One Last Hurrah!

Wyatt and I are flying to Florida tomorrow.  He can only fly free for 1 more month and I had an almost free flight from Hunter, so we go!  I did not think about how a 7 month pregnant belly and an almost 2 year old are going to share a seat, but we can endure anything for 2.5 hours ri-iiiight?

We will get to see our Florida Besties Jacque and Collin.  We will get to slide on our old playgrounds.  We will visit our old lunch spots. We will go by our condo and see if Wyatt remembers it.  I can't wait to see everybody and everything again!

I am stressing about the potty training and traveling, but am hoping to find one of these foldable potty seats at the local Target or Wal Mart.  I don't want to go into labor trying to hold Wyatt up on the seat for a potty.  If I can stuff this in my traveling diaper backpack I will breathe much better. We are totally rocking Pull Ups on the flight but I want him to pretend it is big boy undies.

I also bought this Imaginetics Flying High Magnet board to help keep Wyatt entertained on the flight.  Along with snacks, and a few John Deere and Farmall toys. 

Today, we laundry and pack and flight check in.  Oh yah, and work too because I have been slacking this week.  Tomorrow we fly.  In 2 months, we never fly again because I can't imagine traveling anywhere with 2 kids solo.  Ha ha! Maybe not even Target?

Side note...my neighbors 2 doors down are having triplets around the same time I am having a singlet.  I am never allowed to complain again because whatever tiredness I feel, she feels in triplicate.  Whenever I complain about lack of sleep or being a mom of a newborn and a toddler, I will think of her being a mom to 3 newborns and a toddler.  Just puts things in perspective!

Goodbye Florida

Happy Valentines Day

Wyatt says to have lots of chocolate today.  He also recommends cwackers (goldfish), nana (banana), and tees (cheese). 

We are busy packing up.  By we, I mean the awesome people that Hunter's company pays to pack our stuff and move us across the country.  If all of our stuff is packed, I guess that means we have to go out for dinner.  Guess we will have dinner at Chick Fil A because we would hate to ruin someones special evening out by bringing a grumpy baby-toddler to a restaurant. 

His world is being turned upside down.  Shhh...he doesn't know that he is going to be sitting in a car seat for 20 hours / 1200 minutes / 72000 seconds over the next few days.  Shhhh...he doesn't know that we are moving to a new location. 

A Few More Florida Thigs Before We Go.....

 (SUP) stand up paddleboarding

 

I wanted to try stand up paddleboarding since we got here.  Surprisingly easy and very fun. I wish I had not waited until our last weekend here.

We had Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang shrimp finally.  Jacque, here is a copy recipe.  Looks easy, but I am sure it is not quite as good!

I have already started the "this is the last time I will see .... " here thoughts.

Carpet cleaners come this morning.  I hope I can keep all the toys up for the next few hours.

Freezer has frozen fruit, a little frozen ravioli, Otis Spunkmeyer fundraiser cookies, and a little frozen corn.  We did a good job cleaning it out.   I thought I could avoid another grocery store trip but I have to get a few things to survive this week. 

There! I am glad I made time to share the boring details with you today.  Aren't you??

Willie Nelson Wants You Back

Well blog readers, we got our orders and are heading back to Texas in a month or so.  I am excited to head back to Texas, but I am really going to miss what we have here (fun, friends, the best weather, more parks than I can count).  I am not ready to say goodbye to Florida yet, so I am going to put that off.

The stress level is still low because the company pays to pack and move us.  We don't have anywhere to live yet, but hopefully that will get worked out soon.

One of my friends mentioned this song when I told them I was moving back to Texas. 

My fave lyrics from the song below for you:

Come back to Texas
Its just not the same since you went away
Before you lose your accent
and forget all about the Lonestar State
There's a seat for you at the rodeo
and I've got every slow dance saved
Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway

Troy Aikman wants you back
Willie Nelson wants you back
NASA wants you back
and the Bush twins want you back
Pantera wants you back
and Blue Bell wants you back

For now, I need to build my to do before I move list, eat lunch with my buddies as many times as possible, and hang out with my fellow mom clubbers (wha whaaaa)!  

