It never fails...

Next week is FCAT testing for all students in Florida. Next week is also when we close on our new house. So next week is going to be crazy. But I feel that it's my job as a mom to make sure that life in our house runs smoothly through it all without incident. Right? Right! So, when Audrey tells me that she lost her glasses and hasn't had them at school for over a week, I do what any mom would do - search the house high and low for them. Okay, did that and no glasses! Yes, the thought that they may have found their way into any of the umpteen boxes that I have packed all over the house crosses my mind, but I am definitely not unpacking any of them to find out. So, I check my car in and around Audrey's seat. No glasses! I have Audrey check her desk at school and the lost and found just in case. No glasses! So, again like any mom would do, we go to the eyeglass store to get a new pair. Well, we are in luck, the store is running a special for kids' glasses - buy two for a great price. Deal! Audrey selects two really cute frames and her prescription is in stock so the lady at the store told us they would be ready in about two hours. Great! We get in the car, run to Target and then stop to grab some dinner. I get a phonecall from our agent. While I am on the phone with her, Audrey and Claire climb in to the back of my car where the third row seating is folded down. They are having a great time playing so I let them have at it while I finish my conversation. What happened next is why I say "It never fails..." Audrey says, "Uh... Mom... Guess what I just found?" Oh yeah, it's what you are thinking - her glasses! The ones that were lost... the ones that we looked everywhere for... the ones that we just replaced! Yes, those glasses! This is where the adage "you will always find what you lost as soon as you replace it" rings quite true! Darn Murphy's law! Well, I learned my lesson - check everywhere in the car! In my defense, the reason I didn't even think to look in the third row seating cupholders was because the third row has been folded down for a while - for the loading and unloading of packing boxes I have been getting for our move. So, now Audrey has three pairs of glasses, but the new ones are really cute, so I will just smile and laugh as Murphy's law wins again!

Tackling the To Do List

Today was one of those days that felt very productive in respect to tackling my ever-growing to do list. After dropping Audrey and Claire off at their schools, Brock and I headed to our new city to take care of some of those moving checklist tasks. First stop - Audrey and Claire's new school. We toured the elementary school and really liked it. It has about half of the student population of Audrey's current school, which is something that we really liked. Brock and I agreed that it had the feel of a private school in regards to the class size and facilities. The school also offers a VPK (voluntary pre-kindergarten) program for Claire next year. But the demand to get into one of the ten slots available is really high. The school secretary said that parents "camp out" in the parking lot the night before to ensure that their child gets a spot in the program. I guess I will be one of those crazy parents because I think the idea of Audrey and Claire going to the same school is great. I think it will also be a nice transition for Claire to attend the same school in which she will enter Kindergarten. Another plus from our tour today was that we discovered a shorter walking path to the school so that will shave about two-tenths of a mile off of our walk each way! :)

Next on the checklist was to open our new P.O. box (Brock uses it for work stuff). The goal was to open a box and with luck get one that wasn't on the very bottom like our current box is. The bottom is not cool when you are 6'4" or even when you are 5'6" and dump out the contents of your handbag every time you bend over to check the box. Well, luck was on our side today - We got a box that's waist high! (Note: Waist height is the highest that the size we needed goes) So, we have checked off two things on our to do list and it is only 10:30. Not bad!

After leaving the post office, we drive by our new house or, as we have come to call it, we stalked our new house. You know, driving by just to look at it. I am sure the neighbors probably think we are crazy or obsessed, or maybe both. Maybe we are, but I like to think of it as just being really excited! LOL!

So after a bit of house stalking, we decide to grab some lunch. We are on our way down A1A and we pass what will be our new Publix. For those of you who don't know this about me, let me tell you - I love my current grocery store! I am in there almost every day. The managers all know me by name and I like that because my store not only has a great selection, I receive great customer service from everyone too. So, I have been apprehensive about moving grocery stores. I know that sounds absurd to many of you, but it is just a fact of my life. :) I made a comment to Brock about how I wondered what the store was like and if it would compare to our current Publix. Brock suggested that we stop in and look around - he knows me all too well! So as we are walking in, I am talking to Brock - "House stalking to grocery store stalking... this could be a sign of a problem... Oh, Hi Mr. Manager, let me introduce myself... I am your new best customer... I'm sure that John P. and the other managers/staff at my current Publix will give me glowing recommendations..." We enter the store and it is love at first sight! The store is bigger and newer and is very organized. While the layout is quite different from my store, I know that I will adapt to the new one very easily. My only complaint is that the store was very cold. But I will keep a sweater in my car... next to my green bags... and all will be good!

So we accomplished three things from our to do list! And yes, checking out the grocery store was on the list, although I expected to do that one by myself. But it was very nice to have the company of my wonderful husband on that task. Not to mention we enjoyed a lovely lunch together... just the two of us... that doesn't happen very often but when it does it's always nice!

Claire's V-Day Party

Claire was very excited about her Valentine's Day party at school. "We're having a Valentime's birthday party!" she said over and over. And yes, it was "Valentime's" with an "m"... I tried to correct her, but it was too cute... and she will say it correctly soon enough and I know that I will miss it. So for now, she can call it Valentime's all she wants.

