New Computer

Sorry I've been out of commission.  Our old computer was on it's last leg (really?  Do computers have legs?) so we bought a new one.  Now we are going through the process (read: hassle) of transferring files and software from the old computer to the new one.  This includes my photo editing software and video conversion to MP4 software.  So whenever we get those moved over, I will be back in business!

In other news, Natalie and I have both been sick.  We are both recovering though, so that is good.  Nana came for a visit last weekend when we went out to look for new rental homes.  We found one, but it had a half fee (which came out to almost $900 which we would never get back).  We weren't too thrilled with that, but it was 1800 square feet located on Speen Street, not including a full, unfinished basement.  Plus it had two bathrooms (always nice when there are 4 people in the house).  It didn't have the 4th bedroom we wanted, but it did have a big "dining room" with a fireplace.  I think we will put a pull out sofa in there (a nice one) and consider it a guest room/office.  In the end, Todd worked his wicked negotiation skillz and got them to waive the half fee.  We signed a 14 month lease (at their request which was okay with us), and they gave us the last weekend in February for free to move in.  So now we have to pack up the current place (insert expletives here) and move in about a month.  With two babies.  YIKES. 

Next weekend, I am going to a brunch with some local mommies in Sommerville.  I met a nice girl named Tiffany through my friend Heather Yori Ingold (who I've been friends with since middle school!!!).  Tiffany is her friend, and she oddly enough, lives in Natick!  She has twin babies (a boy and a girl) and there is a group of girls that get together about once a month or so.  So that sounds like fun! 

Then the next weekend, we will be going to dear baby Jonathan's first birthday party.  It's hard to believe he's already one year old!  Jonathan and Natalie/Grant are second cousins.  It's a swimming party (don't panic, it's indoors).  Of course, Natalie got tubes in September, so we have to figure out what to do with that!  I'm on the hunt for a bathing cap and some cotton! 

So we have a couple of busy weekends ahead and we have to find time to pack.

Sorry there are no new pics.  Hopefully I can get some posted this weekend once the editing software gets installed!

Sally's visit to Massachusetts

Sally Russell, my maid of honor, came up from Atlanta to visit us this past weekend. Grant loved her because she would pat his bum while holding him and he would fall asleep in her arms every time. Natalie loved her because hey, let's face it... she's a fun gal. In fact, twice now she said to me, "We are sad because Sally left." Yes Natalie, we are.

We had so much fun. Saturday, the five of us went to the New England Aquarium. Natalie said her favorite part was the penguins. They were SO cute. It was feeding time when we were there, so that was really fun to watch. I really like the big tank in the middle of the aquarium with various sea life swimming around. Big sharks, giant sea turtles, rays, big fish, small fish, and we even got to see a few humans floating around in there, strategically placing lettuce here and there for the fish to nibble on. There was also a great little tidepool touch tank for kids to touch sea stars, hermit crabs, snails, and horseshoe crabs, among other things. And, in typical 2 and a half year old fashion, she also liked to run up and down the ramp that surrounds the exhibits. She just wanted to run. She wasn't running to see anything. Just wanted to run. ("Ready, set, GO!")

Saturday evening, Sally and I went out to the Chateau at Dudley Pond. This place is hysterical. It's kind of a dump, but this bar serves the most AWESOME burgers and other pub fare. It was an old speakeasy long ago, and is set at the edge of Dudley Pond, right in the middle of a neighborhood. It's very random. I don't know who's in charge of zoning for the Town of Natick, but it definitely seems weird to have a bar/restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood! Every time Todd and I have been there, we have pretty much been the only people in there. Well, it gets packed with townies on a Saturday night! So after we ate and had a drink, we went to Cheesecake Factory for some dessert (red velvet for me, and PB Fudge for Sal!) and another drink before heading home around 10:30. We are SO old.

Actually, we came home because I'm nursing Grant and needed to "pump and dump." My left boob was really hurting, and I thought I would get some relief after I pumped. But it still really hurt afterwards. I was shivering when I crawled into bed... but an hour later, under a down comforter, I was still shivering! Something wasn't right... my left boob was warm to the touch and it felt rock hard. Because of the shivering, I knew I must have a fever or something. I also wound up throwing up in the middle of the night! So it turns out I had a nice little case of mastitis. I've got my antibiotics now, and I'm doing much better! Very strange. I felt better by Sunday afternoon and I took Sally to Friendly's. If you're in New England, you have to eat at Friendly's at least once. It's pretty similar to Frish's Big Boy (if you're from the midwest, you'll know what this is). They also have kick butt ice cream, which we also enjoyed! Todd stayed at home with the kids... and he did NOT enjoy the Pat's loss to Baltimore!

