The Beach

  We are starting to see more of Virginia Beach.  A few weeks ago it was so hot and nice out we went to the beach and walked in the sand and boardwalk for the evening.  It was gorgeous and fun.  The destination of our walk was to see the big statue of King Neptune, since Gabby had just watched The Little Mermaid the night before on our car ride home from Washington D.C.  The one and only picture I took while there, Clay and Gabby next to a D.C. Fire truck. We visited friends who live in VA but close to D.C.  We all went to the National Zoo and had a great day with a ton of walking... I had cankles for the next two days!  

   While at the beach we saw horses you could ride for $50 for 20 minutes, even if Gabby was old enough I don't think that is the greatest deal!  We put our toes in the freezing cold Atlantic and had ice cream on our way home!  

   Today we were out running errands, afterwards we used our new GPS to find the fishing pier Clay has been anxiously wanting to visit.  It was a cool day, only 45* and has been raining the past three days so when we got there it was empty.  Just being there made me even more excited for our Beach House vacation this summer in North Carolina!  

Tour

    Here are a few pictures to give you a feel of what our new house is like.  We are still trying to get things in their place and settle in, even two months later.  We FINALLY have Gabby's bed frame, which has been a total hassle.  We bought it Jan 17, and they said it would be in 3 weeks later.  We waited, called, never got called back..... finally March 11 we got to pick it up.  Clay set it up, it doesn't have the trundle bottom that we "bought."  Apparently our sales lady didn't understand us wanting to buy the twin frame PLUS the trundle for it, even though that was what we went in there to buy! Still no calls back from them.  The bed only came with 3 slats, when 27lb Gabby stood on it the first day one broke.  Next day at nap, prego me laid down with her and another slat snapped!  AHHHHHH I called and got no where with them.  Clay to the rescue, he went the next morning to LOWE'S (his new favorite store) and bought wood, got it cut to size so that now we have lots of strong slats to hold the mattress up!    The bedding I am in love with! I ordered it before moving here, it is Serena and Lily, with Pottery Barn Kids sheets and then pillow shams I found at Marshalls. Target has a comforter set that looks almost the same but not nearly as nice, although much cheaper! The crib bedding I ordered to coordinate since the two kids will be sharing a room.  I really like how it is coming together. I am working on letters to hang on the wall.

      The other new piece of furniture we have is our chair (and a half almost) and ottoman.  We ordered it (from a different store, an absolutely amazing store so much better to deal with) and were told it would take 10 weeks since we picked out the custom fabric for it... Within 3 weeks we were called and told we could pick it up!  It is So comfortable and cozy and all of us love it!  

    Pictures of the toy room too, just to show you another room.  Recently we hung Red Barron, our kite from the ceiling so he isn't always in the car.  Gabby is finally comfortable to go in there are play by herself... well for a little while! 

Costco

I love Costco!  It really is a store that has everything you need and more.  It has become our go to grocery store, in addition to the commissary.  I rarely go to the normal grocery stores by us, both because I don't like how they are set up and it isn't what I am used to.  Almost weekly I find myself making a trip to Costco for fruit.  That is normally all I need.... but never just what I get!  In one week our family of 3 (and a half, b/c I do eat enough for almost another person!) ate 8 pounds of oranges, 10 pounds of red delicious apples and 3 pounds of bananas.  We went back yesterday and bought those same things, the oranges really are my favorite right now! A few more regular buys are MILK (over a dollar cheaper than anywhere else, both in whole and non fat), cucumbers (almost as good as Japanese, just a lot bigger), bread and Honey Nut Cheerios (I scarf down a huge bowl every morning).  Other things we found at Costco and couldn't resist include, a GPS for the car (yes we have been printing out directions on mapquest whenever we try to go anywhere, I tried to get Clay to get a GPS when I got here- he insisted we didn't need one... then he used our friends this past weekend while we were in DC),   48 AA batteries (moving we lost all our batteries for every remote and toy, or the died, and things like a new wet jet swiffer need batteries to clean), Pinocchio  on blu-ray (b/c yes I am married to a man who loves Disney movies!) and Lucky jeans for him (although I do think he may have more jeans than me). 

Products I love...

*Bare Escentuals make up.

*Clean and Clear face wash, cheap and tingly.

*Dr Bronners Magic Soap.  in a pump bottle and more gentle than the 18 in one.

*Crystal Light, White Tea Blueberry flavor...  plus a big plastic jug to drink it in.  I know that the plastic jugs are "out" right now due to health concerns but if I don't use one I don't drink enough water.

*Neutrogena body oil in light sesame.

*Arbonne salt scrub in awaken.

*A sharp santoku knife.

*Aquaphor, good for everything from chapped lips to diaper rash.

*OPI and Revlon nail polish.

  Just a list I started a while back, more to come as I think of it.  

Things I miss...

*FRIENDS!

*knowing where things are.  yes I know I will learn here but I feel like I always knew where things were in Japan.

*pepperlunch, twelve frogs, shabu shabu.

*Rice balls at 7-11.

*Ready to eat edamame, well salted.

*Amazing produce.

*Good Friends.

*Routine.

*My deep bathtub, especially with this belly that doesn't seem to fit under water here.

*Lots of kitchen cabinets and a BIG pantry.

*Felling secure with the surroundings, a big heavy door with a good lock.