Switching it up

Another month has gone by, which means more changes around our house. Like I've said time and time again, we never sit still and are always up to something. We're always switching things up and moving things around.

A few weeks ago I started a new job - and it's been wonderful. I'm still in that stressful time where I'm trying to learn as much as possible so that I somewhat sound like I know what I'm talking about. Any time you change jobs (even if it's still in the same profession/industry) there is still so much to learn at the new place. I now work for a small technology start-up in downtown Charleston called Good Done Great. I wasn't initially jazzed about the name, but it's growing on me. The best way I can describe working here is that I imagine it's what it probably felt like working for Google before it took over the world. Everyone has their own laptop, wear whatever they want, do whatever they want (i.e. - work when they want), and I never have a boss looking over my shoulder or watching the time clock. My manager has basically given me free reign to take initiative with my own onboarding, and has thus been pleased with the results. Things are so laid back but very dedicated at the same time. We work hard and are good at what we do, but never take things too seriously not to have some fun along the way. Being involved with a company that is this "young" provides me with the opportunity to really make my mark somewhere and be able to contribute in a meaningful way that could potentially shape how the company operates in the future. There's a lot of potential here, both for myself and the company as a whole... it's a very exciting (albeit nerve-wracking) time at GDG.

Just this last week, Mommy B and I also decided it was high time to trade in our 2007 Honda Pilot to get something newer. We did some research on a few vehicles we were interested in, even having a couple shipped here through Carmax. Well as fate would have it, we fell in love with another SUV... a 2012 Honda Pilot. Same exact model as the one we already had, just 5 years newer and about 107,000 less miles. I'll be the first to admit it was a little bittersweet taking the ol' girl into the dealership to trade it in, especially when they told us that they only use cars with that many miles for parts. You mean my babies and I are going to be the last people to "ride" in that car? Well, that got real. I have to say, it felt a little bit like finally putting an old farm mule out to pasture. She had been by far the best car we've ever owned and had been so reliable... and as much as I didn't want to see her go, it was just time to do it. But, we got a "younger" model just like her - and Mommy B and I are hoping that this one will be just as good to us.

This past month has basically been a blur for me - a new job combined with kids' birthday parties every weekend has me running ragged. There was seriously one weekend it felt like we were basically just going to birthday parties for two days straight between Alli and Aiden's friends. Then another weekend was Aiden's birthday party at the fire station. He just happened to have a ton of boys in his class, and needless to say they all had a blast playing on the fire trucks, shooting the hose at cones, spraying yours truly with Silly String, and of course, devouring pizza and cupcakes. I will say this though, that boy cleaned up on the birthday presents. He has some very cool friends' parents... if you catch my drift. I'm talking Legos, Hot Wheels, Play Doh, action figures galore - the list goes on and on. Not to mention that Mommy B and I decided to get him (well, both of them, really) a 7-foot trampoline for the back yard. They couldn't even wait until I had the whole thing built before they wanted to start jumping on it. Luckily I was able to finish it the next day and they've been playing on it ever since.

But as any parent with small children knows, it marked the beginning of the Terrible Three's. So many people talked about the Terrible Two's, but not our kids. The three-year-old age has been much worse than the two-year-old range, by far. And as if Aiden knew that by turning three he had a license to be a butthead, he sure embraced it. He's been more whiney than he's ever been, won't stay in his bed like he used to, and fights with us on just about everything. What makes it even more worse is that Mommy B and I can't count the number of times that his teachers tell us how mellow he is and what a great listener he is at school. There's nothing I hate more than when a parent talks about how great and well-behaved their kid is at home but the minute they go somewhere else with other kids they turn into a little monster. The whole time they're talking I'm thinking to myself, "Yeah, right. I saw your kid at the playground last weekend... I know better." Only with our kids it seems to be the opposite - they are well-behaved for everyone else, and are just little monsters for us! Well, I guess I'd rather have it that way than the other way around. I don't know how they flip the switch like they do, but it sure is frustrating. This has made our nightly routines a little more exhausting than normal, but we know that it's just a phase and he'll come back around sooner or later.

