Aug 30, 2010

Girls, Girls, Girls!

This past weekend I had some much needed girl time with some great girlfriends! Saturday morning I headed to Rock Hill for the yearly get-together with my RA's from Winthrop. We had a fabulous time watching our kids play, sitting around and catching up, and of course eating! Everyone got to meet Ella, and we also got to meet sweet little baby A, who Sarah and her husband, Kris, are welcoming into their family along with her 5 year old brother. We are all so excited for them! DSS has asked that they not share pictures electronically right now, so I can't post any, but just imagine one cute 7 week old baby and that's little A!

Saturday night I had so much fun hanging out with a group of ladies from church. One of my friends, Ashley, had the great idea of hosting a Girls Night In for several of us. We spent lots of time girl-talking and did a white elephant exchange of our "favorite things." The evening also included key lime pie, so it was definitely a great night!

Since this is all about girls, I have to mention one of the sweetest girls in my life, my sister-in-law. She graciously offered to come keep Ella for the day for me tomorrow so I could go out and have some "me time." Due to some car issues, she's not going to be able to come anymore, but in this situation, it's definitely the thought that counts! How awesome of her to want to do this! Plus, I'm not really too worried, because I know she wants some one-on-one time with her niece badly enough that she'll eventually reschedule and boot me out of the house!

And, finally, no post about girls would be complete without a picture of my all-time favorite girls!


Aug 26, 2010

Bedtime

Doctors

We're not very lucky when it comes to finding doctors for our kids. Actually, we're pretty good at finding them, we're just not lucky when it comes to keeping them!

When we were in Anderson, there was one main pediatrics practice in town that pretty much everyone took their children to. Out of the 5 doctors in the practice, we chose to see Dr. Strom-Morgan who we loved immediately when I was pregnant with Camryn. Once Camryn was born, we only got to see Dr. Strom-Morgan a handful of times before she went out on an extended medical leave. During that time, we saw a couple of other doctors in the practice that we just didn't click with. Eventually, Dr. Strom-Morgan's medical issues lasted so long, she ended up leaving the practice. We were upset but decided to see another doctor there we'd never been to before, Dr. Draisen. We had friends who saw her and recommended her. She was incredible. After thinking we'd never find another doctor like Dr. Strom-Morgan, she was amazing. She saw us through all of Camryn's chronic coughing, ear infections, and a bladder infection. Then we moved. Sad day.

We found out that around here, there's not one main practice where parents take their children. Actually, the more we asked around for recommendations for a pediatrics practice, we found out people take their kids to pediatricians as well as family doctors all over the surrounding area. We really weren't sure where we should go, but chose a practice in Ballantyne for Camryn's 3 year old appointment. We only went there for a few visits before we realized it wasn't the place for us.

Then one day, we randomly got a postcard in the mail for a new doctor advertising her practice. The practice was in town, which was a huge plus for us, so we decided to give Dr. Fine a shot. She was absolutely wonderful! We were so excited to finally find another doctor we felt was on par with the ones we left in Anderson.

When Ella was born, I called Dr. Fine's office to make her newborn appointment. I was told she was not taking new patients. I asked if it mattered that Dr. Fine currently saw our older daughter, and the receptionist said, "I'm not sure if you're aware, but Dr. Fine is leaving the practice in a few weeks!" NO! I was NOT aware! Apparently a letter had been sent out to all of Dr. Fine's patients explaining this, but we didn't receive one. We were so bummed that we were losing another doctor! We went ahead and made an appointment with the other doctor in that practice who we knew nothing about. Once we got there, we actually ended up being able to see Dr. Fine, and she saw Ella for her newborn appointment, 2 weight checks, and her 3 week appointment.

We started the process of asking around again for doctor recommendations but didn't really feel comfortable with anything we were hearing. In the end, we decided it was worth it to us to follow Dr. Fine to her new practice in Charlotte. We're OK with the drive and would rather have the peace of mind that comes with having a doctor we trust rather than having to go through the process of weeding out more until we find another good one. Plus, we have some fabulous family doctors in our church who we know would see either one of our girls if something urgent came up, and we weren't able to make the drive to see Dr. Fine.

Unfortunately, getting an appointment with Dr. Fine has not been smooth sailing, because apparently she had to be "verified" (whatever that means!) with our insurance company once she changed states to her new practice. However, we finally got the call today that everything is straightened out, and Ella is all set to have her 2 month check up tomorrow. We're excited to see Dr. Fine, and I'll be glad to report how our little roly poly is growing soon!

Aug 20, 2010

Disney Hooks

Most of you know we are Disney crazy here in the Burley household! Once we get back from one trip, we spend all of our time daydreaming about and planning for our next one (and, yes, we do already have the next one planned for 2013!)

We love Disney so much we try to get as much of it as we can in between trips. We watch TV specials, we've subscribed to a Disney magazine, and we get the weekly Disney newsletter, All Ears. Yes, folks, we are Disney dorks, although we prefer Disney enthusiasts, thank you very much! In a recent edition of All Ears, there was an article about Disney Hooks. A Disney Hook is that specific memory that "grabs" or "hooks" you every time you visit. It's the memory that can't be experienced anywhere else, that makes you sigh and say, "Ah! I'm at Disney World!" The perfect example that is probably a universal hook for anyone who has been to Disney is when you first turn onto Main Street USA and see Cinderella Castle. It's one of those memories you can't experience anywhere else, and you definitely know you're AT Disney World when you catch a glimpse of that beautiful castle!

So, I know this won't apply for everyone who reads my blog, but for those of you who have been to Disney - what are your hooks?

Here are my top three:

1. Riding It's A Small World, hearing the first few lines of the song, and seeing those adorable dolls! Maybe it's because this ride is one of the most vivid memories I have from my first trip to Disney in 5th grade, but every time we get on that ride, I look at Jason and say, "I am definitely at Disney!" It's always been one of my hooks, I've just never had a label for it until now!

2. When I hear the music begin for the SpectroMagic parade at Magic Kingdom. I adore that parade and the anticipation building up to it when you're sitting on the sidewalks of Main Street USA waiting for it to begin!

3. The show that opens the park at Magic Kingdom each day. It always makes Jason and me teary-eyed when our baby (and babies in 2013!) sees Mickey Mouse for the first time!

Aug 16, 2010

At 4:20 on a Monday Afternoon

Supper is cooking on the stove.

The big sister is working on a new puzzle.

The baby ...

and the baby daddy are sound asleep.

And the dishwasher repairman is hard at work.


Ahhhh, we're livin' the life!

Aug 13, 2010

Just Because It's Friday, and I Know You Want More Pictures of My Girls . . .











Aug 9, 2010

Weekend at Papa's

We didn't have any plans for this past weekend. I decided if we didn't find something to do, I was going to go crazy just sitting around the house. So, we packed up and took Ella's first overnight trip to Papa's house. Everyone had a great time!

We hung out with Papa

We ate dinner at a YUMMY Italian place where kids get to make their own pizza


This place also gives kids extra dough to play with while they wait on their food. Camryn AND Mommy both thoroughly enjoyed playing with our food!
We laughed

We hung out at the lake watching the ducks and turtles
We fished



We snoozed
We did puzzles

What a great way to spend the weekend!

Aug 1, 2010

All Smiles!

Guess who was all smiles this evening!