Still Here!

Holy moly, where has the time gone?!

Here's a breakdown of what's been going on in the Murphy household these past couple of months:

August

As you know, McKenna started school

McKenna's First Day of VPK, 8/25/14

And she's still loving it and doing so well! Daddy was able to go into work a little late on her first day so that we could all walk her up there together.

She was so excited while we were getting ready that morning and did GREAT at drop off. (Mommy did, too, if you were wondering! ;-)) After visiting her classroom and teacher at Open House that evening, we headed over to our favorite ice cream spot, Del's Freez, to kick off our back to school tradition with THE BEST soft serve ice cream around - YUM!

We closed out the month in Orange Park celebrating my Dad's 51st birthday.

It was a pretty great weekend just kicking back with the family :-)

September

Kendall and I have been enjoying our one-on-one time together

But do I dare say that it is a little too quiet around here now during the day? We've been keeping ourselves busy with lots of MOMS Club play dates -- On September 11 for our Fall service project, we headed up to the fire station with a pot luck lunch to thank the firefighters for all that they do for our community; we were able to tour the station, the fire truck and shoot the hose!

At the end of the month, we found ourselves back in Orange Park for my Mom's 51st birthday, Brew at the Zoo, and a family photo session (our first ever!) with Pink Pelican Photography.

That's my talented sister-in-law behind the camera! I couldn't be more proud and excited for her as she so fervently pursues her dream in photography. Check her out, Jacksonville!

October

October was ca-razy busy!

I opened up a little handmade card shop on Etsy called Cards Luv and Happiness :-) I casually expressed interest in card-making to Alex one weekend, and a couple of days later he came home with a Cricut that he found from someone on Craigslist and a TON of craft supplies began arriving in the mail after he was up late one night doing some pretty in-depth research into my new hobby. I'm so grateful for a husband that supports and encourages my creative whims!

Then there was the MOMS Club Annual Halloween Party and Open House event, volunteering in McKenna's classroom, another trip to Orange Park for Jotoberfest (my MIL'S annual everything-pumpkin birthday bash),

And finally we had a Halloween Party of our own here at the house with friends.

It was hectic month, for sure, but a fun one!

November

Alex was out of town for the majority of September and October, and had only been home for a few hours on the 1st before I was on my way to the emergency room with McKenna - she had a fever of 104.6! It turns out that she had PNEUMONIA (!) and was admitted to the hospital for four days.

I felt like a  t e r r i b l e  parent for sending her to school that entire week and having our Halloween Party, but other than a lingering cough from a cold that we both had caught the previous weekend, she was fine - no fever, lack of energy, shortness of breath; nothing at all until that Saturday...

I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful nurses and doctors who took such good care of McKenna in the hospital... And that Alex was in town and able to stay home from work to take care of Kendall... And for my mother-in-law for putting her life on pause for a few days to come down and help out around the house (she bleached my bathrooms, you guys!)... And for all of the kind words and thoughtful gestures from all of our family and friends. It's a scary thing being in the hospital with your child and we were all so touched by those that reached out.

The following couple of weeks, we were in and out of the vet with Hanley - he was completely immobile for a few days and blood test results showed that his liver enzymes were 3 times higher than normal. He's on medication and a special diet now until at least the beginning of January with a bill upwards of $1000 already, but his health has seen a major improvement and he's back to his goofy ol' self - thank GOODNESS!

On the road again at the end of the month, but this time it was Georgia or bust! It was a short, but always sweet visit with Alex's Dad's side of the family in the Brooklet and Statesboro areas for Thanksgiving.

Thirty-seven people - all family - made it for dinner this year. I look forward to this trip every other year (we alternate spending Thanksgiving in Orange Park and Georgia) and I really wish that we could make it up there more often; things are so laid back and peaceful there, everybody is incredibly warm and welcoming; you can really feel the love.

December

We found ourselves in the pediatrician's office everyday for the first three days of December - both of the girls had double ear infections and then they got pink eye! We had to keep McKenna home from school again today as she woke up with a really bad cough. She seemed to be feeling better by bedtime, but I am sooo tempted to start our Christmas break a few days early -- I really miss mornings like these:

No alarm clocks, no place for us to be at a certain time; simply enjoying the day as it unfolds before us. Coffee and crafts, just like the good ol' days before school started :-)

Alex found a cute bedroom set for the girls at a garage sale that we just couldn't pass up, so we decided to redo their ENTIRE room (much to his chagrin).

Bye, bye nursery yellow! My "Coral Passion" was outvoted 3 to 1 for this "Hint of Cherry," but after a couple of coats and drying, I've gotta admit that it's growing on me... We're Alex is still working on refinishing the furniture, so the girls have been bunking with us at night. I don't mind the slumber party, though; I'm really loving the snuggles! Hanley and Baloo usually end up in bed with all of us by morning, too, so talk about mommy heaven!

I was able to escape for an evening with some of the ladies from MOMS Club for our holiday party and White Elephant Gift Exchange, followed by drinks and dancing downtown - what a great time! Then, last weekend, we celebrated our sweet little monkey turning THREE (!!!) with friends and family at the park and I got to host the always epic Cookie Day again at our house this year.

Right now, I'm working on finishing up my last special order of the season for Cards Luv and Happiness, and then this momma's going on break, too!

'Twas the Night Before Preschool

Zero more days.

Tonight McKenna cut the last link off of the paper chain countdown that we made last week.

In less than 12 hours, she's off to preschool!

(WHY did I write "Back to school countdown" instead of "First day of school countdown," I do not know; just going to blame the recent lack of sleep over the whole thing here...)

Thankfully, McKenna's gone from "excited, but just a little nervous" to "reeeally excited" after having met her teacher, Mrs. Murray, last Wednesday and then on Friday visiting the classroom. We've been reading books about going to school, talking to all of our friends about how awesome it's going to be and role playing teacher/student here at home. I couldn't be more happy (and also relieved) that she is so excited about her first day tomorrow; she's going to love it and I can't wait to hear all about it when we pick her up!

Growing Pains

In a little less than a month, McKenna will be off to preschool. While we've started crossing things off of her school supply list and she already has her backpack and lunchbox ready to go, it's still something that I haven't fully processed yet. I'm having such a difficult time wrapping my heart and my head around the fact that the first chapter of my little baby's life is coming to a close. She's growing up. Wasn't it just yesterday that she was crawling around in diapers?

A couple of weeks ago while the girls and I were out doing our grocery shopping, we picked up a few things from the supply list. McKenna couldn't wait to show off her new folder, pencils, crayons, and glue, all packed up in her Disney Princess backpack, ready for the first day of school, to Alex when he got home from work. When she brought out the Kindermat that she's going to take for nap time, I fought hard to hold back the tears.

How in the heck am I going to handle dropping her off on the first day of school? I hope I don't bawl when or if she does; I hope I don't lose it when or if she doesn't want to let me go. I need to be strong for her on this nerve-wracking first day of school... At least until I make it out of that classroom door, turn around for one last wave and a blown kiss goodbye. Ugh, parenting is hard.

I told Alex, "What am I going to do all day!?"

"You still have another one at home," he said with a wink and a little boop on the nose. But Kendall's wondering the same thing, too...

On our way over to a friend's house, McKenna and I were talking about her going to school soon and Kendall chimed in, "I'm going to miss you, M'enna" to which M'enna replied, "I'm going to miss you, too, Kendall; but don't worry, I'll be back." My heart melted like a popsicle on the Fourth of July!

I know that McKenna is ready for school and I think she'll do great; she loves to learn and enjoys making new friends. She's excited, but "just a little nervous."

She sounds so grown up when she tells me that.