Visit in NJ

We had a fantastic trip back to NJ. There was so much to do and so many people to see. I will start from the beginning and go from there. We took the red eye and Frank brought us to the gate. He had to travel to Cali that day for business so he was exhausted. We said bye to him about 40 min before we boarded the plane around 10pm. Riley was so over tired and Devin was wiped. Since we did not have assigned seats before arriving at the airport (blast US Airways) and we got assigned to be in the last row of the plane where the seats do not recline. There was a lady sitting in the aisle seat that I asked to have moved so we could have the whole row and they thankfully the Us Airways guy did that for me. We got to preboard too which was awesome because that allowed me to get everything together without the stress of people staring at me.

After we took off, Devin went to sleep on the floor on the bed I made. Riley was a bit of a handful and was so over tired that she cried for a few minutes on and off until she fell asleep. I laid her on the middle and window seat on another pillow I brought. They both slept until we started to descend and the seat belt sign came on. I slept only about an hour because I was afraid Riley would roll off the seats onto Dev.

We got in Wednesday am at 5:45 est (2:45 am PST). Both kids took killer naps that day to try and catch up on missed sleep. We hung out around the house and had a great rain storm in the early evening. The kids got to play in their first puddle after the rain let up. They had a blast stomping in the water and running up and down the puddle splashing each other. They were wiped after that and went to bed around 8:30. It was a success to get them on EST by flying in on the red eye.

Thursday we went to Johnson's Farm. Pop Pop Griffith, Lauren and her son Cole met us for some apple picking and pumpkin picking. There was a little play area that the kids got to play in while we waited for the hay ride to begin. All the kids had a great time and the weather could not have been better. It was cloudy with a high of 76. Boy did that cool air feel great on my skin and I loved getting to wear jeans again.

Friday morning we made the drive down to Ocean City to see Riley and Devin's great grandparents. Devin talked the entire hour in the car non stop and Riley just hung out. I really do not know how his mouth does not get dry of having to stay open the whole time while he talks. My dads sister Dawn also works in the area and was able to stop by for an hour or so to meet the kids again.  We had a great time seeing them and we were sad to leave the great grandparents knowing that we will not see them for a while.

Friday  night Riley got to spend time with Grammy while Devin went to the Philly's game with myself, Kelly, Dana and Pop Pop Griffith. Pop Pop had gotten first row tickets right at the dugout which Devin loved b.c the Philly Phanatic danced on the dugout during the 7th inning stretch. He liked the game, but got bored by the 3rd inning. Thank goodness the Phanatic would pop up now and then to keep him interested.

Saturday we spent the morning and early afternoon at mom and dad Skinners house. Devin and Riley got to play with all of their cousins and spend time with their aunts and uncles as well. Devin and Riley were so both worn out from this one that they fell asleep before we were 2 miles away. They haven't met a lot of those family members so it was nice for them to spend the day playing outside with them. Saturday night we walked down to a local restaurant by Grammys house for an early dinner and the kids went to bed soon after they wound down again.

Sunday was another fun filled day of family time. My Aunt and Uncle held their annual family reunion for us this weekend (it is usually in 2 weeks). We arrived around 11 am and the kids both caught their first fish and Devin got to go for a canoe ride with cousin Bart. They met a few other distant cousins and we headed out about 1pm so Riley could go home and nap. Devin came back to Grammys with me and we played outside until it was time to get ready for the picnic Grammy was hosting for friends and family. People started to arrive about 4 pm and Miss Riley was still asleep. She slept until about 4:45ish and was raring to go! Grammy and Dana made a tunnel out of appliance boxes and she had taken apart a stack of hay and hid toys inside for the kids. Both were a huge hit and the hay ended up being the ammo for a super fun hay fight toward the end of the night. Guests were all gone by 7:30 and after bath time the kids were so wiped they went right to bed.

