End of Mat Leave

5-15-08

Today is the last day of "getting things done" during maternity leave. I have been trying so hard this week to get the house in order so we can put it on the market. We have a storage facility now, and I have boxed up so many books and other junk to clear it out of the house. I am not close to being done, but have made a big dent. Louis has been in daycare this whole week, and that has helped. I sure do miss that little pumpkin, though.

Louis has had a great four days so far at school. He's taking his bottles well, and his teachers say he's smiling a lot. He really likes to look outside at the other kids playing, and he likes all of the bright toys they have hanging around the room. Bonus for me: he sleeps less during the day and more at night!

Tomorrow is Johnny's pre-k graduation. We'll also have a "practice morning" for me going back to work. I'll leave the house for work at 6:45, John will get the kids dressed and headed to school at 8:30, then John and I will have some time together before graduation at 11. Then it's out for early hapy hour with the other moms. I'll pick up the kids at 3:30, and that will be our normal routine starting next week. I hope we can make that work, because it will save us a ton of money in daycare costs!

C

Trip to St. Louis

The whole family flew to St. Louis May 3-6. Everyone did a great job on both airplane rides. Thank heaven for portable DVD players! During our trip we:

- Got all three "Reunion House" babies together (appropriately named based on the Fla. vacation we were all on last year in conjunction with the birth dates of the babies).

- Made a lovely trip to the zoo with Andy and Lisa Johnson. We miss them dearly and were so excited to hear that they are now stationed at Scott AFB near my parents' house.

- Christine attended the 10 year (holy cow!) reunion of the Maryville Internship Program .

- Visited with Amy and Dave Barzoff (Jake's Godparents) and their kids Hayden and Alex. Johnny and Hayden had a great time wrestling and tackling in the backyard at Grammy and Grandpa's house.

- Went to the park with our STL cousins.

- Johnny, Jake, John and Grammy had a blast climbing through tunnels at The City Museum.

It was a great trip, and probably our last chance to travel as a family to the STL area, since Grammy and Grandpa are packing up and moving to Arkansas. What great timing for my reuinion!

The Murphy family's first blog

Yay! We're finally entering the age of technology. We were in St. Louis this weekend, and were able to visit with some friends (Lisa and Andy Johnson) who have a blog set up. I thought it looked so cool and so easy, I decided we should try it! My goal is to update the site with family happenings and pictures of the kids as our family grows. So, here we go . . . hope you all enjoy!

Love,
Christine