No, we haven't disappeared...I just took a much needed break from the blog after the holidays! I didn't realize it had been three weeks already...wow! Where does the time go?
I took last week off of work, and finally had a chance to relax. For the first time in maybe FOREVER, I actually did NOT check my work email while I was out! Not once! I'm a little scared to see what might be waiting for me, but those 9 days of no-work-contact was pretty fantastic! Even better, we didn't go anywhere...I stayed around the house, and managed to knock a few things off of the constant to-do list. Ava was at daycare all week, and it's amazing how much more I can get done without a little princess running under foot.
Our house projects are coming along nicely...we got new carpet installed in our main floor family room this past week. We have had ceramic tile there for about 10 years, and it's so great to have a comfortable place to sit on the floor and play with Ava. She's pretty excited too...she refers to it as "snow" and keeps asking me to make snow angels in it. The dogs are also loving the extra places to lie down...it means less doggies on the furniture, and that makes this mom very, very happy!
So, what else have we done in the last three weeks? We celebrated our last Christmas with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey. Nice and low key was the perfect way to wrap up the Christmas season. In January. :) This was the "toy receiving" Christmas gathering for Ava...she received some wonderful, fun gifts that she's enjoyed playing with over the last week. She wants to bring her new laundry center everywhere with her...daycare, Menards, etc. Sorry, kid, that one is NOT a portable toy!
We have started the path of getting Scott up to speed in technology. He now owns a smartphone! I won't lie...I'm a little concerned on how long it will last, considering his history with phones. But, we put insurance on his phone, and hopefully we'll never need it. We both got the Samsung Galaxy this past Friday...and I love it so far! My old phone was 2.5 years old and things were running so slow on it. I can't believe how much faster this one is...patience has never been my strong point, and with technology, it really irritates me to have to wait for sites to load, or for the darn thing to take 10 minutes to reboot. This change also makes this mom very, very, very happy!
And today, Ava, Grandma Deb and I went to see Beauty and the Beast 3D. Ava did so well...when the first 3D scene came on, she sat right up in her seat and leaned forward. It's cute to see her laugh at appropriate points in the movie - just another reminder that she's not my baby anymore. And holy smokes, can that kid eat popcorn! Clearly she takes after her dad...I cannot believe how much of a large bag of popcorn she ate. Granted, Grandma Deb and I had some, as well, but my little shorty ate more than her share.
I neglected to take many pictures over the past few weeks, so the Christmas ones are courtesy of Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey.
So, it's back to work for me tomorrow...not looking forward to the 5:30a.m. wakeup, but I will be happy to have adult interaction again. Even better is that I'm ready to put my mind back into the game and get stuff done. Looks like I need to take vacation more often. :)
I took last week off of work, and finally had a chance to relax. For the first time in maybe FOREVER, I actually did NOT check my work email while I was out! Not once! I'm a little scared to see what might be waiting for me, but those 9 days of no-work-contact was pretty fantastic! Even better, we didn't go anywhere...I stayed around the house, and managed to knock a few things off of the constant to-do list. Ava was at daycare all week, and it's amazing how much more I can get done without a little princess running under foot.
Our house projects are coming along nicely...we got new carpet installed in our main floor family room this past week. We have had ceramic tile there for about 10 years, and it's so great to have a comfortable place to sit on the floor and play with Ava. She's pretty excited too...she refers to it as "snow" and keeps asking me to make snow angels in it. The dogs are also loving the extra places to lie down...it means less doggies on the furniture, and that makes this mom very, very happy!
So, what else have we done in the last three weeks? We celebrated our last Christmas with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey. Nice and low key was the perfect way to wrap up the Christmas season. In January. :) This was the "toy receiving" Christmas gathering for Ava...she received some wonderful, fun gifts that she's enjoyed playing with over the last week. She wants to bring her new laundry center everywhere with her...daycare, Menards, etc. Sorry, kid, that one is NOT a portable toy!
We have started the path of getting Scott up to speed in technology. He now owns a smartphone! I won't lie...I'm a little concerned on how long it will last, considering his history with phones. But, we put insurance on his phone, and hopefully we'll never need it. We both got the Samsung Galaxy this past Friday...and I love it so far! My old phone was 2.5 years old and things were running so slow on it. I can't believe how much faster this one is...patience has never been my strong point, and with technology, it really irritates me to have to wait for sites to load, or for the darn thing to take 10 minutes to reboot. This change also makes this mom very, very, very happy!
And today, Ava, Grandma Deb and I went to see Beauty and the Beast 3D. Ava did so well...when the first 3D scene came on, she sat right up in her seat and leaned forward. It's cute to see her laugh at appropriate points in the movie - just another reminder that she's not my baby anymore. And holy smokes, can that kid eat popcorn! Clearly she takes after her dad...I cannot believe how much of a large bag of popcorn she ate. Granted, Grandma Deb and I had some, as well, but my little shorty ate more than her share.
I neglected to take many pictures over the past few weeks, so the Christmas ones are courtesy of Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey.
Putting on her new Sponge Bob slippers...look at the matching backpack!
She really IS Grandpa's little stinker!
Ava couldn't wait to get into her new Cinderella carriage...
Hugging her new mini-Pillow Pet. Name? Butterfly (we might need to work on creativity here...)
Yes! New sets to replace our 10-year old Tupperware (can't believe it's lasted this long!)
The new 2012 Ava calendar...
Every little girl needs a jewelry box with the spinning ballerina!
All dressed up in her Cinderella jewelry
So proper...
Last night, I broke out my Candy Land game from when I was little...I forgot how easy it was to play. And little Ava even won (I *might* have let her skip ahead of me once!)
Totally getting into it. And look at the new carpet!
At Beauty and the Beast 3D. Looking good in those glasses!
So, it's back to work for me tomorrow...not looking forward to the 5:30a.m. wakeup, but I will be happy to have adult interaction again. Even better is that I'm ready to put my mind back into the game and get stuff done. Looks like I need to take vacation more often. :)
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