There's no place like home...

I think Dorothy said it best, but I had to borrow her words yesterday when we arrived home after a nine-hour drive.
Unfortunately we didn't have ruby slippers to click, but we did have a loaded down ruby red van to ride in.
We left the hotel at 3 a.m. and arrived home around lunchtime and after a quick stop by the grocery for a few emergency supplies to tide us over until we could go to the grocery store.
I loved seeing our family and friends, but there was nothing better than snuggling into my own pillows in my own bed last night.

Fishy time...

We spent Sunday afternoon tootling around the Georgia Aquarium, which is said to be the world's largest aquarium and is just beautiful.
The aquarium opened a few years ago and I'm so excited we were able to go (even though the ticket prices were much higher than we had wanted them to be).
Lucky for us, both kiddies are still under 3 and got in for free... but that won't be for much longer as Savannah's big day is right around the corner.
We spent a few hours walking around the aquarium and Savannah enjoyed seeing all of the fishies and the divers in the tank (she kept calling them diamonds).
She kept talking about those fish and divers and we know another trip to an aquarium is in our future.

Cherry Blossom time...

The children and I spent a week in Georgia and most of it we spent with Mama and my sister, Lynn, or off visiting other family and friends. Unfortunately, I didn't pull out my camera and take many pictures during the week.
Once Pat arrived on Friday I did take some pictures of our travels to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon and the Georgia Aquarium. We were hoping to meet up with friends in Macon, but I canceled because we were worried Julius might still be contagious and didn't want him to infect anyone with the stomach virus we had a few weeks ago.
Here are a few pictures I took during the 30 minutes we were in downtown Macon... it took us four times as long to get there as it did to walk around and realize it was too crowded for our kids to enjoy.

Up in the mountains...

My Mama, Grandma to the kiddies, flew up to Virginia a few weeks ago to be my co-pilot on our drive to Georgia.
I didn't realize how important it would be to have her with me until we were half way on our trip and stopped for lunch... just having Grandma there made Savannah mind her manners and she held on to Mama's hand every where we went.
Although she was only here a few days we were able to drive up Skyline Parkway... a place she enjoyed during her first visit to Virginia last year.
Here are a few pictures from our trip up into the mountains... as you can see there was still snow on the ground!

The first signs of spring...

Please forgive me for posting these photos so late, but I took them shortly before we left for Georgia and time just ran away from me.
Last fall, Pat and I pulled all of the weeds out of the front and back flower beds and were wondering if anything would grow back.
Imagine our surprise a few weeks ago when we woke up to find these in the front flower bed...
Just beautiful...

Checking in from Georgia...

I wanted to send a blog from Georgia where the children and I have been since Saturday night. We left Ruckersville recovering from the stomach virus and it appears we might have brought the bug to those here we've visited this week. It seems like everywhere we've gone someone has come down with some of the same symptoms we had last week.
We've visited with our family and friends and the kids have had a blast... and I'll be posting a few pictures of our times in the days to come (you'll soon see I haven't been taking as many pictures as I would have at 100 percent).
We've also had to cancel on plans to visit other family and friends as days of lingering sickness and little sleep have taken its toll on Mama and kiddies both.
I'm excited that Pat arrives tomorrow as I have missed having him with us and we're planning to spend a quiet weekend tootling around Atlanta and seeing some sights as a family... and hopefully not reinfecting each other in the process.

Savannah as a baby...

I just had to post a picture of Savannah when she was a baby because I can see the family resemblance between her and Elizabeth! It must be some of those Fitzgerald and Krivos genes in the working!

More pictures of Baby Elizabeth...

Daddy David sent some new pictures of Elizabeth and I wanted to share a few with you... she's a beautiful little girl and reminds me so much of Savannah when she was born!
I can't wait until we get a chance to visit them all!

The ballet...

Savannah saw an advertisement the other day for the Richmond Ballet... the group is coming to the local community college for a performance on Tuesday night and she asked me if we could go see it.
Well, I called to see if they allowed toddlers into a professional performance and, if so, would it cost $20 for the ticket?
I left a message at the box office and the woman was kind enough to call back later and suggest I bring Savannah to the children performance the next afternoon (for school-aged children). The bonus is it will only costs us $5 for both of us to get in.
So, Savannah and I will have a Mommy and Me day while Julius stays with Pat before he goes to work... I'll let you know how she likes it.

Baby Elizabeth...

Here is a picture of our newest extended family member... she is the daughter of our niece Shannon.
I'm very excited to have a little girl in the younger generation so Savannah can have a playmate at family functions.

What a difference two years make...

We had beautiful weather this weekend during our visit to Grammy and Papa's house and were able to spend a little time out doors. It so wonderful to sit outside and let the children run around... Savannah and Grammy took a tour of the yard and the children threw around a few balls that we found in the garage and I picked up at Farm Fresh.
In late 2008 (the week of Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary), I had the bright idea to take Savannah's picture in front of the angel statue that sits in Mom and Dad's back yard. The statue is beautiful and I thought she would be a great backdrop for pictures of my angel.
Oh my how quickly time flies...

Savannah is going to school...

