OBX Family Vacation: Day 1, 9/14

AND we're off. Car packed, kids in, and gassed up. This is our first trip in the van and I'm truly in love with all the space was have. What's really funny about this photo is that it after I posted it on Facebook, a number of my friends commented on the number of Vera Bradley bags they saw. I publicly displayed my VB obsession... ;)

So our plan for the day was to drive down to Eastern NC to visit with Justin's grandfather, Daddy-o, his grandmother, Honey, have dinner with the boys' godfather, David and THEN finally head to Justin's mom and step-dad's to spend the night. Well, we did it all! The boys were awesome. They have always been great travelers. I know, we are super lucky. 

The boys enjoyed running around the farm at their Daddy-o's. They also loved picking grapes and eating them right off the vine. Jake, Daddy-o's dog sure was happy to have two little boys to chase too! When we got to Honey's house, she took them to the back bedroom where the got to play with toys that their Daddy and their Nina played with. They surely do not make toys like that anymore. 

We headed to Greenville to meet up with David and it was at prime dinner time. We decided to go to Buffalo Wold Wings because, 1. It's loud and the kids can just be kids, and 2. They didn't have much of a wait! Again, the boys were awesome. They are well and played their favorite games on our iPhones while the adults ate their dinners. 

At this point, they are tired, I am tired, Daddy is tired too. As we drove to Chris and Art's, everyone but Mommy fell asleep (I was driving). When we arrived, we got the boys in the house, got them changed and put them to bed without any fuss. It was awesome. 

Everyone got a great night sleep and are ready to head to the Outer Banks!

I wave the White Flag!

Okay, okay. I know it's been a LONG time since I blogged and I didn't come close to keeping up with my gratitude of the day posts. I often bite off more than I can chew. I can't help it. I come from a long line of multitasking, always involved mothers- especially my beautiful mom. 

I am still incredibly grateful for many things everyday- but I'm just not going to write about it every day.

However. as we drive down I-95 headed to North Carolina, I am inspired to blog about our family vacation. So, for the next week- you can expect some great stories, beautiful photos and the hilarity of vacationing with 2 2-yr old little boys. 

Stay tuned~  

6 months of Gratitude: Day 13, 7/13/13 "Music"

OH my--- I had a whole plan in my head to write about music yesterday (7/13) and I fell asleep before I wrote. :( Better late than never,  right?!?

As most of you know, I am a music therapist by trade and started my career in end-of-life care with my post-graduate internship at Mt. Area Hospice in Asheville, NC. I found almost immediately that end-of-life care is where I needed to be in my career. I loved my time in Asheville and learned SOOOO much in 7 short months. My career has taken many twists and turns since then, but music continues to speak throughout my life.

This weekend, I have the pleasure of working with 14 MT-BCs (board-certified music therapists) in Newark, DE, co-teaching the Hospice & Palliative Care Music Therapy Institute. Yesterday, I presented about the needs and clinical problems of the dying in hospice care. Well teaching the group about the death vigil, I chained 4 songs together-- On The Wings Of A Dove, The Water Is Wide, Peace Like A River and One Day At A Time. The purpose of chaining songs together is to allow the music to continue without stopping and it provides a support presence to the dying patient and their loved ones who are present. I don't know what made me put these songs together, I never have before. I moved myself and actually relaxed while singing these songs all together like this.

What did I learn from this? I cannot forget to keep music as a center point in my life. I also need to find a musically outlet in my life. Any ideas???

6 months of Gratitude: Day 12, 7/12/13 "Super Husband"

I would be remiss if I didn't recognize my husband for being the incredible man he is. I could not ask for a better partner in life. 

Justin and I balance each other in a way that truly only God could have brought through. I am a right-brained, creative/artistic type and Justin is  left-brained, analytical/literal type. I have always thought that between the two of us, we make up a full brain. Right?!?

Justin is always supportive of me in anything I do. (Well, aside from shopping...) He helped me get through grad school while working full time and planning our wedding. He was my absolute rock for me when my mom was killed just 4 shorts months after we got married. He did whatever I needed him to do and held my hand through all our fertility treatments and the birth of our sweet boys. We knew that by having twins, it was always going to be an all-hands-on-deck situation. Justin is an awesome dad. He loves to spend time with the boys playing, watching sports and he has become quite good at taken them both out to run errands. (I think he loves the attention that all the women give him!)

Since I don't know how to slow down and have 3 jobs, Justin is a key person in my  success. All I have to do it tell him when I'm going to be on-call or when I have a class to teach and he's ready and willing to be home to relieve the nanny or spend the day with the boys. 

Sometimes with all he does and juggles along with me, I think he needs a Super Hero cape- "Super J". 

I love you, honey. Thank you for being you!

6 months of Gratitude: Day 11, 7/11/13 "An Attitude of Gratitude"

Today, one of my co-workers mentioned that he was grateful for my gratitude blog and how much he enjoys reading it. I was humbled by this. I'm so glad that friends and family are reading my blog and are enjoying it. 

My hope in writing these ditties is to really remind myself that even the small, unexpected things in my life are things to be grateful for and acknowledge those things. 

It's really about adopting an attitude of gratitude. Listen, I'm not suggesting that I don't bitch or complain, because I do. But by committing to this blog (and those who read it), I'm thinking and examining all day, "What will show itself to me today?"

If you're reading this blog, thanks! I hope it is meaningful for you. 

6 months of Gratitude: Day 10, 7/10/13 "New Babies"

I have a number of friends who are pregnant or have had new babies in the past few weeks. I love seeing those pictures of that brand new baby in their newborn hospital cap. 

It certainly gives me baby fever. For now, I'll just have to love on all these little bundles and keep that fever in check!

Congrats to all the new mommies and daddies! 

6 months of Gratitude: Day 9, 7/9/13 "Pitch Perfect"

I am in love with this movie! I have a new found obsession with it. The music is really good and the comedy is great!

My cousin, Catherine and I watched it today and while we were watching, I texted a few of the one-liners to my friend, Gina (who is equally obsessed). Of course, she texted back. 

It's movies like this and shows I like that allow me to sit and park my brain. Between my kids, husband, jobs (yes, plural) and just life, my wheels are turning constantly. Sitting down and watching a funny movie or ridiculous realty show gives me a chance to turn off the motor and get a little lost. I think it's almost a defense mechanism. At my "full-time" job, I am dealing with very intense, emotional stuff. I need that down time. 

Pitch Perfect does that for me. :-)