Santa Cookie

Zoe is obsessed with SANTA this year.

She saw this cookie while we were at the grocery store and had to have it!

The Car Story...

My friend, Amanda and her husband recently bought a new car. One glance at "this car" and I knew I had to have it! I was ready to trade in my car for something bigger and I knew I wanted something with three rows. Anyway, when we went to the dealership, the only color they had that I liked was WHITE. Knowing Amanda had the same color, I was hesitant to get the same one but it had everything I wanted in it so, I went for the plunge and now…..

Here we are with our matching cars – HA!

On another note, Zoe and Sam had so much fun today. “Miss Manda” made them lunch and they even got to play outside. It’s always a win when Zoe is with her best friend, Sam! Not to mention she just loves Sam’s baby brother, Benjamin. What could be better?

Prancer

This morning Zoe and I watched the movie, Prancer. It’s always been one of my all time favorite holiday movies and as a kid I watched it every year (and still do). We sat down on the floor with tons of pillows and snuggled up to watch this great movie. At the end, when Prancer runs into the woods, I glanced over to Zoe and she had this look on her face and was all teary eyed. I asked her what was wrong and she replies, “Mommy, Prancer flew away, He’s with Santa, I want him to come back!”

I was floored! To this day, I still tear up when I watch this movie. So you can imagine how I felt when I saw Zoe’s reaction to her first experience seeing Prancer. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel like I gave birth to this child. She is so much like Shelli and I it amazes me. I love sharing all these precious moments with my daughter.

This is what being a mother is all about!

Santa

Zoe has been asking to see Santa since October so today was her lucky day. We got up and went to the mall to find good old Santa. We got lucky and only had to wait a few minuets before it was our turn. Zoe RAN up to Santa and jumped on his lap as she went down the list of things she wanted. Very top of her list is a GUITAR. (Which her Nana has already bought for her but she has no idea). When Santa asked her if she was a good girl this year? She told him, “Sometimes I have to go to timeout, when I’m bad!”. He just laughed and told her she needed to try and stay out of ‘timeout’. Hey, at least she’s honest! – HA!

After we left the mall, we went to Whole Foods for lunch. We LOVE that place and can always find something good to eat. Zoe had tofu meatloaf and mashed potatoes and I had a veggie bean burger. We shared a tea and were both stuffed when we left. (We had to bring our cookies home for later!)

It was fun mother - daughter day! I’ve been doing the ‘single parent’ role because Shelli has to be out of town for business and won’t be back for a few weeks but it’s been fun. Zoe is a good helper and has been very good!

Bye Kee Kee

This afternoon we dropped Kee Kee off at the train station to get her back home in time to get ready for school on Monday. It’s always so hard for me to say “goodbye” to her. With a big hug, a “Thank you”, and an “I love you”, she got on the train like a big girl, and off she went. I, of course was in tears watching the train pull out of the station. As we were walking through the station on the way to the car, Zoe says, “I’m going to miss Kee Kee, I love her so much!”

Kee Kee's last day....

Today was Rakeyah's last day with us so, we took a ride over to Peddlers Village to see what they had going on. It was FREEZING but we managed to score some warm apple cider and pretzels while enjoying some of the Christmas decorations.

After we left there, the girls wanted pizza so we went to the one, the only, Chuck E. Cheese followed by some Coldstone ice cream. What could be better??? I'm going to miss Rakeyah so much and I know Zoe will too. We always have so much fun while she is here. We get to goof off and be silly without the worries of everyday life --I LOVE IT!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We were supposed to go to the Johnson-McCormick Family’s house for Thanksgiving but late yesterday afternoon, we got word that one of the boys were very sick and they were going to have to cancel all Thanksgiving plans. We were really looking forward to seeing everyone but when kids get sick, the first priority is making sure they get better, and getting as few others sick in the process! Our thoughts are with them and we hope Owen is on the road to recovery.

Our impromptu Thanksgiving was picture perfect! I got up and patiently waited until the girls to get up and get going, I couldn’t wait to start our Thanksgiving festivities. Zoe got up about 10:00am and shortly there after, Rakeyah got up. They’ve been going to bed so late, I didn’t have the heart to wake them up too early. Having “Kee Kee” here has been nothing short of fantastic. I love her like my own and having two kids in the house has been nice. Once the girls were up, I pulled out the matching turtlenecks and scarves I found for them last week. We were finally ready to start our day. First stop, ‘Fall’ pictures, where the girls had so much fun playing in the leaves. After rolling around in the leaves we headed to Starbucks for some hot chocolate. The girls had a good time waiting at the bar watching the barista make their drinks.

Once we got home, it was time to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner. I put on a big pot of collards (Thanks for the recipe Nana). They turned out phenomenal; especially considering it was my first time ever making them. I was impressed how good they came out, and everyone had seconds, so I guess they weren’t half bad! Who says a city girl can’t cook a little country food every now and then? (HA!) Next was the apple pie. The girls helped me do it all from peeling and cutting up the apples, to mixing ALL the ingredients and filling the pie shell.

At dinner, we all went around the table and said what each of us were thankful for. (This is something that is tradition in my family and I love it!) Rakeyah’s turn came and she says, “I’m thankful for my mother, my father, my grandma, and for being here with you guys this holiday!” That is what it is all about, I hope she realizes how much we love having her here.

Zoe is not going to know what to do with herself when Rakeyah leaves Saturday. She has enjoyed every second that Rakeyah has been here and I’ve enjoyed watching them interact. I too, am going to have an empty feeling in my heart when Rakeyah leaves, as I always do. You can’t help but to love Rakeyah, she is such a sweet girl, and we sure do love having her come visit.

