No internet sucks!!

So now it's been 2 months since my last post. Lots has been going on. We are all settled in the house and actually started to decorate for Christmas. Both kids are sick with pink eye, and Stephen has a double ear infection. Divorce should be final December 4th....everyone say a little prayer and cross your fingers that you know who doesn't prolong this anymore.

Those of you that know me personally clear your calendar for Dec 12th. Let's call it a "housewarming" party....but you all know what it really is ;)

Really.... A whole month??

Wow I can't believe a whole month has gone by and I haven't posted. It has also been a month since I moved into the new house. I know I suck and I haven't posted any pictures yet. This whole not having the internet is really cramping my style. So whats new.....

*Divorce was supposed to be final yesterday---but it's not :(
*House is done, with the exception of minor decorating (And whatever my dear old dad needs to work on)
*Halloween costumes are in the works :)
*Got me a new J-O-B!! No weekends---Hell Yeah!
*Aria is getting more diva-licious everyday. And is currently getting 4 teeth-fun fun
* Stephen is going to be the next Tiger Woods. That kid can really whack a golf ball.
*I am down to 1 child in diapers. Stephen has been potty trained for about a year, but he is no longer wearing pull ups at night. LOVING IT!

I feel like I have been insanely busy but when I write it down I guess I really am not all that busy. Typical day in the life of Renee:
Alarm goes off at 4:45am, get kids up and going by 5:30am, out the door by 6:10am, work till 3pm, dinner started by 4:15pm or else the monsters within my children destroy everything in their path, baths at 5:30pm, playtime till 6:30, Aria in bed, stories with Stephen till 7:10pm, hopefully by 8pm both kids are sleeping. Then my chores start and I am in bed by 9:30pm EVERYDAY!!! Wow what a life I have, but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh how could I forget--------The transmission on my van is shot. One of these days I am going to have to take it in and get an estimate. Not that I can afford it if it is more than $100--HA.

Updates...

• Kids are back after a week and a half with Dad and Grandma Carol. I couldn't be happier and it melts my heart every time Stephen says, "Mommy, I missed you so much." It seems only minor "de-programming" needs to be done, while major diaper rash is upon us. (is it coincidence or teething???)
• Friday is the BIG day for the house. I could technically move then, but there will be a week or two of major projects to get done first (I am hoping for 1 week). I am having a blast shopping for new stuff for the house. I spent this morning at HOBO checking out new vanities and flooring. Dad, aka my general contractor, will need to be along with measurements for those purchases. I have all 3 bedrooms planned out, bathroom is nearly decided on, all that is left is the kitchen and living room.
• Stephen is all about Thomas the Train and the Leapfrog Tag Junior he got for his birthday. I got him a new book for it and you can even program it to say your child's name. He spent all morning turning it off and on, just so he could hear it say "Welcome back Stephen."
• Work is going well. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. I actually applied for a new job working for a hospice agency. One of the nurses that comes to my work has been trying to recruit me for about a month now. I finally did some number crunching and applied last night. The hours are much more flexible, the pay is better, and no mandatory weekends (maybe 1 every 6 weeks). The negative is I would be driving a lot during the day.
• The big "D" update hasn't changed one bit. Lies reveal themselves almost on a daily basis. I continue to be disappointed in Robin's actions and decisions while the kids are with him. I am doing my best to accept the fact that things are out of my hands when they are with him. I can no longer control what he does or who he is with when I am not there. I make my opinions very clear, but it is like talking to a brick wall. So, we wait until the final hearing and hope it is final.

Little Ring Bearer

Stephen was in a wedding on Saturday.... OMG he was sooo handsome in his tux!! I was really worried that he wouldn't walk down the isle, but he did great!

Already 3?!?!

Today is Stephen's 3rd birthday. I can't believe that 3 years ago today after 25 hours of labor I brought this amazing little boy into this crazy world. It is amazing how much a child grows and changes in such a short amount of time. He has become his own person with likes and dislikes, a silly sense of humor, opinions, and tests his Independence daily. We have days when for a split second I wonder why I brought this immense challenge upon myself. But then another second later he will say "Mommy I love you so much," and melts my heart. With everything going on in our life right now it is my number one goal to make sure that my children are surrounded by loving and caring people. I will continue to have a normal life for my kids sake. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Stephen's 3rd birthday. It was a great reminder that we have a lot of people who love and support us. Thanks Again!!!

