October

I decided that I would update my blog today and how said is it that I had like 3 drafts of previous posts that I never finished.  I apparently started a few and then never finished them for some reason, and therefore, did not post them.  So sad.....I really hate that I have done that.  I really commend folks that are able to keep their blog updated.  I just never seem to have time.  However, now that work slowed down for a minute (and I literally mean a minute), thought I would provide an update.

Everyone is doing fantastic.  Ethan started high school this year (CRAZY!) and is part of the JV football team.  He is second string and doesn't play much, but it is really exciting when he does.  I haven't had a chance to go to many of his games, but apparently he played last weekend.  This is him....#35.....he plays outside linebacker.  Crazy to think he plays any position that includes the word "linebacker".....I never guessed him for that position.  I always pictured them as big guys, but what do I know?

Anyway....still can't believe he is in high school.  He is just a smidge taller than me and still growing!  He has turned into a handsome young man!  In just a few short years, he will be driving.  Dear God, give me strength!

Brody is in Pre-K and has homework every night, with the exception of Fridays.  I mean....really?  I didn't realize homework started this early.  Every day, they have a word of the day and he has to trace the word every night twice, and do some type of activity.  Either sing a song, draw a picture and color it, or something else.  He is so smart and amazes me with all he knows every day!  I can't believe that next year he will be starting kindergarten.  Time flies entirely too fast for my liking.  even though we have our moments where his listening is not spot on, he is so well behaved and makes me one proud Mama!  He still gets the occasional time-out (some days more than others), but overall, I really can't complain.  His personality is great...he is constantly smiling and laughing, and I just said last night that I really wish I could bottle up his laughter.  It is the best sound ever!

He and Molly are the best of friends, fighting one minute, and loving on each other the next.  Whatever he does, she is not far behind.  Of course, he loves to put on his Spiderman costume from last Halloween, and of course, she had to get her Minnie Mouse costume out and put it on.  This was them yesterday...Halloween circa 2011.  They are such cuties though!

Yesterday, my parents came over for dinner and brough 4 little pumpkins for the kiddies to carve.  One for Brody and Molly, and then one for Anthony and Ashleigh.  Brody started his while Molly was still down for her nap.  Here he is with Pop-Pop.....

Once Molly got up from her nap, we finished Brody's and started on hers.  Here they are posing for the camera, waiting patiently.  Molly looks so grown up in this picture (atleast to me she does).

Well, once we got done with Brody's, he put the electric candle in it and we turned the lights off to see it glow.  The picture below shows exactly how my daughter reacted to that!

Have no clue why she was so scared, but luckily, it was short-lived and she got over it pretty quickly.  Here they are with their newly carved pumpkins.  Costumes are ordered and pumpkins are carved.....we are ready for Halloween!

More on Molly....she is officially potty trained....atleast during the day.  We have not started the nights yet, but during the day, she is free from diapers and has done an amazing job the last month or so!  We are so proud.  I was one of the lucky ones who had 2 easy kids to potty train.  I think it was God's way of being nice since Ethan was so horrible to potty train.  In any case, we are officially diaper-free.  Just need to get rid of the pull-ups and that is it!

Well...that is all for October 2012.  Hopefully my next post will be before 2013! HA!

Our First Break

So we have experienced our first broken bone with the kiddies.  For the longest time, I always assumed it would be Brody, but nope......it is Molly.  Yesterday, we took the kiddies to a little 4th of July celebration and they had a few bounce houses and bounce slides.  Molly was in one of the bounce houses by herself, with Ted watching her on the outside.  I was with Brody on one of the slides.  All of the sudden, I heard her screaming and crying and saw Ted fly into the bounce house.  By the time I got over there, she was laying on the bottom of the bounce house and Ted was trying to stretch her leg out.  She, of course, was screaming so we got her out, got her to the car, and she continued to cry all the way home.

When we got home, we tried to see if she would put any weight on it, and when she didn't, we decided to take her to the ER.  Well, after her physical exam and a few x-rays, the doctor said she fractured her tibia near the top of her shin, near her knee.  Holy cow!  What a freak accident.  I still can't believe she did that on a bounce house.  Anyway, the put a hard splint on her leg (from her toes to her thigh) and we have to follow-up with an orthopedic on Monday.  Until then, she is not able to put any weight on it and has to keep it elevated as much as possible.  I stayed home from work with her today and Ted will be with her tomorrow and Monday.  I wish the appointment was tomorrow, but they want to be sure they can see the break, especially if there is swelling. 

So, poor thing has to be carried everywhere, or she has to get on the ground and scoot on her butt!  I am still in shock over the whole situation....who would have thunk a bounce house could be so dangerous, especially since she was in there by herself!

