Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween to all!! I hope everyone had as good of a time as we did. I took the girls over to my cousins house to trick or treat and later my mom and Peter met up with us. We got the girls ready and they looked so cute in their costumes! Brye was a cowgirl and Abbi was a baby chick. My cousin, Laura's little girls dressed up as a cowgirl (Reagan) and a cow (Kendall). Brye and Reagan always have a great time playing and tonight was no different. They went from house to house and got candy from everyone. Brye liked to see what she got right after someone dropped it in her bag. Abbi only got candy from a couple houses but she doesn't eat candy anyhow so that was enough for her. Reagan and Brye were so cute with their horses and boots and hats. I will probably let Brye wear her costume a few more times before I put it up because it was so cute on her. After we went to a few houses we went inside where the girls played until it was time to go home.

Carving Pumpkins

Yesterday, I had a photo shoot to do at UCF so I had to take Peter to work in the morning so I could have the car. I decided to take the girls to get some pumpkins but all the patches I past only had a couple small ones left. I thought all was lost and headed over to my mom's house and right there on the corner was a big pumpkin patch with a big selection. I stopped in and called my mom and she met me in the lot. We went around to each pumpkin and touched them all.I took some more pictures but they are on Peter's camera. Finally we made our choices and came away with 5 nice pumpkins. After I picked Peter up from work we went back to my mom's and had fun carving into them all. Brye didn't want to get her hands dirty and she said the inside was gross. Funny because last year we couldn't get her to stop playing in it. Abbi had a great time and liked to help a lot. She had fun scooping and feeling and pulling out the seeds. When all was said and done we had some great pumpkin faces. In the picture of the four pumpkins the top left is Abbi's (suppose to look like Abbi), the top right is Brye's (she designed and Grandma carved). The big one on the bottom is Peter's, his is evil, and the last one is mine, simple and goofy. Brian worked hard on his pumpkin but it still needs some work so we couldn't get it to light through.

Pumpkin Patch

Today was a nice quiet Sunday at home...well mostly. We took the girls to lunch and before heading home we stopped at a local pumpkin patch to see all the fruit. The girls had a great time going from pumpkin to pumpkin and trying to pick them all up. Brye gave a lot of them kisses and kept telling me which ones she wanted. We couldn't take any home though because we only had $4. Maybe tomorrow we can pick up a couple to carve over at Grandma's house. Once we left there the girls took a nap before we headed off to our friends, Kent and Jake's house for dinner and a movie.

I went on a date...

Last night around 8:30 I got a call from my friend Reba who was heading home to Lake Mary from Daytona. She was right at my exit so she decided to stop by. I hadn't seen her in a week or so, so we caught up on our latest news with work and the girls and such. Peter called after 9 to tell me he was on his way home. Neither he or I had eaten but Reba already had. I figured I would just make something up at home but Reba offered to stay with the girls (they were already sleeping) so that Peter and I could go out to eat. It was a great surprise, we never really get to go out by ourselves. We went to Olive Garden for a nice quiet dinner. It was great to get out for a little bit, very relaxing. When we got home we opened a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice I had bought for Reba when I found out she passed her FL BAR Exam last month. We made a toast and drank up. It was great to sit and talk and catch up on things. Thanks Reba for giving us some time to ourselves and staying with the girls!

I suppose I shouldn't say we never get out, in fact tonight we are taking the girls over to Miss Kim's house who is baby sitting for us while we go with Chris over to a Halloween Party at our friend Jackie's house. Peter wanted to dress up but we didn't have the time or money to get a costume. I guess we could always tell people that he is going as a guitar player in his jeans and t-shirt. Maybe I should just stuff up a maternity shirt and pretend I am pregnant. That way I get a bit of practice in before my IVF next month. LOL

Decorating a Package

I loaded up a box of things for my sweet little God-son, Tyler. He needed some toys now that he is big enough to scoot around and sit up. After filling up the box and taping it shut I let the girls color and decorate the outside. Plain old boxes are boring and I thought some color would help make this package more exciting. Brye and Abbi both had a good time coloring and drawing on it. They weren't sure at first if they were aloud to draw on something other than paper, but once I showed them what they could do they really went to town. Keep an eye out Steve and Heather this box should arrive pretty soon.

