping tips, add about half the icing to a piping bag to pipe onto the edges, if you don't you can use a knife.<br />
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For the base you can use a cake board or I just cut out the side of a shipping box and wrap in foil. Ice the bottom and all the sides together. If you need to, use a can to hold up the side until they dry. Just don't forget to remove the can before you put on the roof (happened last year!) Once the 4 walls dry a bit you can add the roof. Let the house dry completely before you decorate.<br />
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<b>Step 4: Decorate your house</b><br />
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If you are still with me you are obviously very serious about making your own gingerbread house. Good for you. The fun is about to begin. I like to take my girls to the store and have them pick out the candy they would like. Just about anything goes. If you plan to eat the candy off the house, chocolate and small candies do not work so well though.<br />
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Cover the area you want to decorate with the remainder of your royal icing. Don't forget you can also decorate the board around the house. Let the little ones at it, and count your blessings.staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-1587146693348755542012-11-14T16:00:00.001-08:002012-11-14T16:00:08.985-08:00What a difference 2 years can make<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On December 17th, 2012 Brandon's MBA classes will officially end. In our home you will find countdown calendars everywhere. Our entire family has been waiting for this day for so long.</div>
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This picture was taken of our family Christmas 2010. This was 3 days before we learned that Brandon was accepted into the Duke MBA program. I was hoping I could find another picture where I took the time to put on my makeup and was not in my pajamas or all the girls were actually looking at the camera. After a lengthy search I have realized that we haven't had a chance to take a better family picture in the last 2 years.<br />
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In December 2010 Caroline had just started her first year of elementary school. She received a violin for Christmas, and spent all her free time playing with her friends. Summer was a sweet, yet shy little 1 year old. She stayed home with me, still in diapers, and would crumble into a tiny pile of tears if you just gave her a stern look. Bella was only a few months old. I think she was sleeping through the night by this point, but not much beyond that. Brandon and I were trying our best to manage work and home life. We thought we were prepared for one of us to go back to school. We were nervous about what a MBA program would involve, but were so excited about what the future held for us.<br />
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If you have read my blog at all, you know that the last 2 years have not been easy for us. Brandon has been swamped with school. I have been up to my eyeballs in kid activities. We have spent weekends and even weeks apart. His classes have seem to fall on every one of the girls' birthdays, our anniversary, and countless soccer games. But we have found a way to make it work and loved every minute that we could all be together as a family.<br />
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Today that little kindergartner of 2010 is a bright and talented little 7 year old. She is loving 2nd grade. She just finished her 3rd violin recital, played T-ball, tennis, soccer, and learned to swim. Summer is halfway through her 2nd year of preschool, is such a good big sister, and still falls to pieces at the utter of the word no. Bella is now a wild and crazy 2 year old. She's running. and talking, and completely running the show. It's hard to believe that in just 2 years my little babies have become wonderful little ladies.<br />
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With 1 month, 2 days and a few hours left of the MBA we have started to look beyond school, and are still excited about what the future holds. Whatever that may be!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-12932414718833563262012-10-01T10:01:00.001-07:002012-10-01T10:06:18.030-07:00Home aloneFor over a week now Brandon has been on Duke campus for his final residency of his MBA. These two weeks have been staring me in the face on the calendar for the last 2 years. I knew this time would be a little bitter sweet. Brandon would be gone for 2 weeks straight, day and night. His residency falls on a time that is right when we have a ton to do around the house in preparing the yard for fall and putting up new autumn decorations. Caroline is in her last weeks of preparing for her violin recital and smack dab in the middle of soccer season. It was also surrounding our baby, Bella's, birthday. On the bright side when these 2 weeks are over Brandon never has to step foot on campus again until he is walking across the stage. He will still have classes until December, but it can all be done from home from here on out. Although his course load this term will be the heaviest he has had to endure, we are hoping with the time saved from when he used to be in class it won't make for such a tough schedule.<br />
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But until then, Brandon is there and I am here. When we first looked at his schedule it looked so simple. Some days classes didn't start until 11 o'clock. Almost every day he was done before dinner time. Maybe the 2 weeks of vacation time he had to waste to be there wouldn't be a complete loss and allow him some free time. What they don't put on the schedule is everything the students are doing outside of class. It's not unusual for Brandon's team to be up until 1 AM trying to finish a case study before class the next morning. They work through lunch, and even on the one day he had no classes and was allowed to come home for Bella's birthday party he had to rush back that evening to get things ready for the next day. To be fair Brandon did pick some of the most difficult electives of the term. Some he could have chosen wouldn't have been nearly as difficult and could have allowed him a little golf time with some of his classmates. What Brandon keeps reminding himself in the wee hours of the morning is he's not there for all the fun campus can allow. He's there to learn all he can before this is over. Every night when Brandon gets to Skype with the girls he is reminded of why he is working so hard.<br />
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I feel like I am holding up my end of the bargain as well. I'm not exactly sitting at home popping Bon Bons and marking off the calendar each night. I don't know how couples where one spouse is gone for long periods of time do it. Every night I lay exhausted in bed but unable to sleep because I have a million things running through my head about how I am going to handle everything we have to do the next day by myself. You haven't lived until you try to handle 3 little ones during a violin lesson or prepped for a party alone in between diaper changes and temper tantrums. Although, knowing it will be the last time makes it so much easier to get through.<br />
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This time alone has really showed me the things Brandon does to help. Even though his time is limited every little bit helps and adds up. Having him back full time will feel like a permanent vacation. Well, at least for a little while.....<br />
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<br />staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-89907841892930390032012-09-09T12:57:00.001-07:002012-09-09T12:57:52.069-07:00The beginning of the endWell, here we are. We are about to enter the 6th and final term of the Duke MBA program. I'm sure you are sick of hearing me talk about it. Heck, I'm tired of talking about it, and I'm sure Brandon is tired of living it! Am I glad we spent all this time and money for Brandon to get his masters in a new career field? You may want to save that question for a time when Brandon has found a new job and we have paid our student loans. Would we do it again? I really don't know.<br />
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When we started this program we had so many different goals than we do now. Our original plan was to open ourselves up to any job, any place in the world. We were excited about the idea of living in a new area, meeting new people and changing our lifestyle. The girls are all still pretty young and we thought it would be a great time to make a change. Sure, we would be leaving our friends and family behind but we could manage on our own for awhile.<br />
