For Brittany

My sister, Brittany, thinks I should fill this out. So here it is...

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
If I'm at a restaurant, I order ranch. Restaurant ranch is the BEST! At home I usually use Raspberry Walnut Viniagrette

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Taco Bell

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Maggiano's

Q. On average how much of a tip do you leave at a restaurant?
Close to 20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
a Fiber One peanut butter bar (these are fabulous!)

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
mushrooms, black olive, fresh tomatoes (I had this tonight!)

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
homemade jelly or peanut butter

TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
my girls on the picnic table

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
3 hooked up

Q. What kind of cell phone do you have?
no clue

BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
I am about to have my wisdom teeth removed

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Boxes of books in my guest room closet

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
nope

BULL[CRAP]OLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Absolutely not

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
It's annoying to repeat yourself a million times when you are introduced to someone, but I like that my name is unique.

Q. what color looks good on you?
dark and/or bold colors

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
not on purpose

Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
have never been in that serious of a situation

DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
No, I am not good with pain

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
But I can still read others' blogs, right?

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
You would not want to see my body right now after 2 babies, but if someone wanted to see the flab bad enough, why not?

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Not worth it for the heartburn

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
No!

DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket?
I think only pocket fuzz

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
I've only seen it once and it was okay

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
Carpet in most of it, hardwood in dining and foyer

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
Stand, but I sat at the end when I was pregnant with Leah

Q: Could you live with roommates?
I have never loved alone, so I guess the answer to that is yes.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
none with the little piece between the toes, 2 without

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops
March 2004 when I got in an accident

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Am I grown up yet?

Q: Who is number 1 on your top 8 (this is a myspace related question)
My friends have no order, they are random.

LASTOLOGY
Q: Last Friend you talked to?
Laurie & Bryan were over playing games

Q: Last person who called u?
Mike

FAVORITOLOGY
Q: Number?
27

Q: Season?
Fall

Q: Holiday?
Thanksgiving

Q: Day of the week?
Duh, Saturday!

Q: Month?
June when the pools open

CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Missing someone?
my mom

Q: Mood?
getting sleepy...

Q: Listening to?
X-Games in TV

Q: Watching?
The computer screen

Q: Worrying about?
Erin waking up already (she has only been asleep 3 hrs)

RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning?
library

Q: What can you not wait to do?
Go to bed

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
Evan Almighty

Q: Do you smile often?
yes

Q: Are you a friendly person?
Yes

Q: What are you looking forward to?
Erin sleeping through the night consistently

Prescreening Disney movies

I was just re-reading Keri's posts and I came across one about Dumbo. I do love that pink elephant scene! It made me think about other old Disney movies we have watched lately.

Obviously we watched Cinderella on our trip to La a few weeks ago. That one was a good one for kids Leah's age. The step-mother was mean, but not scary and wasn't actually trying to hurt Cinderella.

I tried to get Leah to watch Sleeping Beauty. That was my favorite from when I was a kid. Leah did not like Maleficent, the bad witch. She is a scary creature. Also, she is trying to KILL Aurora. Not a great movie for a 2 yr old.

Last and certainly the most un-kid friendly is Snow White. While Leah LOVED the scenes with the Dwarfs and Snow White cleaning their house, let me ennumerate the reasons she will never watch it again without me sitting next to her with my finger on the fast forward button:

1. The queen orders a woodsman to kill Snow White and bring back her heart in a box.
2. The dwarfs are constantly hitting each other.
3. When the queen confronts the woodsman, he gives her the heart of a pig.
4. The queen transforms into a very scary witch and kills Snow White herself with a poisoned apple.

Too much blood and guts for my taste. So Classic Disney out. Finding Nemo in. At least until Leah gets older and can understand the fairy tale concept.

Can I ever eat again?

I am over the strep, pretty much. My throat will still hurt sometimes when I yawn, but otherwise it's all good. The problem I have now is my wisdom teeth. See, my wisdom teeth are partially erupted (through the gums halfway). They've been that way for at least 5 years. Long ago the dentist told me I should have them removed soon. Life got in the way and I never got it done. It was never convenient.

Fast forward to now. Mike and I have budgeted for wisdom teeth removal this year, but the dentist said I should wait until I'm not breastfeeding anymore due to the meds I might have to take. So I was putting it off again. I think what happened is the strep infection got into the open gums. So I can't have any food with any kind of flavor (salt BURNS!) or any kind of texture or it kills to chew. On top of that, I have 2 canker sores on my tongue and my gums are swollen. I feel like I just HAD my wisdom teeth out. Now I was on the antibiotics for strep, so I assumed they would help with any other infections I had. Not so far...

I had a dentist appt last Thursday to get 2 fillings but they called me and cancelled it. It was rescheduled for this past Tuesday. Because I was sick all weekend, I didn't make arrangements for child care. So I had to reschedule yet again. I will go next Tuesday and hopefully they will be able to do something about the pain besides just tell me "Get those things REMOVED, for goodness sake!"

In the meantime, I am eating yogurt, applesauce, the occasional noodle with a little butter and cheese. And Slimfasts. My weight loss should be phenomenal.

A middle school outing

As Laurie has already blogged, we loaded up the kids and went to the local skating rink last night. I think I can safely say that Mike had the most fun, surprising as it was to him. He of course had his own skates that were super comfortable so he was happy.

The smallest skate they have was too big for Leah, so I loaded her up on socks. They ended up okay enough for her to skate a bit. She liked it pretty well. She could goon her own on the carpet. She did the skating rink Hokey Pokey with her daddy and we called the night a success.

They had races right before we left and Mike & Bryan entered the adult race along with another older guy. The race was to be 2 laps and I know Mike thought he was going to kick butt. The older guy ended up being really good! At least Mike wasn't totally spanked.

Some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Mike taking Leah around

This is what the babies were doing while we were skating

Ian looks like he is having fun!

my family tree from Geni.com

How cool is this? You should totally go to this site and make one! Thanks to Erica for pointing it out.

View more of Angelle's tree  |  Get your own family tree at Geni.com

Nasty throat pustules

Sounds like something that you might get from eating one of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. But sadly, no, I have them. I can look in my throat with a flashlight and see them. I may very well lose more weight this week than usual because I can hardly EAT anything. Even the won ton in Won Ton Soup hurt!

Tonight Leah had trouble going to sleep. At one point she was knocking on her bedroom door (this is how she gets our attention quickly as we don't want her to wake Erin up) so Mike went up to ask her, yet again, what was wrong.

"Daddy my feelings are hurt."

"Why are your feelings hurt Leah?"

"Because I have been sleeping too long."

She had not been to sleep yet.

I have noticed that when Leah does happen to nap, she really does not seem remotely tired at her usual bedtime. I suggested to Mike that possibly she does not physically need to nap anymore? He said, and I agree with this, that if she falls asleep at rest time, she needs the nap. So I guess on nap days she gets to go to bed a little later. I can't have it both ways. :)

It's official

I have strep throat. :( I went to the doctor this morning because last night it felt like there was broken glass in my throat and I had fever and chills all night. So I will start taking the antibiotic tonight and should be feeling better by tomorrow night.

Mike stayed home from work today to take care of the girls and to shuttle us to our dr appts. We made an appt for Erin because she started coughing last night which is unlike her. After finding out I had strep, I wanted to make sure she didn't have it. So Mike just took Erin AND Leah to the dr AND he picked up my prescription AND he is getting me some doughnut holes. He is the best husband EVER! On the phone just now he told me that he would put the kids in daycare before being a stay-at-home dad and that I better not ever kick the bucket. :) How romantic!