Pretty Hair

When Brye spent the night at Grandma's house a few nights ago, my mom washed and braided her hair. I let Brye sleep in it and then I took it out the next day. After I combed through it it was really wavy and had a lot of body. I tried to tame it with some barrettes so she could at least see. It was really cute, she looked so different with her hair that way.

Fun in the Park

Yesterday was another beautiful day. I dropped Peter off at a meeting in Lake Mary and then went to the Oviedo Mall to say hi to all my friends I hadn't seen in a while. Around 1:00 I took the girls to Moe's where we meet up with Greig and another one of my friends, Cindy. I have known Cindy since elementary school and we became real close friends in Middle School, she lives in St. Augustine now. After we ate lunch we all went to Red Bug Park and the girls had a great time wearing Greig and Cindy out. We were probably there a couple hours we before we all had to go our own ways. I took the girls over to my mom's to wait out Peter and after he got off we drove a couple of my brothers over to my Dad's house to play with a car that a neighbor gave to Brian. By the time we got home we were exhausted.

Beautiful Weather

Today the weather was gorgeous so we decided to take advantage of it. A couple weeks ago I cleaned out the girls play house so when the cooler weather moved in it would be ready for the girls. After their nap they had a great time playing outside. They both love to play house but I had to keep them playing out there in the summer because it was just too hot. They never complain of the heat but they would be all red and sweaty after just a half hour so I decided to keep them inside over the summer. My dad and Judy got this play house for Brye and Abbi for Christmas last year. Brye had a blast playing in it all winter and spring but when Abbi was old enough to walk and play too it was too hot. They probably played out in their house and swing set today for a good hour or so. If this weather stays with us they will be out there playing a lot more.

Another busy day

This morning I had an ultrasound and some blood drawn just make sure everything was still on track. My tests came back free of any flags so we are on to the next thing. I have to wear these patches that regulate my hormones so my body prepares to be pregnant. They are really annoying and sticky but right now I only have to wear one but I will gradually increase to four patches.
After the doctors I took Peter to work and dropped Abbi off at my mom's to be with Brye and then went to lunch with my friend Greig. I have known Greig a long time, we met back in 9th grade English class and have been good friends ever since. We went out to Panera, that's where we always go when we go out, and ate our lunch and just talked for a couple hours. Greig's a great guy and I am really happy that we were able to stay friends for so long. It was great seeing you Greig, looking forward to next time. Later, after Peter got off work, we went to dinner with my youngest brother, Brian, and one of my older brothers, Mark and his wife Angie. My mom watched the kids, so we could have a nice meal together. Mark lives just outside of Gainsville so we don't get to see him too often.

Smiles

Last night our friends invited us out to hear ghost stories at Leu Gardens. I got the girls together and when Peter came home we jumped in the car and headed back to town. We met up with Michael and Angela and sat and talked a bit while people took turns telling stories at the mic. The stories weren't scary of course but Brye enjoyed sitting out in the dark eating hot dogs and popcorn. After we left the Gardens we took Brye over to Grandma's house where I will pick her up tomorrow. So today it was just Peter, Abbi and I. While Peter made some phone calls I took Abbi to the store to pick up a few essentials and while we were cruising the isles Abbi spotted a Pumpkin balloon and got so excited. I figured since Brye was having fun at Grandma's house Abbi could have a special treat. We took the balloon home (after we paid for it) and she played with it all night long. Such a sweetie!!

Pooh Alphabet

Back when I was pregnant with Bryanna, I didn't know if she was going to be a girl or boy but I had decided the nursery was going to be all Winnie the Pooh. At my baby shower that my friends threw for me my mom gave me the entire Pooh Alphabet. She had to go to just about every single Hallmark store in a 20 mile radius to collect them all because no one store had each piece. I just love all the characters and each piece is hand painted and completely ceramic so they are very fragile. They hang over Abbi's crib where they can be seen but not touched. Today I took them down to dust each piece off and return it to it usual spot. After my mom bought me the complete set her Hallmark store went out of business and was selling all their fixtures so she bought the shelf they sit on which they didn't sell in the stores. I still can't get over all the effort my mom went through to find each piece and make sure they were all in good shape and not broken. I will keep these pieces forever until it is time to pass them on to my first grandchild. My mom is always so selfless and my children are the luckiest girls in the world to have a Grandmother like her.