Water Balloons!!

It took me forever to make all those darn balloons

She kept trying to smash them on the ground, not enough muscle yet.

Mid-air

POP!!

Stephens First Brewers Game

Stephen is so lucky to have such a great uncle. Uncle John took Stephen, Madisen, and Papa to the Brewers game last night. We were all a little worried about how long the kids would last, but both me and LeAnne sent along lots of snacks. As long as you have food, those kids will do just about anything you want. They ended up staying for the entire game!! Stephen keeps talking about the roof opening and closing (it was closed when they got there, then open, and closed again so he got to see it a lot) and the "guys up there didn't fall." I can tell Stephen loved it, he didn't even fall asleep on the way home he was still so excited.

More pics on flicker------->

My Charitable Donation

I got 10 inches cut off today and donated it to Locks of Love...Feels great to get rid of the dead weight ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Our Photo shoot

Here are a few of the amazing pictures my sister was able to take of the kids today at the beach.

How could I forget....

9 days until my birthday!!! (hint-hint)

So Tired...

I think working full time and being a single mom has finally caught up to me. I am completely exhausted by 8:00 every night. It is getting easier to get up in the morning and get everyone out the door on time. Definitely helps that I can drive to work and get there before my seat belt warning starts beeping at me. Loving the short commute.

I am not working this weekend (Thank God) and it is my weekend with the kids. It should be lots of fun. Saturday we are planning on going to the zoo. Then Sunday the kids and I are doing a photo session on the lake, complements of my sister (she is now a cake decorator, photographer, super mom, molecular biologist, and most recently a flood survivor), and then going to Brooklynn's birthday party.

I will officially be moving the end of August. I can not wait until my kids have their own rooms to sleep in. That honestly excites me more than anything. Don't get me wrong I am excited to have a yard, paint walls, decorate and even do yard work. But all that matters right now is getting my kids settled in a place we can call our own. We have been through a lot in recent months and really need this.

Not much going on lately...

I haven't posted for awhile, mostly because not much is going on. And partly because my momma taught me "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." That about sums up my thoughts on my situation.

The kids are great. Aria is completely walking now. She falls down occasionally, but gets right back up. She is totally over the crawling phase. Stephen is awesome too. I was able to take him to a playground today, just the two of us. Aria was napping, so grandma and papa stayed back with her. It was so fun to run around and play with him, and give him all my attention. Usually I am carrying Aria around and pulling wood chips out of her mouth. We climbed the rock wall together, raced down slides, and pushed each other on the swings. It was really great to spend some quality one on one time with my little man.

I don't want to jinx it, but there is a really good possibility that I could be moving sometime in the next couple months. Sooner than later would be great, but whenever it happens I am ready.

Birthday Pics

A party summary in pictures...

The spectacular cake...

Pretty party dress...

Who says you can't ride an ATV in a pretty party dress?

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Then the screaming started...

Then she tasted how delicious it was...

Time to open presents...

Then it was bed time, and Mama could start to party.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Aria's 1st birthday very special!

Looong Week

It has felt like the longest week ever for me. I am definitely not used to working everyday. But now I have a 3 day weekend. Less than 24 hours to Aria's big birthday bash. I can't wait to see how much fun she has. I am just as excited to see the cake that Auntie LeAnne is making. I am sure that will take the cake...haha pun intended.

Happy Birthday Aria!

I can't believe she is 1!! Where did the past year go? She obviously has no idea what today is, but I am super excited for her party on Saturday! I will be she to post lots of pics!

Day care is a hit

Day two of day care went just as well as the first. Stephen did awesome, no crying or potty accidents. He is eating all of his food and taking good naps. Today when I went to get him to go home, he didn't want to leave. Aria cried a bit more today than yesterday. But I could see that she was all better by the time I got Stephen signed in his room and all settled. This seems to be going so smoothly, makes me wonder why I didn't do this sooner.