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The funny thing about the last 20 months is while Brandon was in school and we were making all these plans life still happened. Since May 2011 the girls have had school functions, birthday parties, violin recitals and soccer practices. We've all been sick or hurt and we needed help getting through all of it. Our parents and siblings have loved and watched our kids when we couldn't. Our friends have stopped their own lives at the drop of a hat to come help us by cooking a dinner or to stay with the girls so we could run to the ER for the second time in a week. We are so thankful that we have so many wonderful people in our lives. No fancy new job is going to replace our network here. I'm not saying that we are going to stay in our exact same house or even in the Triangle, but we'll be staying close.<br />
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We have both been feeling this way for some time. We have always known that work came secondary for our family and we have always planned to avoid higher paid positions that require more time away from our home. We didn't know how much we would be willing to sacrifice until recently. I believe the precipice came this week. We had just returned from a great family trip with our family to the mountains. We had spent 3 days in my in-law's mountain house having a wonderful time. I watched my in-laws loving my children at the same level as I do. We did crazy fun things, we talked about what was going on in our lives, and we could just be completely ourselves. We came back so refreshed and ready to tackle the week.<br />
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I know Brandon's MBA will open a lot of doors for him, but we've learned that a lot of them we won't be willing to walk through. In the coming months we hope to find a wonderful company that shares the same feelings about family as we do, and we are willing to take our time to find it. In the meantime we are looking forward to spending a lot of time catching up with all of you!<br />
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<br />staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-61646416220372494892012-07-17T08:16:00.001-07:002012-07-17T08:16:51.666-07:00Midyear UpdateI haven't had much time for blogging lately. The last few weeks (and months) have flown by in a flash. I guess the title of my blog is holding true! I wish we had more time to spend with our friends and family and catch up. Hopefully soon, but in the meantime here is an update since my last post.<br />
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Brandon: Has been so hard at work. He is about to begin the 5th term of a 6 term MBA program. This term is only 1 month long and will be over before we know it so we are truly finally reaching the end and there's a small light at the end of our very long tunnel. Since his GATE (Global Academic Travel Experience) trip to China was cancelled he had the last 2 weeks off from school. It was so nice to have him home to spend some much needed time with the girls and help me around the house. I think we are all a little spoiled now and it will be hard to let him go back to his normal routine.<br />
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Caroline: had her first week of 2nd grade last week. She seems to love her new teacher and is so excited to tell me what she has learned everyday when she gets home. She only has 14 kids in her class this year which is unheard of for public schools. One of the reasons I love track 2! We took this last month off of violin lessons, but she has learned 3 new songs during the break. She is starting to play real songs and surprises me with her great ability after only 1.5 years of playing. I'm starting to learn to read music in helping her practice each day so it's a learning experience for me as well. She turns 7 next week so we are having 4 little girls and all our family come with us to a Durham Bulls game this weekend immediately followed by Caroline's first sleepover. The countdown to Friday has already begun!<br />
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Summer: Went to her first year of VBS last week. She was a little shy and had a little trouble settling in each evening, but I could tell she had a ball. She is very disappointed that she can't go again this week. She'll begin preschool in the 3 year old class in about a month and can't wait. In the meantime she is keeping me on my toes with dress up and wanting to learn to ride her scooter and bike as much as possible.<br />
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Bella: Is changing daily. I could write a daily blog just telling you all the things she does each day. She is loving the summertime. She has no fear of water or heights and tests my blood pressure everyday by trying new maneuvers in both. She loves to point to or bring me things all the time to test her newly learned words. Last weekend while the big girls were at VBS together she was home with Brandon and me all alone. I think she would have loved being an only child, walking in the middle, holding both of our hands and getting our undivided attention. Luckily, she was the youngest and won't have the deal with a younger one taking anymore of her time away!<br />
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Me: I'm probably the most boring of the family. I feel like I just try to keep up with the rest of them. I have kind-of reached my July weigh goal that I set at the beginning of the year. The number on the scale is what I had hoped for but the physical results are not. I'm guessing I need to go a little bit farther than I had hoped for the results I'm looking for. I hope to find a crossfit program once Brandon slows down with school. I have done a few of those type workouts using the Bob Harper website and I really enjoy it.<br />
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I'll leave you with a few pictures from our trip to Carowinds over the weekend. When we left in the morning to drive to Charlotte Caroline had no idea what that place was. Each morning this week she has told me that she wished today was the day that she was going.<br />
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Caroline and Summer on the little roller coaster. Caroline rode it 3 times (with her hands high in the air each time). Summer rode it twice, but cried at the end of both rides.<br />
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Caroline and Summer riding the Snoopy airplane. Summer could have done this the entire time and been happy.<br />
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The highlight of my trip! Summer, Caroline, even Bella got to drive their own cars.<br />
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Brandon and Summer riding the pirate ships, Caroline is in the boat behind them. Caroline loved it, Summer, not so much.....<br />
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The girls in Snoopy's doghouse.<br />
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Me, Bella, and Caroline while Caroline drove the car around the park.<br />
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Brandon with Summer, Caroline and Snoopystaceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-14856754953138752422012-05-24T05:42:00.002-07:002012-05-24T08:42:46.035-07:00Better late than neverI feel lately that my blog posts have turned more into a diet diary than anything else. I'm sure a lot of people find it odd that my weight-loss seems to be at the forefront of my mind in these last few months. Unfortunately, I have found it hard for myself to not lose weight unless it is something that I think about everyday and plan everything I do around. I'm looking forward to the day when I can just eat when I'm hungry, not completely avoid the treats my family is enjoying, and maybe even skip a workout if I would rather do something fun with the kids one day. I'm so close. This morning I finally hit my first weight-loss goal that I set at the beginning of the year.<br />
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It took me almost 2 months longer than I had hoped but I am finally down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I know this is not a huge deal, many people are able to do this, some before they even leave the hospital. The reason it is so exciting for me is because I lost 30 pounds to be at this weight prior to getting pregnant. If I lose one more pound I am going into uncharted territory. Since I was this size when I was 10 years old I literally only weighed less when I was in elementary school. It also puts me only about 10 pounds from my ultimate weight goal.<br />