Claire and Aaron, a friend at her school, have a preschool crush going on. He likes to stand really close to her or sit really close to her (all of the time) which she doesn't like. So she tells him to move. He does... for a minute and then he is right back next to her. This has gone on for a while. He doesn't touch her - he just sits/stands really close. But his efforts have paid off. At home she talks about him quite a bit. Not so much about how he annoys her, but about how silly or funny he is. I caught her looking at him during their party... It looks like she may think he is a great friend too...

At the party, Claire gave out her Valentine cards... Here are some photos...

~ Getting her cards organized ~

~ Front ~


~ Inside ~

~ With Candy ~

Audrey took the same cards to her friends at school. Her class did not have a big party - just a card exchange.

Almost Beachside...

Okay... So it's has been a while since you have gotten any new "snip-its" from the Ballard family. Let me catch you up... The main event in our house has been our search for a new house. As many of you know, we have been looking for a beachside house for quite a while. We found a house and made an offer. But after we finally got the negotiations to an acceptable place for both parties, the wife decided she wouldn't sign the contract. That was a pretty big let down. We decided to keep the offer on the table, but also to keep looking. We saw a number of houses. And we found one that we really liked but unfortunately it went under contract...

The next week was full of the sniffles. By the weekend, I did not feel so great. On Saturday, we decided, despite our sniffles and sneezes, to suck it up and continue the house search. We searched the local real estate website and to our surprise the house that we had seen the week before (the one we liked but had gone under contract) was back on the market. I called our agent to make sure that it wasn't an error on the website. Well, it wasn't an error... the house was on the market again after the buyer's financing fell through. The great news was that not only was the house still for sale, the price was lower too! We made an offer that day. It was a good thing that we decided to get out of bed and do the house search thing because our offer was one of two that day. If we had decided not to get out of the house, we would have missed out on this house again.

One thing that I have learned from this whole experience is that Brock and I are not very good at the waiting game. Especially when we knew would have an answer in less than 24 hours. It seemed to be the longest 24 hours... But the next day, we got the call from our agent and our offer was accepted! Now, we are waiting again... for our closing... It has been hard but we are keeping very busy so hopefully March 11th will be here before we know it. The house needs some updating but has really good bones. We are looking forward to making it our own. I plan to keep a record of our renovation adventure. So check back for more details about that...

Are we a Wii Fit family?

I have been quite hesitant to invest in the Wii Fit balance board and games because I have not had a great experience with workout videos in the past. That said, I bit the bullet yesterday and bought the bundle pack at Target (the balance board, Wii Fit Plus and another fitness game). It was a good deal and worth a try I thought. So while the girls were at school, I set up my profile. The balance board took my weight, which wasn't as bad as I would have thought after all of my holiday eating - Yeah! - and my center of balance, which was a bit more "off" than I would have thought. It ask me if I tripped a lot when I walked! Not a good sign... I guess nine years of carrying children on my hip has affected my center of balance.

Anyway, I went through all of the measurements and started the training program. Here's where Wii Fit is different from all of the workout videos that I have tried - it gives you feedback! It tells you where your center of balance (COB) is, which helps with your form, and also it will encourage you, or point out the obvious - depending on your point of view, when your legs begin to shake. It gives you helpful health tips and other information that is "good to know". I tried a few of the strength training exercises and did better at some and not so good at others. It keeps up with the amount of time that you are doing something. Brock and I are quite competitive so we are pushing each other to work a bit longer. Audrey and Claire set up profiles too and are able to play a lot of the games that work on balance and other strength building that is good for kids. Duke even has a profile... No, he doesn't "workout" on the balance board. He has a pet Mii that looks similar to him and he is able to track his weight on the program. He is held by a family member and then that person's weight is subtracted so Duke can see how much he is growing. All of our profiles (Miis) are stored in the Wii Fit Plaza. It is really cute to see our family of five (including Duke) all lined up ready for action. I plan to continue at the gym but love the ability to be able to do a lot of exercises/activities at home - especially when we can do most of them together as a family.

She did it again!

Report cards came home today...

And I am very proud to tell you all that Audrey made
the "A" Honor Roll again!

Audrey did very well on her district assessments too. The teacher's comments on the report card were glowing. She wrote that Audrey "is a great role model for the classroom" ... "works hard, completes her work accurately and in timely manner" ... "is willing to help others as needed" ... all things that make parents puff up their chests with pride! Brock and I know that Audrey is a very bright child and we are both so very, very proud of her and her accomplishments!

Christmas at Home

After ten fabulous, yet very chilly days visiting our families in Alabama and Georgia where temperatures hovered around the low 50s during the day and the upper 20s/low 30s at night, it was absolutely heavenly to arrive home to sunny Florida and pleasant temperatures in the mid-70s! That is my kind of Christmas weather... Don't get me wrong, having a white Christmas is beautiful, but being able to go outside without five or more layers is even better!

As a child I remember always being the first one to wake up on Christmas morning. Jumping on my younger brothers' beds to wake them and then off to shake my parents' arms while saying, well, more like gleefully screaming, "Santa came! Get up! Santa came!" So my parents, who had probably just gone to bed a few hours earlier, would roll out of bed and get the cameras and proceed to watch us (my brothers and me) with smiles on their sleep-deprived faces as we each opened our presents.

Well, as a parent I now know what it's like to be bright-eyed and all smiles on Christmas morning after a mere two to three hours of sleep. But I love it! I love watching the smiles and pure joy of our daughters' faces as they open their presents and see what Santa brought to them.

Here is a video of Christmas morning at our house...