Fat

I had started to notice that since Christmas time I seemed to putting on some weight. Now, I just feel (and think I look) fat. I think I weigh more than I have ever (with the exception of when I was pregnant) and I'm not enjoying my tight clothes. I am going to do something about this extra weight...I'm upping my workouts (ok lets be honest, I'm going to work out more than once a week). I thought the weight could be related to my morning cup of coffee...but I drink it black, so its not very likely. I'll update how this new plan goes. 5lbs lost would be great, 10lbs would be perfect.

Work stress and fun days

Work has been particularly stressful this last week. Someone I work(ed) very closely with was fired last week, which has of course made life incredibly hectic. It was nice to work from home yesterday. I worked in the evening at Brian and Chrissy's while playing with the cats. I was able to spend the rest of the day enjoying myself with my girlies. We went yesterday morning to their very first movie:The Tale of Desperaux. It was ok, but the girls really seemed to like it. We shared a bag of popcorn with out butter (mmm stale movie theater popcorn) and they both ended up on my lap by the end, but it was nice. It was a new adventure. Afterwards we stopped at the grocery store and rushed home to have lunch with Aunt Becky and Ella. Ella is such a cutie...walking around and beginning to talk. Alie was not the greatest socializer but Laney was pretty good. Alie seemed mostly confused by her. Becky and I lounged around, caught up and played together with our kiddos. Hopefully we will have some more successful playdates in the future.

home away from home

I dropped Brian, Chrissy and Camp Laura (lawla) at the airport early Friday evening with lots of hugs and "i love yous". They are off to their two week (and a few day) long journey through Europe. I am house sitting. While the girls and I have moved in, we most certainly have not adjusted...and are already feeling a bit "homesick". I have spent hours, even days at Cirucci's apartment in the past. It is my home away from home. I have not ever been fully responsible for living with her cats...who I now realize, drive me insane. They wake me up at night...a lot. They are almost like having infants. This is why Carl and I will never be getting cats (well that and Carl is allergic to them).

They do have tivo though and get soap net...neither of which we have at our house (right now we don't even have tv at all). They do not have toys for the girlies to play with our a backyard for them to run around in. I will have to pick up bubbles and other things from our house to help keep them entertained. I must really love Cirucci ;)

deep in the trenches of planning

I know that I have mentioned before that we are heading to Disney for our family vacation this fall. Next month we will be able to make our dinner reservations, so we are trying to get a rough idea of our plan for the trip so that we can dine appropriately. Although I LOVE Disney, I have never taken a little child and lots has changed since I was a little child. I have been doing lots of research to make sure that we plan the best trip for the girlies. Yesterday, I was so excited when I found something that would be perfect for Alie! She is so into being a pirate and I fell upon this experience : http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/pirates-league/ that I think would be sooo special for her. I think we are going to try to schedule this for Al and the Bibbidibobbidi boutique for Laney. When they meet back up again, they will be beautiful! We are also trying to decide which night we will go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party...and then need to contact Myranda or Brad for tickets to that. I am really looking forward to this trip...and so are the girls :)

Carls coming home!!!

Carl is coming home tonight. He has been gone on a business trip for two nights...and while I have enjoyed his time away (my evening alone and then my girls night), I am anxious to see him. Last night was girls night. My little ladies and I enjoyed fish sticks, with dippy of course and ice cream sandwiches. After dinner, we headed up to my room. Since Carl was out of town, the girls slept with me. They were so excited about this, that they explained they were ready for bed at 6:15. We were in my bed at 6:15, but there was no sleeping. The girls watched movies while I read. I have almost finished a whole book in Carl's absence. It was wonderful to snuggle with my girlies all night...even if Alie did step on me in the middle of the night while she was getting up to go to the bathroom. Carl is bringing his girls home a hermit crab (he was in ocean city for some sort of lawyer convention) and he is so excited about how excited they will be.

Yesterday, I also bought a new pair of flip flops (in anticipation for the wine fest this weekend). They are super cute...with a pirate print on the straps. As soon as we were home and the flip flops were off my feet, my pirate-fan Alie had them on hers. I guess I should keep my eye out of a little girl pair or I may never get to wear mine ;)

a night ALONE!!!

Last night, I had the evening to myself. Carl is at a conference. The kiddos were having an overnight at my moms. the house was completely mine!

After work, getting gas for my car and a few basic food items (yesterday was payday of course) I headed straight for the chinese food restaurant. I grabbed some general tso's to go, got into comfy pjs (well as comfy as you can be when the humidity is through the roof), popped in the best of saturday night live-will ferrell and curled up on the couch to enjoy my dinner. quietly. all by myself. it was wonderful.

i went up to bed at 7. i lit candles. i turned on music. i took a long time washing my face and putting lotion on. i read until 9. uninterrupted. it was wonderful.

of course i love my family, but having a night alone once in a while is absolutely... wonderful!