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You may also remember that I also set a goal for myself to run in a 10K by the end of the year. If I'm being completely honest I don't think that is going to happen. With Brandon in school and me watching 4 girls during the day I don't have much time for long runs, if any runs. I usually can go for a nice jog once every other week by myself, which is not ideal for training. When I do go out, I run farther and a few weeks ago Brandon did set me up for a 10K. Caroline rode her bike, Brandon pushed the jogging stroller with the GPS and I ran. In my defense it was just after a rain and the dirt path on the Tobacco Trail was a little mushy and I had to stop for cars when I crossed the street, but I did run the entire 6.28 miles. It took me 1 hour and 9 minutes to finish with a tremendous amount of support from my husband (who by the way ran the entire way with me while pushing a double stroller and making sure Caroline could get her bike through all the gates). If you are looking for a GPS tool, I love using the Map Your Run app on my Droid. It's pretty simple and very accurate. I may not make it into an organized 10K race this year, but I know it will be a definite possibility in the future. I currently have my eye on a mud run for my next race. It's a 5K in the mud and you and your team have to make it through all kinds of obstacles along the way. I have a few friends that have done it and it looks like so much fun.<br />
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In the meantime I have been doing a lot of my workouts using the new Bob Harper website. I was introduced to it by my sis-in-law, Melanie. On the site Bob puts up new workouts every week so you can do different moves each time. It is constant body confusion and I find myself to always be sore. The workouts are only 20 minutes (I try to do 2 each day) so no one can tell me they don't have time. He shows different moves if you are a beginner or advanced, and I love it because on the Team Bob workouts you feel like you actually have a trainer yelling at you to go faster and dip farther. There is a $10/month charge (which I split with Melanie), but way cheaper than other options with similar results.<br />
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July was my next marker for my final weight goal. It will be tough to make it by then. At least I know that I'm giving it my all, and I'm so happy to be on my way.staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-90794982021651884842012-05-10T06:54:00.001-07:002012-05-10T09:56:02.938-07:00New experiences with an Old PastimeI used to be quite athletic growing up. No matter what time of year I was always playing or watching some sport. But I've never been much into professional sports. I think the only professional game I've seen in any sport was when Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls played Muggsy Bogues with the Charlotte Hornets (am I showing my age?!).<br />
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Brandon loves to watch sports so I have gone to plenty of NC State, Duke and Durham Bulls games. Although it's not major league a Durham Bulls game is a fun afternoon. You can enjoy your foot-long hotdog and beer, watch a couple double-plays and maybe even get a suntan - what girl wouldn't love that?! Really I enjoyed it because it was some time to spend with my husband doing something he enjoys.<br />
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Last weekend we thought it would be fun to take the big girls to a baseball game. We've learned our lesson in the past when Summer was about Bella's age that any event where you sit for long periods of time is not fun with an 18 month old. So, Bella had her own personal date night with Grandad while Caroline and Summer joined Brandon and me for 9 innings. At least we thought it was going to be nine innings. <br />
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We had spent all morning and afternoon that day at Caroline's soccer game, followed immediately by a cupcake fundraiser for Sixtyfeet. We were so pleased that we somehow avoided all the storms headed our way. So of course on the way to the game it started to pour. Once we arrived the game was on delay so we spent way too much time in the gift shop trying on hats and explaining the difference between a baseball and a football. We walked through the halls and finally decided rather than eat our dinner standing against a wall or on a dirty floor we would make a run for the Tobacco Road restaurant overlooking the ballpark. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea so we waited about an hour for a table. The girls were so patient sitting in my lap in the one chair we could snag. They played a video game on my phone and just enjoyed some time with Mom and Dad. We finally sat down to a nice dinner with a great view of the field just in time to see them pull the tarp and warm up.<br />
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After dinner we headed to our seats. It was still misting a little, but we were armed with loads of paper towels and two excited little girls. Summer and Caroline's eyes were as big as saucers when we sat in our front row seats. There was so much to take in with the players running around, the giant "cow" in the outfield, and the anticipation of a foul ball coming our way. I was so glad to have dealt with the rain just for this one moment. We only watched half of one inning, and part of it included the sprinkler system going off around the pitcher, but that time will be etched in my brain for years to come.<br />
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Finally the downpour began again, so we promised the girls a treat from the snack bar and headed for the car. Their smiles continued all the way to their car seats when I handed them their giant bags of popcorn and bottle of Sprite for the ride home. The game was cancelled in the 3rd inning so our tickets are good for another game. We have already booked our tickets and I can't wait to try it again.<br />
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These days any game is a little less about the score and a little more about the experience. It's so great to enjoy them together and we're counting the days until we can do it more often.staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-50166987405498738402012-04-03T06:31:00.005-07:002012-04-03T12:23:13.927-07:00Let them eat cupcakes!<span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%;">Last year about this time I was preparing for the hardest 20 months of my family's life. Brandon was about to start school and the girls were so little. I was ready to bunker down in my home and try to hide out until the end of 2012. Before it even started my sister asked me to get involved with the Cupcake kids. Although I was hesitant at first our sale completely changed me. Below is a blog I wrote about our experience that was first posted on thecupcakekids.org website and sixtyfeet.org website last year:</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">Last September my husband and I welcomed our 3</span></span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; ">rd</sup><span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> child into the family. Life with a </span></span><span><span style="line-height: 18px;">kindergartner</span></span><span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, a 2 year old, and a new baby became interesting. Our children now outnumbered us and we basically went into survival mode. We would say, “Do or don’t do whatever you can, just try to get to the next day alive!” Finally, our youngest daughter, Bella, reached the 6 month mark. She laughs and sits up. Her sisters love and play with her and we are finally feeling back to normal, at least for the next 4 weeks. In May, my husband will begin study at Duke for his MBA. For him, evenings will be for studying, weekends will be for classes, and I feel like I am preparing for survival mode again for the next 20 months.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="line-height: 115%; "><i>While Brandon is in school, I will be at home with the girls pretty much all day and night by myself. I decided we would put off everything. I needed to make my life as simple as possible. No added stress to tip the already rickety boat. I just wanted to care for my children and support my husband, and call it a day.