We just had a major snowstorm, getting just under 2 feet in less than 24 hours. The snowflakes were so big and fluffy and it was beautiful to watch them fall to the ground. We unfortunately didn't have a snow shovel and poor Scott was out there trying to dig out our cars with a spade shovel. He didn't make much progress and finally gave up. Lucky for us, a neighbor let us borrow one of theirs and another neighbor showed up with a snowblower. We are so blessed! Abby had a great time out in the snow. She got all bundled up and went about her business helping Scott clean off the cars and building a castle in the snow. Not a snowman, but a castle. Whatever. She is our little princess! Mckenzie was napping so she didn't get to go outside, but I don't think she would have liked it that much anyway. When she got up from her nap, I opened the front door so she could see Abby and Scott out there. She just giggled at Abby and laughed even harder when Abby would get both hands full of snow and throw it at the window. They both just loved it! The first word out of Mckenzie's mouth this morning was "snoooow" as she raced to look out the sliding glass doors. Mckenzie loves to do anything that Abby does. After bath, I let Abby put on her own lotion and obviously still have to do M's for her. Well, little miss Mckenzie has to have her own lotion now too. She watches Abby put on her lotion and them mimics where Abby put it. Although she does show individuality when she puts it all over her little cheeks. Got a little more done with the house today, but I was lacking any motivation. My main excuse today revolves around not having a closet organizer or book case for Mckenzie's room and I don't want to do our room until everyone else's room is in order. I hope tomorrow will be more productive. The offer still stands if anyone would like to come out and organize this place for us. I am willing to pay you with hugs and kisses and smiles from our girls!

Another day, another box unpacked! Slowly we are getting there. I still feel like it is a major mess around here, but soon enough it will come together. I think the worst thing for me is having to do all the daily chores on top of organizing everything. My plan today was just to throw/give away as much junk as I can. The kids have way too many toys, so it was easy to help eliminate some clutter upstairs. Lately I have been learning how different Abby's and Mckenzie's personalities really are. When Abby was little, all you had to do was tell her no and she listened to you. Mckenzie? You tell her no, she looks at you, smiles and says "No, no, no" while shaking her finger at you. Then she continues doing whatever it was she wasn't supposed to be doing. She loves to try to stand up in the shopping cart. I always forget to strap her in since I never did it with Abby, but these last few days of running errands with her, all she wants to do is get out of her seat! We ran to Lowe's after dinner and each kid wanted to ride in a cart. Abby wanted to ride right next to Mckenzie so they could hold hands. They both giggled so hard. Though not as hard as when we started driving crazy with the carts. The both just love it!  Thought I would put up our family pic we had taken in Florida before we moved. We are supposed to get a major snowstorm tonight and I am wishing we were still down there. Hard to believe how much the girls have grown since this picture was taken.

I think I may have the sweetest daughter ever! Abby and I were talking at dinner and I told her she was special. She told me "That's because I came from you." Sweet! She made me cry right there in Red Lobster, felt like a fool, but whatever. I don't know those people. I just love this age. (I think I may say that about every age) She is really starting to put concepts together and has become very curious about everything. I really could do without all the "why momma?" questions all day long, but I realize how else is she going to learn if we don't teach her. She told me something (I can't remember what) that she knows now because she is 4. She said" I didn't know it when I was three, but I know now because I am 4". I did more unpacking today. Got the kids' bathroom in order, although it still looks odd with all that nasty brass/gold these people had in their house. Thankfully we are just renting or Scott would have a honey-do list a mile long. Mckenzie sat on the big girl potty today. Abby asked if Mckenzie could sit on the little potty while Abby went potty too. It was really cute to see them sitting in there together. Mckenzie just sat there and waited until Abby let her get up. Maybe I will just let Abby potty train Mckenzie. Hmmm.

