Mommy Anxiety

Tomorrow we will be leaving for the mountains. It's about 11:30pm and I just got done with all the laundry and packing most of the bags, except for some last minute things that I'll pack in the morning. We will be dropping Ryleigh off at my mom and dads house around lunch time and Katie is going to watch her until my mom gets home from work, then she will spend the weekend with Nana and Papa. Ryleigh is 18 1/2 months old and I have never been away from her for more than a few hours. With Emma, I was working and there were a couple of days a week she would stay with both our moms and so she was used to being away for a little while. Ryleigh is my little sidekick. She is definitely a mama's girl. The other day I was gone with Emma for a few hours looking for shoes and when I came home and she ran to me with her arms up and once I picked her up, she laid her head on my shoulder.....and stayed like that for about 25 minutes. I am really stressing about being away from her. I know she will be in great hands. My mom and dad are wonderful with our girls. She will be loved and spoiled and probably not want anything to do with me when I get back....but I still worry. I really wish I could take her with me. But I guess it is probably good for her to spend some time away from me. Anyway, please say a quick prayer that I won't flip out and cry for 2 days.

I'll be back with some cute flower girl pictures!!

Our Weekend

Our weekend was pretty low key. All of my family was in D.C. so we weren't able to visit with them like we usually do on Sundays. After Emma got up from her nap on Saturday I had to go to several stores to try and find her some flower girl shoes for this coming weekend. Josh's brother is getting married in the mountains and Emma is the flower girl. It is extremely difficult to find ivory colored shoes for toddlers in the fall, but I ended up at Davids Bridal and they had some they will work just fine. They have a little heel on them and Emma loved prancing around in them. I just hope she doesn't trip down the aisle. After the girls got up from their naps on Sunday we went to DSW in Friendly Center to find me a pair of shoes for the wedding also. I found me some really cute wedges. I have never been in that store before but it was a really cool. They had every shoe you could ever want and also some cute purses. After we left there we took the girls to Feeny's for a snack.Feeny's is a frozen yogurt bar that has every topping imaginable. I've been wanting to take them all summer but it would be hard to do it by myself since it is self serve. It was so much fun. Emma loved picking out all the toppings that went onto her yogurt. After Feeny's we ran by Target and also the grocery store. I got some sugar cookies at the store and I let Emma help me bake them. After dinner I let her and Ryleigh sit at their little table and decorate one and eat it. They loved doing that, but I ended up cleaning tons of sprinkles off the floor. Definitely worth it though. We didn't really do a whole lot, but it was nice to just spend the day with our little family. Here are some pictures I took with my phone over the weekend and also some of the girls and their cookies.

 I had to wake Ryleigh up from her nap, and I just love how her little foot is sticking out.

 Emma is in an "emma do it" phase. She wants to get dressed and undress a million times a day. Saturday she was trying to wear her normal clothes with her pj's. 

Oak Island-Day 4

Last Saturday was our last day in Oak Island. It was another chilly day so we planned a trip to the NC Aquarium. We took the ferry from Southport to Ft. Fisher. I can't remember riding on the ferry when I was little so this was all new to me. It was so cool to drive onto the boat. Once we were allowed to get out of the car, we walked up the stairs and sat at the back of the boat so we could look around. It was so much fun and for the whole day Emma talked non-stop about riding the big boat. I think she enjoyed that more than the aquarium. Katie's friend Pierce also came to spend the day with her that day. 

my wonderful mom and dad on the ferry

our car is the white explorer in the middle. the cars are packed on the boat really tight

this is the fort fisher ferry we passed on our way back to southport

We took Emma to the aquarium the summer before last but I think now that she is older, she really enjoyed seeing all the animals. Ryleigh rode in the stroller some but my mom was also brave enough to let her walk around by herself. I don't let her do that very often because I usually have both girls by myself and Ryleigh does not like to hold your hand. She was all over the place, but she had a lot of fun. A lot of my pictures just didn't turn out that well because of the lighting and all the glass in there, but here are a few of the animals. 

After we got back into Southport we went to get some dinner. We went to the Oak Island Restaurant where everyone ate seafood....except me. I stuck with my chicken fingers. :-)

Once we got back into the house we played a little cornhole out on the deck.....that is...until we got eaten alive by some bugs. 

Ryleigh enjoyed running back and forth between the boards and also picking up everyone's bean bags. 

This family vacation was so much fun. I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed being with everyone. I really hope to make it an annual thing because each year is just going to be more fun as the girls get older. 

