Elly's Birthday

The day before her birthday, I took Elly up to her old "home" the NICU at NCBH. We brought cupcakes, and a card to celebrate her birthday and say thanks to the awesome staff that helped us sooo much! Everyone was so surprised by how much our Little Elly had grown. Her actual birthday was on a Wednesday, so the kids and I had a small cake with Elly here at home to celebrate.Round 2, and she's still not so sure about this cake thing.Here she is all clean after her bath. She is wearing the pjs Grandma & Grandpa gave her, and playing with the doll Nana Kaye, and Papa Jim gave her.

Elly's Birthday Party

On October 27th Elly turned 1! We celebrated the weekend before with a family party in Bryan at Grandma & Grandpa's house. We had a LARGE turnout, in fact I think it was our biggest 1st Birthday celebration ever. We had the 6 of us (of course), Grandma, Grandpa, Nana Kaye, Papa Jim, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Laura, Doug, Lesley, Nana Cindy, Papa David, Stanley, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Robert, Benjamin, Aunt Marianne, Uncle Bradford, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Christy. Elly wasn't too sure what to think of her cake, or of everyone watching her eat it.She mostly just poked at it, and didn't actually eat much.

Present time

Thanks to all our family for celebrating this big day with us!

Since we were all together we exchanged gifts with Papa Jim's (Nov 3), Aunt Laura (Nov 5), Addy (Nov 8), and me (Nov 5). Followed by an evening out to eat at Johnnys (YUM!).

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Wee World

This post I am taking a "time out" from catching up to post about one of my favorite things! Anyone who knows me, knows I love to shop, but you also know that I love a bargain, and will not pay full price for anything (unless of course it's a NEED like medical care). You will also note that I have 4 kids, which is generally a hindrance when it comes to shopping... ENTER Wee World! This is the best place for Mom's who love to shop!

1. It has a play area, and I'm not talking some dinky little corner with a toy... I mean a play area! It's got a full size castle with a tower- complete with princess dresses for the little princess in your life, and even a knight in shining armor costume for your boys! This is my favorite area, but it also has a boat, fishing gear, a log cabin, numbers, letters, educational, imagination, creative play stuff! My kids ages 7, 6, and 3 all love it! On our first visit we stayed over 2 hours and they played non-stop, they were entranced!

(that's Addy looking out the window from the tallest tower of the make-believe castle)

2. It's a trick... the kids come along happily because they are going to play... really YOU are going to SHOP! The above said play area is visible from all angles of the store! That's right you sign them in, send them off for an adventure, and then you begin your own! So you get shopping time, without the hassle and most commonly used, "MOM I'm tired, I'm bored, are we done yet? when are we leaving?" Could it get any better??? (YES it actually does!)

3. This is where I get excited, going back to my desire to find a bargain- it's a Resale shop! But don't let this fool you, it's unlike so many resale stores- they have standards! Yes they personally inspect every item to make sure it's in good shape and ready to go! Everything is around 1/2 of retail prices! Then on top of that- they have "hidden" bargains! Many of the items on the racks have been stamped 1/2 off! There is a great joy in finding a cute dress, pulling it from the rack, and then spotting the little airplane stamp! Makes you just wanna yell "SCORE!" or do a happy dance!

4. On the other side of the play area, is the beloved parent's lounge...those are two words you hardly hear together as a parent! And that's exactly what it's for! Once your done shopping, no need to rush the kids, they are having fun, they are entertained, it's time for you to take a break! This room looks right at the play area, so again your kids are in sight, and safe, and you can kick back! Seriously curl up in a chair, or sink into the cozy couch with a book, your headphones, or whatever sounds nice to you, it is your space to lounge! I love it! I've been there alone and really just zoned on the couch. I've been with a friend, and loved the opportunity to have my kids entertained and be able to carry on an adult conversation!

5. It's a perfect way to "turn around" stuff you are done with. They are after all a resale shop. What I love is they give you multiple options! You can choose to accept 40% store credit of what they think they can sell your stuff for. You can choose to consign for 90 days and receive 50% of what sold in cash. Or you can consign, and receive 60% of sales in store credit. I like this last option the best, because it gives me shopping money for future shops, literally turning my stuff around into new stuff.

6. You can rent the space for parties! For a VERY reasonable amount too, next to having the party at home, it's probably one of the cheapest options in town for a party place. We had Addy's party here in November. She LOVED it! The other kids LOVED it! In fact one of our guests is now having her party there in February, and Addy can't wait! And most importantly I LOVED it! For the simple ease of it! I didn't have to decorate, or clean, or plan party games, or anything! I brought cake and punch, table cloth, plates and cups, served the girls, threw it away, and watched them play! By far the easiest party I've done in my years of kid parties!

Which brings me to this... by now you may be wondering, "why is Liz blogging about this..." well truth is I do LOVE it, and I wanted you all my blogging buddies to know about it! So that if you are in the San Antonio, or even South Austin area you too could check it out. But also, it is for selfish reasons... Wee World is doing a blog contest, and this is my entry. All I've said is true, and many of you have probably heard me speak of this awesome place! But now it is in writing! If any of this sparked your interest I suggest you check out their website at http://www.weeworldresale.com/ and if you like what you see may I also suggest you click the like on Facebook button :o) this is a great way to get updates on the store, hear about promotions and contests, and stay connected.