We flew out Monday morning on full plane. Riley sat on my lap for the first 2 hours and she laid down to take a nap on the bed I made her on the floor. She slept there for a solid hour and a half while Devin watched a movie. He fell asleep in his seat and when Riley woke up 20 minutes later I transferred him the floor and Riley sat in his chair. We were in the air for 5 hrs 15 min and when you calculate in the driving time, sitting time, plane time, drive home----our travel day was about 8.5 hours. The kids did great though :) I was wiped and really wished I had a maid and butler to do our laundry and make dinner when we got home.  No such luck so Chinese take out it was and 4 loads later we were back on top!

Is it Wednesday yet? Riley finally weighs 20lbs!

Today is an absolute shitty day. I am sorry not to be g rated...but Hell I hate today. I know everyone has a bad day now and then...today that is the day for me.

It all started out ok, took Devin to preschool for an 8:30 drop off. Swung by Target to get new headphones since Devin broke mine a lil while back and I will need them for NJ to run outside with.  Then we drove over to gymnastics for Riley. Left there at 10 for our 10:15 ped appt for her. Waited over an hour for the ped and never saw her since I had to pick up Devin between 11:15 and 11:30. Thankfully the ped is only 5 minutes from his school, but as I pull up they are closing the gate and I had to watch them walk Devin into the school and I had to park, unstrap Riley and go in and get him. I apologize and they were very cool about it thank god! I was only 1 min late by the time I got to the office so hypothetically I wasn't late when I had pulled up.

I now have to reschedule an appointment to take Riley in and do her 18 month well check again. SO ANNOYING. Who has time for that? I waited over an hour the first time, and now I have to go back? WTF. That is the last thing I want to do with my time. She got weighed and is 20 lbs 11 oz and can finally be legally turned around to face forward. We turned her around a few months back, but now at least it is legal :) She is less than the 3rd percentile for weight and 10th percentile for height. She is a peanut and I am not worried. She eats all the time and eats well. We do feed her mostly healthy food with hardly any saturated fats and such, but she is definitely is not a picky eater.  I would much rather a petite girl who eats healthy food over a fattie kid who eats processed crappy food and fast food. 

On a good note, I will be in NJ soon and will have the cool air on my skin. It is 100* today in Las Vegas and tomorrow will be the same. Gag me now! Bring on the 70s. Oh and I won an EBay auction for a pair of Janie and Jack knickers and pheasant top for Riley this morning too for only $5.50 for the outfit. I have a few other pieces from this collection so that is awesome I can now mix and match :)

Devin wants to kick Daddys butt and NJ this week!

Devin wanted to play Boggle yesterday with Frank. He told him "Lets play goggle Dad." Frank, "Do you know how to play Boggle Devin?" Devin, "Yes, I kick your butt." Frank, "What?" Devin, "Mommy kicks your butt at Goggle, so that is how you play, I kick your butt!" Frank and I could do nothing but laugh because when he and I played a few weeks ago I really did kick his butt and Devin was asking who was winning. Haha. Frank was trying to explain to him how to play and he told Devin he was just too young for now. He then asked Devin what the word (Boggle) on the box said. Devin responded very matter of factly, "I play this game." (while moving his pointer down the box)

We will be flying out this week to NJ and I am getting prepared mentally. We are all packed (beside carry on) and ready to go. Since we will be flying Us Airways there I had to keep our suitcase below 50 lbs which was actually pretty hard to do. Resting at 46.5 lbs now, I have a few last minute items to bring but for the most part we are ready to go.

I am very excited to be going to Johnson's Farm on Thursday for some pumpkin picking and possibly apple picking if time allows. We have an orchard not too far from our house here that I can take the kids to again this fall. Weather is fixing to be perfect and I am very much looking forward to the forecast of all 70s! Fall is my all time favorite season and I miss it big time living in the Mohave. With lots of other activities planned the few days home are going to go very quickly as always. We are lucky to have a Baker/Sullivan/Viguers family reunion brunch on Sunday too. Thanks to Aunt Nancy for hosting it this weekend for us :)

I cannot wait for you all to meet the kids again! They are so great and really fun to be around. I just wish we were closer to NJ than we are. NV I am over you!