I am officially "working the floor" tomorrow with a "buddy." I basically have to go through a whole skills list and show that I actually know how to do things like change diapers, transfer people, and push wheelchairs around. LOL, there is more to it than that. The real challenge will be keeping all the residents straight and getting the routine down. I am going to be a float between all the areas of the facility so that means I have to learn who 150+ old people are. It will be quite the feat since they all look the same (wrinkly, white hair, and smell funny). I can't wait to get up and get two kids out of the house by 6:05 am everyday. Wish me luck in the morning.

1st Day = SUCCESS!!

Ready to go to school...

Today went great!! Except for the part when Stephen had a diarrhea accident. Both kids ate, napped, and played awesome! I couldn't be happier. Stephen didn't even cry when I left (he was eating breakfast, so he was distracted), and Aria was a little whiny. My part of the day was extremely long and boring. I was so close to where the kids were that when the teachers took them outside, I could hear Stephen yelling "I see you!" Any every break I had I got to peak in and see how they were doing. I love it!!

Like I said last night, Aria is walking so much better. I was able to get some video today. Its not the greatest since I was by myself. Maybe tonight when LeAnne gets home, and the rest of the kiddos are settled down we can get some better video.

She's Walking

Unfortunately I didn't get any video of her walking really good. She started taking more steps today. She can actually walk 5 feet before falling on her butt. I am going to try my hardest to get some good video after work tomorrow. Yep, I start work tomorrow. Kids are going to daycare. I am excited and really sad all at the same time.

Nighty-Night, big day tomorrow!

Odd Sight to See

I woke up today to see a man working on my van. It was jacked up and the tire was off. Is that what men are supposed to do on the weekend? Thanks Dad, its all better now!

Suggestions???

Obviously my blog needs a new name. Any ideas???

Sad

I already miss them. It seems like it is getting harder every weekend to say goodbye to my babies. Maybe it is because I know that my time with them during the week is going to be severely limited now. I start work/orientation on Monday so the kids will be coming with to the daycare that is there. That will be pretty challenging for the first week or two I imagine. I can't even leave the room without one of them crying. We are all adjusting.

Interesting Holiday Weekend

For Memorial Weekend we headed up to the cabin. It started out great, my kids were pretty good in the car which is always an added bonus. Then Friday night around 11, papa went to check on all the kiddos. Stephen was sitting up in bed with puke all over him and the bed. He continued to puke about 4 more times until 1am. Once we got a bucket and showed him how to get it in the bucket, it wasn't so bad. I had a rough night though. Every time I heard him move, I jumped up ready to catch the next round of vomit. So that was Friday. Then Saturday, LeAnne and John got sick. They seemed to have it a little worse though, coming out of both ends all day. By this point everyone was bracing themselves, wondering who was going to get it next. Sunday Grandpa got it. I think everyone was ok on Monday, and now today Grandma caught the bug. I am still doing ok, so hopefully it misses me all together.

Other than the pooping and puking, we had a great weekend filled with ATV rides, fishing, swinging, and playing in the sandbox. Another relaxing weekend up at the cabin!

Check out lots of pics on flickr!

Heading Up North

Today was a busy day of getting ready to go up the cabin for Memorial Day weekend. A lot of thought and packing goes into taking a 2 and half year old and 11 month old away for a weekend. I can't wait to get there, and see Stephen on the little ATV again.

I also took the kids to their new day care today for a tour. I can not believe the amount of paperwork I have to fill out. There is at least 15 different papers per kid, all of which are basically the same in a different format. It should be interesting the first week, I feel bad for the teachers there. Two of which I went to high school with- what a small world.

Alrighty, I am going to finish my glass of wine and hit the hay. I have a long day of traveling and appointments before I even get to the cabin.