Ok Whatever! That is Abby's new saying. She loves to use it. I have absolutely, positively no idea where she possibly could have ever heard that! Right! Now I guess I need to quit saying it if we expect her not to say it. Mckenzie is hilarious to watch while Abby plays the Wii. She oohs and aahhs over everything she does and she sure isn't quiet about it! Hard to believe one of my kids is loud! We are starting to get settled in. The movers brought our stuff on Monday and so far aside from a few damaged things (my dresser, the piano, a lamp, the coffee pot...) most everything showed up in decent condition. I was so nervous since the crew that moved our belongings from Pace didn't appear to be the most reputable. Glad I was wrong about them! We have been slowing unpacking our boxes. I worked on both girls' rooms today and that was a big chore! I don't know what was more work. Unpacking the boxes or picking up the toys many times over! I kept asking Abby to help me and pick up her toys. Her response? "Momma, I am just so happy to have my toys again." Whatever. You can't argue with that. I am sure she has missed her things. The house is shaping up, I just can't wait until all the boxes are gone and the pictures are on the wall.  We are finding a few quirks with the house. Like you can't use the heated dry on the dishwasher because it won't clean the dishes if you do. I do NOT like hand drying my dishes after they have been in the dishwasher. This may become an issue for me. As well as there are no towel holders in the bathrooms. Really? I am supposed to leave my towel just lying on the counter? Of course not. I bought those suction cup mounted hooks and put them on the mirrors. Tacky? Yes. Functional? Definitely.  Got an inch or so of snow this morning. The trees were just beautiful. It has already melted, but it sounds like we will be getting some more this weekend. Hopefully not too much. My car barely fits into the garage (that by the way doesn't have an opener) so I don't want to have to clean my windows off if I go anywhere. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband to take care of that for me!

Well, we are packed up and ready to go. Scott and Abby have loaded up the cars and we are heading out very shortly. Abby has been trying to learn what is funny and what isn't.  She will do something and then ask "That's funny right?"  Last night, Abby was telling us words we shouldn't say. She just kept repeating "you shouldn't say damn it" Scott and I couldn't stop laughing. Of course, Abby wanted to know what was funny and Scott said "You are funny Abby" to which Abby replied "I'm not funny, Mommy is". Gotta love that kid. She has such a great memory for that word~wish she would forget I ever said it!
Anyway, Mckenzie is getting a little feisty so this will be short. I think she is teething  :( Looking forward to getting our stuff tomorrow and getting settled in.

Happy Birthday to Me! What a wonderful day. Scott and the girls spoiled me with a Coach purse and a GPS!  Scott gave me one box to open and Abby kept asking Scott where the other present was. Scott kept telling her to be quiet. Apparently it was supposed to be a surprise that I was getting more than one thing since the GPS was wrapped up inside the purse. They are so thoughtful and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! They made my 33rd birthday very special. Scott's thoughtfulness didn't end with the gifts. He treated me to Burger King for lunch and take-out Chinese for dinner! Ok, not so wonderful, but we were busy getting Mckenzie's room painted at our house and taking care of a few other things around there, so we didn't have the time or energy to go out for a nice dinner. Maybe tomorrow.  I do see Bonefish in the near future. It just may be a few days before we get there. Tonight is our last night in the TLF! We plan on staying at our new place tomorrow night so we can be there first thing Monday morning when our household goods are delivered. Only two more nights of sleeping in someone else's bed!!!!! And no more waiting on housekeeping to show up (or not, as they skipped our room AGAIN today!) just to get the crumbs vacuumed or new towels. Don't get me wrong, I like having someone clean for me, I would just like to be able to vacuum for myself. I can't stand crumbs on the floor!!!

So what did I do with my last day as a 32 year old? Not much. Mckenzie got the day going by bringing me my phone while I was in the shower. She is so sweet! Thankfully, it didn't get too wet and thus far, it still works! The girls and I were going to go for a walk to the post office today, but when we got outside,  I realized a cold snap had settled in. Therefore, we drove to the post office and since we were already in the car, we headed out to Chick-fil-A. Seems silly to drive 45 minutes for fast food lunch, but Abby has so much fun playing with the other little kids there, it is worth it to me. Scott had his little outdoor survival class today and came home dressed up in war paint. He looked so cute :). After dinner, we drove to our new house and picked up the keys. I really want the house painted, but I don't want to do the work. I think we are going to check into how expensive it is to have someone paint. I don't mind doing the girls' rooms, but the living is two stories how. You will not see either of us doing that! Maybe we will do some painting tomorrow or Sunday.