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="line-height: 115%; "><i>My sister, Shelly, asked me if I would be interested in helping with a Cupcake Kids sale in our area to help raise money for Sixtyfeet. I thought it was a great project, but I certainly wouldn’t have time with 3 little ones at home and a husband that is studying most of the time that he isn’t already working. Maybe this is something I could help with in a year or two when the kids are older and school is over. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="line-height: 115%; "><i>The problem with that is these children need help now! I needed to do something that taught my own children the importance of helping others and serving the Lord NOW. I realized I needed to step out of my comfort zone and make any difference I could, TODAY. I rounded up a couple of friends and their kids, and we set up a table in my neighborhood. I figured if we at least made back the money that we put into it I would be happy. But the Lord had much more in store for my little sale and my heart.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="line-height: 115%; "><i>As I watched my shy little girl waving down the cars that passed by, people handing me all the money that they had in their wallets, and the neighborhood kids stopping by because they wanted to help, I realized we were doing way more than selling cupcakes. We were building a foundation in our children and our community to help those in need and doing it for the joy of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="line-height: 115%; "><i>I am happy to send the money we raised to Sixtyfeet and I’m so glad it will be able to help some of the children in Africa, but I believe they helped me so much more. Forevermore I will do all I can for my family and those I can help, no matter if it’s 20 months from now or tomorrow. Our life is a gift from God, what we do with it is our gift to Him. Don’t waste it by waiting for things to get easier.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="line-height: 115%; "> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">James 4:13-15</span><span style="line-height: 115%; "> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">- Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”</span><span style="line-height: 115%; "> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; "> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">What is your life?</span><span style="line-height: 115%; "> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; "> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; ">Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="line-height: 18px;">It truly was a great experience, one that my girls loved and are dying to help with again this year. Today, I'm in the thick of those 20 months I was so scared about, but we are still giving it our all. This year the international cupcake sale is scheduled for May 5th. If you would like to set up your own sale and would like more information contact me or visit the website thecupcakeskids.org If you would be willing to help with mine (I still need lots of help) please let me know. Either way please come by and buy a delicious treat to support this great cause. If there is not a sale near you or you aren't eating cupcakes (like me) you can buy a virtual cupcake to donate to the program. </span><a href="http://www.thecupcakekids.org/cck/mysale.php?refid=1333459293" style="font-size: 100%; ">http://www.thecupcakekids.org/cck/mysale.php?refid=1333459293</a>. Thanks for your support and hope to see you on the 5th! More details to come soon!</p></div>staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-34954993442131979432012-03-28T07:01:00.003-07:002012-03-28T08:20:17.348-07:00Happy 1.5 Birthday Bella!<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Today my baby is 18 months old. It completely blows my mind that we have reached this milestone as quickly as we did. The day she was born really just seemed like yesterday. I do love this age though. She can get around on her own, she feeds herself, is starting to communicate and potty training is just around the corner. She's no longer my easy baby. She knows how to hold her own with her 2 older sisters and is not afraid to express her feelings. She is crazy about baby dolls and loves to try to do everything Caroline and Summer are doing. Bella can be a little stubborn, but with her adorable little smile, big blue eyes, beautiful olive skin, and bouncing curls she can make just about anyone surrender to her needs. She willingly gives out hugs and kisses, and can be completely comforted as long as she can find the tag of her Baby Suzie and her two middle fingers.</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">If you recall at the beginning of the year I set myself a goal to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by this milestone. I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy with Caroline and was able to hit that goal by the time she was 18 months old. Since I only gained 30 pounds with Bella this goal should be a piece of cake. I would love to tell you that I crushed my goal and am only a few pounds from my complete goal weight, but I'm sad to report that I'm not even close. </span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">I have lost 12 pounds from the beginning of the year, but that still leaves me short of my first goal for the year. I am completely </span>disciplined<span style="font-size: 100%;"> during the weekday. By the time I'm washing the dishes from dinner I've usually only consumed between 900-1000 calories. On top of that I've spent my day chasing 3-4 little girls, and used their nap time for cleaning my house and doing either cardio or circuit training. The problems come in the evening. If I've had a bad day or the kids have pushed me to the point I want to pull my hair out, the first thing I want when I walk down the stairs after they are all snug in their beds is something sweet. The weekends also spell trouble for me. I have an </span>extremely<span style="font-size: 100%;"> handsome husband that has worked hard to maintain his health. He should absolutely enjoy a treat or two over the weekend, but it does make it hard for me to not want to join him.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">So, am I going to admit defeat and go back to being fat and happy for the rest of my life? No, this may take longer than I had hoped but I will get there. I've found a lot of tools to help me along the way. My buddy Angie recently introduced me to 2 websites that can help me keep up with my calories. www.fatsecret.com and www.myfitnesspal.com. Both of these have databases with the calories for almost all the foods you eat and even menus from restaurants so you can keep up with your daily count each day by entering it in on your home computer or even on your phone. I can even scan the barcodes on the packages of food as I am preparing my snack or meal and all the nutritional information is entered in </span>automatically<span style="font-size: 100%;">. </span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">To keep up with my workouts I have found www.logyourrun.com and www.nikeplus.com very helpful. Nike + is programmed on my Ipod so all the information is entered as soon as I plug it in to charge each day without me doing anything. I like the Log your run site because I can enter in my elliptical workouts as well as my strength training daily. I'm also a huge fan of the Jillian Michael's books and workouts. She gives you this formula to help you figure out how many calories you should eat each day if you hope to lose weight. 655+(4.35 X the weight you want to be) + (4.7 X your height in inches) - (4.7 x your age). So for me 655 + (4.35 * 120) + (4.7 * 63) - (4.7 * 33) = 1318 daily. This of course is also based on the fact that you will be active and not just laying on the couch dreaming of the foods you wish you were eating.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">I'll keep plugging along and let you know if I find anymore tools and tips. I hope I will have better results for you when I hit my next goal date in July. Good luck to those in the same boat. I know it's not easy.</span></span></div>staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-19670903659816303652012-02-22T04:53:00.004-08:002012-02-22T06:32:43.295-08:00MBA as I do......not as I sayA while back I was asked if I would be interested in blogging about the day to day experiences in the life of a family with an MBA student for Duke. I was flattered that they would ask me, a stay-at-home mom that wishes Facebook had spell check on it. After some consideration I decided I shouldn't add another task to my life. I feel stretched a little thin with our current situation and I didn't think it was fair to my kids to add something that would take even more time away from them. I also was worried about what my blog might include. Looking back on some of my posts here I realize I don't exactly paint the prettiest picture for an MBA family. Although this time in our lives is probably the hardest we have ever had (and ever hope to have) it's not all bad. I don't want to scare anyone that is possibly considering pursuing a similar degree.