Have Your Girl Time

Pure exhaustion.

That's me.

I can barely keep my eyes open, my head is pounding, and my patience level with my kids is gone.

It seems as though I haven't stopped since we got back from our road trip. And I was already exhausted from that.

It was my birthday.

Then we moved all of my stuff from storage into my classroom. And I have been there every day since. I think I am finally finished with it. But, my brain won't stop.

Then we went down south to have fun at the Splash Park with friends.

As tired as I am, I still don't get to sleep until 11:00 or so. And then of course my lovely Brooklynn wakes me up by 6:00.  Seven hours is not enough sleep for this 6-month pregnant mama.

I'm not going to get into the beach trips, running around town crossing things off my list, and more work that I've been doing since our little mini trip down south, but all of this has left me utterly exhausted.

But, just because I'm so exhausted doesn't mean I want to stop! I want to hang out with my family and have a social life too.

The other night, I had plans to hangout with some of my favorite ladies for a game night. I seriously could have fallen asleep on the couch at 7:00.  I was so tempted to call and bail on them. I think my excuses are legitimate, right?  No one would blame me.

But I need to see my girls. I haven't seen them in forever - since before our road trip.  I kind of think of these girls as my Sex and the City girls.  We're all different. We all have such different lives. But when we get together, we laugh, we vent, we "breathe."  Everyone needs to see their girls. We make it a point to really get together at least once a month. Life is so hectic, schedules are so different. Some of us get together randomly with our kids, but it's hard to get us all together at once.

We got together about 1.5 hours later than what the original plan was. lol. That's just how our lives are. But we did it. And I made it there. After we got most of our talking out, we finally busted out the games. Apples to Apples was the winner.

Such a fun game. Such great girls. The time was so needed.

No matter how tired you are, sometimes you just have to make yourself get up and go. Girl time is always needed. Away from husbands. Away from kids. You don't need to go out anywhere. Stay home. Make dinner. Have some wine. Play games. 

Have your girl time. Does a soul good.

Summer at the Splash Park

Last weekend, I went down to my hometown to meet up with some friends for the day. We met up with all of our kiddos at the Sailfish Splash Park.

I've been there before with my cousins, so I knew the girls would love it!

I love this place, It's not too big. There's a cute little kid area, a lazy river, and some big-kid slides.



What's crazy is that my 4 year old decided that it was her time to go down these crazy big slides.

Um. This mama was a little scared to let her. BUT, she did it! MANY times.

My little Dare Devil.

And they have a Lazy River. The girls love going in the river.

It was such a fun day meeting up with old friends. I haven't seen them in years!  Lindsey and I are both very pregnant and Jess just had her baby girl. 

That same day, I got to make a few more stops to see a few more friends. These are friends I've had since elementary and middle school. I can't believe it. By the time we left, I wasn't sure I could stay awake for the hour drive home...but I did. I'm so glad I got to meet up with all my friends!

If you're ever in the Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie area, you should definitely take some time to head over to the water park.

Summer Road Trip Days 6 and 7

On days 6 and 7, we spent our time in New Jersey. We were also in Jersey on Day 5. 

Our main reason for driving all the way here was so that Ron could see his Grandpa, who is 94 now!

Autumn actually took her FIRST step in this house, when she was 10 months old. And he STILL remembered that! It was great to see him.

We also went to a place called Storybook Land with Ron's cousins. 

This place was SO fun. It was like a mini-Disney. Except not as much walking, the park was less crowded, and quicker to get through. And everything was perfect for Autumn. I loved how everything was related to old-school stories. So cute!

If your ever around the Egg Harbor Township in Jersey and you have little kids, you need to make time to go here. You can get through it in a few hours. 

A Splash of Style 7.30

I'm having some issues not being able to buy clothes right now.

I know. I'm silly.

But since I can't buy all those cute clothes out there, I'm starting to  in a whole bunch of ideas that I find onto my fashion board. So I'm making a new series called "A Splash of Style"

I love the name. I didn't come up with it. My brain is too tired. But my friend came up with it before I even put the question mark on the question - ha!

So, here are some from my pinning today.