PS Erin's throat was a little red but strep test was negative. Dr said it's rare for kids under a year to get it. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

My favorite thing

My favorite thing in the world is when either of my girls looks into my eyes and puts her hands on my cheeks. It just about makes me melt. *sigh*

I was talking to Mike tonight (who by the way is out in the COLD buying me cookie dough to bake, is he a catch or what?) about how it won't be too long until I have a toddler and a preschooler instead of a baby and a toddler.* I know Erin can't sit up or eat finger foods or talk, but she is already babbling with a consonant and rolling over (both TODAY!). She has tried green beans, peaches, pears, bananas, prunes (her fav), and peas. She is close to sitting up. Where is my newborn baby girl? I am not as ready for her to grow up as I was for Leah. I have already been through the milestones. This time I want it all to slow down. Well, except for sleeping through the night, that can happen any time now. (Are you listening, Erin?)

More on the rolling over...
I put Erin on her tummy with her left arm folded against her chest and called her name from above. When she turned her head to look up, bloop! Over she went! I got her to do it maybe 4 times, then broke out the video camera. Of course no performance. Then when we were putting the girls to bed, I had Erin on the floor while Mike was reading to Leah. I set her up the same way and she rolled over two more times. At least Daddy got to see it.

Also, Erin was saying "A-blah" a bunch of times today.

She is so cute!!!!!

*Although isn't Leah already a preschooler, based on verbal and cognitive ability?

Enjoy the Screeching Eel

Under the weather

This time it's me! I have that achy head floaty feeling and my throat is sore. So ugh. Leah is watching Cinderella and Erin is napping so I get to rest. Of course earlier Erin woke up right when Leah went in her room for "rest" time. I really wanted to nap, but no such luck. Mike has the laptop with him today so I am typing this quickly on the music room computer.

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. I think we decided to enroll her and see how it goes. The most likely scenario is that it will never become an issue. I appreciate all of your insights...

Advice, please, people...

Okay, here is the deal. Leah goes to a 2 morning a week preschool. It is from 8:30 to noon and she gets lunch. I drive 20 minutes each way to bring her and pick her up. There are no special programs, just the teacher and an assistant with 12 kids doing art projects, circle time, playing outside, etc. She loves going. It costs us $260 a month.

When I was looking at preschools for her way back when, I had another school on my list to look at, but then I found Kids R Kids (where she is now) and did not look any farther. Well, just last week, Laurie went to visit the other one I never got to look at, First Presbyterian Church Preschool (they do not have a website that I can find). Their program runs 9-12 with no lunch. The place is MAX 10 minutes from me, in downtown Monroe. They do the "car rider pickup" in the afternoons so you don't have to get out of your car. You just pull to the overhang and they put your kid in your car. They have music class every Tuesday (from one of those kids music programs, not just a teacher doing music with them). Once a month, a lady comes to do a hands-on science project with them and she brings live animals for the kids to touch. Oh and did I mention it costs $108 for 2 days a week?

So you say, where is the advice? Sign her up! Well, here is my concern. This is a church-based preschool. If you know Mike and I at all, you know that we are only religious on our own terms. We are not ready for someone else to dictate what our children learn about God. I asked the director if there are any specific religious things they do in class. They sing a prayer before snack. I have no problem with that. Once a week (or month, I can't remember) the two and three yr olds have a Bible story lesson. She said they do ones like Noah & the Ark or Jonah & the Whale. The stories themselves I have no problem with. I am just afraid they will be pushing their own agenda and Leah is so intuitive she will pick up things that maybe I don't agree with.

So here is my dilemma: do I let her go, save lots of $ and just see what she picks up? Should I even be concerned about it? Our personal religious position is awkward because it doesn't fit into the tenets of any established religion. While I don't object to Leah learning about organized religion, I think she is a bit too young to have it thrown at her by strangers. At this point, she believes anything grown-ups tell her. I would prefer that she were old enough to really discuss it with us.

Thoughts???

As far as Leah's asthma, the steroids have helped some and she took the last dose this morning. She is now on Singulair, which is a daily medication for asthma. The dr said it will take at least 2 weeks to know whether it is working. Her goal is to completely eliminate the coughing. In a month we will re-evaluate and see if this is the best long term solution.

P.S. Erin pooped last night for the first time in a week! I was already preparing with all the tricks to try to get her to go. She had been eating prunes for 4 days and when I walked into her room at 5am it smelled like prunes so bad! :) I had to take the diaper out to the big trash can, it smelled so strong. So we are better now. I was nervous to have a repeat of Leah all over again but hopefully it was a one time thing.

Pipe Dreams

Despite the many wishes for a relaxing night last night, that was not to be. Erin went to bed at 6:30 and Leah at 8pm. She got a dose of Benadryl at 7 so it would start working before bedtime. The coughing NEVER stopped. Eventually at 8:30, Leah threw up her dinner. At the risk of TMI, it was all clear mucous plus the food. So we cleaned her up and got her to sleep. At 9pm, Erin woke up crying and Mike went in to console her. After fifteen or so minutes, we decided just to let her cry it out. It worked within minutes and the child slept until 5:30am (!) in spite of what happened next...

I go to bed at 9:30 and to sleep at 10. At 1:30 I wake up to the sound of Leah coughing again. I go in and giver her another dose of Benadryl since she probably threw up most of the last one. After a few minutes more of coughing up a lung, she throws up yet again and we clean her up. I spend the next hour or so reading her stories and laying with her in bed talking all the while she is still coughing. Finally I can stand the coughing no more and make Mike take a shift. He brings her downstairs and feeds her because the poor child has NOTHING in her system. She kept saying she was hungry and who can blame her. It's not like she had a stomach bug, it was just the coughing triggering a reaction. Of course, she is not done coughing, so up comes all that food too. She falls asleep at 4:30 on one couch and Mike is on the other.

Upstairs, I can hear her coughing even with my door closed and so I don't actually fall asleep until she quiets down. Of course as soon as I am out, Erin wakes up to eat. Now she had been GREAT for sleeping so long, but I was so dead from everything else. She goes right back to sleep though. At 6:15 Mike gets me to switch with him, so he comes to bed and I go down to sleep on the couch with Leah.

When I get downstairs, she is coughing again, but she is not even awake. After maybe 15 minutes, we are both down for the count. That lasted until 8:30 when we all began our day...

Leah got another dose of the oral steroid this morning with breakfast and has had a WONDERFUL day, cough-wise. The doctor had said that exercise could trigger an "attack" if it really was asthma. Well, we were outside playing and Leah ran across the cul-de-sac a few times. The last time she came back coughing and had a minor fit. Then we had another minor fit in the car. But otherwise, it was all good. The meds were supposed to kick in this afternoonish and Leah just went to bed with NO coughing!!! Hallelujah!!!

So it is looking like asthma because the Benadryl seemed to have no effect. And she was looking better after 24 hours just like the doc said would happen if the steroids were working. At least we know where to begin now...

On another note, we went to Ray's Splash Planet today for a birthday party and Erin got in the pool for the first time! I will post pictures, well I was going to say when I got them off the camera. But instead I got my lazy butt up off the couch and and got the camera. So here they are!

How cutie are these two?

This was AFTER Mike dunked her!

Two Leah's (you know, the OTHER Leah)

Crazy afternoon

Well, this afternoon was not what I thought it would be. Erin has been on a napping strike today, so she has not slept more than 30 min at a time. That in itself is super fun. Anyway, I decided to take the girls to the mall so Leah could play in the play place and we could grab some lunch and exchange some Christmas gifts that do not fit the girls.

Now Leah had been coughing all morning and this has been a chronic thing for a while now. She coughs more than any kid I have ever seen. Always has. Finally on the way to the mall, I call the dr's office to talk to a triage nurse about it. But after leaving a message, I decide it's best to just make an appt. They have an opening at 2pm and it is now 12:30. I tell Leah we can't go to the mall and she pitches a fit. I feel bad because I was hyping up how fun the play place was to get her out of the house. So we go to the mall anyway. We play for a bit, eat Chick-Fil-A (Leah eats her entire kids meal of 4 nuggets and a fruit cup). She doesn't like the lemonade she made me order, of course. I change Erin in the changing station and I forget my changing pad on the table.