<br /><br />When Brandon and I agreed that he should go back to school I figured it would be a lot of work. Some late nights, weekends away, and a lot of time on my own. I had no idea to what extent that would be until now. My plan for him to just slide by so that he can just get this degree and nothing more was not on his radar. At first I thought my husband was way more of an over-achiever than I ever realized. He has done exceptional well in all his classes. But as I listen to what he learned over the weekend or what his case study is about each week it became clear that he really does love this stuff. It's not about doing better than the guy sitting next to him (although that's nice), he's learning to do something he is extremely passionate about and make it a career. Isn't that what it is all about?!<br /><br />People ask me all the time, "Don't you wish you would have done this years ago before you got married or had kids?" Really it took us this long to realize what really interests us. If Brandon would have gone for his masters before now it probably would have been in engineering and he would have just continued to dislike his job. If we would have started before kids, sure, it may have been easier, but I don't I think I would have admired all that Brandon was putting into this. I don't think he would have appreciated my efforts in helping him succeed. Before his first day of school I knew there would be a day somewhere along the line of this program where one or both of us snapped. We would reach a point where one of us hit our limit and would completely take it out on the other. It hasn't happened yet, and now I don't think it ever will. Every night we stand in awe of what the other did to get us through the day and there is no reason to complain. We both know how hard the other works and the sacrifices we are making now are so little compared to the future we are preparing for ourselves and our girls.<br /><br />So go out and do it. Find what you want to do and don't let anything stop you. It's not going to be easy, what good things in life really are? Like they told us at my Duke weekend, you've got to keep reminding yourself this is a short-term sacrifice for a long-term goal.staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-91780044215089912532012-02-02T08:18:00.000-08:002012-02-02T10:29:26.803-08:00February is not my diet's friendI appreciate all the support everyone has given me with my weight loss goals this year. Believe me, it keeps me motivated to know that I have so many people behind me and I certainly don't want to let you down. Since the beginning of the year I have lost 8 pounds, and I am proud of that. Even better I have been able to add mileage to my runs and increase the intensity of my strength training. Last Friday Brandon was home so I was able to go out by myself and take a nice run without the stroller. I set my Ipod for 5 miles. I've only run 5 miles once before, but it was with Brandon and I wasn't about to give up after a few miles and hear him talk about it for the rest of my life. This time the only person to motivate me was myself (and the little lady that told me what mile I was on while I was listening to my music). I honestly don't think I would have gone the entire distance if I hadn't planned it on my tracker from the beginning. but when it was all over I was so happy that I did. I ran it better than I ever could have imagined and feel very confidant that I can reach the 10K race goal this year. Hopefully I can get out there for longer runs more.<br /><br />This past month I have really kept up my calorie counting. It's very rare that I go over my 1300 count for the day. I've managed to plan ahead and eat light on the day that I know we are going out in the evening. I limit myself to one (if any) after-dinner snacks. This month, however, is going to be a rough one to keep this up. This weekend is the Superbowl. Sure, I can say all day long that I'm going to eat healthy while I watch the game (really the commercials). But Brandon has already said that his diet is off for the day, and it's pretty hard to enjoy your grilled chicken salad with lemon juice while the person next to you chows down on cheesy nachos and buffalo wings. I'm hoping to have some self-control, but Sunday will just be beginning.<br /><br />My birthday is Tuesday. My sweet Dad has offered to take me and my family out to dinner that night to celebrate and Brandon is taking me out on a birthday date night on Friday. They both told me I could pick the place. Tuesday night has yet to be decided, but for my date night I picked An in Cary. I tried to be reasonable and not pick a place that specializes in their mother's famous fried chicken recipe or a 2000 calorie molten chocolate cake. I checked the menu and the options looked great, but I'm just going to be honest, if I'm paying over $100 for a meal for 2 you better believe I'm going to be licking it clean. And is it really your birthday without a cake? I thought about making myself one that would be light yet curb my craving, but making my own birthday cake reminded me of the time that I saw a movie by myself. I just felt like a complete loser. Maybe we'll just buy a single slice from a restaurant so I'm not eating on it for days.<br /><br />Just when you think the worst is over 7 days later is Valentine's Day, and 3 days after that is Summer's 3rd birthday. We have a nice party planned for family and her friends. You know I decided to make her a personalized Minnie Mouse birthday cake. I'll try my best to resist the urge to test the frosting multiple times and hope to hang out more with the veggie tray than all the other kid-friendly goodies that I have planned.<br /><br />We do have a few other events on the calendar, but hopefully they won't be as detrimental to my diet. Thank goodness this is leap year. I'm going to need the extra day to help me avoid major disappointment when I step on the scale in March!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-34651842203651107142012-01-24T11:15:00.000-08:002012-01-24T11:57:14.763-08:00A New YearHappy New Year. I know my last post was in 2011 and it's almost the end of January, but things have been busy. Our family has been settling in nicely to 2012 and have already began the count down to the end of school. So what's new in 2012? Read on..<br /><br />Brandon has started back to his studying after a very brief <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">hiatus</span>. He is in Term 3 now and still going strong. Last weekend he attended his 13<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> residency, which leaves us 12 more to go. He still has many more months ahead, but at least he will be home more towards then end of the year than he was and that is something we are all so looking forward to.<br /><br />I began working for the first time in almost 3 years. I am watching a 3 month old girl 3.5 days per week. Even though Brandon and I had planned for me to watch another since Summer was born I was worried things would be extremely hectic for at least a little while. Honestly, things are way more <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">manageable</span> than I ever could have imagined. The baby is so easy going. She loves to play with our girls, eats and sleeps like a champ and has just completely fit in with our family perfectly from 8-5 each day. I think our girls are enjoying having a little one around again. Caroline loves trying to show her the way of the world, I can't change a single diaper without Summer opening the tags for me (which has only resulted in a few accidents), and although at first Bella would throw herself on the floor waving her legs up in the air <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">every time</span> she saw me feeding the baby in "her" chair, she has submitted to the change and even handed me her bottle today when it was time to eat.<br /><br />I am about to sign Summer up for another year of preschool. Bella's birthday is a little too late to begin in the fall so she will be at home with me for another year, but I don't mind. We just signed Caroline up for another season of violin and spring soccer. This will be the first year that she will get to play real games. I'm so excited for her and pity the poor little girl that tries to take the ball away. Caroline had her 100<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> day of school today, so only 80 more school days until I officially have a 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span> grader!