Long Time, No Post

I know it's been awhile since my last post, and truthfully I haven't really felt like posting. So much has happened since my last post that I've really had no time to sit down and post, and truthfully, I haven't felt motivated to do so.

Andrew and I returned from a trip to Ohio on the 29th of December. On Dec 31 I was making plans for my return back to Ohio for my grandmother's funeral. It was not the news we wanted to get, especially at the end of the holidays. My grandmother, or Grammy, as we call her, was born on January 1 and passed on Dec 31. She lived a full 85 years! We joked that she didn't want to turn 86.

I was fortunate enough to visit with her in early December and on the Sunday before she passed. She leaves behind 6 children, 18 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. We have so many great memories from our times together as a family with Grammy and she certainly will be missed.
While Libbie and I were in Ohio, Andrew and Landon headed to a Washington Wizards game! Landon had a blast and even got a jersey!

The other big thing that happened, was my return to work, which I was dreading. I have been back for two weeks now and I am still getting adjusted. I'm actually headed into work tomorrow to try and get caught up. Hopefully doing so will allow things to slow down.

Heading to work isn't all that bad. I actually enjoy it once I get there. Don't get me wrong, I miss being with the kids but it's nice to do something for myself, plus my schedule isn't that bad. School is from 7:30-2 and if I can get out by 2:30, I'm home by 3. The part I hate is the housekeeping. I feel like there's never enough time to make dinner, do laundry, play with the kids, nurse Libbie, etc. in the short time we have in the evening. We're slowly adjusting, hopefully it doesn't take too long.
I've also neglected to keep up with my "Motivational Mondays". I just have so busy to make the posts but I have kept up with weighing in. I haven't been working out, but have been working on managing my diet. I lost 2 pounds before I stopped posting and have lost 4 more! I don't plan to do any posting until after january. I need to focus on getting back into this working routine and then I'll get back to working out and posting!
Landon is doing well. He loves school and is learning so much. He is starting to interact with Libbie much more. Landon is enjoying talking and is starting to put sentences together. We're having so much fun with him.
Libbie is growing like a weed. She already has cut a tooth, her front left tooth. She did that around Christmas time and I think the right one will be coming in soon. She is really congested lately and is not sleeping in her crib, or bassinet. She's actually too big for the bassinet but when she sleeps on her back, the congestion get worse and she wakes herself coughing. We have been having her sleep in her bouncy seat to help with the congestion. Other than that, she's a super happy girl and is ready to get on the move!

I think I'm in love..

with my new camera! My wonderful husband totally surprised me with this gift. I have been wanting an SLR camera fro some time now, and I was shocked to open it Christmas morning. Since I opened it, the camera has been at my side. I just want to keep taking pictures so I can get used to the camera and to practice, practice, practice. I plan on taking some classes, but for right now I just keep playing with the settings and reading, reading, reading.

Here are some of my practice shots...

These last two were with my aunt's lens, which made me fall in love even more!

Ohio...again

We had an amazing Christmas. We stayed in Virginia and celebrated as a family in the morning and then headed to Andrew's parents in the afternoon. The next day we woke up early to head to Ohio. My parents and youngest brother were there celebrating, so we thought we would join in a day late.

Our first stop in Ohio was in Columbus...

The one in the middle is my aunt and the gracious host. She obviously hates having her picture taken. Both people on either side of her are two my cousins.
here are two more cousins (twins) with Landon.

Sunday morning we woke up, got ready, then headed north to Cleveland. We made a stop to visit my Grammy.
Then we headed to my other aunt's house in Hudson, right outside of Cleveland. We were lucky enough to get snow on Monday morning. My amazing aunt went out and picked up some snow gear for Landon.
Libbie thought it would be better to stay inside.
On Monday night we went to eat at our favorite restaurant, The Winking Lizard. It was quite a shock to Patrick!
Molly & Danny
There are trains outside the restaurant so Landon had to explore.
We came home for some late night sledding.
Then snuggled up to watch movies.
We headed out Tuesday afternoon. We had a great time, but now are trying to get back to the "real" world. Andrew and I both head back to work on Monday so we are trying to get the house in order before then.

Christmas...in pictures

Christmas Eve...


Santa came...


Christmas at the Peck's

To Tide You Over

For those of you waiting for a Christmas update, these pictures will have to do. We had a wonderful Christmas in Virginia and are currently in Ohio with family. Enjoy!

Festival of Lights

We've been getting into the Christmas spirit around here, which has preoccupied me from posting about my weight loss. I may be slow in posting but I do not forget to weigh in and reflect on what I did well and what I did poorly. There has been no weight loss this past week. Again, I'm not surprised since I have not been working out. I have been busy with running errands, wrapping presents, and being snowed in. All excuses, but right now, the weight loss is taking a back seat. As long as I can maintain the measly 2 pounds lost until the New Year, then I'll be happy.

To help with getting ready for Christmas, we headed to Bull Run Park for the Festival of Lights. It's a 2 1/2 mi drive with lighted decorations. I had wanted to see it last year, but we never made it. This year we made sure to go since Landon would be able to enjoy it. There is a snow village at the end of the trail with rides, food and, of course, Santa. When Andrew came home today, we got the kids dressed in their new Christmas pajamas and headed out!

Landon loved looking at the decorations. I tried to enjoy them but I was busy trying to get pictures of the decorations. Unfortunately, the snow village was closed at the end, so we headed to Ruby Tuesday for a family dinner.

We're going to be pretty busy on Christmas Eve (away from the house) and I wanted to make sure to get pictures of the kids in their jammies in front of the tree. Libbie is doing so well in her bumbo seat and she loves to look around.
I thought maybe she would be the only one in the picture, but I was able to bribe Landon with some chocolate (so much like his mommy). I took a few good ones, but this one was too sweet not to post.

Snow Day!

I was granted an early Christmas gift yesterday...No school! Due to all of the snow and lack of equipment, the county closed the schools for Monday-Wednesday. Andrew also didn't have to report in either, so we had a family snow day!

We had the great idea of getting a sled for Landon, but so did everyone else in Northern Virginia. All sleds we sold out. We decided to go home and make a snowman. We were given a snowman kit for Christmas from one of Andrew's co-workers and we put it to use today.

Then we went inside for lunch and to bake some cookies. Landon was a big help!