Christmas in the Big Apple

Life as a Gurley gurl is a lot of fun! My mother-in-law just took me and my sister-in-law {Crystal} to NYC for 3 days. We had such a blast! It was my 3rd trip to NYC, but Crystal's first time. Also, the other 2 times I have been, I've stayed with family, so staying in a hotel in Time Square was definitely a new experience.

Our flight out Sunday morning left at 6:15. I got up at 3:30. Ouch. 

Ready to hit the streets! {Cab ride from the airport}

We knew we definitely wanted to see a Broadway play, and my mother-in-law wanted to take us to see The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. But we decided to wait until we got there to buy tickets to get them cheaper. So day of we bought tickets for Jersey Boys. I've seen about 10 Broadway plays - in NYC, Chicago, Vegas, and through Broadway Across America's national tour. Wicked is still my WAY favorite, but I LOVED Jersey Boys - it is probably my #2. It was so amazing! Before the show, we had lunch at The Brooklyn Diner near Times Square and just walked around a bit.

Our hotel room wasn't ready, so we had to go to the play in our travel clothes. 

#classy

You know I had my oils going to keep out the germs!

In between the show and dinner, I FaceTimed with the family. Drew was so happy to see me. She told Brent earlier in the day that when I was done with my airplane, I could come home. She immediately asked me to hold her and kept kissing the phone and asking to climb into the phone. So sweet. Trent was pretty much too busy playing Legos to do more than give me a cool hello.

We aren't happy at all, are we?

One of the weird things about my job is that I have only met 1 person {of 6} on my team. We live all over the country {Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Stamford, San Francisco, and NYC}. Knowing that I was coming to town, my NYC co-worker came to dinner with us at Ellen's Stardust Diner. This is where the wait staff are all people who want to be on Broadway, so they sing throughout dinner. It was AWESOME! Risa and I talk every day, multiple times a day for work. So it was so neat to finally meet her in person.

Allena and Risa - love at first sip.

After dinner, Risa walked around with us to look at all the amazing Christmas lights and decorations.

We were able to go inside St. Patrick's Cathedral for just a few minutes before closing.

We attended mass here the first time I went to NYC when I was 15.

Neat Lego display of Radio City - had to take a pic for my Lego lover.

Amazing lights on Saks!

After that, we went home and it was lights out!

Since we were only in NYC for essentially 2 days we decided to do a Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour to see as much as we could quickly.

Our first tour guide was hilarious! He was flirting with Janet!

We got off the bus at Central Park to take a walk through the park.

Strawberry Fields - a tribute to John Lennon {by The Dakota}

So cool to have a giant park in the middle of that city!

We saw a 5:00 PM show of the Rockettes. One word can sum that up: WOW!

The Live Nativity was amazing!

That night we did a night Hop-on, Hop-off bus, but it didn't go where the map said it would {over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn}, so it was more of the stuff we had seen the night before. After that, we had dinner at a restaurant my MIL found last year by our hotel, and Crystal and I miiiiiight have over-imbibed on Strong Island Iced Teas. We had so much fun!

Tuesday was another Hop-on, Hop-off bus - we took the Downtown bus to be able to see the 9/11 Memorial. We went through St. Paul's Cathedral that talked a lot about 9/11. So very moving to see it all. It makes me so confused as to why there is so much hate in this world. Why are there people out there who want to kill others just for being different? I love how America comes together in the face of tragedy - why can't we be that strong all the time?

After this, it was time to head home! We had some travel delays, so I didn't get home until about 12:30 Wednesday morning, so I'm beat. Totally worth it though for such an amazing trip!

Turn Around...Don't Drown!

For years, Texas has been in a drought and now we are literally living in a world of constant flash flood warnings and tornado watches. It is beyond crazy. My family is safe and dry and had a relatively uneventful weekend, which unfortunately is more than some people can say.

Anyway, let's not get too sad, shall we? This week we finally did something I've wanted to do since moving in...we got our new library cards! Our new hometown library is super cute with a HUGE kids area and play space as well as an awesome little cafe. I foresee a lot of trips here over the coming years.

Reading a magazine while I'm trying to learn the organization system and for the love of all things holy find the Lego Star Wars books!

When asked if she was ready to go, her response was 'No, I'm doing puzzles.'

Saturday morning movie watching in bed

Saturday night explorations of Bubba's belly button

The hero worship continues and Little Miss wanted to sit next to Bubba while he looked at lego.com. I love their relationship!

Unfortunately, another big storm rolled in Saturday night and Drew is terrified of thunder. So I spent hours trying to get her asleep. Every clap of thunder and she was back up and crying that the thunder was going to get her. So sad.

Almost asleep in my lap

Victory...at 11:30 PM

Sunday dawned with a nice little fever for Drew, and I just knew she'd gotten strep throat, and I wasn't playing around with that. Well, after a quick trip to urgent care, it was a confirmed ear infection. Lots of essential oils used and 24 hours later, she was good as new! So it was another low-key day of movie watching and all-around excellent parenting!