<br /><br />I think my biggest challenge for this year is to finally meet my goal weight. I hate to admit it, but I am still 10 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant with Bella, and even then I had 10 pounds more to go until my goal weight. I know what it takes to lose the weight. I log all my food in a spreadsheet to count my calories. I work out 5-6 times a week by alternating <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">cardio</span> with strength training. It works great, but it always seems after a few weeks I lose my motivation to continue on. I think my problem is that I have always let my trying to lose weight be a secret. Like people don't already know I'm overweight and if I mention I'm on a diet they will think differently of me. I think it will be great motivation to share with everyone my plans and hold myself <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">accountable</span> for the changes I want to make. So here we go:<br /><br />1. Be back at my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">pre</span>-pregnancy weight by the time Bella hits 18 months (11 pounds in 10 weeks)<br /><br />2. Hit my goal weight by July (22 pounds total in 23 weeks)<br /><br />3. Run a 10K - does anyone know of a good one locally?<br /><br />OK, it's out there. Everyone knows my plans, so who's with me?!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-73795766262385451072011-12-30T11:07:00.000-08:002011-12-30T12:10:16.859-08:00Bring on 2012!The Herndons are ready for a new year. 2011 had its ups and downs for us, but anyone that knows me well would know I'm ready to bring this year to a close and move on. This year has been tough on us in just about any way possible, but we survived.<br /><br />The way we started the New Year was just about how the rest of the year continued. Brandon had a stomach bug that had already hit Caroline, Summer, and me and we welcomed 2011 while Brandon hurled alone in our bedroom and I cared for our kids alone. Foreshadowing for a year with an MBA student? I think so.... On the bright side we had just learned that Brandon was accepted into one of the best MBA programs in the country at Duke University. I personally think my husband is brilliant, but he joked that he wanted to pay his tuition as soon as possible before Duke realized they made a mistake in his acceptance.<br /><br />We tried to keep the kids busy. Caroline got to try out some new sports. She played T-ball and tennis for the first time, and she began violin lessons. Summer took a few classes at the Apex community center, and started her first year in preschool at Salem Baptist on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bella keeps herself busy all on her own. This is the year she met all of her first year milestones. She learned to crawl, then walk, to feed herself, and say a few words. My easy baby has turned into quite a wild woman in the last 12 months.<br /><br />I would say the highlight of the year was taking our kids to Disney World for a week. We rented a private home 2 miles from the park. My Dad was able to stay with us for the first 2 nights to get us settled in and help us learn how to maneuver 3 children through miles of attractions. Caroline rode every ride she was tall enough for (which only didn't include about 2). Summer fell in love with Mickey and Minnie, and Bella was just happy that if she wasn't being constantly pushed around in a stroller than someone was holding her. The girls had a ball and Brandon and I came home exhausted, but with memories that will stay with us forever.<br /><br />The return from our trip was the start of the downhill spiral of 2011. Bella was running a very high fever so after a 10 hour car ride I got to make my first trip to the ER after 6 years of being a mom. After waiting for 2 hours with a sick baby they sent me home with a dose of motrin and a $800 bill. In retrospect the bill was not an issue since this was not our only visit to the hospital this year. Summer got very sick, Caroline had to have pencil lead removed from her face, and I had to have my gallbladder removed (among other things).<br /><br />Two weeks later the real fun began. Brandon received his first fedex packet of books from the Duke MBA program. His pre-reading began and life hasn't been the same since. The 2nd half of 2011 has mostly involved Brandon's nose being in a book and me alone with 3 children. We have found a few moments here and there to spend together, but I do miss my husband. The program has taught us both a lot about ourselves. We have had to push ourselves so far beyond our comfort zones that we had no idea the things that we are capable of. I am way more than just a stay-at-home mom that cooks and cleans, and can multi-task like no body's business. Brandon has learned that he really does have every right to attend a top university and has surprised a lot of people (including himself) by how well he can hang and excel with the country's top professionals in school.<br /><br />So here we are, hours away from 2011 being behind us. In just writing this blog I've realized the year hasn't been all bad. We've had some pretty good times, and learned some great lessons, but it's been tough and I'm ready to look ahead. Let's be honest, 2012 isn't going to be a piece of cake. Brandon still has another 12 months of school. I am going to begin work for the first time in almost 3 years. And the girls aren't exactly going to start raising themselves. I know that this next year will have its challenges as well, but 2012 is the light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm so ready!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-88502379542128522422011-12-05T05:53:00.000-08:002011-12-05T17:09:08.519-08:00An MBA Thanksgiving<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-auwOwPwC6F9roqigbtLT5SUv7zuBDZxYsgp41d4_vmUedUJD-kJQdFsWSKmhTJebaPSnQzzt_BGUDFX4cuLCavSINg181eZzwp25VaJvySLvu-JFEh1qQJF2lIlsePbVUVy5iZZoTtqk/s1600/DSC_5241.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682646360755265794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-auwOwPwC6F9roqigbtLT5SUv7zuBDZxYsgp41d4_vmUedUJD-kJQdFsWSKmhTJebaPSnQzzt_BGUDFX4cuLCavSINg181eZzwp25VaJvySLvu-JFEh1qQJF2lIlsePbVUVy5iZZoTtqk/s320/DSC_5241.JPG" /></a><br />This year we celebrated our first Thanksgiving with a true graduate student. We've had holidays before when Brandon was studying. He took about half a year to prepare for the Professional Engineers exam when Summer was a baby, and when Bella was a newborn he studied for a couple months right before he took the GMAT, but it was nothing like this.<br /><br />Right before the holiday, Brandon finished classes for Term 2. All he needed to do to finish his current classes was to take the final exams. Three exams that he could begin taking the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving. In the past we have gone to our hometown to celebrate with our families and maybe take a day trip to the mountains to cut down a tree. This year we knew our time was limited so we planned to stay in Apex and celebrate on our own.<br /><br />Caroline was tracked out of school and Brandon only had to work two days Thanksgiving week so things were suppose to be pretty low key. The day before Thanksgiving Brandon began his day of studying and I took the girls out to finish some last minute shopping at the Fresh Market so we could hurry home and begin some of the next day's meal. Half a mile from our house I crossed the intersection of Highway 55 towards our neighborhood. Immediately after I began to move I notice a lady in a big heavy duty red Chevy truck speeding through a red light taking off the front end of our minivan and spinning out of control through the intersection. Somehow she managed to miss all the other cars surrounding the scene. People all around the intersection ran to our van to make sure the girls and I were alright, handing me their business cards and waiting with us for the police to arrive. It was so sweet to see so many strangers willing to help when I'm sure they had their own holiday plans that day. Luckily, Brandon was at home studying and was able to get to the scene within minutes to help with the girls. We managed to get all our belongings in our small car and I walked home with the little ones in our giant stroller. I'm so glad that I am married to a level-headed man that was able to take care of everything for me at the scene and deal with all the insurance and car rental issues when he obviously had better things to do.