No Longer Unemployed

I got the call yesterday that I as being offered a position at Fransican Villa. I can not tell you how relieved I am to know that I have a job again. The best part about working at this place is the tuition reimbursement and day care right there on the property. My kids have never been to a babysitter or day care (other than drop in care at the YMCA). So it will be great that I can pop in the see them on my breaks to check in. It looks like I will be starting my training/orientation on June 1st. I can't wait.

In other news, my little peanut is doing much better today. So far the boggers are not so bad, she ate half a banana for breakfast, and has not had a fever yet today. I believe she has a sinus infection, that is the only possible explanation for the gallons of green snot that has been poring out of her little nose for the past 4 days. I am glad to see her smiling and crawling around again. I hope we survived the worst of it.

No Piggies Here

I think this picture about somes her up:

So good news is that all flu related tests were negative, no swine flu. Bad news is the fevers keep coming back as soon as the Ibupropfen wears off. She was up every hour last night, I think because she can't breathe, and those damn fevers. I will be calling tomorrow again, there must be a reason for these outrageous temps!

Not a fan of ER's

I spent the majority of today, and a good part of last night in 2 different ER's with Aria. It all started with a low fever over the weekend. Then all day Sunday, she wasn't herself, fevers continued. So finally we (me and my whole family, and some non family members) decided she needed to be seen ASAP. In the half hour it took to leave the house, get to the ER and see a nurse, her temp jumped from 102.5 to 105!!! Ummmm, I would want to die if that were me, poor baby. It was a long night full of blood draws, catheters, x-rays, and drugs. All to be sent home with this tidbit of info, "She has an infection, we don't know where. But we don't want to give her antibiotics yet as it could mask something more serious down the road, like meningitis. So follow up in 24 hours and have a good night." Are you effing kidding me?!?!?!?!?! So I take her home, wake up to a 104.9 temp. Back in the car, this time headed to Children's Hospital. More of the same, with the addition of an IV and antibiotics. Dr says, "She has an infection that we still can't pinpoint, here is a prescription for amoxicillin (sp?), call in 48 for test results.......SWINE FLU RESULTS!!! Double are you effing kidding me?!?!?! By baby has swine flu, MAYBE!! It is good to have spies in the lab there that can give me info sooner than 48 hours. She does seem better tonight, but we will have to wait and see how she is when the drugs wear off again. I haven't slept much since Saturday night, so I am praying all is ok.

Nighty-Night!! And Oink-Oink!

We LOVE the zoo

Stephen had so much fun at the zoo today. I could barely keep up with him. It was like he couldn't see everything fast enough. He kept saying, "Come on Mama, go see more animals!" I would have to say the monkeys and snakes were his favorites though. Check out lots of pics on flickr!

Sooo Excited

I am taking the kids to the zoo for the first time today. I might be more excited than they are. Stephen has been asking to go since yesterday when I told him we were going. I am not sure he quite understands where we are going though. We took him to a really little zoo in Greenville last summer, and that's all the zoo experience he has ever had. I am just waiting for Aria's morning nap to be over, then lunch time, and we are on our way. I am trying to time it out right for the kid swap today. We are meeting Robin in Lomira today so he can have the kids for the weekend. Hopefully I will tire the kids out so they sleep in the car for me. I will try to post pics later tonight.

First Real Steps

Job Interview Update

I think it went really well. I had a second interview with the Director Of Nursing right away, so I think that is a really good sign. Hopefully, I will hear something soon. I did apply a couple of other places too, so I am sure something will work out. I would prefer sooner rather than later.

In other updates, guess who finally got a tooth? ARIA DID!! It definitely explains the excessive pooping, rash around her mouth, and refusing to sleep last. I am sure the rest will start popping in soon too.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. I am going to try to take the kids to the zoo this week sometime weather permitting. I am super excited I got a zoo pass for Mother's Day from my sister, bro-in-law, and parents. I am certainly going to get their moneys worth.

Butterflies in my belly

Today is the big day. I have a real job interview. The last few job interviews I had for previous jobs, were really only a formality. I was basically hired on the spot, and my interview consisted of filing out all the new hire forms. I feel so much pressure to get this job, like it is my only chance to make something of myself and support my kids. I have been told by inside sources not to worry and the top dogs have already been told about me. I definitely helps to know people that have some say in the hiring process. Either way, I really need this job. Wish me luck!!