Sunday evening, Sally and I went out to see The Blind Side. Sally went to Alabama, who just won the National Championship in football... boo... War Eagle! We really liked this movie. I think 90% of New Englanders just wouldn't understand some parts of this movie... like how Sandra Bullock's character HATED Tennessee. It was fun to see cameo's (and some more than cameo's!) from Tommy Tuberville (wearing Auburn gear of course... not Texas Tech), as well as Nick Saban. Even though Nick was wearing LSU gear... Sally still had to cheer because he's Bama's coach now. It was a GREAT movie. Highly recommended.

On Monday, Sally and I went to Cambridge to eat at Bartley's Burgers across from Harvard Yard. DEELISH! (And they score mega points with me for having yummy Diet Coke!) Here is a pic of Sally and Grant in Harvard Yard after lunch. Sally and I kept joking that we felt very dumb compared to all of the smart Harvard kids! We didn't spend much time outside because it was REALLY cold out (highs only in the 20s) so we went back to Natick and went to the mall. I picked up a few pieces of yellow jewelry (a nice bracelet and some earrings) for Cory and Brianna's wedding. (I'm a bridesmaid!). Sally got a nice new sweater and some earrings herself!

Sadly, Sally went home on Tuesday. We are hoping to win the lottery so she can move into our house and become our nanny. Although I think she might have to fight Todd's sister Kathleen for the position, ha ha ha!!!

Something funny about my kids

I have noticed over the last week that Grant gets really upset whenever we are driving and the car stops (like at a red light or in traffic). It's funny because Natalie was the EXACT same way as a baby. She eventually grew out of it, but I think it's just funny that both of them need to be moving at all times in the car to be happy! I wonder if it has anything to do with being in a canopied car seat, facing backwards, or if it's just because they like the hum/vibration of the engine. It definitely lulls Grant to sleep if we are in the car long enough (and Natalie was the same way... she hasn't slept in the car in months though!) Isn't that funny??? I wonder if all babies are like this, or just mine?

Grant and Natalie on the playmat

The kids were playing on the playmat the other day so I snapped some cute pictures of them. Natalie is so cute and SO protective of her little brother. At daycare, when we drop her off or pick her up, she practically yells at the other kids, "That's MY brother!" Then she shuts the cover on his car seat so none of the other kids can see him. Maureen always says, "Yes, Grant is YOUR brother, but he's Gabby's (or Mia's, or Matthew's) friend!" She's also very possessive of us too ("That's MY mommy!"). Very funny, but very strange! Grant is holding his head up so well these days. Since I'm nursing him, he is still waking up every 3-4 hours in the middle of the night. WE NEED MORE SLEEP! So Todd and I decided to give him a bottle of formula before bed and it really does help him sleep more. He usually gives us at least 5 or 6 hours. Which is NICE!!! Now... if we could only get him to sleep 10-12 hours a night! And preferably in his own crib!

Sledding and snowman making

Since we had a ton of snow right before Christmas, the hills were ripe for sledding when we got to Plymouth. Aunt Betty and Shirley have a great hill close to their house that Todd, Natalie, Seth, Bean, and KK went to for some great sledding. Even Bean took a turn down the big hill! Not bad for a guy in his... well, I'm sure he wouldn't want me to tell you his age. Natalie didn't want to go sledding on the big hill, but she certainly enjoyed being pulled around! They also made this great looking snowman over by Shirley's house, complete with one of Aunt Betty's famous red hats! THEN, when they got back to Grami and Bean's, Natalie partook in some sledding on the small hill in their front yard. While she wasn't afraid this time, she didn't care to do it again! They also made ANOTHER snowman at the house. Natalie named them both Tinkerbell. She has decided that all snowmen must be named Tinkerbell. I hope that's not too damaging to their manhood!

More holiday fun in Plymouth

Every year, Todd's brother and his family come up from Maryland to spend the week after Christmas with the family. Now that we live in Massachusetts, we only get to see them twice a year.

 So we spent 4 days in Plymouth at Todd's parents house among the chaos of the large Bailey family. There were 19 for dinner!!! Not to mention 3 dogs (thank goodness Koal didn't come!) It's always chaotic and so much fun.

And each year, the kids, because there are so darn many of them, do a gift exchange. Lauren got Natalie this year, and she got a super cool singing and dancing Foofa doll (from the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba). She also got the littlest Pet Shop. Lauren had this toy at her house, and Natalie always plays with it when we visit. Natalie and Grant, because they are still little, got showered with too many presents to even mention on this blog. I couldn't believe it. They really spoil her rotten!

