Beach Babe

Brooke has been wanting to go to the beach.

She keeps asking if we can go to Grandma Etta's lake house (sorry Dad, all the kids refer to it as Etta's house...)

This is the closest she has come...

poor Brooke

Baby Fix?

Anyone??

Let me introduce you to my newest nieces :)

Addison-3 weeks this Sunday

Reminds me SOOO much of her mom-identical in the face.
She is still SO tiny! I brought home 7 pound babies-and I thought that was small! Currently at 6 lb and 18.5 inches...she is just a little button and so adorable.

Mary Ellen-2 weeks today!!

I haven't gotten to meet her in person yet :( , but in pictures she reminds me of both her mom and dad. I have to say, though, she has a lot of Fleming in her...which is what I always saw in my girls right when they were born. Brooke keeps talking about how she wants to meet the other Mary who is also called Ellen!! She thinks it is so cool that Mary Ellen has the same first name as Grandma Mary Anne :)

When they are this gorgeous...Kinda makes you want a baby...right???

Got Books??

Brooke loves to read...that's right...she reads. Are you impressed yet??

It may not be the 'actual' words on the page, but they are her words created with her very own imagination. Most of the time...her version ends up being WAY more entertaining!

Lately, she has taken to reading books to her friends: AKA: Her dolls

(yes, that is the bottom of my swiffer mop...makes a good blanket right)

Tonight I asked her if Caroline could join. At first, Brooke was hesitant, but eventually she agreed. It didn't last long.

Caroline seemed more interested in 'snuggling' her big sis then hanging out for story time. I guess Brooke will have to stick to reading to her dolls (and mom & dad) for awhile longer.



Side Note: Brooke has a new favorite book.

Her first favorite was Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Then we loved First Words



Next came anything Olivia

Now?? The Napping House

I was so excited to see that she was loving on this book. Her Aunt Lisa & Uncle Brian gave her this book for Christmas two years ago and it is so cute. Tonight, while we were reading this story, I told her that she got this as a gift from her favorite FL relatives.

Brooke: Brian & Lisa gave this to me for my Birthday??!!
Me: No, for Christmas.
Brooke: My BIRTHDAY??
Me: No sweetie, Christmas.
Brooke: From HO-HO??!!
Me: No, from Brian & Lisa...for Christmas.
Brooke: What??!! (insert dropped jaw of disbelief that someone gave her this awesome gift for Christmas) Thanks so much Brian and Lisa!!

Snotty Mess

Caroline has a nasty cold.

We are not sure where it came from and the rest of us feel a-o-k, but Caroline is one snotty mess. I seriously think that she developed a cold on purpose so that we wouldn't sleep train her for a few more days....smart chick.

Minus a constant dripping from the nose...it hasn't slowed her down!
Her current favorite toy is the Tupperware in the kitchen. I get it out every night while I make dinner and she is in heaven.

Paper plates aren't too bad either :)

Cocktails & Cupcakes

This weekend we celebrated our friends little boys 1st Birthday!! The girls had a blast and so did the parents. Brooke and Caroline were so wound up when they got home...I think we finally got them to bed around 9:00 or so...

Caroline worked the room-making sure she got a picture with all mom's friends.

Caroline & Katie

Shannan's turn!

Katie & Miss C.

Caroline making new friends with the birthday boy!

"Where are my toys??"

Making a few new friends...

Not quite ready for bed yet....

After we got home from the party, Gary and I were pretty hungry. We decided to order a pizza and I went to go pick it up while Gary put the girls to bed. I thought that this sounded like a good deal for me! Not so much. As soon as I got to the pizza place, the sky opened up and an inappropriate amount of water came down soaking me from head to toe. I ran inside, grabbed the food, and headed back to the car. I had to stop at the gas station and it was still down-pouring. By the time I got back in my car (again) I was soaking wet. As I drove back to our house, it was finally starting to clear up. I pulled into our driveway, grabbed the food and my things and headed to the door.