I still have some pictures to post of the vacation but I'll wait and do one big picture post. I hope to get a disc from Autumn and I also have some on my phone and little camera too. 

I hope you all had a great weekend. 

Oak Island Day 3

Better late than never! I am completely photo illiterate, so I had to get Josh's help in editing a few pictures. He is much better than me, but I'm learning. I am trying something a little different with my blog. I love the way bigger pictures look, so I'm gonna try this for a while and see if I like it. Let me know what you think. 

Last Friday was our third day in Oak Island.The weather turned really chilly and windy. We were not prepared for the cold weather so most of the girls had to borrow a jacket from Nana. 

Since we couldn't go out on the beach, Friday morning we decided to go into Southport and walk along the waterfront. There is a small little pier that we took the girls out on and then we walked around the little shops.

Ryleigh loves riding around in the stroller and being cuddled up in Nana's jacket. 

Hailey, Autumnn, & Cheyenne

There are no words to describe Katie. She is just a ball of fun. I LOVED getting to spend so much time with her last week.

The only shop we actually went into had a lot of candy and also little gifts. It was a really neat store and my mom and dad got the girls these big twirly suckers.

Emma absolutely adores her Nana and Papa. She was in heaven getting to hold both or their hands.

After we were done walking around, we ate lunch at Provisions before heading home to let the girls nap.

After nap time we headed into South Harbor and let the girls play on the playground. It was very close to the water so it was really windy and cold. We didn't stay too long but they really loved getting to play with everyone. 

Poor little Ryleigh almost froze. She got extra cuddles with Papa though. :-)

Autumn and her girls had to leave Friday evening but we made a trip to Wal-Mart after the playground so I could get my girls a jacket for the next day. I wish you all could have seen all of us in Wal-Mart. It was so funny to be able to hear all the girls with Nana and Papa across the store. 

Next Up: Our trip to the NC Aquarium!

3 days::60 miles

Tomorrow both of my sisters, Katie and Autumn, will be on their way to Washinton D.C. They will be participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day 60 mile walk. They are walking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday....20 miles a day. Autumn posted on Facebook yesterday that they raised $6,271 together. WOW!!! I am so proud of them for doing this to support all the women who have been affected with breast cancer. When my mom was diagnosed last fall it was a very dark time for our family, but this is definitely something good that is coming from that. My mom and dad will be driving to Washington on Saturday and I really wish I were going with them. I would love to be on the sidelines supporting them. You girls are going to do great and I hope you know how I proud I am of you. You both have put in so much hard work to do this and I admire your strength and dedication. I hope that one day....soon...there is a cure for breast cancer.

Oak Island-Day 1 & 2

We were scheduled to go to the beach last Wednesday, however Josh needed to work with his sales rep in Myrtle Beach on Wednesday morning so we drove down Tuesday around 2:00. Katie rode with me and the girls so that we could make a big grocery run the next morning before my mom, dad, and Autumn and her girls got there Wednesday afternoon. It worked out a lot better that way and when the girls woke up from their nap we all headed to the beach for the afternoon. We ended up only having two days of good weather.Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday was hot and sunny. We didn't take our camera out until Thursdaybecause we had a lot more time on the beach then. We have all decided to trade pictures so I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more than what I have. Autumn got some great pics I know so I can't wait to show you some of those. We all had a great time playing on the beach. Ryleigh, however, is not a fan of the sand. On Wednesday I tried to let her walk around and sit and play, but she wasn't having it. So for Thursday we got out our little tiny baby pool that Emma used her first summer and let Ryleigh sit in it and play. It worked out a lot better. I also was able to take her in the water a little and she didn't mind it. I am very terrified of the ocean because of the whole "shark attacking me" thing, but Katie and I ventured out and had so much fun trying not to let the big waves drown us. It reminded me of when we were younger and would go out really far and dive under the waves. Emma, Chey, and Hailey LOVED the beach. They played so well together. My dad brought the boogie boards and they rode on those around the beach and Emma even rode in a wave by herself. They were definitely some tired little girls at the end of the day.

I am working on the rest of our days at the beach too. I didn't realize how many pictures we took. Plus, today has been kind of busy. I finally got my hair cut and colored and I'm LOVING it. It's shorter now and easier to manage. This afternoon I've been trying to work out some things with school. All of my credits from UNCG are transferring so I only have to take one placement test and then I'll be good to go. I would start the middle of October. Super excited!!

::education::

I'm still working on pictures from the beach. We have pictures on two different cameras and I'm trying to edit them and put together some posts, but I hope to be done soon.

