First Innsbrooke Weekend

Sunday, the girls and I headed to Innsbrooke for our first lake trip of the summer! Brooke had a great time and even got in the water for a bit. I think she will enjoy it more and more as the summer continues :)

Looking good in her new puddlejumper!!

Never a bad time to strike a pose

As previously stated-striking a pose can happen anywhere/anytime...even upside-down

Time Flies

One year ago (this Saturday) was a scary day. It was Gary's birthday and we had ventured out for a nice relaxing dinner to celebrate. After we got home and played an exciting game of Scene It with his parents, I headed off to bed...at around 9:00 p.m. as any 3 month pregnant gal does. I wasn't asleep too long before I knew something was wrong. After a trip to the ER that night, the pregnancy had changed. I was now on indefinite bed rest unaware of how long this would last and if the pregnancy would continue to be a healthy one. It was a scary, scary time....

but I wouldn't change it for the world.

It was nine long months filled with excitement, worry, anxiety and then more worry...all resulting in sweet little girl named Caroline.

I cannot believe it has been a year since those bed resting days....time flies huh?

Brooke & I made a cake tonight. It has a music note on it....b/c we are totally cheesy.

I think that Gary is going to have a WAY better birthday this year...with all three of us girls :)

On the move...almost...

Caroline has decided that she is tired of sitting back and watching us all run around.
She wants to join in the action and has started to try and crawl.
Watch out Brooke...

Brooke already looks intimidated by Caroline...she must know something is up

That's Right!
Something is up!
Caroline's rear end!!
On all fours and ready to move.

She is already rolling after her toys and moving around the room-no problem.
It won't be long...

Like that plumbers crack?? Maybe we should bump those diapers up to the next size...

Suma, Suma, Suma Time

It's hot out.

That means time to break out the pool and sunscreen!

Who's excited!!

Sports Illustrated Pose

Couch 2 5K Catch Up

I have missed a few Sunday check ins on my Couch 2 5K status. I am still going-I hesitate to say strong-but I am still running three times a week per the guidelines. Although some people work the program in the suggested 8 weeks, I prefer to extended that time frame. It had been quite some time since I had worked out. I don't want to burn out by rushing myself through the running schedule. So, week 2 went on for about two weeks. Maybe three. I have lost track. I have completed week 3 and I am going to repeat it again this week.

I feel good. Not great, but good. The weight is not falling off. Can anyone out there sympathize with me that when you start to work out and 'supposedly' begin to gain some muscle, you gain some weight (or at least stay the same weight) before it starts coming off?? I hope that to be the truth.

I am going to continue to run (ha, ha) with the Couch 2 5K schedule and hope to continue to feel good and (maybe, just maybe) look a bit better :) I have a lake weekend coming in July!!

Best.Purchase.Ever

If you read my mom's day post, you know that Gary purchased me my first years worth of blogs in writing. It arrived a few days ago and is nothing less then amazing. What a better gift to give to my girls-years from now-then a day/by/day, week/by/week chronicle of our lives. Some blog entries are funny. Few are serious. All are REAL.

Table of contents

I barely recognized Brooke throughout this book. She was SO little! It was hard for me to imagine (without tears) how grown up she has become over the last 2.5 years.

It is optional to include comments-and of course I DID-b/c I LOVE my comments (hint, hint...keep them coming!!)

All 116 pages.

To put it into perspective...I had 96 blog entries from 2007 - 2008 which was what was included in this book.

The next purchase, 2008 - 2009, includes 116 entries

So far 2009-2010 has 64 entries...and counting...I cannot wait for the girls to enjoy these 'books' for years to come!

Keep those comments coming so you can 'make' the book too :)

The Dyson

I have always HATED vacuuming. It was my least favorite chore growing up and I would do anything not to have to vacuum. I continued to hate this task after we got married. Luckily for me, Gary actually likes to vacuum-weird right? Our last house was 90% hardwood floors. We still needed to vacuum the floors on occasion, but I could really use a swiffer and be ok. Our new house is almost completely carpet. Good for us-not so good for our 5 year old vacuum cleaner.

