NYC...Take 1

What a trip and we did a TON our first day...on very little sleep!

We left out Wednesday night out of San Francisco on a Virgin America flight to JFK in NYC and I think that was our first and last red eye flight...at least with a child! Riley fought sleep for the first half hour and we were beginning to wonder if she'd ever fall asleep. After all each seat had a TV and a remote control so there were buttons galore to push and play with...fun stuff!

However, it was not almost midnight and we knew that we all needed some sort of sleep because we would land in NYC Thursday morning and hit Manhattan...so we took her to the back of the plane and rocked her to sleep and she slept the entire way which was great...but her parents didn't sleep which was not so great! We laid her on our laps but she was rather jumpy and we would wake up each time she moved to make sure she didn't wake up and she was a little radiator so we were quite hot with her sleeping on us. Not to mention the fact that my seat wouldn't properly recline and they didn't recline that much to begin with so with all of those factors we slept in no longer than 30 minute increments...we felt horrible once we landed.
However, the adrenaline kicked in once we arrived, moved our legs around, and brushed our teeth in the airport bathroom...and the adrenaline really kicked in when Jason's iPhone was stolen in the airport bathroom...but we had a full day planned and were picked up in a beautiful stretch white limo with our whole crew waiting for us...Nani, Jason's entire family, and my mom!

It was so great to see everyone and we all piled in and headed to Manhattan. With some snacks on the ride along with some Extra Strength Tylenol I was starting to feel like a human being and once we got into the city we fueled up with some Starbucks and all was good...we were ready to go!
We did a double decker tour of Upper Manhattan which was just so cool...this was my first time in the city and I was loving it and taking it all in!

Riley's already pointing out the sites!

Sidenote: Doing a day trip to NYC with luggage and all was a challenge since we were coming straight from the airport. I found a place to store our luggage (one bag for all 3 of us...go me) and Riley's carseat and we decided not to bring a stroller! She is within 1 pound of the weight limit for Jeep carrier so that's what we opted for and it was a great decision. She thought it was fun to be in it and she took two great naps without a fuss at all! I loved getting to cuddle with her so if she wasn't walking this was how Riley maneuvered the city!!

Nani and CJ

My mom and Gaby

Frank and Des

We saw some great big buildings...I just LOVE being in a big city!

And fascinating architecture! I can't tell you what these buildings are because we toured for over 2 hours and saw so many places but we were in Upper Manhattan the whole time so they range between 5th Avenue Celebrity Condos to churches and schools!

The gardens at Central Park...

Central Park

Gotta love NYC traffic...our limo driver actually "bumped" a car when dropping us off and it was like no big deal to him...ha!

Times Square

After our tour we opted for some vendor hot dogs and pretzels for lunch since we didn't have much time before our next tour...a ferry around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty!

Riley liked licking the salt off the pretzel!

The LoRusso Gang

Gaby and Jason being goofy before our ferry left...apparently Lady Liberty has some B.O.!

Riley decided to put on her own show as well while waiting for the ferry...this girl is a trip!

A pretty cool boat we saw...

Where the twin towers once stood...I wish we could have gone to Ground Zero but there was just no time...just means we'll be back!

Buildings everywhere...I love it!

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge

Empire State Building

Ellis Island

Family shot before Riley passed out!

Here she is...Lady Liberty herself...so awesome to see in person!

After our ferry tour we headed back to Times Square to have dinner! Uncle Annie and Uncle Joe (Frank's aunt and uncle) were coming in from Brooklyn to join us for dinner at a family style Italian restaurant.

We had a little time before dinner and we did some people watching as it as 5:00 and the city was bustling with people getting off work...I so could have lived in New York for a few years!

We thought it would be fun to check out the Toys 'R Us so my mom, Riley, Gaby, and myself headed over there!

They have this gigantic ferris wheel right when you walk in with each "seat" having a theme from a kids movie!

We decided that Gaby and Riley had to get some toys...as you can see Riley had no trouble picking out things she wanted...her arms were full!

Gaby, on the other hand, took forever to find something she wanted...oh the pressure!

In the end we let Riley pick out two things and Gaby got some fun stuff too!

We had a great dinner...oh the food...it was wonderful!

Here's the whole gang!

After dinner we got back in the limo and headed to Long Island to have more fun!

Riley was pretty wired but by the time we arrived in Long Island everyone was passed out!

Don't worry...Jason was just pretending to be asleep and this was before we picked up Riley's carseat from where we stored it all day...we didn't let her run all over the limo!

So that was a lot for one day and no sleep, but there was much more fun to be had in the days to come.