11 Months

We are officially one month away from Aria's first birthday. Everyone says it will go by fast, but it is going at warp speed with two kids. Aria is FINALLY sleeping through the night consistently. I believe she is only days away from walking by herself. She was taking 2 steps today before realizing no one was holding her hand, then crashing to the ground. Still no teeth that can be seen. I swear I will wake up one day and she will have a mouth full of teeth. She was really crabby and whiny today, so maybe those suckers are fixin' to bust through. It doesn't stop her from eating french fries, lasagna, apples, grapes, ravioli... pretty much anything that is on my plate has become fair game for her too. Oh... I think I finally got her to get over her hatred of shoes. I got her some really cute Nike's yesterday that she can't get off on her own. She is readjusting to crawling, standing, and walking with them on. I even left them on during her nap, I am sure it was absolute torture for her. But at least she is used to having shoes on her feet, and just in time for walking.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I am sure it will be amazing just knowing that I have the most amazing kids in the world. But I can't help but be a little sad given my current situation. Good thing we will be busy busy most of the day.

Beautiful Friday...

There was minimal sand throwing on Stephen's part, much improved!

She can climb all the way up the slide, all by herself. (Very scary)

The first time Aria was ever in a sandbox...She loved it!!


It was such a beautiful day out on Friday. We spent the ENTIRE day outside with the exception of meals and naps. Just a couple snapshots of the kids enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Do you hear that???

Me either... All 4 kiddos are sleeping. It must be some kind of miracle that Mom and I were able to get all 4 kids to nap at the same time today.

Keeping busy...

Updated Below

I just don't know what to do with myself. Robin has the kids most of this week since he is laid off, so I am bored out of my mind. Yesterday, I went to my best friends for lunch and adult conversation. After that I went and cut Mom and Dad's grass. Since I don't have the kids, I am crashing at their house. My plans for today: eat a donut (all done already), blog (almost done with that), make dinner plans with an old friend, then seal Mom and Dad's basement. I am going to be a painting fool today. I need to keep myself busy, to get my mind off everything that is going on. I pretty much "have all my ducks in a row" when it comes to the big "D" so now I just want to keep busy and my mind occupied. Any one else have any projects that they need completed, I am free till Thursday?

Ummmm.....Yeah that sealing paint sucks @$$! First of all, it is like rolling on really thick glue. And second of all, how the heck am I supposed to get this crap off me?? It is moisture barrier paint, I am going to spend the next 2 hours in the shower trying to get cleaned up. Hopefully I can get it off, I have dinner plans tonight with an old roommate. Can't wait!!

Big Changes

Life has thrown me a curve ball to say the least. There are about to be some major changes in my life. For one of the first times in my life I am listening to my gut and my brain, not my heart or impulse. I know what needs to be done and in the long run I know that it truly is for the best (for me and the kids) . I am completely torn up inside, but I continue to try to be strong for my kids. It is time to really grow up and be a responsible adult.

Aria's First "Steps"

She is a walking machine with that thing. She sees it and goes right for it, pulls herself up and takes off. It is hilarious how upset she gets when she crashes and gets stuck. She will be walking on her own soon!

Night #2

We are definitely getting somewhere. I believe I got up around 11:30 to give Aria her nookie and that's it. She did wake up and did her interment yelling/crying for awhile around 4am, but I could tell she still had her nookie. Sure enough she fell asleep on her own. Only 2 nights in and we are certainly making progress. Mommy is very happy!!

Bet you never heard this before

My son just came running out of the bathroom saying, "Mommy, I made stink nuggets!" I am still laughing. As I am writing this he just came up to me and said, "Mommy, baby have a gina?" (with a long "i"). What a night.