That's when I saw it. A watering can on our front porch. We don't have a watering can on our front porch. Awesome. I am at my neighbors house. Parked...in their driveway carrying a pizza to their front door.

Who.Does.That!!

Back to the car, with pizza, purse, etc. Gave a quick look around to see if I was embarrassing myself in front of anyone or if it was just personal embarrassment. After not seeing anyone, I think i am in the clear. I mean, I have lived here for 3 months!! Who doesn't know their own house??!!

It could have been worse. They could have had their door unlocked and I could have walked right in! At least I would have brought them pizza.

Friday

Today I purchased two adorable smocked dresses for my daughters to wear at Christmas.

I told my husband that I purchased these dresses-he asked me why they couldn't just wear the other two (matching) smocked dresses that I bought them about a month ago for Christmas.

I informed him that those dresses-

A. Were lavender and not Holiday Season appropriate
B. Considered 'keep sakes' (being that they were their 1st smocked dresses) and couldn't be worn more then four times :)

He thinks I am bizarre.

It's Friday night...I am pumped that I had enough time to scrub the kitchen floor and wipe down the counter tops and the cabinets.

I am also excited that there is a 2 hour dateline on while I am DVR' ing 48 hours.

I feel that I am totally 'a mom'

Bad Quality Photos...

At least we have photos though right??

I have been a bit lackadaisical in my kiddo picture updates.
I am also lazy when it comes to charging my camera...so all I have are Palm photos-enjoy.
More then 'a bit' grainy, but hey..It's Caroline!!!
She is all about standing up-walking and crawling in between furniture and driving her parents crazy!! What is so great about being mobile anyways right?

Another reason for fewer pictures?

Brooke is not so into taking pictures these days.
She is WAY too cool and mature...A Balerin (that's Ballerina in normal speech) who is not to be bothered.

Caroline has NO problem with the camera.
She hasn't found a side she doesn't like...nor a book that is not delicious.

And finally...
Not everyone is down with 'naked' shots.

Brooke, though, is totally down with naked.

24/7...or as long as we let her.

She is all about the potty...but has figured out that if you don't put your pants back on next trip to the bathroom goes that much faster!!

Smart Girl....Not good for pictures, though :)

A little 'cheek' action never hurt anyone right??!!

Betty Freaking Crocker

Last night we were low on grocery's...WAY low.
It was time to improvise and I was in the mood for something a little spicy...and easy.

Enter creativity....result...Taco Lasagna!

Ingredients consisted of
Kidney Beans
Corn
Ground Turkey Meat
Shredded cheese
Soft Taco Shells
Taco Seasoning
Salsa (only if you want-after cooking)


Let me just tell you-It Rocked.

Brooke, who normally despises my cooking and will only eat applesauce, dominated her portion asking for more (but of course). Let me know if you want the exact recipe-I will totally share the love :)

I'm an Aunt...AGAIN!!

Seriously-who is lucky enough to become an Aunt...not once...but twice in one week :) Our newest niece, Mary Ellen, was born July 15th. She weighed in at 7 pounds and is 20" long-just perfect :) We are THRILLED to welcome another member into the Fleming family and are so jealous of those that get to see her so soon!!

For 9 whole months, Brian & Lisa have not known if they would be bringing home a baby boy or a baby girl. My mother in law is usually the expert on this. She has guessed the gender of her grandchildren each and every time. With grandchild number 4...she was torn. She was leaning towards girl and her gut was right!!!

The FL Flemings also kept their names a secret so 7/15 was filled with three times the excitement!! New healthy baby...It's a GIRL...and her name is Mary Ellen :) So fun..maybe I will keep it all a surprise/secret if there is a third in our family :)

No...who am I kidding.

Congratulations to Brian and Lisa!!

Welcome Mary Ellen!!

We love you!!

Recovery

I hope you all enjoyed our little 'guest' blogger. I am not sure if we will be able to convince her to watch the girls again after her exciting weekend...but we can hope.

My blog will be a bit dry today...I am still recovering from a very fun weekend with great friends that has left Gary and me extremely exhausted. I guess you can't rock it like you used to when you have two little to come home to. Seriously, though, we got sun, conversation and major relaxing in-can't wait for next year!