We decided to invest in a really nice model-the Dyson-pet style.

Our new love arrived last week. I not longer hate the "v" word. I actually look forward to it-sick right?! Today I used it on the couches. I removed the cushions and even used the attachments. It was amazing. I couldn't stop. I headed up stairs and had to use it in every room.

(Ok-as I am reading through this..I realize that one could read this as a little inappropriate...oh well...she is amazing..).

Finally, after I had thoroughly vacuumed the entire house, it was time to put her away. I am not going to lie, I was kind of hoping Brooke would spill something so I could get my new best friend back out-no luck. Until tomorrow...

Me & the Mower

Last night I mowed the lawn.

I decided that we shouldn't be 'those' neighbors anymore and cut our grass for the first time since a monsoon came to town. We had cut the front, but not the back-mullet style I guess. Well, since Gary may not have had a chance to mow the back until Thursday I thought that I would give it a shot.

You see, I have never done this household chore before. We were never asked to do this growing up (allergies...you know) and I informed Gary as soon as we were married that I was unable to mow grass (again...allergies...you know how it is right?!). Tonight, as I watched my two neighbors, both women, mow their lawns...I decided I could handle it. I gave both girls ample entertainment on the patio and away I went.

First I called Gary to ask a few questions:

1. How do you turn on the lawn mower
2. How do you remove the bag to empty the grass
3. When do you know that you have to empty this bag
4. Can you mow backwards or only forwards...I assumed mowing the lawn was like vacuuming the carpet...they seem similar.
5. Do you mow in horizontal or vertical lines

Just in case I had follow up questions, I pulled a very mom and suburban move and I attached the home phone to my hip for quick retrieval. (You can imagine how 'awesome' I looked right?)

As it turned out, I was unable to mow the hill in our yard. I seriously feared for my life and was not willing to rely on Brooke to call 911 if I got run over by the mower. So, we are still 'those' neighbors. Only now it is worse because we have a 75% mowed lawn...with both vertical and horizontal lines because you know I gave up on those after about 5 min.

The highlight of my mowing career was when Brooke ran into the yard (don't worry..mower was off...just empty grass into recycling bag)..removed her diaper..lifted up her skirt..gave the neighbors a show..and ran down the hill. Fabulous. Did I mention the removed diaper was filled with poop? Yeah. I'm not too worried about it, though-it's fertilizer right??

That may have gone too far...

No more mowing for me. I am going to stick with vacuuming...I keep better lines.

Potty Time

Brooke peed on the potty last night!!

I was so excited. I told her that she could put on her 'big girl' Dora underpants.

She was excited.

So excited that she pooped in them two minutes later.

Awesome.

Girl Updates

It has been awhile since I have really posted some pictures of the girls. It is not for lack of pictures, although it has become increasingly more difficult to get them to pose together. Life has been so crazy and I feel like we will be continuing to play a game of catch-up throughout the summer. Hopefully somewhere in these three months we will get a great pic of the two of them.

The closest shot I could get of the two of them on Mothers Day.
I tried on with me...but not so much!
They are holding hands so that means that at least they like each other!

Playing with our awesome bubble wand from Aunt Lindsay!

Movie night with Jack & Lily!
Dora Pj's for the girls-of course.

Highlight of the evening?
Popcorn...and how to get more popcorn from the parents upstairs...

Big Girl Caroline

Big Girl Dress & a Big Girl Bow
(ignore those stains...girls is a SPITTER!!)

Big Girl Shoes

And one Big Girl TOOTH!

Caroline cut her first tooth today!!

I had a feeling it was coming...lots of drooling, lots of gummy biting and lots of crankiness.
Today, Caroline and I went to my cousins wedding shower (Brooke hung with G. Mary Anne) and while we were there, I discovered her first tooth had arrived!!

FYI-this has led to many giggles and laughs all day long from Caroline. Apparently, cutting your first tooth is hysterical!

Relaxing Work

I'm not sure how I can top the intensity of my last blog, but I will give it a try. This weekend marks our first weekend home-doing nada-in a long time. The last few weekends have been filled with celebration and we have had a great time, but we are totally ready to do nothing.

