Father's Day

To the Daddy that makes us proud each and every day... We showered him with gifts...

Everything he needed from handmade picture frames to handmade tumbler cups to A's paraphernalia. We made him fluffy waffles and hot cocoa, took him to the recycling center and helped him recycle the cans and bottles, and then we went to the pool for a nice long swim. He needed it. He works so hard for us. We love you Daddy!

Happy 40th!!!

I married an older man. His age is now in a different decade than mine. It's a nice feeling.

Okay okay Dave, I'm just messing around with you. You'll always be a young guy to me. Happy Birthay- we love you.

5 Year Anniversary

Today's obviously not going well. I thought our anniversary was on the 5th for some reason. Maybe because I kept thinking it's our 5 year anniversary somehow that was transposed in my brain to December 5. It didn't hit me either when Dave was leaving for work and he said, "Happy Anniversary." I think I was still in a sleep coma. So lets just say I haven't scored any points thus far.

Since I was so on top of everything I managed to forget to buy a card, a few days ago I talked Dave into taking the girls to a book reading at B&N tonight which obviously they don't need to go to anymore, and I didn't save any money to get Dave a gift to show him how much I appreciate him. I guess my only saving grace is that our anniversaries in the future can't get any worse.

BUT

In my life there's always a BUT:

I'm trying to redeem myself a little bit. I have laid out a chicken to cook Dave his favorite meal. I've made banana nut muffins with the girls and we have also made sugar cookies that we will frost and sprinkle later for when Dave arrives home from work. I have mathematically figured out that my period will come on Monday so we are safe for the weekend. I also decided to not think about the mortgage for the rest of the weekend and will go back to dwelling on it on Monday. I mean if I have my period anyway, you know the saying, "when it rains it pours.." Might as well have everything negative happen the same day.

So maybe there's still a chance of something good coming from today. I'll post tomorrow the results.

So it's been a long time...

Since adding a new post to my blog. I mean to do it everyday and then life happens and somehow it just doesn't get squeezed in. I left off somewhere before Christmas when we were checking out the neighborhood lights. All of them were really sparkly and the girls had a great time exploring the neighborhood.

Dave began his vacation time from both jobs so it left us with a lot of time to do family activities. We brought the girls to Habitot again. There they helped decorate a giant gingerbread house and this time played in the water. I learned from our last experience to bring an extra set of clothes. It was awesome having Dave be there and be a part of it all. Usually he hears all about their day but going and seeing them in action is a thousand times better. They also had their faces painted by us and they painted Dave's face.



We stopped for lunch afterwards and Olivia devoured my bagel or donut as she called it. Ava happily slept through the entire lunch, train ride home, and car ride home. She was exhausted from all of the excitement and I know I've gotten my money's worth when we leave a place and a second after she's clicked into her stroller her eyes shut.

A few days or weeks later Christmas came and the girls tore open their gifts with much delight. The big hits were the bowling set and the workbench. They used their new tools to put it together with a little bit of help from daddy. Santa was good to them again this year except he was rather surprised when no one left him any cookies or milk...hum...I guess our Santa was on a diet. In the afternoon we exchanged gifts with all of our neighbors and then dug into the honey baked ham we received from Dave's brother. It was the laid back fun filled Christmas just as we hoped it would be. The entire day we had friends stopping by and soon the day turned into night and it was over just as fast as it came.










The next day we brought the girls to the bowling alley. Dave somehow always finds us free stuff to do. He won the bowling tickets in a raffle a few weeks prior.




A few days after that we packed the dog and the girls into the car and headed for Grammie and Papa's house and of course Santa left tons of gifts there too. We hardly managed to get through the door before Liv was ripping and screaming over her new doll house and train set. Santa gave the two of them some really nice stuff. The girls made out like bandits and so did we.

We (Santa) gave my dad a rifle lamp...a lamp that looks like a rifle and a really big universal remote so he can actually see all of the buttons without having to wear his glasses. Mom was given new game for her Wii so we could engage in another tournament. They had been practicing golfing while we were away so we wanted to level the playing field. It didn't matter though. I was still terrible. I did beat Dave in one game of baseball. He took it in stride...

It was nice being at my mom's house and away for a vacation for awhile. We sat in the hot tub, we met a childhood friend of mine for lunch (without kids), we went to a New Years Party, went shopping, we stopped by to visit with another childhood friend's parents for awhile, and we ate hors d'oeuvres for dinner and played until we were tired. It was great as usual.



