Sparkling Clean!

 

Anyone who knows me…and especially the ones who have LIVED with me….know that I HATE cleaning. 

I view cleaning like I do school work…no matter how much time you spend on it, there is always more to do.  There are so many better ways that I would like to spend my time rather than cleaning….like sleeping, going to the gym, shopping, etc.  My other thought about cleaning is that if I was to die tomorrow, would my family and friends remember a super clean house or spending time with them?  I think you know the answer.

I do have to admit though, I do feel better mentally when the house is cleaned up from all the dog hair and toys.  I am great at keeping up with the vacuuming, it is everything else that I fall behind on. 

I have several girlfriends that always have immaculate houses and every time I leave their places, I swear to myself that I am going to do better.  I am going to hang up my clothes right away before they get wrinkled from remaining in the dryer to the next day (or the day after that). I am going to unload the dishes every night. I am going to make sure there is no dust on the baseboards or Goldfish in my couch.  My hopes are always short lived.  I really, REALLY want to be like them.  Unfortunately, I do not think I am wired that way.

So with working full time and tutoring in the evenings, I fell waaayyyy behind in cleaning.  You know it has to be bad if I think it is “bad.” 

Awhile back I met a wonderful woman playing Bunco with some girlfriends.  She is as nice as they come and she just happens to own her own cleaning business.  This woman is the best!  I can chat with her all day.  When life was getting crazy for us in the Taylor household, I explained our work situation and what we needed.  She has only cleaned our house twice, but I am not sure what I did before her.

I have only had a cleaning service twice in my life…and both times were when I was extremely ill during Campbell’s pregnancy  Tommy and I do as much as we can around the house ourselves….refinish furniture, hang our own garage door openers, put up wainscoting, etc.  So I feel very spoiled having someone help with our housework.

TaDAAAAA….How long do you think this will last with kids?

                        Coming home to a clean house makes me smile!

My smile will be growing even bigger soon because I am going to trade my tutoring  services and work with her grandson for her cleaning services.   I  love a win-win situation.

After the First…They All Get Gypped

 

With our first born, our world was centered around her. She had our undivided attention and did not have to share it with anyone.

Then the second child comes along.  Even though the first born had to share the spotlight some, truth be told, she still gets the majority of the attention.  She is the one who is old enough for swim team where we wait on the sidelines “patiently,” she is the one who has play dates to be driven to, she is the one who we used to have to wait so “nicely” in the hall for her to come out of her church preschool classroom, she is the one who we have to wait for in a crowded waiting area for her dance class to be done with…you get the picture.

I understand that this is just how we have to roll until Campbell gets a little older and can claim some of these activities for herself.

Though Campbell does not feel neglected, I have mother’s guilt that our world revolves around Addisan’s schedule.  Addisan is at camp in the morning which gives me some one-on-one time with Campbell.  I cherish these moments with just the two of us.  Don’t get me wrong, I miss Addisan while she is gone.  BUT… I love watching Campbell develop into her own self without the influence of an overly pink, dancing queen sister.

Yesterday, after dropping off Addisan, Campbell and I went to our favorite place to eat…Chick-fil-a.  I am embarrassed to admit this, but we go at least every other day since I have been on summer vacation.

 

 

We then went to Lowes to look for some handles for a shelf in the bonus room.  I love how she loves the simple things in life….like getting on a tractor that does not move, make music, shake…but simply for the experience of something new.

 

 

                         

 

We then went to the mall to pick up a new pair of sunglasses.  We went to Barnes and Nobel to play with the train table and then went to sit in one of the cars in the food court.  I do not put money into these things because my fear is that once I did, they would never stop asking me.  So I am proud to say that in four and a half years of motherhood, I have never spent a cent in these money grabbers.  She just loves going in them and hitting all the buttons.

 

Though we did nothing exciting yesterday, I love seeing her embrace everyday things in life with a smile and excitement.

         Spending one-on-one time with Campbell makes me smile.

Sisterly Love for All Ages

 

Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth of July by having a Miller Family Reunion in Culpeper.  It was great to see extended family from upstate New York.  Addisan and Campbell loved seeing all their cousins….and meeting some of them for the first time.

The girls loved playing with their cousin’s action figures.  I loved that it was a break from Barbies!!!  All the kids played so well together!

