Old Chicago

We visited here for dinner last Thursday, and all of us really enjoyed it.  The pizza was very fresh, not overdone and the service was of course very southern.  Rydan enjoyed his own kid-sized pizza topped with sauage and devoured the entire thing.  Lily loved her pizza so much that she refused to part with it, and continued nibbling on it in the car. 

Monkey Joe’s

Even though Pennsylvania has Monkey Joe’s, there wasn’t a location convenient to our home, so this was our first time visiting in Lexington.  What a fun time!  We stopped by Monkey Joe’s after our pizza dinner.  Rydan immediately took off and began jumping around on the oversized inflatable bounce obstacle courses and play centers.  Lily loved going down the slide on Mommy’s lap, as well as having such a big open floor to run around and play.  As we were getting ready to leave, Rydan said “I wanna come back here tomorrow.  This place is awesome.”  We may need to look into the frequent visitor plan.

Spalding’s Bakery

This sweet-smelling shop is filled with people just as sweet.  Recommended by one of our Pennsylvania friends, it reminded me of my frequent visits with my mom to Mitchell’s Bakery when I was a little girl.  Hopeful that Spalding’s would give me the same opportunity to now take my own kids for a tasty baked donut, Lily and I paid a visit on Friday morning.  We were warmly greeted by a kind man behind the counter who filled a bag for us with a half dozen donuts – two glazed, two apple fritters and two creme-filled.  Just before leaving, a very sweet elderly lady stopped us and began talking to Lily.  When I told her that  this was our first visit to Spalding’s, she immediately invited us back to thekitchen and introduced us to some of the bakers, which included her granddaughter and baby grandson, who was relaxed in his carrier.  ”He likes to watch the mixer,” she told us, as the little guy gazed up at us with big blue eyes.  Once again, I felt overwhelmed with such genuine kindness from people who really seem to care about making me feel welcome.  As for the donuts themselves, they were a big hit at home. 

Enjoying their Spalding's donuts.

The Explorium of Lexington

This was our Saturday morning activity, conveniently located just 15 minutes from our home.  Filled with all sorts of fun, hands-on educational activities for kids, Rydan and Lily had a great time exploring all of the discovery zones.  It was perfect for Rydan’s creative mind and offered Lily an engaging enviroment where she could do what she does best… be curious.  Located in the heart of Downtown Lexington, this gave us an opportunity to check out things to see and do on future weekends. 

So as you can see, we’ve been busy!  Expect more posts like this one coming soon as we continue to explore our new town.  You’ll notice that I’ve added a new catagory on the bottom right entitled “The Buffington Southern Experience” (inspired by the “Holland Creason West Coast Experience”).  Here you’ll find all of our posts about Lexington.

Also provided by my best friend on the West Coast is a quote that really puts our relocation to Kentucky into perspective.  I think about this statement daily, because it motivates me to keep climbing that staircase and exploring everything that comes along with each step.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lily's favorite part was sticking her finger into the icing, and then into Daddy's mouth.

Okay, so it may not be the best-looking one we’ve ever made, thanks to our little Miss Lily, but we laughed more making this one than any others we’ve done in the past.

Upon our arrival, we took a peek at our new rental home, which we had only seen pictures of, and met our new landlord.  We were very pleased with the home and actually let Louie spend the night there alone so that he could get some sleep after his long car ride while adjusting to the new location.  The rest of us spent the night at a hotel while the moving trucks continued on their trip to Lexington with all of our belongings.

The next morning we drove back to our new home to find the moving trucks had already arrived and begun to unload.  Mommy, Rydan and Lily drove to Rydan’s new school, Athens-Chilesburg Elementary, to register Rydan for school.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that the school was only a 2 minute drive from our home.  After picking up some paperwork and chatting with the very friendly school secretary, we headed back home to help unpack.

It was a very long day of unloading, sorting through boxes and trying to find homes for all of our belongings, but by 8pm that night everything was off of the truck and inside our house.  We also had our cable and Internet hooked up, which was the part of our relocation that Rydan was most looking forward to.  One of the first things he asked me when I informed him that we would be moving was, “Will I have cable in my new bedroom?”  Since he didn’t have cable in his Elizabethtown bedroom, this was a big deal for him.  As I type this paragraph (Friday evening), he is plopped on his Phillies bean bag chair in front of his television watching WWE Smackdown.