We stayed for a week and then came home, spent the night, and woke up to go to another party. This was my college BFF's son's birthday and you can read about her son here. The girls were excited all day long talking about the cake and balloons. Then we got in the car and they took naps...it was nice not having to listen to their movie again let me just add. We got to the party place and the girls ran like crazy, ate cake, snagged a balloon, and sang happy birthday to the birthday boy. We got back in the car and well...all hell broke loose. I haven't had that unpleasant of a car ride in a long time. We hit overload. Ava wanted to eat dinner and I only packed snacks for one leg of the trip...getting there. I know-what WAS I thinking? We decided to make a mad dash for fast food seeing as Ava wasn't going to make it the rest of the way home and for some reason we got off on an exit that the food took 10 additional miles to get to. Ugg. Once fed though they turned back into the cute little sweethearts that I have always known just a little oilier and stinkier from the fries.

Today we are getting over the colds which we developed from travelling and being worn out. Everything is good, Dave starts teaching again tomorrow, and the naps have returned to the normal routine. Life's good at our house. It's a great start for this new year.

Friday's Fun Fest

Today was extra super cool. The girls and I got to go visit my BFF's new house which I'm secretly really glad is way closer than her old house. It only took about 50 minutes to get there as opposed to the hour and a half it used to take. This means we can visit more often and the babies can play together and really know each other. I'm glad for that. I'm also glad she and I can hang out again more often.

I miss the good old days when we worked together or went to school together and just got to talk about everything or just nothing at all. So I'm glad she's back, her house was cool, and although she thinks it needs upgrading, I thought it rocked. It had everything a family could need. It's down the street from a great school and park, it's close to everything like shopping, banking, and other mom stuff, and it has a great view. The two bathrooms and two living rooms are also a huge plus when everyone wants to do their own thing. I think they picked a good one and my BFF now needs to relax and enjoy it.

The girls had a great time visiting. Olivia was in love with the baby. She held her and played with her and even got to feed her. It was a dream come true for her. Ava got to investigate the house, play with the car seat buckles (yes she has hit the I have to buckle everything for myself stage), and somewhere lost her peanut butter and jelly sandwich...oops sorry about that. Here's to hoping it doesn't start to stink soon...:)

The girls played for the afternoon and then we headed to the car to go home... literally Ava took a header into the pavement right as we were leaving. Can I not take them anywhere without Ava skinning her chin? Apparently not. Oh but that's not the best part... I dusted her off and put her in the car seat and she settled down. I decided to stop by this winery that Dave had wanted to go to the last time we were in the area which I thought would be a really nice gesture to pick him up something for a surprise. Surprises never go off without a hitch right? Nope.

We pull into the winery, me with my two kids, humm not really a kid place but we were just stopping by. I lifted the sleeping Ava out of the car and Olivia jumped out. We started heading for the door and what do you know Olivia takes a header right into the dirt. Tears were flying everywhere, we were sweating and dripping like pigs, and Olivia was covered in dirt from her forehead to her toes. The dirt was the powder dusty kind that when you kick it- it covers your legs like ash. Yes and Olivia looked like she just rolled around in it. I took her over to the pavement and dusted her off and looked for scrapes. She was all right but a little shaken up but her arm had road rash from her wrist to her elbow. I cleaned her up a little and decide we had better just go in and grab something for Dave or all of this effort and skin removal would be for nothing. Damn Dave and his stupid surprise.

We walked inside, again me with two toddlers, and the woman behind the bar shoots me a dirty look. I said I just wanted to pick up something for my husband since he had always wanted to stop by here and I didn't know when we'd be back in the area. All of the wine snobs shot me the same dirty looks and she handed me the list of all the wines. She asked me if I was going to be tasting, "uh hello...do you not see the kids at my feet?" Olivia begins ringing the wind chimes, Ava starts squirming, I'm still sweating ferociously and I see port on the list. I told the lady he'd like the port, just ring it up. We grabbed and ran out of there before Olivia could take her fourth swipe at the chime. At this point I'm thinking if Dave isn't at all happy for our effort he's going to get crap filled diapers left in his car.

So we hopped back into the car and I analysed Olivia's arm one more time. I cleaned it with a paper towel and water and got most of the dirt out of the scape. She didn't seem to care she just waned to drink out of my water. We headed home, all the while Ava kicked the hell out of the back of my seat. I guess that's what I get for doing something nice for my husband.

