18 months already?

Hard to believe Lil C is now officially 18 months. She is such a fun little girl.

• Lots of words - mommy, daddy, baby, dog, woof woof, ball, uh uh (as in no), here (more like heya), papa, mema, no, yeah, hair, eye, bubble, snack and lots more words that she will mimic after we say them. Interesting b/c at this age her brother had two words that I recall - dog and uh oh and we were having consultations with First Steps!
• Loves to read - especially our Scholastic books courtesy of the Success By Six reading program - books that have lots of pictures of babies/toddlers and include lots of labels like shoes, ball, blocks, etc...
• Shoes - a favorite of hers and we have PLENTY to indulge her but she tends to love her new Crocs the most (thank you Zulily for half price on those!)
• Babies - she loves babies - holds them, snuggles, hugs
• Climbing - what a climber this little one is! And she thinks she can walk down the steps on her own....scary
• Eating - will eat just about everything but if she doesn't like it, it absolutely ends up on the floor for Tucker!
• Sleep - oh how I love how this one sleeps. During the day I just say - time for a nap and she walks to her room, grabs her paci, and reaches for her crib. At night, same deal but with some story time in there
• Nursing - we are still nursing - about 1x/day though this cold winter dry heat air is giving me some issues.... I hope to nurse her until she is 2, though we are kinda phasing it out
• Keeping up - she HAS to keep up with her brother and mimics everything he does. Funny story - yesterday my husband told me that B-man fell off this chair in the playroom and landed on his new toy, well Lil C, not to be outdone, purposely fell in the exact same way on the same toy - only after she first laughed at him and then laughed her herself. Sense of humor
• Baths - loves to take baths and inevitably every night pees on the floor when I don't get her diaper on fast enough as she runs away from us throughout the house!
• Art - would paint and color all day (though this always includes painting her own face and hair)

Looking forward to this spring. The two kids together are at really fun ages, though honestly, there are days when I know all I can handle is two!

Spring will be good. I have a new job. My husband has a new boss. B continues in preschool. Both start swim lessons in prep for our annual summer beach vacation. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Making Home Wells

Check out my sister's new blog - Making Home Wells!
It is on my blog roll too!

Santa went to MeMaw's who came to us!

Cause I love me some Shutterfly...

Hey all - Shameless plug here for my favorite online photo company, Shutterfly! As a result, guess what I am getting? 50 free holiday cards - woohoo! I wonder, can I get the Stationary Cards that I have always wanted for free too?

So for this Christmas, I decided to do three things:
1. Order Christmas/Holiday cards (my husband hates that I always pick out the ones that say Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas, but hey, I am spending the time doing this, so I'll do it as I please!). Just got our batch in the mail this year and I am LOVING them! Check out all the options - I usually just do a standard 4x6 photo card but this year upped the size. Someday I am going to splurge on a Stationary card, but this year I am so in love with our choice. Interested? Guess you'll have to wait to get it in your mailbox! Oh, and by the way, it was SUPER EASY to make. And let me tell you why I pick Shutterfly (besides ease and cost) - OPTIONS - I love options and love bargains.
2. Calendars - after my son was born, I made a calendar for the three sets of grandparents. The next year I opted not to do this but yikes, got some backlash. So now, making a holiday calendar for the grandparents (and myself of course) is a holiday tradition/expectiation. Mine is already hanging in my office at work - gotta love looking at my sweet little ones everyday when I am not with them!
3. Photo Book - okay, so this one is not on the list of things to promote, but I am going to anyway (a big thank you for me on this one Shutterfly????). So here's the deal - last year I made a Family book for each of the grandparents - customized with things special them - they all loved it and have it proudly displayed for all to see! So I thought, why don't I do this for me? Each year I take tons of pictures, then I order tons of pictures, then I never do anything with them b/c I am lazy. So....starting this year, I am creating a Year in Review book for the previous year. Much easier than ordering - and it is such a great format. Waiting on just the right coupon to order it with though - but it is done and just waiting for me to pay/ship!

