Back to Blogging

So life has been so busy I haven't had time to post. We just bought a house and are always working on it. I'm still at home with Amidala. But this year I want to get back into blogging so here's giving it a try

My Big Girl

Yay for the weekend. I know I don't have much merit in saying that while being a stay at home mom but I enjoy getting to spend time with my family. Amidala is now officially a big girl. She sleeps in her big girl bed, starts day care again on Monday, and has no more binky. At her new day care they are not allowed to have in the two year old room so upon reading that, we decided to take it away so it was a non issue when she needed to transfer up to that room. We started on Monday and she has been doing great! With some incentives of course. She go a new Nala and a doodle pad for being a big girl. We went to visit her new school on Wednesday and stayed for about an hour and a half, so she could get used to it and meet the new kids. A couple of the kids had binkies and Amidala pointed at them and said babies mommy. She is such a good goober.
Today is exciting because I have a phone interview and this will hopefully lead to an in person one next week. More to come on that.
Since we were so busy before we moved I didn't have time to update my 101 in 1001. So here is an update since we have been in the south.

#42: I had a goal of cleaning our basement while we were in Quincy but since we had to move it was cleaned in the packing/sorting and trashing. So I do have a clean/organized basement, I just don't get to use it.

#52: This summer Anakin and I have been taking Amidala for nightly walks in Crown Colony before we moved. It was nice to get out get some fresh air and exercise and let Amidala burn some energy before bed.

#72: Anakin and I went on a date with my friends Jen and Evan. We went to Rio's in Quincy which is an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. It was delicious and I definitely ate way more than I should have.

#91: Drinking enough water is hard, especially while working. Anakin and I found these water bottles called Camelbak's and they are great. I can honestly say I drink a ton of water with it.

Hope you all enjoyed this update and hopefully I will have some news on the job front soon!
-Rachel

The Big Move

So from the short post earlier this week, you probably have figured out we are now living in NC. We drove down over the course of 2 days, 20 hours in the car with Amidala in our car and the cats in my inlaws. It was a long drive that was rerouted due to Hurricane Irene. All in all the drive was not too bad, we saw some beautiful scenery in New York State and Central Pennsylvania. The mountains out there are beautiful and so peaceful.
On day two we began our treck from central PA, through West Virginia and Virginia for most of the day. We even went through South Boston, VA. And the last leg of the trip was North Carolina, which was about an hour and our first run in with rain.
The family and I are happy down here and doing well. Anakin started a new job two weeks ago and I am still on the hunt but have a promising lead from Fidelity. Since I am not working I have the pleasure of spending my days with Amidala. She is quite the artist and we are accumulating quite the surplus of art at age 2. Hopefully everything works out and I get a job soon.
Speaking of Amidala, she will be two in 5 weeks!!! Where does the time go. It seems she was just turning 1!!
That's it for now. If you would like an Amidala original please let me know, I hate to get rid of it.
-Rachel

New Start

So the family and I moved down to NC three weeks ago and are finally settled. I have a big update to post probably tomorrow. We are all fine!

We come together no mind of the weather, We gonna love each other til the end of time

A lot has happened in the last month for us. Amidala is now 1.5 and running amuck amuck amuck.She also got her tubes put in and we have seen a huge improvement in balance and speech. Her vocabulary has exploded and she repeats everything.
On a not so light note this past Wednesday a series of tornados went through my home town of Springfield, MA. There were two confirmed touch downs, one going right up main street and one closer to the Wilbraham border. My family is fine and is my grandfather's restaurant. It was very scary trying to get ahold of my sister and mother not knowing where they were and if they were ok. Thankfully I heard from my sister quickly via text that she was ok. My mom texted back that she was ok about a half hour after and I was so relieved that she was ok.
My thoughts and prayers go out to those also affected by the tornados and hope everyone is safe and recovering

-Rachel

Happy Mom Day

This is how was greeted by Amidala when she awoke from her nap with some help from dad. It was the cutest thing ever. If this kid could get any cuter she did here.
This being my second Mother's day it was great. We were planning on make homemade donuts for breakfast but after Amidala spent the better part of the morning getting sick we decided it was best to stick to cheerios. Poor munchkin had some bad post nasal drip that resulted in her getting sick.
After a laid back morning and lunch we took Amidala to the playground near us again. She loves it there and had a ton of fun on all the slide. We had to cut the trip short due to some parents not watching their older children who decided to climb up the slides. Since it was no longer safer for little miss to be on them, we came home where Anakin made some great curried pineapple chicken! And we ended the day with ice cream cake!
Here's a picture from the park

-Rachel

Now there you go again you say

What a long and emotional month it has been for me. I know May has just started but it has already been super busy and eventful. Amidala needs to get ear tubes. We went to a pediatric ENT last Friday. She had been on new medication for 5 days and still had a bunch of fluid in both ears and one was still infected. They did a hearing test, she is fine and her hearing has thankfully not been affected by the frequent ear infections. The doctor we saw was more than nice. She said she would highly recommend the tubes but said we could wait out the summer if we wanted. We decided it was already long enough for her to be in pain and on a ton of medication. She will have the procedure done a week from Friday.
We also went on a family vacation to visit family in NYC. It was a great time, I was nice to go and see some site and enjoy a new place with family.
the lack of post has not been with out cause, I've been busy with Amidala, had a vacation, had a lot of sorority volunteer events going on and of course working on my 101.
Here is the update:
#2: We visited NYC, I know I have been before but it was for less than a day plus I didn't do much other than be on the bus to and from. We had a ton of fun, got to see a lot of iconic sites, relax, spend time with family and each other. NYC is so different from Boston. It's hard getting around a city I didn't know and sharing a room the size of my bedroom with 2 other people.
#16: Anakin and I watched Tron:Legacy. I have never seen the first one and thought this looked so stupid. We didn't even give it thought to see it in the theaters. I was good, engaging. It has made me want to see the original at some point.
#27: Take Amidala to the zoo. While in NYC we went to the Central Park Zoo. The original plan was the bronx zoo but the ride would have been way too long. In the end the Central Park Zoo was perfect. It was small enough to not be all day but enough animals to hold her interest. She loved it. Her favorites were the snow leopard, and fire fox.
#29: Person #2 for the hand made challenge is done. They are not here yet. I made some things for some friends who are expecting in July. Pictures to come once I have given them the gift.
#55: Learn to make 10 new recipes. Anakin and I made our own pizza dough. It was not the one I grew up making with my grandfather. I only know how to make that one on an extremely large scale. We also tried to recreate the risotto we had from the Lodge in Williamsburg. It was a Vegan risotto with caramelized onions and apples. It came out great and will be made again soon.
#60: Visit 3 museums. While in NYC we went to the MET. It was huge. It reminded me of the Louvre, there is so much you never feel like you see all of it. We really enjoyed the Egyptian and Renaissance wings. Amidala loved this blue hippo and said "hippo" every time she saw it.
#66: Own all the Disney Classic movies. Anakin and I have been buying the classics as they are released from the vault and are up to current on them. I'm not sure that there are anymore classics to get gotten.
#89: This is one of the first Lenten seasons where I faithfully abstained from meat on Fridays and holy Days for the whole time. While it was challenging when we just wanted to order out but it was not that bad.
Check back soon to see how Amidala's is doing and thanks for stopping by. Also look for some more photography by me soon.
-Rachel