Archive | April, 2012

Week in Review: April 19th- 25th 2012

25 Apr

Another crazy week around here! I started out this week by having lots and lots more interviews. It has kept me busy for sure. I have been dropping Z off around 7:00 am and picking her up at 6:00 pm so it has been a wild couple days of interviews. I have several good options going so we will see what ends up happening!

But luckily Aunt Cole has been there to keep Z on her non school days and boy does Zoey have a blast. She just loves Bella and Mae Mae and has the best time playing with them. It is too cute watching her with them (she needs a sister…ha! maybe one day).

This weekend we took a break from all the interviewing to have some fun with Honey and Grandaddy. We started out by celebrating Earth Day weekend at the Zoo on Saturday morning. Before we left the house I noticed her scratching a bug bite on her foot but didn’t think anything of it but while we were at the zoo I happened to look down and noticed her foot was REALLY swollen! Of course I freaked out a bit but a zoo keeper was nearby and took us to medial services. There they gave her Benadryl and put some bug bite ointment on her foot so it seemed to help but she only wanted to wear one shoe so hobbling around the zoo with one shoe she did! We had planned on going to her friend Claire’s birthday that afternoon but that afternoon took a turn. A girl with a swollen foot, no nap, and full of Benadryl does not make for a party girl! She was ill, ill, ill and would NOT take a nap…poor thing! But after laying with her for what seemed like an eternity she finally went down and woke up about 5:30 that night in a much better mood. So we decided to have dinner with Honey, Grandaddy, Mam-ma, and Uncle Steve.

On Sunday we woke up and decided to celebrate Earth Day some more by heading down to Railroad Park for the world’s largest picnic! There we ended up seeing several of my friends, coworkers and Z’s pediatrician who took a look at her swollen foot for me! :) It was a chilly but beautiful day and we had the best time walking around and letting Z dance to the music!

So we ended up wrapping up another fun weekend and I was back to the grind of interviewing once Monday rolled around. Z went to school and got to spend some more time with her cousins too! Z had not gotten to see much of Eric lately so on Wednesday they decided to get together for a lunch date at Chuck E Cheese. We still had tokens left over from her birthday last year so it was a fun free time! And all Z wanted to do was put money in the picture machine to take pics with her daddy…thats my girl! :)

So it wasn’t the best week in the world by any means but we did manage to make the most of it and have a fun time visiting with our family and friends!

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Week in Review: April 12th- April 18th 2012

18 Apr

So…good thing I parted ways with my job because on Thursday Z woke up with these sores all over her hands, feet, and mouth and after a couple of minutes I remembered that school sent home a letter the week before saying she had been exposed to Hand, Mouth, and Foot. So back to the doctor we went Thursday morning and sure enough she had it! So this week was off to a good start…ha! But the doc said she could go back to school on Friday so she did and I was out and about at interviews. Just looking for the right fit for me and our family…I know it is out there I just have to find it! Later Friday night Tanner and Nichole came over and I put Zoey to bed then Nichole and I stayed up till 1:00 am tagging things for our neighborhood garage sale. After 3 hours of sleep we were up again and out setting up for the yardsale. So I spent my birthday in the hot sun but making some money and getting a nice farmers tan! :) Kendall had items she was selling too so she came over at 5:00 am to hop in bed with Zoey so all of us could set up for the yard sale. Then later that morning she brought Zoey out to us at the yard sale. My mom ended up coming and taking Zoey to her house and boy was I glad she did. There was 100+ people with tables at the yard sale and lots more people shopping and I was super nervous about her getting lost…even with everyone watching it was crazy. After the yardsale wrapped up at 2:30 I went home showered and planned on taking a 15 minute nap but it ended up being an hour! But after I was up I headed on over to my parents to pick up Zoey and have dinner with them.

On Sunday we got up and had lunch at Sumo for all the April Bush Girls Birthdays. It was fun getting to hang out with everyone and of course Zoey had the best time eating rice and seeing the fish. Later that afternoon Z and I went back to the house to hang out while Eric went over to Tanner and Nichole’s to help them finish their deck.

The rest of the week was filled with job interviews and applications. A very busy and productive week but on Tuesday Z and I were in the backyard picking weeds when it started to rain and instead of running in for cover I decided to run in for rainboots and the camera and boy was I glad I did. I ended up getting some really cute pics of Z. I have to say I really enjoyed walking around both of us in our water boots and jackets! :) We played in the rain for hours and it was so much fun!