Sleep training started last night. Caroline had her appointment last Friday and they created us a game plan to get this chick to sleep. Our plan consist of good cop/bad cop. I am playing the role of good cop (surprising I know) and Gary will fill in the role of bad cop this Thursday when the actual training portion begins. Right now we are actually still getting up with her at night to establish that I am the only one that will get her out of bed to cuddle, eat, whatever. Once the training begins, I will leave the house so she knows I am gone and that, my friends, is when the hard part comes in. She will cry and Gary will have to go into her room at different intervals. I have faith and confidence that this will work-it took Brooke 4 days to sleep train (even though she was 15 months at the time) and I hope Caroline catches on quickly too :)

PS- did I mention she is teething? Her two front friends should arrive any day no...

PPS-did I mention Brooke is having a bit of a potty trained regression? I had been warned this could and would happen.

Never a dull moment...

Fleming Ladies slash Aunt Maggie Weekend Extravagana Part 1

When I told my mom of the events that happend in this post, she suggested I make a blog after this weekend and when I told Kelly, she decided to let me guest blog! How fun!! I hope everyone enjoys and laughs a little. I'm going to try and see if I can document all the fun Mr. and Mrs. Fleming are going to miss on their first VACA without their little darlings, I know I'm glad I won't be missing a second of it...

Day 1: July 16^th 2010

---So I got here at about 3 so Kelly and Gary could get ready to leave, standard for when I babysit. I just need to keep the girls (mainly Brooke) occupied whilst they prepare themselves.

Kelly leaves first and there is some cries from the crowd but only for a little because good ol’ dad is still here, but I warn NOT for long…thought Brooke did have a bit of a fit it was short lived (thank god). My choice of bribe was that she could help me order the pizza, so exciting right? I thought so, as did Brooke.

Time goes by, Caroline is fussy so I feed her while Brooke goes through my purse. When she asked what a certain medicine in my purse was I told her straight up, birth control, yes I’m pretty straight-forward with her. Luckily we didn’t have “the talk” just yet, I’ll leave that to Gary, and he’ll love that.

That brings us to approx oh let’s say 5:55.

Set the scene: I’m in the kitchen cleaning up dinner, Caroline is on the ground playing with a measuring spoon, Brooke is in the family room sitting on the bumbo…or so I thought. I asked Brooke what she was doing, her response, “Just hiding”…hmm. I ask her if she needs to use the potty. Nope. Ok…I begin to wonder why is she “hiding” in the corner only to find out that sister had shat a large shadoobie on the carpet…and I mean BIG! It was disgusting, I didn’t know what to do with myself, I had only been here for 3 hours!!

I proceeded to run her into the bathroom and set her on the toilet to finish any business, and then called her mom. Kelly laughed, which is understandable I’m sure I will be later on, and now I have just one more embarrassing story to tell all of Brooke’s future friends, she deserves it now..JK J Just so you know, I did pick up the poop, but it took me just a little while as I have a very bad gag reflex and almost had some more surprises to clean up…and don’t worry no pictures were taken

Things finally settled down, Caroline was still crawling around and Brooke was playing with some play-do, innocent enough right? I then remember that Kelly and Gary have a dog, who LOVES to throw her dog food everywhere, like right in Caroline’s crawling area…sweet. Just as I suspect, Caroline is gnawing on a half piece of Bella’s yummy dog food, that’ll look nice tomorrow…

Approx 6:52

While I’m changing Caroline’s diaper and putting her into some pjs, what does Ms. Diva do now? Oh you know, pee in the bumbo seat…cool. I’m now convinced she is doing this on purpose since she proceeded to jump up and down in the seat saying, “up and down” and slashing urine everywhere. So what does Aunt Maggie do? Puts her in the pull-up, yeah I went there. Doesn’t matter though because she could care less, let’s just say someone is only getting read ONE book tonight.

