Back in the Saddle???

Today I received a call from the manager of a local real estate company, asking me if I'd consider getting back into the business and if so, set up a meeting to see what this company has to offer. I couldn't believe the timing of this call.

For the past week I've been seriously contemplating reinstating my real estate license. As frustrating as the job is (not to mention soul draining), a part of me misses having a decent income, and socializing with people over the age of 4. When it was good, it was great. When it was bad... it was horrible. It's hard living on commissions, but it would help us out so much right now.

I have not had my cell phone even charged for the past three months. A few days ago I decided to charge it up 'just because'. Then today I receive this call (on my cell) and who knows how long it would have been until I got the message if I had missed it. I really am undecided, but I believe whole-heartedly that the Tao will guide us to where we are supposed to be. If we fight it, our lives will have unnecessary hardships. If we follow our path, things will come together as they should, when they should. I'm not really sure what I'll do, but I've got a week or so to decide. I've been seriously pursuing photography and was going to start school in February. There'll be no time for that if I go back to work. Maybe this is the universe telling me I'm not cut out for the professional photography world?

"We're a slave to the money then we die..." -Bittersweet Symphony

Florida Beaches

(these photos have not been through photoshop, but I wanted to get them up)

I love the beach. Love it. I've always lived not far from the coast (I mean 20 minutes) and I didn't realize how much I missed it these past 4 years. Florida has some kick-ass beaches with velvety white sand. Oh, but there's what I dislike about the beach. Sand. When you have kids, it's sand everywhere. Hair, fingernails, toes, armpits... everywhere. All over them, and mostly on you. My mom's friend didn't quite understand my hate of the sand, but he doesn't have kids and therefor never will. Nathan took to the water right away and wanted to dive in, but he's not that good of a swimmer and we told him not to go past his knees. Especially in the ocean, it only takes one strong currant Drew was not a fan of ocean water at all, and stayed as far from it as possible. By our second trip down, we convinced him to get his feet wet, but that was about it. Matt, being our water baby, we thought would love it. We couldn't have been more wrong. If his pinky toe brushed against the water, he'd scream like a banshee for 10 minutes. He stayed with Grandma under the tent. My mom had bought the boys some sand toys, and they had a great time making sand castles and sand pancakes, which Drew learned by trial and error aren't really edible. New Year's Eve we went to Naples Beach and had a picnic and watched the fireworks. Every time went in the air Drew would yell, "ka-boom, pa, pow! Ka bow!" It was hilarious. I do have one suggestion Naples Beach if you're listening: turn on the lights when a thousand people (literally) are trying to exit a beach at night. It was impossible to see and no one (including us) thought to bring a flashlight. Instead, there was a sea of open phones lighting our path to the stairs.

Joe and I were going to go out after, but the hour drive home (due to traffic) did me in. I was way too tired. Even with the sand, sand and more sand, the boys had so much fun it was worth it. I wouldn't go every day but if we lived close enough. maybe twice a month. Maybe.

Disney!

We had such a great time at Disney. We spent most of our time at the Magic Kingdom, since it caters to the little guys the most. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort, which was really nice. They had an awesome pool with a kiddie area built like a giant pirate ship. We did the breakfast with the characters at the Polynesian, and that was awesome. Drew really took to Lilo and every time she came close to our table, Drew chased after her for a hug. Definitely do that if you plan on going. Nathan did his first big roller coaster, Thunder Mountain, and was so proud of himself. I took him on it since Drew was too small to ride, and Nate teased Joe about him being 'too scared' to ride on it like him. Joe went along with it and probably will for the rest of his life, cause Nate thought it was awesome that he was braver than Daddy.

Sadly, I suspect Nathan knows the characters are costumes. Drew didn't put it together, but I could tell Nate got it. Aren't 4 year old's supposed to believe in this still? I will say the moment that made the trip for me was during the parade on the last night we were there. 'Cinderella' was in the parade, (not a big furry costume) and Nate's face lit up when he saw her. He pointed and said, "Mom! That's the real Cinderella!" It was so magical for him, and I was ecstatic he still had something to believe. Jasmine blew Drew a kiss, and he was in love (again).

My only regret is that we just didn't have enough time. You would think 4 days is enough, but it just isn't. Especially with small children. They need to be able to take a break mid-day and chill out at the hotel or spend some time at the pool. Otherwise, they get tired and cranky around 4, and the day is done. The last day we did take a break, and were able to go back to the park refreshed. We will definitely be going again, soon. (FYI military: if you go in 2009, you get a free park hopper pass for everyone in your party. Worth it!)

Back! The first of many Florida blogs

Hello everyone! No, I did not get lost and walk off the edge of the earth. We took a vacation to Florida that got extended, and I was without a computer (ugh). We originally going to be there from the 23rd of December to the 6th of January, but on the 5th of January, Drew and I became horribly ill. We were going to try and fly out anyway, but when we had gotten to the airport and were getting everyone out of the car, Drew puked. All over my Mom's nice new van. At that point, we decided flying with a sick mom and sick kid was not an option. Joe had to go since he was only on leave until the 7th, so we said hurried goodbyes, I was crying (I have no idea why) and left to return to my mom's.

The general consensus was that I would not be able to handle our children by myself (which I did resent. Have a little faith in the woman who succeeded with having a baby during a patrol who turned out to have colic, while parenting the 17 month old), my mom was going to help me fly back. Tickets for the immediate Saturday were outrageous, so it looked like the 17th of January would be our return flight.

While there the extra 10 days, I really missed Joe, and so did the boys. I didn't realize how much we actually do together on a daily basis. I know I always look forward to him coming home after work, but it's more than a reprieve from the kids. I missed my best friend.

The next couple of entries will be all about the FL trip, but I had to break it up because (1) there is so much to tell and (2) I never have that long to sit at the computer until the kids get rowdy or the baby wakes up. Enjoy!