Life Happens...

Hello again!  I know it's been forever since I last wrote.  I wish I could give you some exotic reason why I haven't been blogging like I won a contest and have been in Fiji or I was in Hollywood starring in a miniseries for Lifetime, but nope, nothing like that.  Truth is I haven't been writing because I've been too busy with my life.  Just the day to day things that occur from the time I'm unhappily woken up by my screaming M, to the time I'm dragging my butt to bed.  Nothing fancy there...

What have we all been up to?  Well, here is an abbreviated list:

- We've been slowly getting more and more settled into our new life in NJ.  C's in school, M wishes she was, and I've been enjoying the 2.5 hours of quiet!

- We've made trips to PA to visit friends, had fun with the family, gone on field trips with C's class, and of course made a trip to the pumpkin patch!

- I spent most of September making trips back and forth to VA to settle everything with the house.  No fun there and it was really hard on all of us.

- We all got sick.  Everyone, even my inlaws except M.  How she escaped the nasty sinus infection/bronchitis/viral whatever that we all had is still a mystery.

- I joined Facebook!  Never thought I would, but I did and have been meeting up with some friends from high school that I haven't seen since, oh, high school!

- The girls have been growing and changing.  I'm going to write a whole post on that, because well, they deserve it! 

Well, I think that pretty much sums it up.  It doesn't seem like much when I write it out like this, but it definitely has kept me jumping.  Next post will be an update on the girls plus some pictures!  Hope you'll stay tuned! :)

And We're Back... Part 1

After hemming and hawing over what to write, I decided just to go with it. So, here's what's been going on in our lives. To save you from having to read one really long post, I'm breaking it out into parts... Now, no cheating...always start at Part 1 before you skip ahead. We can't skip ahead in life, so don't skip ahead here... ;)

Ok...so to backtrack, back in May, J and I had a long heart to heart about the state of affairs here. We're struggling to make ends meet, and the market here isn't condusive to us selling our house right now. So, I, or we decided it would be best for me to go back to work. On top of this, we also decided that we weren't going to pursue moving back to NJ this summer as planned. Two hard things to deal with, hence my last post.

The very next day I swung into action getting my resume together and looking for daycare. I was really upset over everything and allowed myself the day to mourn. Dramatic? Maybe, but you have to understand that it's really hard for me to be away from family and be raising my kids down here. It's not that I haven't met great people or have found things to do, but it's just not the same as family. I hate having no one to call when one of the girls is sick and I need to run to the store...or worse, when I'm sick and J has to miss work as a result. So, moving to NJ would solve a lot of that. Yes, it would come with it's own share of issues and family drama...but I really thought it would help.

After a day of being pissed off and sad, I moved on. Then something crazy happened...J lost coverage on his contract at work. The downside of working for a government contracting company is that you are up for contract renewal every year (or however long the contract is). J's contract has never been questioned, and up until that Saturday...we thought he was fine for another year. Then that Saturday it was all undone. The contract was going to expire in a month and then J would be out of work. Wow, right???

I did what any good wife would do...kept calm until I was alone and then completely freaked out. :) Needless to say, J has been looking high and low for a job. After a few setbacks, we've decided to go forward with moving to NJ. We figure it's the best for our family and financially makes sense. Now all we need is for J to find a job!! Wish us luck on this.

End Part 1....

Not sure what to say...

I've been neglecting this blog for a while now...sorry. Truth is, I'm not sure what to write. I have a few posts saved in drafts but haven't had the guts to post them. They're personal, deep posts. The kind that makes things seem dark and gloomy in my life. And although I've been using this blog as a virtual therapy tool, I'm not sure I want to go there. Truth is I'm afraid that if I open that door then a lot will fall out. Honestly, who wants to read about someone else's problems when everyone has enough of their own??

So I've been stuck. To clarify, there have been good things, great things going on as well. C had her last day of school and end of year performance. M is coming up on her 2nd birthday, and we had the first (of a few) celebrations for it. My house is back to being mine with no extra guests. We've taken trips to Baltimore, gone to see a few movies, and are getting ready to head up to NJ for my cousin's college graduation party. See, life isn't all gloom and doom here!!

Today while the girls are napping (or at least M is) and J is at work (yup, on a Saturday), I'm going to make an effort to blog. I'm going to download pictures, write posts and actually post them. What a novel idea, right?? So, until later....

Where have we been?

Well, I wish I could be writing a post to say we've been on some exotic vacation or won the Powerball but in truth we've just been busy. Here's quick rundown of what's going on...

• C started school at the beginning of September (Thank God!!!). She goes to a preschool 5 minutes from home two mornings a week. Sure, I wish it was more, but hey it's something, right?
• C is also signed up for some classes to keep us busy. She now has gymnastics and ballet/tap on Fridays, and will start swimming class in October.
• M has been enjoying some alone time with me. So far we've gone grocery shopping, taken trips to the park, attended a tots playgroup, and gone to MOPS.
• M had her 15 month checkup in which she was 31 3/4 inches tall and 23 lbs. 9 ozs. She was a real trooper even through her 2 shots.
• I've been back and forth to the doctor's again. Have yet another sinus/ear infection (my 4th of the summer) and had sinus xrays done. Luckily they came up clear but I'll be heading back next week for a follow up.
• I'm serving as the Activities Coordinator for our MOMS Club in town and also attending MOPS twice a month. (Just is case I wasn't busy enough already...)
• We've had things going on every weekend so far and it won't end until late October! Some of our fun has been: going to Richmond to visit friends, heading to Six Flags for J's company's annual picnic. This weekend we're heading to the circus!

That's basically been it. Lately I feel like I should put a meter in my car and earn some money for all the driving I'm doing! So...that's been it. Hopefully I'll start getting a little more free time soon and be able to post more often.