Pumpkin Carving!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

Drury Inn & Suites, Meridian, MS Review

Hi All!!
We are back from our 2 week trip to Texas!  We had a great time but are happy to be home and back in our routine.

We broke our drive from Virginia to Texas into two days.  We had originally planned to do three days but rather than stay our second night in a hotel, we just opted to drive the extra hours to my parents house where we were staying for the rest of the trip.  It was a lot harder getting unloaded, settled then having to repack everything up the first night we stayed at a hotel than we had expected and we figured it would be better to just get settled rather than do another night in a hotel.




Our overnight stop was at the Drury Inn & Suites in Meridian, MS, link on the image above.  My parents and Beau had stayed at a few other Drury's when we were moving to Virginia from San Diego and loved them so when we were looking for somewhere to stay this time, they were definitely our first choice.

**Although we didn't have our dogs with us this trip, I do want to mention that they have a great pet policy (which is how we found them in the first place) that we took advantage of during our move.**

We checked in at about 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon.  I had made our reservation a few weeks before and had booked us a 1 bedroom suite.  We chose a suite because Tucker still wakes up a few times a night to eat and we were afraid that he would wake up Jordyn so we wanted a room with an actual door.

Check in was very quick and the lobby and dining room were newly renovated and very nice.  It wasn't too crowded so we were able to use a luggage cart which was nice because we ended up with so much stuff we had to lug up to the third floor.

Our first order of business once we got to our room was to test out the bed!








Our plan was then to then hit up the pool but apparently there had been some kind of "accident" and they had to close to pool down for the night to shock it so we decided to check out what else the hotel had to offer.





We wondered downstairs to snag some popcorn which they have available from 3-10pm in the lobby and to see what was on the menu for their 530 Kick Back.  The Kick Back is included in the cost of your room and includes a hot food, beer, wine, mixed drinks and cold sodas every night at 530pm.  The night we were there was grilled chicken and baked potatoes which we decided to skip in lieu of Chili's take away but we did take advantage of the drinks.  The lady at the front desk said it was 3 drinks (alcoholic or not) per person.

They also have a guest pantry at this location.  It is a little room by the front desk where you can purchase anything from personal care items to frozen dinners and snacks.  The prices were a bit steep for what they were but if you didn't have a car, it would be very handy.

The room itself was very nice!  It consisted of a living room with a little "kitchen" which was a couple of cabinets with mini fridge, microwave and a coffee maker on top.

Pardon our mess!  We forgot to take photos before Jordyn settled in and destroyed the place.

The little kitchen was in the living room which included a 2nd flat screen TV and a sofa that folds out into a queen bed I believe.

Can you tell we brought a toddler?!

Down the hall was the bathroom and bedroom.



The bathroom was awesome!!  Brand new, clean and very nice fixtures.





The tub was very clean and I had no problem giving the kids a bath in it. (I HATE hotel bathtubs! Yuck!)
The one feature that really stood out to me in this bathroom was the soap dispenser.  There was a shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispenser mounted on the wall and I love this idea.  There is never enough soap in the tiny bottles, especially for multiple people and this also means there aren't tons of little bottles ending up in the trash which is nice.

And lastly, the bedroom.







We did take advantage of the hot breakfast the next morning but we were in a hurry to get back on the road so we took it to go.  The food was awesome compared to other hotel breakfasts I've had.  Everything was hot and fresh (ie actual scrambled eggs and not those egg slabs some places do) and Beau said there was a nice selection.  Jordyn enjoyed a sausage and a muffin while I had eggs, biscuits and gravy.


Overall, a great, great hotel and for less than $100, cannot be beat.  We will definitely be staying here again on our future trips to Texas.  Everyone was very very nice and we would have loved to have stayed longer.  I should mention they do offer porta cribs free of charge but they are on a first come first serve basis.  We already had to bring both of ours for the rest of the trip so we opted to just use those rather than risk not being able to get two.  The Wifi was great and the channel selection on the TVs was good as well.



The rest of the trip posts will be up very soon as well as a Tucker hand update and a Christmas budgeting post!!

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Thanks y'all!

Texas Road Trip 2016: Preparation

Our road trips are a big undertaking for us, especially now with two small children, so we do as much as we can in advance to make the trips as painless as possible.  I'm the type of person that is always worried we are going to forget something important so I would much rather put the time in to make sure everything is super organized so I thought I would share how I do that!

4 Months Before:

• Selected the dates of our trip.
• Determined our route.
• Booked hotels.

