A big week - part 2

We drove back to Lexington from Cincinnati on Sunday morning, actually, I drove back since B was a little hungover. This is a BIG DEAL; I kind of quit driving on the highway when my Menier's (vertigo spells) started happening a lot. They have been greatly reduced since I watch my salt intake and quit eating chocolate, so all was good.

Anyway...we finished packing and hit the road to Gatlinburg once B's family arrived (from northwest Ohio). We went with B's parents, Mimi and PawPaw, his sister, Jami, her husband, Marc, and their kids, Lilly and Zach. B drove to Gatlinburg after he rested in the morning. We had a great time. Gatlinburg had plenty to do to keep us all busy.

We went to the Ripley's Aquarium on Monday. It was soooo crowded and Anna screamed almost the entire time. The picture to the left is one of her few happy moments of the day. She loved watching the schooling fish swim by the window. I think it went downhill from there. She wasn't trying to be a royal pain; she was tired and missed her afternoon nap. Once we got outside she calmed down. I was nervous about the rest of the week.

We hung out at the pool on Tuesday. Anna LOVED the pool! This is a picture of her enjoying the waterfall with B. She was tired again so we stretched it as long as we could, but once the screaming and fighting started, we left. I was nervous about Dollywood the next day. I wasn't going to be able to just leave Dollywood and put her down for a nap.

Dollywood day....like I said, I was nervous, what were we going to do if she was screaming and hollering when she got tired? See, she gets so worked up she doesn't know how to calm herself down. Then people stare like, "what are you doing to your baby, lady." I want to say, "clearly, she has a temper, she's tired, her teeth hurt, and she's fine, I didn't pinch her or hit her, I promise :)"

Well, I got the bright idea to give her food after we would buckle her into her stroller - which is when the tantrums usually started. I am so smart! 1 piece of graham cracker, and life was good :) I'm not one to console with food, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. She even fell asleep in her stroller for about an hour. We had so much fun. Dollywood is really nice and clean. Anna got to ride the Merry-go-Round, the Dumbo ride, and cars on a track. She had a great time on the rides! I love that cute little baby, even if she is stubborn and dramatic.

Well, the graham cracker each time she was put in her stroller worked for the rest of the week. I might have created a bad habit, but what are you gonna do? We enjoyed time at the outlet mall, downtown Gatlinburg, and Ober Gatlinburg during the rest of the week. Overall, the vacation was a success and a super time. B's parents said they want to do a family vacation every other year. I don't know where we will go next, but I'm up for it.

A big week - part 1

We've had a busy week. It started with a friend from high school/college getting married. Anna was invited, so we got her ready, and I thought, "she can handle this, it will be fun." Well...I was wrong. I missed the entire ceremony because I was in the entrance and outside of the church with my persistent baby. She wanted to holler, climb stairs, walk around, and do everything that isn't really desirable during a wedding ceremony. We took her to my dad's after the wedding - I wasn't fighting that fight during the reception.

It was a really beautiful and fancy wedding and reception. We had a wonderful time with our friends we haven't seen in a long, long time. I stayed up later than I have in months? years even?, but it was worth it to catch up.

Tried one and liked it

So I adapted this recipe from Annie's Eats for dinner tonight, and it was mighty yummy.

For the chicken marinade I used:
the zest and juice of one lime (no lemons)
2 cloves of garlic
3 T. olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chipotle chili pepper (for a little spice)
1/2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
couple of turns of black pepper

I also did the peppers and onions mixed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Anna liked her chicken (no spice), and B and I liked ours. It's a keeper.

more recipes to try

From Ezra Pound Cake:
Alice Waters’ Strawberry Shortcake with Cream Biscuits. Hello, Lover.,
Hunk-a-Hunk-a Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie,
Frozen Orange Balls. The retro party food with the unfortunate name.,
Hummingbird Cake. Because it’s Mayyyyyyy, the lusty month of May.,
Instant Tamale Pie. Perfect for a pantry raid.,
Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Pasta. Because the Zucchini Invasion cometh.,
Rattlesnake Sliders (snake not included),
Roasted Garlic, Poblano and Red Pepper Guacamole,
Buttermilk Bacon Pralines. A Southern-Style Amuse-Bouche.

