February Vacation

We just wrapped up a fabulous February vacation. It's always nice to have Matt home during the week. He is always so excited to go new places, and the boys are always thrilled to do ANYTHING with him! We took several day trips to different museums. One day we went to the SEE Science Center in Manchester and then out to lunch. Another day (the most beautiful day of the entire week!) was spent in Boston at the Children's Museum and exploring the U.S.S. Constitution and another WWII ship (shame on me for not remembering its name!!).

The highlight of the week was probably our overnight to North Conway. We went to the Hampton Inn, where they have an indoor water park that's very appropriate for kids Ryder's and Tanner's ages. We went there last year and had a blast, and the boys seemed to enjoy it even more this year! Ryder was so brave in wanting to go down the slides by himself - it always makes me nervous how fearless he is in water! If it weren't for his allergies, I'd have him in swimming lessons year-round just so he can be an expert in the water! We swam and slid a lot, went out to dinner, shopped at the outlets, and even watched movies in our hotel room. It was so much fun spending time together!

This past Monday was an extra treat as it was a snowday for Matt. We were able to delay going back to reality for one more day! :) We had a great time playing outside with the boys. I had considered renting snowshoes for Ryder and me since my quest to find a big sled failed, but in the end, Ryder's attitude made me decide against it. Perhaps there will be one more opportunity this winter.

Speaking of Ryder's attitude... he has been so hot-and-cold lately that I'm getting a little concerned. He is normally very upbeat and fun, but lately he's gotten very angry at the drop of a hat. He's even said such strong things as "I don't want to be in this family anymore!" or "I don't care about you!" or even "I hate him!" The professionals I've spoken with that know Ryder very well seem to think that he is going through a phase a lot earlier than most kids do - and that it's just that... a phase. I certainly hope they're right. If it continues much longer, I may go have him evaluated for some kind of anger issues or something. It's tough, that's for sure.

I started this post about a week ago - since then, we had a FABULOUS family day!!!! My brother, Nick, will be taking 6 months to hike from Georgia to Maine (and maybe hugging a few trees along the way??? haha!!! I love you, Nick!!!). The entire fam got together at SkyVenture for some indoor skydiving. We had a GREAT time!!! Thank you, Nick, for the great day! We hope you have an awesome trip and can't wait to see you when you get back! If you want to check out some pics, visit http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/ThumbPage.aspx?e=4574203&g=0OJ700MQ07

You can track Nick's progress along the AT at his blog http://www.nickrepoli.com/

Signs of the times

As expected, Fidelity laid off hundreds and hundreds of associates this week. Somehow, luckily, my job was spared for now. I know for certain that I will be laid off soon, but I'm very thankful to have whatever time I still have here. Almost everyone in my department was laid off, including my manager and my supervisor. There are 8 of us left here until the team in North Carolina who is replacing us is up and running. I was at first looking forward to having a break and catching up on sleep. With my current work schedule, I get home at 1am and usually can fall asleep by 2am, just for the boys to wake up around 5am. It's pretty grueling. That being said, I'm very nervous about having to look for another job in this economy and would almost prefer the lack of sleep. It seems as soon as I do get laid off, I'll be losing sleep for other reasons.

It's pretty miserable coming in to work now, though. There are so many empty desks. The place is so dreary and morale is just dead. People were crying as they were leaving this week. We've known about these layoffs for about two years, but it doesn't seem to make it any easier.

This weekend will be a relaxing one, though, and hopefully I'll be able to take my mind off things. My mom flew in yesterday (YAY!!!) and will be watching the boys while Matt and I escape to Maine tomorrow night. I wish I could spend more time with my mom, though. I'm here at work tonight and will be away all weekend... and she goes back on Monday morning :( I feel horrible because I slept all afternoon because I wasn't feeling well - I wish I had spent time with her this afternoon.

We had fun this morning, though. We went to music class together and played games at home. Tanner isn't feeling too well, and I'm hoping that's what caused his outburst this morning. He had dropped a piece of cake that he was eating, and rather than coming to the conclusion that he can simply bend down and pick it up, he screamed like crazy. It makes me nervous because it could be sensory-related. His Occupational Therapist had questioned sensory things a few times, and she's keeping an eye on it. I'm really hoping not to have TWO childrens with Sensory Processing Disorder - yikes. What a disaster that would be.

Our First Blog!

Hooray! Finally a way to capture our day-to-day adventures and share it with our friends and family! I had blogged on Myspace a handful of times, but it wasn't easily accessible to many. This will be a much easier method.

Just a quick Readers Digest version of where we are today. Matt and I have been married for almost 5 years. Our son, Ryder, is 3 1/2 and is always keeping us on our toes! Tanner is 19 months old and is such a snuggle-bug! We are so very blessed! I am fortunte enough to stay home with the boys during the day while I work at night. Matt, in turn, gets his solo Daddy time while I'm at work. We have our weekends together and and all of the school breaks. It's worked out well since Ryder was born, but I will soon be losing my job. I hope to find something with similar hours until the boys are in school full time.

Ryder is in preschool two mornings a week, and he LOVES it! He has Sensory Processing Dysfunction, so he receives Occupational Therapy while at school. His sensory issues have improved drastically since he started OT last summer, and we hope to see this progress. During our Friday morning music class last week, though, the teacher pointed out that his hyperactivity is probably a result of his sensory issues. I know that to be true, but I was pretty bummed out that someone who barely knows Ryder would pick up on it. I can't help but wonder if the issues are making a come back. Ryder's energy is really refreshing, though. He is a total joy and very outgoing! His teachers often tell me that he is the "leader" of the class and wanting to help out the other kids.

Tanner is such a love-bug. He's so quick to give hugs and kisses, and he recently started saying "eeyyyy oove ooo!" That's his way of saying "I love you." It's pretty darn fabulous. Lately he's been protesting naps and being super picky about eating. Hopefully this phase will pass sooner rather than later!

It's nearing 8pm on Superbowl Sunday. I suppose I'll go enjoy some "quality time" with the hubby (as quality as it can get while watching football!) since the kids are in bed.