So another week has come and gone and another year for me! Normally birthday weeks are the best but this birthday was well…let’s just say not the best. It has been a LONG week around here. Busy, busy with interviews, sick little ones, resume sending, interviewing again, and just other stuff that makes it blah! But one thing I do know is that the Lord is here for me and He has everything perfectly planned. And even though things were not exactly ideal this birthday (like me ripping my new pair of jeans in the hinny at the yard sale) but I have my sweet little girl home and that is more than a lot of waiting moms can say so for that reason alone this was by far the best birthday ever!

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Week in Review: April 5th- 11th 2012

11 Apr

Wow…What a week! We started off our week by having a WONDERFUL time in Boston which you can read about Here, Here, Here, and Here.

On Monday we made the trip back from Boston and Zoey did alright on the plane. This time we did not have the middle seat to ourselves since it was a booked flight and while we were boarding I told Eric to let Zoey sit in the empty seat until the passenger came. So she sat there and played a while then this man showed up for his seat and let me just tell you Zoey was NOT HAPPY! She did not like that man taking her seat. Big mistake my mommy to let Z think it was hers to begin with. We would distract here for a bit but every time she saw that man she screamed bloody murder and wanted to hit him! At home if this happened I would do time outs with her and she typically cries pretty hard while we talk about what she has done wrong and how to do it right and eventually she stops screaming and it ends with a hug but on the plane this could not happen so I looked like I was raising one pretty crazy kid but we survived. It was so bad Eric had to angle his body and hold up a magazine so she could not make eye contact with him for the entire flight…girl did not forget he took her seat! Seriously…she would go 30 minutes without seeing him and then one glance she was throwing a fit!

Once we were in Atlanta I went to change Z’s diaper and noticed this really bad rash. But she seemed fine but I went ahead and called the doc and they said don’t worry about it unless she starts running a fever and don’t you know at 8:00 that night the fever came so off we were to the ER! After waiting an hour we found out she had strep throat and double ear infection! Poor girl…especially flying with her ear hurting…no wonder she wanted to hit that man! :)

So the next day I had to take off work due to her being sick and when I went back to work on Wednesday and long story short I ended up parting ways with my company. And I am glad I did because I was having lot of last minute overnights and early mornings to go to Mississippi and it was really taking a toll on me and I fully believe there is a better job out there that will be more family friendly.

So that about wraps up the week…Now let the job hunting begin! :) But in the meantime enjoy this week in review video of our pics from Boston!

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Boston Vacation: Day #4

8 Apr

Happy Easter!!! What a very special first Easter with Zoey it was this morning. We woke up to Zoey smiling extra big at the frog basket that was left on the window seal last night. It was not  a super exciting basket because me and Z had to share a suitcase so there was not much room but she loved it none the less.

She was SO sad that daddy had to leave to work again today but we were out the door shortly after him too and on our way over to China Town. We quickly walked through the district because not much was open I guess due to it being Easter morning. But we did grab breakfast there and then hit the subway again over to Beacon Hill. It is the very ritzy district where famous people like Tom Brady and Gisele live. We didn’t see any celebrities but got to see the beautiful architecture and super cute antique shops and children’s boutiques. It also made for some cute pics too! :)

We took a break from our walking around Boston to stop off at Tadpole Park by the Frog Pond so Zoey  could get out of the carrier and run around a bit. She does really good walking around the city but lots of the roads are dangerous so I only let her down in certain areas. She had a blast playing with the other kids at the park and had a squirrel come and eat food right out of her hand…that kind of freaked me out a bit!

After the park we got back on the subway to head on over to the Science Center. Sadly Z fell asleep in the ticket line but since it was free with our McWane Membership I took an hour or so to walk around before catching the subway back to the hotel.

After her nap Eric came back to the room and we headed out the door again to ride the subway to Boston Commons so we could start The Freedom Trail. This trail is a red brick road that stretches 2.5 miles across the city and hits all the famous spots of history. So we got to see places such as Paul Reveres House, balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read, site of the Boston Massacre, and lots of other historic stops. We finished up in The North End which is basically like Little Italy in New York. I had been hearing all about Mikes’s Bakery so we walked aways to find it but the line was wrapped around the building which is just not worth it with a 21 month old in tote so I will just have to imagine how yummy the pastries are!