Here is a picture of her from yesterday at the hospital, after they wrapped her leg.

My poor baby!!

Camping was Fun!

Yes, the title of my blog is correct.  Not a mistake.  I actually had a really good time.  However, when I have told people about the trip, most say it wasn't really camping....but it definitely was my type of camping.

When we got there, I have to admit that I was a little spooked about the size of the yurt.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I joked saying that we were staying in a teepee!  Anyway, on the inside, it was bigger than I thought.  Plus, it had A/C, a fan, and power!  The bathrooms were clean, and there were individual showers with doors!  Plus, most of the weekend, we spent on my girlfriend's boat!  So...all in all, we had a really good time!  I would definitely do it again...which is not what was I expecting!

On another note....not sure what is going on with Molly, but she has started boycotting dinner!  As weird as it sounds, when it is time to eat dinner, she cries and says she wants to go night-night.  Not sure what has happened or how to fix the issue.  It is the weirdest thing ever!  I am at a loss......

Sibling Love and Sibling Rivalry

When I was younger, when my sisters and I fought, my parents would punish us by telling us that we had to pretend we no longer had sisters.  We had to function as if they didn't exist, we couldn't talk to them, play with them, or even acknolwedge their presence.  At the time, I thought it was the weirdest thing, but of course, whenever that happened, I immediately needed to tell my sister something or ask her a question, but of course, if I got caught talking to her, I would get in more trouble.

Well....like most things in life, I completely get the rationale of the punishment now that I am a mother.  If I could do that for a 4 and 2 year old and have them really understand the punishment, I would do it!  But unfortunately, I don't think they would be able to understand. 

When Molly was born, I remember thinking that Brody really wanted nothing to do with Molly...never acknowledged her, never seemed to like her, and I remember being worried that they were not going to be close to each other.  My how I was wrong.  They are literally two peas in a pod.  I actually joke with people saying it is almost like I have twins.  What one does, the other has to do the exact thing.  What one eats, the other has to have the same thing.  What one plays with, the other of course wants to play with it at the exact same time even when it was sitting there for days without either one playing with it.  It is funny to think how wrong I was.

The first thing Molly says when she gets up in the morning is "Where is Brody?"  When they go to bed at night, Molly can't lay down until she gives Brody a kiss and a hug.  It really is pretty sweet!  I am so glad to see how close they are and I do hope it continues as they grow up.  Of course, they do have their moments where one is screaming at the other...or tattling "Mommy.....Brody hit me" or "Mommy....Molly won't give me that!"  But I would say 98% of the time, they are inspeparable!

Right now, as I type this, we are hanging out in the living room and watching Scooby-Doo because it is raining outside.  Where are my children?  Right here....(sorry the picture is so grainy)

That is Molly on the left, twisting her neck so she can see the TV, and Brody on the right.  They are covered up with the blanket.  What is funny is that if Brody got up right now to go to the playroom, Molly would follow right after him....but right now, they are both content just chillin and watching TV. 

This was them yesterday.  So cute!

So on another note, Ted is having to work nights for the next week.  He started on Thursday night...and I have to say I am not a fan.  He works from 10 pm to 6 am and even has to do it over the weekend.  Luckily, his last night is Tuesday.  I could not do this for the long haul.  I, nor the kids, would never see him.  He comes home in the morning and sleeps all day.  Then he gets up around 6:00 or 7:00, eats some dinner (or for him, breakfast) and then takes a shower and heads to work.  Like I said, luckily it is short term. 

Next weekend is our anniversary and I will leave you with this note.....I am going camping.  Yes, that is not a mistake....I typed camping.  I still can not believe that I agreed to go, but my neighbor finally broke me down and I agreed to try it.  The only good thing is that we are not going to be in a tent.....we rented a yurt.  When I originally googled a yurt, I have to say I found things that scared me.  But when I found out what the yurt looked like at the place we are going, it wasn't sooooo bad.  Here is a picture of the outside and inside......not horrible, I guess!

The one good thing is that we are going with just Ethan.....my parents are going to watch the little ones.  It will be nice to spend some time with just Ethan and I think he is really looking forward to going.  My neighbors have a boat and we are going to spend a lot of time on the lake.  I am trying to be open-minded about this whole thing and am happy that I will have a day or 2 off of work.....much needed that's for sure.

Anyway, I am off to do some laundry while the kids are still laying here nicely watching Scooby Doo!