Now while the night is winding down, I’ve become a bit calmer, as has Brooke. I’m predicting this weekend will be very interesting and bring many memories good, interesting, and certainly funny. Though I feel like I complained a lot about my first night, I love my nieces so very much and this is just a preview of probably how my own future children will be, and by then these little boogers will be watching them and having to pick up their poop in the corner…till then I guess I’m fine doing it. The things we do for those we love!

And as I finish writing this post, I just got a nice back massage from my little Brooke...she is sometimes so sweet....but then again we're now fighting about going to bed and turning off the Wonder Pets, i bet you can guess who on which side..

Heres to being a single mom for the next 2 days!

Little Sleep Ramblings...

ROADBLOCK. Only, not on the road, but on my blog.

I am so tired.

Gary so tired.

We are willing to pay really good money to get our youngest child to sleep through the night. She can even wake up super early...I am cool with 5:30 a.m. I just want her to go to bed at 7:30 and not wake up every four hours. I mean...have you met Caroline? Girl does not need a bottle at night.

But, chick wants one at night. And sometimes (aka-99.9% of the time) we cave in, because at 12:30 and/or 3:30 in the morning...you will do anything for sleep. Agreed?

Part of me still leans towards teething. There have been many instances (and documented on this blog) where Caroline has totally slept through the night. So, I know she 'can' do it.

I am not opposed to crying it out. Some may disagree, but it worked for Brooke.
However, Caroline doesn't mind crying...

For ten minutes...

Twenty minutes....

Forty-five minutes....

An hour a half....

You get my point.

It doesn't really faze her. It totally fazes Gary-he cannot STAND it. He is the bottle giver.

Another part of me also thinks that it could be the reflux. Caroline has MAJOR reflux. Have you been to my house? If so, I apologize for my carpet, my couches, the throw pillows and the vomit that is (most likely) still on my shirt. One day, I will have things that don't have throw up on them, but until that day-please, have a sit on our "pureed sweet potato" covered couch! So, I talked to the DR and got some sweet menthol flavored medicine for miss. spitty pants that we stared on last night. They said it takes 3-5 days to take effect...so, we will see.

We also - seriously- have a sleep specialist appointment on Friday. I am excited for this appointment as 'hopefully' Nancy (yes, we are on a first name basis) can shed some light on our little situation. Update on that appointment to follow....

_______________________________________________________________

And-since this is a totally random flowing blog-have I mentioned lately that my dog is crazy? Yeah. So, not only do I have Caroline leaving her leftovers on my carpet, but Bella has decided to 'leave her mark' in the living room and dinning room too.

Awesome.

She has also decided that when she cannot bark at people out the front window (aka. I shut the blinds for my own sanity) she has been awesome enough to scratch through the paint and drywall underneath the windowsill out of spite.

Seriously.

So, I am making to phone calls today. The first is to Mr. Stanley Steamer. The second is to The First Years to purchase industrial strength baby gates to pretty much quarantine Bella to the kitchen when I am not home so the destruction can be kept in one area.

Can they de-claw dogs?
Can I put her in a diaper?
Can I sell her on Craigs List?
(*Just Kidding....)

Last Night

Last night sucked.

By sucked, I mean it was-hands down-the worst night since we have been a family of four.

Let me lay it out for you...

1. Caroline didn't nap yesterday for then 45 minutes. Ever hang with a 7 month old sans naps?
2. Caroline went to bed uber early due to only napping 45 minutes. When a child goes to bed 1.5 hours earlier then normal, you can pretty much guarantee ugliness throughout the night.
3. Brooke got a bloody nose-a bad one-right when she was going to bed.
4. Caroline woke up (one of her many wake-ups) while I was tending to Brooke's nose. At this point, I had to let her scream because I couldn't leave Brooke.
5. Following the ENT's advice, I was to pinch the bottom of her nose and apply a small amount of Afrin nasal spray onto a cotton ball. You then put this cotton ball at the bottom of their noses and is is supposed to constrict the blood vessels which should help stop the bleeding.
6. Afrin wasn't working. Caroline was still screaming.
7. 10-15 minutes later, Afrin finally works. I let Brooke lay with me on the couch so I could watch her for awhile. Caroline got to come down too so I could calm her down with some snuggles.
8. SIDE NOTE: Afrin makes 2.5 year olds CRAZY. Brooke was running circles around the house, bothering poor Caroline that was exhausted and totally acting like one of my siblings (Matt, Amy) on steroids. Insert 1.5 + hours of madness.
   