On the other end of the age spectrum, Brittany's grandfather's health has been in a steady decline the last couple of weeks. Things actually have gotten bad enough to the point of having to move him to a nursing home so that he can have people around constantly monitoring him. Since we hadn't seen the extended family in a while, Mommy B's nursing instincts kicked in and she decided that she needed to go back to Findlay to spend some time with her family. Since we don't know at this point if her grandfather's health will improve or not, we thought it would be a good idea to have the kiddos go along with her. Not only so the kids could see that side of the family again, but also so they could hopefully bring some smiles and sunshine to their great-grandparents who are going through a rough time at the moment. It's rare to have great-grandparents around at all, and we want to take every advantage we can so they can see each other as much as possible. Hey, that's what the savings account is for, right? So at 6am this morning, I drove the entire family to the airport and had to hold back my tears as I hugged all of them goodbye. Since I'm still rather "new on the job," we thought it would be better for me to stay behind to take care of Scarlett and keep busy with work (also to save on the price of a fourth plane ticket.)

While most people's first reaction is, "All right! Bachelor weekend for you!" That's not how I feel. I couldn't help but think about what it would be like if something were to happen to the plane. My entire family would be gone - just like that. I tried not to let those terrible thoughts creep into my head as I hugged them all goodbye and tried to drive home without crying. I opened the door to the house and even though the dog was there, it hadn't felt that empty since the day before we moved in. I went upstairs to their rooms and made their beds, just so they wouldn't have wrinkly sheets when they get back in a few days... it just seemed like the right thing to do. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long for the good news. Mommy B let me know that they landed safely and the kids were absolutely wonderful on the plane - not a single meltdown. It made me so proud that they actually behaved for her, for once.

I've been around Brittany's family for about 12 years now, so you can safely assume that I wish I was up there visiting as well. It hurts me beyond words to know that it's not going to be a fun trip for Mommy B, and I won't be there to comfort her in her time of need. Her grandfather was one of, if not the biggest, male role models she had growing up - and seeing him in his current condition isn't going to be easy for her. The man was there for her as a child when her father wasn't, helped raise her through those rough teen years (even helping her pay for her first car), paid for her college tuition in full, and most recently walked her down the aisle to give me her hand in marriage. Cue lump in throat.

I'm going to try and stay busy by spending some time with my family as well, just to keep my mind off things up there. So while I do have the next few days to myself, I'm not going to enjoy it as much as everyone thinks I'm going to. Call me a "Papa Bird" if you want, but I rest easier at night knowing my babies are safe in the nest. While I know Grandma C and the rest of the family will take good care of them, it's my job to protect my family as much as I can from the cruel, harsh world out there. But you know us, we're always switching it up.

Training Wheels

It's fitting that today I put the first set of training wheels on Alli's bicycle and tomorrow I start my new job.

I've had the last few days off (technically being unemployed) in between quitting The MIL Corporation and starting my new job at Good Done Great. I was able to get a few things done around the house and get a few errands handled that required me to not be working while everyone else was (i.e. - DMV for the golf cart permit and Social Security Administration office to get a replacement card mailed to me). The kids got to sleep in a little bit each day and lounge around in the mornings instead of having to run out the door before traffic gets bad, so they got a nice bonus out of the deal.

On Friday of last week, Mommy B found a bicycle that someone was selling online for cheap and we thought it was just Alli's size. The weather was gorgeous all weekend so naturally all Alli wanted to do was ride it. However, it didn't have training wheels on it which meant Dad-E had to hold the back to keep it upright while Alli tried to learn to pedal and steer. Needless to say, my back is killing me and Alli probably got more frustrated with me having to try and keep up with her. Regardless, she wanted to get back at it and go further and further each time we went out. I promised her that the first thing I would do on Monday after I dropped them off at school would be to purchase and attach training wheels on her bike so she could ride by herself. Given how smart she is, I think she knew what that meant... freedom!