When we got to our hotel room they had brought in a crib for Riley to sleep in, but she did not want to sleep in it since she could see us...we caved...we put her in bed with us...she did a little talking and sleeping but eventually fell asleep!

Our last hoorah...not really!

Before we left for NYC Riley and I had a full day of fun since I knew once we returned we would be back to the grind with work and school.

We started out at the paint studio so Riley could make something special for her Nani...whom we were going to NYC to see and help her celebrate her 80th birthday! Riley remembered our last painting trip because she whipped out her creation like a pro!

Check out how serious she is!

We used Nani's favorite colors and Riley knew when she was done with each color!
Her favorite part was doing her hand prints and we made a butterfly out of them since Nani loves butterflies!

After painting we met up with Amanda and Maddie for some rides in the park and lunch! This is a new little park in a big outdoor shopping area and it's super cute. There's a choo choo train all around the perimeter complete with railroad crossings and all. Inside the park is merry go rounds, see-saws, rocking horses, and a carousel...a kid's dream come true!

Amanda and Maddie

Maddie and Riley...Riley LOVES Maddie and takes care of her like she's her baby...putting her binky in, helping her stand up, and all sorts of cute and sweet things!

I'm not sure what they are thinking about one another in this pic!

Me and my sweet girl!

After the park we grabbed some yummy Mexican food and it was nap time!

It was during Riley's nap that I got the call about my new job...great timing!

After Riley's nap we celebrated with a trip to the pool...at this trip Riley preceeded to try and tell me to stay in the big pool while she played in the baby pool...that didn't work out too well for her but I'll give it to her for trying! She literally was walking away from me and turning around, pointing her finger, and staying "tay...tay" like I was a dog..haha! She is little miss independent but I don't think she's ready to brave the pool without supervision!

We had a fun day and it was time to get ready for NYC!

It’s a new day…

and it's my first day at my new job! The funny thing is that between the time I blogged about going back to work and now some things have changed…my job! God is faithful and I knew that He would provide first and foremost a job and secondly the right place for me. After months of job searching and a closed door to the possibility of working from home I received the job from Bank of America and while it was the job I had hoped for I had immediate stress and trepidation from the moment I received word of getting the job. Childcare was hard to find, Jason was not there to talk with, and I had to sign paperwork that actually depicted which drawer I would be able to use as well as which part of the cubicle would be mine…which snacks would be appropriate to eat at my desk and that I would not smack on the phone with a customer…not kidding…gotta love corporate America! I felt as though flexibility with the job would be few and far between and that I was making more sacrifices than we had planned on me making to be a working mom…but life is life and I decided to suck it up and give it a shot! As soon as I had everything lined up the door that had been closed in previous months miraculously opened right up and it was a complete answer to prayer. God is oh so good! Since childcare was already arranged I decided to start today and I tactfully let BofA know that I would not be accepting the position with them. All of this happened just one day before our trip to New York and it was such a blessing! We have since traveled across the country, flown our first red eye, visited Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, eaten like kings and queens with our great big Italian family, slept barely a wink, and had a blast!

So what is it that I am doing as far as work you might be wondering? Well I am working for Frames Direct, an online optical retailer, and helping them grow their military business through Armed Forces Eyewear…if you are in any way military related this is the place to purchase glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses…prescription or not…for a great discount! There's my plug! This is a new venture for me but after day one I am excited and ready to take on the challenge…there is lots to be done and I'm ready to tackle it! I will be working from the comfort of home and will be off work at 3 so I am going to try putting Riley in part time care with the sweet in-home provider that I found and like…if she remains on her current sleep schedule it should work out fine until she's 2 and can start a school program…we shall see! This week Riley's spending the whole day with the in-home provider so I can spend the days with my partner in crime…Jenn, Cooper's mom, and get my feet wet and figure out exactly what I'm going to be doing! Today was great…for both Riley and me! I had one quick errand to run before I picked her up and couldn't wait to get there! She had a meltdown when I dropped her off which I expected but she quickly cheered up and had a great day…she ate well, played well, and slept well. She was so excited to see me but I could just tell she was so happy there and had lots of fun…just the way it should be! So right now we are getting back in to the groove of things but this groove is such a blessing for our family and we are thankful for this opportunity. After I picked Riley up she and I went on a long bike ride and played outside until Jason got home, we all ate dinner together, and then I was off to my Bible study for the evening…I am glad to be working but this is a great mix for our family because I still have lots of quality time with my girl before her Daddy gets home and then we can enjoy our evenings as a family without lots of stress in starting things over the next day! I have TONS of pictures from New York and will get to that later…that's all I got for now!

