Spontaneity

Once you have kids spontaneity seems to come to halt. Prior to my children, I considered myself a spontaneous person and I loved it. This past weekend I decided enough was enough. At 11 am Saturday, with no plans, I asked my husband if he wanted to grab the kids and head to Cincinnati for the weekend. He agreed and within 2 hours we were on our first spur of the moment road trip. I felt free!

We knew we couldn't plan a lot of activities with our little ones so we kept it simple. Our plan was to hit Ikea on Saturday, have some dinner and get the kiddies back to the hotel and settled for the night. The next morning we were going to head to the Newport Aquarium have lunch and head home. The whole trip went off without a hitch! Okay so there was one hiccup... my dear daughter snores like an 80 year old man and my husband and I couldn't fall asleep. Thank goodness we stayed in a Homewood Suites* so there was a separate living room with a pullout couch. So as the princess slept in her bed (E stayed in his pack-n-play) we were sleeping on a pullout couch. All in all a good trip and a great way get a little change of scenery not far from home.

She is so excited about staying in a hotel. She loves hotels!

Someone was in need of a nap. Within minutes of taking he was looking at the back of his eyelids (this was his first time facing forward since turning 1 so it wasn't till we reached the south side of C-Bus that he finally feel asleep...too much to check out).

Having fun at the hotel.

The princess all set up in her kingdom.

The ugliest turtle I have laid eyes on!

Getting a shark on her face, a highlight for her trip (hotel was the big one).

Evan feeling the love from his sister.

A SUCCESSFUL TRIP HOME!!!

*The location of this hotel was quite comical. Glenn and I aren't very familiar with Cincy so we opted for a hotel close to Ikea however we wanted a Suite (as mentioned above, a good option for our family). The hotel was in an industrial park.

Family

The week we got hit with the terrible flu bug the weather was fantastic and we missed it. Then it got cold again and I thought it maybe weeks before we saw some signs of spring.
Last weekend we made a BIG purchase. We have been preparing for this since last year and we couldn't be more excited. And to make it all the better, spring weather came with it!


Now I will fill you in on all the gory details of this swingset. It took my husband & a friend two days to put up the majority of this set. Then we had to wait for a beam that was missing from the box to get the monkey bars up. How a wooden beam didn't make the box is beyond me but Rainbow was great to deal with and they sent it out right away. Once we received it my lovely husband spent two days putting it together (and making several trips to Lowes and some specialty fastener store due to missing hardware). Now wouldn't it have been easier to account for all the pieces from the beginning?!?! That would be too methodical for my man!


Overall I am excited for the whole thing to be done and we can have a summer of fun in our backyard. As we calculated it, this will be our kids birthday present for the next 8 years at $100 a piece... so excited we won't need to buy birthday presents till Ry is 11 and Evan is 9! However I don't think that will work... damn that would have been sweet!

It's Alive

Okay, well I'm alive! It's been forever and a day since I posted which is unusual considering my recent steady stream. If you follow me on FB then you know I was on death's door last week (or at least the all mighty stomach viruses door). He came knocking then just charged through the Sharp household last week and it was bad...
Last week was suppose to be a week of celebration and reflecting on my baby boy and his first year but that wasn't how it turned out. Tuesday we went off and got pictures done then Wednesday I wasn't feeling so spiffy. Rarely do I lie on the couch almost an entire day but that is where I stayed. It's a little difficult when little ones are tugging at you begging you to come play on the floor and I tried my best but it was hard. Thursday morning came and so did everything I ingested the evening before (which wasn't much). The call had to be made to my sidekick to come over & watch the kids (my mom). Glenn stuck around for part of the morning before he had to take off for training so I was left to watch the kids for 20 minutes. It was a tough one but I made it till my 3rd in command could take over. Then off to bed for me. The next day my mom came again and spent a chunk of the afternoon with us so I could rest up for what was to come.
Friday night, Ry got the same stomach bug which had plagued me. I was still a little under but my supermommy cape got dusted off and I held a puking child for 24+ hours. She was good through it all and slept in between bouts of vomit. Thank goodness. I also did massive amounts of puke laundry...her linens (twice over), my linens (yes I laid her in my bed at one point), blankets and towels from the couch... all the while watching heaps of regular laundry piling up. So this week has been major catch up and clean up. I still feel way far behind but with a sitter coming Saturday night it will light my fire to get cracking!
Let this be the only stomach bug for 2009!

What E, Ry & I did today

Check it out here!

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Evan's 1st Birthday Cupcake from Maribeth Corby Sharp on Vimeo.

I had no idea G was recording...

Time Flies

In less than a week my baby boy will have his first birthday. Where has the time gone?!?! I remember with my first feeling such a sense of relieve when she turned one. My feeling was we made it. The feelings aren't the same with my son. I am sad to see my little one growing so quickly. I know my feelings are different because he maybe my last and I wasn't nearly as stressed.

Here is a photo of my big boy sitting at the table. His first adventure out of his high chair at my house and he couldn't have been happier. He ate a whole cheeseburger, the whole bun and some sweet potatoe fries. His appetite is much bigger than his sisters who ate about 2 bites. I can't imagine my future grocery bills!

Sad to see them go

Today I said goodbye to good friends of mine, the Lundys. They are leaving Ohio tomorrow to head to Kentucky. The moving truck is in front of their home, packing all their belongings and they will spend their last night in the first home they purchased.
For me, it's bittersweet. I am excited for the opportunity they have in Kentucky, but I will miss them. Meredith and I have gone through a lot in the past five years of knowing one another. We got married, bought homes and started our families. Those are huge things that happen in your life and we were there together.
Meredith and I met at work. She and her then boyfriend moved to Ohio. I was engaged and shortly after got married. She and Kevin then became engaged themselves and they started the wedding planning process. It was great to be a witness to all the chaos I had just endured myself. When her time came, I was there to witness them exchange vows. Meredith even wore my veil!
Glenn and I had been in our first home by then and I was pregnant with Ryleigh. They bought their own just one town away and became pregnant themselves. They came to watch Ryleigh when she was a few months old, but being a first time mom, we stuck around and had dinner with them. Kevin hadn't yet been exposed to a baby and there were tons of questions. We helped them as best we could and grew excited for Brendan's arrival. Once they came home, Meredith had her first time mom jitters and called me on Brendan's first night. I went over, calmed her nerves and reminded her she could do it. And she has very well.
Meredith has been here to celebrate birthdays and the homecoming of my second. The past couple of years we've had playdates, sharing stories of mommy woes and the common bond of traveling husbands. I feel blessed that I got to hold her new son today (cute as button and just 4 weeks old). It was my first time and I am sure not the last.
I went through their home today to see all the packed boxes, Brendan's first big boy room and the nursery one last time it became real. I went to say goodbye to Kevin, who gave me an enormous hug and my tears started to surface. I then turned to Meredith to give her my finally Ohio Hug and we were blubbering messes. I walked down the stairs to say goodbye to her mom. And before I left, Brendan came running up to me. I picked him up and he gave me the best hug. I gave him a kiss on the check and reminded him to be good to his mama. At this point, I had to leave because the tears were streaming.
My thoughts are with them today as they pack up to start their new adventure. I know tomorrow I will be excited for them but today I am just sad. Sad to see such a good friend go. I will miss you Meredith and your family. I promise I will see you soon and call you often. You call me when you need me for anything! I promise I will be there in a flash.