Happy Mother's Day....and Big Changes for Molly

Happy Mother's Day!  I want to say this especially to my mother who is the best role model I could have asked for.  I have already told my mother this, but I really never knew the depth of her love until I had my own kids and I love her so much!  I also want to wish my mother-in-law a special Happy Mother's Day.  I know she hates that she can't be here to be near her grandkids, but hopefully that will change soon.  And don't worry.....they have not forgotten their Mia!

So last night we had a major transition in this house.....for Molly and for me!  She slept in her big girl bed for the first time and did awesome!!  I had to work yesterday and when I got home, Ted was about half done converting her bed/room and I almost fainted!  I mean....we talked about doing this for a couple months now, but I was hesitating a little because that means that was the last crib in our house!  She is my last one (reluctantly by me) and I admit that I was holding on a little longer than I should have to the crib.  But...really....she never tried to climb out and I think she was as distraught as I was when she actually went to bed last night.

So...we did our normal routine.....bath, book, and then she laid with me for a few minutes in the rocking chair in her room.  When it was time to lay her down, she laid right down, but when I covered her up like I normally do and walk out, she started crying.  Ted thought I was crazy, but I was going to see if she would give up her paci (or papi as she calls it) since she was in the big girl bed, but I was going with the motto "don't offer...don't refuse"  So I didn't offer it to her, but before long, she asked for it so I thought that would give her some comfort.  I sat next to her bed for about 10 minutes just rubbing her back and getting her to calm down.  The funny thing is that she never tried to get out of the bed.  She just laid there and cried.  Finally, I decided to be brave and leave and while she was still crying, she was starting to calm down and still...never tried to get out.  By the time I got downstairs, I looked in the monitor and she grabbed her blanket up near her head and was out.  This is what I saw:

She slept all night....no problem and while she was awake when we went and got her for breakfast, she was still laying in her bed.  She is such a good girl and like Tab and I always say....we always get worried about transitions and how our children will adjust....but they always surprise us and end up having no issues with transitions. 

And now....for my middle child (Brody that is....).  We have been having some issues with listening lately and he has gotten a little sassy with talking back.  It has probably been for the last week or so, but still....I am hoping it is just a brief phase.  So, on Wednesday, he got in trouble in school and I had told him that if he got in trouble, he was going to go straight to bed after bath and not be able to watch TV.  So, Wednesday, he went straight to bed.  Of course, for the first 30 minutes or so, he cried and then finally calmed down and fell asleep.  So the next morning, I told him the same thing.....and that day, he had a note from one of the teachers to his main teacher saying Brody would not listen to her and that he was being disruptive.  So....same thing.  Except this time, he went straight to bed with no crying.  I think he actually laid there for 2 hours before he finally fell asleep.

So, now on Friday, again....we had many discussions and I told him that he needed to listen (yet again).  Well...I called his school around 3:30 and talked to his teacher.  She said that while he had a better day that day, he was still not listening.  She said he was not being "her Brody"  I swear...I love his teacher.  She has always said that Brody is her "go to" guy because he knows the rules and he is always so helpful.  So of course, it broke my hear that she said "What is going on with my Brody.  This is not like him"  Of course, I told her I didn't know but I was going to do my best to make sure we rectified this situation.  She said "We will overcome this and we will work together on it!"  I do love that woman....I will be sad when he ends up moving to the next class.

So...this weekend, he has been awesome!  We told him he had to earn his stuff back and he has done an awesome job with listening and doing what he is told.  So....we shall see what the week brings!  Hopefully.....this past week was a fluke.....

Anyway, I hope all the Mommy's out there have a great day!

Long long time.....And Funny Stories!

It has been a while since I have posted....and I hate that!  I tend to look back at my blog posts alot just to see what the kids were doing at certain ages and when I don't blog like this for a while, I realize that I am going to regret it.

So...what has been going on!  LOTS!  Work is crazy.  I got a promotion (YAY!) and of course with a promotion, comes alot more work!  Last year, I was working on a huge project in Massachusetts and we found out about a month ago that we won it!  I am so relieved.  This new program is now worth $525 million dollars a year for our company......sooooooo much money!  Considering all the work that went into the project, it is nice that it paid off.  We are now waiting for word on the last big project I worked on here in Virginia.

Kids are doing great!  Because I want to remember these later on in life, I have a few stories about the kids recently.

Molly
Sassy little Molly.  A couple of weeks ago, Brody was put in time out.  Of course, lately here, he has gotten a little mouthy and he starts saying "Let me out...I want out!"  Of course, we tell him the longer he does that the longer he will stay in time out.  So...I was in the kitchen and Ted was in the living room.  Molly was walking towards me and she said something, but I didn't quite hear what she said.  Ted asked her what she said and she said, I quote, "Brody is hard headed!"  I could not believe she said that...or that she said it in the right context! 

