Family Fun Day

Brandon and I both had the day off on Thursday so we wanted to plan a fun family outing.  Unfortunately, the weather was too cold to do anything outside so we decided to take Anniston to the Children's Museum.  We first had to go to Anniston's 3 week post-op check up to make sure her ears were doing well.  They were!  Yay- she had 2 happy ears which earned her a sucker.  Her first one ever and she LOVED it!

Then we headed off to the Children's Museum:

It was really fun and they had things for children of all ages.  Annie found plenty of stuff to entertain her.  For instance:

The disco dance floor:

Complete with strobe lights and a disco ball, this little dance floor took you right back to the '70's.  And we all know how much Miss Annie loves to show off her moves.  She was getting down!  They had mirrors lining the wall so every so often she would pause from her dancing to wave at herself in the mirror and say hey:)

They also had a little play area with a castle and slide that she loved climbing around on.

But I think her favorite was the mini Kroger grocery store.  Once Brandon showed her what to do with the shopping cart she was off!  And in a hurry.  Apparently she knew of some big sale...

Sorry it's a little blurry- she was going fast people!

Anyone remember that game show called Supermarket Sweep?  She would do well on that show.

Apparently one can never have too much laundry detergent.  She tried to haul 3 of those in her cart.  I had to sneak one out and put it back up because she was running out of room.  Why she put 3 of those in her cart when she only put 1 of everything else?  Who knows.  

Then it was time to check out her groceries.  I knew she was going to love this part since she loves pressing computer keys so much.

We stopped by for some lunch at Jason's Deli.  This little girl was so excited to get some milk. 

Great day!

(And thanks, Allie, for the pics!)

A Fancy Party and An All Nighter

Apparently, (even in my old age) I've still got what it takes to pull an all-nighter.  Barely:)  And no, it wasn't because I out hitting up all the hot night spots in town.  I was working.  Until 4 am.  Yes, I'm crazy.  Let me explain:

The little old Kroger I work at just got an upgrade! We now have a brand new, state of the art, gigantic store!  To think that the little and not very busy pharmacy I first started at has evolved to this is crazy!  I couldn't be more excited. They will be tearing down the old one to make room for additional parking in the next few months.  I've been waiting for this day longer than anyone else back in the pharmacy.  The new store is the "flagship" Kroger for the Memphis area.  Take my word for it- it's a big deal!  I'm so happy to get a new pharmacy that is nice, clean, has it's own air condition, etc.  Our old one was so tiny and OLD!  A teeny tiny part of me is sad to see the old one go but then I think about all the high tech equipment and fancy decor we have now and the moment passes:)

Since this store opening is such a big deal in the community, there have been lots of social events and parties this past week to celebrate.  Tuesday night was the fancy, come get an exclusive preview of the store party.  It was invitation only- important corporate people, department managers, city and county officials, small community business owners, and 100 of our top Kroger customers.  I was so thrilled I got to be there!  It was a lot of fun.  I wore this outfit:

I got a TON of compliments on my shirt!  In case you didn't recognize it, this is the same outfit I wore to Anniston's first birthday party.  I was glad I didn't have to buy anything new plus it gave me another chance to get some wear out of this outfit- which I heart, by the way!

The grand store opening was Wednesday morning so we had to move the pharmacy overnight on Tuesday night.  Of course I volunteered to help since I'm on vacation this week.  Which basically meant I could sleep all day the next day because I didn't have to work!   And, oh yeah, OVERTIME $$$!  Let's not forget the main reason I volunteered- he he:)

We started moving after the party (about 8 pm) and were finished with the drugs and files by 1:30 am. Here is the "drug parade" across the parking lot:

 After that, we had to sit around and wait for IT to finish transferring all the data files from the old pharmacy to the new one. The few of us that were still left at that hour went to sleep on the floor of the pharmacy while we waited.  Around 3:30 we were told to go on home because they were having some problems with the transfer.  I ended up getting home and in bed around 4 am.  I was exhausted!

 Since I'm on vacation this week, I haven't actually gotten to work in the new store- but that makes coming back to work from vacation not look so bad!

Monday Fun: Spring Shopping & Closet Clean-Out

I am trying not to feel overwhelmed by the amount of organizing I want (and need) to do in our new house.  One project (or drawer even!) at a time.  First on the list during my vacation week was to clean out Anniston's closet.

When we moved in, I basically just hung everything up and didn't bother trying to organize it or clean out.  Now that the cold, cold weather is hopefully behind us I needed to clean out A's winter stuff.  She can still wear some of her 18 month size clothes, but 24 month is what I've been buying for spring, so I also needed to go through and clean out what was too small for her now.