All in all, this was a great Thanksgiving. I have tons to be thankful for, and I can say the one thing I’ve learned over the past several years is to live life to the fullest. There is no time to dwell on things that are not important and out of our control. Focus on the NOW and make the best of each and everyday!

Busy Day

We had so much fun today, when the girls woke up (about 9:30am), they came downstairs and lounged around for a while watching TV. Once we all got ready we headed over to have lunch at one of our favorite Hibachi Restaurants. Rakeyah had never had Hibachi before and we thought she might enjoy the experience. Boy did she ever! The chef even got her with his trick catsup bottle. I think Rakeyah thoroughly enjoyed her lunch, show and all. Not to mention having the chef cooking in front of her was super cool too!

After lunch, we ran a few errands and then we came home so Miss Zoe could take a nap. When Zoe woke up, we made cupcakes. Rakeyah and Zoe had icing all over each other, and even managed to get save some icing for the cupcakes.

Tonight the girls are going to cozy up in front of the TV, enjoy their cupcakes, and watch Shrek III. Poor Rakeyah, Zoe hasn’t left her alone for one second. She can’t even go to the bathroom without Zoe banging on the door asking her, “Are you done yet?, What ‘cha doin?”

"Kee Kee"

At last, Rakeyah (A.K.A - "Kee Kee") is here! Zoe is in HEAVEN. They got all caught up on the ride home. Rakeyah can't go anywhere without Zoe right behind her and it's only been a few hours since she's been here -- HA! Rakeyah is 12 and Zoe loves her to death!

For those of you who don't know Rakeyah, she is our Fresh Air child who visits us from Yonkers, NY.

( http://www.freshair.org/) This will be our third year as a Fresh Air host family and we are so happy to be a part of this wonderful program. We are all looking forward to a fun week together.

Snow

This morning, we woke up to SNOW falling. It wasn't enough to stick but, it was enough for Zoe to want to go out and and play in it!

P.S. - Our stuff arrived today, we've been non-stop trying to get everything in the house, unpacked, and put away!

Holiday Season - Toys For Tots...

Pure Bliss...

After a LONG and not so great week, my baby is home!!!! There is NO better feeling than holding my daughter in my arms. I missed her so much and I'm glad she's home. She said she had so much FUN at Nana's house!

A Week At Nana’s

Zoe has been a little confused as to why she can’t find Nana’s house next door and has been wanting to ‘go to Nana’s house’ to see her Nana. Since I had to come back down to NC for work Zoe got to tag along. It was a long ride, we finally got in around 7pm on Friday, but as always Zoe was a champ. We spent most of Saturday and Sunday running errands and cleaning up the apartment. But to cap off the weekend Nana took us to town to see Underdog! What a treat for Zoe, she was so excited. We got to the theater about 30 minutes early and Zoe kept looking in the window waiting on the man to turn on the marquee lights and open the doors. After what seemed like hours to Zoe (actually about 10 min), she came running over to the bench to tell Nana and I that the ‘man’ was there. We walked over and he was getting the cash register setup and Zoe was standing at the door pleading with her dramatic hand gestures and yelling ‘Open the door, Man’. The guy in the theater got the biggest hoot out of Zoe.

Tomorrow Zoe and Nana are going to get a flu shot (Nana’s getting the shot, Zoe is ‘helping’ through the trauma) and then they are heading up to the VA market for some collards (for Nana and Mimi) and peanut brittle (for Mommy).

Zoe's Room

Zoe is so excited about having her own room. She’s always had her own room but couldn’t really appreciate it until now. Today Shelli and I ran to Target for a few things and came across a little pink side table. Zoe thought it was ‘awesome’ and was sure she had to have it for her new room, and it happened to match perfect with her Dora décor. While my parents were up visiting, my mom brought Zoe several pillowcases she had made her for all occasions and one happened to be Dora and it matched perfectly with Zoe’s new Dora sheet set. Between her pillowcases and the Dora lamp Nana got her, she is set! (Now if we can only get our stuff off the 'storage truck', she can sleep in her big girl bed-- off the floor.)

Our storage delivery got pushed back another week so, we only have what we brought back from NC with us. We are waiting patiently for ALL our stuff to arrive.

Home!

We made it home safe and sound. The 7-hour drive was beautiful. Shelli was in the Uhaul and Zoe and I were in my car looking out at all the autumn leaves, cows, horses, goats, and deer along the way. She even got a call from Pop Pop mid way through and had to tell him all about everything she’d seen. She’s a champ in the car and always has been. We are so lucky to have such a good little traveler. Heck knows she’s had enough practice.

Needless to say, it’s good to be home, although we are all exhausted! We have many weeks ahead trying to get everything in order, but we love the new place and can’t wait to get settled. Shelli has a hectic month coming up with work and then we have the holidays approaching. This year seems to have flown by so fast -- AGAIN!

P.S. Zoe woke up this morning asking if she could go next door to Nana’s house. She knows we’re in a new house but can’t figure out the concept of ‘location’. Throw Mamaw and Pop Pop into the equation and she’s completely LOST! She knows when Mamaw and Pop Pop come we always pick them up at the airport, but she is still a little confused. It’s hard when everyone is in different places and we miss everyone terribly, but at least we have the blog to so we can keep in touch virtually. Modern technology is a wonderful thing!

Bye Bye

This morning was not an easy morning for Zoe. She had to say Goodbye to her Mamaw & Pop Pop after having 10 days with them ALL TO HERSELF. She was in tears and couldn’t understand why they had to leave? She was on her ‘cell phone’ immediately after we parted ways, trying to call them for one more “I LOVE YOU!”

There is no better love than from a grandparent!

******

On a lighter note, we will be taking a little break from the blog. We've got a hectic week ahead.

We will be back shortly!!!