Relax 

A Day at the Park - Take 2 

A Casual Summer Day

Source

Since I'm on this mission to make myself fashionable after Baby C is born, please feel free to share your favorite fashion pins!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my birthday.

I love birthdays. I make a big deal of birthdays. Of mine, of my husbands (even though he could care less) and of my girls' birthdays.

I don't care how old I'm turning. The number doesn't bother me. At all. Really. I think it's because I really try to live my life so that every year I can look back and go, "Man, that was a good year!" Of course some years have more sadness and trials than other years. But as a whole, there's not one year where I don't look back and say, "I had fun this year!"

Today I turned 32. 

It was a GREAT birthday.  Nothing special or no big trip. I have been known to be on vacation on my birthday, but not every year.

This year was just about being happy.

So I started my morning off with my run. I did about 3.5 miles. By myself. No kids. THAT was a great present in itself. haha.

Today, I'm 24 weeks. I think that translates into about 6 months? haha.  In my last post, I talked about my motivation for keeping fit during my pregnancy. And my birthday isn't an excuse to skip it that day. In fact, just the opposite. It's a great reason to work even harder!

After my run, the girls and I headed to the beach with some of our favorite people. Ron suggested that I go to the beach by myself without the girls, but honestly, I don't know if I know how to go to the beach without the girls anymore. haha. We were going with friends, so I thought it would be better to bring the girls.

It was SUCH a gorgeous day! I love being able to go to the beach on my birthday. It's usually where I end up when I'm home for my birthday. These are "our beach family." They live at the beach just like we do.

Yes, I'm in the water with my camera! I LOVE my water camera... BEST thing I ever bought myself. Here's my post on it, because of course I had to share how happy I was when I got it!

When we came home, Ron had a fun little card for me that he made all by himself. I'm not a big flowers kind of girl, but I do love flowers. The simple flowers are just great. Really, I love daisies. They're my favorite. But what I'm REALLY impressed with is the Cannoli card! haha!  That is my husband. He's got such a comedic side...which is good, when you're a fire fighter.   But love (more like, am impressed!) with all of the different fonts and colors he used.   And in the bag?? Some more Pandora charms for my bracelet. It's his "go-to" gift for any occasion. lol. 

BUT.

 I did go shopping for my birthday present to myself...

My first pair of real sunglasses- Oakley! ! And they are polarized, perfect for the beach and pool! Now, I just hope they don't get ruined by the two Destructo girls. lol It really is amazing the difference a pair of good sunglasses is compared to cheap ones... I've never had a pair of sunglasses. I feel like a grown up now lol. My husband asked how much I paid for them. I just walked away. haha!

Later that day, my cousin came over with her boys to watch the girls so Ron and I could go out for my birthday. We went out for dinner at one of my favorite places... The Mansion. It sound hoity-toity. But it's not...really. lol

I decided that I wanted to come home and have some cake and ice cream with everyone instead of doing anything else after dinner, since I normally don't have family in town during my birthday.  They just moved down, and I'm loving having them here. Not just because she came to babysit the girls for a few hours, but because I love being able to get together with family whenever! 

Anyway, she came baring a birthday cake that she made me! I love it! 

Even if it does say 31 instead of 32. That's ok. Better to go down than up, right!? ha! 

I LOVE having them here.  Too bad they're moving up north soon...like 1.5 hours north. 

But still. I'm selfish and don't want them to go already. lol.

So my birthday. I loved how I got to spend it.  I spent it doing things I love to do with people I love to be with.  I wouldn't want it any other way!

Staying Motivated!

Being on the road for 2 weeks, eating out almost EVERY meal, and not having time to exercise can really take a toll on one's body. As fun as it was traveling, I am a creature of habit and routine. (I'm still not done blogging about our trip, but you can check out what I have so far HERE)

So the first day back, I decided to get RIGHT back into the saddle! I had the girls home with me and Ron was on shift, so I couldn't really work out at home - they don't really let me work out with out adding more fun to the mix, if you know what I mean. So I decided it was a day for a run.  