Man, was I so glad not to go to work today! I was supposed to go see Pitch Perfect 2 with Allison on Sunday but sickie ruined those plans, so we went today. Luckily we went first thing because storms were brewing!

Me with the kiddos prepared for tornadoes. 

Trent took all the pillows and is hidden beside the toilet.

Poor Drew Babe's nap got interrupted so she was still tired!

After the excitement in the hall bath, the rest of today was relatively normal. Although we watched a lot of news coverage and saw all the crazy flooding all around us. Quite scary! I hope everyone else stayed safe and dry this weekend!

Confession Wednesday

I am linking up with Karen's Confession Wednesday.

• Today is Thursday, not Wednesday.
• One of the two cutest nephews in the world turned 2 yesterday!

• I have the cutest idea for Brent for Valentine's Day. I am so excited.
• I may or may not have taken a picture of our microwave after cleaning it and texted it to Brent because it was nasty.

• We made our last house selections yesterday! I am still on cloud 9 with the last selections we made - I am in love with this house! If I'm not boring everyone, I'll do another post and add all this last stuff {carpet, wood, tile, backsplashes, granite...we've been busy}.
• Allison and I have 2 Best Picture nominees left to see...we're hitting one up tomorrow night!
• We all have coughs and general yuckiness. I am so over winter. Brent and I were both huffing peppermint oil last night to clear our sinuses. It worked, but I'm sure we looked goofy!

The First Last 48: A Timeline

The last 2 days have just been some that make you shake your head and laugh at all the insanity. These are the days that make me wonder how I will ever convince Brent we should go for another baby! Or if I am insane for wanting another. {Brent, zip it!} Let me share...

Thursday
2:15 AM - Trent wakes me up scaring me half to death asking me to help him blow his nose because it's stopped up. We blow his nose and he goes back to sleep.
2:30 AM - Trent is back. He wants to get in bed with us.
2:30 - 2:55 AM - He snorts, sniffles, and rubs his toes up and down my legs. I get up and go get in his bed.
5:00 AM - Drew wakes up blazing hot. #awesome

*Normal morning routine follows, but Brent stays home in the morning so I don't have to wake up Drew for a ride to school.*

9:00 AM - Drew wakes up and fever is gone!

*Spend morning trying to work and entertain baby.*

4:00 PM - Entire family goes to look at house. Lots of progress happening! Rain though so everyone is muddy! Trent falls down and gets a cactus thorn in his leg.
5:00 PM - On the ride home, Trent won't stop his extreme sniffling routine, and Drew is singing Love is an Open Door. Brent and I just laugh.
7:30 PM - After making Trent stand in a shower for 20 minutes trying to clear his nose, we try to use a sinus rinse. He repeatedly squirts himself with saline water in the eye. Hilarious.

Friday
7:15 AM - Wake Drew up who is clammy feeling. Decide to see if my mom can watch her just in case she is still not 100%.
7:45 AM - Drew begins barfing. Yup, I'd say she's not 100% yet. [Sidebar: This is the first time in 5 1/2 years of parenting I've had a kid throw up.]
8:00 AM - Brent takes Trent to school. The barfing continues. Operation wash everything and use Thieves oil on everything begins.
11:00 AM - Still barfing and now the school calls to pick up Trent for behavior. Sigh.

Let the good times keep on coming!

Thyme After Thyme

I don't blog a ton about essential oils here, but I am still head-over-heels in love with them. We use them daily in our house for a ton of things - preventing and treating illness, alertness, calming and fussiness, poison ivy...you name it, there's an oil for it. I think one of my absolute favorites is Thyme. It smells terrible but does something wonderful - it stops Brent from snoring. Let me repeat that - IT STOPS BRENT FROM SNORING. Brent doesn't snore every night by any means, but when he snores I want to lose my mind. I am the lightest sleeper and when he breathes loud I can barely take it {yes, I realize I am the one with the problem}. We can put a drop or two of Thyme on his big toe and bam, no more snoring. It is definitely making for better sleep in our house and a happier mama overall! Win!!

With that said, there's a lot of oil stuff coming up if you might be interested in learning more about essential oils. First, I'm co-teaching a local class on Sunday. Send me a message and I can send you the invitation. Also, I am co-teaching a webcast next week on Tuesday, and you can sign-up HERE. Both classes are free, so choose one {or both} and come learn about these amazing oils!

Randoms...from Training

I'm paying really close attention to a training I'm in right now. We're supposed to be doing an exercise from materials that I didn't even download. Um...yeah. So since I have been crickets this week, I thought it'd be time to do a random update of sorts!

• My bookworm self is in heaven! Outlander #8! I am flying through it, and it is SO intense!