Almost Cold Here

We had a few days of lows in the 50s so I have been running in the afternoon instead of early morning.  The temperature in the morning is great for running.  I am just too lazy to figure out how to bundle up a small child appropriately.  I had to dig through all of his clothes just to find one sweater!  I can't stop taking pictures of Wyatt in his cold weather clothes.  They are so cute...and so different from our every day onesie or shorts and t-shirt.

So yesterday, we ran by an elementary school when school was being let out.  There was never ending entertainment.  I might have to repeat this run. 

First, the golf cart pickup line might have been longer than the car pickup line.  Only in Florida!  I tried to get a picture but couldn't quite work one in.   Oh, and if your golf cart is not decorated, you are nothing special. 

First random conversation.  Girl in pink back pack: "Hi".  Me, "Hi".  Girl, "I like your baby". Me, "Thanks". Girl, "You're welcome". 

Second random conversation.  A boy...maybe 3rd grade wearing sunglasses asked how old my baby was.  I told him that he was 1.  Then he said you know what is sooooo much fun....boy scouts.  You have to put him in boy scouts.  He talked my ear off through a cross walk and obviously past his turn.  I had to stop so he could finish telling me the awesomeness of boy scouts.  I heard "cub scouts" and "weblos" and "camping".  This boy is all in.  I finally broke the news to him that my husband and baby's dad is an eagle scout, so most likely we will be participating.  He then said "awesome" and told me that I can be involved too.  Scout Mom here I come.  Hilarious conversation and he is obviously all in!  Good thing he wasn't trying to sell me anything.  I might have purchased.

I saw a boy that was around 6 riding his bike while taking on the phone.  I saw a girl a bit older riding her bike while reading a book!??!?  I saw a crazy 1 foot long trick skate board looking thing.

I swerved around 20ish more golf carts and then completed my 4 mile run.  Good times.  My heart rate monitor wasn't working so I might have gone a little too fast.  I replaced the battery and we are good to go.  I skipped 2 runs while on vacation and I skipped on Halloween too.  Oops!  My training plan has me going up to 6 runs a week now.  I am on week 7 of 12 and losing faith.   I am going to stick with it til the end.

Sanibel Island

We made the drive to Sanibel Island, Florida this weekend.  Sanibel Island is a barrier island that has an East to West orientation and this causes tons of shells to wash up on the shore.  You can watch the CBS Sunday Morning show here if you would like to see a 5 minute video about the area. 

The town is fairly small.  The bike paths are awesome.   The ocean view is great.  The shells are amazing....the number, the variety, wow! 

We drove up on a Friday evening.  Wyatt slept most of the way there.  We got to the hotel around midnight and settled in.  Wyatt refused to go to sleep until about 3:45 AM.  Isn't vacation with kids fun?  One of our neighbor hotel rooms even rang our room in an attempt to "support me in my time of need".  I ignored it.  The next day we ran on adrenaline, got in some good naps, and Saturday evening he slept like a perfect angel.

A very windy weekend

The shells piled up along the beach

Wyatt enjoying the shells

Wyatt and Mammaw running on the beach

Riding to Captiva

We didn't find any outstanding food options, but definitely enjoyed our mini vacation!  The town is small enough to see in a weekend.

What We Have Been Up To

Somehow I got so wrapped up with work and life that I forgot to blog! Ok, not really.  I actually thought about it everyday but could not find the right motivation.

So what did you miss?

Wyatt and I made strides against breast cancer with a few other people from the mom's club on Saturday. 

Wyatt and I are on the right

We fit in church, trip to Orlando, trip to Costco, and dining at Cocina 214 on Sunday.  The owners of the restaurant developed the idea because "two of the owners from Texas missed the Tex-Mex and Mexican food they had grown up eating".  Sounds familiar!  The food was great. The temperature got down to the 60s so we put Wyatt in jeans.  Doesn't he look too grown up?