<br /><br /><br />Thanksgiving day we forgot about all the mess from the day before, Brandon closed his books and we spent the entire day together as a family. In order to work off a little of our turkey in advance we signed the whole family up to race in the Crossroads Turkey Trot. Caroline did a similar race last year (and I ran with her 8 weeks post C-section Bella delivery), but could not complete the run without walking. This year all 5 of us together (Summer and Bella in the BOB) ran the race together. It was so fun encouraging her along the way and watching her pass a lot of kids (and some adults) as she ran the entire way and sprinted towards the finish line. I was so proud of her, and we will definitely be back next year.<br /><br />The rest of the day was dedicated to cooking and eating. Since it was just our family and my Dad we were able to make a simple dinner and just enjoy our time together. Because I was behind on my cooking I recruited Caroline to do a lot of the work and she was a huge help. I think she has become a permanent addition to my Thanksgiving cooking crew. We managed to make the entire meal from scratch, except for the pumpkin pie, which was the biggest failure of the evening.<br /><br />Friday morning Brandon helped me get all the decorations out of the attic so I could start hanging the lights and such while he went back to the books. Starting was slow, doing it alone tripping over 3 little ones. Surprisingly, I was actually able to get everything done including all the outside lights and the timers set just as he finished for the day. I was relieved that the entire family was able to go together to pick out our Christmas tree. I had visions of me coming home alone dragging in another Griswold tree, but with a huge hole in the front that I had majorly over-paid for.<br /><br />Saturday, I decided to brave the crowds and took the girls out shopping for some of the deals I saw in the paper. Strangely, no one was out. I warned the girls about staying close and suggested that maybe they all should just ride in the buggy. They thought I was crazy when we were all alone in the stores and didn't know why I was making such a big deal.<br /><br />Sunday was the big day. Brandon started his first exam. I kept the girls out of the house so he could concentrate. Luckily this one only took him until about naptime and gave us the evening to recover. Friday he planned to take the long 24 hour accounting exam, immediately followed by another 6 hour exam on Saturday. Rather than one or both of us losing our minds trying to keep 3 little ones quiet all day long I took the girls to Greensboro to visit with my mom and Brandon's family until Saturday afternoon. The girls had manicures and exchanged presents with my mom and spent the evening with the Herndons out at dinner and walking in downtown Greensboro for the Christmas tree lighting celebration. Bella and Summer were not feeling well so it was a long evening away from home, but I think it helped Brandon to have the house to himself, and the girls enjoyed visiting with their grandparents and aunt and uncle.<br /><br />Sunday was ours. The exams were over and the girls and I were back (and healthy). We enjoyed the day together eating at Sarah Foster's restaurant in Durham and doing a little Christmas shopping brainstorming with the girls. It was actually a pretty productive day. It was so nice to all be together again.<br /><br />Next Thanksgiving will also be an MBA one, but should be nothing like this. I'm really looking forward to getting a little bit back to normal, but honestly there are things we did this year out of necessity that I hope to continue in our Thanksgiving for years to come.staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-81537083888612120462011-11-21T05:58:00.000-08:002011-11-21T17:29:28.695-08:00A little breakThe last few months for our family have been wild and crazy. Brandon has been super busy with school and work. The girls have been keeping me on my toes with all their activities and events. Some days we just have to get out and do something to prevent them from running over each other or me. But, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Brandon's 2nd term is almost over. He has finished classes and now just has to complete two 6 hour exams and one 24 hour exam after Thanksgiving. Caroline's violin recital is in a few weeks (and I think she's ready), and Christmas is just around the corner. I'm so ready for all the chaos to be over. This weekend we got a little taste.<br /><br />My Dad agreed to watch all 3 of our girls and let them spend the night so Brandon and I could go to my first Duke game together. Brandon has season tickets to the Duke basketball games. During camp out 3 of 6 guys in his group were able to earn the pass. They agreed to split up the games evenly so everyone could see some of the games. As a spouse of a graduate student I also have access to a Duke ID which allows me to use the student tickets for games. Coach K's first home game after breaking the record happened to be the game that Brandon signed up to have tickets for both of us. Going into the student section was a new experience for me. I've sat close to the floor before, but had an assigned spot with an actual seat. Duke does it a little differently. The student sections are standing room only with no assignments. Brandon explained to me that this is on purpose. Duke really gives themselves the best opportunity to have home court advantage. Hearing all the chants and songs, the choreographed hand gestures, and just the pure volume of cheering and booing would be enough to send me home crying if I missed a shot. I made it though the entire game and cheered on the Blue Devils, but we skipped out on the ceremony to celebrate Coach K. Hey, I'm 32 years old, it's been about 12 years since the last time I stood for an entire game. - and even then I don't think I was too happy about it.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677573484860050146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMfWvEFJPWzUpZ5-A_j4fTvr3fM8_q5PS3slpu_g5ywVeDNUKPkVfrefwpXiNwhtBQum9ZnrEWhqHJuV_fJxMatbqQ_0wGlevvXMvWDLlwhqP0BwHAWr12Z_Hms5-p7eUEdx280U6OSzT/s320/1118111904%255B1%255D.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>After the game we drove to the DBat and enjoyed some fantastic food at Cuban Revolution <a href="http://thecubanrevolution.com/">http://thecubanrevolution.com/</a>. If you are looking for a great place for some tasty food and cold drinks this is your place. It was great after a long day of child rearing and yelling at 7 foot tall guys.</p><br /><br /><p>Saturday, after a long night with my children, my sweet Dad asked if he could take them to see the Raleigh Christmas parade. I took pity on him and offered to accompany the 4 of them to the big event. I prepared for the freezing temperatures and obnoxious crowd, but it really wasn't that bad. We found a place in the sun, snuggled up with a bunch of other locals and enjoyed the sites. To be honest we did sneak out a little early, but I wanted to beat the traffic. I had another surprise in store for the kids.</p><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677579231234210994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0hC9B6IFQ14hrckolKMWKmzKPuXDQp-ouhaJYmyI8aFzuo6WJ-pF3G21SbpOsIs3L1J4GFh-HbTWebRF9Z40VXv4unyQfyNwjjPeoaZJfRDSalAWIm49G_McVu61papFVKAPkSkVs47G/s320/1119110936.jpg" />I drove straight from the game to Siler City to meet Brandon's mom and sister. Debbie wanted to watch the girls for us for the rest of the weekend. I didn't tell the girls who we were meeting and where we were going. They were thrilled to see their Nana and Aunt Momo walking up, and even more excited when they realized they didn't have to go back with me.</p><br /><br /><p>I drove straight home to meet Brandon. He had just finished with his studying for the weekend and was able to take the next day and a half to spend alone with me. We left straight away and did a little shopping. Had some great sushi for dinner and I even dragged him to the Breaking Dawn movie. (I think he secretly likes going). The next morning we woke up late and headed out to breakfast. We had a wonderful outdoor brunch at a little German cafe in Durham <a href="http://www.guglhupf.com/">http://www.guglhupf.com/</a> If you haven't gone you absolutely have to on the next beautiful morning or afternoon. It is so worth the drive. That afternoon we decided to work off our frittatas and fruit and set our bikes up for a 20 mile ride down the tobacco trail. We were having a great time until about mile 18 when the novelty wore off. It made me think about all my dear friends that just completed a marathon. I was on a freakin' bike and done after 20 miles, they still had 6 to go and no bike to get them there. Way to go guys!