9. Caroline finally goes back to bed. She is screaming again. I have let her cry-and for a long while. Brooke is a mad women and I know she would bother poor Caroline.
   
10. 45 minutes later-Caroline is still crying. I go in her room to give her a pacifier and she is sitting in her bed...tears streaming down her face. Break.My.Heart.
11. Caroline gets brought downstairs for some mom time. She totally relaxes and falls asleep...finally.
    
12. In the meantime, Brooke is sitting behind us on the couch brushing (pulling) my hair. I am allowing this to happen because she is leaving Caroline alone.
13. Brooke falls in between the couch and the wall and is stuck. I have to un-stick her....baby in one hand...couch in other. Super mom? Maybe.
14. Caroline finally goes back to her bed.
    
15. Brooke finally falls asleep on my lap on the couch.
    
16. Gary FINALLY comes home....2.5 hours after it all began....

*End Notes*
Brooke was able to sleep through the rest of the night without any more bloody noses. She had one this morning, but it was more manageable. I am going to talk to the ENT again today just to make sure we are doing all we can (and correctly).

Caroline woke up 2 more times throughout the night.....could it be teething? could it be that she didn't nap enough and was over tired? OR...could it be that she is just like Brooke was and needs 'help' sleeping?

We have an appointment with our Sleep Specialist on Friday.

Craigs List

I am a huge fan on Craigs list. If you read my blog, this is a well known fact. What I am not a fan of, though, are falsies on the list. Falsies, in my dictionary, are those that respond to postings trying to trick you into their scam/virus/whatever. I don't even really get it to be honest with you. I mean, who falls for these things??

Just recently, I listed a few random items (toys) that we didn't need (play with) anymore. By the next morning I was pumped to see that I had some interested parties!! Then I saw what time they had 'expressed' interest-3 a.m., 4 a.m.-you get the idea. I opened up their email, entertaining the idea that they could possibly be legit. Guess what...they were SUPER interested, but concerned that it wasn't the exact toy they were looking for. You see, they had been 'scammed' in the past. Would I mind watching this video (insert link) and letting them know?? Oh, and that video needs to be purchased (secure CC site of course), but they promise they would buy my listing if I just signed up.

Right.

My other favorite Craigs list reply is that, yes, they would LOVE to buy my baby bouncer, but they live out of town. They will mail me a check if I could just go ahead and send my item their way. They will even pay $100 over the asking price to cover shipping and my trouble.

Seriously?? Yeah-I am on my way to Fed Ex.

After a convo with Gary, he gave me the 411 on how to list my items from here on out. Apparently with a little, CASH ONLY and LOCAL PICKUP you can avoid many of these replies.

Noted.

Falsies beware.

Lake Maddness

Get ready for an onslaught of lake pictures. For the 4th, we headed to Innsbrooke with the fam (minus Gary who had to w0rk) to celebrate 7/4 as well as Mom's birthday. Brooke had a BLAST! I couldn't believe how much she went into the water and it was amazing how exhausted she was on the ride home :)

Do you think Maggie is jealous that she is the only one in the pic without a puddle jumper??

I'm sorry-does anyone believe that Brooke is actually floating in the water??? Who's child is this??

Lovely Lily

Caroline holding down the dock for everyone

Tracie & Maggie proving that they are the best.aunts.ever.

Caroline LOVES Grandpa!! but who doesn't really...

The Party

*Minus Jack...which worries us as to where he could possibly be...
*Like the spit up?...Thanks Caroline...

Welcome Addison!!