We got a call last night confirming Savannah has been selected to attend preschool in the fall. She'll be attending Chancellor Preschool Cooperative in Charlottesville on Monday, Thursday and Fridays.
This means we'll be spending the summer months getting her on an earlier bedtime schedule as we'll need to be up and out of the house by 8 a.m. on those days to get her to school on time.
It's so hard for me to believe Savannah is already old enough to go to preschool and I wonder where has the time gone? She's so smart already as she knows her ABCs and counting into the teens... and she can sing many songs after hearing them a few times.
My baby girl is no longer a baby and that is apparent in the fact that we'll soon be sending her off to school three times a week!

Baby Elizabeth has arrived...

I'm excited to report our niece, Shannon, delivered her daughter last night and she weighed in at 8 lbs., 8 ounces and is 20 inches in length. New Mommy and Baby Girl are doing good and we hope to visit them by the end of the week... will post pictures then (or earlier if new Nana sends me some... HINT HINT HINT)!
Congratulations Shannon and David and welcome to the family little Elizabeth... Savannah will be happy to have another little girl in the little one crowd!

Visiting Grammy and Papa...

We went to Virginia Beach this weekend to see Grammy and Papa and had a blast. It was nice to leave the snow-covered yard and go to a place with warmer weather and no white stuff on the ground.
When we arrived, the children had a few minutes to play with our great-nephew, Elias, who was visiting with his parents, Erin and Joe. They left shortly after our arrival, but we were able to capture a few photos of the three of them playing on the ground in the sun room.
These are some pictures I took of our Sunday... I have a few more pictures from Monday that I'll post later today.
Hope you enjoy!

The countdown has begun...

Celebrating Julius' milestone birthday a few weeks ago got me thinking about my own milestone birthday coming up... the big 4-0! Although it's more than two years away, there are some major things I want to accomplish and it's probably going to take that long to do it.
I look back at the last 38 years and realize how lucky I have been... I have a wonderful husband and together we have two healthy, beautiful children. We have made ourselves a life here in central Virginia and are close to family and friends... and then have so many wonderful family and friends living over the rest of the country.
I spent so many of my adult years chasing a career and now I've been blessed with the ability to stay at home and take care of my children... and I'm so thankful to be able to do that as long as I can.
Now it's time to get focused on taking care of myself... that means getting some weight off and getting more rest. I think they go hand and hand as not getting enough rest leads to overeating to keep myself going... and the vicious cycle continues.
So, I'm putting myself back on my priority list... right up there with Pat, Savannah and Julius.
It's time to get ready for my big 4-0 ... I'm really excited to be getting there!

Windy day at the park...

We took the children to the park yesterday in an effort to get them out of the house to burn off some energy. It was a nice day, but very windy so we didn't stay very long.
It still amazes me how quickly the children are growing up and being their own little people. They fight like all siblings, but they love each other tremendously.

One of my favorite poems...

The Road Not Taken


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Preschool for Savannah...

Savannah and I toured a preschool this morning in the hopes of finding a place she can attend in the fall. The school is in Charlottesville and will mean early mornings, but I think it's so very worth it.
The school we visited is a co-op where parents spend at least two days a month volunteering during the school day (which are half days). Classes are from 8:40 to 11:40 each morning and you can choose between the three, four or five-day programs.
Today, the children learned about Germany and it was nice because one of the parents is a native German and he came to talk about the country and items you find there... we learned that pretzels, pumpernickel and Werther's Original candies are native of Germany.
Savannah and I both liked the school (in fact, she was up half the night all excited about going to school - she even wanted to ride the bus!).
Although I know other parents who put their children into a preschool this year, I wanted to give Savannah time to spend with Julius before we sent her off to school
I talked with Pat and we're going to apply for the preschool and see if Savannah gets selected to attend... the classes take 24 students per day so there aren't a lot of spots available.
I'll let you know what happens...

Savannah, the diva...

This morning, I'm going to take a tour of a preschool for Savannah. She wouldn't start until the fall, but it would give her the chance to get used to school and let her be around other children her own age.
I was actually going to take her with me this morning, but she and her brother decided to get up at 3 a.m. and they haven't gone back to sleep (hopefully they will in the next hour).
I'll let you know how my tour goes, but lets hope I don't fall asleep as the woman is talking to me as I also have been up since 3 a.m.
In the meantime, please take a look at some pictures I snapped of Savannah yesterday as she modeled her toddler glasses and played with one of her dollies (we bought these two summers ago and they are all scratched u, but she loves them). You can see she has the glasses on upside down, but you can't tell her anything!
She is my little diva... and certainly has the attitude to prove it!

Julius being serious...

It's not often that I have a hard time getting Julius to smile for me as I take his photo, but when I tried to snap a few of him over the weekend he just wasn't feeling up to being in the spotlight.
It's still so hard for me to believe he's a year old and is now running around and trying so hard to talk... we just don't have any babies around this house anymore!

Piggy tails...

I have convinced Savannah to let me put her hair up in piggy tails... they're not as neat as the pros (other Mamas who are used to putting their daughters hair up), but not too bad for the second shot (I got her to let me put her hair up on Sunday, but didn't get a picture).