5 Reasons I Am So Over the Top Excited We Moved to North Carolina

We moved to North Carolina about 2 1/2 years ago and although at first we missed friends and family, we have not regretted our move. These are some of the best reasons why I love North Carolina. 1. Umm the weather. It should be enough to say that it was 74 degrees yesterday. In February. While in New York it was freezing!!! North Carolina rocks. Someone was right when they said that after a couple of days of cold, you always get a nice warm up. 2. Ohhhh the stores. I grew up in Montauk, a town that was seasonal at its best (after the summer season was over, stores rarely opened). It was also a town that was far away from everything and anything (it is on the tip of Long Island, which is basically a long, narrow island. There were only things west of it). So coming to North Carolina where there is a SuperTarget, a Walmart, a food store, the hospital, the pediatrician's office, Babies r' Us all within a 10 mile radius is like heaven. 3. The parks/playgrounds. We have dozens to choose from. Like heaven 4. It is so baby/kid friendly. Around me it seems like everyone either has 3 kids or is pregnant. I think this leads to all the playgroups, gymborees, Little Me's, and other child centered activities. One of my favorite places is Birkdale Village where they have a gated in water fountain sprinkler that the kids can run through. There are too many to participate in and it warms my heart as a mom that needs to get out more. 5. I have to come back to the weather. If I didn't have anything else, this would be reasons 1-5. North Carolina rocks. Each month that I am here it gets better and better!

We are 20 months old

Dear Jake, Today you turned 20 months old. Boy have you given me a run for my money. You have become a quick little boy with a mischievious grin. You love to climb on anything and everything and to tell you the truth this makes your momma's heart stop at least 35 times a day. You do not like to stop for too many hugs and kisses because you are always too busy looking for a "car" or a "choo choo". Car seems to be your favorite word lately. We'll add that to mama, dada, bye, baby, dog. Words at this point are not your strong suit but you are adding to your repetoire every day. You love to play air drums just like your daddy; you'll be a pro any day now. Happy month my little boy. I love you bigger than what my heart can hold.

Dear Ava, You are nearly 2 years old, only 4 months away. You are such a sweet, gentle girl. You love to give kisses and hugs and gentle caresses when they are needed. You love to dance oh do you love it. You dance to all the music on Jack's Big Music show and any other tunes that happen to catch your ear. You love love love to eat blueberries or "blues" as you call them. You also love pancakes and any kind of dipping sauce. You are saying more words than I can keep up with and you've got lots of animal sounds down pat. You are a growing, evolving young girl and I love you bigger than what my heart can hold.

Our "Wagie Ride" for Tuesday

Today we took a "wagie ride" to be as close as we possibly could be to the Whitt family and Tuesday. Our prayers are with them.

Pictures

Some pictures. I need to practice posting them because they are just not coming out right.

20 months is sooooo much better than 17 months

I learned this at a playdate with a friend that has 17 month old twins. We went to a mall and strolled a little, let them play at the mall playground, and had some lunch. These twins brought back 17 month memories and not good ones at that. They were squirmy and cranky and you could tell they just wanted out of the stroller.... and with 17 month old twins this is just not a possibility at a mall. So it gave me a nice peaceful feeling that my twins are growing and becoming more content. When I go to a mall by myself, I need to keep them confined to a stroller. Otherwise I would pull my hair out. I am happy that they are getting to a point where it feels like they are understanding that. My next step is to continue to grow with my babies and make sure that I am allowing them the freedom that they can handle. Laura C had a great post about how sometimes twins can exceed your expectations.

Appreciation

I'm making a new resolution...yes I am about a month too late, but i'd like to be more appreciative. Reading back to the post about my mother, I realized how ungrateful I sound. I guess I was just caught up in the moment and I was mad. I think I need to work on taking help that I get and just appreciating that because I could have no help.

Teacher

In my previous life I was a teacher. It was something that I loved. Interacting with students, inspiring them to learn. However, it was also something that seemed to drain every last bit of energy out of me. Constantly planning, spending way too much of my own money, worrying too much about how I was going to improve each child. But I loved it, how all your hard work molded these young people. I haven't been in a school setting in a long time but today I returned. I visited an old teacher friend and took part in a reading celebration. It felt good to talk to students and inspire them to read. It is something i'd like to get into again, but I think for the time being I will work on molding and inspiring my own two little smurfs.