We head over to the dr. I wait in line to check in while trying to keep an eye on Leah wandering around the room. They call us back quickly, thank goodness. The result of this visit is as follows:

Leah may either have:

A) cough-variant asthma

OR

B) allergies

We were prescribed an oral steroid to try. If it works, most likely she has the asthma. If it doesn't work, we need to try Benadryl. If that works, she most likely has allergies. Either way, we are probably looking at long-term medication. Ugh...

On a better note, Leah has still not had any of her constipation meds and seems fine. The doc said the best "cure" for it is potty training, because BMs on the potty become a routine. They don't have time to get too hard. The problem may resurface when she starts kindergarten because her schedule will be disrupted and she will have to poop at school occasionally. Yay! (said sarcastically)

Anyway, we go to get the prescription filled. I wait at Walgreen's while they fill it. I buy Leah some mini cookies to keep her occupied (meanwhile she is still coughing constantly and it is starting to grate on my last nerve). When we get the meds, I immediately give her one, as per doc instructions. It is in dissolvable pill form. By the time we get to the entrance, it has dissolved. I park the stroller with Erin in it next to the car and start to put things away, when Leah has another coughing fit. This time she throws up all the cookies she just ate. I have to wipe her down and change her shirt (yay for extra clothes in the car!).

Then on the way home I call the dr office back to see if I should give her another one. They call me back when I am pulling into the driveway and the lady has to ask me a million questions like child's name, birthdate, my name, time of appt, etc (seemingly unrelated to DO I GIVE HER ANOTHER DOSE OR WHAT?). I am trying to get the kids into the house while we are talking. Erin is screaming in my ear to get out of her carseat because she is SO. FREAKING. TIRED. The lady tells me we have to calm down her coughing before giving her another one. Um, hello? That's what the pills are for. NO, we have to turn on the hot shower full blast and sit in the bathroom for 20 minutes, then eat a cracker, then the pill, then another cracker (the crackers because apparently the pill is nasty).

We go into the bathroom. I turn on the water. I now have to pee. There is no place to put Erin, so I hold her while I go to the bathroom. As I am sitting there, Leah says "I am pee-peeing!" Mind you, I had just asked her before I sat down, if she needed to go. I wipe, jump off, tear her clothes off with one hand (I am holding Erin, remember?) and sit her on the potty. My pants are around my ankles. So I lay Erin on the rug and fix myself, then clean Leah up while Erin is screaming.

I tell Leah that I need to put Erin to sleep, I will only be a few minutes. Can she please sit in the bathroom and read books while I do this? She agrees and off I go. Just when Erin is falling asleep nursing, Leah bursts out of the bathroom and heads downstairs. I shout her name and startle Erin. Now she is wide awake. I give her another minute and put her in her crib anyway.

I chase Leah down and drag her back into the bathroom, which by now has lost all of the built-up steam because Leah left the door open. I force her to sit in there while I read stories. She gets mad at me and smacks the books out of my hand. I get frustrated and smack her bottom. *Sigh* I am not proud of that. Eventually we come out and I give her another pill. She eats a cracker right after and keeps everything down. The coughing has slowed down, but is not gone. Doc said the steroids will not really take effect until tomorrow afternoon though. She recommended Benadryl tonight before bedtime. I don't know if I can wait that long. She had no nap today, bedtime can be at 5pm, right?

Erin is upstairs screaming in her crib, she was only quiet for like 30 minutes again. Excuse me please, while I tear my hair out...

Underwear a Go-Go

Just a quick note to say that Leah has been wearing big girl underwear for the past 2 days. There have been NO accidents (knock on wood) and she has even pooped on the potty twice! Maybe we've got it figured out. I have not given her her constipation medicine yet because whenever I do, her next poop is not solid and she has not ever done that BM on the potty yet. So I have been holding out because she has been going on her own fairly often. I would LOVE to be done with the meds though...

Erin has been having a little rice cereal and a fruit or veg at dinner time each day this week. Some days she does better than others. She downed bananas and was okay with peas. Pears were not a favorite though (which I was surprised at). After giving her a bite or two the past two nights, she has been straining like she has to go the bathroom. Now I am freaked out because this is how it started with Leah. I am already starting to think about switching to oat or barley cereal and nixing the rice. That is what I had to do with Leah and also cut out bananas totally too. I hope Erin doesn't turn out with that same issue!

What are leg sleeves?

Why, they're your pant legs, of course! (This from Leah)

Also, this morning when I warned her about tripping over something and hurting herself, she said "And then the am-vu-lance will come and make me all better."

She really likes the adjective "so" and often says things like, "I am so, so thirsty."

As for me, I have been to the gym 4 times in the last 8 days AND went to my first Weight Watchers meeting last night where I lost 1.4 lbs from when I weighed myself on my own scale last week. So 2008 is off to a roaring start for me!

A Book Tag

I have been tagged by Emily, so here goes...

1. One book that changed your life:

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth made sleep possible again in our house after Leah was born.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:

Too many to name, but I LOVED The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I have made many a middle schooler read it.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:

I will go with Lynn on this one, How to Survive on a Desert Island (I'm sure it's out there!)

4. Two books that made you laugh:

Most of the Dave Barry books cracked me up, but especially Dave Barry's Guide to American History

5. One book that made you cry:

I agree with Emily, any with a parent or child dying.

6. One book that you wish had been written:

How to beat constipation in a child when changing the diet does not seem to help

7. One book that you wish had never been written:

Sorry, I know I will have some naysayers on this one, but Grapes of Wrath. That book was so freaking boring.

8. Two books you’re currently reading:

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Katie Jacobs and the In Death series by J.D. Robb

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:

Not really anything particular on my list right now.

I tag anyone who wants likes to read and wants to participate.

On another note not related to the tag, I HIGHLY recommend reading Expecting Adam by Martha Beck. I almost put it in the "change your life" category because it has affected me that much. But I just finished it, so I don't really know yet how and if it will change my life. So we shall see about that. I have been meaning to blog about it, but I can't quite wrap my brain around how it has affected me. So suffice it to say, it has made me really think about life. Thank you so much, Laurie, for sharing that book with me.

Leahisms

I haven't posted many of these lately, so here are two from today:

While plucking a feather into little tiny pieces, she says, "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me!" (from The Little Mermaid, but still hilarious from a 2 yr old)

Mike walked in the bathroom to begin her bath and he asks her how she is doing. "I am just doing fine," Leah says. (She uses just all the time, not always in the correct way.)

She is the cutest!

My baby

officially slept through the night. Erin slept from 7:30 until 5:20 this morning! I fed her and she went back to sleep until 8am. I got a full night's sleep and am ready to go today. We made it to the gym for the second time this week. Wednesday I took yoga and today I took a step class. The girls have done well both times and Erin has been a fabulous napper the last few days. We are having a great week and I have been keeping to Weight Watchers since the new year. I plan to start attending meetings next week. I am committed this time to losing 30 pounds. So here we go...

A ride in review

Number of hours in the car: 10
Number of miles traveled: 750
Number of presents stuffed in the van: 29
Number of pieces of dry ice packed: 1
Number of stops: 4
Number of times Cinderella was watched: 3
Number of episodes of Dora watched: 10
Number of times Leah asked "Are we there yet?": 21
Number of diapers changed: 8
Number of hours Leah slept: 1.5
Number of hours Erin slept: 5.5
Number of times Leah refused to eat the cheeseburger she asked for: 12
Number of ounces of formula Erin sucked down to minimize stopping: 8
Number of times Leah randomly said "Mommy/Daddy I love you": Never too many

Something smells like burning

Question: Which of these three things do you think smells like fire?

A. our clothes on the day after Christmas
B. my infant's head
C. the fireplace at my dad's house

Answer at the end of the entry

So here we are still in Louisiana. We were going to leave this morning, but my aunt and a few cousins came out here to Parran's camp and Leah is having so much fun we couldn't go yet. We are sticking around for a dinner of ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and salad. YUM!