So sure enough, after dropping them off at school this morning I went to Target and purchased one of the last sets of training wheels they had. I came home and put them on her bike, greased up the chain and other moving parts, and made sure that everything else was in good working order. I picked them both up from school and told Alli that I had a surprise waiting for her at home. I'm pretty sure she knew what it was, but she was still over the moon excited to see her bike with a shiny set of training wheels on it when we pulled into the driveway.

We strapped up her helmet and helped her navigate out to the street, then it was off to the races... and she didn't look back. Well, except to see if we were still watching her. I had a feeling over the weekend - she was trying SO hard to get the bike to go on her own, I just knew that the minute those training wheels were on, she was going to be gone. And boy, was I right. She rode that thing all the way through the neighborhood, with Mommy B close behind. Now all she needs to learn is how to stop.

And here I am, about to embark on a new journey, a new chapter in my life... just like Alli did today. Riding a bicycle by yourself is a huge milestone, almost like walking as an infant or getting your driver's license as a teenager. It can be a scary world out there, especially when you are starting something new for the first time. I know that I'm going to need some help from my new colleagues as I begin to navigate the unknown streets of tech startups... and I have feeling it'll be much like having training wheels on myself.

Shenanigans

As I mentioned back in January, Mommy B and I are planning on taking more frequent, "smaller" trips this year so that we can include the kiddos and not break the bank. Well, we took our first one this past weekend... only the kids weren't invited. Don't worry, we have plenty of fun planned for them in the coming months. We decided to book a one-night stay in Savannah, Georgia with my younger sister (Aunt Bacon) and her boyfriend Gentry. The two of them have only been dating for a few months so we wanted to take the opportunity to get to know him a little better while taking a short break from real life. And the fact that I have a new job waiting in the wings gave us all the more reason to celebrate.

Saturday morning rolled around and I decided it would be in everyone's best interest to take the kids to SkyZone - or as they call it, "the jumpy place" - to get some energy out before turning them over to my parents for the rest of the day and night. So I packed them up in the car and took them to the indoor trampoline park while Mommy B did our weekly grocery run and packed an overnight bag for the kiddos. The kids loved jumping around with each other and with some of the other kids - but they mostly just ran around as fast as they could without tripping and falling. After everyone was good and tired, we headed home just in time to meet Tatsy at our house who then scooped up the kids and took them over to their house.

For the first time in a long time, the house was eerily quiet without any kids around yet both of us still there. I'm sure the dog was very confused. Once Bacon and Gentry showed up, we piled into her car and headed down the coast. The car ride was filled with good conversation and plenty of laughs - a staple in our family.

We arrived to clouds and some rain with the temperature hovering right around 50 in Savannah. We checked into our hotel room and immediately went searching for late lunch - food, another staple in our family. We basically walked into the first bar/grill we could find and ordered some adult beverages right away. While our food was being prepared, we loosely mapped out our evening's festivities. We had signed up for a haunted pub-crawl that began at 8pm, so we had about five hours to kill beforehand. The consensus was to walk around for a bit right after lunch then head back to the hotel to take it easy for a little bit before we ventured out for the evening. After a mediocre lunch of bar food and a somewhat rude server (he was basically running this dive bar by himself on a Saturday), we walked down River Street and took in a few of the shops and ordered some drinks to go. For anyone that hasn't been to Savannah, "to go" means the bartender will pour your drink into a plastic cup that you can then walk around the streets with. Kind of like Las Vegas, minus the casinos... and desert. We made our way back to the hotel and crashed on the beds for a bit to rest up for the evening's events. But it basically turned into a grown-up giggle-fest. We all took turns trading jokes and making each other laugh - even though Mommy B and Bacon were trying their darnedest to take short naps. This even included Gentry playing a song on his phone from inside the bathroom. Welcome to the family.

I decided that a nap wasn't going to happen, so I got up and started getting ready. Eventually the rest of the group joined me while I played music and sipped a Red Bull. Before we left Charleston and knowing about Savannah's open-container laws, Mommy B had stopped at Walmart and purchased four plastic "yard" cups with shamrocks on the bottom for us to use that evening. At first, I gave her a hard time because I thought everyone was going to make fun of us for celebrating St. Patrick's Day too early... little did I know that those cups would end up being the joke of the night. We finished getting ready, grabbed our cups and headed out the door. We took a picture by our room number so in the event things got really out of hand, we would at least have visual evidence of what room we were staying in. Lessons learned from Grandma C...

