To Annapolis, and beyond!

This spring we searched for a new house, then bought a new house, and then had to get our old house on the market…fast. In fairness we had been house hunting and preparing our original home for sale for a while, but when a firm deadline is set and a FOR SALE sign is placed on your curb, well, the “doo-doo” gets real. So to speak.

Let’s just call it “stressful.”

Here’s 106 Baccalaureate…the home where we brought all of our babies home. Ain’t she purdy?

But we did it. The Hubs and I worked our tails off and got our house on the market. Lookin’ pretty darn good, if I do say myself.

(Not us, I mean. The house. We were a hot mess of sweat and panic.)

And then the kids and I hightailed it to Annapolis so that we could get out of the way and let the showings begin!

Ever try keeping a house clean and “show ready” with three rambunctious Littles underfoot? Yeah, not fun. That scenario is a crazy-maker.

Relocating to this oasis was way better.

Can you hear my deep, cleansing breaths? There were a lot of those. And prayers. And wine. And help from a very kind Nena (Nancy Plaxico).

And super fun friend time!

(With Merrick, my Bestie from our Washington, DC days)

We love the whole McSwiggan crew!

And that was followed by super fun family time!

In Philadelphia, as it turns out. My sister, Ashley, and her husband, Joe, were celebrating their 40th birthdays (I brought them prunes as a gift) AND their 15th wedding anniversary…

All with one big, fun, sugar-infused, dance-crazed party. We had a blast!

We were so happy to get to celebrate Ash and Joe, and as always, LOVED all the great cousin time. Haley, Emily, Caleb and Liam are our faves.

The party even included some hilarious improv lessons for the kids with a local theater crew. Suffice to say, we were INTO IT.

So good. So fun. So.Many.Ice.Cream.Sundaes.

At the end of our Philly stay we also spent some time with the Littles’ beloved Aunt Laura. Since our visit with her was at the end of the trip when my brain had shut off, I forgot to take a photo. But we had a ball with her, playing volleyball and jumping in the creek!

The Littles and I traveled home to NC at the end of that week with happy hearts, ice cream and soda hangovers, and an accepted offer on our house. Time well spent, if I do say so myself.

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Months later, in July, we took one more journey up north to Annapolis. After having moved into our new home, the purpose of this trip was to get out of the NC heat and let loose a bit (and let Daddy paint…woo hoo for house projects!).

And we were blessed with more friend time!

(With Joanne Roby, a friend from Wash U, and her sweet boys)

(With Maggie and Sarah, dear friends from DC, and their families)

11 kids between the 3 of us!

And I got to visit with Dani Meagher Fuller too!
Just pretend you see a beautiful picture of the two of us

<RIGHT HERE>

We were even treated to a midnight visit from the Maryland Fire Department, when one of Nena’s mysterious fire alarms went on the fritz. Seems like a good time for some star gazing, no?!?

Annapolis is fun. So very, very fun.

Thanks for hosting us, Nena!!!

I’m Dreaming of a San Diego Vacation

It’s getting cold.
And I’m sore from having my wisdom tooth yanked out last week.
And the antibiotics I’m taking are making me feel like a big yucky schlub.
And, and, and. What I’m really trying to say is…

I WISH I WAS BACK IN SAN DIEGO!!!

And I’m pretty sure the Littles wish they were too…

Each year we try to pilgrimage back to the Plaxico family homeland. And so in August the Hubs and I lugged our 3 wiggly kids, 4 carry-on bags, 6 checked suitcases, and 3 car seats on 2 flights across the country, armed with the sheer determination to do whatever it took to JUST…GET…THERE.
And not lose it in the process.

(Why yes, that is my son wearing a diaper on his head. How else would one get the adult-sized earphones to sit comfortably on top of a cranky three-year-old? I thought it was pretty genius, even if we did get a lot of funny looks from the flight attendants. That M.B.A. of mine is coming in handy, people!)

I would not call it a relaxing venture. But, we made it.

(With a whole lotta help from everyone’s favorite Apple products. And SNACKS. Oh my Lordy, so many snacks. And the Littles, to their credit, were pretty good.)

And then it was family vacation time, baby! Time to kick back, relax, and…oh wait.

Time-zone change be darned (yes, you heard me right), we were desperate to shake off the North Carolina heat and engulf ourselves in the mid-70s paradise that is Southern California. Well, at least we were after Nena woke up with the Littles at 5am…and did potty duty…and got them dressed…and fed them breakfast. She’s a keeper.

As I was saying, (after Nena made us some coffee) we were ready to get out there and do some adventuring!

We spent every waking moment outside and had a great time (wearing Mama and Daddy out AND),

Enjoying some sand facials at the beach and the bay…

(Our three Little Technicians are not what I’d call “gentle,” but they will work for fruit snacks!)

(And lemme tell you, the lifeguards just looooved us. Especially when the Littles would destroy their perches by digging tunnels to China under their feet.)

Bonding with all the sunburned tourists at the zoo…

(That orangutan had an uncanny resemblance to someone I know…)

And making a ruckus around Nena and Pops’ house…

(With all of our squawking and squeaking, the neighbors loved us almost as much as the lifeguards did!)

This, by the way, was how Pops dressed THE ENTIRE TWO WEEK TRIP. I began to wonder if the man even owned a shirt. Or shoes. Or a hairbrush. Overwhelmed by their grandfather’s disdain for anything related to personal grooming, the kids took matters into their own hands…

With all of the belly and body hair we were forced to witness, I think it’s clear that Pops got his just dessert. And the Littles were oh so pleased with themselves.

When we weren’t out on adventures we were visiting with dear friends of yore.

Like Peggy, my second Mama (and old Daycare Provider, or “Daycare Divider” as I used to call her),

Amanda Fleming Perez (a friend of mine since preschool!) and her sweet girls,

Kelly Sonnack Szymczak (a friend since elementary school!) and her adorable crew,

And the Little Missy’s wonderful godparents, Martha and Jeff (friends from our DC days)!

Martha and Jeff traveled all the way from Tucson just to see us. They are the BEST.

And such good sports!

It was a lively, fun, full, exhausting trip…complete with great times with loved ones, tons of enriching activities, the occasional meltdown, and the more than occasional trip to Mr. Frosty’s ice cream store (SEE previous).

Did I mention the Little Mister turned 3 just before this trip? Yeah, that.

(This was totally self-inflicted…and I fully admit that I left him there for a while so I could keel over laughing. And then grab the camera. And then laugh a little more.

…Yep, still funny.)

But we had a fun time and are very grateful for these two Troopers who helped make it happen…