Labor Day Weekend Rocked!!!

I love three day weekends that turn into 4 days of fun. We jumped into the car Friday night to visit Grammie. We always say we are going to Grammie's house but it is really Grammie & Papa's house. Liv came up with that so it just kinda stuck. Anyway, all day Friday we talked about how after our nap we would be heading to Grammies. When Livy woke up she was pumped up and ready to put on her shoes. On small glitch...Dave was not home from work yet. She did not seem to care. We were going to Grammies and that was final. Whew. Shortly thereafter Dave arrived and we high-tailed it to the car, buckled up, started our movie, and buckled the dog in too.

Livy was so excited. She knew she was going to go swimming at Grammies and had a baby and stroller waiting there for her. We were excited because we had a full-time babysitter, free food, a hot-tub and pool, and all the liquor we could swallow. Actually I was really excited because we were getting Olivia's big girl bed to bring back with us. This was also going to be the first time Livy would be sleeping at Grammies and it was not in a toddler bed but a real big girl queen size bed.

We arrive a few hours later and the girls were so happy to see my parents. They showed off their talents...Ava using the potty and Olivia riding the scooter. Amazingly enough both girls went to bed without any hesitation. Ava always does so that really wasn't a surprise but I didn't know what Olivia would think about this big bed. She seemed to like it at first but then wanted Dave to lay with her until she went to sleep. Mission accomplished.

My mom had bought a bunch of gifts for the girls so they spent the rest of the weekend playing in the pool, running crazy throughout the house, pushing the strollers, lugging around their dollies, eating, eating, eating, bowling using the Wii, and making and playing with peanut butter playdoh. Olivia ate most of it within the first half an hour and she had a great time "baking" with her dad. Dave likes to do one-on-one activities with the girls to spend quality time with them and it's also nice that they focus on him and forget about me for a little while.

Grammie also went crazy in the clothing department. Oivia now has a well stocked winter wardrobe. Ava has all the old stuff from Olivia so they are complete in wardrobes for the winter. She also bought Livy some monkey sheets and a quilt for her bed. Ok ok she bought me some clothes too. Grammie still loves me.

On our last night we had a bowling challenge. Somehow, some freakish way, my mom is holding the highest score in bowling. No one can understand this phenomenon but earlier in the day she and I started playing, while Dave was being our bartender. She racked up this really high score and then the rest of the night the three of us literally killed ourselves trying to beat her. The next morning I woke up and moved my arm...omg...the pain. Dave and my mom were all ready up and voicing their complaints of all over body pain. My mom chimes in with, "I guess 5 hours of bowling will do that to you." Um, where were your words of wisdom last night? I remember last night's words were something in the way of... keep the wine coming... no where in there does she say," and oh BTW you'll be screwed tomorrow." Thanks Grammie. We all left Tuesday with our battle scars. Ava got a huge bruise on her chin from falling down in the living room, and Dave, Olivia, and I are suffering from Wii's version of carpal tunnel. It was fantastic. We had fun, we played, we relaxed, we ate, and we slept. This was everything I could have asked for in a vacation.

When we got home a neighbor happened to be outside so he offered to help Dave set up the new bed and break down the toddler bed. He was such a great help. I spent the hour putting away Olivia's closet and then Dave went to work. He started teaching again...

Night came around and it was time for Olivia to get into her big girl bed. She was sooo excited. She looked at those monkey sheets and climbed right in. I kissed her good night and closed the door. Then she cried, "no big girl bed, no monkey sheets, old bed." Huh. We can't exactly bring back the other bed just like that. So I told her it was ok and that I'd come back in 10 minutes to check on her. She was ok with that so I left. About 8 minutes later she cried again. I explained that it had not been 10 minutes yet and that I would be back in 5 minutes. Again she said ok. So in about 15 minutes I went back in, her eyes were sleepy and her head was turned to the side. I told her I was there to check on her and I would be back in 10 more minutes.

7 am Olivia proudly exclaimed that she slept in her big girl bed and that she is a big girl. My little baby has become my little girl. Makes me happy and sad all at the same time. Ava is drifting farther and farther away from babyhood too. She wants to be like Olivia so badly, she's growing up way too fast too. Her little smooshy face is starting to lose it's round baby like exterior and becoming a little girlie face. I take a lot of photos and movies to capture every moment I can.