So last night we went to the Neel family Christmas party. For all who don't know, Neel is my step-dad's family. We were trying to think when the last time was I saw them. Finally, after much deliberation (and you know if it was that complicated, it has been too long) we decided it has been 3 1/2 years. Six kids have been born since then. One of my cousins have gone from a 5th to 9th grader. People have grown up A LOT. I was kinda dreading going because our girls have been through a lot this week with meeting new people and staying up late. I was afraid they would melt down. But they were GREAT and we had a really fun time. So I am happy we went.

The tally of new people met for my girls:
Marmandes (step-mom's family on X-mas eve): 24
Theriots (dad's family on X-mas day): 49
Neels (step-dad's family): 25

For a grand total of: 98

Can you believe that?

Now Leah met the first two lines two years ago when she was 7 months, but that doesn't really count because she was too little. Just like it doesn't really count for Erin this time. My poor children are strung out from lack of sleep and Erin has now gotten used to being nursed to sleep 3-4 times a night. So boot camp when we get home. Everyone will go to bed at 6 for at least a week to straighten us out. If we ever do get home...

Answer to our Question: B

Merry Christmas!

Between last night and today, the girls were extremely sleep-deprived and overstimulated. Even so, they were still good and cooperative. Last night we went to Grandma Marmande's (Myrn's mother) for dinner, presents and steal gifts. I ended up with a sterling cheese platter and knife decorated with the fleur-de-lis design and Mike got the "Swiss army knife of BBQ tools." Erin actually fell asleep in my arms, which never happens with that kid. When we got home, we put out milk and cookies for Santa and sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn before bed.

This morning everyone in the house was up before the girls. In fact Leah only woke up because my dad was banging pots in the kitchen. Santa had written Leah a note saying that he left her presents at her house because there was no more room under the tree here at Mimi and PawPaw's. She accepted that with no problem because there was plenty for her to open here. Right after present opening, we started preparing for the horde to descend.

The day was insane. I almost never saw Erin except when I was putting her down for naps. Leah was in and out with her cousins playing in her new bus tent and and eating oranges from my dad's tree. The little cousins have all grown up so much and it was so much fun visiting with everyone.

I leave you with a few pictures:

The girls making "reindeer food"

Erin on Christmas morning

Ella and Leah eating oranges all day

Uncle Zac and the girls

One hundred people watching homemovies from 1983 in one tiny bedroom

We made it!

Well, we made it to my dad's house in Houma, LA with a minimum of fuss. We left home at 12:30PM and arrived at dad's at 2am. Of course when we got here both girls were wired for a while so it took some time to get everyone settled and into bed. But the ride was very smooth. Leah watched her DVDs almost the whole ride until she went to sleep at 9pm. Erin slept off and on the whole time. So all in all we were pleasantly surprised at the ease of the drive.

We are going to Myrn's (my step-mom's) mothers tomorrow night. The kids get presents and the adults do the white elephant gift exchange where you steal presents. Then Christmas day all the Theriots descend on Dad's house for a day of food and presents. I have made Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Oatmeal, and Lemon Rosemary Butter cookies, Butter Balls, and Fudge (well, my mom made fudge) for that day. Tonight I made Tiffany's Chocolate Peppermint cookies and they spread too much. Tiff, I forgot what you told me about preventing the spreading. What did I have to do again?

Anyway, on Wednesday or Thursday for my birthday we are going to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. It was hit pretty hard by the hurricane, but they have put it back together nicely. My aunt said she might take some cousins and meet us there. I will post pics of that when we go, it should be a blast.

Friday we are going to my step-dad's family Christmas party and spending the night at my parran's camp. (Parran is the Louisiana way of saying godfather.) Then we are heading home Saturday. It will be a full week as always. I will post with pics and stories as the week progresses.

Funny Leah story: She had been playing with our flyswatter while we were packing the car. She wanted to bring it with us and we told her that PawPaw probably had one. She asked us what color it was and we told her to ask PawPaw when we got there. When we arrived at 2am, I was taking Leah out of the car mostly asleep. She curls up in my arms and says "What kind he has?" I had no idea what she was talking about until she said "What color is PawPaw's flyswatter?" After 14 hours in the car it was the first thing she said! :)

4 month update

Erin had her 4 month check up yesterday. She was 14lb 4oz and 23 1/2 in, exactly the same as Leah was at 4 months. We fed her some rice cereal last night and she did pretty well. Most of the 4 bites she had stayed in her mouth. :) She is also doing well with her occasional bottle of formula. It's good to know I can leave her and she will be okay with someone else.

My baby has gotten so much fun when she is not tired. She is always grinning and making cute cooing noises. Her big mouth is always open wide, catching flies. I really love nursing her right before bedtime. She is tired, but cuddly and warm. Sometimes I don't want to put her down. When she cries in the night though, I have NO problem putting her down after nursing her back to sleep. The dr said she does not NEED the night feedings, but we should probably keep going to her til she's about 6 months to create that bond. After that we can wean her off the night feedings. I really don't mind them as long as it's once or twice a night. When she wakes up every 2 hours is when I have a rough time. Ugh...

Last night Mom and I went to Maggiano's for a joint birthday dinner. It was a lot of laughs and it was nice to have time to just visit as grown-ups. Thanks Mike for watching the kids for us!

Date night

Last night after Erin went to sleep, Mike and I headed out to Carrabba's for a date. We each had a glass of wine and shared the two founder's platters. It was so delicious! Afterward we walked around a few stores in the strip mall and just enjoyed our time alone. We didn't even really talk about the kids until we were almost home! We had a wonderful few hours off duty.

When we got home, Erin was awake hanging out with my mom on the couch. I put her back to sleep at about 9:30 and she slept until 4:45am! I went to bed at 10 so I got almost 7 continuous hours of sleep for the first time since she was born. I put her back to sleep at 5:30 after a poop episode. All of a sudden at 6:30 Leah was calling "Help, help" in the monitor. Mike went in and Leah's lamp was on and her pajamas were off. I think she was trying to change her own diaper. :) Mike came back in and I thought he had redressed her. A minute later Leah was calling "Help, I am pee-peeing." Apparently Mike had put big girl underwear on her and left her in her room? So she peed behind her clothes hamper. We got her all cleaned up and let her wake Grammy up. I went back to bed and slept until Erin work up at 8:15! This was the best night ever!!!!!

Ballet Debut

Leah and I went on a date yesterday to the ballet. Our neighbor Makenna was a little party girl in The Nutcracker. I was a little worried about Leah sitting through a whole performance, but for the most part she was great. Before the show she and Ian ran around the lobby., laying on the floor in front of people trying to walk and almost got stepped on a few times. :) Leah had a dress on and kept flashing her diaper at everyone. I know she is still little, but I can't stand when kids wear skirts without shorts or bloomers. Kids just can't handle not flashing, so we will be shorting it soon. Anyway, during the first act, we discussed what was going on and pointed things out to each other. At intermission, we looked at the stuff they were selling in the lobby. I wish I had brought some cash because Leah found a little bendy ballerina for a dollar and it would have been a good souvenir.

We met up with the ballerina herself, Makenna, in the lobby at intermission
along with her sister Andelyn. (How neat are those names?) Leah got a little antsy during the second act, but only toward the end. All in all I was impressed at our first cultural outing.

To update the sleep post from the other day, last night was great! We put Erin to bed at 5pm and Leah at 6:30pm. (The night before, at 6 and 7pm did not work by the way) Leah slept all night. She had not napped the day before due to the ballet. Well, I say due to the ballet, but Leah has only napped 2 out of the last 10 days. I am worried we may be outgrowing naps! So she had a good night last night. Erin woke up at 10:15 and 1:15 to eat and woke up for the day at 6:30am! That was a great breakthrough. I hope now that we broke the cycle, we can get back to her good night sleep. We can hardly leave the house due to her numerous naps, but it is all worth it for the sake for a good night's sleep

On demand

I found out that we do have Exercise TV in Demand! Now I can do Pilates and Yoga in my living room. It's not exactly the same but it's something.