</p><br /><br /><p>That evening we met the girls in Mebane for dinner and brought them home for our short week to begin. I tried to ease the pain by taking them all to the new Pullen park this morning, but they are certainly making me pay for our time off with a little bit of reprogramming from their time with the grandparents. Luckily, Brandon is back home in 2 days for a 4 day weekend. It won't be school-free, but we are all looking forward to a great holiday, and some time all together again.<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p>staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-14656443434004495082011-11-09T12:13:00.000-08:002011-11-09T13:42:37.663-08:00Mama isn't a 4 letter word after allI love being a stay-at-home mom. There is no better joy in the world to hear your child say a new word or see them do something new and exciting and know that you were the one that taught them. It also gives our family the opportunity to have more time together when Brandon is home because all the other things are done. I know it hasn't always been this easy.<br /><br />For almost 4 years I worked full-time when we only had Caroline. It was so hard to come home every day to a rush of things to do. I would try to throw something on the table for us to woof down so we could have a few minutes to play with little Caroline and then it was time to get her off to bed so I could pick up around the house and catch up on all the things that I didn't get to do during the day while I was at work. The evenings were for grocery shopping, laundry and other errands and the weekends for cleaning and yard maintenance. If I took a field trip on a week day during my lunch break I would watch the stay-at-home moms taking their kids on outings and dream about how wonderful that life must be.<br /><br />To be fair, it's not like I LOVED my job. When I used to tell people I was a travel agent they would always talk about how much fun my job must be, but getting yelled at on a daily basis by some prima donna business man that didn't get his aisle seat on the plane or was not in room 714 because the previous guest decided to stay another night was not my idea of fun. I was good at what I did, but it was just a paycheck.<br /><br />When we had Summer I got that wish. It didn't make much sense for me to stay at my current job while paying for 2 in daycare, especially since we knew we wanted a third child pretty quickly (Bella arrived 19 months later). My first few months at home were so special. I always sat aside some special project Caroline and I could work on together to help her learn something new or maybe a craft just for fun. I would snuggle my little new baby and enjoy all her little milestones that I missed with Caroline since I was at work. Dinner was on the table the second Brandon walked through the door so we had an entire evening to enjoy each other's company. On the weekend we always did something special with the kids since we had the time.<br /><br />I feel somewhere along the line I lost that feeling. My house seems like it is never clean, there is always an errand to be run, the projects have been replaced with Nick Jr., and some days I feel like I never get to sit down. My girls are constantly running around and yelling at each other or just for the fun of it. Sometimes I feel like if I hear my name one more time I'm going to need to run outside and scream at the top of my lungs. I dig remotes out of the trash, wash tooth paste and diaper cream out of hair, and search for teddy bears while little ones scream in their beds refusing to sleep without them. The girls need my constant attention. Bella cries her head off if she sees me walk out of the room. Summer gets jealous if I'm playing with anyone other than her, and Caroline just seems completely ungrateful most days. I started daydreaming about going to work, sitting in a chair while sipping a cup of coffee and talking with my co-workers. Heck, the best adult conversation I usually have each day is with my neighbor on the way to the bus stop as we try to maneuver our 6 children down 2 blocks without being run over.<br /><br />Then the other day Bella came running up to me. Those little legs were moving as fast as they could possibly go to try to get into her Mama's arms as quickly as possible. How much longer is her face going to light up every time I walk in the room? When will a kiss from me no longer heal all of Summer's wounds? It's only a matter of time that Caroline is going to figure out that I don't know everything. These years are so tough, but I'll never get them back. I want to hold my girls as much as I can for as long as they will let me. The other stuff just doesn't matter in comparison.<br /><br />Oh, and by the way. If you see a stay-at-home mom out at the park having a picnic with her 3 kids on a beautiful day it's not because she doesn't have anything better to do. It's because she loves her kids more than anything and she worked her butt off to get there!staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154317746997241044.post-41747183250812378102011-11-04T10:48:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:05:28.653-07:00Money - that's right, I'm going to talk about it...All right, I'm breaking all the rules. I want to talk about something we are all always thinking about, but we are not allowed to talk about, money. To be completely honest I'm not in direct contact with anyone that is completely without, but I've also never met anyone that has said, "You know, I sure wish I didn't have all this money!" I'm not looking to lay in a bed of $100s or even buy ridiculous things. I just want to be able to not cringe every time one of my girls rips a hole in her jeans and know there's another $15 down the drain or feel like crying each time I pick up my car from the repair shop.<br /><br />I would say Brandon and I are pretty thrifty. We rarely eat out and I pack our lunches everyday. We don't go to shows or concerts. We don't buy the latest and greatest electronics, and I'm pretty sure other than my running shoes and my flip flops all the shoes and purses (2) in my closet were purchased pre-children. We constantly review our budget to see how we are doing each month and see if there is anyway we can cut spending. I clean my own house, care for my own lawn and repair anything myself within reason.<br /><br />If you pay attention to Dave Ramsey he says the only thing you should ever been willing to finance is your home and your education. We don't buy anything unless we have the cash up front. Brandon has been driving the car that I bought when we graduated college for years, but it allows us to have no car payments so our only debt is our home and our lovely new bundle of joy, the student loan. If we use our credit card it is only for the cash back bonus and it is paid off in full every month.<br /><br />When I started staying at home we had planned on a hit to our budget, but really with 3 young kids it's not worth paying a daycare 80% of your salary when you could be building a very important foundation in your children's lives. We tightened our belt buckles and try to cut way back. I clip coupons and constantly try to search for the best deals on food and clothes. I even started a garden to grow the more expensive produce that we constantly eat to try to cut expenses there. Sure, we could get rid of our cable and our cell phones, but if that is your only form of entertainment I feel like those minimal.<br /><br />This has been a tough year for us. Thanks to Bella and myself our medical bills are off the charts, our house had termites, the cars needed major repairs, the roof was damaged in the tornado, the water heater bit the dust, and I think I am trying to mentally block all the other small issues that add up. It seems each month Brandon and I review cash flow and each time say, "We would have met the budget if it wouldn't have been for........." It's never a fun reason because we have something new and shiny to enjoy, but usually due to something breaking or someone being sick.<br /><br />Brandon works so hard and has provided our family with a home and the ability to pay our bills, but it just never seems like we can get ahead. Don't get me wrong, I don't need "things" to feel fulfilled. However, I would like to be able to give my kids the things they need, save for their college, and pay for their weddings (yes, all 3) one day. With Brandon working all day and in school in the evenings and weekends it's not like I can go out and just pick any old job to earn some extra cash when someone must care for our children. I tried to find a family looking childcare (but apparently no one is). I've tried to come up with things I could sell with no avail. What am I missing? How do others make it work?staceyannhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18096118492357183174noreply@blogger.com0