Monday, Wyatt and I made our first trip to a Disney park.  We visited Animal Kingdom because some friends were going to be there that day.  Wyatt had a great time (aka no melt downs), and he even got in a 45 minute nap in a rocking chair in the Baby Care Center.  I plan to go visit a few more of the parks before we move to our next location.  I was too busy chasing Wyatt and navigating the park to remember to take pictures, so all I have is a picture of his button.

Today, we pick up Hunter's mom from the airport!  We have a Trunk or Treat tomorrow with our MOMs club, and then we are making the trip to Sanibel, FL.  Biking, shelling, eating, and playing are all on the to do list. 

I will probably continue to neglect the blog over the next week.   Gotta work, gotta visit, gotta travel. 

Miami

We made a quick trip to Miami with Joe and Denell this weekend.  We left Joe and Denell's place at first nap (of course) and arrived in Miami at 11:00.  We dropped $15 to park our truck along Ocean Dr, spent 20 minutes trying to load beach gear and a baby into a stroller, and took off for a walk down Ocean Dr.

A bright, sunshiny day

Next stop, the beach!  We didn't plan to stay long enough to really camp out so we bypassed the umbrella rental.  I dressed Wyatt in clothes from head to knee and sun-screened his face and feet.   I rocked my neon bikini (it's so IN) and appropriate for 30 year olds.  Also, make note of my non-matching hat.  The ocean was shallow out to a very far point and the waves were almost non-existent.  Clear water...very much like a swimming pool. I loved it!

South Beach, FL

Around 1:00 the adults minus Janet headed to the Pelican Hotel Cafe on Ocean Dr.  I walked Wyatt up and down Ocean Dr in his stroller to get in a good nap.  Miracle! He fell asleep.  Rain came through and cooled us off.  Hunter placed my order and we met them after about a 30 minute nap.   Delicious lunch...pricey of course. Hunter picked me out a panini with parma prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula, and tomato. The panini came with a side salad for $14.

Lunch entertainment

After lunch, another quick trip to the beach before loading up and heading to other parts of Miami.

Walking on sand..not easy

We drove, we shopped, we had a mojito, and then we headed to dinner.  Hunter picked out Captain Jim's Seafood.  The area looked very not nice and from the front we only saw a fish market so were a bit skeptical.  Inside was a piece of heaven!  Seriously, the best seafood I have ever eaten.  We tried the clam chowder and the conch chowder.  Both were great.  I ordered the whole snapper and Hunter ordered shrimp and grits.  The prices were very reasonable.  I am going back to Miami before we leave Florida just to eat here.

At Bayside Marketplace

Sorry to anyone offended by seeing a whole cooked fish.  It was delish!

Overall, I  recommend a trip to Miami.  There is definitely more of a party atmosphere and an air of we are too expensive for you, but stick to the beach and good food and you will have a great time.   I hope the beach is that calm and beautiful every day.  Better than a swimming pool.

Florida, Conquistador Style

We went to check out one of the Florida Natural Reserves Saturday morning.  We came prepared with California Baby Bug Repellent (safe for the babes) and the Ergo Baby Carrier. We also had a trail map.  We made it about 2 minutes in on one trail before being swarmed by mosquitoes.  This trail was titled something like "Trail to Swamp Buzzzzzz".  We tried another trail that was titled "Maybe Less Mosquitoes Here" and made it about 5 minutes in before having to turn around.

We toured the rest of the natural reserve by truck with the windows up.  On our tour we saw one wild hog, two wild turkeys, a deer, a turtle, plenty of vultures, but not a single gator.

I can't imagine how brave you had to be to land on the crazy ol U.S. Continent and start wading through Florida swamp land as a Spanish Conquistador.  Fighting the mosquitoes would be enough to send me straight back to the beach.  Hunter suggested coating your body in mud.   As you tromp through the swamps with the gators and snakes, surely your mud coating comes off.  How would you have faith that the swamps would end? And when the swamps do end, then you have to navigate through sharp palms and other plant life that slices your skin. Crazy brave people!

