Back to the Grind

It's my least favorite time of year.....busy season.  After enjoying my long break for the holidays, I'm back to the grind at work. And I'm already wishing it will be over soon. It sucks to be an auditor this time of year.  And no, I don't do taxes! It doesn't matter how long I've known people, they still seem to think I do income taxes, just because I'm a CPA.  Wrong! Even Jordan said something the other night about how I'll be busy til April 15th.  Hello!!!  March 31st, get with it.  Anyways, I digress.  Work is definitely picking up, but nothing like it will be a month from now when I'm logging 60-70 hours a week, even at being part-time. :( But I can do it, for just one more busy season.

One more?!  Yep. No, I'm not quitting KPMG; although I have thought about it immensely over the past year.  After I finish up this busy season, I will be starting a two-year rotation in a different group at work.  I'll be able to work partly from home and partly from the Dallas office.  I'll be able to be more involved with higher-ups, risk management, audit methodology, and our new eAudit tool.  Are you bored yet?  Bottom line, I won't be working crazy hours and will have a more structured 8-5 type of gig.  And I will most likely be able to go back to 'full-time' status and collect 100% of my salary!  Hooray!  Because let's face it, with a second kid, we're definitely feeling that 15% salary reduction I have right now. 

Anyways, I'm excited and scared about my new position.  Excited to finally get a more predictable schedule and do something a little different, but scared of a learning curve in a new role.  I'm hoping it will be a great move, opening up more doors down the road, and will vastly improve my work/life balance.

Well, that's the update for now!  Here are some pics of the boys!

Chase loved swinging at the park!

Austin feeling a little under the weather this week :(

Ummm.......Lesson Learned!

Remember back in November, when I mentioned something about Austin knocking my work laptop off the couch, resulting in it not even booting up anymore?  Well, our PC Backup system at work backs up my files almost daily.  However, it does not back up pictures, videos, or music.  Ahhhhhhhh! You can imagine my panic when I realized I had just lost every single picture from the past several years.  Yeah, yeah, you're probably wondering why I hadn't backed them up online or on an external hard drive. But hey, I've been busy raising kids, working, etc.! Anyways, luckily (I guess), my email files did not get backed up by our system.  But I really needed all of these emails and the files that were in them for my clients.  In comes the advantage of working for a gigantic firm.  They sent my hard drive out to an outside vendor to try to recover my emails.  If I was lucky enough for them to recover the emails, they would pay the fee, and I would be able to get any other files (pictures/videos) included in the recovery.  Finally, after a month and half and $1,400 (not out of my pocket!), I happily received ALL of my pictures and videos back this morning! Oh, and my email files. :)  Needless to say, I have been in a terrific mood today; there was no way I was going to accept the fact that other than pictures on Facebook or my blog, all pictures of the kiddos and anything we've done in the past few years were lost forever.

Okay, lesson learned.  I've now backed up all of my pictures and videos online. :) Whew, that was a close one!

A Howling Good Time!

Okay, one more big post to catch up on before work starts getting crazy!  We spent two nights at Great Wolf Lodge last week with the boys.  We had such a great time there back in May for one night, that we decided to go back again for two this time.  Once again, we got the Kid Kabin room, that has a separate nook area ('The Wolf Den') with a bunk bed and a tv for the kiddos.  Both boys loved climbing up on the bunk beds.  And there was a perfect little nook off to the side that the pack-n-play fit perfectly in for Chase.  When we went in May, we didn't come all that prepared.  But this time, I was more on top of things.  Let's face it, food at a place like this can get expensive real quick.  And since our room had a fridge and microwave in it, we packed up food/drinks/snacks for breakfast and lunch each day, and only had to buy dinner.  Although with all the food, the pack-n-play, clothes, and everything else, it literally looked like we were moving into this place with all the crap we brought.!

We had a great time, splashing around in the water.  Although, we ended up having to take turns with Chase.  His skin is super-sensitive (has frequent eczema flare-ups), and didn't really do well with the high chlorine levels in the water.  So, he didn't get wet much.  But we still had a great time!  Everytime we left our room to head downstairs to the waterpark area, Austin would be jumping up and down in the hallway, cheering 'Woohoo! Going to the waterpark, woohoo!'  It was hilarious!  And he liked getting in the alligator (elevator).  Silly kid.  We even managed to make it to story time at the clock tower at 8pm one night; it was so much fun!  And we spent some time in the arcade playing games, too.