Wordless Wednesday #9 ~ Baking

Baking for Wordless Wednesday

The Weekend of Sickdom

Is there such a thing? Sickdom? Our contaminated house would say yes. Ava started us off with this round of illnesses. She woke up Friday with a fever, a lot of sneezing (mostly in my face), and then the massive snots brigade. I washed both our hands after every sneeze and sanitized practically every thing that I could but sure enough the sickness spread to Olivia by Saturday night. It really sucked too because Ava was much better by Saturday night and we thought we had escaped any big drama.

Saturday night the neighbors kept letting off fireworks which in combination with Olivia's inability to breath clearly it kept her awake. After repeatedly going into her room we decided to let her sleep with us. By morning it was obvious that that wasn't the best decision as we woke up to a puddle of urine in the bed. I am guessing that her diaper shifted since she usually doesn't pee in the bed. Does it really matter? No. We still woke up today in a puddle of pee.

So Olivia is feeling miserable. Snot has engulfed her face and hands. She has a fever and has been somewhat crabby. Ava is better with little or no snot so I'm hoping by tomorrow Liv is feeling better.

On the Ava front: She made a poop in the potty. This is our first one in recorded history. Some did make it into her panties but hey we can't expect miracles and I certainly wasn't expecting this so soon. Dave found her pushing and rushed her to the potty. Way to go Daddy Dave and Avacakes!!!

Potty talk & the museum

I realize I may not need to jot down every little thing about Ava' s potty training but it helps me remember what worked and what didn't from day to day and to track her progress so far. Today she woke up with a wet diaper but it was far less filled than usual. Maybe it was due to her cold but yesterday after her nap she woke up with a completely dry diaper so I'm thinking that she may have made a connection with liking the feeling of dryness and of panties. I hope so. I really really really hate the hot smell of pee in the morning accompanied or unaccompanied by the waft of crap she usually has. Somehow I don't see my life working out that easily since it hasn't yet but we shall see.

Today Dave went to the doctor to get his x-ray. Yes this month 3 of the 4 of us have been x-rayed! Yeah we filled the quota!!! For those of you who don't know me that was total and complete sarcasm. How many other freakin' families have to be x-rayed, on weekends of course when the hospital is half staffed and at their VERY slowest? Apparently just us. Because we are that cool. Ugg. No more visits to the ER, the x-ray room, the pharmacy, or the doctor. We are taking September off...a vacation let's say. Ok I'm done. I'll stop.

While Dave was off doing his thing, Ava made her first potty, then ate breakfast, made a few more potties, and then Dave was back and ready to go on our outing. Ava had been completely dry all morning, minus the monster dump she took in the panties (sucks big time to clean). Dave sat her on the potty one last time before we left for the wildlife museum. She peed, we clapped, and away we went. We were gone for about two hours and when we returned her diaper was completely dry. We sat her on the potty and she made a huge pee and off to lunch she went. What a great first half of the day Ava had potty training! Yeaa Ava!!!

On a side note: The wildlife museum we went to was very interesting. It serves as a rehabilitation place for wildlife as well as an educational facility. Olivia loved the hawks, owls, and falcons. She and Dave are always bird hunting so that was wonderful that they got to see them together and up close. Ava enjoyed the bunny, the opossum, and the fox. We happened to be there during a feeding time for the coyote so we watched it devour a small rodent and a few vegetables.

The place wasn't very big so Olivia was able to run around without holding my hand and I think she felt like a big girl. Ava wanted to be free too so most of her time was spent struggling to free herself from her father. After we looked at all the animals and played in the exploration room we went outside and found a huge playground filled with kids. Liv took off running for the slide and Ava played on the train tunnel. Usually at our park there are very few kids if any when we go so it was nice to let the girls mingle with other kids their own age that they don't know. Livy really soaks up what she learns from other kids quickly.

Now we are back home and the girls are napping. Dave's cleaning the turtle tank, and I'm paying the bills...yeah that's it- paying the bills online.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Redneck

If Wordless Wednesday included words

My Southern raised husband claims "he ain't no redneck" yet a picture speak volumes:

Yes the pool is filled with water which later he used to clean the kids...

The Proposal

4 years ago today at 4:27 PM, my husband proposed. It seems like only yesterday. We lived in a small apartment on the beach. He got down on one knee and proposed in the kitchen. Now 4 years, two kids, a house, and a lot of debt later we're still cookin'.