Lots of randoms...

Riley wanted to say "What's Up" to all our blog readers!

Two Friday's ago Riley and I got to spend most of the day with Jason...first with breakfast together at the hospital (they have a good cafeteria) and then to shop for necessities for Jason's upcoming TDY which was a practice version of an inspection he and his guys will participate in during October...basically a simulated war environment with all sorts of scenarios thrown at them. In order to make it through our shopping trip she insisted she be decked out in her Daddy's hat and sunglasses...she's a trip!

Jason left last Sunday and was gone all last week...we sure missed him but we tried to have as much fun as we could because I had a feeling this might be one of my last weeks home with Riley...more on that later.

We checked out this new park in the Nut Tree Shopping Village that had a Choo Choo Train, a carousel, and all kinds of fun things for Riley to play on...

Merry go round...

Her favorite...the carousel!

We then had a date at Panera Bread...it was so fun!

On Wednesday we met up with some friends at Children's Wonderland Park in Vallejo for some more fun...

I just love this little face!

Swingin' Away...

What a big girl...

We then had lunch with all of our friends and Riley took a long nap...she was pooped!

We also made Trip #1 to Petco because Hank has had this "wound" on his ear for roughly three weeks that I have been doctoring and just couldn't get it to heal...we figured he had caught it on something but a friend of mine who is a native Californian informed me that it is very common for flies to eat on dog's ears...DISGUSTING. However, that is apparently what happened to Hank so we had to visit Petco to get FlyOff to put on his ear...totally healed in three days...those stinkin' flies! We checked out the fish to make it more fun and Riley loved watching them and making her fish face!

On Thursday we went back to the Nut Tree Village Park with some girls from my Bible study and then had lunch at Panera...that just doesn't get old for me! This time "the Mommies" had cash so we took a Choo-Choo Train ride...Miss Riley had a ball giving her princess wave to all the onlookers!

As we were leaving Panera we came across these incredibly cute puppies and Riley was just tickled to get to pet them and play with them...apparently it's a new experiment for miniature boxers and boy were they cuties!

We had lots of fun!

So I have not blogged much about my job hunt because it has been rather frustrating...let's just say that the "economy" has really hit California and it's just plain hard to find a job...I was definitely not expecting some of the things I have run into. The blessing is that I have gotten to spend the last nearly 6 months with Riley and we have done so many fun things! After months of NOTHING I landed two interviews the week before Jason left...both went well. Wouldn't you know that all of this would happen the week he is gone! The two jobs I interviewed for are different...one a job that I think I will love but that comes with early morning hours and a commute longer than I desired...one close to home and with flexible hours but not a job that I am thrilled about...decisions, decisions. I have spent so much time praying for God to make my path clear but it is still so hard for me. I was offered a job with Bank of America...a job I think I will love but with hours from 6:30-3:30 and a commute longer than I wanted...I should hear this week about the other job but am moving forward with BofA at this point. I got word of the job opportunity on Tuesday and the trip that Jason was on left him "unreachable"...which is great when you have life decisions you would like to discuss with your spouse. They wanted me to start rather soon so I was researching childcare like crazy because it would be a few weeks until Riley's spot opened at the Child Development Center on base and I still had an issue with the CDC hours and the hours of my job for the times when Jason is out of town. In-home providers are VERY common here because the daycare facilities are either national chains and cost the same as college tuition or they are for low-income only...it's weird. So I visited one in-home provider and my motherly gut instinct told me it would not be a good fit for us...I was discouraged but kept researching and found another in-home provider that I felt very comfortable with...all along Jason still didn't even know that I had been offered a job...it was 48 hours before I was able to talk to him and I was overwhelmed having to make all those decisions without his input. Everything fell into place by the end of the week and I will start work next Monday. I will be working in the Global Foreign Exchange division where our job is settling all of the trades for BofA customers...a great transition for me to use my market experience in a non-sales role...I'm really excited about it and hope it's all I am expecting. Just as I finalized all the details of this job Friday morning I felt a huge burden off my shoulders...me and Riley were going to celebrate and I had an entire day of fun planned...until....

we went to leave and I was going to give the dogs their morning dog biscuits and they were GONE...the gate had malfunctioned again and they had escaped!

