Today, I was one lucky girl to be Blake's date on his field trip to the Children's Museum of the Upstate here in Greenville! I was able to rearrange my work schedule to be a part of his special experience as well as serve all of the kids on my caseload this week, for which I am so grateful. Blake had an incredible time exploring and being a part of this hands-on learning experience. He is now at an age where I can just stand back and watch. His favorite, by far, was the ball contraption (the picture where he is playing with the 3 other boys) and I'm sure he could have stayed there all day. The water activities and music room were close behind, and overall he really checked out and tried everything. We had a great time with his peers, other parents and all of the wonderful teachers and staff from his school! But, shhhh....don't tell Dane. He was at school and doesn't have a clue what he missed ;)

Sweet Dreams...

Whew! What a weekend in the Hollenbeck house! Dane has moved up into a full-size big boy bed, and baby girl Hollenbeck now has a sweet nest of her own. Her room is simple, but has that touch of vintage that I love. She will share her room with our antique iron bed and dresser that I hope someday she will be proud to call her own, but in the meantime can house guests and likely myself for those busy nights in the beginning. I was lucky enough to find her bumper and bed skirt at a local consignment sale, and I LOVE the vintage quilt fabric and super soft pink inside. I remember eyeing a similar piece at a boutique in Kansas City (prior to having boys!), so I was thrilled to get my hands on it. And that girly pink tulle bed skirt! So fun! The crib and changing table are simple and white, and I am slowly getting everything in its place. Don't you just love the smell of freshly washed baby clothes and blankets! We will continue to enjoy getting everything just right before our baby girl arrives, and for now I know I will just love walking into this room to take it all in every now and then...

Is this a Sign?

After much thought and ignoring my feelings of guilt, I hired a cleaning lady. Those of you who know me well know this was a very difficult decision for me. I like to do everything myself, and Matt and I both NEVER hire out and always do everything ourselves. So, I researched, called many references and took the plunge.

She was initially scheduled for Wednesday at 1:00pm, which totally conflicted with naps since she would be cleaning up to 4 hours, but I was committed to make it work. She called at almost 1:00pm to tell me her Dyson was not working and needed serviced. What is a cleaning lady without her vacuum? So, okay, we rescheduled for today at 2:00pm. Again, conflicting with naps, but going to make it work. She frantically sent me a text a little before 2:00pm asking me to call her because our dog attacked her. Um. Okay. So, I called...we talked...she told me her life story of her fear of dogs. Baron is a yellow lab who makes you fear him by licking you and jumping up with excitement. Attack is not an appropriate description. I explained to her just open the back door and leave him outside until you are done. No such luck. I explained that I refuse to leave him outside from the beginning of the day or kennel him, so now she is coming back in one week (her next opening) at a time where I not only have to load my kids up and go somewhere, but also my 80+lb. dog.

Maybe this a sign from above reminding me why we don't hire out. We have done it twice while living here. Once for a fence, which has to be redone before putting it on the market. And, second, for interior painting which had to be completely redone by Matt and me. We decided never again. But, I made the leap in hopes to ease my load a bit. Maybe I will just live with a dirty house.

Blake's 5th Birthday Adventures...

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Time has flown...Blake is 5! We went a different direction with birthday planning this year, and instead of the traditional birthday party at or near home, we chose to celebrate his big day in Atlanta at the Georgia Aquarium. We also wanted to include his friends, family and classmates so we sent invites to his "pen pal" party asking everyone to make a card and mail it to him. It was such a success and so much fun to see his face light up when he realized all that mail was for him! The ones he received from his classmates made a huge impact because he sees them everyday and they are truly his buddies. Blake also received several gifts from family in the mail and loved opening all of them! The Georgia Aquarium was absolutely amazing. Blake was mesmerized and so engaged in each and every part that I'm sure he would have stayed all day and spent the night. After he picked out a fish from the gift shop we braved the crowds at The Varsity for some good old-fashioned grease served up as burgers, fries and onion rings. Then, of course, on the way back to Greenville we had to stop and shop at the outlet mall. Atlanta is a little over 2 hours from Greenville, so after leaving at 7:00am and getting home around 9:00pm we certainly knew we had put in a full day. Seeing all of Blake's excitment and joy in everything we did (aside from the shopping!) was well worth our travels and we would do it every weekend if we could.

First comes Baby, then comes...Minivan!

I believe most of you know we are expecting baby #3! However, I don't think many of you know we are having a baby GIRL! Yes, a girl! We are beyond thrilled, yet a bit overwhelmed (maybe scared?) since we pretty much have this boy thing down. Not scared enough since I have already been eyeing things pink :) As we prepare to expand our family to five, we also realized we need a new vehicle. The beauty pictured above somewhat landed in our lap this week, and we were very lucky to get exactly what we wanted. It is a Chrysler Town & Country and is heaven on wheels! I truly could move right in! I picked it up last night and certainly have a lot to learn since I had every door open and the van lights blinking and honking trying to mangage the key fob in the grocery store parking lot. Hilarious! This week has been a whirlwind and we are certainly finding ourselves very blessed at the end of the week...maybe I will go recline in the van and dream about baby girl things :)

Snowstorm 2011

Well, here we are in the midst of the biggest snowstorm in South Carolina since 1988. I believe we ended up with a little over 6", but some places nearby have a foot of snow. We are now experiencing freezing rain which I am sure will paralyze this city even more than it already is. Although it is beautiful we had convinced ourselves that we were exempt from nasty Winter weather when we moved here, and I never guessed I would see a snow drift like the one in the first picture above! So, I guess we will hope for no power outage and enjoy another snow day tomorrow (I won't be surprised if there is no school for the entire week!). Matt, of course, trekked it to work and back home in his trusty 4-wheel drive SUV with no problem. Let's hope everyone is able to stay off the roads tomorrow as I am sure the ice will show no mercy. I will try not to complain about this weather as I am not a fan of Summer weather in the South!

Images of Christmas & A Snow Event in SC

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