Long trip, and ketchup

Well, I can't believe it's happened, but I've been too busy to post! I think it's been almost a month, and now there is just too much to catch up on. I know the grandparents are waiting for pictures, but I'll have to get to those another time. I know my time to blog today is short, so I'll go with bullets and some reminders of what to post when I find the time!

• We went to NY to visit my parents, brother, and sister. We were there for a week, then Dan had to come home because he couldn't take any more time off work. But the girls and I stayed for another whole week, and drove back with my sister, who was coming out to visit us anyway on her way back to college. The girls and I were gone for 2 whole weeks, and I missed church for 3 weeks in a row! It was a really long time to be away (Marissa told me she missed her toys!), but it was such a fun trip! I was able to visit my parents' church and spend TONS of time with my grandparents, who I hadn't seen in way too long. I also ate a bunch of location-specific food items (I really missed spiedies, Perry's Mint Ting-a-Ling ice cream, my mom's Fudge Sundae Pie, and Nirchi's buffalo chicken pizza - YUM!), and got to swim in my old neighborhood pool that I practically grew up in. It was a great trip, even though my family wasn't able to take off work while we were there. Everybody loved the girls, the girls loved everybody, and were spoiled by all the wonderful things we did (and ate!).
• While we were there, my sister cleaned out her closet and gave me a ton of clothes - fun! And we went shopping for the girls and got them a bunch of clothes they needed. I think Arianna will be just fine with her clothes for the cooler seasons, but I realized this morning that Marissa is still going to need some long-sleeve shirts and dresses. It's funny how you don't realize how much they've grown until you pull something out from their closet and just laugh at the size of it!
• We went swimming a TON, but it was so frustrating for me! Marissa was a total wimp, and was just terrified of the pool. She refused to leave the steps most of the time we were there. By the time we left, she finally started blowing bubbles with her face in the water, and was brave enough to tilt her head back to get her hair wet. She actually jumped in to someone a few times one day, but I think the only reason she did that was because there was another 3 year old there who was wearing goggles and swimming underwater without any help at all! It inspired Marissa, and she got brave while wearing some floaties. But after that, she was back to her wimpy self. I know it's to be expected, especially since we don't have a pool out here, and she doesn't even take regular baths (she's always preferred a "shower"-type thing). But next summer, she'd better watch out - I'm going to teach her to swim if it's the last thing I do!
• Arianna LOVED the pool. It was hysterical to watch her splash her hands like crazy, getting water all over her face, and grinning the whole time.
• Dan and I went on a date to Red Lobster with a gift card we had left from our anniversary. It was SOOO yummy, and it was so enjoyable to eat a quiet meal by ourselves!
• Rach and I went to a movie one night too. I had a free ticket, and it was fun to go out together!
• I have a part-time, at-home job now. I kinda just started, and I'm still not sure how it's all going to work out. But a friend of ours kinda got my foot in the door, and it was an easy hiring process. It's basically editing surveys for mystery shoppers (that's the best way I can describe it), and it's really pretty easy. The only problem right now is I have to drive a half hour to pick up the materials, and drop them off the next day. That would not be too bad in itself, but I also have to meet with somebody while I'm there to go over some of the edits on the surveys, so I can't just leave the girls in the car. I'm trying to find a way around it, but for now I've got a friend that can watch the girls for an hour while I drive over there and back. It's really annoying, because I really only need about 10 minutes to myself once I'm there. But so far I like it, and it's fast, easy money. I'm still looking for a nanny job, but maybe this will be enough for a while, since I can choose how many hours I work.
• Marissa starts Cubbies this week! I'm so excited for her, and I know she'll love it too. But this morning at church, she was a mess! She missed 2 Sundays when we were in NY, and last Sunday, Dan took her and I stayed home (since we drove through the night to get home). She was a little upset last Sunday, but today she was inconsolable and it was hard for me to take! She ended up sitting with me in our class, and then went to her class for the second half of the morning (she LOVES her teacher in the second half). Dan was teaching our class today though, and half-way through his lesson, a lady poked her head in our door and was holding Arianna! She was having a hard morning too, so I ended up taking both girls for a while. Marissa came with me to the nursing room, and after she ate, Arianna was fine. But it was a weird day. I'm scared to tell Marissa that she'll be moving up to the 3s class next Sunday - she's really gonna miss her teacher (Miss Pauline), and hopefully she gets over her sadness too!
• Wow, I can't believe Marissa is still asleep! We had a few days of late nights and no naps, so she's been making up for it lately!
• A friend and I are swapping child-care (same friend who will watch my girls when I drive to work), and so her daughter was here for a few hours the other night. Ingrid and Marissa are both 3, and they have a blast together! They giggled the whole time, read books to each other, and Marissa bossed her around. Lol. They didn't really go to bed though (just stayed in her room and played), so Marissa was up til 10:45pm!
• She's awake now! Guess that's all you get. My sister was here all last week, and I'm still trying to catch up on laundry and putting things away from our trip. Hopefully this week will be a little less eventful! And hopefully I won't wait another whole month to post! Arianna will be 6 months old tomorrow, so I'd better get my act together for that at least!