The meeting spot for the pub crawl was only a block away from our hotel, so we decided that we would head out a little early and get some drinks next door. While still in the lobby of the hotel, we were asked by two separate groups where we acquired our St. Patty's Day cups. We laughed off their curiosity and told them they could find them at Walmart for $3 each. On our way out the door, I had an idea - each time someone asked us where we got our cups we should take turns making up the craziest story about where to find them, and at the end of the night we vote on who had the best "fake" story. It was unanimously decided that's how the night would go.

We met up with our pub-crawl group and began our drunken trek around Savannah. The stories the guide told were great, but I really wish we could have actually gone into some of the haunted buildings he spoke to us about. Just standing outside being told about how "haunted" the building was didn't really do it much justice. However, with our large yard cups filled to the brim and plenty of inside jokes to go around, we had a great time. In almost every bar we went into, someone had to ask about our cups. We would tell them that we found them in this off-the-map, hole in the wall bar called Shenanigans. It was "like 10 blocks over and 3 blocks up... pretty far." We didn't even know if there was a bar in Savannah with that name, but we made it sound legit to everyone who asked. At one point during the pub crawl, a drunk guy walked up to us and interrupted our guide's ghost story to inquire about the cups. Now that we had the group's full attention, I told him the same story we'd told the rest and he bought it without even questioning us. I turned back to the group and told them that I had just completely made up that story, and everyone got a good laugh out of it. Even the tour guide applauded our quick-wit and had the group raise their cups to give us a "Cheers!"

We eventually made our way to the Wild Wings where Gentry was able to meet up with some friends he knew from his home state of South Dakota. As we walked in the door, a woman at a nearby table again inquired about our cups. Gentry blurted out "Shenanigans!" as we walked past her. The woman immediately pulled out her smart phone to access the maps feature and said, "Shenanigans, got it!" We hadn't eaten any dinner yet, so we decided that some late night munchies were in order. As we started plowing through our food, the in-house DJ started playing all our favorite hits from the 90's... all mixed together that had us in an endless nostalgic trance. We took a few videos of ourselves singing along to the songs that we hadn't heard in almost 20 years, yet still somehow remembered the words to. Well, most of the words.

That basically capped off our evening as it was nearing midnight. We tried going up the street to a karaoke bar because we had been promised that Gentry knows how to carry a tune. However, it was crowded with too many other white folks who thought they could sing. So after watching all the moms sing "Let It Go" in unison and about half an hour of waiting, we decided to just head back to the hotel. We made it back safe and sound with all of our belongings, which was a good sign. Once back at the room, we realized that we didn't have any bottled water. So Bacon and Gentry went down to the lobby and returned about 10 minutes later with about 8 bottles of water in their arms. They said, "Well, no one was around at first so we just grabbed these out of an open case that was there. We went to leave money on the counter for them, but then an employee showed up and said, 'You know those are complimentary, right?' So we took our money and came back up. Here ya go." Shenanigans.

We woke up the next morning not that much worse for wear, and treated ourselves to the complimentary breakfast in the lobby. Bacon was amazed to find an automatic pancake maker there, where all she had to do was push a button and a minute later two pancakes plopped out onto a waiting plate. It's the little things in life. After stuffing ourselves, we packed everything up and drove two hours back to Charleston in the rain. The kiddos were napping when we arrived back at the homestead, and Tatsy told us they were so good for them the entire time. We had received a few pictures from her throughout the course of the evening/morning showing us what a good time they were having without us. It's such a good feeling to know that we can both be away from them from time to time and trust they are being well-behaved. The more they are exposed to situations like that, the better off they'll be in the future if we decide to go away for longer periods of time. And of course, a big THANK YOU to my parents who volunteered to watch them for us while we spent some time acting like kids ourselves.

