May & June Photodump

Well I see that a monthly update is too much for me to handle! So go grab a cup of coffee and get comfy... I have a lot to share and a lot to say :) And I like hearing myself talk (and I'm the quiet one of the family! haha!).... so here we go!!

5/7/16 Weekend: Ross & I have the best group of friends! In May, they planned a winery weekend at the Finger Lakes, and it was our first time being able to go (yay for being closer to home!). So this was also our first weekend away from Claire. The trip was lovely. We rented a beautiful house with our friends with lake views, wined and dined for 3 straight days, and left with our hearts filled! And I only cried once from missing my baby girl.

Here, I let Claire pick out a new toy for the upcoming roadtrip! (She only had to drive half as far, as we met my parents in NY to watch her.) It's a big deal when I buy her a new toy as I'm very set on the 'minimalist' mindset. But a roadtrip called for a new toy and she loved it :)

Caption: 'See mom... I buy Claire SOME new toys!' I couldn't pass up a cute owl from the one winery.

Ross & I at Wagners Winery & Brewery. Ross loved having the option of beer or wine. He goes for beer. I go for wine. We are both happy campers.

A picture of the whole group!

Ross & I have perfected feeding Claire during long roadtrips! One of us will jump in the backseat to feed her a bottle while the other continues driving.... it's a win-win because she's buckled in and happy eating, and the other person is buckled in the middle seat, and we don't have to take the time to stop. This is the first time for Ross to take over feeding duties in the car (and he dozed off!) so I had to take a pic! ha!

5/17/16: Sometimes the simplest toys are the best toys!!
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5/18/16: This particular night, Claire was hilarious. She was purposely putting the burp cloth on her face... I think it was her game of hide-n-seek. And she kept giggling over and over. We finally got one round on camera!!
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5/22/16: Ross, Claire & I went to check out this place here in Cleveland called the Holden Arboretum. They have a canvas walk through the trees and a tower that you climb to see out over the trees. It was so much fun!! And we had a gorgeous day for it. I carried Claire in the back-pack which she loves. Afterwards, we had a nice picnic for lunch then headed home :)

Goofball likes eating the carrier!

Family selfie!!

Panoramic Views!! And it's worth mentioning the I carried her up all 202 stairs!!! Ross carried her down. Safe to say I was huffing and puffing when we finally reached the top!

She loved playing with an empty water bottle during our picnic... again, the simplest toys are the best toys!

5/23/16: Claire and I love going to our beach, Lake Erie. Did I mention already it's 5 minutes from our house! haha  It's not the nicest beach or the 'bluest' water... but it's our beach and we love it! And I'm not even a beach person. Make me drive 8 hours to get to the Atlantic... no way! 5 minutes, sure!! I love our town here in Bay Village!!

5/26/16: 6-month checkup, all is well! And she was such a champ with the shots this time! I can't get over how much I love these headbands... headbands all the time :)

5/28/16 Memorial Day weekend: Here was another big event.... our first time camping this season and first time camping with Claire!! Boy, it was work! But I still won't give up camping no matter how much work it is! I love it too much and it brings me too much peace. Hopefully Claire eventually enjoys it as much as Ross & I do! Unfortunately, this time, we got some rain and a TON of mud... so remind me next time to bring tennis shoes or rain boots! whoops.

Claire's wearing my hoodie while we were stranded under our canopy in the pouring rain. She didn't mind and eventually fell asleep in it!

She loved the tent too. She eventually slept peacefully at night by stealing my sleeping bag. *sigh*

Family selfie...

Girl loves selfies. hahahaha....

Aunt Ang and Aunt Kris loved spending time with Claire too!...

Tent Selfie...

 

And finally, a picture of the whole gang before we all departed! (minus Dakota. She hates camping and had had enough!  She was sitting by the car waiting to go!)

Ross took the next day off too to have an extra long holiday weekend so we explored Cleveland a bit. Can you guess whose drink belongs to who?!

6/2/16: Another beach day! And another selfie. She cracks me up!!!! This was our first and only pic of the day...we're getting too good at this!

6/3/16: She discovered her tongue! ha!

This was also an exciting day b/c I received my Welcome Kit for my new job. I'm officially a contractor with eGroup for Southern Nuclear Company!! I sent this selfie to a few of my coworkers who also work through eGroup and said we could now be 'TWINSIES!' hehe

So basically, I got my old job back as a Project Analyst but as a contractor since I live out of state. I'm SO happy to be back working full-time and I think Claire's happy being back in the home daycare she was at previously with a few other kids. It's good for both of us. I'm regaining my sanity and independence and she's learning how to make friends :)

6/9/16: The tough life of shopping. She fell asleep like this in her stroller.

