Five on Friday... TGIF!!

TGI-freaking-F!!  Whew.  So excited the weekend is here, because...

O N E
We've got a serious case of post-vacation blues.  We truly had such an awesome week at the beach, and it was so nice to be away from the "everyday," away from chores and to-do lists and baby-prep.  Coming back and trying to get us all back into the swing of things has been tough!  Add on the fact that E and TJ both got sick the minute we came home, a sickness I've been fighting off as well, and now CK has an ear infection - and yeah, I'm happy to see Friday.  But...

T W O
There won't be a lot of rest for any of us this weekend because my hub is headed to SC to help my parents move into their new house!  And I'm totally willing to sacrifice having him around for a couple days, because I am SO excited for my parents!  Look how cute they are toasting in their new kitchen after their closing:

This has been a long time coming, and they are so deserving of this home they've had their eyes on for awhile.  Cannot wait to visit so the BLOMPS crew can break in the new digs!

T H R E E
As I've mentioned in the past, I am now a contributor for the Atlanta Area Moms Blog.  It really is an honor to be part of such an awesome crew of writers!  My most recent post was about being a boy-mom... you can read it here.  And I strongly suggest you bookmark this blog to read regularly, there are so many good posts each and everyday!

F O U R
So, a dream of mine came true this week... CK took her first dance class!  I danced competitively from age 4 to 13, and dabbled in some college dance team action via the Clemson University Rally Cats.  The moment I heard, "It's a girl!" I imagined ballet shoes and tutus and recitals.  And then cue a little girl who was adamant about not taking dance class...
I finally got to the bottom of it all.  The reason she didn't want to take dance?  SHE DIDN'T WANT TO WEAR A LEOTARD BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE SLEEVES.
Y'all.
I Amazon Prime'd a long-sleeved leotard as fast as I could and signed her up for a Princess Dance Camp.  And after the first day, when she saw all of the other little girls wearing sleeveless leotards, I even convinced her to try one.

Cannot handle these pictures.
I wouldn't say she's fallen in love with dance yet, but we are talking about signing her up for a regular class at a local studio this fall and it makes my heart sooooo happy!!

F I V E
So, my induction is scheduled six weeks from today (OMG!) and I am freaking out inside.  I am not even close to feeling ready mentally or emotionally, and there is still so much to do around the house to prepare.  But - physically, I am already feeling done.  I can't believe I'm so miserable already!  I feel huge and sore and can't sleep and go nonstop with two littles all day and have something going on with my pelvis that the doctor examined yesterday - basically my pelvic bones are like separating or something.  JOYS.  I am still managing to walk 2-3 miles every morning in our ridiculously hilly neighborhood, and I'd really like to continue that because I tend to birth 10lb babies and I think staying in shape is important for that... But by the middle of the day I'm basically waddling, so that's cute.
Anyway, all complaints aside I am just still so incredibly in shock that this is happening, and so incredibly thankful that we'll be completing our family in a little over a month. <3

And with that, I'll say it again... TGIF!  I hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend!!

BLOMPS Beach Trip 2016

We had SUCH an awesome trip to the beach with our BLOMPS crew!  It was equal parts hilarious and fun and chaotic and wonderful and exhausting and relaxing and oh so memorable.  So without further ado, enjoy way too many pics as I attempt to document a week I will never forget!

These two were inseparable from the second we pulled into the beach house:

E went to the beach for the first time last year, but he obviously has no memory of that.  So this year it was like seeing it for the first time all over again, through his sweet brown eyes.  Needless to say, he was in awe, and loved every single second:

 

And this little girl couldn't love the beach more if she tried:

There was lots of cornhole going on:

And water balloons for the littles:

Love him so!

My <3

My better half, who thankfully did about 90% of the parenting while we were there because this big mama was TIRED:

Meet Franc:

Putt-putt with the older cousins:

Daddy/son beach day:

Bammy!

We celebrated Skylar's birthday at the beach with a Dory-themed party and movie-showing!

And snuggled sweet baby Finn, just two months old:

Peele party of 4, almost 5:

My older sister brought her fancy camera and showed off her photog skills, snapping some pretty awesome pictures!

And then we had some fun:

My brave parents volunteered to watch all 9 kiddos one night, so us grown kiddos could have a night out!  We went to one of those Escape Room places, where you have 60 minutes to get out of a locked room by figuring out puzzles based on clues, etc.  It was SO fun!  And we escaped!!  We then had a delicious seafood dinner at a local restaurant, and got home to a quiet house with all 9 kiddos asleep.

Last beach day!

We ended the trip with our annual sparklers/night fishing on the beach, soaking in every last second:

It really was such an awesome week... And a HUGE thank-you goes to my parents, who make this trip possible each and every year. <3
And PS... we weren't even out of the beach house driveway when CK asked, "When can we go back?!"  I think we'll all be counting down until next year's trip!!