Pet Peeve

I used to be a big fan of Glee.

But I stopped watching because of one small thing.

It was when Emma wouldn't move with Will for his new job.

And then something similar on The Office happened.

Pam didn't want to move for Jim's new career.

This bothers me. 

A LOT.

I am guessing that since I moved so much growing up, I don't see moving as such a big deal.

It is an adventure.

It is usually fun.

And so for these married/engaged couples to just throw away what they have because of a location, I find it wrong.

(Yes, I realize that they are not real couples, and they are fictional characters on the television.)

I hate that they don't find a way to compromise.

That since one wants to move and the other doesn't, they just go their separate ways.

STUPID.

I didn't stop watching The Office because Jim and Pam didn't call it quits.

Jim came back because he realized his family is more important.

Thank you for that Jim.

I was disappointed at the beginning of the finale to see that a year down the road, Jim was still working at Dunder Mifflin.

It made me disappointed in Pam for not supporting him in doing something more.

Luckily, by the end of the show, Pam did do something that was totally redeeming.

Thank you, The Office, for ending Jim and Pam in that manner.

When people grow, they don't always have to grow apart.

They can grow and move on together.

Soccer

Yes, it's soccer season again.

With both kids playing on different teams (and different age groups), this time of the year can get pretty crazy with all the games and practices.

Luckily, Caden will be giving up soccer next year.

Ciara, on the other hand, LOVES soccer.

No, she is not good at it in any way.

Ciara is by FAR one of the least coordinated players on her team.

She is also the smallest.

But I think one of the reasons she loves it so much is because of her coaches and teammates.

Let me tell you about Saturday's game:

We started out slowly, but by the 3rd quarter had built up a decent lead.

For the 4th quarter, Coach Fred put Ciara out front and told everyone to pass it to her so she could score a goal.

Any time another player had the ball, all the girls on the bench would yell, "Pass it to Ciara!"

Even the girls on the field would yell with them.

And they would pass it to Ciara.

And she would try her hardest to score.

She never did.

But that didn't stop the girls from passing it to her.

Someone from the other team tripped her at one point, and they gave us a goal kick.

Even though there were many he could have picked to take the shot (and many who had a better chance at actually MAKING the shot), Coach Fred told Ciara to take it.

Again, no goal.

But no one minded (at least, not outwardly.  I am sure some of them were groaning on the inside).

They still continued to feed Ciara the ball for the rest of the game.

She never did score, but she was so proud that she ALMOST scored.

And I, being the emotional wuss that I am, tried not to cry as I heard all the girls cheering for my daughter.

During the fall season, we had a similar experience.

One of our better players (Maddie) told Ciara where to stand.

She then said that she would pass the ball to Ciara so she could score.

And even though it took about 20 tries, Ciara finally scored.

So, I just want to express my gratitude for Coach Fred and Coach Adam who have made my daughter love soccer.  And for all the Paw Prints who have helped build her confidence.

I am so sad that we won't be able to play next year with you all (Coach Fred and Coach Adam will only be doing club).

If club weren't so competitive, I would consider having Ciara play there just to stay with her team.

For now, we will just enjoy our last weeks with the best team ever!

Vacation?

With summer approaching, I am starting to think of the summer trips that we could possibly take.

Since we have moved to PA, the kids and I have made the trek back to SLC every summer.

This has been getting more and more expensive every year.

I used to be able to find ticket for under $400 (as long as we drove to Baltimore or Philly), but now I can't find anything under $500.  

So, for the 4 of us to just fly to SLC, it will be over $2000.

I have been doing some research on other vacation options, and we could do a lot of different things with that money.

After talking about it for a while, Rocky and I realized that we haven't had a vacation with just the 4 of us in a long time.

Or ever, for that matter.

Every time we go somewhere, it is with other family members.

(Not that I am complaining, we always have a great time with everyone!)

And then (to my utter shock and amazement) Rocky suggested we go back to Disney.

(If you know my husband at all, you will understand what a shock this is.  I thought he would HATE Disney World the first time we went, but apparently he had a good enough time to want to return within a year.)

We could plan a decent Disney trip with the $2000 saved from not going to SLC.

I even found flights from HARRISBURG to Orlando for $130 round trip.

Or we could even drive.

Ahhhh, the possibilities.

I know our families will be upset if we don't visit.

And I will be sad not to see everyone.

But when we moved out here, we specifically talked about how we didn't want every vacation we took to be visiting our families in the west.

We wanted to take the opportunities we had on the east to explore.

And we have done some exploring (NYC, Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia).

But at what point do we stop using all of our vacation money to visit family?

(Just so we are clear, our family does visit us pretty regularly.  My parents have been up once this year, and are returning in a few weeks, and Rocky's parents were just here for Easter.  It is extended family, and siblings that we don't get to see that often.  My kids only have 2 cousins, and if we don't visit, they will only get to see them once this year.)

We are also planning a trip to Williamsburg, VA to see some friends, and to hopefully visit the beach.

And then our Thanksgiving trip with family to St. John.

So maybe that should be enough vacations for now.

Fleeting Moments

I honestly can't believe all the change that seems to be coming this summer.

None of it is happening directly to me, just to people surrounding me.

People moving, changing jobs, adopting babies, having babies, etc.

I am filled with such conflicting emotions about everyone's change.

Then I go back and reminisce about the big changes in my life (babies, moving, new business).

And life does continually change.  

I mean, the kids just keep getting older.

And I hate that.

Can I stop them?

I hate that Ciara is starting to get an attitude.

It doesn't happen all the time, but on occasion (usually when she is tired), this other girl rears her ugly head.