Erin has not been sleeping well at night. Beginning at about 11pm she wakes up every two hours and sometimes every hour until morning. Mike and I discussed this at 4:45 am while we were listening to her cry since 4am and decided that both girls need an earlier bedtime. They don't go to bed late, maybe between 7:30 and 8 for Leah and varies for Erin depending on her naps. But I think 6pm will be Erin's new temporary bedtime for a while until we see how she is doing. Leah will be going to bed at 7pm for the next week. We want to see if this helps the night waking. My favorite sleep book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, almost always advocates trying an earlier bedtime if things are not going well. Leah has also been waking in the night 3 out of the last 5 nights. So early bedtimes all round!

Update: I just did 30 min of Pilates from ExerciseTV On Demand. It feels good!

How Leah Has Grown

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Babysitting Jobs Wanted

I am the babysitter extraordinaire! Along with my husband of course. Tonight we watched Chase and Ian while Bryan and Laurie went to his work holiday party in Fort Mill, SC. We played outside for a long time, took a walk around the neighborhood (Erin in snugli on Mike, Chase in wrap on me, Ian & Leah in wagon), made and ate dinner, fed Chase baby food, bathed Ian & Leah, and put all 4 kids to bed by 7:45pm. Then we made a Minted Chocolate Trifle for Mike's work holiday party tomorrow. So it wasn't bad at all. I am the bomb! Oh, yeah, and Mike too. :)

Possible suspension...

of my 5K ambitions. :(

Last Sunday we took the kids on a walk to see all the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. For some reason my knees started bothering me while we were walking. Ever since then, the part of my knees under the kneecap has been aching. I have had slight knee issues before. I remember when I did guard, whenever we would have staging practices, my knees would bother me. It's weird that they hurt more when I do easy things like walk and stand than when I work out and dance. Anyway, I am wondering if maybe the running has inflamed my cartilage with all the pounding. So I have to stop running for a while and see if it gets better.

I still want to go to the gym for Pilates and yoga, but it is really hard to make it to classes on a schedule right now. Between two kids, each on their own schedule, I can't force them into mine. So I think I may need to get some DVDs and really make myself do them at home. If anyone still needs to get me Christmas or birthday presents, Pilates and yoga DVDs are a great idea.

On another note, I just got a phone call from my neighbor. Apparently our city is on an even higher lever of water restrictions. We have not been allowed to water outside or wash cars or anything like that for quite a while. Now I hear that you are only going to be allowed 6000 gallons a month and that at a 15% increase in price. After 6000 gallons they will charge you $10 for every 1000 gallons. My neighbor said that she checked her last month's bill and, even though she thought she was conserving water, they used 12000 gallons. So we better watch out. If anyone out there has ideas for conserving water in the home, please pass them on.

Goal update and other stuff

1. Stick to Weight Watchers and show consistent weight loss - I did well last week and I have lost a total of 11 pounds since I started keeping track. I know that part of that is just more baby weight coming off, but I went down a pants size last week so I am ecstatic.
2. Run a 5K once a week - I ran one last Tuesday.
3. Improve my time from 45 minutes (no set time goal) - time of 41:45 which is 15 sec better than the last time
4. Get to the gym twice a week minimum - again only once :(


I tried something new with the 5K. Instead of running half a lap and walking half a lap, I ran more like 1 1/2 laps and walked half a lap still. I thought if I ran more, my time would improve. But I had to run slower since I wasn't taking as many breaks, so it turned out almost dead even. At the end I pushed really hard to beat my old time and I did. :)

Next weekend, we invited Mike's co-worker John and his wife Dawn to Channukah dinner. I have not seen Dawn since before they announced their pregnancy and she is now due in February. So it will be neat to chat with her about that. Then we are babysitting Ian & Chase on Sunday while Bryan & Laurie go to his work Christmas party. It's always a challenge to watch other people's babies because you don't know the little things like how they prefer to be held, etc. I mean Chase is a really easy baby, so I'm sure it will be fine.

This week is supposed to be really mellow. We have no specific plans, just to get Erin's naps in. I plan to scrapbook everyday during rest time and only do housecleaning when Leah is at school. I will post my pages at the end of the week.

New comparison

Check out Erin's 3 month photo at right. She and Leah are really starting to look alike. They have the same nose and ears and the mouths are similar. Where they really differ (besides obviously the hair) is the eyes. Erin's eyes are so much bigger and more expressive. It is so neat to have two girls and be able to look at them as they grow and see what each has gotten from us.

Tomorrow we have a birthday party for Leah's little school friend to attend. It was her first party invitation from someone that wasn't a friend of the family. That was kind of exciting, that she is making her own friends and having her own life that I don't direct. Not that extreme, but you know what I mean. :) Anyway the party is at Gymboree which I have never been to. I can't wait to see what they can do there.

After the party we have our CDS Cookie Exchange. I made my traditional Butter Balls, but they did not come out exactly right. I kept baking and baking them, but they never seemed to get golden on top. Later on I thought maybe I didn't have the oven on and it was just still warm from the muffins I baked, so I stuck them back in several hours later for 5 more minutes (bake time was supposed to be 15-18 min, they ended up baking a total of 25 min). They still taste good but they are rather crumbly, many fell apart in the powdered sugar bag (you are supposed to shake them). I think I have enough still whole for the exchange...

And last but not least, tomorrow night is the Annual Downtown Monroe Christmas Tree Lighting. I don't know if our girls will make it, it depends on the kind of day they have. I hope everyone naps well and we get to see the tree, but you never know around here.

PMS for toddlers?

Is there such a thing? Leah slept fine last night, got up at 6:30 as usual. By 12:15 she was having fits about every little a thing and yawning so big it practically split her face in half. So I brought her upstairs and we got ready for "rest time" (so called because she has a tantrum if she thinks I am making her sleep). She did great until I left the room.

Then the crying began.

It continued for 25 minutes.

I went back in and rocked her, held her, threatened her, let her switch to my bed, switched back, called Daddy, and finally just left her alone.

I have never seen her like that in my life.

I think she may be out for the rest of the day.

Update: Leah only slept for 25 minutes then woke up hyperventilating/crying again. I brought her downstairs and she sat with me for a bit, then started crying again for no reason. Then Erin woke up crying and Leah didn't want me to go get her. She was clinging to me and saying "Hug me." Eventually I was able to get Erin by promising Leah I would put her right in the bouncy seat. They both cried for about 10 minutes. Leah would not let me pick Erin up. Finally I got Leah to watch a movie and the afternoon went smoothly after that.

House Survey c/o Erica

1.) When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter?
2 story foyer

2.)Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes

3.) Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?
disgusting builder's grade carpet

4.) Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?
On the counter in a block

5.) House, apartment, duplex or trailer?
House

6.) How many bedrooms is it?
4 bedrooms, a playroom and a bonus room

7.) Gas stove or electric?
Electric, I forgot to get a gas line installed in the kitchen when we built

8.) Do you have a yard?
yes, in a pie shape

9.) What size TV is in the living room?
50″ plasma

10.) Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?
No

11.) Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?
no, in the pantry, and only used when parents come to visit

13.) What room is your computer in?
what room is there not a computer? we have desktops in the music room and craft/guest room and a laptop that goes everywhere

14.) Are there pictures hanging in your living room?
a Thomas Kinkade print, a Gator pennant and various family photos

15.) Are there any themes found in your home?
a poker room-ish theme in the game room and a Parisian theme in the kitchen

16.) What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
whatever's cheap

17.) Do you use dryer sheets?
Yep

18.) Do you have any curtains in your home?
in the kids' rooms and the game room

19.) What color is your fridge?
White

20.) Is your house clean?
it is straightened and partly clean

21.) What room is the most neglected?
Dining room and game room are equally neglected

22.) Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?
dirty, with the top rack full and the bottom rack mostly empty (I hate that)

23.) How long have you lived in your home?
16 months

24.) Where did you live before?
a 4 BR house in New Port Richey, FL

25.) Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?
Uh, no.