 

 

                             

Later, I asked Addisan to sit next to her sister for a picture…this was as close as she got.  So much for sisterly love!

 

 

Below is a better picture of some sisterly love.  Here is a picture of my dad and his three sisters. 

 

                   Being with extended family makes me smile!

Mamma Mia with my Mama

Yesterday I took my mom up to Wolf Trap in Vienna to see Mamma Mia!  It is a wonderful outdoor theater that is on 100 acres in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They have shows, concerts, ballets, and educational performances.  It is one of my favorite places in Northern Virginia.  I have memories from seeing performances there as a child to my college days seeing Pat McGee.



Here is the view from outside the entrance of the venue.  There are so many hidden treasures like this in Northern Virginia.  Northern Virginia was not always that hustle and bustle place like it is now.




Mamma Mia! is one of my favorite performances to see.  The music alone is a reason to go!  This was my second time seeing this performance and it was just as good as I remembered it.  The best part was being able to spend time with my mom.  Even as an adult, it is always nice to have your mama and not have to share her with anyone. 

                         

   Being with my mom and not having to share her makes me smile!

My First Drive-In

Last night we took the girls to their (and mine) first drive-in movie.  This was a wonderful theater off Route 64 in Goochland.  We got there right before the gates opened.

 

I was amazed how inexpensive it was to get in compared to a traditional movie theater.  For our family of 4, it only cost $17…..AND they were playing two movies that night (we only stayed for one though).

They had an awesome playground for the children to play on before the show began.  We met up with some friends and all the children ended up FILTHY from playing in the mulch.  They all loved it though.

 

Another plus about this theater was that there was nothing in the snack bar over $3.50!  We were able to eat very cheaply for a family of four.  They even had corndogs… one of my favorites!

 

The girls loved being outside to watch the movies.  This was better than a traditional movie theater because Campbell was able to get up and move around….that was until she fell asleep on Tommy’s lap within the first 15 minutes of the movie beginning. 

 

 

 

This was the life!  It was the perfect temperature once the sun went down.  I was also pleasantly surprised that the bugs were not bad at all!

 

 

                          Going back in time makes me smile!

Finding Friends—Both Big and Little-- in Unexpected Places

 

When Tommy was unemployed and I was staying at home with the girls, I put an ad in our neighborhood newsletter for tutoring kids struggling with reading.  I thought this could be something that would have flexible hours and could help us out financially too.

All of that was true.  It did have flexible hours and it did bring in some money.  What I did not expect to find were so many wonderful families outside of our village in our subdivision.  So many moms and dads I can relate to about parenthood! 

I timed the other night at the swim meet and it was so wonderful to see kids that I work with (and the ones that have retired successfully from me) out and about.  I loved cheering for them.  Secretly, I felt like a little celebrity with all of them coming up to me and chatting.  It made me feel very special.  I do not think they view me as a traditional “tutor,” but rather a friend who just happens to know a lot about teaching reading.  I love that! 

Last night, we ordered pizza with a family that I tutor for down the street.  They have a little girl the same age as Campbell.  Not only did I gain a friend, so did Campbell. 

   Watching Campbell and her friend make a mess while having fun makes me smile.

 

One Phat…I mean, FAT Farmer’s Market

Our morning first started off with Campbell insisting that she had to wear a hat everywhere she went today.  I have to say, she looks pretty cute in all hats and keeps them on.  Addisan, on the other hand, despises wearing hats (unless you could call a tiara a hat).



So Campbell and I dropped Addisan off at camp this morning and we then hit the gym for a little bit.  On our way home, we came across a Farmer’s Market.  It was a small one, but still quite eclectic with its vendors . One of my New Year’s resolutions a few years back was to support small businesses.  I try my best to buy local and shop on Etsy A LOT.  So needless to say, we ended up pulling over and looking around.

When I think of Farmer’s Markets, I think of all home grown items and colorful bouquets of flowers.  I saw this here.  We ended up just getting a few home grown veggies since we will be going out of town this weekend.




Campbell picked out her veggies to eat.  She picked out green beans and mini-cucumbers.  I have never seen a child love vegetables as much as her.  Sometimes I wonder how she is my own child.

While we were walking around, it all of a sudden started smelling like a carnival…..I SMELLED FUNNEL CAKE!  Or so I thought at least.