• Our training facility has a REAL Starbucks in it - and we don't pay for anything while on campus. And I'm eating jelly beans for breakfast.
• Somebody turns FIVE on Sunday. How is that possible? We're not having a full-blown party {just family and Godparents} and going camping. So excited!
• This is what I have in my hotel room? {grin}

• Drew had a party on Tuesday night on-and-off until 2:00 AM and then I got up at 4:00 to drive to training. Needless to say, I think I have a reason for my lack of attention!
• I'm hosting a giveaway with Ruthie Hart. Go enroll!!

What's random with you?

Post Post-Partum

I had something totally different in mind to blog about today...but life has a way of making a post necessary sometimes, and this is one of those posts.

I taught an oils class tonight, and on the way there a song starting playing from my phone playlist, Lady Antebellum's Downtown. I absolutely love and hate that song at the same time. It is such a fun catchy song, but it takes me back to the dark days of post-partum after Drew was born. I can remember bathing her in her little whale tub, and her having a blast in the water while playing recent downloads from my phone, and this being one of them. And hearing that song tonight...ugh...it takes me back to how I felt then. And then it makes me mad that the first few months of both of my kids' lives is tainted. Luckily, it has worn off almost 100% from Trent, and it's a lot better from Drew. But it still just sucks that I {or anyone} had to deal with that. I can't really enjoy any of the good things during the newborn phase.

And then during the class, several of the girls and I were commiserating about some post-partum issues {because essential oils can totally help}. And it made me mad all over again. I truly despise those first few months because I am SO not right emotionally. It hurts to go through it, and it hurts to think about it. Don't get me wrong, I would {and want to} do it all over again, but man, I don't WANT to do that part of it again.

I really didn't have a point to this post, I just needed to get these yucky thoughts out of my head. Overall, I am beyond blessed in my life, so I don't intend to complain too much, but I just really, really wish I didn't have to deal with that ever, and I hope no one else I know ever does too.

Let's Check-In on Trent, Shall We?

When we last checked in on T, we were starting a new school. He {and Sister} have been going for almost 2 months and things are...FABULOUS!

Trent has adapted so well, loves his new school and teacher and has made friends! He doesn't whine about going to school which is HUGE. 

I also am using an essential oil mixture for SPD/ADHD, and I really think that is playing into things too. 

I think part of the problem before was a lack of consistency. Trent spent Monday with my parents and Wednesday with Brent's parents and went to school Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Consistency is KEY for kids. Of course we had no clue when we set up our schedule like this and felt so blessed for our kids to get extra grandparent time. I felt bad at first that both kids were now going to school 5 days a week, but neither of them has skipped a beat!

Drew has also done amazing. If I am having trouble getting her to sit in her car seat, I will say 'We're going to see Ms. Jinny' {her teacher} and that little tushy plops down. She walks off from me w/ her backpack and is so big!

They started 'summer camp' this week, and Trent told me it was 'awesome' and that he didn't like it, he loved it! Made my mama heart swell!

We do still have a developmental pediatrician appointment coming up next month, and I'm curious how that will go. Our therapist thinks Trent is doing great, but she wants to hear what the pedi thinks about that... Might mean we add OT back or a behavioral therapist, so we'll see!

First day of summer camp

{Drew looks thrilled, no? But how cute are her pink shoes?!?!}

Randoms...Bullet-Point Style

• I don't blog often about my contributing at Austin Moms Blog, but I'm still doing that gig. And I'm hosting a giveaway through AMB {which runs until 3/11} for a free Young Living Essential Oil. All you have to do is go comment on mine and Jenna's oil blog. You know you wanna!
• I went to the rodeo last night and saw Thompson Square. I didn't know much of their stuff, but they were awesome. More awesome though? Pizza on a stick.

• This. Just this.

• Oh and then this too.

An Oils Adventure

I've made no secret of my love for being as natural as possible. Well, my co-worker/friend and I recently discovered something that we are just NUTS about.  Essential oils.

In just a short period of time, I have replaced so many products with essential oils. Have a cold? Diffuse lemon. Having trouble sleeping? Lavender and Peace & Calming to the rescue. Bad food smell in the house? Purification kills that odor! Sore muscles? Pan-away! And my absolute favorite is Thieves that has been scientifically studied and proven to be 99.96% effective at killing germs!! I clean with Thieves {think a SAFE, non-toxic Clorox wipe} and put it on the kids before going to school for an immunity boost. What Mom wouldn't love that?

In one short phrase - This stuff is amazing.

I have had several friends {and my mom too} try it and fall in love. My mom has really bad asthma and has to do breathing tests every week. Since using YL oils, she has had the BEST scores on her breathing tests EVER.

Pretty amazing stuff!

Jenna and I also started a blog about essential oils and plan to do a post or 2 a week talking about all the different oils we're trying as well as information about the science behind them and ways to use.  Check it out HERE.

Let me know what you think about our new blog!!