First Night---Okay

I put the pack and play in the living room last night for Aria to have her first night without Mommy running to her every whimper. Midnight rolled around, so far so good. She slept right through the time she usually gets up the first time. Then Mommy was in the bathroom for the next 2 hours because an alien decided to have a sleepover in her tummy. By now it is 3am, I am finally able to get some sleep. 3:15 am, the crying starts. Usually I would get up and give her a bottle. The crying isn't even that bad, not her usually blood curdling screams, but more of a sporadic cry and whimpering. At 3:45 it is starting to get bad and Robin says "I can't take it anymore, she's been crying for 3 hours!!" Ummm, he must have been dreaming or something because it has only been a half hour. Anyway, I gave in and gave her her nookie. Once again there was silence. So all in all it was a good night. She got up a little after 6am, I gave her a bottle, then back to sleep until 8:45. I expected much worse, I just wish she could fall back to sleep without her nookie. One step at a time...We will see what tonight will bring.

Spring Cleaning

Even though it is barely 40 degrees and was snowing this morning, I decided to start packing away all the winter stuff. It is supposed to reach 78 degrees on Friday again, so I don't want to see snow pants and boots when I open the closet door anymore. I also need to get to the store to get a few more storage bins to go through all the kids clothes. The shelves are overflowing in their closets with clothes that no longer fit. I went through my clothes (and some of Robin's) and have a bag of clothes for Goodwill. If I haven't worn it in over a year, its gone! We really hope to move this summer, so I am trying to downsize in advance.

I am at my wits end with Aria not sleeping through the night. I know the problem is that I can't let her cry herself back to sleep when she wakes up in the middle of the night (I don't want 3 kids up instead of one). She is over 10 months old and does not NEED to eat at 2:30am. I really think if I give her 1 week of me not going in there at night, I might break her of this habit. But what do I do with Stephen in the mean time? I thought about letting him camp out in the living room, but will he stay on the couch or air mattress and actually sleep. And then Robin gets up at 5:30 to go to work, will he sleep through that?? Do I put Aria in the pack and play in our room, and we suffer for a week while she screams all night? Do I put the pack and play in our closet (which is huge by the way, our washer and dryer plus a dresser and nightstand is in there with plenty of room to spare) and let her sleep/scream there? HELP!!! It doesn't matter what time she goes to sleep at night, or when she last eats at night, or what her naps are like during the day. Trust me I have tried everything except let her cry it out at night.

Only in Wisconsin...

I can't belive that it was 76 degrees on Saturday and now I woke up to flurries. WTF??

Spin Class Update

So spin classes are HARD! I am really sore everywhere from my butt to my knees. I actually went and bought those ridiculous padded bike shorts for my boney butt. I sweat like a pig and can barely walk when the class is over. So overall.... I LOVE IT!!

Picnic!!!

Saying "Cheese!"

Beautiful Day

It is soooo nice out today. I took the kids on a really long walk in the double stroller to the playground. It was quite the workout for me, walking probably 2 miles while pushing 50 pounds worth of kids in a stroller. If only it wasn't so windy. It always seems if it is nice out, there must be 30 mph wind gusts. Anyways, Stephen loves being in the double stroller and had a blast at the playground. I was really annoyed when we got to the playground though. Some hooligans poured soda down all the slides, they were pretty sticky and nasty. Stephen didn't seem to mind though, it just slowed him down a bit. Its a shame because this playground is really nice, only a year old. And who is the genius that decides to put wood chips on the ground at playgrounds. There is nothing like trying to dig slivers out of 2 year olds. All playgrounds should have that really bouncy, soft, astro-turf stuff.

Oh... if any moms out there have any suggestions on shoes that a 10 month old can't take off, I'd really appreciate any ideas. As you can see in the picture, Aria doesn't have any shoes on. It is impossible to get her to keep any on her feet.

One more side note: I start my spin class today at the YMCA. I am kinda nervous. I am worried about my butt hurting from the seat and I hope I can keep up.

Aria is getting really close to walking. Yesterday she was cruising along the side of the couch and bench. And going between the two. She no longer just flops down on her butt, it is a very slow squat down. She is going to be walking before she gets any teeth or sleeps through the night. I think she has her milestones a little mixed up.