And as usual, there was lots to eat and drink. Whew... was there ever!!! You know Todd loves to take pictures of his food...

Everyone got a little Grantie snuggle time in.

Lastly, this is the first year Grant got to be in the Bailey cousins annual photo. This is it... the family is complete, although Carole would love for me to give her an even number "10"! Here is the annual picture!

Christmas fun

Sorry, I just realized I never blogged about Christmas!

Because Grant is too little to travel (with cold and flu season upon us), we decided to stay home for the holidays this year. This actually is probably something we will do in the future as well. I think we will stay home for Christmas, and maybe travel to my parents house after the holidays (maybe for New Years... who doesn't love January in Florida???)

Christmas Eve, we went to church, went to Uno's for dinner (it was about the only thing that was open). Typically, we would eat Chinese food, but we had just eaten Chinese food a few days earlier and even still had leftovers in the fridge. Then we came home and Todd read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Next, we put "reindeer food" out on the lawn. This is a birdseed/glitter concoction that Maureen gave Natalie. Then we put out a plate of Cinnabon cookies, carrots, and egg nog for Santa and his reindeer and THEN it was time for bed!

In the morning, Natalie discovered Santa had been at our house! He brought her a wooden train set and train table. Really, she could not have cared less about the other presents she got. She would open them, and then go right back to the train set! It was comical. She got lots of other fun gifts, including magnetic dolls from GiGi, a portable DVD player and digital camera (kids version) from Nana and Pop Pop, and a beautiful dress (that mommy wishes came in her size) and a foam doll set for the bathtub (you can put clothes on her that stick when wet... kind of like paper dolls, and kind of like the magnetic dolls!) from CoCo and Brie. In the days following Christmas, she started to get more interested in her other presents, like the doll pack and play and other baby carrier items Santa brought her, as well as the Curious George puzzle.

Grant got a few baby toys from Santa and a stuffed dog from GiGi. I love the face he is making in this picture!

Overall, it was a GREAT Christmas! Only the second time in my adult life that I've gotten to spend it in my own bed! Whoo hoo!

Happy 2010!

Wow, I never thought I'd make it to 2010. I'm not sure why... I just thought I'd be old and gray by now. Oh wait... I AM old and gray! But seriously folks... I never could have imagined how happy I would be being married to a super cool guy with two beautiful and healthy children. If you had told me I would be living in Massachusetts... I would have laughed at you! But here we are... in the year 2010. I am not completely sorry to say that I am glad to see 2009 go... it was a good year in that my beautiful son Grant was born. But it was a stressful year. To sum it up: We put our house on the market in January, sold it 3 weeks later, and then moved to Massachusetts. We lived at my in-laws in Plymouth for a month which was really exhausting. Then we finally moved to Natick, the same weekend I found out I was pregnant with Grant! Then I spent most of the year pregnant, which we all know I don't like! But then baby G arrived and things began to get better :-)

Now here we are embarking on a new year... and we just found out we have to move again!!! Our landlord is putting our place up for sale. The price is right, but we don't like the layout of the home. The master doesn't have a closet or a bathroom (which technically means it's a loft and not a bedroom), and the two kids rooms are on a different floor, and both of the bathrooms are located IN the bedrooms... so in order to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, you have to either go down two flights of stairs to the first floor half bath, or tip toe into one of the kids rooms and quietly go to the bathroom! Kind of annoying. It's unfortunate because the location is awesome (I can walk to the train station but there isn't any train noise here). We also like that we have a 2 car garage... something we probably won't have in the next place. It has come in handy during the past couple of snowstorms. Our least isn't technically up until February 28, so we have some time... but with two little kids in the house, what usually takes a few weeks to do now takes a few months! We are hoping to enlist the multitude of family members in the area to do a little babysitting so we can pack and move.

A lot of people have been asking me, "Why don't you just buy a place?" Well, we certainly don't have enough money to put down for a house in a decent school district that has all of the amenties we want. We took a loss on selling our house in Virginia last year. While we actually broke even, that meant that we had 0 dollars to use toward our next house. So we had to start from scratch with the savings. We make too much money to qualify for the good loans (go figure), and we don't qualify for any of Obama's nice tax breaks. First... we are not first time home buyers. Second, if you owned a place recently you can get the $8K from the government, but only if you owned your last place for 5 or more years. No kidding... we owned our place for 4.5 years. Saving is also difficult when you have two kids in daycare!!! Daycare is pricey!!!

So... our goal for the year 2010 is to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!! Our goal in 2011 is to BUY, BUY, BUY! Oh, and donations WILL be accepted! :-)