Play Date with Friends

In late October we went to B/CS for a weekend, while there we were able to have a play date with our dear friends. It was a great day to be at the park and enjoy each others company. I loved catching up with Heather. I love that no matter how long it's been since our last visit we are always able to pick right back up! And the best part about play dates with this family is everyone has a friend! Our families match up perfectly-

Jimmy and Jake are only a few weeks apart Addy and Brenna are less than 2 months apartTimmy and Justin are close (don't remember the time)and Elly and Lauren are only months apart. In fact we even having matching cars (I thought that was kinda funny).

Visit from Uncle Stephen

During October my brother, Stephen, came for a week to help get some work done on the house. Which was much appreciated! Also, the kids loved having their Uncle around to play with. It was during this week that Elly fell in love... She was entranced with Stephen and would follow him around. She especially loved playing guitar with him. I am so grateful to have such a great brother! Thanks Stephen!

Extended Family

In October we went to our baby cousin, Jamie's 1st Birthday party. Her and Elly are only a few weeks apart. The only difference is Jamie was supposed to be born in October and Elly not 'til February...so of course there was a considerable size difference between the two. Both adorable though!!! It was nice to go and visit with extended family, that we don't see very often. Here is Elly with her Great Great Aunt Cris:Here are the big kids with cousins Austin and Isaiah: Here the kids are giving Baby Jamie her gifts:

Sea World in October

(this was the closed we got to a "pumpkin patch" this year, so it's our fall picture, even if the kids are dressed for June...haha it's HOT here!)

One Saturday in October we had opportunity to spend the day with Larissa and Cody at Sea World. Larissa and I go back to college days, and I love spending time with her! When Jimmy was little she babysat him a lot and he would loving refer to her as Ms Ralissa... too cute! Anyways, we loved our time with them!!! And can I just say it is so much easier to be at Sea World with 4 kids in tow when there are 4 adults. It was real neat to see the place decorated for Halloween, to see the shows, and of course do all the rides.the kids on something "exciting!"

Jimmy, Cody, Timmy, & Larissa on the Log Ride

The whole crew (minus me) waiting for Azul to start...

Thanks Larissa & Cody!

So much to say! Part 1- with many parts to follow...

Dear blogging world, it's been awhile... too long! I enjoy blogging, it's the closest thing I have to a journal, but when push comes to shove it gets bumped to the bottom of the totem pole. So, here I am wanting to catch up but feeling overwhelmed knowing I've gotten nearly 4 months behind. I'm not going to make non-realistic goals on posting everyday or anything, but I hope that with a few posts here and there I can catch up and get back to maintaining. Wish me luck!!!

So, September 27th Dave began his new job... good news is He LOVES it! It's his dream job! bad news is it is 2 hours away, which means he lives in a hotel Mon-Fri, and we get him on the weekends. Which also means I have become a "single" mom of 4 kids. NOT EASY!!! I have a new respect for single moms of the world, I don't know how you do it! We are rapidly approaching 4 months (see a time connection to lack of posts, its no coincidence) of life like this, and it isn't getting any easier. We spent the first 2 weeks of October working like mad to get the house ready to list. We did new carpet, new paint, packing/boxing up to de-clutter, had a garage sale to de-junk, lots of deep cleaning, yard work, you name- we did it! And then it was finally ready, and let me just say... WOW! my house looks nice!!! I think so anyways. I do miss a few things though, 1. family pictures, I am a picture person and having to remove all "personal" things for listing was not exciting and 2. the baby gates!!! AHhhh! to this one, Elly is an accomplished crawler and moves fast! She can make it up the stairs okay, but it really scares me and I only let her do it if someone is right behind her. She is far from ready to get down them, and it doesn't help my fear that there is tile at the bottom of the stairs- no padding for crashes. So now anytime we move up or down I "reposition" a love seat to act as a gate. Much more complicated than locking and unlocking a baby gate would be...sigh...but it works. So the house has been listed for like I said 4 months, and has only had 3 showings, which is rather disappointing...in fact down right depressing. We've been assured that the market has been in a slump, and with it being the holidays there hasn't been much movement anywhere... maybe so, actually probably so, seeing as all 3 showings have been in the past few weeks, not months... but let me just say it doesn't make it any easier. Day in and out, keeping up with this! I've never been a "neat freak" not that my house was a disaster, but it has always had the "lived in" feel... and this change to cleaning every day is not my idea of fun, in fact I would say it is rather exhausting! The good news, all 3 viewings have had positive feedback. #1 loved it, only to find out they didn't qualify for it, #2 liked it, but weren't "serious" buyers, just looking, and #3 liked it, but decided to go with something larger. So one of these days someone will come along and it will be the perfect fit for them... at least that is what I keep telling myself. We are told that they are expecting a lot of movement in the market February and March...so here is hoping! I think with that I will call it a post- this was a good synopsis on the whole house situation. No pictures this post, but here is a link to our listing if you want to see my house all clean and pretty... http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10107-Cedarcliff_San-Antonio_TX_78245_M78618-23564