More changes

I'm so sorry for neglecting the blog for an entire month. I promised myself I'd be better at posting updates, but you know how life gets in the way. That's a good problem to have, I guess. Speaking of keeping busy, we basically have at least one thing planned for the next four months. But first, let me get caught up on things.

My parents finally closed on the loan to begin building their dream home. As with most home construction projects, they have already started on the foundation and are quickly working their way up. I was off work for President's Day so I took the kiddos over to the lot to watch the concrete trucks come pour the footers. They loved every minute of it - walking around in their mud boots, watching the big truck pump liquid concrete out into the trenches dug in the ground. We went back about a week later and the workers were already putting up the cinder block foundation. I can't wait to see it all take shape and get completed, I have a feeling it'll really be something special.

I took a half day off from work a couple weeks ago because I had a job interview that afternoon, so Mommy B and I decided to do a little "shopping" for ourselves that morning. The first thing we wanted to do was replace the carpet in our master bedroom. It was the original carpet from when the house was built in 2004, and I know the previous owners had small kids running around on it for all those years too. So I did a little research and we met at Carpet Wholesalers in North Charleston to check things out. Within 30 minutes or so, we were walking out having purchased and scheduled our replacement carpet installation - it was such an easy experience. We walked in, told the guy what we were looking for and compared a couple styles and before we knew it were signing the paperwork. They came to our house a couple days later, moved all the furniture, ripped up the old carpet and padding, put down the new and put everything back the way it was... all within a couple of hours. We knew we had made a good decision when that afternoon I caught Aiden sitting on the floor in our bedroom pulling his shoes and socks off. I asked "What are you doing buddy?" He looked up and said, "I want to feel the soft carpet!" The two of them played in our bedroom in their bare feet for the rest of the evening - it was adorable.

Another stop we decided to make that day was at a couple of golf cart distributors. A neighbor of ours had put theirs up for sale the week before, so we took a test drive to see what it was like. The guy had done some work to it - raised body kit, big tires, speed chip, etc. So it was in pretty decent shape, but when I stomped on the brakes to test them out I became extremely concerned. Let's just say it's a good thing it wasn't at an intersection with oncoming cars. So Mommy B and I decided to shop around and see if we could expect the same type of performance from other used golf carts. We weren't really dead-set on making a purchase that day... just wanted to do some research for if and when that time came.

So we pulled into a place off Highway 17 that we drive by all the time to test things out. Less than an hour later, we had purchased ourselves a 2009 EZ-GO RXV in Mommy B's favorite shade of blue. Once again, it was one of the easiest experiences of my life - we walked in, told the guy what we were looking for and he showed us the carts that matched our criteria. We took one for a test drive and noticed that not only was it plenty fast without any modifications necessary but also stopped on a dime. I was sold. We then went back to the shop where the salesman showed us a few of the add-ons we could have added to the cart before it was delivered. So we had two seat belts and a safety bar installed on the back for the kiddos, as well as two armrests/cupholders on the back as well. They also tossed in a rear view mirror and ensured that the cart we received had brand new batteries. They told us to give them a couple days and they would drop it off at the house... so I spent the rest of the afternoon after my interview cleaning out the garage. The guy called me the next morning and said it was ready. I came home from work that day to our new (to us) golf cart sitting in the garage with the kiddos playing on it... just waiting for me to get home so they could go for their first ride. They have loved every minute of it... especially Aiden, asking me all the time to go on a ride.The weather hasn't been great for the last couple of weeks, so we haven't been able to use it quite as much as we would have liked. But we know the spring and summer will be here soon and will be getting plenty of use out of it going to and from the pool and playground in the neighborhood.

In an effort to help fund these latest "splurges", I've decided to quit my job... and get a new one! That's right folks, after over two and a half years at The MIL Corporation, I've decided to accept an offer at a small software start-up here in Charleston called Good Done Great. Not only will I be making significantly more than I currently am at MIL, but they have also included 3,000 in stock options along with my salary package. This will be a great opportunity for me to bring my Project Management knowledge and experience to a small company that is looking to define their processes and form some kind of structure that they can use for their software implementations. I'm very excited to be joining such a cool company at this stage of the game. I have the opportunity to make a very big impact there and hope that my years of experience will suit their needs well. My last day at MIL will be March 10th, the day before my 31st birthday. I don't start at Good Done Great until March 17th, so it looks like I could be getting more stuff done around the house with a few days off to myself... we'll see what Mommy B had on her project list!