Today I wanted to fill you all in on something really exciting. I will going back to school this October!!! I am really really excited. I absolutely LOVE school and I will be going back to get my degree in Business Administration. My goal is to one day start my own event planning business. I am going to spend the next couple of years getting my degree and also doing lots of research on event planning. I got my acceptance letter yesterday and also found out that I will be going for free! All my tuition, books, and supplies will be paid for. How awesome is that? I feel like I have been given a great gift by being a stay at home mom, and that gives me time to work on school also. I know it won't be easy, but I can do it!

I can't tell you all just how happy I am to have the opportunity to do this.

Little sidenote: Have you all seen the Erin Condren life planners?? I have had my eye on them for some time now. I LOVE planners but I don't have a big need for one since most of my days are pretty much the same. But now, since I will be starting school, this will be one of the first "supplies" I get. I love how you can personalize it and pick exactly what you want. They are a little pricey but I have a coupon for half off, so I can't wait to order one.

I think this is the one I would get. I love this pattern!

We're Back!

and pretty sad about it.

I am really wishing we were back at the beach right now. It was so nice waking up every morning and deciding what we were going to do for the day. I loved every minute I got to spend with my whole family. We have decided we are going to make it a yearly vacation for all of us.

Today I am just trying to get back to our "normal". All the laundry is done, but I do still have some cleaning and picking up to do. I plan on spending nap time today going through our pictures from the beach. We took several hundred. I will probably break it down into different days that we were there so I don't overwhelm you with pictures. I hope to have one up tonight, so check back and see what all we got ourselves into. :-)

Happy Monday!

beach bound

The time has finally come. We are gearing up for a wonderful vacation and I couldn't be more excited. I have spent the last two days packing...and cleaning of course. Who wants to come home to a dirty house? Emma has been talking about the beach for the last week and she is so excited to see all the family there. I know her and Ryleigh are going to have a great time. I will return with lots and lots of pictures.

Praying for great weather!!

lately...

I can't believe a week has passed since I last posted. I guess the three day weekend kind of threw me off. We stayed home most of the weekend, except for Sunday. We went to my parents house as usual and went swimming for the last time this summer, Autumn sent me these cute pics of the last day at the pool.

All the girls love Icees. Emma usually asks for one as soon as we get to the pool. These were a childhood favorite of ours and I'm so glad that our girls get to enjoy them too.

Josh is out of town today so it has just been me and my girls. We spent the morning at home playing. After nap time I needed to run an important errand so I dropped the girls off with my mom to play for an hour. They have so much fun with their Nana. They really enjoyed playing outside and riding in the powerwheels together. After we left my moms house we ran by the grocery store and then came home to eat dinner. My girls LOVE grilled cheeses so that's what they had for dinner.

I snapped this picture a few minutes ago, just because I think she is cute. She has been a tummy sleeper since she was really little but recently has started sleeping on her back too. I am so thankful to have such great sleepers.

I am so HAPPY that Fall is finally here. It's been beautiful outside today and I am really looking forward to getting out doing lots of things with the girls.

New Wheels

Check out Emma and her new wheels!

Yesterday I took Ryleigh for her 18th month checkup. It was a little early(she won't be 18 months until Oct 13th) but at her one year checkup I spoke to her doctor about speech therapy and she wanted to see her before she turned 18 months to monitor her progress. She got 3 shots today which included her flu shot. While we were there she agreed to go ahead and give Emma the flu mist. My little chunky butt weighs 25 lbs 4 oz. She is in the 70th percentile for her weight. Dr. Lowe went ahead and made a referal for speech therapy. Ryleigh has recently started saying "mamamama" over and over but thats all the sounds that she really makes. I had her look at Ryleigh's tounge too. I did the same thing with Emma at that age. She said that Ryleigh does have a short frenulum. It runs on Josh's side of the family and I thought that it could be a reason why Ryleigh isn't really talking. The doctor recommended that we talk to the speech therapist before we make a decision to get it cut. We aren't sure the risk is necessary so we want to make sure we do all our research before we decide to do it. We are very lucky that Emma's speech therapist is also going to be working with Ryleigh. We really like Jessica and it will be nice for Ryleigh to have a familiar face. She will be evaluated this afternoon to make sure that she qualifies.

On a more fun side note: We are leaving for the beach in less than two weeks!! We are going with my whole family and words can't even describe how excited I am. It's been a long time since we've all been together. I have already started making my lists!

Happy Thursday!