We're so proud of you!!

Yay, Daddy you passed your test! Not that we had any doubts in our mind but it is always nice to get confirmation.
Peter passed his real-estate license test for CA and now he doesn't have to study anymore. He worked so hard on that test and studied every chance he got, even after long 12 hour shifts at Ritz he would come home and sit with the computer and go through his practice test. It paid off though, and now he can relax a little. He actually put his two week notice in at work yesterday before he knew his test results because he is so tired of the Ritz scene. We are so proud of Peter and all his hard work. Hopefully this will lead us on a road of a little less struggle to keep things afloat. Abbi says "You the Man, Daddy!!"

I Passed!! (Peter)

I just got the results of my Real Estate exam (for California, hence the last trip to San Diego). I Passed! Let the fun begin!

Pumpkin faces

On Tuesday, Brye went with our neighbors to the library to see a puppet show. After they were done they went to a pumpkin patch and let Brye pick out a couple pumpkins for her and Abbi. They gave Brye stickers to put faces on the pumpkins since they are too small to carve. Today Brye couldn't wait any longer so we sat down and made the pumpkins smile.
Abbi even had a bit of fun putting stickers on her pumpkin but hers ended up looking more like a Picasso pumpkin, very cool. When the pumpkins were finished there were still stickers left and to keep Brye from putting them all on her pumpkin we decided to make a picture for Grandma. Brye and I worked hard on the picture and she did a great job putting the faces on and gluing things down. She even put the little beady eyes on the page to make it more spooky. I think Grandma will really like this picture we made.

Let the fun begin

Tonight I had my final volunteer class with the Sanford Police Department which means I can start volunteering my time whenever I would like. We had a little graduation class tonight where we got our uniforms and certificates. I am happy to be able to finally start giving my time. The Volunteer coordinator thought I would be good at doing some Administrative accredibility because the man in charge of that division is really backed up and needs someone who can work hard and who is trustworthy. I might even do some patrolling in the cars if I have time to volunteer after the office is closed. There is still a CPR class that I need to take and I am excited about that because I have always wanted to be CPR certified.

Crafty scares

Over the weekend while my mom rested and the girls took a nap I took a trip to Michael's (I love that store). They had some cool foam craft things that I wanted to get for the girls and the last store I went to was out of them. I was looking for the Nativity Scene and also the Three Wise Men. I thought having Brye help me put the foam things together would be a good way for her to learn the story of Jesus' birth and having something physical would help her remember for the coming years. I lucked out and the Michael's I went to had them both so I grabbed them up and then looked at some other foam creations they had. They had some pretty cool Halloween ones but I didn't want to spend too much money so I just picked up one. On Saturday night after my mom and I had cleaned up from the garage sale Brye and my mom and I put the Halloween thing together. It was pretty hard actually and there were a lot of teeny pieces but in the end the project turned out pretty good. I left it over at my mom's house so she could have a Halloween decoration from us since she is the one who has given us all of our decorations. Overall I am impressed with the outcome of the scene and I think it looks pretty cool.

Yay, Peter's Home!!

Well actually, he's at work right now but at least he is in the same state. Peter's plane landed just before 11 last night and he called me from the runway once they touched down. Unfortunately he had left his cell phone charger at home all weekend so his battery just about died while we were talking. I had just gotten home with the girls after spending 4 days at my mom's house so I ran around and tried to make things look not as cluttered. I tried so hard to stay awake so I could greet Peter at the door but I just couldn't do it. I woke up after he came in and was really confused. I didn't hear the door open or his truck pull up but somehow he was there with a dozen red roses for me and of course lots of kisses. I had missed him so much I am so happy he is home now. It was good that I had the garage sale though because it really distracted me during the day and wore me out so I could sleep at night. Otherwise, I would have had a terrible time trying to sleep without Peter beside me.

Pictures posted

I put up the pictures I took for some of the previous posts so make sure to check them out. Also I will be updating my mom's blog "Grandma's House" in the next couple of days so you may want to check that out to see more pictures. It will probably be done by Tuesday.