Anyway - grandparents - I know you will love your calendar. Friends and Family - hoping to send out cards soon (no promises, but maybe before X-mas this year!), and ME - let's get that book ordered (and Shutterfly - how about an AWESOME coupon for that expensive little ditty?!)

Thanks for the shameless plug so I can get some FREE CARDS!
Good day.

Con Artist?

So Lil C loves to do art projects, which of course, I want to encourage.....

 A fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon - fingerpainting!

But....

 I guess Lil c wanted to color her hair instead? Isn't she a bit young for that?

 Does she not like having white cabinets - are we in that much need of a little color in our lives?

Round 2:

 Some color fun while mama attempts to cook dinner (ha!)

 Is that marker going on to the paper?

Oh wait, no, I see - it went on your face, clothes (and floor, walls, and cabinets!)

oh Lil C - you spunky thing!

But how can we not love this sweet sweet face?

So Berry Cute!



Happy thanksgiving

Happy Thankgiving

We spent the holiday weekend with family in St. Louis. It was great to see my brother, who had been living overseas. He was quite the chef and wowed us all with his culinary skills. Great for this girl who doesn't really enjoy being in the kitchen, except for providing support by chatting it up with the cook and enjoying a glass of wine!

 Uncle Patrick cooking up a storm.

Never thought I would have said this, but he makes brussel sprouts taste amazing.

 So when I showed up to celebrate Turkey Day, I found this little devil. This was my brothers costume from years ago (obviously!). He is obsessed with wearing his cape. He claims he is a king. Love the imagination fo this age!

 Lil c was cracking me up with her sweet smile. Her aunt nae nae calls her a little ragamuffin. I cannot wait for her to really start talking - she has LOTS of words, but most of the time just points and says, "Ehhh". I'll regret this wish someday.....

 Aunt Nae Nae with drama. Such an actor.

 One of my favs. I love that these two are friends (most of the time?) and enjoy spending time together. Could I wish for anything more?

 Best buds.

B-man and his friend M. We had a great time together running, yelling, and playing.

My friend Kristin came over one morning with her kids. We finally were so exhausted we gave in to the television and let Diego take over for 30 minutes....

 Enjoying the nice weather

 Zooming around the street on the motorcycle

Family picture with my dad and deb. Notice where Lil C's hands are - immediately following this picture, that candlestick started to fall on our heads.....

We really had a fun time visiting the Ross and Hunt families in STL. I decided to get up and run the Turkey Day run on Thanksgiving morning. Have to say, I am pretty proud of myself considering I run maybe 1 day a week. My time was nothing stellar, but I'll take it! Makes me want to run/race more. We'll see.

Great catching up with friends. Very thankful for reconnecting with a HS friend that I had not seen in probably 10-12 years. It was such a great reunion and we have vowed to not let so much time pass again. Thank you facebook.

So much to be thankful for - thank you for everything and everyone in our lives.

Just some memories

So this week my kids are visiting their grandparents, so I am working on all sorts of picture projects - Christmas cards, annual picture calendar, and a 2010 photo book of all the pictures I have taken for the year and am too lazy to print. Anyway - just made me want to take a trip down memory lane.

My kids as babies and my kids now.

B-Man:

About 1 month in this pic. Remember, he had to wear that darn brace...
but all is well with those hips now!

Then at about 17-18 months and was obsessed with cleaning (still is!)

 And today....rolling down our "hill"

Lil C:

A few weeks old - a dark haired beauty:

 6 months - kinda losing her hair, but still beautiful

17 months - my blond beauty!

Happy Thanksgiving

remembering grandma

two years after my grandfather passed away, my grandma peacefully left us too. Here is when 4 generations of us were together in July. Lives well lived.

Today's food

This is going to be a really random post, but I really am feeling good about the food I am eating today.

For breakfast, the kids and I started off with a nice bowl of Kashi cereal (my favorite - the heart healthy kind that looks like cheerios). A change from our normal Eggo Blueberry Wheat waffles with butter!

