Question...

Do I want a huge armful of endearing 9 month old little loves?

Yes, I will take a giant order please.

Did the following conversation with my honest 3 year old shatter my self esteem?

No, but it motivated me a little bit more.

                        Caroline:  I wear big girl panties to bed and I keep them dry!!

                        Me:  I know, Daddy and I are so proud of you!

                        Caroline:  One day I will wear BIG big girl panties, just like you!

                        Me: Yep

                        Caroline: And one day I will have a BIG BIG bum bum like you too!

The brutal honesty has begun and it is hilarious, until the day when she asks why some strangers bum bum is so big.  

I will just say I did a few extra lunges the next day!

Revamping our day

I went to post some of our latest pics, but Adam has had to de-clutter our computer and the pictures are not back on it yet.  So instead of pictures, I will tell you about our latest plan that has me so fired up!!

I have recently felt overwhelmed with all there is to do and want to do.  I was making list after list to keep the thoughts that were always  running through my head in the best order I knew how.  I would check things off as they were getting done, but the list kept growing.  Although I was busy all day I felt kind of crazy and disorganized.  I also felt like a lot of time was being wasted.  Sundays would roll around and I would kind of become a little anxious about how to organize my week.  Adam and I have enjoyed sitting down and planning what we both have the upcoming week and writing it on a calendar, but this wasn't cutting it.  So we have taken it to a new level.  We plan our week and days missionary style, hour by hour.  I know, kind of OCD, right!?  That's what I thought, but we are not that hyper, there is a cushion and a little room to still relax.

Adam had little index cards with the days of the weeks and hours already made up.  This worked well for him in law school.  So, hesitantly, I took a card and started to fill it out.  It was surprising how quickly it filled up and how most of the filling up had Caroline and Olive's names attached :)  It was nice to see what free time I had, and then prioritize what I had to get done that day, or within the week.  I have referred to my cards many times and have a sense of accomplishment when I get even some mundane little things done.  My days have gone smoother and my mind can rest from all the list making.

I promise if you hang out with us we will not pull out our index card and see what the next hour holds.  And just like on a mission where appointments fall through, each day playdates come up, shopping trips, parks, and we are so up for spontaneity still!

So, I am off to plan my hour-by-hour day for tomorrow.  I will keep you posted on how well our new method works.

After my last post I realized I sounded really sad that Caroline is growing up.

It is a mixed feeling really.  Jetting around D.C. has been so much fun with the girls.  I never thought Caroline would be able to sit or stay by me longer than 2 minutes.  Now she won't leave my side....most of the time.

We have been exploring tons of new places and they have been pleasant and enjoyable to take around.

Adam's school is just a few blocks from the White House.  One afternoon after dropping him off at school, we parked and took a picnic to the White House.  I was excited to show Caroline my old place of employment right next to the President's home, the Treasury.  

I don't know if I have ever felt more like a tourist than that evening.  As we walked a couple blocks toward our destination, Caroline was gleefully shouting,

"We're going to the White House, we're going to the White House!"

Over and over she proclaimed it.

I saw many smiles and people's shoulders moving up and down as they tried to refrain from laughing out loud.

The zoo, the beach in Maryland, the local Target (ahhh), Old Town Alexandria...it seems as though she

gets just as thrilled as I do to check out new places.  My little travel companions.

And here is one of those times when she was not by my side :)  and I was perfectly fine with that.

Anyone want to come visit?  The water's fine!

{Social Butterfly}

Often as I have looked at blogs over the years, I have come across many first day of preschool

pictures.  I have always thought they were sweet with the happy little 3 or 4 year old all 

bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for school.  

It's amazing the emotions that arise from your own child hitting this milestone.  It's all I've been talking about...

sorry family and friends.  

As the day approached, Caroline was so excited.  I was thrilled as well to

know that she would be interacting with so many fun children, teachers, and new activities.

As the day grew closer, Caroline grew more giddy and I started to notice a little twinge in my heart when I thought of her leaving 2 times a week for 3 hours.

The night before she started, Adam gave her a father's blessing for the upcoming school year.  Both Adam and I were so touched by how serious Caroline took this.  I had a hard time being reverent myself because I couldn't help but watch Caroline throughout it as her little eyelids twitched from trying so hard to keep them shut.  

All of the sudden she looked so big sitting in the tall back chair.  

After she said in her sweet little voice, "Thanks for the blessing dad."

What a love.

So as a family we went to drop her off.  We took pictures, walked her inside, and Caroline started doing what she does best....being a social butterfly.  She was ready to be there, and I was not ready to say bye for 3 hours.  I left in tears with Adam's arm around me telling me it would be ok, instead of him having 

to comfort Caroline who was fine :)  

....and I was thrilled to score this little gem for Caroline in Georgetown at a cute little children's boutique.