Shopped Closed

Today we put out our things once more to see what else we could get rid of. The neighborhood garage sale was just for Saturday but we already had it all put together so I made a few signs and posted them on a busy street today. We did really well too. We figured we would close up shop around 1:00 but the foot traffic was pretty good so we ended up staying open until about 3:00. My mom and I both got rid of just about all our high ticket items, there was really only one or two things that didn't go. We packed up some of the nicer things to store until the next garage sale day and then the rest we donated to Winter Park High School who are going to have a rummage sale next week. In the end with my mom, myself, and a couple of neighbors things we were just short of making $500. Half of that was mine from all the things I brought over. When we have garage sales we make sure to write down each thing that is sold and for how much under each persons name. That way at the end of the day we can disburse the money accordingly and no one feels cheated. I made out better than I expected and my mom was also really impressed with the money she earned. It's so odd how so many little things can add up to so much so fast. I was in charge of counting out the bank and making sure everything was accounted for. We always use the same metal box for the money so tonight we had to retire it to it's hiding spot until next time.

Our Favorite Customer

We had a really great first day at our garage sale. The best part was we didn't even have to advertise because it was a neighborhood thing. My mom and I both did better than we were expecting and sold a big chunk of the stuff we really wanted to get rid of. We had one girl customer that hung around for most the day. She was quite the shopper, she came prepared with her shopping cart and everything. She walked around to each table and touched everything. I guess she thought her organizational skills were better than ours because we found many things in the wrong spot after she left. She wasted no time loading up her cart and liked to take the price stickers off of things and put them on her shirt. When it came time to pay for her goods she didn't say much but it was apparent she had no money and was willing to trade kisses. She was kind enough to allow us to take her picture so I could post it on our blog.

Garage Sale

Today was not the best day but I did get a lot accomp-
lished. First thing this morning Peter had to go to the airport to catch a flight to go back to San Diego. He had to return to take his real estate licensing test for the state of CA. He left so early I hardly woke up when he kissed me good bye and therefore didn't get to see him off. :( After I ran a few errands in Orange City I came back to my mom's house so that we could start preparing for the garage sale. My mom always has the best garage sales. She puts everything in plastic bags and has everything marked and ready and she even washes and irons things. I was going to have the garage sale at my house but since I live on a dirt road past most of the houses I wasn't sure how many people would come. My mom's neighborhood was having a big sale so we thought this was a better idea. I have a few big things to sell so hopefully I will make a little money from all this work. I guess we will see tomorrow. Brye was a great helper all day long, she helped us sort and put price tags on everything. But sometimes she got carried away...

Movie Night

Last night I came over to my mom's house to prepare for a neighbor-
hood garage sale going on Saturday. After unloading the van of all the sale stuff I left Abbi with my mom and went over to Park Ave in Winter Park to watch an outdoor movie with my friends Michael and Angela. Abbi stayed with my mom because I knew she wouldn't be able to sit through the whole movie. Brye and I got there early to reserve some good up-front seats and then we chatted with Mike and Angela while we waited for the movie to start. It was the first time we ever did the "popcorn night" in the park and we really enjoyed it. We brought out our camping chair and some cookies to eat and then got some free popcorn too. The movie that was played was The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. It was from the 60s and it was really cute. Apparently they do this popcorn night once a month so I will definitely be back next month. Hopefully Peter will have the night off and be able to join us for the show next time.

Oh and when I gave myself the shot the last couple times I hardly felt a thing so it wasn't as bad as I had expected.

Biohazard

Today I take the next step in my journey to becoming a surrogate. I received several medications in the mail today but I only have to start taking one today. Unfortunately it will probably be my least favorite one to take out of the entire batch. Each day around the same time I have to inject myself with 10cc of Lupron. This will keep me from ovulating so that the Dr can get me synced up with the egg donor. I have to keep the Lupron refrigerated and fill the syringe myself and then inject it into my belly just below my navel. I haven't taken my shot for the day yet but I will let you all know how I feel about it tomorrow. I have never given myself a shot before and though I don't mind giving blood or getting shots from the doctor this is a bit different. I did think it was cool that I got my own little biohazard box though.