2 Months Before:

• Start making detailed lists.  I love the iPhone app called 2Do for most of my list making because I can organize all my lists into categories and it is on my phone rather than a piece of paper I'm sure to loose.  I make a separate list for each bag as well as one for the car, the rocket box on top and a to-do list.  I usually sit down and start all my lists at once then I slowly add things as I think of them.

• Book the house sitter.  We usually use the same house sitter when we go out of town and I prefer to have her scheduled as soon as possible so we aren't stuck scrambling around trying to find someone else last minute.  This time I texted her as soon as we decided on the dates but I wouldn't leave it any later than 2 months out.
• Tip on house/dog sitters that I've discovered.  Make them a "mess kit" for the dogs.  Our dogs are both house trained but they have gotten used to me being home most of time and just going out when they feel like it so there is almost always an accident while they are getting use to her routine.  Just get a box or caddy and put the products she would need to clean up the mess in it.  I usually include Lysol wipes, a big bottle of vinegar, paper towels, enzyme spray and some little trash bags for the mess.  That way the mess is cleaned with the correct products and she doesn't have to go digging for anything to clean them up.  Another thing to consider in line with pet messes is do you have a Roomba?  If so, make sure to schedule it around her routine when you are gone.  I made the mistake last time of not doing that and it ran before she was to get back to the house after being gone for a while...you can guess what happened. :)

1 Month Before:

• Start buying things.  Do you need things for your trip, for your house while you are gone or for your pets?  Maybe new bones or toys to help keep them busy, any new clothes, bags or things like that for you?  Anything for your kids like travel strollers, travel games, Pack n Plays, etc?

• Complete lists.  Go over your lists again and make sure that everything you need is on them and anything you don't is off.  Feel confident by this point that your lists are complete.

• Decide on bags and consider laying them out.  Make a decision on what bags you are going to be using for what and make sure they will fit how you need them to.  We had planned on putting all of our bags for our hotel stops in the car, then everything else in the rocket box up top but we did a "trial run" so to speak and discovered that our double stroller is WAY too big for the box so we have had to re work a few things.  I like to lay out all of our bags in our guest room/office upstairs so that as I start gathering things up, I can just toss them in their corresponding bag.  That way I'm not running all over the house last minute looking for random things.
• A tip if you have small children.  Put your bags in a room with a lock on the door.  Jordyn has discovered that going into the room and "packing" AKA moving things to the wrong bag as well as adding her own stuff is fun!! For her at least...

2 Weeks Before:

• Update & Print House Sitter Instructions.  I keep these saved on my computer so all I have to do is make any small changes and print before we leave.

• Start Actively Gathering Stuff.  I try to have everything that we don't use on a day to day basis gathered up by 1 week out.

• If Driving, Service the Car.  Change the oil, air up the tires, take it in for a general service if anything is due to be done.

1 Week Before:

Nasty!!

• If Driving, Clean the Car.  I like to try to start off the trip fresh so we clean the car from top to bottom.  We wash the whole car, vacuum, wipe down the inside for dust or kid yuck (2 week old applesauce perhaps?) and clean out any compartments or pockets.  I also take this opportunity to clean the car seats.  I take them all the way apart, wash all the fabric parts in the washer and wipe down the rest of it.  That way at least we start out the trip with as little sticky and crunchy as possible.

• Attach the Rocket Box.  Ours is a bit of a pain to put on so we like to do it well before we need it.

• Clean the House.  I like to leave the house as clean as I can so it isn't so bad when we get home.  The dogs will make the place hairy and dusty anyway so if it's clean to start off with, then it usually isn't too horrible.  I have discovered that the Roomba is fantastic at helping with this though.  Before when we would come back, the first thing I would have to do is vacuum because there was hair EVERYWHERE and it drove me batty.  The Roomba putts around every morning and takes care of I would say 90% of the dog hair which is awesome!  The house sitter just empties it every day and I don't have to think about it when we get home.  Another option might be to schedule a cleaning service to come while you are gone if that's an option.  A lady I know does this every time she goes out of town and she swears by it.

• Any Last Minute Shopping.

• Check your Food.  Check your pantry and fridge for anything that will spoil while you are gone and try to work them into your meal plan for this week so you won't have to throw them away.

Night Before:

• If Driving, Load the Car.  We leave very, very early in the morning (like 4am early) and the last thing we want to be doing is running around, cramming stuff in the car at 3am, in the dark.  No thank you!