Overall, the move went fairly well, minus a few glitches with the moving company.  Somehow they managed to lose the parts needed to put Rydan’s bunk bed together, and they also broke Lily’s crib.  Ryan was able to fix Rydan’s bed himself after the movers left.  As for Lily’s crib, the movers decided to go buy her a new crib.  This would have been okay if they asked us for our opinion on the type of crib or color wood,  but instead they went to Walmart and chose a rather cheap looking crib in a wood that is about ten shades darker than her furniture.  I was a little frustrated over the crib situation, but still thankful that Lily had somewhere to sleep.  And since she’ll need a toddler bed eventually anyway, I suppose it’s not that big of a deal.

As for our neighborhood itself, it didn’t take long for us to experience our first taste of Southern hospitality.  Within two days, we had three of our neighbors come to our door to say hello and welcome us.  The first – an expecting mother and her son, the second – a mother and her two sons, and the third – a father and his son, who brought us homemade chocolate chip cookies.  We were so blown away by such kindness, and it really made us feel good to know that we have such friendly, caring neighbors.  Rydan really lucked out too, because there are so many boys his age.

Today, Ryan is off to his first day at Hinkle Contracting, and Rydan is off to his first day at his new school.  I think we are all anxious to get back to our normal routines and say goodbye to the relocation process.  So this morning we wished Daddy good luck on his first day, and then Lily and I drove Rydan to school so that he could meet his teacher.  I’ve been very impressed with Athens-Chilesburg Elementary so far, and this morning was no different.  Upon walking into the office, we were greeted by warm smiles and welcoming words.  The office ladies were expecting us and knew exactly who we were as we entered the building.  We were escorted to Rydan’s new classroom, where we were once again so kindly welcomed by his new teacher, Mrs. Brock.  My first impression of her was that she is very sweet, very patient, very enthusiastic, and her students adore her.  She showed Rydan to his desk, and he immediately began working on his morning math worksheet.  Mrs. Brock told me how excited all of the students, especially the boys, have been about Rydan’s arrival.  Rydan had a big smile on his face when I left, which eased my concerns and made me feel more comfortable about leaving him.  Now it’s back to the “Lily and Mommy Show,” and I’m finding myself breathing a big sigh of relief.  Lexington has truly welcomed us with open arms, and it feels great.

Tomorrow, Lily and I will be going to our first baby storytime at the library, and picking up our new library card.  The Lexington Public Library system is very impressive.  There are six library locations throughout Lexington, and each one has a calendar full of all types of fun events.  The location we’ll be visiting most often is conveniently just three miles from our home, and very close to the Joseph Beth Bookstore that I mentioned in last week’s post.

To our family and friends, we miss you already!  But, please know that we are safe, happy and looking forward to exploring Lexington and meeting new friends.  We’ve really been enjoying Skype, so if you don’t already have us on your contact list, be sure to add us!  Lily is particularly amusing when she skypes.

I know a lot of you are anxious to see photos of our new home and neighborhood.  We’ve spent the past four days trying to unpack and get settled, so hopefully by next week’s post we’ll have some pictures to share with all of you.  Stay tuned!

Just before the holiday season began, Ryan was contacted by a headhunter about a potential job opportunity.  Two interviews later, along with a weekend visit to Lexington, we found ourselves seriously considering the offer.  We took a lot of time weighing the pros and cons of a possible relocation and finally realized that this is one of those rare opportunities in life that if we don’t take, we will always wonder “what if…”

As a family, this was by far the toughest decision that we’ve ever had to make.  Our biggest concern was the fact that we would be nine hours away from what we’ve grown to call “home.”  Nine hours from the family and friends who have watched us grow together into our own family, and who have shared all of the specials moments in our lives, big and small.  Nine hours from the comfort of just knowing that our parents were only an hour’s drive away.  There is no doubt about it -  we are going to miss all of you like crazy.  But please know that leaving does not make us love you any less.  If anything, we love you even more for supporting and understanding our decision.

For me, this experience thus far has been exciting, exhausting and very emotional.  As a mother, nothing makes me happier than being able to spend time with my children, so knowing that Ryan’s new job will allow me to continue to stay home with Lily is a huge plus.  As nervous as I am about being so far away, I have confidence in myself, confidence in my husband, and confidence in our abilities as parents to make this a positive experience for Rydan and Lily.  I don’t want my children to be afraid of change, or afraid of meeting new people and trying new things.  Rydan is already such a fun-loving kid who makes friends wherever he goes, so I have no doubt that he will adapt to his new school in no time at all.  And Lily, well, as Ryan put it – “what could possibly be wrong with our little girl growing up a Southern Belle?”