Here are a few pics from our trip:

Excited to see the cupcake bear, Sprinkles!

Wearing his wolf tail!

My two speedracers!

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed to-go cups from the Wolf Bar :)

Love this kiddo!

Exhausted!

Jordan and Jordan Jr.!

Big boy sitting on the tree trunk

Riding in the ice cream truck in the arcade

They LOVED being in those bunk beds!

Birthday Celebration Part II: Monkeying Around!

We decided on a jungle/monkey theme for Chase's first birthday party.  He's truly like a monkey, crawling and climbing all over everything.  (And nope, we're not walking yet; close, but not yet.)  I was not very prepared for the big party, I'll admit.  After Austin's 3rd birthday in November, then Thanksgiving & Christmas, and Great Wold Lodge this week, I seriously dropped the ball.  Poor second kid, always getting the shaft!  Once we got home from Great Wolf Thursday afternoon, I kicked it into high gear (with Jordan's help!) and pulled two very late nights to get everything together.  (With my new Silhouette machine that I got for Christmas, I was able to save alot of time cutting things out.  Yay!)  But I was literally still setting up, as our friends started to arrive.  It all came together finally, though.  And I'm exhausted, but cannot believe that my 23 days off are coming to an end! :( 

Anyways, back to the party! I made this cute monkey wreath to hang on the front door to greet our guests.

I was so busy getting everything ready, that I forgot to take a picture of the setup before everyone arrived!  Here's the cupcake/cake table, including a matted picture of Chase for everyone to sign.  I was disappointed with how his smash cake (the monkey on top) came out.  My first go around collapsed on me at about 11pm the night before and I was nearly in tears so I had to salvage what I could at the last minute, resulting in something looking similar to a teddy bear.  Oh well.

For our food and beverages, I gave them all themed names: Jungle Juice, Tiger Tea, Swamp Water (with custom labels for his birthday!), Snakeskin Sausages, Panda PB&J, Boar on Buns, Baboon Banana Pudding, Chimp Chips & Dip, Cheetah Cheetos, Gorilla Grape Skewers, and Zebra Peanut Butter Bites.

And I made treat sacks for all of the kiddos, including lots of animal themed goodies!

Here's the banner that I made with the help of the Silhouette, which saved me soooo much time cutting!! Love that dang thing already!

I gave in and ordered a birthday shirt for Chase from Etsy; I just knew there wouldn't be time for me to make it myself. :( But I love how it came out!  (And despite his less-than-thrilled face here, he really did have a good time!)

He wasn't too much into opening gifts.  But you can bet that big brother Austin was right there to assist!  Chase got lots of toys and clothes from everyone, and a toy box made by PawPaw.  Mommy & Daddy got him a train toy with lots of musical blocks, which he loves and so does Austin. He can just barely put his toes on the ground and push himself.

When it came time to sing Happy Birthday to him, he smiled so big and loved every minute of it.  Then he slowly dug into his cake, and nearly devoured the whole thing!

One of his other favorite gifts was a Cookie Monster that you feed plastic cookies too.  He carried cookies in his mouth the rest of the night, silly boy!

And Austin provided some entertainment by playing the guitar for all of us.  It was a great party, and we're thankful for all of our friends and family that were able to make it out to share in the celebration! Big thanks to my hubby for helping out so much to make it all come together.  He stayed up late with me both nights, mixing drinks for us, making sandwiches, painting monkeys, and whatever else I asked him to do!

Birthday Celebration Part 1: Cupcakes w/Friends!

Chase officially moved up to the next class at daycare this week.  He wasn't there all week because we were on vacation, but he went on Friday, so that Mommy & Daddy could finish preparations for the party.  And I wanted to be able to bring cupcakes to share with his friends, since I have to go back to work on Monday.  In his new class, he no longer sleeps in a crib, switching to a nap mat.  Keeping along with his transportation theme in his room at home, I ordered one with cars, trucks, and trains on it.  I was worried that he would not adjust to sleeping on a mat on the floor easily, let alone no longer getting an early morning nap and only having one for the day.  But he surprised us, and did well.  And he looked so grown up sleeping on his mat!