Our last Thursday in a TLF! Yea! I am so excited. Just another normal day around here.  Scott left for work and five minutes later, Mckenzie was wide awake and ready to go for the day. Abby actually slept in today, but she was up late last night shopping. She of course reminded me when she did wake up, that she couldn't tell me what they bought. I was secretly hoping she would spill the beans! We all went to Best Buy tonight to set up our cable for our new place. I am so glad they will be able to hook us up on Monday, as neither Scott nor myself wants to be without internet for very long! Stopped by a great burger place called Five Guys on the way back to base. We had seen it on the food channel, so it was really cool to be able to check it out ourselves. Juicy burgers and homemade fries. Very tasty and I am sure it will become one of our fav places to go.

What a busy day~doctor's office and the commissary all in one day! (Ok, I realize that isn't a busy day, but lately for us, it is.) Took Abby in for her four year well check up and all was good. She didn't do the greatest on the eye exam, I am not sure if she was being bashful or not, but she wouldn't tell the nurse what she was seeing. So, Scott and I decided we should get her vision tested in 6 months or so, just to see if she was having difficulty seeing, or if it was just not understanding the directions clearly. Took Mckenzie in as well. She has a lump between her eye and nose and we wanted to get it checked out. Most likely a cyst. We just have to wait to see what the ENT tells us. I hope we can get in soon. I am not used to the whole referral, waiting thing that the military providers make you do. We only used civilian doctors in Florida and never had to wait for the insurance to tell us where to go. As you all know, I am not the most patient person, so we will see how cranky this waiting thing makes me:)
When Mckenzie was napping today, Abby decided that the floor needed mopping. She looked at me and said "This floor is sooooooooo dirty. I need to wipe it" So away she went, mopping my floor with paper towels for at least 30 minutes. And boy do those five little squares she washed over and over again look good!
I was tickling Mckenzie tonight and she looked me straight in the eyes with the most serious face and said "NO NO NO". Then she giggled and I knew she was looking for more!
Abby and Scott are out buying me a birthday gift. I called Scott's cell so I could talk to Abby, maybe fish a little for info... Abby got on the phone and I asked her where she had been and she said "I can't tell you, it's a prize!" That little bugger wouldn't tell me anything. Guess I will just have to wait!

1/26/10

I was going so crazy without having internet access again today. (I made Scott call the front desk-again-to see when it might possibly be working. They said they didn't know. Gotta love all that helpful info) The day was pretty mundane. I think we are all a little tired of being in transition. I can't waitto get into our house so I can start to feel productive again. 4 months of "vacation" is long enough for me. Monday can't come quickly enough!
The girls were playing in Scott's and my shoes again today. I don't know what it is with these kids and their love for big people shoes! It sure is cute tho to watch them attempt to walk around in them. Poor Mckenzie has such a hard time picking up her feet when she has Scott's tennis shoes on. Abby has gotten better over the years and can walk pretty quickly in them now.
We took the girls out for dinner tonight. Ok, they could care less about going out, but Scott and I wanted to get out of the hotel. (The girls and I went to Target earlier in the day, but it wasn't much of a trip. We drove 45 minutes to get a thumb drive and that is all we bought. I never, ever leave Target with only what I went there for. Something must be very wrong with me!) Anyway, Olive Garden was tasty as usual. The girls behaved nicely which makes for a nice dinner out. Mckenzie gobbled up her black olives as fast as I could cut them and was looking for more. Man that kids sure loves her olives~thanks Auntie Sue! Abby looked so grown up eating her salad and drinking her sprite! They are growing up too fast!