Making her grand entrance-exactly 3 weeks before her due date....let me introduce you to my newest niece, Addison! My brother Matthew and his wife Lindsay welcomed this little peanut (really...5 lb, 11 0z) into the world at 12:15 this afternoon.

We were just celebrating with them last night at a couples baby shower. Who knew that we would all be at the hospital the next morning meeting Miss Addie!!

My brother & Linz are so excited!! I was lucky enough to be at the hospital when she was born...but I didn't get to hold her yet so expect more pics to come.

The new happy family!!

Oh, and did I mention she was only in labor for 6.5 hours??
Wait, did I tell you that she went from 5cm to 10cm in three minutes??
Before I forget...super woman only pushed two times??

Yeah...she was a rockstar.

Money, Money, Money, Money....MONEY

So, who doesn't like to make a little extra $$$?? You know that I do and since I cannot play the guitar and belt out a tune like someone else in my house, I have to find other ways.... Today, while reading one of the many blogs I am addicted to, I noticed she had a section on putting a little extra dough in your pocket. I read through the websites and I signed up! So far, ladies and gentlemen, I have made a whopping...wait for it...$0.84.

Jealous?

Thought so.

For real, though, it is not a bad idea. I am not cashing out at a measly $0.84...I am going to wait for my $25.00 gift card that I hear is out there!

So...the sites.

First on the table is You Data. If you click on that lovely link to the left, you can sign up to be an $0.84 millionaire just like me...and I get a bonus if you sign up-cool right? All your doing is getting paid to look at companies advertisements. It isn't all that bad and I actually found a few new stores/websites that I was interested in.

Next in line is Opinion Outpost. This is a survey site. You get paid a bit to take surveys from different companies-not too shabby huh? I just signed up today and is says that it usually takes 2 weeks to get your first survey request..I am waiting on pins and needles.

Are they any others out there you know about? Send them my way! We can all be rich together :)

A Car Vision

Do you like our new blog look? Me too-kind of retro meets summer right?

Have you met my 'angelic' daughter Brooke? Yes-angelic.

Yesterday while driving home from the shoe store

(insert shameless plug for aunt/uncles store...LAURIES SHOES...huge sale right now...)

Brooke was looking out the window and excitedly told me that she saw Jesus and his two angel friends!! I of course said, "what...where?" She informed me that they were up in the sky and if I parked my car she would show me. Of course I did as she said..wouldn't you? Unfortunately, by the time I had stopped the car she let me know that they were gone. As we continued to drive home, she was sad, "mom, I want to see Jesus and his friends again." This was one request I could not help with. After a few minutes, Brooke was happy again. "There they are mom! And he has a dress on like St. Joseph at home!"

*Side note-I have a headless St. Joseph statue at home (Thanks Brooke) that my mom gave me when we were trying to sell our house**

Visionary or Vivid Imagination(ary)...I'm not sure...either way, she is pretty angelic right?

Happy Birthday Grandma Etta

Today is my mom's birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

As you can see, she is extremely young and fabulous.
Her grand kids adore her, as do the 'original 5' that call her mom.

Happy, Happy Birthday - I hope it is the best!!!
and that you read my blog today :)

PlayDate

Brooke decided that she wanted to have a play date with her sister. Don't get me wrong, they have played together tons of times before, but on this day she couldn't wait for Caroline to get up. As soon as she heard her cry out...she was off to her room to 'help' get her out of bed.

By 'help' she meant climbing into Caroline's crib

Which she loved
Caroline = who let crazy in my bed

PS-I am standing in my bed...

Repeat-STANDING!!!
Mom is going crazy and will have to lower the bed again (twice in the last 7 months)

Then we moved on to play time.

Brooke wanted to hang out in her room and wanted Caroline to play dolls.
She thought it best to have Caroline be the first doll-and she needed a bath.

But, Caroline was having issues fitting in the bathtub.
It just wasn't working......

So Brooke gave her a pacifier instead.


Brooke still wanted someone to take a bath...so she tried it out herself.

I think that she was right..it may have worked better for her then Caroline

But, she will teach her.
It was only their first official (Brooke initiated) play date :)