Halloween and Mud

I 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Charlie Herndon February 28, 2013 - August 15, 2013

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What 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.

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.

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".

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!

Saying Goodbye

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.

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.

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. 

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^st 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.

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.

Charlotte, I hope you’re ready for the Herndons, because here we come!

Almost Home

We 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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

In limbo

If 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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

A big week for us

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?!)

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 since he finished school!  It's actually with the same company, now Duke Energy.   He'll be transferring  to the Analytics Unit, working with the energy trading models and fuel optimization strategies.  Which basically means that he'll be spending his working hours creating spreadsheets, studying data, and telling people the best way they should go about spending their money.  If anyone knows Brandon very well, you know that he would probably love to do this even if they weren't paying him.  I am so thrilled for him!  The only downfall to this job is that it will require us to move to Charlotte. We honestly don't know much about the town, but what we do know about it we are very excited to have in our backyard.  Charlotte is also closer to my sister and brother, no farther from Brandon's family or my mom, and my dad is coming with us so the family is completely covered.  It's closer to the mountains, it's closer to the beaches we like, it's even closer to Disney World (Caroline made sure she pointed that out to me).  The only thing it's not closer to is our friends in the triangle.  We have met so many wonderful people during our time in the Raleigh area, especially just in the last couple years.  It will truly break my heart to wave goodbye to each of you and I pray that our paths will cross again.

Before I start getting tear drops on my keyboard I have some more great news from the week.  Brandon received a personal letter from the Dean of the Fuqua school of Business at Duke letting him know that he was one of the few in his class that was awarded the honor of Fuqua Scholar.  This is only awarded to the top 10% of his class based on academic performance.  They will be presenting him with a special award with special recognition at his graduation in May.

I have to admit for months years I have been worried about what the future held.  Many sleepless nights and nail biting days have almost consumed me.  It seemed like the difficulties were never going to end, and maybe they won't.  But this week I feel as though the Lord is looking me straight in the face and saying, "You see Stacey, I GOT THIS."  I'm so glad He does, because we would not have made it this far without Him.  For the first time, Brandon has finally admitted to me, yes, it was all worth it!

Ending the year on a high note

Happy 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

It takes a gingerbread village..

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.

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!

Step 1:  Make the dough

I used this recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gingerbread-cookies-101-recipe/index.html

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.

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.

Step 2: Cutting the dough and baking

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.

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.

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.

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.

Step 3:  Building your house

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:

1 pound of powdered sugar
3 pasteurized egg whites
1 tsp of vanilla

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.

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.

Step 4: Decorate your house

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.

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.

What a difference 2 years can make

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Home alone

For 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.

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.

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.

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.....

The beginning of the end

Well, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Midyear Update

I 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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Caroline and Summer riding the Snoopy airplane.  Summer could have done this the entire time and been happy.

The highlight of my trip!  Summer, Caroline, even Bella got to drive their own cars.

 Brandon and Summer riding the pirate ships, Caroline is in the boat behind them.  Caroline loved it, Summer, not so much.....

The girls in Snoopy's doghouse.

Me, Bella, and Caroline while Caroline drove the car around the park.

Brandon with Summer, Caroline and Snoopy

Better late than never

I 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New experiences with an Old Pastime

I 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?!).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Let them eat cupcakes!

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:

Last September my husband and I welcomed our 3^rd child into the family. Life with a kindergartner, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

James 4:13-15 - 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.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

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. http://www.thecupcakekids.org/cck/mysale.php?refid=1333459293. Thanks for your support and hope to see you on the 5th! More details to come soon!

Happy 1.5 Birthday Bella!

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.

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.

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 disciplined 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 extremely 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.

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 automatically.

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.

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.

MBA as I do......not as I say

A 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.

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?!

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.

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.

February is not my diet's friend

I 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!