 6/10/16: Another giggling video... I can't resist!!!
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6/11/16: Another beach day. This time she discovered sand!
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6/18/16 Weekend: Last weekend, I headed home to Pittsburgh to celebrate one of my best friend's, Steph, on her upcoming wedding! It was her bridal shower and bachelorette party all rolled into one weekend! Everything went off without a hitch and we had a blast!!

Ross & Claire stayed behind for the weekend, so he ended up spending his first Father's Day watching Claire all by himself. I heard that they had a really good weekend though!.. that may or may not have had something to do with also seeing her grandma (Ross' mom) and her uncle (Ross' brother) for the weekend! I'm sure she was spoiled with attention!!!

Back to the beginning of the day, Steph's fiance asked for one gift... a chainsaw. And he was ecstatic! priceless!

 

Group shot at the shower!

Steph and her coconut rum punch! Yum!! We ended up having a Makeup-Tutorial party, dinner catered by Mad Mex, then out on the town to a club to dance!

One more shot before our night out! Let me remind you that we only went OUT at 9:30pm... a time when most of us are in bed! So bets were talked about whether or not we would make it out and not fall asleep beforehand. Answer? We are still young! The evening was a blast and we were up until 3am!! It only took me 5 days to recover from the sleep I lost....

So worth it!!

At the club, I'm sad to report that it's evident that I'm a MOM. Every time I saw a girl dressed scandalously, I cried and prayed that Claire would never wear such a thing. "Put some clothes on!" or "Don't dance like that!" I would yell. Oh, these poor poor girls. Have some respect for yourselves. ....What happened to me?!!! I never asked for a daughter and look what it's become of me!!

At the club!... (what an *awesome* pic of Kris & I, ha!)

And lastly, a pic of Ross' weekend with Claire! I think Claire loved her daddy-daughter weekend!

 

6/24/16: And lastly, because it happened today and I'm still giddy over it... our new fridge!!! Well, sort of. We live in a rental house and the fridge died... so the Landlord went out right away and bought us this shining beauty. I'm giddy over it!! I didn't know if they'd buy something cheap since it is a rental after all... but seriously, I feel like I won the lottery! 

It's so pretty. I pet it and stare at it every time I walk in the room. 

Yes... my name is Kristin and I get giddy over new appliances.

 

Ross & I are thinking about re-signing our lease for another year and this def. helps sway the decision! We are just so happy here and are not interested in buying a house yet. And I'll tell ya... it's nice to have a break from home renovations :)

Well, that is all! I warned you I had a lot to share!

*Kristin*

Asheville, NC and other good things

I kept avoiding posting an update becuase I wanted so badly to share some work we've recently done at the house with 'After' pictures. Unfortunately I STILL haven't gotten 'After' pictures over a week since we've finished since the house is dark by the time I drive over there at night.  But maybe this weekend :)

And in case you can't keep up, we closed on our house on 10/21 and are hoping to move in next weekend, the 16th.

Besides that, it's been a good week and I'm in a great mood!

Ross and I headed to Asheville this past weekend becuase we had tickets from his parents to see the Biltmore House. I posted pics on Facebook last night in case you missed 'em. We got there Friday afternoon just in time for the Brews Cruise I signed us up for! On it, we met some hilarious people, were pretty happy after a few drinks, and learned about beer? Ok, ok, I was just drinking it. Afterwards, Ross & I headed out to dinner with a couple we met on the tour and checked out a delicious seafood restuarant. Then Ross & I retreated back to the most beautiful bed & breakfast. Our B&B was a lovely older home and our room was very quaint but full of character, just what I had hoped for! And we had our own newly remodeled bathroom. I felt like we were living in luxury! haha Which was a nice break from the chaos of what we're living in at home currently, between boxes and dirt & dust, getting ready to move soon.

Saturday morning we were served a 3-course gourmet breakfast at the B&B where we met the other couples staying there that weekend. It was the perfect start to the day! Then we headed out to the Biltmore for the day. We started off with the self-guided audio tour which took us 90-minutes. I was pleasantly surprised that the crowds weren't as bad as I had braced myself for! The house was stunning and did not dissapoint! Afterwards, we ate lunch at one of the restaurants they had on the property. And since I couldn't stop thinking about the Biltmore Estate, I signed us up for the guided 'Butler's Tour' that afternoon. It was also very insightful and I'm glad we had the chance to see the house just one more time. I figured we might never have the chance to go back so we might as well take just one more tour! And I'm glad we did :)

Saturday night, we ventured to downtown Asheville and checked out all of the 'eclectic' shops in town. We also ate dinner at the highly praised Tupelo Honey Cafe. It was delicious and worth the 90 minute wait! We ventured around Asheville anyway during our wait so it didn't matter to us.  All in all, it really was a perfect weekend. The 6-hour drive seemed too long for such a short stay, but we definitely saw everything we I wanted to :)

Work has also been great this week. My office is quiet with many people in my department traveling this week (which is a rarity these days, they used to travel all the time!) + we had our annual chili cook-off yesterday that I organized = some definite fun and play while the managers are away! ha! The cook-off was a great success, we had a great turnout (about 40 ppl) as everyone on our floor was invited and I had the chance to really appreciate the amazing coworkers that I get to work with!