Thunderstorms

Yesterday afternoon the storms rolled in. The girls had been up from their naps for about an hour or so and we were relaxing in the family room when I realized that it had gotten really dark... so dark in fact that I had to turn on the stairwell light just to get upstairs to the living room. I quickly urged the girls to join me. The last time there had been a thunderstorm, it had been a fairly tame one, but Alie had enjoyed seeing the lightening light up the sky. The three of us huddled together in my red chair, watching the lightening cut through the dark sky and listening to the huge rumbles of thunder, applauding after each one. We watched the downpour and the wind push the rain off our awning in huge bursts. We watched our neighbors run from their cars, up their stairs and into their homes. We watched "Fake Jim" across the street secure his storm door and pull down all of his windows. We giggled excitedly as the lights flickered (although that ultimately caused us to need to cancel dinner). I love looking at things through the excited eyes of my toddlers.

party like a rockstar

This weekend, I officially discovered that I am old. Friday afternoon, the girls and I headed to "the turtle" to join my colleagues for happy hour. I definitely ordered one yuengling and two chocolate milks...not often that you hear that at happy hour. We really did have a great time and the specials were great..$1.99 drafts and half priced appetizers! Afterwards, we went looking for another two-person tent since we are not a four person group now instead of just Carl and I. The girls seem really excited to sleep outside in a tent, which is awesome since we have a few camping trips planned for the summer.

Saturday evening (turning into Sunday morning) was the graduation party. There was plenty of food and drink and I had a blast. I played beruit with Dan, and we played really well (perhaps a little too well as we spent a lot of time at the table). I was so excited to see so many of my friends come out...it meant a lot to me that everyone was ready to party! Laney and Alie had a great time socializing and finding new people to play board games with.... Unfortunately, Sunday morning was rough for both Carl and me. That's when I decided that I am definitely old and cannot party until the wee hours of the morning anymore. I am still partially recovering today.

"up for anything"

I am wasting time after a looong meeting at work today so I decided to take two quizzes on the disney family site. Usually, the results of online quizzes make me laugh and I generally wonder how exactly the questions asked in the quiz relate me to whatever the result is. However, these two quizzes, focusing on travelling seemed to have really "gotten" me.

The first one..."what kind of traveler are you"described me as an "up for anything" type of person. I am more concerned about the people I'm with and less about the places we go. The second quiz, focusing on modes of transportation described me as a "motoring maven". Again it describes me as enjoying the company that I'm with, making memories and enjoying the ride. I have to laugh, because both of these are really true. These days, I envision my vacations as times that I can spend uninterrupted time with my friends and family. I recently had a blast chatting wtih Carl and spending time with the girls, singing, coloring and listening to music during the drive to and from Wendy's wedding. I am looking forward to spending time during our drive to Disney this fall...a chance to listen to cds and just take some time to relax!

Just wanted to share ;)

New Car revisited

After the trials and tribulations (and wondering...really who does this hassle happen to?) at the DMV, I finally have permanent tags for the CRV! I have not driven it since before Memorial Day because the temp tags had expired a week earlier. And yes, I admit (mainly because of the constant reminders from Brian L) that I did drive, for a few days on "dead" tags. Yesterday, driving my new car was wonderful! Hopefully I won't be bumming anymore rides from my friends or remaining home-bound due to lack of transportation for a while!

I found it!

An additional post for the day. I am all of the sudden quite excited...I found it! I found the doctoral program that I want to pursue. Yes, it will be at least a year before I begin, but this program sounds both interesting and flexible (as in professional flexibility). "Language, Literacy and Culture" sounds like its right up my alley. Here's so more info if you'd like to take a peek: http://www.umbc.edu/gradschool/programs/llc.html. Can't you just hear it now...I'm still leaning towards Dr. Brown...get it "Doc Brown". Yeah I know, its not that funny ;)

Another wedding!!!!

This weekend, I ventured to Philly with Cirucci for her to begin her search for the perfect wedding gown! Of course she looked beautiful in everything, but she definitely found some front runners. It was really special to be invited and included in this search!

I also started reading a new book (well actually a book on the side) about organization. I have this strange fascination with organization and a strong desire to have a completely organized life (perhaps it has something to do with control...i have no idea). Anyway, its a year long guide to becoming completely organized. I read the introduction this weekend and will be starting week one from one of the chapters this week. I'm really excited (I'm such a nerd, I know).

Laney and Alie are loving the warmer weather. They are logging lots of outdoor playtime and are becoming quite my little t-ball players. They also really seem to like playing golf in our backyard, though they're not quite as good with that. Laney seems to have an aversion to two-handed golfing. Yesteday, while I was pulling weeds and cleaning up leaves, Laney and Alie were blowing bubbles and making a giant bubble-y mess...they are quite a duo!

I have started to notice (although I'm sure that they have been doing this for a while) that they have become better story-tellers. After spending the night at my parents or going on adventures away from Carl and I, they are excited to come home and tell us all about what they experienced. I love it!