Except it was 1,000 degrees by 9:00. lol. Seriously. One of the hottest days so far. Whatever, I just trucked along, sweat pouring down all areas.  Kind of makes me feel better about it. lol

(can you see the bump?! I get a lot of looks when I go running..lol)

Yesterday, I was making my 2013 photo album (yes, I'm a slacker). And I came across THIS picture.

when I saw it, I was like, wow! You looked good, Jen! haha. Yes, I said that to myself. I really don't remember ever thinking that when I was IN that time, but looking back, I was kind of proud of myself. It's those kinds of pictures that I use as my motivation to keep going now, when I'm pregnant. I want it to be that much easier to lose it after Baby C is born.

So, my friends, find whatever keeps you motivated. You'll go through slumps, but you can always come back! And you'll have days that even when you look your best, you'll still feel like a bumpy, mushy. ugly blob. That's ok. We all have those days. But those are the days to make sure you work it out... and maybe even a little more that day. 

Ok, time to get changed and workout for the day!

Summer Road Trip Day 5

Day 5 was a late start. We were ALL exhausted. Even Brooklynn slept in until 7:30! That, my friends, is an event to mark on the calendar! 

We weren't really sure what we were going to do this day. Yes, I'm a planner, but only as far as making a list of things we could do while we were at our destinations. I don't really like to plan by the minute activities. Cape May was on our list of things to do and yesterday seemed like a good day for it!


But first, a little stop to get some breakfast...you can't deny a pregnant woman and two kids food to start the day, right? So we wandered around aimlessly, because let's face it, up here in Jersey, that's an easy thing to do!  We finally ended up in downtown Bradley Beach, which is a pretty town. We found a cafe and a parking spot...a spot you don't have to pay for!! woop, woop! The cafe we ate at was a cute little quaint restaurant called The Buttered Biscuit.

The food was pretty good, but once again, we were paying for it...more than what I wanted. I think maybe we'll be having Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast from now on! haha! And no... no donuts for us. I actually just posted a pictured of me on my IG with some DD coffee in hand. I will say that I've never had DD coffee before - I know, I'm weird, until this trip.  It's really good! I actually kind of want it in the mornings now...weird? Maybe. I don't know. 

Then we got into the car and headed for Cape May.

I don't really know what I was expecting. I was envisioning something completely different. 

But let me tell you. I L-O-V-E-D Cape May!! I was so beautiful!! 

My "plan" is to buy a house there and rent it out for vacationers. THEN, in a few years, we can start going up to Cape May for like a week at a time to vacation there.  Seriously. It could work.  I just have to find the money to buy said-vacation home to rent out!

But seriously, it was SO beautiful. It had harbors and a gorgeous beach (that you had to pay for, of course), beautiful beach houses, a cute downtown, and old Victorian houses. It reminded me of a much smaller St. Augustine. But up here, you are in New England area, which I love because there is an endless amount of things to do up here.  

Anyway, I couldn't take pictures of everything we saw, since we didn't get to fully explore it...but that's ok, we'll be back (wink, wink!)

My new favorite family photo. If only Brooklynn was smiling. 

This is where we had "lunch" at. It was around 3:00, so it was more like appetizers, but I had a brie and raspberry crostini that I now must make when I get home! yum!

Then we headed over to Wildwoods.

Apparently, a lot of my friends who are from Jersey have a very vivid and wonderful childhood memories of this place. I can totally see how this would be heaven for kids! Our girls were just a little too young for most of the things to do here, and I was not prepared for all that this place has to offer (like water parks!!), but they still had fun!

AND, as an adult, I could see here all day and just people watch! I've never seen so many different characters! It was pretty awesome to watch.  Do any of you follow Humans of New York on Facebook?? They take pictures of people around the city and post them on their page and then add a quote from that person. I think Wildwoods would be an awesome place for that!

Not only is there a long boardwalk filled with shops and food stores and games and anything and everything, but then there are countless piers with games and rides...and waterparks!

The girls were too small/young for a lot of the rides, and I didn't have suits for the water part (and I think they were too young anyway), but they got play some games and Autumn got to ride a ride.

Let's just say that after a long day of fun in the sun, the girls were ready to pass out for the ride back to the hotel.

Just the way I like it!

#rossvacaysummer2014