Fresh meat...buzz, buzz!

Looking up

The trail

Flowery swamp

National Hurricane Preparedness Week

Did you know that May 27th through June 2nd is National Hurricane Preparedness Week?  Well it is, so best get prepared.  Tropical Storm Beryl's arrival got me motivated to finish putting together our hurricane survival kit.  I believe we spent around $70 on supplies.  I lived through Hurricane Alicia when I was a baby (obviously didn't learn anything from that one).  I lived through Hurricane Rita recently, and I learned from that one.  Fill up the gas tank on your vehicle wayyyyy early and don't try to evacuate.  That was such a mess for all the Houstonians!  Lots of tragedies just trying to evacuate the city.  My family hung around the city and we ended up having about a 6 hour power outage for that hurricane.  I don't really know what to expect in Florida living so close to the coast. 

Our Water Stash:

70 16.9 oz water bottles from Costco - $7.50

You need 1 gallon per day per person.  At a minimum you should prepare for 3 days, but it is safer to have a 7 day supply.   This is approximately 9 gallons, a 3 day supply for us if Wyatt drank like an adult. 

Reliance 7 Gallon Aqua - Tainer from Wal Mart - ~$15.00

You can put 3/4 teaspoon of regular old Clorox in this container along with 7 gallons of water and be set for quite a while.  The Clorox is really only needed for serious long term storage. This gives us another 2 day supply.

Our Food Stash:

Beef Jerky, Raisins, Ritz Crackers, Tuna Fish, Baby Food Pouches - ~$50

 We do a lot of cooking so if we had to hunker down in our house we would be set because we have plenty of pantry items.  Wyatt is on his way to table food but not there yet so we feel like we need a large amount of baby food. 

Some Necessities:

~$0

We already had this laying around the house for the most part so I can't really give a cost estimate.  This box contains a first aid kit, matches, band aids, clorox wipes, face wipes, anti-bacterial hand wipes, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, can opener, foil, a poncho, a compass, flashlights, sewing kit, swiss army knife, mouthwash, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo & conditioner.

Not pictured we have a power inverter for charging things in the car, a battery operated radio, and several other flashlights and headlamps.  I have a plethora of candles and lighters around the house. I need to buy more batteries for our flashlight.  I also need to get some disposable diapers and wipes for Wyatt because I would not want to be dealing with cloth diapers without water / electricity.  Oh and plenty of guns and ammo. You never know if you will have to defend yourself!

How We Would Cook:

We have a little camping grill that my Dad gave us and some mini propane bottles since we are doing the condo living.  We plan to buy a few more propane bottles.  

What else do we need?
What am I missing? Can you think of something else we would need? Is it safe to live on the first floor of a 4 story building in a hurricane? I don't know de answer.

Do you need to get your hurricane stash going?  If you don't live in hurricane world, how about your "bad stuff is happening in your area stash"?

Some hurricane resources:
Preparing for a Hurricane by Your Own Home Store
Hurricane Shtuff from the Government / FEMA

Key West, FL

For the 3 day Easter weekend, we made the trip to Key West.  The town is great, and the drive there is beautiful, but feels so long because you go about 40 miles an hour once you leave Florida mainland.  We went with the Salame family and rented a condo we found online.  This worked out great because we could have a kitchen and all be in one house instead of trying to cram into 1 or 2 hotel rooms for the same price. If you need a condo recommendation for a group of 4 to 6 check this out.

I had an itinerary planned in advance (shocking, I know) and we were able to stick to it for the most part.  Wyatt was getting his first two teeth and skipped a nap on Saturday.  Saturday afternoon was unpleasant for us, and we ended up passing on dinner and going to bed early.  :)  The rest of the crew enjoyed a bike ride through town and a late dinner.

The dining that did not disappoint:
Titanic Restaurant and Brewery, South Miami
Hogfish Bar and Grill, Key West - this was REALLY great
El Siboney, Key West

Denell's quote of the trip..."We are on vacaaaaaytion!"

