Weekend Recap: The Dentist, the ENT and a Polenta Party!

You may remember that on our last dentist visit, Madeline had several cavities. Needless to say we both were a little anxious about this visit.

But, all of our hard work has paid off. Maddie's been more than a little mad that I cut out all gummies and that I go behind her when she brushes, BUT we had no cavities! Some kids eat gummy snacks and have no issues, but unfortunately her little mouth is so small that they just have to be avoided.

The next day we had Sydney's ENT follow-up. The girls insisted on matching.

Sydney has one tube in, and one tube out. The left tube is still in, but working its way out. Here's hoping we can survive without needing a second set!

After the ENT, I took the girls to the mall for lunch.

 On Saturday, we met Hudson for some park time and lunch - it was GORGEOUS out! Then we stopped by Feeder's Supply.

That night we played with our cousins at nana's house.

Sydney was watching Quinn and doing everything she did. At one point, Quinn had her finger in her mouth so Sydney did it too. Monkey see, monkey do.

Sunday night, our friends Dan and Sherri had us over for a polenta party. Sherri is one of my more creative friends and she wanted to try a new idea on us.

 First she spread out a lot of homemade polenta.

Then she put out four different types of toppings.

Y'all. It was SO GOOD. We ate nearly that entire board. Polenta, salad and garlic bread, OH MY. Yum, yum, yum!

While we ate, 6 of the 7 kiddos sat together and had a great time together.
 (Baby Rainey was at our table.)

 Thanks Sherri for having us over! We always enjoy our time with the Harbridges and the Brindles.

8 Years!

Tuesday, Chris and I celebrated eight years of marriage! 8 years ago we were on a warm, sunny beach with our closest friends and family.

8 years later and still in love, although he doesn't swing me around quite like he used to. HA!

We had a yummy dinner at Corbett's (parmesan encrusted sea bass ALL DAY EVERY DAY) and then got handcuffed, blindfolded and locked in a room with our best friends, who coincidentally, were at our wedding in St. Lucia.

For my anniversary, I asked for a Vitamix blender. And I seriously can't stop using it.

 Green smoothies for the win!

 In much less fun news, I will be transitioning back to work full-time. With the upcoming merger and increasing work load, it makes the most sense for me. I am fortunate enough that I will get to work from home and still have Friday's off. (I'm going to work longer days Mon-Thursday).

I have loved having Wednesday's off with my little Sydney. While Maddie was at pre-school she was my partner in crime. 

We'd play.

We'd shop.

We'd laugh.

So, yes, I will miss my Wednesday's with Sydney but I still have Friday's with both girls. And that makes me happy!

Back to blogging...

It's been over a week since I blogged - I have literally been up to my eyes with work these last few weeks. We are preparing for a CMS audit, and with the merger on it's way, we are under a lot of pressure. I've been putting in a lot of extra hours which leaves less time for fun stuff, like blogging!

Anyways, outside of work, we've still been managing to have a lot of fun with the little ladies.

First, we spent a day in Lexington celebrating cousin Quinn turning 3! She had a fun princess party at her dance studio.

Maddie was Elsa and Syd was Belle.

Maddie just loves her cousin Dane.

On Friday, we face-timed with Tia...

Then she surprised the girls in person!

To say Maddie was excited is an understatement.

Maddie stays home with me on Friday but I had planned to take her to her class Valentine's party. She was so happy that tia came too.

 Maddie squeezed in with her BFF while we pulled a chair over.

Maddie passing out her Valentines. It got a little chaotic with the kids because they were so hopped up on sugar and so excited to be giving their friends their little gifts.

On Sunday, Valentine's Day!, we had a family day. We went to church, had lunch and then took the girls to Build A Bear. Side note, I hope I can pay my mortgage next month. Because, FOR REAL, that place will drain you! Ha!

Maddie LOVED it. Sydney was super into picking out her animal (Chase from Paw Patrol) but didn't really dig the noise or the stuffing machine.

Big sister stuffed both bears!

Sydney did put her heart in, but from a distance!

Kissing their bear's hearts.

Bathing the Bears.

Syd, a solid 5 feet from where the worker was stitching her bear. HA!

The girls loved their bears and played school with them when we got home.

That night, we had crab legs while watching the snow fall outside!

My love, my Valentine! So grateful for Chris and all he does for us. And! Very proud of him. He just got a new job at work. He's going to be leading a small team of people and moving back to the operations side of the company. This should be a good fit for him, and he's excited about the opportunity!

Then, we played our current favorite game, Hide and Go Seek. Maddie is fantastic at it and will sit, quiet as a mouse, in the spot she chooses. Sydney, on the other hand, finds it very hard to be still. So, she's pretty easy to find!

Maddie and I counting while Sydney and daddy hide.

Lastly, I leave you with this gem. Sunflower aside (I mean seriously?!), don't you see Sydney in Mercedes? I really do!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Returning back to the real world...

And, just like that, it was our last day at Disney. 

We had moved our schedule around so we found ourselves with no park plans on Friday. Which was nice, because as we were waiting for a bus to Port Orleans, a MONSOON came. And we were drenched.

Glad we fixed our hair...out came the curls!

Still smiling through the storm!

We dried up quick and had a yummy lunch at Port Orleans.

Maddie and I spent the afternoon at the pool (little sissy napped...girlfriend was Disney-tired!)

We said our goodbyes to tia, got packed up and got ready to head back home the next morning.

Let's just say Disney WORE our kiddos out.

Maddie fell asleep in my lap at a restaurant.

While, at the same time, Syd was knocked out on grandma flying home.

We had a wonderful week at Disney and can't wait to go back!

We rested a bit and got back to our usual tricks.

Like, another doctor's visit because Mads woke up with pink eye.

This was the best it looked. By mid-afternoon it was goopy and bloodshot. EEE.

We hung out with Hudson.

We hung out with Lizzy and Brooke.

Adelyn turned 6 and had a Rapunzel party. It was so fun!

Rapunzel's hair hanging out of her window.

Maddie in Rapunzel's tower.

We got some snow!

I had a fun time with my girls!

 

And Maddie returned to Lego-mania. She is into Legos, all the time. 

Looking forward to a fun weekend!