Then I have a Kashi granola bar for snack - a great flavor - Honey Almond Flax

For lunch I have an awesome salad - courtesy of my Green Bean Delivery that comes every two weeks (seriously the best thing ever - we probably spend a little more for this service, but it encourages us to eat things we may not ever eat otherwise - many more fruits and veggies - often local, always organic!) - so I have a green leafy salad with spinach leaves, mushrooms, and green and red peppers. Will be topping it off with a yummy low fat ginger sesame dressing (yummy!). Also have an awesome plum (again, from my bi-monthly delivery!) and my favorite Snyder's of Hanover Homestyle pretzels. And a little yogurt - vanilla (not anything special - Dannon All Natural).

I also like to share that I brought everything in reusable containers (no plastic bags here!) and brought my own utensils. I think it is important to bring my lunch every day (healthier and cheaper!) and bring resuable containers (absolutely no reason to use plastic bags or plastic utensils). Can I feel a little bit good about myself? Well, I do.

Who knows what my kids will be eating - probably not something as healthy. Ehh - I'll take what I can get. They are still begging for halloween candy every night too.

Who knows what will be for dinner - I don't cook it, so we'll see what my husband has in store for us tonight! We need to finish off some green beans and potatoes before our next delivery arrives tomorrow. I love Thursdays!

So random, but so good! And since I no longer exercise on a regular basis (still trying to factor that one back in to my life), at least I can attempt to eat well. :)

Confessions and Updates

So another blog I follow did a list of confessions - I loved it - we all have them, so might as well share them for the world to view?!

First off, sweet lil C had her 15 month well-child check up this week (yes, she is actually 16+ months, but whatever....I am so bad with getting those in!). She is in the 80% for everything - length, weight, head. And right on par with all her milestones - yay! Of course, most of the visit consisted of talking about how and when to potty train the little man, who clearly is ready but refuses to participate unless he is at daycare, oh the power.


Now on to my confessions:

1. My kids are not full vaccinated yet I do give them a flu shot each year - kinda a contradiction
2. Sometimes I cannot wait to leave for work in the morning. Given the option to stay home, I may still choose to work. Does that make me bad?
3. B-man sleeps with me every night, yet C is a crib baby all the way
4. My kids nurse for a LOOOOONG time - way past what many would consider is "normal" but really, what is normal?
5. I hate to wash my face so I just don't.
6. Cooking - so not my thing.
7. We may breakdown and move to the suburbs, so against everything I want, yet everything I want!
8. My patience level between 5:30-7 at night is small...
9. I hate to dust and just don't.
10. Given the opportunity, I would hire a cleaning lady in an instant. Actually, given the opportunity, I would hire people to do everything for me!
11. I am obsessed with Smiley in the morning!
12. Jersey Shore sucks me in every time!
13. I love to buy clearance shoes at Target whenever I can

I know there are more. But it is Friday morning and I have to run to a class. Lata!

Halloween, Tulsa, fall fun and more!

Okay - so I have been such a slacker with my postings, but seriously, things have been SOOOO busy lately! But before I launch in to how busy my life is (not really in a bad way, just in a it is what it is way), let's recap Halloween!

So for the past few weeks, B-man loved to talk about how he was going to be a pirate for Halloween - not sure where the idea originated from, but I thought, sure - how hard can that be too pull off? So here is my personal opinion when it comes to Halloween costumes - I refuse to spend a lot of money and I like to attempt to get creative by pulling things together to make our own. For me, it increases the fun and involvement of the family. So we reused the skeleton costume from last year for B and added on to it. Campbell and I were also pirates, which just required a little digging in to the closets!

Check it out!

Aren't they so cute?!!!!
We had a great time this year. Started off with a Halloween party at daycare, followed by a Monster March at preschool, the finally time for neighborhood trick-or-treating! We have an awesome block for kids - b/c there are tons of kids around and all the houses like to participate!

Here are a few other fun fall pics that I thought were cute too. A day of playing in the leaves.

 B loving the leaves

 Lil C exploring.....

Gotta love fall!

Okay - so back to the past month......

