I have moved, come with me!

Yep, I sure did! Check out the new blog here http://themoxiepear.com/blog

Ok, no apologies (although I am really sorry)!

Wow! Has it really been this long? I swear I haven't abandoned the blog, although I find it harder and harder to get over here lately. With Twitter and Facebook, getting your thoughts out are quick and easy so the blog sometimes takes a back seat to that. Well, it is all about the change! I am going to be updating the blog and actually moving it over to my web site so that it is easier for me to update. I also have a lot of fun features planned for the new blog... I miss being crafty and that is about to change...loads of fun Holiday stuff ahead! So if you will bare with me for just a little longer I promise it will pay off. :)

I am actually off to Disney World this weekend to celebrate my anniversary with The Baconator! This trip has been planned for awhile and it is without the kids so no whining will be allowed. ;) I will be back in the office on Thursday so until then...hope everyone has a great rest of the week and weekend!!

Possession?

After yesterday, I am started to think that possession may be real and that it happened to my previously sweet 3 year old. Let me explain...The Baconator got off work early so we could drive to the Cotton Pickin Fair (yes, yes it sounds so country) which is about an hour west of us. It was looking like crafty goodness and family fun all day...well, that was until something happened to my sweet little angel. We get to the festival (which is huge by the way) and the minute we get through the gates it's like the devil himself takes over my child. She must have everything she sees, if she doesn't get it she starts flipping out with the crying and the whining. She even starts to throw herself on the ground at one point. It seems that no amount of threatening will do, things like "You better straighten up before I take you to the bathroom" or "We will leave right now if you don't start acting right" don't seem to phase her. She knows we aren't going to leave and the only bathrooms are gross PortaPotties that mommy is definitely not going in to. We finally seem to calm her down with food, only for it to start again when she realizes that she doesn't like corn dogs after already eating half of it. The rest of the time we were there it was filled with constant whining and repeated questions..."I'm thirsty!", "I'm hungry!", "Why can't I have a baby doll and purse?". Needless to say that we cut our festival trip early. On the way home, she finally fell asleep and I guess at that point the devil must have left her body because when she woke up later, she was back to normal. It was a miracle (or the reason why 3 year olds should take naps BEFORE going anywhere).

My crazy office obsession

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, then you will know I have been to IKEA over the last week. Ugghh I love that store too much! I don't get there to often since it is a bit of a drive. I have decided to redesign my office to be a bit more efficient and modern...yes, the cutesy gets to me sometimes. ;) It actually started that the kids needed more storage in their bedrooms so I gave up some of my stuff so that I could then get new...yes, sneaky Mom trick. It started with two bookshelves and blossomed to 2 more storage units and a tv stand. Did I mention how much I love IKEA? The Baconator doesn't seem to share my obsession.... hmm I wonder if that is because he has to load it and put it together? Nah, that couldn't be it. He does love the Swedish meatballs so I bribe him with those to get him to go with me. That man could be bribed to do anything if food is involved!

So I only need two more pieces to complete my space. I know that it may be a little while before I actually get to purchase these things but I like to be prepared. The first piece is this cool limited edition Billy bookcase that has graffiti written all over it.

It also has cool matching doors covering the bottom three shelves. Since the walls in my office are a light Tiffany Blue (and I don't plan on painting it ANY time soon) I decided to add black, white and gray to complete the color palette. The next thing I would like to get is a custom slipcover for my existing couch (oh, yes it is from IKEA too). I found this awesome company that makes them but I am in a dilemma as to the fabric. I found 4 that I love...so what do you think?

I am leaning toward the Japanese print (#3) and the black with gray stripe (#1).

The Second half of the Break

When we were on the plane back home from Cleveland, I made a joke to The Baconator that we should just catch another plane somewhere and stay gone for the whole vacation...well, at least I thought it was a joke. ;) When we got home, I checked out a few things and found an awesome deal for Sea World and since it is only a 6 hour drive for us we decided to go for it! We had an great time but man was it hot. I was looking a bit like a lobster when we got home since I pretty much refuse to go out in the heat here. Because the package was such a deal, we were also able to Dine with Shamu (even though his name is actually Tikanuh or something like that) and also take a Penguin tour. It was definitely a cool experience and would do it again, Gia saw me editing photos just a bit ago and said she wanted to go back already. I remember the first time I went to Sea World, I so wanted that job. How cool would it be to swim with dolphins and killer whales all day? Shoot, I would do it in a second if I could! Here are a few pics I took snapped while we were there. There are tons more on my Flickr page so check them out.