From there we caught the subway out to MIT…you know I had to let Zoey see all of her school options for the future! :) Of course we are really pushing for New York University but wherever she chooses is fine. After MIT we walked along the river to see the beautiful Boston skyline and take in all the scenery.

Once we took the subway back on over to our hotel we had one last dinner at the Cheer’s Pub and restaurant from the show. Yes…it was very touristy but it was yummy and a nice family friendly restaurant. But they didn’t know our name…nor did they try so that was a bit disappointing! After dinner we took one last walk around Quincy Market before calling it a night!

 

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Boston Vacation: Day #3

8 Apr

What a fun morning we had around here! We started out the morning by heading over to Cambridge. It was a long subway ride over with 3 connections but Zoey and I managed just fine and were able to get there in plenty of time before the hunt. I love the fact that Zoey still loves being in the carrier. It makes my life so easy…especially doing activities like navigating the subway system. I guess we even looked like such pros that we had two other people come up to us and ask for help with directions…ha!

The reason for going to Cambridge an Easter Egg Hunt at Harvard and my superstar was able to get 3 eggs. Big improvement from last weekend’s one egg find! :) I was so proud! Zoey was super proud of her self too and was quite the little show-off. She made lots of friends and had her own little dance party in the center of Harvard Square that was too cute!

After the hunt and all of the other Easter activities we headed on over to a cute little coffee shop for diaper changes and lunch. Zoey got an egg sandwich of course and we actually ended up purchasing a carrot cake too because Zoey decided to stick her hand all in it while we were checking out. I am not a fan of carrot cake so I sure hope Zoey eats it all up! :)

After lunch it was getting close to nap time so we caught the subway back home and baby girl fell sound asleep in the carrier. So she was able to get a good 20 minutes of her nap in even before we got back in the room.

After pea pod woke up from her nap Zoey and I headed back out the door for our Harbor Boat Cruise. It was an extremely COLD boat ride but fun and we learned lots about the harbor and the history of the Boston Waters.

After the cruise we headed back up to the room to put on a little warmer clothes then were right back out the door to go see the ducks at that park. If you have read “Make way for Ducklings by Robert McClouskey” you will know what ducks I am talking about. Once we found out about our trip to Boston I started reading this famous book to Zoey that was a book I remember reading as a child too. And Zoey could not wait to get to the Public Gardens to see these ducks! :)

We took the subway or “Go Go Choo Choo” per Zoey to the park but decided to walk back. It was a couple of miles through the historic district so it was a very beautiful walk and we stopped for dinner on the way home. But only a couple of blocks from our hotel the 35+ pounds I have been toting around  all day got to me because I had to hail a cab.

After we were back at the hotel and I had a few minutes to rest I took Z to the indoor swimming pool where she went CRAZY! Girl loves some swimming and she also loves her daddy too who she was very excited to see come back to our room later that night! :)

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Boston Vacation: Day #2

6 Apr

This morning Zoey woke up around 8:00 Boston time. It was nice to sleep in just a bit! We got up and ready and then Zoey and I headed out the door for our tour when Eric went on over to his work conference.  The tour we decided to do this morning was the Boston City Bus Tour. It was a 2.5 hour very informative tour. I was prepared with snacks and toys and Zoey did great until the next to last stop then she went from a very happy baby to an extremely upset kid that wanted off the bus! I was just so impressed she made it that long. We had a great time learning about this historic city and getting to see all the cool sites.

After the trolley ride we went for lunch at Quincy Market and again it was not disappointing. After lunch we walked on over to the dog park and playground right next to the docks. Zoey had the best time playing and I loved getting to watch her play with the beautiful view.

Later that afternoon we headed back to the room for Zoey’s nap. It is hard being in a fun and new city and taking time out for a nap but I know the rest of my day would be miserable without it. Once she woke up from her nap we were back out and we took the Harbor Walk to the Boston Children’s Museum. When I was researching for our trip everyone said that we needed to go there and it was even better than all the reviews. Zoey loved it and they had an entire floor dedicated to her age. It was SO much fun. We were there for almost three hours and she still had not made her way through one of the three floors! To top it all off we got to go for free too because of our McWane Membership!