• Make a Morning To Do List.  I make a paper list of everything that needs to be grabbed or done the next morning and leave it on the counter.  Our brains don't function well at 3am so this way we don't have to think about anything, just do whats on the list.

• Put the Kids to Bed Early.

• Have a Glass of Wine... 2 days in the car with 2 kids, 2 and under... Gonna need it.

Morning Of:

• Consult the List.  We check everything off the to do list I made the night before.  

• Lock Up.  Make sure all the doors and windows are locked.  And set your alarm if you have one.

• Load Up.  We get the kids up at the last second, change diapers only and straight into car seats.  And pray they go back to sleep.

• Caffeine.  Last but certainly not least, make a quick stop for your caffeine.

And that is everything we do to prepare for our road trips!  See anything missing?  Leave a comment below!!

Next time I will share how we fit all our junk into our van, and still have room for ourselves!!

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Texas Road Trip 2016: Packing our Bags

Hi Guys!

We have started the countdown to our 2016 road trip and I've been working on deciding which bags we are going to be using this go round.

We are going to be gone for a total of about two weeks for this trip and 5 of those are going to be "traveling" days.  We are taking 3 days to get there and 2 to get home.
We are leaving the first day at about 4am and will be driving a total of 10 1/2 hours not counting stops.  We have a hotel booked and want to get there as soon as possible so that we can maximize our time there so the kids can be out of the car as long as possible.

We are planning on leaving that hotel at 6am at the latest and heading onto my paternal grandparent's house in Central Texas.  We will spend the rest of the day with them before we head off to our second hotel for the night.  The next day we are off to see some friends before we finally get to my parent's house in Dallas where we will be staying until we leave to head back home.

On the way home we are doing the drive over 2 days instead of 3.  We are stopping in Memphis to see some friends we won't have time to see on our drive there and are staying the one night with them before heading back home.

The last thing we want to have to do every time we stop for the night is drag everything out of the car or be digging for things that we need so we've tried to pack accordingly.  These are all the bags/boxes that we are bringing with us plus our double stroller, pack n plays and some other odds and ends.



1. Diaper Bag

The diaper bag I have now is a Skip Hop Grand Central in Black which I will be doing a full review on when we get back.  It doubles as my purse so it will be up front with me.  I'm re packing it a bit for the trip so that I can fit my laptop, chargers and other necessities for the drive in it.

2. Black Suitcase

This suitcase is a 4 wheeled Samsonite suitcase in the carry on size that we have had for years and it is for all the stuff we won't need until we get to Texas.  Mostly clothes, extra shoes, hats, extra Pack N Play sheets, things like that.  This will go in the rocket box on top of the car.  I haven't packed it yet and I am hoping everything will fit.  Since we are staying at my parent's house and will have access to their laundry room, we don't have to worry about bringing 2 weeks worth of clothes, thank goodness! But we do have the same bag in the next size up if we need more space.

3. Pop Up Tote

This tote is awesome!  It is a Smart Design Pop Up Tote that I got it off Amazon a few weeks ago.  I keep it in my car day to day and it is just so handy!  It folds up small and can fit between seats easily but it also holds so much stuff when it is open.  It has 3 mesh pockets on each side, three smaller ones on one side of the inside and one large one on the other side.  I'm using this bag to keep all of the kids toys, entertainment and snacks contained.




It fits easily between their seats, all the pockets help keep little stuff organized and it opens at the top so when Jordyn tosses stuff over the side of her seat, they end up in the tote instead of loose all over the car.

It's also short enough that I can (barely) step over it if I need to climb into the back seat.









4. Ink'D Tote

This bag is a Ink'D brand tote and is the kids overnight bag.  Not sure where this bag came from but it is a little duffel with just enough room for their clothes, swimsuits, pajamas and overnight diapers.  They will have their lovey blankets and stuffed animals in the car so we will just grab those on the way in.

Another reason I chose this one because it has one of those shoe pockets and I figured I could use as a wet bag for swim suits if I needed to.













5. Vera Bradley Duffel and 6. Beau's Duffel

This bag is a Vera Bradley Small Duffel bag that I got for my birthday this year and is my hotel bag. It just has my toiletry bag, change of clothes, pajamas and my swim suit in it so between this bag and the diaper bag, I'm good to go.  Beau is using a small duffel bag (not shown) and it will have his change of clothes, swim suit and toiletry bag as well.