Halloween's getting closer

I took the girls to Michaels a few weeks ago and they had this big blow up thing set up and Abbi was just so taken by it. She kept pointing at it and saying "Wow, wow." My mom had a 40% coupon for anything in the store so I bought the thing and today we set it up. She was just as excited today as she was initially and she hasn't even seen it when it's really dark out yet. Silly girl. Later after that was all set up we had our friends Michael and Angela over for a night of just hanging out. We talked all about cameras and our trip and guitars of course. Thursday night there is a free movie night on Park Ave in downtown Winter Park so we are going to meet up again then to watch the show.

Getting dirty

This morning both the girls got a bath but after they got all dirty again they needed another one. I was talking to my mom in the late afternoon and she told me how nice it was outside so I decided to take the girls out since the sun was hiding behind the trees across from our house. The girls helped me move some Heather from the corner of the garden to around Brye's tree in the front yard. After we finished our yard work we went next door and talked to a few of our neighbors who were outside setting up Halloween decorations. Gary, our next door neighbor, loves the kids so my girls as well as the next neighbor overs kids chased him around the yard and played with his decorations. When it was time to go inside both the girls had dirt all over their face and Brye even had green chalk over one of her eyes.

Have some fun

After spending most the editing photos from yesterdays wedding it was time to have fun with the girls. Though most kids would probably want to watch a movie or TV Brye said she wanted to read some books. Okay, I don't have a problem with that. She started reading Curious George and Abbi came in and listened to the story. Brye doesn't know how to read (yet) but she remembers the story from the many times we have read it to her.

Wedding bells

Yesterday Peter and I had another wedding to shoot. We were busy from about 2:00 on. The wedding was for a girl that I have known for about 15 years. Her family and mine have been friends a long time. I was in Brownies with the bride, Kerri, and we went camping and to the beach and even did some of the landscaping at the church that she had her wedding at. Our parents still talk often but we rarely see each other. Kerri and Jeff had a great wedding and I was honored to be a part of it. The ceremony was really nice and the reception was a lot of fun. We wish them both the best!

I guess some of San Diego rubbed off on the girls

I came out of the computer room after finally going through my email and I found both the girls wearing sunglasses, in the house. LOL I guess they liked the beach life we experienced while we were on vacation and thought they would try and recreate the scene. We made it home last night just after twelve and after a long day of flying we were all ready to sleep. Peter had to work open to close today to prepare for inventory on Sunday and tomorrow we have a wedding to shoot. Wow, life really comes back at full force when you get home from a trip. We had a really fun time though and Shar and Johnny were great, but we already knew that. I guess the fun is over and normalcy must resume...

chillin

Tomorrow we head back home to FL. We have a long day ahead of us so we took today to sit back and relax. Tomorrow when we get home it will be late and I know we will be tired so forgive me if I don't post again for a couple days.

Sushi on the Beach

Last night after we played around all day Shar and Johnny ordered sushi and we took it to the beach to have dinner. Peter and I had never had sushi before so it was a new experience for us. I thought I would probably like it from what I had heard from other people but I didn't really know what to expect. Everything that I tried I absolutely loved!! Everything was soooo good and there wasn't anything that was too fishy or weird. After dinner we walked the beach and hung out until the sunset. It was so weird to see cliffs with houses on top right up next to the beach, nothing like the flat sands of FL. It was a beautiful sunset and wonderful weather.
You can click on the pic on the left to enlarge it.

The San Diego Zoo

When Shar and I were talking on the phone she asked what we wanted to do while we were in town, the only two things that I really wanted to do were to go the beach and watch the sunset on the West coast and also to go to the San Diego Zoo. Yesterday we did the latter since Audrey and Hannah didn't have school. It was great and the girls really enjoyed it. We took the bus tour and did the sky ride and got to see a bunch of cool animals. I think I had more fun watching Abbi's expressions and hearing her reaction to seeing all the animals though. If I didn't get to see anything other than her I would have been okay with that. Brye had a great time and we are all so glad we went. It was definitely a great Zoo and well deserving of it's reputation.

We made it!!

Two plane rides, three airports and 2,000 miles later we arrived in San Diego. The girls did pretty good on the flights. Abbi cried a little bit on the last flight but only for a minute or two.
They both had a great time in the airports watching all the planes take off and fly by. We got here at 5:30 which is 8:30 EST. Peter and I are both really tired but I knew I had to post so that everyone would know that we made it here okay.