Lexington itself is very beautiful, which Ryan and I discovered as we drove around and explored for an entire weekend just over a month ago.  There are huge, gorgeous horse farms, which Ryan will be able to admire on his drive to work every day.  Downtown Lexington is very clean and filled with lots of cute Victorian shops.  It didn’t seem like an overwhelming city, and definitely somewhere I could see us visiting as a family on a warm Saturday morning.  The overall pace of living is much more laid back than what we’re used to in Pennsylvania, but that may be good for us.  Everyone we spoke to, whether it was at the airport, in a restaurant or at our hotel, was extremely friendly and very welcoming.  And when we needed to cross four lanes on the highway to get to the right exit, no one beeped their horn at us in rage.  In fact, cars actually slowed down to allow us to get over.  One of my favorite places that we visited was a bookstore called Joseph-Beth Booksellers.  It’s a huge bookstore, complete with a nice-sized bistro, and lots of really cool kid events.  We took a quick ride down the escalator to find that the entire lower level was filled with childrens’ books and all sorts of other kid-friendly activities.  I think Ryan saw my eyes light up a bit at the sight of this store, and I must say I felt the sense of calmness that bookstores have always given me.  This one was exceptional.

Speaking of Ryan, I can’t finish this post without saying a few words about him.  From the moment he came home from work and told me that he was contacted by a headhunter, I had a strong gut feeling about how all of this was going to turn out, and I was right.  There are certain things that a wife and a mother “just know”, and this was one of them.  I am a firm believer that opportunities come to not only those who wait, but to those who to deserve them.  Ryan, you are so very deserving of this opportunity, and I am extremely excited for your new venture.  Your patience, your expertise and knowledge, and your reliability have not only brought you professional success, but it’s made you a role model for your children, and because of that, I couldn’t be more proud to stand by your side as your wife.  Here’s to Lexington and 2012, a new chapter for our family and a new opportunity to teach Rydan and Lily the importance of embracing change.

To my readers, think of us on January 4th as we depart on our journey to our new home, which, by the way is just a rental home until we sell our house in Elizabethtown.  Speaking of houses, they are GORGEOUS in Lexington!  We are very much looking forward to house-hunting, when the time comes.  For now, we’re focused on getting all of these boxes out of our current home and making sure we have everything we need for a comfortable, safe trip.  With two kids and a twenty-pound cat to transport, I’m sure I’ll have a lot to write about next week.

Stay tuned for next Monday’s post, which will feature a complete recap of our venture to Lexington!

We hope Santa was as good to you as he was to Rydan and Lily.  It was a busy three-day Christmas for us as we made various stops to visit our families and open up gifts.  With over 150 photos to sort through from our busy holiday weekend, it was so hard to choose which ones to share with our readers.  Here are just a few of our favorites.

Rydan was absolutely thrilled to receive his Dragon Universe lego set with accompanying Dragon Eggs, both straight from his wish book, and as an added bonus… a Burger King gift card!  Rydan wasted no time in putting his new lego set together, with hardly any help at all.  He spent most of the day yesterday playing with all of his new toys, and also asked if he could take one of his new dragons to school today to show off to his friends.

Lily first opened a Fisher Price Barnyard Playset, which she immediately pushed over to Daddy to open up and put together.  She also got a matching purse and wallet set, an elephant that spits balls out of its trunk, and a pink stuffed puppy dog.  If it were up to her, Lily would have opened up every single present in sight, whether they were hers or not.  She seemed more intrigued by the bows and wrapping paper than what was inside each gift.

Just before our visitors left for home, we were in for one last surprise. There was a knock at the door, which revealed a special holiday greeting… a group of Christmas carolers singing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” followed by ”Silent Night.”  It was the perfect touch to our little holiday get-together.

Book Suggestion #1:  Board Books by Eric Carle.  My daughter absolutely loves these books.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is by far her favorite Eric Carle book at the moment.  She loves the simple, repetitive text and the large, colorful illustrations of various animals are very eye-catching.  Her favorite part of the book is the last two pages, where she can point to all of the different animals.  Amazon.com has these books at great prices, and they fit nicely into stockings!

Book Suggetsion #2:  The Grandparent Book.  This unique keepsake makes it easy and fun for grandparents to share their stories with their grandchildren. The Grandparent Book is organized into sections, each devoted to a stage of life: childhood, teenhood, adulthood, and grandhood. With prompts for collecting grand memories and pages for grandparents and grandkids to fill out together, this journal is a great fuss-free way to bring generations together.