ALL MOVED IN!

We're in the new house!

Friday was crazy - the movers showed up at 8. B had already moved most of the boxes to the garage and all the furniture downstairs into the dining room. It still took 3 hours to load the U-HAUL. I couldn't help much bc I was watching Anna (her daycare was closed for an in service and my friend that watches her sometimes was out of town) while also trying to vacuum and clean up. After everything was packed, B had to drive the U-HAUL over to the new house and I drove one of the cars. We met my mom who was thankfully able to come down to watch Anna while we went to both closings, and then met the movers who helped unpacked the POD and the U-HAUL. (It took much less time unpacking.) Two closings and moving in one day is a bit much - I wouldn't recommend it. We don't plan on moving again for a very long time.

B's parents came down on Saturday to help get us unpacked and settled. They are what I call "doers." They get things done, you know - they don't tend to sit around if there are things that need to be accomplished. It's a good thing, a very good thing, we have them in our lives. With the exception of the office (mostly my stationary stuff), the master bedroom (clothes are not organized just yet), and the basement storage (bc we don't have a good official place for most of my china and serving dishes), everything else is unpacked and set up! We never could have done it without them. I have a Lowes and Target list started. Some thing will be on the list for awhile (like curtains), and some will be checked off more quickly (like TP holders for 2 of the bathrooms).

We've already met 5 sets of neighbors -which is more than we met at our old house in the 5 years we lived there. People seem friendly and there are lots of kids. We are happy here; I'm glad we made the move. Plus...it only takes 5 or 10 minutes to get to the grocery and Target instead of 20!

the big day

We are moving Friday! It's pretty exciting, and maybe a little sad too. After we leave to go to the closing on Friday we won't be coming to our cute little house anymore. I'm looking forward to getting settled into the new house. It's a really nice house and will give us plenty of room.

I'm avoiding last minute packing by writing. B has taken on a majority of the stress during this move. It seems like when one of us is stressed, the other isn't. I know how he feels bc I get that way sometimes, I just don't feel that way now. It will all get done, I'm not going to panic over this move. He said to me the other day, "you don't seem to have any sense of urgency over this move and packing." I thought it was funny cause I'm not really a "sense of urgency" kind of gal. My dad thought that was funny too!

I'm thankful that B has done so much to get the house ready and the POD packed. But I reminded him last night that I'm not so good with moving heavy boxes, but I clean the bathrooms and change poopy diapers. We all have our unpleasant chores.

The next time I write I will be in our new house!

i love them anyways

I didn't love today. I didn't even like today. I might have known that it wasn't going to be a good one when at 12:35 am I woke to the sound of the loudest, scariest thunder I've ever heard in my life. I've never even been one of those adults (or even kids) that is scared of thunderstorms, but I tell you what - this was some serious thunder. The house shook, the room rumbled, and my heart beat out of my chest for a good 10 beats. Maybe it's being a mother that scared me so bad - I was questioning whether it was thunder, or a Mac truck, or a bad person coming through the house. Then it rained all day...
We had "Camp Read-A-Lot" at school today for the second last day of the year. Call it inexperience or maybe I was just too overwhelmed with a new position and a baby, but controlling some of the chatty and less-than-lovely behaviors in my class at the very beginning of the year didn't happen, so it's been an up-hill battle for me throughout the year (learning moment). Well, my kids are very friendly with each other, which is great, but they could not get themselves under control today, and I was sick and tired of hearing them. I'll have to reconsider "Camp Read-A-Lot" next year.
I debating whether or not I should make them their cookies tomorrow. But...it's the last day. I love those wild and crazy kids, even when they can't stop talking. We all wish school was over. Cookies make everything better.