Second story.....I was putting the kids to bed one night and we were in Molly's room getting ready to read a story.  The night before, I was working late so Ted put the kids to bed.  Brody said to me "Molly didn't listen to Daddy last night so she didn't get a bedtime story."  Here was our conversation:

Me:  "Molly - did you not listen to Daddy last night?"
Molly:  "Nope"
Me:  "Why not?"
Molly:  "Can't"

Again, hilarious.  It was just simple one word answers!  She is definitely going to be our little troublemaker!

Brody
Brody is smart beyond his years.  I tell you....everyday he amazes me with the things he is learning and the things he knows about.  A couple of Saturdays ago, my parents called and said that since they weren't coming over for Sunday dinner the next day, they wanted to pick up the kids and take them to the park and out to lunch.  Of course, I was thrilled to get a little stuff done around the house while they were gone.  Of course, Brody kept my parents entertained.  At lunch, apparently Brody wasn't paying attention while he was eating and my Dad told him to turn around and eat.  Brody looked at him and said "You are right Pop-Pop....I need to focus!"

Another funny story....On Sunday, he was out riding his bike with my neighbor's son.  After a little bit, they both came in and Benjie said that Brody fell off his bike and scraped his knee.  Brody came to me and he had a little strawberry so I cleaned it up and put a bandaid on it and he went on his merry way.  That night at bath time, Brody told Ted that his knee was really hurting and he thought he might need to ride in a wheelchair!  Where this kids get this stuff, I have no clue, but he is definitely an entertainer!!

Anyway...I wanted to get this stories down so I would remember them later on in life.  Of course, there are many more and I am going to try and get better about keeping a record of them.  Anyway, here are some recent pics....

Pics from Easter.....

Molly chilling in Brody's car....

Relaxing with Daddy!

We took them to a fundraiser at the park near our house and they got their face painted!  Molly loved it!!!!

Brody loved the popcorn!

Brody and I went shopping one day and once we were done, I got him a snack.  After a couple of bites of his pretzel he looked at me and said "Look Mommy.....a 9!"

I just love this picture....not other reason!



A couple of Firsts for Molly

So yesterday was a milestone for Molly....good and bad!

She got her first timeout and she also peed on the potty for the first time!!

First....her timeout experience......

She has always been a good listener. At this age, Brody was already starting to get timeouts because he heard me when I told him to do something, but would do it on his terms. Well....guess who is starting to the same. Normally, we have been able to tell her something, maybe twice, and she ends up doing it. Lately, it is with her and the DVDs that we are having an issue. In our TV stand, she likes to open the cabinets and take the DVDs out. She got in trouble for that a couple of times this weekend. Well, last night, she wasn't listening when we asked her to get out of the kitchen while we were cooking. So after telling her for the third time, Ted took her to timeout. Whew! That was an experience. She wouldn't sit and would not stop crying! After about 5 minutes of Ted sitting there with her, I finally went over there and poor thing had the "yuckas" (when you can't catch your breath after crying so hard). She sat there for me and I told her why she was in timeout and she calmed right down. After about a minute, I finally let her get out and she was much better. Ted said that she reminded him a little of Ethan when he was younger because he was so stubborn sometimes when you tried to discipline him. We both said that Brody was never like that. Now when he goes into timeout, the first thing he says is "I want to listen....can I listen Mommy?" even when he may not have had an issue with listening to put him there in the first place! Anyway, that was our timeout experience.

Now for the more exciting part! She peed on the potty!! She has been obsessed with sitting on the potty for a while and constantly says she has to pee, but when we put her on the potty, nothing happens. Last night, before her bath, she said she needed to pee, like always, so we put her on there! Well....lo and behold, she tinkled.....just a little bit, but still.....she tinkled! We were so excited and she started to get a shy look on her face. I don't think she knew what to think. Even Brody was cheering for her. It was pretty cute! Hopefully, this is the start of something because I can tell you that I am tired of buying diapers for her!!! I am hoping she will be just as easy as Brody to potty train. Once he got, he really got it!!

Here are a couple of cute pictures of my little princess!! I can't believe she will be 2 years old on Sunday!!!

My girlfriend Connie watched the kiddies for me one day so I could work and she bought her a dress up kit, with a skirt, tiara, jewlery, purse, and furry little heels! She loved it. Here she is sporting her bling!!!

I love how she is looking up at Connie's son Jack......her prince! :)

And finally, here is a picture (of a picture) of the kid's school picture. They turned out great. I had a hard time picking the ones I wanted. They had a couple poses of each of them separately and two of them together!!