Getting the new year started

What better way to start the new year off but to wrap up the end of last year. Mommy B and I decided to take the kiddos up to Concord, NC and meet Grandma C at Great Wolf Lodge the day after Christmas. This allowed Grandma C to break up her long drive from Ohio and spend some quality time with her babies. For anyone who doesn’t know what GWL is, it’s basically a huge indoor water park/resort... complete with wave pool, slides, arcade, mini bowling alley, and restaurants.

One would think that when you’re taking two small kids to a place like that, how could things not be fun, right? Well, it was a mixed bag. I started getting sick the day we drove up, which I knew wouldn’t bode well for the remainder of our stay (a whole one night). When we first went into the pool area, Alli wasn’t really having it. The numerous “sprayers” on each of the toys somewhat frightened her which made her somewhat avoid things altogether. Aiden seemed to be enjoying himself, so that basically meant that Mommy B stayed in the pool with Aiden and I walked around the rest of the hotel with Alli. That night, they had fun going to “story time” and watching “snow” fall in the lobby with Grandma C. While the kiddos stayed up late in their pajamas, Mommy B and I hit the “grown-up slides” for some fun of our own. Even while battling my impending illness, we had a blast reliving our youth sans kids. We made our way back to our room just in time to help put the kids to sleep, which ended up backfiring as we suspected it might. Alli and I tried to share a pull-out couch in which we could feel almost every individual coil spring… and I felt every single kick of hers. Mommy B tried to get Aiden to fall asleep in the bunk beds with little luck, and she ending up sleeping in four different places throughout the night.

We arose the next morning red-eyed and dragging. I felt pretty terrible, but the kids seemed to be in pretty good spirits. I took the kids to get doughnuts for breakfast while Mommy B rested. I recall telling the lady behind the counter we needed half a dozen doughnuts, a sandwich for me and a coffee for Mommy B. When we got back to the room, Mommy B asked the kids how many doughnuts we got for them. Alli replied, "We got 6 doughnuts, mommy.” I’m not sure if she actually knows what “half a dozen” means or not, but she figured it out. She continues to surprise and impress us on a daily basis. We tried heading back to the pool and this time Alli finally got her sea legs and Aiden wanted held. So once again, Mommy B played in the pool while I walked the other around. Overall, I think the kids had a pretty good time – and Grandma C got us a gift certificate to go back again! I have a feeling that if we call our good friends who live right down the road and have them join with their kiddos (and I avoid getting sick), it’ll be an even better time.

Grandma C then followed us back to Charleston to stay until New Year’s. Also news to us while we had been gone, my brother was coming to town at the end of that week. He’s been deployed in the Navy for the last nine months, so I was looking forward to spending some quality time with him on New Year’s Eve and having the cousins see each other again. Since Mommy B and I had taken most of that week off, we spent lots of time with the kids while I battled a low grade fever and a cough. It was a lot of fun getting to see more family and taking some time off work to spend it with those who are most important.

Our plan for this year is to take a few more “smaller” trips to make more memories with the kiddos. Even though it won’t involve the kids, Mommy B and I are already signed up for the same Marine Corps Mud Run that I participated in back in October – only this one is in April. Along with a return trip to Great Wolf Lodge, we certainly have a few small things planned out so far… with more to come, I’m sure.

2014: The year in review

I know Mommy B and I haven’t been the best bloggers this past year. Our number of posts have dropped significantly since we first started the blog back in 2011, but that doesn’t mean our lives are any less eventful. If anything, it really means that we’re busier than ever since we don’t have time to post. This year has been a pretty big one for us, so let’s take a look back at some of the events that have made this year so memorable.