The closet during the middle of our purging session:

Yeah, I know- quite embarrassing.  Just keepin' it real for you guys!


Annie put on my purple watch and sat in the bottom of the closet to watch:

Um yeah- I don't have an after pic because this was just "Phase 1"- purging.  "Phase 2" will be the organization.  Just so you know the schedule:)

Annie and I decided that she needed some new spring attire to fill her closet back up, so we headed out shopping.

In all seriousness, she really did need some new, larger size clothes to transition to spring in.  I've been so busy with work and house stuff lately that I've barely shopped for her!  What is wrong with me?!

So we headed out to a little boutique in Germantown, mainly looking for an Easter dress.  We arrived a few minutes before they opened, so we stopped in TJ Maxx to see if we could find any good deals.  Not so much for her, but I did find some patent nude wedges (to wear to my fancy Kroger party tomorrow night), and a cute dress for church.

I picked up Anniston an Easter outfit at the boutique:

I know- it's not a dress!  I've never been big on the smocked dresses (except for the ones my grandmother made for me) and that just seems to be what everyone wears these days.  I opted for something different this year.  I will probably pair this with a white shirt underneath or a white cardigan over it if it's chilly on Easter.

I also could not resist this cute little red and turquoise outfit on the left.  We also hit up Carter's for some everyday, play outside, go to the babysitter's clothes.

In between all of our shopping excursions we did have time for a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:

And yes, she is still wearing Mommy's purple watch:)

Weekend Pics and Vacation Kick-Off!

Saturday officially marked the start of vacation week #1!  Whoop whoop!  I will, however, be working some- our brand new store will be opening on Wednesday morning and I will be helping move the pharmacy Tuesday night.  I also have a couple of parties/pep rallies celebrating the grand opening that I will also be attending.  Even though I still have to "work" some, the opening of the new  store is so exciting and something I've been waiting for a LONG time!

We had a super productive Saturday.  My parents came in town for the day to help us put our living room, dining room, and entryway back together since our new floors got installed on Thursday.  We also had to borrow my dad's truck to go buy a box spring for our guest bedroom.  We also moved the last little bit of stuff out of the garage so we can finally park both cars in there!  My dad (the spray paint master) helped me paint the mirror that sits on my mantle.  It was a terribly outdated gold/brass color but I really didn't want to spend the money right now to buy another mirror/artwork for that space.  My mantle is HUGE.  It would have taken a very large piece of art to fill the space properly.  I already had the mirror, and the size worked, so I used the Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint to give it an updated look.  It looks fabulous, in my opinion!  I already have 2 other things on my "spray paint" list!  Sorry, dad!  You shouldn't be so good at it:)


I wish I had gotten a "before" pic, but I didn't:

It was HOT on Saturday!  Well, hotter than it's been since last summer, at least.  Mom and Dad took Anniston outside to play on her playground in our backyard.  I thought I'd share a full picture of our little play yard since you couldn't really see it all in the last post.

How awesome is it that this came with our house?  It's perfect for Anniston right now!

After a day of hard work, my parents and us went out to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse.  This was my first time eating there and it was really good!  Great family restaurant to bring the kiddo to as well.  We have been trying to teach A to color.  She's getting better at it and learning that crayons do not go in your mouth.  She went all "Miss Independent" on me when I tried to help her by pushing my hand away.  As we were leaving, a train was passing by.  I was predicting it would scare her because it was so loud- and this was the first time she's ever seen a real train before.  She held on tight to my dad at first but then started saying "choo choo" when we explained what it was.

Sunday afternoon we had a family day at the new Kroger.  It doesn't officially open until Wednesday, but this was a party where employees could bring their families and tour the new store.  She had so much fun looking at all the colorful flowers!

March Madness is about to start and the hubs couldn't be more excited.  He was deep in concentration last night filling out his (many) brackets.  I usually fill out a couple and mostly just guess.  It's always really funny when mine do better than his:)

Happy Monday!

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Weekend Stuff

-We are SO ready for spring here at the Medling house.  Actually, we are ready for any weather warm enough to be able to swim in our pool!  We have an awesome pool at our new house and I can't wait for summer days spent playing outside and having fun in the water.

-It was warmer this weekend than it has been in awhile so Anniston and I took full advantage and spent some time playing on the playground in our backyard.  Oh yeah- our new house has one of those too!  Have I mentioned that I LOVE our new house?

Annie had the best time- I think we went down the slide about 20 times!

-Anniston has been all about her stuffed animals lately.

Example #1:

Yes, we had to get every stuffed animal that was in that room and sit on her "sofa" AKA Ruby's bed.  The pout is because it was early in the morning and she hadn't fully woken up yet.

Example #2:

She now has to ride with the little dog she got at the hospital when she had surgery.  How cute is this?