26.) Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?
Yes, in my bathroom

27.) How many mirrors are in your house?
including bathrooms, 5

28.) Look up. What do you see?
ceiling fan in family room

29.) Do you have a garage?
yes, 2 car

30.) Do you own or rent?
Own

Taking a break...

from housecleaning to veg on the computer for a few minutes. I decided this year not to clean the house before people came. I straightened and wiped things down. But really there is no point in deep cleaning before you have visitors. Everything just gets dirty again and you get frustrated because you just cleaned.

So I waited until today and then I:
vacuumed
mopped the kitchen
swept the hardwood
did laundry
weeded toys out of the playroom

Leah has gotten/will be getting so many things for Christmas/Channukah that I had to make room. I put a bunch of things in a tub to rotate back in after a few months. This child is spoiled, let me tell you.

Update on my goals:
1. Stick to Weight Watchers and show consistent weight loss - not on Thanksgiving week, thanks :)
2. Run a 5K once a week - I ran one Tuesday
3. Improve my time from 45 minutes (no set time goal) - improved time of 42:00
4. Get to the gym twice a week minimum - only one gym appearance last week, again due to Thanksgiving

I plan to head to the gym tomorrow for either yoga or to run a 5K, depending on what time I make it. I have started this week well on WW. I am ready to start fresh!

Thanksgiving Recap

Yesterday went fairly smoothly. The turkey came out of the brine and went into the oven at 9am. My mom and I decided we didn't have enough yams and ran to the store to get more. Then she helped me put together the green beans and the yam casserole and peel the potatoes.

Then everything came to a screeching halt because the turkey would. not. finish. cooking.

All the other dishes were waiting for the turkey to come out before going into the oven. I had made a guesstimate of 4 hours but in reality it took 5. So dinner wasn't until 3pm, but I think Laurie was glad about it because she wasn't quite ready yet either. Then we all sat down and gave thanks.

It was really nice to see Todd and LeShayne and their kids. (Todd is Bryan's younger brother.) I knew LeShayne in high school. She and I were in color guard at East Lake High School together. I met Todd through my ex-boyfriend and kinda lost him in the "divorce." But before that happened, I met Laurie and Bryan through Todd. I got to keep them. :) Anyway, I had not seen either Todd or LeShayne since maybe their wedding in 2000? Wow, I wonder if that is really right.

So we had a great Thanksgiving meal with them, the Maddexes, my mom and my in-laws. I loved having all the help with the kids. In the evening, our neighbors Kim and Dan had their annual Christmas lights reveal. We all walked down and oohed and aahed as the lights went on.

And off.
And back on again.
And then off again.

The sheer amount of lights kept tripping their circuit breakers. But it was still fun. Someone was passing around cookies and brownies, which I did not partake in due to the 2 desserts I had already consumed. Then we bundled the girls into bed and I caught up on my TV.

All in all a lovely day. Thanksgiving is still my favorite holiday. *sigh*

PS I ran another 5K at the gym this past Tuesday. My time improved from 45 minutes to 42 minutes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I like Brittany's idea of listing people I am thankful for. So I am stealing it and making my own list.

1. I am thankful for Mike. He is a total partner in my life, with running our household and raising our children.

2. I am thankful for my mom. She is one of my closest friends even though she lives so far away.

3. I am thankful for my dad and all my HUGE family in New Orleans. I have such fond memories of family gatherings and holidays with them. I can't wait to see them at Christmas.

4. I am thankful for my in-laws. I am so lucky to have in-laws that I get along with and that respect the way my home works.

5. I am thankful for the Maddexes. One of the best decisions for our family was to move here to NC with them. I love that our children get to grow up together.

6. I am thankful for the CDS crew. My life has been enriched for knowing each and every one of you.

7. I am thankful for Leah. She has the maturity of a much older child and we have come to the point where we can have conversations. I would like to keep her this age for a while. :)

8. I am thankful for Erin. She is the smiliest (?) baby and every night when I rock her before bedtime, I think about how I can hardly remember life without her in it.

9. All of my friends who are mothers. They teach me things ALL the time.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it highlights a top few.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Accountability

After reading LeShayne's post today, I decided to get you guys involved in my new journey so I can be held accountable for my actions here.

I have decided to rejoin Weight Watchers. I still have 27 pounds of baby weight to lose plus the 13 I still had to be at an ideal weight for me. I am trying to increase going to the gym too. The classes I like to take are during Erin's naptime. So I am in the same dilemma I was in when Leah was still taking two naps. But Mike and I have decided to run a 5K sometime in the spring, so we have set an additional goal of practicing once a week. I ran mine Saturday at the gym with a time of 45 minutes. So I would like to improve that time.

My goals in summary:
1. Stick to Weight Watchers and show consistent weight loss
2. Run a 5K once a week
3. Improve my time from 45 minutes (no set time goal)
4. Get to the gym twice a week minimum

There, now it's out there. Be sure to check in and see my progress toward those goals.

Same ole, same ole

We don't have a lot going on over here. Everyone is eating, sleeping and growing properly. No one has been ill (except for a little Leah stuffiness and cough in the AMs).

We are doing B at my house for "preschool" this week. Yesterday we used blue food coloring and dish soap in water. The kids used straws to blow bubbles in the water, then they touched their paper B's to the bubbles to make blue bubble prints. It worked pretty well. Today I baked blueberry-banana bread for the kids to snack on. We are going to glue yarn and precut balloons onto construction paper. This preschool thing is pretty fun.

I got a fair amount of Christmas shopping done yesterday while Leah was at school. Erin had a portrait appt at 9:40 at the mall, so I just shopped around after that. Santa is now done with Leah. I am really stuck on what to get Erin besides clothes. I have everything still from Leah, so there is not much she needs or even can use at this age. I think we may get her an infant swing for our swing set. She likes Chase's. We will see...

I am fully into Thanksgiving mode right now. I am making two turkeys, one roasted and one fried. Mike is going to be in charge of the actual frying. I am also making: mashed potatoes and gravy, yam casserole, and green bean casserole. We are eating with the Maddexes, so Laurie is making: stuffing, bread, possibly turkey gravy, apple and pumpkin pies, and cheesecake. Think that's enough food? :) I REALLY want to have nice dishes and a table that seats everyone one day. That is my goal. We'll keep working on it.

That is about it. Hope it was semi-interesting.

On my own

Mike is in South Carolina as we speak (as I blog?). He was going with some people from work to try to scalp tickets to the SC/FL game. I assume he got them because I haven't heard from him. They probably won't be back until morning because the game wasn't until 7:45.

I got the girls to bed fine tonight and was able to watch Grey's Anatomy which I have been saving since Thursday just for tonight.

So Mike went with a girl from work and her friends. He told me the friends are one guy and one girl. Obviously I trust him and that part is not an issue. But anyone else think it is weird that they may get a hotel room tonight? I don't know what the situation will be, how they will allocate sleeping space, how many rooms they will get, etc. I think it is a little strange though...

Update: They left SC at 11pm and Mike walked in at 2am. So no big deal. I knew it was nothing, but the situation was kinda strange, that's all.

Blogspot Confessional

Thanks a lot, Christine! :)

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. I was going to marry my ex-boyfriend. Seriously. We had bought a ring together at Easter time in 1999. All that summer I waited for the proposal. At Halloween, I got dumped. Looking back, it was the best thing to ever happen to me. I met Mike in January of 2000 and we started dating in February. The rest is history.

2. I thought I was getting a divorce the summer of 2004. We worked it out, but it was a very rough patch. I still think about it sometimes and get sad. But I just have to remember that it made us closer in the long run.