Today has been packed full of cleaning the house and washing clothes (tons of fun I tell ya!). I bought a few things at IKEA the other day for my office so I am going to tackle that space tomorrow...pics to follow shortly I am sure. :)

It was really only a week's vacation...

...even though it took me another week to find myself over here. Whew! It just gets crazy after being gone from work for a week, it seems to take 2 more just to catch up but I am getting there. We had an awesome time on Fall break. The kids go to year round school around here so they get week breaks all through out the year. We took this time to take a few days to visit my BFF in Cleveland. It was awesome to see everyone again! I am making it a point to get up there more often. The girls had an awesome time and were so cute. There were times that we couldn't tell their voices apart...it made for some good laughs. I am also excited to announce that Bobbie is having a baby! She posted about it on her blog awhile back but I got to see the belly up close and she looks adorable. Can't wait to start buying baby stuff! Of course, we both had our cameras and were snapping pics left and right. Here are a few from that weekend.

We took the girls on a day trip to the Build a Bear Workshop, they had a blast making their dolls (so funny that neither of them chose an actual bear). We all went to this cool Art Festival on Sunday where the kids got painted up and made funny hats and a few other crafts. The weather was so nice that I didn't want to get back to the GA heat...definitely visiting more often!

Fall Break

I have posted this several places but I thought I would make a quick announcement here to. :) The studio will be closed for Fall Break from September 11-20. All correspondence will be returned when we reopen on September 21st.

I am actually getting ready to leave for the airport with the family to visit my BFF (Bobbie). We will be there until Monday, then it's back home to finish out the vacation. Have a great week!

Also, please take today to remember what happened to our country 8 years ago today. Don't forget what it was like to see our nation changed forever...hug your kids a little tighter today and thank goodness for everything that you have. :)

It is a love affair (sad but true)...

It is a love affair but not yet an obsession...and that's probably because I haven't had time to truly enjoy my new iPhone. After my friend Heather showed me her iPod Touch I knew I needed one for myself (well, not really needed but definitely wanted). After talking to The Baconator we figured out that it would actually be cheaper for me to get an iPhone since our contract with Verizon was almost up. Of course, somehow we both walked out with one (man, I tell you he is good!). It is super awesome for a small business owner because there are so many apps to keep you organized. I actually made a list of my favs and will be sharing those soon. I ended up moving my To Do list and Calendar there so no more papers all over my desk. And of course, I couldn't let my iPhone go naked...when I saw this Hello Kitty cover at the Apple store, I snatched it up and counted for the days it would arrive in my mailbox. Yes, Simon I am one of "those people" and proud of it! ;)

A Fun Family Outing

Sorry, sorry been crazy busy but I can say that I am almost completely caught up with things. Whew! Don't you hate it when everything seems to hit at one time? Well, that has been me for the last month it seems like. First my illness, then Xander's accident, then Gia being sick and then Xander was sick and in between all that I had tons of work. Yes, I am happy to say goodbye to August and hope that September is much more calm. ;)

Over the weekend, I took the kids to Noah's Ark. It is an animal park only a few miles from our house but it has been so hot that you just don't want to go outside (at least I don't). Saturday it was actually pretty nice outside so we decided to pack a lunch...which in my case meant we picked up some Wendys....and headed for the park. The kids had a blast looking at all of the animals. It is a huge place (not sure about actual acreage) and they have some really cool rescued animals. We went on the walking trail around to all of the habitats. Here are a few photos I snapped along the way...

Notice Xander's arm in that pic? It got pretty gross there for awhile with the whole scabbing and healing process but it is all finished now. He is going to have a hell of a scare....he said he doesn't mind (girls dig scars remember).

The cool thing about this place is that they have live animals walking around that you can go up to. Xander spotted a fawn (that's a girl deer right?) up on a hill and grabbed my camera to take that photo. This was his shot of me way down at the bottom of the hill.

Of course, no outing is complete these days without Ms. Whiney Butt showing up to the party. We got a pic of her this time! This was after the 100th time she told us she was thirsty. What is it about this age?