We started the year off with a little snow/ice in Charleston, which is a rare sight. That was right after we had taken the kids back to Ohio to see a real winter. They did so well on the trip, but I know it’s tough for Grandma C to have 4 extra people in her house for a week. After that, I took Mommy B skiing for the first time in her life. She did so well and I was so proud of her – and we had a great time relaxing by ourselves. We took the kids to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus where Aiden got to witness the erstwhile “family circus” for the first time in his life. It was truly a magical experience for all of us, and I’m hoping that we can take them every time the circus comes to Charleston. Shortly after that, we sold the house that Mommy B and I had turned into our home – the place we bought right after we got married, where we got our dog, where our children were born and basically where we started our family – and moved back to Mount Pleasant. While we didn’t move very far geographically, the two locations are worlds apart from each other. Our main motivator? Our children’s education. In a couple years, our kids will be attending some of the best public schools in the state of South Carolina… which wasn’t something we were able to say just a few months ago.

The spring rolled on as we settled into our “new” house and Aiden moved up to the next class at school. I could not believe how well he did with it and how well he has done with it since then. Alli has progressed out of the Terrible Threes and is now in what I call the “Independent Fours.” She wants to dress herself each morning, and even comes down to wake us up on the weekends already fully dressed – complete with leggings and tutu skirt. She doesn’t want any help coloring, singing, dancing, eating or brushing her teeth… just to name a few.

Just as things around the house were starting to come around, I was rear-ended on my way home from work one day. And just like that, my dream car was totaled. I still thank whoever is up there that the kids weren’t in the car at the time and I wasn’t severely injured in the accident. But the ensuing battle with tow truck drivers, repair shops, chiropractors and the tightwads at the insurance company have been enough to make me never want to be involved in a serious car accident again, injuries be damned. I really miss that car… probably more than I miss the Mustang GT I had in high school. But I had purchased this car myself – it was mine. And in an instant it was taken away from me. So I did what any normal person does after their dream car gets totaled – buys their wife a newer car instead. Maybe I can afford one in a few years when the kids are off to school.

Speaking of, Mommy B finished her Master’s degree after 18 long months of hard work. It was tough slating for a while there, especially with everything else that we had occurred within that time frame. Heck, I had to look back on the blog just to remind myself of everything that had gone on. And to think that all the while she was putting herself through school, it’s just nuts. We’re both looking into new employment opportunities to complement our growing skills and education levels. Ok, well Mommy B’s new education level, at least. We’re both very optimistic new opportunities that will broaden our horizons await us in the new year.

Over the summer, Aiden moved out of his crib and into a “big boy” bed. A bunk bed, actually – which he seems to thoroughly enjoy. Shortly after that, we decided it was time to begin potty training. He took to it by the third day much like his big sister did when we trained her. He barely had any accidents and was amazing with it at school. His teachers helped out a lot, but he was super-proud to be in the “no diaper” club in his class at school. He even moved out of his nightly pull-ups a while back… which means we are officially done with diapers AND pull-ups, forever. It’s crazy to think that I haven’t changed a diaper in months and I never will on my own children again. So all within a matter of a couple months, we went from having a diaper-clad “baby” in a crib to a potty-trained kiddo in a twin bunk bed. So not only will I never change another one of my children’s diapers, but I will also never again lie one of my children down in a crib. Well, that happened rather quickly… (as I brush the tear from the corner of my eye.)

As you might recall, we decided to fly the family back to Ohio over the Labor Day weekend so the kids could actually see Mommy B and I’s home state without snow on it. They had an absolute blast – flying on an airplane for the first time, going to the fair and seeing all types of animals at the Toledo Zoo. We just happened to get the short period of nice Ohio weather while we were there, and the kids got to swim in Grandpa Ron’s pond and ride around on his tractor. Mommy B got to visit one of her best friends while I watched the kiddos, and we had an awesome cookout at Grandma C’s house with the entire family. It was a great trip and I’m so glad we decided to go up there during the summer months for a change.