Eric came to meet us at the museum so we could to dinner together. And our all vegetarian, organic dinner from Flour Bakery was so good! I love big city eating! :) We took the long scenic walk back to the hotel and after Z’s bath she was fast asleep! It was a long but very fun day for little one…

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Boston Vacation: Day #1

5 Apr

Woohoo! We have made it to Boston! This morning I got up at 2:30 to get ready and be out the door by 3:30. Zoey was a trooper when I woke her up at 3:15. She let me get her ready and loaded in the car and went back to sleep pretty quick. However when we stopped for gas around 4:30 am she woke up and did not go back to sleep! But she was in a good mood and did great the remainder of the car ride to the Atlanta airport. Once at the airport she became the little charmer and waved and said “hey” to every person she passed. And if you don’t say hey back she will chase you down and keep repeating “hey” until you do! :) So lets just say it was a good thing we got there extra early because it took a good while to walk anywhere with our little social butterfly! And as we were waiting in line for breakfast she saw a banana at the counter and kept saying banana. She wasn’t yelling it or anything but just really excited about the banana I was going to buy her and next thing I know the lady at the front of the line bought her a banana and had people pass it back to her! Oh this little charmer of mine can pretty much talk her way into anything…I am going to SO be in trouble! :)

And once on the flight she did great as people were boarding and we had purchased the aisle seat and window seat and an answer to prayer no one ended up sitting in the middle seat so Zoey had her own spot! She loved looking out of the window and could not wait to go “Up to the clouds to meet the birds!”. As we were taking off I started crying. Being on a plane holding her just brought back so many emotions and it made me realize how far we had come. Last time I was flying with her I was one scared lady with this freaked out child. Don’t get me wrong I loved her then but it was different…we were both strangers to each other. But as we were taking off this time I was a MOMMY and she was my DAUGHTER and we were so happy and IN LOVE with each other! Unless you have adopted it hard to describe but me and this baby girl have had our ups and downs but were are at such a good place in our attachment now and the tears of joy just started pouring out! So for all of you reading this who are just now bringing home your babies take this as some encouragement…you will get to this great and happy place too…I promise!

Somewhere in the middle of takeoff me, Zoey and Eric all fell sound asleep. I guess since we are all used to sleeping with the noise of a box fan and once the plane engine started that hum knocked us out. And we didn’t wake up until we were beginning to descend! Zoey did great reading her book and eating her snacks until we landed and I have to say I did pretty amazing changing a really bad poppy diaper with her in my lap in the tiny airplane bathroom…another skill that the past 10 months have perfected! :) So the entire flight did not have one tear! So, so proud of Z!

Once we landed and got checked into the hotel we had rested up some on the plane and were ready to get out on the town. Eric had a work conference call at 2:00 so Zoey and I headed on over to aquarium. She had the best time running around and seeing everything. The Boston Aquarium reminded me a lot of the one in Chicago very old and unique.  Not at all like the amazing modern Atlanta aquarium but still very fun!

After the aquarium we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Daddy where we all fell asleep again! The 4 hours of sleep the night before just was not enough for this mommy and daddy. But after another hour-long power nap we were back out and about. We walked up the street to see the sight of the Boston Massacre then headed on over to Quincy Market for dinner. Quincy Market is the oldest mall in America. It is like one really huge food court. It has been so cool to see all the architecture and history of this city and the market was pretty amazing. Of course the first thing I had to get was a deliciously famous lobster roll! Yummy to my tummy! After dinner we walked through the harbor parks and saw some ships coming in then headed on up to our rooftop deck to watch the sunset over the bay! What a beautiful way to wrap up our first day here in Boston! Now I have got to go…Z is asleep here next to me and Eric and a new Grey’s Anatomy is on!

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Week in Review: March 29th- April 4th 2012

4 Apr

Another crazy week around here. The week didn’t start out too good but by the weekend it started getting better. On Friday night Zoey and I went to meet Dana at her dad’s house to help her clean out some things before their garage sale. I was so glad Zoey got to go and play in Dana’s bedroom. Since my parents have moved out of my childhood home this was the last childhood type home I had. So, so, so many childhood memories took place in that house since Dana and I have been best friends since we were 2 years old!  And I am super sad to see the house being sold but realize that Dana’s dad has to move on but still it breaks my heart a bit. I was going to help Dana and supposed to be a support. But I ended up being more emotional about it than she was! But it was still sweet having Zoey there and letting her play with some of our childhood toys.

