Crazy Week!!!

Why is it that you feel so rested and relaxed while on vacation and as soon as you get home you feel as though you have never even had a vacation?? That's exactly how I have felt this week. This has been a crazy week and this is the first chance I have had to blog about my NY vacation and I have been home almost a week! I don't even know if I can remember what I did in NY!!! This week, I started my new nanny job. It was a hard week. I now have 2 children, ages 4 and 1 instead of just Ry. Ben is almost 4 and in preschool but he didn't start until Thursday so I literally had no break during the course of the day because Ben does not nap anymore. Its not that I minded but I just came from Ry who napped at least 2-3 hours every day, a big adjustment. On top of that, it rained on Tuesday and Wednesday which meant being inside all day. I did take them to the play area at the mall on Wednesday which did help alittle. If anyone is familiar with children, you know they typically behave better when outside playing and not holed up in the house. Ben started school on Thursday so it was just me and Claire which was nice. Next week will be much better with Ben in school and hopefully I can get Claire on good schedule. For those who know me, I do much better when in a regular routine.

So my trip to NY was fun. Every time I visit I realize why I left and its make me glad I did. As much as I miss my parents, I am a much happier person in North Carolina. I found myself crankier while I was there probably because it does get boring up there. I do enjoy the weather there in the summer though. Its much cooler there and once the sun begins to set, it gets noticeably cooler where here it stays hot until midnight and by 6am its hot and humid again. I enjoyed wearing jeans and a short sleeve shirt and sleeping with my window open!!! I enjoyed it all week because I won't be able to do that until at least October here. I also like eating all the foods that are native to Upstate NY and can't get here in the South. I love Jreck Subs, soft ice cream, fresh veggies from roadside stands, fresh picked blackberries and real pizza!!!!!

I did do some things that I haven't done in awhile and it was nice. On Saturday, I went to Oswego (my Alma mater) with my dad and my very best Oswego buddy, Chris! We drove around Oswego and reminisced about all the great times we had. We drove by my old house and Chris's old house. Then we went and drove around campus. I finally got to see the brand new hockey arena they built. It was great! I would love to be able to go back for a hockey game but I am not brave enough to go in the winter, unless its Christmas and campus is closed then. They were just beginning to build it when I graduated. I cannot believe it has been almost 5 years since I had been back there. Time sure does fly by!!! Then we went to the Oswego Speedway to see the super modified races they have on Saturday nights during the summer. I had not been since I was about 5 or 6 so it was nice to be back there. Chris had never been there and he loved it. Overall it was a great day!!!! I got to see my friends Amanda and Nate and meet their 6 month old daughter, Sabrina. She is absolutely gorgeous and pictures do not do her beautiful blue eyes justice!! They all came for dinner one night and I made my famous meatloaf and macaroni and cheese. Zach was also there the week I was. We went shopping and out to lunch one day and I did pick his drunk ass up and take him to his friends' house. I didn't see him as much as I wanted to BUT he was there for a good friend's wedding and he does not visit very often so he wanted to try and see lots of his peeps. I have seen Zach alot this summer and I did just fly to West Palm Beach and visit him for 3 days so it didn't bother me very much. I wanted him to enjoy his friends that he rarely sees and that is exactly what he did!! I also went blackberry picking with my dad and rode on the 4 wheeler. My parents and I went to the outlet mall and I got some brand new running shoes for $40 at the ADIDAS outlet. All in all, it was a great week with the exception of grad school starting again but as much as I complain about how busy I am and have hardly any time for me, secretly I love it!!!

Sabrina and I

This picture need no description

me in front of the new hockey arena! Dad and I overlooking Lake Ontario

Chris and I

Chris and I, my fave lighthouse is in the background (barely)

Dad and I at the races!