Happy Easter

Of course I forgot to bring my camera with to Milwaukee for Easter. I am waiting to get some pics emailed from my Mom and possible my sister too (hint hint guys). Overall I think the kids had a great time, and so did the adults. We started off with an Easter egg hunt at Auntie LeAnne's house, that went perfectly. I highly suggest color-coding eggs for the kids so there are no fights about who got more. Next we headed over to my uncle's house for the BIG family get together. I am always a little stressed at these get togethers. It is really hard to keep track of a 2 year old and keep a 10 month old happy when there is 27 people everywhere. But again, everyone had fun and ate a lot of yummy food.

This is what I have to deal with:

Oh Brother...

In the 5 minutes it took me to write my previous post, Stephen got into some mischief. He found the neosporin that I have been using to help Aria's mole heal. Lets just say I have one very shiny, greasy little boy in the bathtub right now.

PS- Aria's biopsy on her mole came back fine.

Craft Time

I found a fun craft project for Stephen to do for Easter today. I can't tell you what it is, so we don't spoil the surprise for those receiving one of his masterpieces. It involves painting, coloring, cutting and gluing. I did learn a valuable lesson tonight: If the project involves painting and coloring with markers, always do the painting last otherwise Stephen will get really pi$$ed that he can't paint anymore. In the end Stephen was very happy with his creation. He has been telling me which one goes to which person, and I better not mix them up or he will yell at me. I will post pictures on Sunday of all our Easter festivities and projects. So check back then!

See the similarity?

Messy Messy

It drives me crazy when she does this with food all over her hands...

Sooo Big

"Look Mommy... I can squish my food in my hands"

As I said in a previous post, Aria has been refusing to eat baby food. She wouldn't eat anything I would feed her, but she would chow down any of her little snacks that she can do herself. I refuse to let her just eat Gerber puffs and Baby Mum-Mums all day long. Now I have a ginormous mess every time she eats. I got those nasty Gerber Meat sticks, and toddler stage veggies that she can pick up and eat, I also got the pasta bites so we will see how that goes tonight for dinner. I figure if she will eat a french fry that her daddy gave her, than I can step it up even though she has no teeth.

Is it Weird if...

....Someone who has only met your child 2 times, asks to have him be the ring bearer in his wedding?? It is a little unusual to me. I get it that the guy is Stephen's Godfather's brother, who also happened to go to high school with Robin, but like I said before. They have only seen each other 2 times that I can think of. I am not sure how Stephen will do, unless Robin is in the wedding party too (which I haven't heard that yet). And, I am annoyed that this wedding is supposed to be on August 8th, which is the weekend following Stephen's and my nieces birthday's. I guess we will have to celebrate with the family the weekend before.

What's New

Not Much. Things that are on my mind today:
*What to put in the kids Easter Baskets
*Should I try to get in for a trim and some high-lights this week
*How am I going to be creative to get Aria to eat (She does not like to be fed anymore, so I need to come up with creative nutritional foods for her that she can pick up and eat, with NO teeth)
*I hate my kitchen table and want a new one, it is impossible to clean and keep it looking that way
*I hate my clothes, so I need to get a new outfit that I will feel comfortable with myself for Easter (It would be nice if it was warmer outside)
*How do I get a 2 1/2 year old to understand that you need to sit quietly at church (yesterday was a disaster, but in the kids defense we had to be there for 3 hours)
*When will I get to sleep straight through the night again????

To quick

Aria has gotten much to quick for me. She is my little shadow all day. She is a pro at speed crawling and pulling her self up to stand. She has even managed to walk along the couch a few times. Yesterday she threw me for a loop though. I was giving her a bath last night, I turned to grab the towel, in the half second I looked away she managed to pull herself up and stand in the tub. It scared the crap out of me. I instantly had visions of her slipping, knocking herself unconscious, and drowning. Obviously that would never happen because she is never out of arms reach in the tub, but still scary to me. She also loves "so big," looking in mirrors, and what I call dancing to any music (she basically bounces on her but and flaps her arms).

