Magic Carpet Ride

What do you do on the hopefully last day of a rainy week when the kids are going absolutely stir crazy and you have run out of movies to watch?  You go on a "magic carpet ride".  We had a blast running around the house until our carpet went a little too fast and a passenger fell out into the bookcase.  Before the injury to the carpet rider occurred, we were having a great time...we just go slower now!

Snow (and Ice) Storm 2011...Take 1, 2, 3, 4, 5....

We were really excited to have a white Christmas this past year, it is the first time that I remember having one in Georgia.  It was a lot of fun (other than Chad having the flu) playing in the snow with the kids.  When the second snow of the winter rolled around we were excited as well.  "Plan for 8 inches of snow," the weather people warned on television.  Chad and I rolled our eyes and thought that we would get a couple inches if even that much.  Well, here we sat with snow over our ankles and right at 10 inches, not the 8 that was in the forecast.  So, we bundled up the kids and went out to play.  We had fun running around, making snow angels, watching Mack and Molly hop around and loved having Daddy home for an extra day.  Then the ice started.  On top of the 10 inches of snow came 1 or 2 inches of ice.

Day 2 we were excited having Daddy home for an extra day but I did not think that we would all survive another day of confinement so we shoveled the driveway and braved the roads in the speedy car (AWD) and went to Wal-Mart.  It was wonderful and took us 10 times as long to get there as it normally would but it was okay - we were out of the house.  We got some new movies, toys and snack foods and were pretty happy the rest of the day.

Day 3.....seriously.  Daddy went back to work and we went to visit Nana & Pop.  A 17 minute ride on a normal day took me one hour and fifteen minutes.  It was worth every minute.  The ice had created the perfect track for sledding in Mom & Dad's yard.  We slicked up the bottom of a dog crate and slid down the hill for an hour.  It was the most fun that we had all week.

Day 4....OVER IT.  I was so sick of looking out the door and seeing white.  I want to see all of the brown grass and what is soon to be mud in the backyard.  We decided to go to the mall (the kids, Mom and I).  I let the kids just run and run through the corridors.  I was the mom that I typically despise and it felt great.  We were gone the entire day and it was just what we needed.

Day 5....not really anything to say.  It was the fifth day of crappy ice in Atlanta.

I was so excited to see the snow and ice melt this week - there are still a few patches here and there but by and large the snow and ice are gone.  Now they are forecasting a wintry mix this week and I think that I heard all the viewers of the newscast scream in unison, "UNCLE!"

Hello 2011....Goodbye 2010.

I recently compiled a scrapbook of all our happenings in 2010 and realized how truly blessed our family has been.  2010 was a great year for the Lackey's, a year of growing, a year of change and a year of fun with family and good friends.  With all sections of the CPA behind him, Chad returned to work at Beacon Financial to pursue his passion of helping people reach their long and short term financial goals, saving, planning, and investing all things that he is wonderful at doing.  The firm has increased since he has been there and I know there is only one way to go from here.  I resigned from Google in October and have been having so much fun with Tyler and Sarah.  I am doing some consulting on the side but I have more than enough free time to spend with the kiddos.  With all of the changes that we embraced in 2010, I think that we are ready for the challenges of 2011.

Of course you cannot enter a new year without resolutions so we have a few.  We are going to focus on family this year in different aspects.  We want our family to be healthier by moving more, watching less television, eating healthier and maybe even planting a garden now that I am home to care for the fruits and veggies.  We are also focusing on spending more quality time together both with the children and without.  2010 was so busy that oftentimes we looked up and realized it was weeks since Chad and I had any 1:1 time, it is our promise to have at least one date night per month with more if we can swing it.  We are working on the kids routines and sleeping in their own beds (doing pretty good already).  And I am sure that there will be more as the year progresses.  But most of all, Chad put it the best when he said, "Babe, this is going to be our year.  I just know it."

Here's to 2011 and the joy that it brings.  Happy New Year, People!

First Day of Preschool

This marks Sarah's first year of preschool and T's last.  It is so hard to believe that he will be going to kindergarten next year and just not a little boy anymore.  Something tugs on my heart with the disbelief that time is just flying by.  I love this age for both of them but I also get excited thinking about what lies ahead.  Anyhow, the first day of preschool was great - no trouble getting out of the car for either kiddo and they were beaming at the end of the day.  The second day was a little different with screaming, crying and all out lunging for the car when I was leaving.  I know that it will pass soon but it is so hard to pull away when they are visible shaken at the whole process.  To quote one of our favorite songs, "It won't be like this for long....one day you'll drop her off and she won't even know your gone...".  I know that day is coming but for now I will just go with the feeling of being so loved that they want to stay with me :)

Happy 31st Chad

September is a celebration of Chad and all that he means to our family.  He turned 31 on the 5th and we had a very low key celebration - a little Mexican food, a little cake and a lot of fun.  T and Sarah both get super excited for birthdays.  They love the presents but the best thing is the excitement that they get from singing 'Happy Birthday' and telling the individual to make a wish.  Chad's birthday was no different.  We had a chocolate chip pie thanks to Gran and they sang, loud.

Chad, I hope this year is one of the best and all your wishes come true.  We love you!

It's OK to not do it all.

I had sort of a meltdown weekend over Sarah's birthday.  Things at Goog were crazy with 900 deadlines on the same day, presentations going awry, client expectations were more than ridiculous, the house was a mess and we had people coming for the party the next day, the kiddos were screaming and I realized that Chad and I had not really spent any time together in over a week.  So I turned to the most comforting thing at the moment, Dove chocolate.  A little bit of heaven in one pretty little blue foil wrapper with a "promise" on the inside.  When I opened the chocolate and read the message it simply said, "It's OK to not do it all".  I am not saying that I make life decisions based on the inner writings of a candy wrapper but for some reason I needed to read this at this time.  I put it on the fridge and calmly went about the rest of Friday and Saturday.

When Sunday rolled around and everything was cleaned up, Chad and I sat down and looked at everything that was going on at the moment.  It was always my plan to leave Google when Chad went back to a firm and that had happened months ago.  He is now stable in his job, the kids are stable in preschool and the Lackey's just don't operate smoothly unless something is changing.  So, I decided that it was time to pull the plug on Google.  After over 8 years at a great company, I am branching out on my own.  Taking some time for my kids, my husband and perhaps myself.  I am excited about the change but I would lie if I said that I wasn't a little nervous at the same time.

Google has always been a constant in our married life and a security blanket is something that is hard to let go.  I am at peace in my mind and heart with the decision, but in an unstable economic environment and always the inevitable that comes up it is just plain hard to pull the plug.  And, I also put the weight of my team at Google on my shoulders and just have to wonder what stresses will the incur when the person who has been there the longest is not there anymore.  Those things are yet to unfold but the future looks bright for the Lackey's and I am excited to end this chapter and begin another one.

Catching Up

Every day things happen and I think to myself, I should blog this, and then I never do.  So, today and this weekend I am going to play catch up and post the things that I have jotted down.  My goal is to publish this as a book at the end of each year and with two months left of 2010, I better get crackin'.