Back to the Grind

Well, that was a quick summer break! I made the most of it though with going to West Palm Beach to see Zach and my trip to NY (I am here until Saturday). School started again yesterday and already I am feeling overwhelmed. I am only taking 2 classes but they are time consuming classes because they are research classes. Not only has school started again but I also start a new job on Monday and it has not fully hit me that I won't see Ry on Monday morning. On top of school and my new job starting, I am also in the midst of interviewing for a data collection job with the North Carolina Community Health Center Organization and the American Diabetes Association. This job will only be part time but it would be a great opportunity for me, pray for me that I will get a call back within the next few weeks!!! And of course, let's not forget my part time job at my sister's boutique and my half marathon training! I sometimes wonder how I get myself in over my head but I do enjoy all the things I do and being in NY for the last week just confirms that I do better when on a routine and busy. I have been a little bit bored this week even when I have been hanging out with friends. I am just restless and looking forward to getting back to NC and back into the swing of things. But by the end of next week, I'll be wishing I was still on vacation because I will feel like I have no time to get anything done.

Ok so enough for now, I'll be blogging about my NY trip once I return to NC!!

My last day

Today was my very last day with with Ry. They leave for Alaska tomorrow and I leave for NY and I start my new job on Aug. 25. Today has been difficult for me. I cried on the way to work knowing this was my last day and I cried when I put him down for a nap. He gave me a huge hug and that's when I lost it. I held him for about 5 minutes and then put him in his crib and he saw me crying and looked at me like I was crazy!!! And of course I cried again when I left tonight and Michelle cried too which made me cry more. I keep telling myself its not goodbye but see you soon because I will still watch him on weekend nights when his parents want to have a date night. I was taking his car seat out of my car and he told me no, keep in Sara's car and that broke my heart! I explained to him that today was my last day with him but he will see me very soon! Everything happens for a reason and I know that this is for the best and Ry and his parents will always be an important part in my life, they are part of my family after all. This job came at the best possible time for me and for them as well. They were desperate to find a great nanny because Ry was miserable in his home daycare and I was desperate to leave LA Weight Loss. I put my profile on nannylocators.com on a Friday evening after a horrendous day at LAWL and by Sunday morning, I had set up an interview with Grant and Michelle. On Monday morning, I was giving LAWL my notice and I was the happiest I had been in a long time!!! Now I have another great family that I will enjoy being a part of and hopefully by the end of next summer, I will be finished with my Master's Degree and after that, the possibilities will be endless... I am looking forward to my future and I will always cherish the memories of my past. I will miss you Ry but always remember that I love you and I will see you soon:)

Something to look forward to tomorrow...NY!!!!

When one door closes, another one opens...

I am not looking forward to this week at all. I am only working 4 days and I leave for New York on Friday to see my parents BUT Thursday is my very last day with Ry:( Words cannot describe how much I am going to miss my little buddy. I have enjoyed my last year and a half watching him grow into a little man. I have been with him thru all his firsts: crawling, walking, talking, jumping and the list goes on and on. In my heart, I know its time for him to go to school/daycare for socialization but its still going to hurt. I have already told Grant and Michelle (Ry's parents) that I will watch him one Saturday night a month to give them a date night and also for me to hang out with him! When he gets older, I want him to remember me and know how important I was in his younger years. The good news is that my new job is for a family in the same neighborhood that Ry lives in so I can drop in after work and see him whenever I want to!!! I am not a big person for change but sometimes when one door closes, another one opens. I am confident that everything happens for a reason and there was a reason I was brought into their life and I have enjoyed every moment spent with Ry. I love you buddy!

LAZY

I have been so lazy this week but it has been so great! Ever since I got home from Florida on Monday morning, I have been coming home from work and laying on the couch watching tv and staying away from my computer as much as possible. I have only worked out 2x which is rare for me, I typically work out 5-6x per week. School starts again in 12 days (I am definitely not counting!) and I am going to take full advantage of having no school responsibility while I can. I leave for NY next Friday and I will be there until the following Saturday which will be nice but the only downfall is I start school again while I am there. The good news is that the first few days are very low key and first assignments typically aren't due for 7-10 after the start of classes.
Of course I checked my e-mail this morning and of course one of my professors has already posted all of our assignments for the semester. I feel like I won't be able to enjoy the next 12 days without stressing about what needs to be done. My assignment that is due on Aug. 29 is just me writing about myself and my career goals...that won't be too difficult. So until then, I will be very lazy and enjoy every second of it:)