3. I was a horrible bridesmaid in Laurie's wedding. I didn't make it to the bridal shower OR the rehearsal. I did however buy a car on her wedding day. I'm surprised she still talks to me. :)

4. I threw up in a wheelchair on my shoes at Universal Studios' City Walk. I had a fishbowl drink at TGIFriday's before we went, then I had one and a half Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's. All the sugar and liquor combined to make me VERY sick. I could not even pick up my head from between my knees, so my friends called security to get a wheelchair so we could get to the car. Even in my drunken stupor, I was embarrassed.

5. I was always such a goody-goody at school. On the one day I tried to skip, I actually went to school in the morning and turned in an excuse note to leave early. The administration called to verify it with my parents and of course I was caught. I spent a day in ISS, which was actually kinda fun because I met all kinds of people who were not in my classes. I made some new friends that day...

6. For my bachelorette party, we went to Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney. My friends had pinned individually wrapped Lifesavers all over my shirt. They then asked guys at the clubs to remove said Lifesavers with their teeth FOR MONEY! I earned over $200 that night, enough to treat myself to a spa day before my wedding. Special thanks to my saleswomen, Rana and Kelly. They did a bang up job raking in the dough!

I tag Laurie, Keri, Megan, Mandi, Stacy, and Nikki. Let's hear some little known facts/stories!

Tagged by Erica

What’s the first thing you do when waking up in the morning?
Get a kid out of bed, one or the other is always the reason I have to get up

Do you prefer a shower or bath?
Shower because it's quick

How many times a day do you brush your teeth?
Once or twice if I’m not too tired when I go to bed (Ditto with Erica)

How often do you find yourself thinking about your ex?
I dream about him sometimes but rarely think about him otherwise.

What kind of cell phone do you have?
Dunno, something generic but Bluetooth enabled

What would you do with a 10 bill you found on the ground?
Depends on where I found it

What would you do with your significant other if you knew today was your last day with them?
I can't even think about it, it would be too horrible

Have you said “I love you” today?
Yes, at least three times :)

What’s one thing you actually remember about kindergarten?
Reciting a poem at graduation

Are you closer with your mom or dad?
My mom is one of my closest friends

Do you prefer the tanning bed or the sun?
The sun .. never been in a tanning bed, never plan to

Is chocolate really better than sex?
Maybe not better, but faster and less messy :) (I am stealing Erica's response on this one)

What’s 2 of your favorite movies?
Can't Hardly Wait and Night at the Roxbury

What’s the last thing you think about before going to sleep at night?
How long will I get to sleep before Erin wakes up to eat?

What would you do if your best friend jumped on your ex the day after you two split?
At this point in my life, I don't foresee that ever happening.

Does your life seem to revolve around drama?
I think I am past the drama stage.

How do you calm down when your extremely angry?
The last time I was angry, I got very quiet and shouted mean things in my head.

Do long distance relationships actually work out?
Is a 2 hour drive considered long distance? If so, then yes.

Ever thought you met “The One”?
I am now married to "The One"

What are 2 of your favorite places to eat?
Maggiano's and Miro's Spanish Grille

3 of your favorite places to shop?
Target, Old Navy, Children's Place

Do you currently have a job?
Stay-at-home mom, it doesn't get much more full-time than that

Which would you prefer…be rich and miserable, or poor and extremely happy?
Poor and happy, duh

What’s one of your favorite TV shows?
How I Met Your Mother

What did you want to be when you “grow up”?
A teacher

Do you know who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS!

Would you want a house at the beach or in the mountains?
Mountains as long as it's not isolated

Which would you rather have…a huge walk in shower or a jacuzzi bath tub?
Huge shower with multiple jets

Do you look up or at your feet when you walk?
Up

What’s your favorite ice cream?
I love most ice creams from Bruster's

Do you like Starbucks…or are they just overpriced?
I like Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Are you a prep or a jeans-and-t-shirt type of person?
Jeans and t-shirt

What color are your eyes?
Brown

Do you have glasses or contacts?
Both now

Is it love at first sight or lust?
Usually lust

Which do you want…a big extravagant wedding or a quiet intimate ceremony?
I had a medium size wedding

What’s the most expensive thing you own?
House

What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a pair of jeans?
$70

What color are your bedroom walls?
Builder's white

Do you ever actually make your bed?
Occasionally

How many pillows do you have to sleep with?
Just the one

Do you prefer to sleep alone or with someone?
With someone, as long as they are not a super squirmy sleeper

5am wake-up call

This morning both girls were up at 5am. What is up with that? I guess they are still adjusting to the time change and it is throwing them all off. Leah tossed and turned in our bed until 6:30, then we put the TV on for her. Erin ate and I laid her back down. She talked until 5:45, then started to cry, so I brought her in our bed too. When she kept being loud, I brought her downstairs until 6:30, then I put her back to bed when she started rubbing her eyes. She is still sleeping as of 8am. I will have to get her up soon though. We have to bring Leah to school at 8:30.

So Laurie and I decided to start "Letter of the Week" activities with the kids. She bought these cool preschool activity books. This one has snacks that begin with each letter. This one has art projects that we can do for each letter. We will do an activity 3 afternoons a week on non-school days. Laurie choose to do the first week. So she printed out a picture of the sign for A (sign language) and filled a bag with things that begin with A. She also played an alphabet song and had the kids jumping when they saw an A on the flashcards. They made apple prints on a big letter A and ate apples for a snack. All of that took about 15 minutes. We both said at the end of it How do people teach preschool?

I have B week next. Any suggestions for fun B activities?

Revised Sleep Struggles

After yesterday's post, we had a setback AND a step forward. Erin slept from 10:15am until 12:45pm. She woke up happy, not crying, which hasn't happened in a while. She started rubbing her eyes a little before 1:30 and I thought Surely she can't be tired yet. So I didn't put her down. When she started getting fussy at 2pm, I put her to bed and it was a struggle. AND she only slept 30 minutes. So I though I had ruined the good sleeping that had been developing. I was so ticked at myself for not listening to her signs. I need to not second guess them and just go with it.

We ran out to Target to do the ONE errand I had to do that day. By the end of that short trip, she was screaming with tiredness. I tried to keep her awake on the car ride home, but of course she snoozed 2 minutes from home. I went upstairs with her and she screamed herself into a frenzy. Finally I tried nursing and the second it touched her mouth, she was out. She woke when I put her in the crib and cried some, but not too hard. At 4:45pm she fell sleep and was OUT FOR THE NIGHT. Granted she did wake up at 10:45, 12:45 and 4:45 to eat. The last 2 times, she talked to herself in her bed for a while before falling back to sleep. But at 7:30am, I think I am just hearing from her. So again, hopefully after that fabulous night's sleep, we will have a good nap day.

If I listen to the signs...

Sleep Struggles

After my last sleep post, Erin made a liar out of me. She continued to sleep well at night, going to bed between 7 and 8pm and only waking once or twice just to eat, then sleeping through until about 7am. But all of a sudden, she stopped napping during the day. I read all the books again. I tried putting her down sooner, putting her down later, nursing before nap, not nursing before nap, covering the curtains so that it was darker in her room, etc. Not a thing worked. Erin was so cranky! Most of each day was spent trying to get Erin to sleep, during which I used the TV as a babysitter for Leah, which I HATE doing. In addition to the madness, Leah has also recently mostly turned her back on naps. So to have no napping in my house with a cranky infant was driving me crazy! I can only imagine what I would have been like had Erin not been a good night sleeper.

On top of all that, Mike decided to take on another lawn project. We got a truckload of topsoil dumped in our backyard so that he could spread it over some seed to hopefully grow us some grass in the backyard. But a truckload of topsoil is a crapload of dirt. It meant that he spent a lot of yesterday morning hauling dirt while I had another fun-filled no-nap day with the girls. At about 4:30, I came out crying with a crying Erin and said "This is not okay!" I told him I needed his help with the kids on the weekends, especially with both of them not sleeping, and I was upset that he had decided to spend his weekend digging dirt. He quit for the afternoon to spend time with us. He said he hadn't realized how I was feeling and how hard it was. So that was better.