*Kristin*

One Bachelorette, One Last Farewell

So much has happened since my last blog post, I have a lot of catching up to do! But first, before updating on Alabama, let's pick up where I left off...finishing my last day at Westinghouse. Once I left there and a few emotional goodbyes, I was on my way to a fun-filled weekend with my best girlfriends for Ang's Bachelorette Party!

It was such a great weekend and I can't stop reliving it :) We got to Ang's Friday night just in time to watch the Pen's victory for game 5. Saturday we had everything planned and kept secret from Ang. First was lunch, then off to another one of our bridesmaid's houses for a Passion Party. If you've never heard, just google it! It was hilarious to say the least ;) After that, we headed into Bethesda for dinner and hit up some bars for drinks and dancing the night away. I stole a few pics from facebook to share :)

It was funny how many times we were asked who the bride was!!! Umm...just look for the girl with the feathered boa, sash, tiara, lighted up shot glass and more! HA! She was all decked out :)

My best girls for life! Miss you girls already....

 And one shot of me and the bride :)

What a great weekend! We might've even outdone the guy's bachelor party that same weekend (but in different towns), but I won't judge :P   It was a weekend to never forget, and even though it was a weekend meant for Ang, it was the best way for me to be ready to go off to Alabama... spending time with the girls I love most and have known for most of my life! *tear* Can't wait to see them in June for the big wedding!

*Kristin*

And it keeps on Changing...

I'm about finished thinking that I have things all planned out b/c in 5 minutes, I'll have a complete and opposite plan instead :)  I refuse to even make a decision about what I'll eat for dinner, because let's face it, I can't make up my mind on anything right now!!!

First, the house was to be listed on March 1st. Then we decided we'd wait until we finished a few projects, so we held off for a week. Then one more. Then a few days. NOW I'm ready to list it. Pronto. But wait... we still need 2 more days to finish the projects that should really be done BEFORE we list, otherwise giving buyers the impression that the house needs 'work.' Okie dokie, so by the end of this week hopefully it will be on the market. Or next monday. Or next wednesday. Who knows anymore. And I'm going crazy thinking about it.

Next, I originally was going to stay here until mid-June after my friend's wedding and hopefully after the house is sold. This was Ross' and my original plan, together we agreed. Now? I want to move sooner, but have to be realistic, so maybe sometime in May? The earlier the better, but still hoping the house is either sold or under contract come May. The hubs is bored and wants me to move NOW, but that is just day-dreaming :)

Moving options? Welp...that is a revolving decision as well. The first time we moved Ross to AL, we rented a Budget Moving Truck and did most/all of the loading, unloading, and driving ourselves, which also resulted in getting a hotel room one night on the road, for a total of about $1,000 for the first move! It ran us a lot higher than expected. So for this time around, it just may be worth it to hire a company to move us while Ross & I drive my car down ourselves. A few estimates are coming in at $1,500-$2,000 for a company to load, unload and drive, which is better than what I expected! That way, we get professionals to load and unload all of our stuff (bonus points!!) and Ross and I can drive the 17-hour drive in one day since we'll only have my car to drive. AND Dakota will be able to ride along with us in our car. I'm absolutely fearful of bringing her on a plane, so I wouldn't mind driving my good old Chevy Cobalt the whole way without cruise control (darn car!). Oh, that dog is spoiled!!

So if you ask me over the next few months how things are going, and you get a complete and opposite answer of what I told you the first time....well, too bad. Just look at my life right now! It's a revolving mystery :)

I shall like to blame thank my hubs for the chaos!

*Kristin*

Today is the Day...

The truck is being packed.
The car is being towed.
We're off tomorrow to make the long haul south.
I've counted a million and one boxes that are going with us,
And a million and one feelings of anticipation of what's to come next.
I'm happy for Ross and his immediate move;
Sad for myself to have to come back to Pittsburgh without him.
But I'm going to make the next 5 days count.
Gonna do my best to not be stressed
And just enjoy living in this moment,
Because I really feel like we're starting a new chapter.
And it's bittersweet to leave our closest friends and family behind.
But I hope we find more of ourselves in Sweet Home Alabama :)

*Kristin*


p.s. - I downloaded a blogger app to keep me connected on the road, so stay tuned :) A girl's gotta have something to do during a 16-hour drive!!