Florida trip

So I have been home since Monday morning from Florida but today is the first day I actually feel rested. I had such a great time just relaxing and laying on the beach. I arrived there Friday morning around 10 and then Zach and I went ate lunch and hung out on the beach until a storm rolled in around 2:30 which according to Zach is typical. We stayed in on Friday night, ate pizza and watched 21. It was a very good movie and I highly recommend it. Saturday morning turned out to be quite interesting. Zach and I woke up and there was pieces of rubber all over the bedroom floor. While we were sleeping, Zach's pit bull, Bodhi decided he would eat my flip flop! Of course there were my absolute favorite pair and now I was down to only one shoe. Zach felt bad and offered to buy me a new pair at Old Navy where I had gotten them 3 years ago. I told that I doubted they would have them because I got them at the outlet and it was awhile ago. Needless to say, I was right, Old Navy had nothing similar so Zach bought me a pair of Rainbows!! How sweet of him:) This was my first pair since I would never buy them for myself but I am very thankful for Zach buying them for me to replace my pair that was Bodhi's breakfast! Thanks Zach:)

This was my flip flop before Bodhi...

...and this is my flip flop after!!

We went to Miami and South Beach on Saturday and it was alot of fun! We went to a mall there first to look for new flipflops and then headed to the beach. It took forever just to go a few blocks to get down to the beach, I guess everyone had the same idea and then it was $15 for parking and that was the cheapest place we found! We headed down to the beach and laid out and went swimming. I did a lot of people watching, there were so many interesting people there in all shapes and sizes. I saw some great eye candy with men in cute bikinis and girls sunbathing topless and many who needed to cover up more than they were. Zach and I went for a walk down South Beach and ended up eating dinner along the way at a restaurant right on Ocean Blvd. Overall, I had a great time in Miami and I am glad we went. I have been fascinated with Miami ever since I started watching CSI: Miami and now I can say I have been there. I was hoping to see them filming but they weren't...oh well. Sunday was a very low key day with lots of relaxing and I went down to the beach and laid out while Zach hung out at home. He did bring Bodhi down for a little bit and then he went back home and I just laid by the ocean and relaxed. I took lots of walks along the beach and just took it all in. Overall, it was awesome and the perfect getaway after a very long summer of grad school. Thanks again Zach for having me:)

Here are some pictures from my trip:

Zach and I laying out in South Beach

Miami Beach

Eye Candy!!! Zach and Bodhi on the beach

Good news/bad news

I have a job...woohoo! I am going to be a nanny for a almost 4 year old boy named Ben and his 11 month old sister, Claire. They live in the same neighborhood as Ry and his family and I have known them since I started with Ry in 2007. It just so happens that Teresa (their mom) is looking to go back to work and when she found out that I was leaving Ry on August 14, she talked with her husband and they asked for me to be their nanny. I am very excited, I start on Aug. 25, right after I get home from NY. Not only do I already know them but I will be in the same neighborhood and be able to hang in with the same moms that I have formed a strong bond with in the past year and a half. I am looking forward to it and I will be able to stop in and see Ry whenever I want to!! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders in the past 2 days, now I can finally relax and enjoy my very short break from grad school.

August 14 is going to be a very hard day for me since that will be my last official day with Ry. I will definitely cry because I cry now whenever I think about it. It was very hard today to go back to work after my long weekend because I knew that next Thursday is my very last day. It made it even harder today when Ry saw me and gave me a huge hug and kiss. I know deep in my heart that everything happens for a reason and there was a reason that God put me into their life and Ry and his family will always hold such a special place in my heart.

I just got back from West Palm Beach today and I had a great time. I have a lot to blog about from my trip but at the moment, I am so tired that I will post about it tomorrow when I can think straight again:) Until then....