On a funny note, last night Mike said to me, "I tell you when you do stupid stuff, right? Why didn't you tell me that spreading a truckload of dirt was one of the stupidest ideas I ever had, right after trying to sod my own yard?" Apparently it was lot more work than either of us had anticipated. We are about 1/3 of the way through the pile as of noon on Sunday.

So to end on a happy note... Last night, we put a cranky Erin down at 7:45. She woke up to eat at 2:30, then again at 6am (old time). After the second feeding, she talked to herself in the crib for like 20 min or so, then proceeded to sleep until 9am (new time)! She was back in her crib by 10:15 and is currently still sleeping in there! We just might have broken that nasty sleep cycle with a new wonderful one! That was 3 exclamation points in a row. Can you tell I am excited?!?!?!?!

Halloween Shenanigans

Tonight was pretty fun. Everyone arrived at our house at about 6:30 for pictures. All the kids (and some of the parents) looked awesome! We had two Dorothys, two Glindas, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, a flying monkey, the Wicked Witch of the East, Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and the Wizard (who opted out of pictures)(actually his costume couldn't fit in the door). Erin was supposed to be Toto but she was SUPER tired and cried from 5:45 on so I did not dress her up.

We started out just when it was getting dark and most houses did not have their porch lights on yet. We got about 3 houses down and Leah started dragging behind because her shoes were too big. She was having a hard time walking in them. Mike was also dragging behind because his costume kept falling apart. So, with Erin in the wrap, I carried Leah several houses. I was so irritated with Mike at this point because I had suggested that he not dress up considering he just got it all put together tonight at 6pm. My irritation was a little irrational, I admit. I was just frustrated that I needed his help with the kids and he was more worried about his costume. At that point, I decided to go home and get the stroller for Leah to ride in between houses and that worked pretty well. Then Erin, who had fallen asleep in the wrap, woke up crying again. So I decided to just go home and put her to bed. Mike took Leah around for another half hour, then they called it a night too.

A little while later, while sorting through and sampling candy, something happened that broke my heart a little. Mike and I were bickering back & forth over something really stupid. Leah was standing next to me. After listening to it for a minute, she said, "Mommy, leave Daddy alone." All at once, I remembered what it was like to be a kid and hear your parents argue. It was such an awful feeling, I never wanted my kids to go through it. I know that is not entirely possible, AND what Mike & I were doing was NOTHING like what I lived with as a kid. But still, I felt so guilty. Then she sat in my lap and hugged me and said "I love you, Mom." Crack, crack, now do you hear my heart breaking?

Carolina BalloonFiasco

Yesterday we had high hopes of a beautiful day spent watching hot air balloons take off. Laurie had told us about the Carolina BalloonFest in Statesville. It was about an hour's drive. We left home at 3:15pm and stopped for gas and diapers. At 4:25 we were turning about 4 miles away. At 5:50 we pulled into the parking lot.

That's right, I said 5:50.

It took us an hour and a half to go 4 miles! The line was ridiculous! There was a "Mass Ascension" at 4:30 that we had wanted to see. Well, we got to see it from the car. Mike & Leah got out and walked for a while next to the car. That's how slow we were moving.

At several points, I considered just calling it a day and going home. But at a certain point, you have waited long enough that you don't want to have wasted the wait. You might as well just go through with it. And at the time I had no idea how much farther we had to go. I kept thinking, surely it is right around THIS bend.

Our friends we were meeting there were in line to leave as we were parking. They waved goodbye to us from across the parking lot. Now, as this was supposed to be an afternoon outing, we were ALL in short sleeves (it was in the high 70s). The afternoon outing had turned into an evening/night outing.

My poor babies had no jackets.

I wore Erin in the wrap so I was able to tuck her arms in and she stayed pretty warm. Leah, on the other hand, was pretty chilly.

We were originally intended to stop on the way home and get dinner maybe at Cracker Barrel. But by the time we got into the festival, we were starving. We did not have enough cash for us all to eat. Thank goodness there was an ATM trailer there. Then we proceeded to spend $40 on greasy fair food we didn't even want. After the sun went down, we got to experience the "Glow." They shot flames into all the balloons at once so that they were glowing simultaneously. It really was beautiful. We raced for the car after that, to beat the traffic out.

It took us 15 minutes to get to the interstate instead of an hour and a half this time. After a few miles on the highway, cars start slowing down. Mike is about to start screaming obscenities, when I volunteer to drive home (I had driven there too). We do a Chinese fire drill in the middle of the highway in stopped traffic. It doesn't take long for us to find the source of the traffic. Construction at 8pm on a Saturday night. What idiot ordered that?!?!? Mike, my lovely husband, shouted things like, "3am would be a great time for construction" out the window to the workers as we passed them.

We stopped for Chik-fil-a and a double diaper change in the back of the van. On the road again, Leah munched a few nuggets and spilled her milk in her carseat. I had to climb in the back and crouch on the floor looking through the diaper bag for clothes for her. I had stocked a separate bag from my usual one and kept it in the car since my last poop incident. So I had a change of clothes for her. I undid her top buckle and switched out her shirt. After that, we had some peace in a quiet van. Amazingly, both girls allowed us to change their diapers and put them into jammies without waking up too much when we finally got home at 9:30.

So next year, no BalloonFest for us.

Leah-isms

Leah's Papa gave her a real working stethoscope and we taught her how to put it in her ears and put the other end on her chest to listen to her heartbeat. She claims she can hear it when we help her place it. So the other day she comes into the kitchen with it and says "Mom, it's time for your check-up!" She also wanted to give Erin a check-up. How funny!

Also she is going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz for Halloween. Whenever anyone asks her what she is going to be, she says "Daw-fee, Daw-fee, Daw-fee, Daw-fee." NO one can quite understand what she is saying. We actually had a Wizard of Oz party last night at Ian's house. Four families in our neighborhood decided to be Wizard characters for Halloween. I can't wait to see the pictures. Anyway, Laurie invited us all over for popcorn, pizza, and movie watching. After the first 45 minutes, the kids were in the playroom and the moms were in the dining room looking at L's scrapbooks. But Leah did get to see Dorothy and Toto and still really likes the shoes.

Last one, then gotta go get Erin up from her nap. We were looking at our wedding photos the other day. I think that may be the first time Leah has seen them. When she saw me with my headpiece on, she said "Mommy, you are a princess!" Got that right sister!

Diaper Capers

This morning while I was taking a shower, Leah laid on my bed and watched TV. When I got out, I heard her say, "Mommy, I taked my diaper off." I went in to ask her why and this is what I saw.

How hilarious is that?

In other news, the CDS girls had a scrapbook night last night. I did 2 complete pages and 2 partial pages. If you want to see my latest scrapbook pages, check out our website at G-Rated Life. Click on photos, then Scrapbook Pages on the right.

Sleeping like a baby

Erin is such a wacky sleeper. Two nights ago she slept from 7:30pm til 8:30am! She woke up to eat very briefly at 11pm and 4am. That was an AMAZING night's sleep for both of us. (If only Leah would get in sync.) During the day, it is not unusual for her to only be awake for like 5-6 hours total. She can only stand being awake for an hour and a half MAX before she starts getting fussy. That is her window. If I miss her window she is a real pill to put down. If I am in tune with her, she lays right down in her crib for a good nap. Today, she slept from 10:45am until 3:45pm! Does anyone else think she sleeps a ridiculous amount for a 10 week old? I thought this kind of thing was more the behavior of a one month old.

I finally bought a new camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K. Mike is working to get the admin page of our website functional so I can upload to it. That is why you have not seen Corn Maze pictures yet. But look for them soon! I guess I can post a few here.

Maddex and Gallers kids

A family photo

These kids are so darn cute!