Not knowing how long they had been gone I had no idea where to start but we canvased the neighborhood asking anyone out if they had seen them and no one had. I went home and printed up tons of posters to put up everywhere and not long after I got a call from a sweet lady that had Hank...he had come up to her and her two boxers on their morning walk and she had been calling him "Happy" because she said he was so happy...she and her husband were the sweetest people...they had already made their own posters, taken him to the vet to be scanned for a micro-chip, and fed him...luckily they got ahold of me and walked him home. I was so glad to have him back but discouraged that they had been seperated and I still had to find Kadie. Hank was so sad...he just sat in the backyard and howled and cried ALL day for her...it was heartbreaking! Knowing where they had found Hank we went out to put up more posters because I assumed Kadie had gotten further than our surrounding neighborhood...my sweet neighbor had driven around to help and talked to a construction worker who saw her earlier in the day. By Friday evening I still had heard NOTHING about Kadie and I was so sad...the dogs have gotten out before but never been gone for a night...was she with someone kind or was she out to fend for herself...I just didn't know. I was up late and I decided to check the shelter website one last time and lo and behold Kadie's picture popped up...she was safe and sound at the shelter...I wanted to go pick her up right then but it was almost into the early hours of Saturday morning so I had to wait until 10 am to get her...at least I could sleep knowing she was safe.

Riley and I got up early Saturday and headed for Trip #2 to Petco...new collars and tags for both dogs. Hank had his tags but Kadie didn't...not sure how that happened...but both of their tags had Jason's cell number which wasn't helpful in this situation because he was unreachable so they now have new tags with my number on them! Riley checked out the birds while were there too!

I couldn't wait to get to the shelter and get Kadie...she was sure happy to see us too! It is their policy to micro-chip animals before they leave the shelter which I think is fabulous so Kadie is now chipped and Hank will be as well very soon!

Hank was crying for joy to have Kadie back!

About an hour after I got home with Kadie I received a call from the sweet lady who had found Kadie and taken her to the shelter...apparently she was moving into a new house and Kadie came right into the house and hung out with them all day...since she had no tags she felt the best thing was to take her to the shelter but she saw one of my signs Saturday morning and called to make sure I had found Kadie at the shelter...she kept saying how sweet and well mannered she was. We are counting our blessings because both of the people that had our dogs were AWESOME and loved on them and took great care of them...we are so thankful and lucky!

So I'm not sure why it seems that everything has to happen when Jason's gone but this trip sure felt like it. I suppose that God's way of toughening me up but it sure had some stressful moments. Jason came home Saturday and we have had a great Labor Day weekend together. We went to our friend Katie's house Saturday night to watch college football...too bad the Aggies weren't televised but they did kick some but...whoop!

Riley and Cooper decided to play in Sophia's crate and had a ball...they were cracking each other up and craking all of us adults up as well...

Sunday we went to church and lunch and then headed home for naps and relaxing time! Jason and Paul played golf while the kiddos and girls hung out here and I cooked Carne Guisada...it was yummy! Jason made breakfast tacos out of it this morning and they were a great start to the morning. We went on a long bike ride after breakfast and then spent the afternoon at the Cameron's for burgers and catching up with friends.

When we got home Riley decided to play with one of the bins I use to organize her toys...she got inside and the first time she accidently tipped over and we all started cracking up...so she decided to recreate the moment over and over and over...

So that's a long post of random stories and all but that's been our life the past week! I am going to savor my last week before work starts! We are leaving for NYC on the red eye Wednesday night so that will be an exciting trip for us! We are hoping Riley sleeps well so we can all get a little shut eye before the madness begins when we set foot in Manhattan early Thursday morning...we can't wait!

I always have a project...

I love to craft in many different ways and I usually have some sort of project that I'm working on. I love to refinish / paint furniture and have probably slapped paint on at least half the furniture in our house! When we moved up here we inherited a very old dresser that had lots of character but needed some TLC! Those who truly love antiques usually get mad at me for painting furniture but I think even those that wouldn't have thought of putting a coat of paint on this piece will like the end result!

The dresser had a very dark stain on it, old broken hardware, and many scratches. I planned to put it in our bedroom but Jason wouldn't actually let me bring it in the house until I fixed it up...that annoyed me yet gave me the motivation I needed to get it done! I spent several weeks working on it while Riley was at school and it actually was a much easier process than anticipated. I sanded the entire thing down and because of the details parts of the original stain were just unreachable with the sander so it had a distressed look...which is exactly what I wanted but I just thought I would have to distress it myself! I picked a color called California Poppy and put one coat of paint on and the distressed look came through...I just love how it turned out!

I purchased some new hardware and it is a great accent piece in our bedroom...and now we each have our own dresser. I am using the top drawers to hold all of my jewelry and the bottom drawers my clothes! I have to be honest...I still haven't gone through all of my jewelry since it will take hours to untangle all of my necklaces that the movers just dumped in a box...I will get to it sometime...for now I just rotate between a few necklaces! Ha!