-We made a trip to Costco Saturday morning and they had TONS of spring and pool toys.  They had beach towels for a good price so I decided to stock up on a few.  We had never really needed that many before now!  Annie saw a Disney princess pink one and snatched it up.  She held it for the rest of the shopping trip like she was afraid I was going to take it away from her.

-Anniston is at a really fun age right now, but it's also sometimes frustrating because she has trouble communicating what she wants.  She's getting better at it though.  For instance, Saturday afternoon we were playing in the family room and she kept pointing to the kitchen. I ask her to show me what she wants.  She takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen, opens the fridge (with my help), and pulls out her milk jug and sippy cup.

 Yay for her actually showing me what she wants instead of us playing the guessing game- which usually ends up with her fussing when I don't get it right!:)

-We bought tickets this past week for Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music at the Fed Ex Forum in April. I am so pumped to take Anniston!  She LOVES Elmo.  She went through a phase of saying "Melmo" but now (most times) she can actually say it without the M!  I think she is going to love it.

-I promise I'm not purposly treating Anniston bad habits but monkey see, monkey do.....

So we all know I have a Diet Coke problem obsession.  She loves to try and snatch the bottles- I usually grab them before she can get them but this time I rinsed one out and let her have it.  And this is what she does with it....shame on me, I guess.  Luckily this girl LOVES her water and milk and I hope it stays that way!

-Annie also helped me with laundry on Sunday morning:

She is such a good helper:)

-We did our weekly Target trip and I let Annie pick out a bunny since she is so into stuffed animals right now.

-She played with her baby doll and stroller too.  Pushed it all around the house Sunday morning.  Doesn't matter if anything is in her way- you better move, 'cause she's coming through anyway!

-It was rainy on Sunday afternoon so we spent some time playing in the playroom, napping, cleaning, etc.  Perfect day for some family time at home:)!

-I have one more week before my first vacation week of the year starts.  We are opening our store that same week so I will be doing some work related stuff (and getting a nice overtime check in the meantime.)  Brandon also took off a couple of days so I'm excited to plan some fun things for us to do!

Annie's Surgery

Yesterday Anniston had to have her adenoids taken out.  I'm really glad we did this because I feel like she will be so much better from here on out.  Her poor little nose has been runny and snotty for over 2 weeks!  We've had a couple more ear infections as well and one of her tubes was clogged.  Poor baby!

As soon as we decided this is what we were going to do, I wanted to schedule the surgery as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, what worked well for mine and Anniston's schedule wasn't the best for Brandon's.  He was able to go with us to the hospital and stay until she went back for surgery, but then he had to be off for a short overnight business trip.  The only reason I had went ahead and scheduled the surgery for a day when Brandon would be out of town is because my sister was off yesterday as well.  She was a MAJOR help.  She came up to the hospital to meet us and stayed with us all day long.  She's such a good aunt:)

Here is Annie before the surgery.  She's always trying to get in someones purse or makeup bag.  Apparently there is always good stuff in there.  Allie's purse was the culprit this time.  

We took Annie's favorite stuffed animal "Pinky" with us.  They even let her take it back with her!

She was NOT happy after she woke up from the anesthesia.  I was expecting that even though it doesn't make it easier.  She was having a fit!  She was crying and thrashing around in my arms like she couldn't get comfortable.  Of course, the anesthesia hadn't completely worn off and she was confused and sleepy and dizzy.  Allie and I actually had to take turns trying to hold and comfort her because she was throwing her arms and legs about so much it was hard to hang onto her.  She was making gagging noises too- which prompted Allie to comment on her dramatics.  Like mother, like daughter she said.  That comment earned her the stink eye:)

Annie cried and cried- we tried everything but she would just not calm down.  Until the nurse came in with a Popsicle.  Her first one ever and she LOVED it.

I'm sure it felt good on her throat.  She put that thing away in, like, 40 seconds flat!  And then cried for another one.  And then one more.

For example:

Once we made it home she seemed to be doing much better.  I gave her a dose of pain medicine to calm her down and relax her in addition to helping with her sore throat.  She started acting really funny and loopy and was being a hoot!  It made me feel so much better to see her smiling.  She did really good the rest of the day.  She was a little clingy towards me and Allie- we didn't mind though:) We had fun playing and reading and watching "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"- her new favorite show by the way.  The main reason is because of the songs and dances they do at the beginning and end of the show. She loves it and totally gets down.

I had to go back to work today but thankfully my mom and grandmother came to keep her for the day so I wouldn't have to use any time off.  She is doing so much better than I expected and I'm looking forward to some fun days this spring and summer WITHOUT runny noses and ear infections!!!!  Bring on the warm weather!