Roosters everywhere in Key West..at the condo, downtown, the middle of the road

90 miles to Cuba

The Beach

The bikers

Group shot

The Edmondsons and Salames travel well together.  We didn't have time to kayak or fish, but there was some snorkeling done.  We hit all of the high points, but would love to explore more.  Maybe check out Key Largo?  Good times.

Now back to reality.  I fell off the workout and cleaning train last week.  The house is a disaster.  Wyatt isn't sleeping great (durn teeth).  I did manage to cook a nice dinner last night and unpack from our trip.  Baby steps.  Oh, and the most exciting adventure since vacation....our house smelled like rotten fish and I could not figure out what it was.  I cleaned the kitchen top to bottom.  I was going cray-cray-crazy!  Finally, I discovered a leaking carton of seafood stock.  Gross, but easy enough to clean.

A New 'Do

I have not cut my hair since I found out I was pregnant and now my bebe is over 6 months old so that is a long time with no hair cuts. My hair was nice and purty and long, but the pony tail that I wore EVERY SINGLE DAY was becoming a nuisance.  I don't fix my hair.  I shower and I comb it.  I refuse to blow dry it or flat iron it unless it is a special occasion.  Special occasions don't happen very often once you have kids.  I have tried YouTube tutorials for how to fix my hair and I can't master any of them.  I have mastered hot rollers and curling my hair with a flat iron, but again, those are for special occasions and take a long time.  Yesterday Hunter walked Wyatt around the mall for an hour while I had my hair chopped.  Here are the before and after pictures.   Good bye ponytail, I will miss you. 

In other news, nap times around here are a little more exciting since Wyatt likes to practice his stand up (pant, grunt, groan, giggle), sit down (cry), stand up (grunt, groan, giggle), sit down (cry) routines a few times before falling asleep. Isn't it funny how you can be so proud of your kid's developmental advances and then wish they were back to where they were when it starts driving you batty? It is sweet to see how proud he is when he pulls himself up to a standing position.  You da bomb Wyatt, now take your nap DEAR SWEET CHILD!!!!

We also had a successful beach day on Saturday with the Gilliams.  Our bebes stayed on the beach for about 4 hours.  We thought we would be home by lunch time. 

NASCAR - Daytona Beach

Zachry sponsors a truck in the NASCAR Truck Series.  Friday night, Hunter and Joe got to go to Daytona to watch the race.  The Zachry driver, David Starr, did not win. It appears that he spent the first race of the season training his pit crew. He even made a pit stop during the warm up lap before the pace car left the track taking him from 17th to 35th place.  At one point, he was in 4th place, but the following lap he took a pit stop.  Oh well, there is always next time.  

Weather Alert

The weather on the way into the grocery store...

The weather on the way out of the grocery store...

Maybe I need to work on my hurricane survival kit...stat!

Flo - Rida

East coast Florida where we live has some nice beaches and beach parks.  Almost all of them have bathrooms, foot sprayers, nice parking lots, and even life guards.

They also have some tasty citrus. We bought a big bag of Honeybelle Tangelos and Honey Tangerines from a grove in the area.  I eat at least one a day.  Of course the citrus my dad grows is better but what can you do when you move out of state. He grew some Owari Satsuma Mandarins this year that are the best I have ever eaten. And I wouldn't even buy any grapefruit here because I know it won't be as good as my dad's.

A few things Florida does not have, at least in our part.

• Good drivers. I have been yelled at for doing normal things like sitting in the median to turn left.
• HEB grocery stores.  HEB I miss thee.  So far Publix and Winn Dixie can't compare.  Sadly, the Wal Mart comes closest to feeling like home.  We are liking Aldi (a discount grocery store) but they have a small selection
• Southern cooking.  Every restaurant that we try here that gets really good reviews is only good not great.  Our search continues, but we have tried Italian, Seafood, and BBQ.

We continue to give Florida a chance, but I leave you with a picture Hunter took on his commute to work. The sunshine is added to protect the innocent. Yes that says Duke's Bait & Tackle Shop & Funeral Parlor.