It was not funnel cake… it was even better!  It was these FAT-O donuts that were to die for!  They were made there fresh.  We got to see them fry them and then dump them in glaze!



The surprise of fresh donuts at the Farmer’s Market made me smile.

What Makes Me Smile!

It has been ages since I blogged and I have had all this "mother guilt" bottled up inside about not recording these  memories of the girls from the last year and a half.  Blogging was something that I always enjoyed, but somehow sleep took priority.  When I returned to the working force, my blogging habit died. Tommy was still working up in Northern Virginia, I had a six month old that still woke up for a "snack" bottle of 8 ounces at four o'clock in the morning....and giving me just enough time not to be able to fall back to sleep before my 5:30 alarm, my tutoring kids started multiplying, foster dogs were coming in and out....so now, no more excuses for me!

                                                                I wish I could freeze time.


I first got inspired to start our family blog by my dear friend Clare.  Clare is not only a super woman and friend, but a super mom.  She does it all....blogging, crafts, aerobics instructor, photographer...you name it, she can do it.  Then my friend Ryan just started blogging and I thoroughly enjoy reading her perspective on children and the world around her.  I love Ryan so much because she is very liberal like myself in a very conservative town.  We can relate!

To try to get me back in the routine of blogging, I am going to try to do 30 days of things that make me smile.  I think in the world around us, we are always in a rush. Even though I have learned to take a slightly slower pace in life since moving to Richmond....I can feel that "Northern Virginianess" that still creeps up in me when I see people writing checks in line instead of using an ATM card or when people role down the window at a stop light to talk to someone they know instead of going RIGHT when the light turns green.  I know in my heart that these things are not a big deal at all, but for some reason they REALLY, REALLY urk me!  And it bothers me that things this minute bother me....do you know what I mean??

So tomorrow I will start my 30 days of little things that make me smile.

Sisterly Gift

It is hard to believe Campbell has “officially” been here for almost a year.  It feels like it was just yesterday I was throwing up in the car, O’Charlie’s, the bathroom…..you get the idea.  I remember thinking December 17th could not come soon enough.  It is amazing how quickly time flies with kids!  Here we are at Campbell's first birthday already??!   I really want Addisan to know that art of giving.  In order for her to really get this concept, we brought her to Build-A-Bear at Stoney Point.  I wanted her to make something from the heart.  She got to choose any animal and any two accessories.  Of course, she chose a pink bear...what a shocker:)  She surprisingly had no problem knowing that the bear was not for her, but rather her sister!  Her maturity at three never ceases to amaze me!

Daddy and his girls walking around before going in.

 

So many choices....where to begin!!?

What a happy girl!

 Campbell hanging out with me while I shop waiting for her Big Sis to get done.

THE Santa Claus

 

I took the girls to see the Legendary Santa Claus at the Children’s Museum in the beginning of December.  We got there shortly after it opened and we only had to wait about 30 minutes.  Not too bad if I say so myself!  When we got into the actual room where Santa was, strollers were not allowed.  Needless to say, I got a good workout with Campbell.  I was by myself and luckily had the nicest family in front of me in line to help me with the girls:) I know Tommy really wanted to take the girls on the weekend, but he would have had to wait several HOURS to see Santa.  I am hoping next year at this time, we will all be together as a family again!  The girls did great with Santa and went right up there on his lap.  Campbell was not smiling because I took her bottle away for pictures…the nerve of me!  Addisan asked Santa for a pink belt and a pink puppy for Christmas.  I love this age where she is not asking for commercialized merchandise!  I hope it stays this way!

 

Addisan insisted that Santa needed a gift.  She first wanted to buy him an eclectic guitar, but I tried to explain that he probably already had an extra or two in his workshop (plus, it was not in our budget:)).  So I told her that Santa loves sweets!  She picked out a bag of Swedish Fish to bring him as a gift.  I have been trying to get her to understand that a gift is something you give from your heart that you don’t ask for back.  I was proud of her…she did not ask to share the candy with Santa or even to have the bag back!

 

Addisan waiting in line with the Snow Princess. 

 

After visiting Santa, we went to the Children’s Museum to play.  Thanks Baby and Pop-Pop for the year membership!  The girls love it!