By nothing, I mean working around the house. Here is my list of things I would like to accomplish this weekend.

• Due to the disgusting weather we have been experiencing, our yard looks more like a maze of grass and weeds. I am concerned we will lose Brooke if she goes to far out in the back yard. I am hoping that it will dry up a bit and we (Gary) can finally mow.

• Painting. There isn't too much that I wanted to re-paint in our new house. We have one red accent wall that I would like to pain the same tan color as its other three sister walls. We are also going to paint Brooke's room. I will be SO happy when Brooke's room is complete so I can finish hanging up all of her pictures, curtains, etc.

• Hanging up additional pictures, decorations, etc. I actually picked up a hammer and nail for the first time this week. I had serious doubts in my ability to hang something without leaving it crooked or spaced wrong. I hung up the girls pictures in the entry way, two pictures in the master bedroom and Brooke's paintings in the girls bathrooms. I am hoping to continue on with my talent this weekend.

• Clean. Honestly is the best policy so let's just put it out there. We have been living in the house for almost a full month and I haven't given it a great cleaning yet. There has been straightening up, the washing off of counters, vacuuming, etc...but not a good, deep cleaning. It needs to be done.

So, here is to this weekend. Relaxing...hopefully. Being able to check these items off of our to-do list...a MUST.

Bed Time

Right now, as I blog, I am letting Caroline "Cry it Out." Don't judge me. I know many parents are very against this methodology. They believe that this could-in fact-harm the child and cause them not to trust the parent. It has worked for us and many friends of ours, though, and I thought that it was time I give it a try.

When Brooke was born she was never a good sleeper. She was in and out of our bedroom for 15 months until I finally couldn't take it any longer and took her to a sleep therapist-bet you didn't know they existed huh (unless your a follower of my blog). At that point in time, they created a plan specifically for Brooke and it worked like a charm. Within a few days, she was sleeping through the night. She was a happier baby and she had way happier parents as well :) So happy we thought-let's have another baby :)

Right now, Caroline with fall asleep while we are feeding her the final bottle of the evening. After she dozes off, we bring her upstairs and lay her in her crib. She will stay in her bed for maybe ten minutes and then she is up - screaming - for no reason at all. She as a full belly and is very tired, but she is unhappy. Part of me thinks that this is due to her having been spoiled these past five months by her very good dad :) Gary has perfected the art holding Caroline upright while sleeping in a sitting position on the couch. When Caroline developed a cold way back at 2-3 months, she could only sleep upright. We made due with letting her sleep in her car seat and - when desperate - by having Gary hold her...good guy huh? Now, it seems, that she wants it no other way. She only wants to sleep held and it is just not working as we need to sleep more then 4 hours a night...and while not sitting (for Gary that is).

So far, I have had to go into her bedroom one time. I stayed in the room for about five minutes attempting to calm her down. Letting her know that I am here-in the house-and that if she were to ever really need me, I would be there instantly. I am now giving her a bit more time before I do a second follow up. While I wait....I blog. You see, the hardest thing in the world for me is hearing my daughters cry. I can deal with whining, temper-tantrums-(even in public)-but I cannot handle the crying. Not because it makes me mad-but because it melts my heart. When I see them look me in the eye, tears streaming down their faces...I am done. So, it is either blog or eat to pass the time...and who am I to lie...I am doing both.

Ok-we have hit the next time limit...is the suspense killing you?? Yeah, I didn't think so. You may have even quit reading as this has been the dullest post you've ever read. BUT, we have news folks-the crying has ceased. Is it for real? Is it just a tease to get me to go and check on her and have her wake up and start the crying cycle again? Maybe. I will not fall into the trick yet-a few more minutes...

Checkup number 2 complete!

Who knows how long this will last.
1 hour / 3 hours / all night??!! Either way-she did it. Caroline did it all on her own..with a little help from mom. Gary will be so excited when he gets home that I may not need to get him a Father's Day gift after all :)

Happy Belated Mothers Day!!