Book Suggestion #3:  Baby’s First Journal.  Capture the precious memories of your baby’s first year in this spiral and cloth bound journal. With special sections for your baby’s “firsts” and favorites, photographs, captions and more, all the important moments will be saved for years to come. Includes six colorful pockets for holding mementos and keepsakes. Makes a great gift for the expecting parents in your life!

Book Suggestion #4:  Heard On The Playground.  Kids say and do funny things every day.  Heardontheplayground.com has found a way to share and remember all of those silly moments.  Visit their website and you can submit your child’s funny comments for others to enjoy.  The website was such a success that a book has been created with some of the best comments from kids all over the country.  This book is pure, honest entertainment and takes us inside the fascinating mind of a child.  It makes a great gift for teachers or grandparents. You haven’t heard it all until you’ve read this book.  I must also add that I am very excited to have Marshmallow Mondays listed in the blog contributors section of this book!

Book Suggestion #5: Barefoot Books World Atlas.   Divided by geographical region, the Barefoot Books World Atlas looks at the way in which communities and cultures across the  world have been shaped by their natural environment, and at the ideas and initiatives which are shaping the future. An atlas for the twenty-first century, it shows how all parts of the planet are interconnected and looks at the challenges which face us all in  creating a sustainable future. A great resource for kids of all ages.

If you’ve been a faithful follower of Marshmallow Mondays, you are well aware that we like to have not just one, but two Christmas trees in our home.  Our artificial tree stands by our big front window for cars to admire as they drive by, and our live tree stands in the corner of our family room for us to enjoy.

On Saturday, we made our annual visit to Frog Hollow Evergreens, picked up our saw and ventured out in search of a tree that would reach the ceiling.  We found quite a few beautiful trees, only to discover that each one we thought was the winner was actually tagged.  That’s my one pet peeve about cutting down our own tree… those annoying taggers!  However, it was such a beautiful day that we didn’t mind taking our time to browse through row after row of trees.  We ended up choosing a nice tall Concolor Fir, nearly all the way at the end of the field.  Rydan and Lily had a great time running through all of the trees together.  Lily kept tripping over the stumps, but picked herself right back up to chase after her brother.  Check out our photos below showing our weekend of tree hunting and decorating.

We began on Friday by decorating our artificial tree.

On Saturday morning, we cut down our Concolor Fir at Frog Hollow Evergreens.

We didn’t capture quite as many photos while decorating the Concolor, but as you can see, Rydan and Lily were both very active helpers.

Now onto Christmas!  Rydan was beyond excited to finally put his wish book together.  As always, he has a page dedicated to various categories of toys, and loves to browse through all of the Christmas flyers and catalogs that have been arriving in our mailbox.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rydan’s Wish Book, this is his personal booklet of gift ideas for Santa.  He cuts them out of various Christmas catalogs and pastes them into his booklet, which simply consists of a few pages of paper and a special cover he decorates himself.

Here he is in action with what will be his proudest possession for the next 24 days.

Cutting out his "wishes" for Santa.

Decorating the wish book cover.

Paging through the Target catalog for more "wishes to cut out."

The finished product!

Shop with us today at Barefoot Books and save a bundle on Christmas gifts for all the little bookworms in your life.  Choose from books with singalong CD’s or story CD’s, puppets, games, chapter books, board books, and lots more.  Here are a few of our personal suggestions:

Zig Zag Zebra - Ages 3-7.  Filled with 22 artsy activities for the creative kid.

• One Moose, Twenty Mice - Ages 1-4.  Teaches counting from 1-20 while searching for the cat in this fun hide-and-seek board book.

Yoga Pretzels - All ages.  50 fun activities for kids and grown-ups.

The Snow Queen – Ages 8 & up.  An exquisitely illustrated retelling of the classic story by Hans Christian Anderson.

The Tear Thief - Ages 4-9.  Follow the Tear Thief as she collects children’s tears every evening and find out what she does with all those tears.

Babies First Journal - Babies to 2 years.  A cloth bound journal with special sections for all of your babies “firsts.”

We are always happy to provide gift suggestions for a particular child, so please feel free to email bwmarie@hotmail.com if you’re in need of ideas.

Now for the “saving a bundle” part…

Anyone who reads this post will receive 20% off your entire order (including sale items).  Just email bwmarie@hotmail.com and let her know you’d like the “Black Monday Special.” If you’re one of the first three people to ask for the “Black Monday Special,” you’ll receive 30% off AND Free Shipping.