On Saturday Zoey and I got up early and met Liz and Hannah for a really fun day. We started out by attending the Easter Egg Hunt at Aldridge Gardens and those kids (and parents) were a bit crazy there so Zoey only got one egg and Hannah got 2 but they still had fun getting their egg tattoos, balloons and just walking around the garden for a bit. After the hunt we went on down the Asian Food Festival. We watched the opening ceremony of kids singing then a dragon dance and then a really cool traditional Chinese puppet show. But it was going to be another hour before they started serving food and we knew the girls (and me) would not make it so we headed out the door to purple onion. And out of all the fun things we did that day I think throwing pennies in the fountain and dancing to the music was the girls favorite thing of the day! :)

Later that night I took Zoey with me to do some grocery shopping since our pantry had an echo due to the lack of food! :) She loves the store so that was easy but as we were walking out to the car the bottom dropped out and it was raining so hard. The wind blew the toilet paper off and then the case of diet cokes fell off and went everywhere. It was lightning pretty bad so I just wanted Z in the car and was rushing trying to get her all in while trying to salvage our food. This man in his 4o’s stopped to help us and kind of yelled over the rain and thunder “You can do this mom! You got this!” and when he said that another man walking in the store yelled “You can do it!”. It was really random but I do have to say it pumped me up a bit! Once all the food and me and Z were in the car safe and sound I turned to Zoey and said “I can do this!” in my most pumped up tone of voice to which Z yelled “This!” with excitement!  There are some days and some situations that make life seem so hard and most of the time people say “Oh you have your hands full!” Or “Poor thing I remember how hard it was when my kids were young!” And those comments don’t encourage you one bit but those kind words those men said were so positive and uplifting. So the next time any of you see some moms out there struggling give her some positive encouragement because that got me through the rest of the night which included unloading groceries in the rain while a certain 20 month old had a meltdown! :)

On Sunday Tanner and Nichole were moving back into their house and had a family work day so Eric headed over there to help them paint their garage and Zoey and I kept their girls. We had so much fun on our little adventure. Nichole told me about this pretty place to take pictures. It was like a scavenger hunt…go down this trail 1/4 of a mile, look for a bib hanging in a tree, take a right, walk a ways and then you have this beautiful spot and beautiful it was!!! I loved the way the pics turned out. Z was really tired so I may try to take her back again while the spring flowers are still in bloom when she is not so sleepy. But the girls were great together and had the best time playing together. And I loved hearing three little girls giggle in the back seat too! Music to my ears! :)

Later that afternoon after the girls had gone home Zoey and I cleaned out her closet to switch out the winter clothes for her spring and summer ones so watch…it will probably snow next week since I did that but hopefully not. While we worked away we listened to our church’s Palm Sunday services which was wonderful! You can listen to it here!

On Monday night after work Z and I went on over to my parents house to visit Larry and Jake our cousins who were in from out-of-town. We had the best time eating dinner with them and playing outside together. Z was a trooper and stayed up pretty late visiting too.

We are fully taking advantage of the late nights around here and after work on Tuesday night Eric and I took Zoey on a three-mile hike at the new Red Mountain Park off Lakeshore. She was such a trooper and hiked at least 2 miles by herself. By the time we got back to the car she was SO muddy I had to strip her down before putting her in the car! But she LOVED it and we made it back just in time to miss the rain.

On Wednesday night after work I got to dye Easter Eggs for the first time with Zoey. But she was much more interested in eating them than decorating them. She just didn’t get why she had to wait to eat them! Got to love my little egg monster!

And that leads us to right now I am a busy, busy bee packing around here because tomorrow we are off to Boston!!!! Eric has to go on a work trip and since I had Friday off anyway I decided to use some of my vacation days to tag along with Zoey. We plan on leaving the house at 3:30 in the morning so I have to finish getting all of our bags together so I can hit the sack early. Say a prayer for us around 9:30 am it will be our first time flying with Zoey since the long trip back from Korea! :)

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