7. Car Box

We always have this box in the car anyway and since we are spending almost two weeks in Texas, we will be completely unpacking the car when we get there so it only made sense to bring it.  We are planning on setting up makeshift changing station in the back of the van so we don't have to mess with gas station bathrooms and we are going to use this box to hold the loose diapers and wipes for the drive.  To see what all we keep in this box, check out my What's in my Diaper Bag: 18 Month Old Edition post (click the photo above for the link).

8. Orange Soft Sided Cooler

This cooler will have any of our snacks/drinks that need to stay cold.  Any extra breast milk will go in here as well.  Tucker nurses most of the time but does like a bottle at bedtime as well as when we got out so I'm bringing my breast pump.  I normally only pump twice a day and Im planning on keeping with that routine while we are gone so there will be extra milk that has to be chilled.


And those are our bags!!  We are still working out the best way to pack everything into the car and have had a couple of little hiccups in the plan there.  For example, we had hoped to have the double stroller in the rocket box since we won't need it until we get to Texas but it turned out to be way to big so its going to have to go in its usual spot in the back of the van.  We will share how we (Beau) pack the car and the box so keep an eye out for that post/video soon!

Thanks guys!!

Tucker's Syndactyly Update

Hey Guys!

We recently got back from our trip to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to have Tucker's hands evaluated by Dr. Chang from their plastic surgery department.  If you missed our initial post on Tucker's hands, I will leave the link HERE.









After going through a laundry lists of questions with the resident and having x-rays taken, we met with Dr Chang who officially diagnosed Tucker with Complete Complex Bilateral Syndactyly.  Complete because the fingers are fused all the way to the tip, complex because his bones are fused at the tip and bilateral because it affects both hands.

So the plan of action is for him to have his first of 2 surgeries between 6-9 months old.  This procedure will be to separate his pinky fingers on both hands.  As he grows, his pinky being fused is causing his middle and ring fingers to pull outwards, away from his index fingers, and this is something Dr Chang wants to fix sooner than later.  We had hoped that he would only need 1 surgery but Dr Chang said that doing them all at once would be too much trauma for his ring fingers as they would be cut on both sides.

When Tucker was born, the attending pediatrician at the hospital had him undergo an ECHO as heart issues often be associated with hand issues.  The ECHO did show a very small hole in his heart which the pediatrician was not concerned about at all and simply recommend we have a follow up ECHO at 6 months to make sure it closed itself correctly.  Dr Chang said that we would have to have that follow up ECHO done and have Tucker cleared by anesthesiology before we could schedule the surgery.  His ECHO will be done here in Virginia at the beginning of December and emailed up to CHOP for review.  Once we get the all clear from them, we will schedule the surgery which we are hoping to do sometime in either February or March.  We are hoping that we can work it out where my mother will be able to be in town to stay with Jordyn rather than taking her with us but we will have to wait and see how that works out.

The second surgery will be to separate the middle and ring fingers on both hands and that one will happen between 12 to 14 months old.  His birthday is the middle of June and we are shooting to have the surgery in July when my mother would be able to come out again to stay with Jordyn.

Both surgeries will require him to be in casts (they weren't sure if it would need to be full arm or just partial arm casts) for 2 weeks.

One of the possible "side effects" of this surgery is that the webbing might start trying to grow down the fingers again as he grows.  If this happens, then he would probably have to have another procedure at some point to clip it back down so that he wouldn't loose any mobility in the fingers.

The last possible surgery he might have would be on his right index finger, the same finger I had operated on.  His finger appears on the x-ray to be almost identical to mine.  Mine never caused me any functionality or mobility problems but I didn't like how it looked from an aesthetic point so I had an elective surgery when I was about 11-12 to attempt to have it straightened out a bit and he will have the option to do the same when he is older, no younger than 7 years old according to Dr Chang.  Assuming it does not cause him any issues, it will be completely up to him on whether or not he wants to have it operated on and we plan to just cross that bridge when we come to it.

So for the next year, we are looking at 2 surgeries and 2 cast removals which means 4 trips up to Philadelphia.  My aunt lives about 40 minutes south of the city and we made it to her house in about 8 hours with stops with Jordyn.  We are thinking that if we didn't have Jordyn we could probably make it to the city in about 7 hours or so.  We also have the option of flying if we need to.


It's going to be an interesting year to say the least and we will be keeping you guys updated through the blog, our social media and possibly our YouTube channel.

Are video updates and reviews something that y'all would be interested in seeing??  Leave a comment below letting us know what you think!

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Until next time!