Peacock pride

Devin has now started his 3rd week of preschool this week and loves to talk about what he does there. Yesterday he did not get to play outside because of the rain. We got an unusual rain that lasted a good hour and a half on and off and apparently that was during his scheduled recess. He said they got to sing and dance to an extra song since they could not go outside. I ask him everyday if he met new friends and today he finally remembered some names, Jade and Ella. Great, of course he remembers two girl names. Haha.

His school offers themed days once a month to keep the kids in the know about what is going on holiday wise or something they work into the curriculum. This month is Western Heritage month and they are learning about settling into the west and cowboys/cowgirls. I am to send him in two weeks dressed in cowboy attire. Crap, we do not own western wear or anything that has to do with cowboys. He does not even have a plaid shirt this year. Thank goodness Janie and Jack as well as Gymboree both have a cowboy line this fall. I will wait until that weekend before and see if I can score something on sale that does not scream queer cowboy but does say, "I am a handsome rugged bugger!" 

So, for my peacock pride moment....in his backpack yesterday was our info flyer about parent conferences and all other stuff for the elementary school level part of his school and this ditto. He was very serious when he told me that the teacher Miss April told him to "Stay in the line and take his time." I must say that I am very impressed with his ability to actually stay within the lines and follow the zig zag down. I asked him if Miss April helped him, he laughed at me and said "No mom, I did it myself." I guess that was insulting to my three year old to even suggest that he got help from the teacher with drawing. It is not a major thing...but I am proud none the less. He is such a good kid and I cannot wait for a lot of you to meet him again next week.

Riley has some serious chompers-anxiety about next week's travel

Riley turned 1 on March 13th and had ZERO teeth on her first birthday. That is right...zippo. She cut her first tooth on St Patricks Day (yay for Irish babies) and she has been non stop since. In less than 6 months Miss Riley has cut 12 teeth. She has been getting them out of order and its pretty funny. She got her bottom two, then top two, then the other lateral incisors up top and for some strange reason all four molars. Now that she has all four molars she finally has cut her two bottom incisors this past week. Watching her eat before was funny since she ate like a barbarian masticating food with her molars out the sides of her mouth since she had too little to eat with in the front of her mouth.

We will be heading to NJ next week and I am starting to get nervous about traveling alone with both of them. I have traveled alone with one at a time a few times now on airplanes....but not both at the same time without Frank. We took Devin and Riley to  Hawaii last May and Florida this past April, and it was a chore on a long plane ride. Two hour long plane rides I eat up for lunch, but this 5 hr plane ride BS. UGH. Lets hope that buying the red eye was a great idea and they will actually sleep heading east.  I originally had a entire row on the plane so each kid would have their own seat (Riley free b.c it was very empty plane) and Devin since he is over 3 gets his own seat. Well I got a call last week saying my flight was canceled (bc it was so empty) and I am now being rerouted to Boston and will be in Philly an hour later. Yeah, no that will not happen....so they put me on an earlier flight that is 90% full. I am going to be making Devin a bed on the floor (gasp if you want to, but a flight attendant neighbor actually told me to do it) and Riley will get to sleep on the seat I bought for Devin. Wish me luck! I am checking everything beside things I may need on our flight and nothing more.  I cannot wait until we live within driving distance or simply a shorter plane ride from family.

The great thing about a red eye is when we get to Philly, it will be 6 am and they will be jolted to adjust to EST.  We shall see if this actually works, or if it bites me in the ass middle of the afternoon when they are just miserable and cranky. Riley also never sleep in a pack and play (has 2 times since she was 2 months old) since she doesn't go to daycare so it will be interesting to see if she sleeps in one when we are there. Here is to hoping. :)

Time to get Devin ready for school! Saw a rainbow this morning already. It is going to be a great week