Anyways, we brought some mini-cupcakes to share with his friends.  This was Chase's first taste of cake/cupcake, because he was sick and sleeping most of Austin's party and never got one.  But given his love for everything else he eats, I knew he would devour the cupcake.  And I was right. :)  And his face lit up when we all sang happy birthday to him.  Such a sweet little boy!

So, as he reached his first birthday, he's sleeping one nap a day, sleeping on a nap mat at school, completely given up formula and the bottle (about a month ago), and growing up too fast!  Love him!

Oh, Sweet Chase!

Finally, a moment to catch up on some blogging.  (But don't get used to it; once I return to work on Monday for busy season, you won't be hearing much from me.) I can't believe that our sweet Chase turned ONE today!  It was a crazy day, getting everything ready for the party up to the very last minute.  I'm literally exhausted and thankful we don't have anymore big celebrations until the summer.  Anyways, I will do my top 10 things I love about my sweet little boy, and not in any sort of order.

1. Your love for food.  Really, it doesn't matter what it is, you absolutely inhale it.  You get food in every crevice and it's a pain to clean you up.  But you enjoy food so much and it's make me happy to have someone enjoy my cooking (or the local fast food chain).  And to think that you were such a little baby when we brought you home, but you quickly bulked up on your formula and food.

2. Your ladykiller eyes.  Those blue eyes of yours get me every single time.  It doesn't matter what you're doing; all you have to do is flash those baby blues and I will do anything you want.  I don't know where you got those fabulous eyes, but you're going to be quite the hit with the ladies when you get older.

3.  You love to sleep.  And if people know anything about me, they know I love to sleep too.  So, this one makes me really happy and excited.  This past week at Great Wolf, you slept in until 10am both days (and this morning on your birthday!).  That's what I call a vacation!  You're so easy, and go to sleep on your own after playing in your crib for a while.

4. You love to cuddle.  Anytime I pick you up, you love to snuggle up cheek-to-cheek with me.  And on the occasions when I have laid you down in the bed with me when you've been sick, you like to get right in my nook and nestle up close.  I will continue to cherish these days when you like to cuddle, because I know it won't be forever.

5.  You're so easy-going.  Let's be honest here. Since you're the second child, I drag you along to lots of things and you just roll with the punches.  You don't really ever cry unless you're hungry or sleepy. So mellow and happy all the time!

6.  You're independent.  Just like your brother was, you are able to play independently.  I appreciate that you can entertain yourself in the playroom while Mommy whips up dinner or sends an email for work.

7.  It warms my heart to see you with your big brother. The two of you play so well together, and you love getting into stuff in Austin's room.  I can tell that you already look up to him and he will continue to show you the ropes as you two get into trouble together in the years to come.

8.  You love the dog.  Just like your brother, you are drawn to Brady.  That poor dog lets the two of you do pretty much anything to him.  I love to watch you jet across the room when you spot him and pet and kiss him.  When you were younger and would cry at night, I could always find Brady waiting at your door or in your room.  I can tell the two of you will be best buddies.

9.  You're so ticklish. Everywhere.  You giggle up a storm with the slightest touch and even do the 'silent giggle' when you have a hard time catching you breath.  It's so heart-warming to hear your laugh and brings a smile to face instantly.
10.  You love your companion, Gus.  Ever since you were born, you have slept with Gus and cuddled with him.  And now I love to watch you carry Gus in your mouth as you crawl through the house. Maybe you think you're a puppy, but it's so sweet to watch.  You reach for him instantly when you see him and hold him tight.  Mommy recently had to scour the internet to find a back-up Gus for emergencies.  You have Gus; Austin has Woofie.  So sweet!

That's it for now.  This Momma's tired!

The Big ONE!!!

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet Chase Cooper!!  It doesn't seem possible that a full year has gone by since we welcomed you into our lives, completing our little family.  I considered you to be a 'runt' when you arrived at only 6lbs. 4oz., but you've grown into quite the chunk, exceeding all of your brothers stats when he was your age.  You are the sweetest little boy in the world and I love how you snuggle up close to Mommy when I hold you.  Another Mommy's boy for sure!

I promise a longer, more sentimental post on what you're up to these days and my favorite things about you.  However, since i just spent the past few days at Great Wolf Lodge with you, Mommy is still scrambling to put everything for your big celebration today.  More to come later!