Polka dots, scalloped eyes, leaf zippers, a cute little place for her name inside....could you just die?

A very magical place....California!

In August we took a trip to California with my family.  We were very sad that Adam ended up not being able to come.  He was off working very hard packing up our place in New Hampshire and then starting orientation at his new school George Washington.  It really wasn't the same without him,

we missed him A LOT!  We had such a memorable time though.

My family helped an incredible amount after I had a few breakdowns of not knowing if I could play

single mom anymore.  It all hit when we stopped for lunch at In 'n Out burger.  Caroline was starving, Olive was starving...(thinking: ok I just have to have to nurse Olive in this tiny seat while I get Caroline's food set out)....then Caroline had to go potty...(thinking: ok I can take her to go potty and nurse Olive in the stall GROSS!)....then Olive has a messy diaper (I left the wipes in the car....the tears start coming).  Well, you get the idea.  It all got better from there :)  Um, after the 16 hour car ride there.

I LOVE Disneyland and I loved seeing Caroline so excited to meet the characters.  Her mouth dropped and then she clasped her little hands up and smiled when she saw all the princesses.  

Olive would wiggle with excitement when she saw the fuzzy characters.  She was almost as excited as Caroline.

The beach was dreamy.  I could probably go to the beach everyday and just let Caroline dance around and run to the water looking for seashells.  We walked along the pier and the boardwalk, Olive napped in the stroller and ate lots of sand with a big grin on her face, and we also ate on the pier and had the best ocean view!

It's a little bit shocking when a big, cold wave hits you by surprise.  Our girls are two little fish, they love the water.

Sea World was incredible and I had not been since I was Olive's age.  We were able to hold live starfish, watch trainers ride on the dolphins, watch flip after flip from whales and dolphins, and walk in an underwater glass tunnel to see sharks.  

And yes, miracles do happen.  This is the one time they both fell asleep in the stoller the entire week.  They were tuckered out and I loved seeing them so content as I walked around Sea World and talked to Adam on the phone.

A new place and new eyes

Our little miss Caroline Ella has a new look for our D.C. adventures.  About 2 weeks ago she got her first pair of glasses and she LOVES them!  Right before her 3rd birthday she would look at me and her left eye 

would be crossed.  Other times I would see it drift into the corner.  Although

I knew this may be in the cards for us with our family history, it broke my heart to see

my little girl look up and say, "Hi, Mommy" with cross-eyes.  It's amazing what an incredible uncle and a sweet pair of glasses can do!  Adam and two of his sisters, and my sweet nephew Liam all

got the joy of wearing a patch along with their glasses.  They didn't love it to say the least.

Caroline just has to wear the glasses and she has been great about keeping them on.  Her little eyes don't need to accommodate and cross any more.

When I put it into perspective, I couldn't be more thankful that so far this is all our little one

has dealt with.  She is healthy, enthusiastically happy, and loves to give smooches.  I know many other little children who have and are dealing with so much greater a challenge, and my tender, aching heart goes out to them.  

We are alive!

We have arrived in Washington D.C. and our month of non-stop craziness has slowed down a bit.  Let me just try to summarize how the last month went. Adam left the first week of August and this was his itinerary over 3 weeks to pack us up, go to interviews, start school, and move us: New York, Philadelphia, New Hampshire, New York, New Hampshire, D.C. (saw each other for a couple of hours), New Hampshire, D.C. (together again!), New York, D.C.  Adam did all of that traveling and packing with such grace, no complaint.  He drove to D.C. while sitting on our granite slab just so that it wouldn't break in the truck and even napped on it for 3 hours.  He inspired me to try to keep my stress and complaining to a minimum and he buoyed me up with love letters in the mailbox.  With Adam gone, I was a single mom for 3 weeks and I can't tell you how many times I said "I am so glad that I have Adam to help!"  I did have the help of my parents which was wonderful, but there is something about the husband just knowing what you need when you need it and when you are just done.

It seemed as though when Adam left, our smooth night time routine went to pot.  Caroline began creeping out of bed and saying she didn't want to sleep in her room.  Just as she would get me up, Olive would cry and I would go help her and then Caroline would start to cry.  It was chaos and the girls were so good to be patient with me.  Again, I am so relieved that I am here right now with Adam.  

I also feel bad because while Adam was working his tail off day in and day out, I went off to California with my family.  We had such a great time and enjoyed Disneyland and the beach.  The 16 hour bumper to bumper drive there almost did me in, but things were much more enjoyable after that.  Caroline danced for hours on the beach while Olive ate fistfulls of sand.

We love our new place and love that we have a balcony and a place to get fresh air anytime of day!  We can't thank all of our friends in New Hampshire enough for helping Adam get on his way and for providing food, thanks Bells!  Also, thank you to our incredible neighbors, the Andersons, for taking such great care of homeless Adam for a week and for all your help with moving in.