What was I thinking?!

I just started at a new school district. It was hard leaving my friends behind and the kids I grew to really care about over the years, but the school was being ruined by choices being made and I was not happy there anymore. I still ask myself, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! I knew the curriculum, I had friends, I liked the kids, and I was close to home. Now I know a few people, I am unfamiliar with the curriculum, and the commute is longer. Again, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!? I know in the long run it will be the better move, but right now I am overwhelmed and tired.

My ultimate goal is to find a way to stay home with Kiki. I would love to be a stay at home mom, but we cannot afford that. This year I am hoping to find something that is actually legit so I can eventually stay home with her. Any suggestions?

The good thing is that Kiki loves her daycare and has a lot of friends there. She gets so excited to go there in the morning. At least I know she is happy to be there. Even though I would rather be with her, I know she needs the socialization in her daily life.

Taste buds and ICE CREAM

Kiki seems to have her father's taste buds in most foods. She loves spaghetti, lemon water ice, cereal and milk, orange juice, is not a big fan of beef, loves fish, etc... It seems if he has a favorite dish it is now both of theirs. The one thing she loves like I do is soft chocolate ice cream with chocolate jimmies. I LOVE THAT and so does she. At first I would get a cone and we would share it, but now the cone is hers and she occasionally gives me a lick. HOW NICE!!! She is so cute when she is eating the ice cream. You can tell she is savoring every lick. It gets all over her and her clothes, but she does not care. The only care she has is that each drop on her clothes is one less drop for her to eat. We do not have ice cream often, but once in awhile it is a nice treat and she loves it.

You can see from the pictures that she is really happy and messy while eating ice cream. I love these pictures. They are the epitome of childhood summer days.

More Vacation Pics

Now that we are home and back into our daily routine, we miss the lazy days of vacation. We stayed in the Lake Harmony Estates so we also got to use the private lake and beachfront for the Estates. It was really nice. Kiki and R loved the beach and playing in the sand. Kiki is definitely a beach girl like me. We could spend all day at the beach and have a great time. She just loves digging in the sand and snacking. I just love the beach (the smells, the sand, the relaxation, the water, etc...).

Besides hanging at the beach we also spent time hanging around the house and letting the kids play. They had a lot of fun playing with the toys, treating their Pop Pop like a horse, and pushing each other on the cars. It was nice to see them together and sharing so well.

The kids seemed to enjoy the time in the morning before we set out for the day. They loved to hang out with each other and play with all of the toys. I know Kiki really misses her instant play date since now she only has me to hang out with in the morning.

Such a BIG GIRL now!

As you can see from Kiki's pictures, she has a lot of hair. She was born with a full head of hair and it was and still is thick. With that said she had her 4th (for a 1 1/2 year old) hair cut today. The past three haircuts she has sat on my lap and been very good. Today she sat on a booster seat all by herself. She is such a BIG GIRL now. She was so proud of herself and so good. I did not have my camera with me so I took the picture with my cell phone. Her hair cut looks great and makes her look older. I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. It really is going by too quickly, but each milestone has been so much fun.

The Candy Man

During vacation we visited Callie's Candy Factory and Pretzel Factory in the Poconos. It is a tradition that we have been doing since we were kids. I was so excited to introduce Kiki to these traditions. When you visit the Candy Factory Callie (the real candy man) comes out and does a show where he tells you how he makes his candy. He gives away all of his secrets (or most of them) and tells you how simple it is to make the money yourself. He of course does not recommend doing so since he does not want to lose your business. It is a funny and great show and he is a loud man.
I could not wait for Kiki to see him. Within a few minutes she was bored and her father took her outside. I stayed for the show. At the end of the show he gives out free samples. Kiki and her father came back in for that part and she loved the chocolate.

After the Candy Factory we always go to the Pretzel Factory for lunch. There we eat Pretzel Pizzas and Pretzel Dogs and hang out. The kids (and their dads) had fun hanging out on the motorcycle in the lobby. I have great pics from both the Candy and Pretzel Factory. The kids had a lot of fun.

Family Vacation

Kiki, her cousin, and her Pop Pop

Kiki and her cousin

Kiki and her dad

This past week my family went away on vacation to Lake Harmony, PA. It was nice to get away and spend time together. We went away with my sister, her son and husband and my parents. Kiki loved all the attention and loved waking up to an instant play date with her cousin, R. R and Kiki had so much fun playing together and hanging out with their grandparents.

Kiki loved the idea of vacation. She got to play all day with her daddy and cousin, and get spoiled by her grandparents. This was the first week long vacation we took since she was born. We usually take long weekend trips. It was nice to break from the norm of our schedule and do activities as a family again.