It all started out crazy with a phone call from my sister in law (you know, the other family blogger!) saying that she had scored VIP tickets to a taping of the Ellen show. Somehow, despite that fact that I have two kids in daycare, so money is tight, the trip worked out (THANK YOU MCCOOL's!). I went with my MIL, SIL, and future SIL and we had the BEST time! It was a whirlwind trip of seeing everything possible. Yours truly danced herself silly on the show, even winning an audience dance contest. Why not?!

Katie, Belle, Jessica, Me

So a crazy weekend in LA was followed up by a weekend that had been planned long before that to go to Tulsa for homecoming. It had been 10 years since I had really been back to campus (though I think I was in Tulsa about 4 years ago?). So great reuniting with sorority sisters and my BFF April! So glad Anne twisted my arm in to that one - so appreciate the generosity of others that made this trip an option for me (yay for miles, points, and good friends!). I miss these girls!

Kristi, KT, Me, Linz, Anne, Jamie, Breez, Laura



Me and April

From there I had a travel-free weekend, but work has been non-stop (it is priority registration afterall!) - which I love, but it is exhausting of course. Plus we had dentist appointments for the kids (Lil C had her first experience and did awesome, B-man got to finally sit in the big chair and I was not with him - he was a hit with the hygienists - such a flirt, go figure!). Daycare was closed in there too, which also added some stress to my life, but we made it thru. Oh yeah, not to mention - Happy 6 year anniversary to me and the Peej!

So then this weekend.....got to go to South Bend and experienced something we all thought was just a dream. TULSA BEAT NOTRE DAME! WHAT? Yup, and it was amazing. Of course, I forgot to bring the camera, so am waiting for pics from friends, but will post soon. Just remember, a hurricane has a lot of power, especially a GOLDEN HURRICANE (couldn't help it, sorry!). Oh hey, gotta love Facebook, a picture just arrived!

Kelly, Chelsea, Me, PJ, Tony @ Tulsa vs ND in South Bend

Final Score!

Hoping for things to slow down to a normal pace again..... while I loved my three crazy weekends, I hated not being with my babies....looking forward to some family time (especially since my husband has written off ND.....family Saturdays are back!). Okay, this momma is tired. Happy halloween all.

just don't feel like it

Sorry I have not posted anything lately. I just don't feel like it! The bug will hit me again someday. Probably once I have a new camera since mine went kaput. Keep on looking for more soon. Halloween may inspire me.

Pirates and Peacocks and addy!

B loves these two words and totally uses them out of context which makes me laugh, A LOT!

Examples:
B likes to wear my yoga mat (it has a long handle on it) around his body and tells me, "This is a pirate, Boom Boom." Yes, more like this is a bazooka! Not sure where he learned that.

B had something in his mouth and I was like, oh do you have a hair in your mouth? His response, "NO WAY! It is a peacock!"

B playing with some cheap plastic army men from who knows where. Me asking him - hey what are those? His nonchalant response, "a peacock." Oh really?

Insert those two words for just about anything that he does not know the response to or does not agree with my choice of words. Pirates and peacocks - two new favs.

Lil C on the other hand, well she is such a daddy's girl! Every evening when we walk in the house I open the door and she bursts in yelling, "Adddddy, Addy!" and runs to the kitchen (where daddy is graciously cooking dinner!). And in the morning (she is currently my early riser) she will wake up and after a leisurely nursing session, jumps out of my arms and runs to our bedroom door, opening it, waking PJ, and saying, "Addy, Addy!" Sometimes we get a omma but usually she just likes addy.

My little man is 3!

We had a great time celebrating B-man's 3rd birthday recently - my god, where have the years gone? He is such a little man now!

We had a tie dye party with our friends - awesome!

Of course, gifts were the only thing on his mind....

The gift I swore we didn't need, ended up being his favorite!

Enjoying a little pizza

The DEIGO cake - the one thing he HAD to have for his party!

His new motorcycle!

The biker babe!

Went to Chucky Cheese the next day to have more celebration and fun!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Just a bit of a mess. Oh well.

Thanks family for joining us and as always, taking care of us!