She is shockingly rude, and snotty.

I feel like this is just a glimpse of what is going to happen in the near future.

Great.

(that was said sarcastically)

And every milestone that Caden reaches, I am just reminded that this is the last time I will get to experience it.  And it breaks my heart a little.

Even the puppy is growing at an alarming rate.  

I left for work one morning, and I swear she had grown about 2 inches by the time I got home about 3 hours later.

SLOW DOWN, LIFE!

Quick Photo Update

 Our trip to see the Stanley Cup

 Caden and the Cup.

 Caden's teacher and his kids cheering Caden on at his last hockey game.

 Caden, playing goalie during one of the warm up scrimmages.

 Willow, the dog.

If you are sitting on the floor, she will be in your lap.  She just loves to snuggle.

Puppies vs. Babies

In case you hadn't heard, we got a puppy.

Her name is Willow, and she is just as cute and sweet as can be.

In preparation for this puppy, I read lots of books.

I also watched a few Dog Whisperer episodes.

(I am totally prepared to be a pack leader now!)

I feel like I was as prepared as I could be for the puppy-years.

I tried to see it as having a baby, and since I have had 2 of those, I figured it couldn't be nearly as bad as having a newborn in the house.

One of the reasons I was ready to get a puppy is because we won't be having any more babies.  I would totally have another one, but my husband is done with babies.  

The puppy is my substitute baby.

So here is my comparison between puppies and babies:

Babies and puppies both need a LOT of sleep.  Getting them to sleep is very different. My first born was VERY difficult to get to sleep.  My second was a piece of cake.  Willow was sometimes easy, sometimes not.  Our kennel didn't arrive until 3 days after we picked her up.  For the first night, we put her in a large storage container with tall sides that she couldn't jump over.  We placed it in our room so we could hear when she needed to go out and to comfort her when needed.  She did pretty well, but neither Rocky nor I could sleep well (much like when we tried to have the newborns sleep in our room).  The next night, we moved the storage container to the kitchen (which is completely tiled and we can easily close it off).  However, she had figured out how to jump out of the container (yes, in just one day).  We had to just leave her with free reign in the kitchen.  Rocky and I slept great, but there was a nice puddle of pee for me to clean up in the morning.  I was so relieved when the crate finally came and thought she would love it too.  Since she hadn't had any problems with whining, so I thought we were good.  I was WRONG.  

She cried and howled and whined from 1 am until 7 am.  

All I could think was that babies give up a lot easier than puppies.  And a baby's cry is much softer than a puppy's howl.

However, the second night was perfect.  She went in at 10:30 without a sound.  I took her out at 3:30 to go to the bathroom, and she went right back in.  We got her up again around 7 to go out again, and for breakfast, after which she headed straight back into her crate (I tried to get her to go for a walk with me to take Caden to school, but she refused).

So, I guess that puppies learn faster than babies.

With the potty training, it is kind of stressful.  

With babies, diapers make it easy.  No accidents (although they do have occasional blow out).

With Willow, I have to be vigilant at all times.  And this just puts me on edge.  I hate feeling on edge, and I know my family does too, because I take it out on them.  So I guess I prefer changing baby diapers than following my puppy around constantly.  Although, since puppies learn pretty quickly, I am hoping this watchful phase will be over in a few months (or maybe less).

I also think that since this is my first puppy, I am a little overboard, much like I was with my first child.  I was so much more relaxed with my second.  So perhaps I would be more relaxed in the future with another puppy (not that I am planning on getting another one).  

No matter how much trouble Willow may be at times, she is still adorable and just as sweet as she can be.  She does love attacking my shoes (especially my Uggs), and as much as I don't want her chewing them, there is just something endearing about her as she parades around carrying a boot that is larger than herself.

The kids love her too.  

I will post pictures when I have more time.

The Photo Book Post

A quick note about my last post on dogs:

My first choice is to actually just go to a shelter and adopt one.

My husband refuses to do that.  

He is a dog snob.

And I think we have decided on a Gordon Setter (we are going to look at some puppies tonight!).  

A while ago, I mentioned that I had been into the digital photo books, and I promised a review on the different companies I had used.

Finally, here it is!

The different companies that I used were:

MixBook

Shutterfly

MyPublisher

Overall, they were all very similar.  

Shutterfly: seems to be the most popular.  Everyone suggested I use that one.  They were pretty good.  I just found that I liked the layouts and design options of the other companies better.  Prices were reasonable.

MyPublisher:  I liked the simplicity of their layouts.  This is a good option if you don't like a lot of embellishments (you just want the pictures to speak for themselves).  I enjoy that you actually download the software onto your computer, instead of going online every time.  This one was the most expensive, but they are usually running some kind of promotion.  However, I was frustrated with ordering.  They were running a promotion of 60% off any order over $200.  I was planning on ordering 5 books (3 of one album, and 2 of another).  You could not combine all the books into one order; each album had to be a separate order.  Since they were so expensive, the 3 books did total over $200, so I got the 60% off of that, but the other 2 did not qualify.  I thought that was kind of crummy.

MixBook:  Overall, this is my favorite.  I will continue to use them for future books.  I loved that they had so many options.  And I liked that their embellishments were more more contemporary, less cutesy.  The final product was also great.  The paper quality seemed to be just a bit better than the other 2.  Their prices seemed to fall somewhere in between the other 2 companies.

A lot of this is just my personal preference.  MixBook was more my "Style."  All companies created very nice products, and I was not disappointed in any of them.  With all 3 books side-by-side, MixBook just seemed to be slightly better.  

I know there are many other photo book site out there, but my search is done.  

And I am working on catching up on my photos!