I have to admit, I had a pretty great Mothers Day. Granted I was fairly tired from all of the awesome weekend festivities, but Gary really did a great job. First, he surprised me at the wedding with a new Flip Camera!! I was SO pumped. Ever since our last friends wedding where I first saw how awesome these little gals were-I had to have one.

I have already put it into use at Katie & Nathan's wedding. I was able to video all of our friends giving sweet messages to the bride and groom and make a little video out of it! I just finished my first three projects last night and I LOVE it-addicted is the better word. Look forward to many, many more videos to be posted.

I thought that this was all for mom's day, but no-one more surprise! Have any of you ever heard of Blog2Print? Well, it is pretty much amazing. You can put together an entire book of all of your blog post. You can break it up monthly, yearly or just bind them all together. I had decided a while back that I really wanted to purchase yearly books so that our girls can have them for years to come (and witness on paper how bizarre their own mother is). Gary and the girls surprised me and purchased Year One which should arrive in the next few days. Can you say EXCITED! You can all feel free to stop by and read the novel of our lives-part one :)

Oh-and I cannot forget to mention that Brooke came home from her pre-school with a mothers day card-made out of her little darling fingerprints and a paper flower that even smelled good! She also made me a hand-print picture with a sweet poem laminated...Girl knows I love Laminated Items (used to beg to work the lamination machine in grade school...). I knew that I was sending her to Kids Day Out for a reason!!!

Great Mom's Day. Now, onto Dad's Day. Any suggestions? For some reason, I think that purchasing Gary Flip accessories and The Fleming Family-Volume Two is not what he has in mind :)

Wedding Weekend = Jerseylicious

This weekend we celebrated Katie & Nathan getting hitched. No better way to say CONGRATS then to spray tan and bouffant your hair like there is no tomorrow right? So, to honor my friend and her lovely husband that is just want I did.

Jerseylicious ain't got nothing on this girl!

One of my favorite moments of the day was when the photographer informed me that I was going to need to bend down a little bit more since my hair was covering the groom's face. That is when I knew that my hair stylist had done it 'up' right :)

A guest star appearance will be made by me this fall when the new season starts up-look out for it. I showed Brooke my pictures today and she said that I looked "beautiful." So, much to Gary's dismay, I think that I will implement a 45 minute process of teasing my hair each morning-anything for my girls :)

Congrats Katie & Nathan!!

Update

Well, it happened again. I was afraid that Brooke would have another episode at school today and-sure enough-she did. I called the DR b/c I am a worry freak and her teacher told me it was pretty bad and was hard to stop. While waiting for his phone call on a phone that was quickly dying, I decided that I would just show up at the doctors office. Yes, I have become one of those parents who arrives-sans appointment-hoping (expecting) to be seen or at least talk to my doctor. This is just one of the MANY reasons I love our Dr. Joe. He came right out to the waiting room (and you know that means no co-pay!) and put me at ease that it is most likely the air, allergies, etc...that is unless she had some kind of blood disorder....That is what I was afraid to hear. I then let him know of my teeny tiny blood disorder that I have yet to have my girls tested for due to the 'pre-existing' condition issue. He put my worries aside saying that due to the recent bill passing, our kids would not be penalized for having anything pre-existing. He wasn't familiar with Protein S Deficiency, but is going to look into it for us to see if testing Brooke (and Caroline) would really be necessary at this point. I hope not, but he made a great point that knowing anything and everything that is going on with the kids in case of an emergency. So, we will see...hope they don't inherit my awesome ability to over-clot and only my extreme passion of musicals and all things New Jersey (more on that later). We shall see-now, onto enjoy some McDonald's (Brooke's treat for a bad couple of days....and Mom's treat for a fun couple of nights) and a showing of our favorite-Annie. Don't be jealous :)