Mommy B and I decided to wrap up the year by taking a few days off after Thanksgiving to fly to Jamaica for some R&R. I’ve been meaning to post about it, but you know how busy things get towards the end of the year. My parents watched the kiddos for us while Mommy B and I spent a few days climbing waterfalls and stuffing our faces at an all-inclusive resort on the coast. The weather could have been a little better while we were there, but we had so much fun regardless. Mommy B is too modest to admit it, but she’s been running almost every day since after her graduation – and has the body to prove it. This trip was the first time in over 4 years that I’ve seen her that confident in how her body looks in a swim suit. It was so wonderful to see her smile and have fun like that again, and I’m hoping we can do it again sometime soon.

Well Followers, as you can tell this year has been full of firsts… and lasts. First time riding on an airplane, last diaper change. First “move” to a new house, last walk through the old one. First circus, last graduation. First (and hopefully last) trip to the ER for sinus issues. First (and hopefully not last) mud run for Dad-E. First molars, last bout of teething. First bunk bed, last crib – ever. As I sit here and reflect on it all I’m slowly realizing it’s been a heck of a year for us. Mommy B and I are taking a few days off from work to spend some time with the kids and Grandma C who’s coming to visit. I’m going to try to do a better job of updating the blog more often next year, because I have a feeling next year will have even more adventures that I won’t want to forget.

Alli's Four Year Stats

It's hard to believe I'm typing this out... I am sort of in denial, maybe that's why it has taken me awhile to get up the nerve to write out my first born's FOUR YEAR OLD stats and info. It's so hard to believe that she's four. She is such a little person, such a grown up in a sense too, it's incredible. It makes me incredibly happy, and incredibly sad. She is already talking to me about when she's 5 and riding the school bus and when she's five and she starts golfing with daddy (?) and when she's five she'll be all grown up... at least she's waiting until five to think that. Maybe that means four will still be my little girl...

Weight: 36 lbs 4 oz (61st %)
Height: 40 3/4 inches (72nd %)
BMI: 15.3 (50th %)

Favorite color: Orange. Everything is or should be orange. Clothes, skirts, socks, favorite foods, candy, frosting for anything, all needs to be orange.
Favorite clothes: EVERY.DAY = long sleeved shirt, preferably one with sparkles, leggings, and most importantly, a TUTU. Any color, any style, doesn't matter if it matches, she must wear one. Even most nights, it is a must with her pajamas as well. (Pick your battles...!)
Favorite shows: She loves a LOT. Sleeping Beauty, Beauty & The Beast, Cinderella, Princess and the Frog, and definitely Cars.
Favorite toys: Pooh Bear still sleeps with her every night. Same with bunny. And she loves her Cars. Especially Doc, Flo, Sally, Lightning, and Finn.
Besties: Anna Grace, Brookie, Khayden, and of course, her best friend at home, Aiden. :)
Favorite food/snacks: Orange juice, oreos, frosting off the top of cupcakes/cookies, apple slices, grapes, and big hot dogs (Kielbasa)/mac & cheese is her favorite dinner... oh, and pizza is a favorite of course too.
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There is so much in her day to day activities and conversations that I wish I could share on here. I just don't even know how to put it into words. She amazes us every day. Her teachers at school tell us every day when we pick her up that they wish there were 15 Alli's in the class. That truly melts your heart to hear something like that. She is a great listener, she is so observant, she remembers EVERYthing, she calls her brother "buddy", encourages his and gives him high fives, she's just a sweetheart. But, she's also got her moments. Her crazy times, her terrible three's (that have trickled into 4...?!), and her opinionated self are hard to handle sometimes. But when she's good, she's soo good, and it makes us so grateful that we're doing something right.

Last night, she told Dad-E when he was helping me with getting Aiden's PJ's on, "Daddy come on, we gotta brush my teeth, they're getting yucky!" We were watching Sleeping Beauty, and when the burn "all" the spinning wheels so that the curse won't come true, she says, "But they forgot to burn one spinning wheel!" - she truly picked up on the fact that later on the in the movie, Sleeping Beauty will prick her finger on the one spinning wheel that wasn't burnt. It's incredible. We can't even explain how proud we are of her, and of course, Aiden's right on her tail keeping us proud and amazed every day too.

Happy 4th birthday sweet girl, we are so thankful to have you in our lives.