Monday Bloody Monday

We received quite the wake-up call this morning. At 1:00 a.m., Brooke let out the loudest scream I had heard in sometime. I assumed it was a bad dream and headed down the hall to calm her down. When I walked in the room, I noticed the the dim light of her nightlight that there was something all over the bed. We have had a middle of the night throw up session before, so I was prepared. I asked her if she had gotten sick and through her tears she told me no. I flipped on the light and was horrified to see blood all over her bed and covering both her hands and entire face. I wanted to yell for Gary to get to her room as fast as he could, but since that would have lead to child #2 waking up I instead ran to our room in a panic to get him. I was afraid she had somehow hit her head, was throwing up blood-who knows what! Luckily, after looking her over head-to-toe, we realized it was a terrible nose bleed. Brooke had been sniffling and with the weather changes that have been going on along with the heater having been turned on Saturday I think it was just a change in humidity that caused it to happen. Not going to lie-it.freaked.me.out. I don't ever want to see my child covered in blood, totally scared not knowing what was going on. Luckily we got it under control in just a few minutes and the hardest part was getting her to fall back asleep once we brought her into our room...she would have rather had us sing, "Spoon Full of Sugar."
Happy Monday :)

Wedding Weekend

Don't we look young and fabulous??

Tonight the festivities begin for my good friend Katie's wedding. I met Katie in college through an 'elite' invitation only class called, The Chancellors Leadership Class.* This class was only for VIP students that were going to be leaders on campus. You know-future Student Government, etc. Katie and I took this leadership to heart and volunteered to become Greek Week Liaisons for our sorority (Student Government, Greek Week, whatever!). We have had so many fun times throughout the past ten years and I cannot wait to continue the good times this weekend! Congrats Katie & Nathan!!

*I was totally asked to be in the Chancellors Leadership Class only after someone else dropped out. Nothing like being an alternate!!

Giggles

Baby Laughs = Nothing Better

Five Months

Caroline is officially five months! I cannot believe how fast they have gone by. She is more and more fun by the day and is doing SO much. She loves to sit up on her own. She may not quite have the hang of it yet, but she doesn't mind a few face plants :) She is still teething pretty bad. She is constant need of a bib or a regular change of clothes. Caroline loves her baby food!! As long as there are not carrots-send it her way! She has recently discovered a love of organic baby pasta (pictures to come).

The only thing that seems to get Caroline upset is not being able to keep up with Brooke. She stares at her big sister running all around the house and I can tell that she gets frustrated. There is only so much standing in the exersaucer that she can take! I think that she will be on the move in no time :)

Today was the first day that the girls really 'played' together. Brooke was dancing and wanted Caroline to join her. As I helped Caroline stand up so she could dance with Brooke she broke into the biggest laugh I have ever heard! She just thought her big sister was hysterical!! I did too :) It was so much fun to watch the two of them laugh together and I cannot wait for more!!

This was the closet that I could come to a picture of the girls. Caroline was way too fascinated with Brooke's new shoes...and Brooke was too annoyed that Brooke was touching her new shoes. Oh well.

House Pictures-Take One

Wow-long time since my last post! We have been very busy with unpacking (still), organizing and attending the wedding of a college friend where great times (maybe too much fun) was had by both Gary and myself!

In my last post I promised pictures and here they are! I will continue to post more as the rooms get completed :)

Here is Caroline's room! We really didn't need to do any painting. The picture isn't too great, but the walls are a light yellow and the ceilings are actually painted a light blue with clouds. It isn't really my style (the clouds) but it works for now. The previous owner did them herself and I really don't have the heart to paint over her hard work!!




The only project I really needed Gary to do in this room was to add shelving to the closet. Originally, it only had one rack to hang clothes on-they had boys. With a quick trip to home depot the problem was solved and Caroline's wardrobe was back!

In the new house, the girls have their own bathroom. I wanted to find a pretty basic shower curtain-not too juvenile. I want them to be able to keep it for a while. I found a cute one at Target (you know I LOVE Target) and I think that it works! Brooke told me that it was "really cute!"


I still need to get a few more accent towels but it all goes well with the lavender walls that were already painted. The bathroom does have carpet on the floor which I totally do not care for. Down the road, we will update the floors and replace the vanity, mirror and lighting...but that will not be for quite some time!!

Next pictures up will be the kitchen and main floor bath. I am almost done with our bedroom and the living room. Brooke's room still needs to be painted and the family room needs some major decorating work as well. I am also bugging Gary to build me some storage bins in the basement so that the kids toys are literally not everywhere. Stay tuned!!!