Must Vacuum Now

The belt in my vacuum broke the other day. I suppose it is my fault, I let Stephen vacuum too. He sucked up something still unknown that busted the belt. I vacuum EVERYDAY, so I am dying to get my new belt. I would love to get one of those Dyson ones for like $600, but that will never happen. I guess we will just get the $4 replacement belt.

Mole update

OMG!!! I have never wanted to cry for one of my kids as much as I wanted to today. First, I had to pin Aria to my chest while the doc gave her a numbing shot in her back. Then he took a razor blade and scraped and dug out the mole. Finally, he zapped the blood gushing crater with a cauterizer. The mole is being sent to be biopsied. I am certain it is benign, I was just worried that it would keep growing.

As for my wart family... It continues to live happily on my big toe. I had to make a separate appointment for myself.

Creativity...

I introduce... Silly Snake Dogs! I also have bug bites, and meatball worms.

Moles and Warts

Today is Aria's dermatologist appointment. We are having a mole on her back checked out because of its rapid rate of growth and irregular boarders. While we are there, I am hoping to have the doc look at my wart family on my toe. It started as one big one a looooong time ago. I was able to get rid of it using a vinegar home remedy, but it has come back and multiplied many, many times. I want those suckers to be froze off.

Family Nap Today

It was a pretty busy weekend in the Donchess house. Friday Robin worked some overtime, then we headed to Oshkosh to look at a new place to live. What a complete waste of time and excitement. The place was probably half the size of where we live now, but with a third bedroom, and a frickin dump too. So to lift our spirits we went out for fish-fry. I don't think we have gone out for a nice fish-fry since I was preggo, I loved it!!

Saturday was even crazier for me. We had our last church class. Wooo-Hoooo! Straight from class I headed to work, then Robin picked me up from work to go out for our friends birthday. Another Saturday night at Kodiak's with free drinks and awesome entertainment. So needless to say it was a long night.

Sunday was pretty low key. I did end up taking Lyhna to see Monsters vs Aliens. Overall, a good kids movie. Possibly one to buy when it comes out on DVD.

On top of all the "festivities" going on, Aria was up Friday and Sunday nights with a fever of 101.9 and higher. My poor baby was burning up and snuggling me most of Friday night. But with the help of Tylenol, she was back to normal Saturday. Then the same thing last night. Fever at night, but great during the day. So the reason for the title today. I am going to take a nap now while the kiddos are sleeping too.

So Sweet Looking

I Hate Mondays

I hate when I work all weekend and nothing gets done at home. I really can't go more than one day without doing laundry... it is ridiculous how much laundry this family accumulates. (I can only imagine how much Kate from John and Kate Plus 8 must do everyday. FYI- Season finale is tonight and they will be talking about their "problems"). And it is crazy how nasty a place can look when you don't wipe the counters, table, and floors after meals. I feel icky looking and the kitchen/dining room right now.

OK that is my vent... Laundry is going and I must continue my mission to clean the kitchen and wash floors.

Is it to early to start drinking?

The first half of the day started out really good, despite the fact Stephen woke up and said, "Mommy I bad today." He was great until he woke up from his nap. For some reason the lengths of his naps have been cut in half. I really wish I could get him to sleep for more than an hour and 15 minutes this week (usually he sleeps for 3 hours). Since then he is the devil child again. It's 6:00pm is it to early to start drinking my gallon jug of wine??

WTF is going on?!?!

I can't even tell you how many timeouts were given today. The whining has reached an all time high, and the crying is insane!! I am at my wits end with this kid. I have done everything I can think of. And the real kicker is he tells me "Mommy I so mad!" While stomping his feet and walking away from me.

I needed a break so badly, I really needed to get away from this monster that has taken the human form of my son. I had to go to Target to return some shoes I bought for Aria, but decided to take him with me. I thought it would do both of us good to get out of the house (even though he helped me clean out the van today too and went for a walk). He was a perfect angel in the store, stayed by me the whole time, and even wanted to hold my hand. He was so good in fact that I bought him some popcorn on the way out. But the second we got home, it started all over again! Whining, temper tantrums, yelling. I locked myself in my room and left him with his dear old Daddy. He screamed for 15 minutes straight for me. It didn't stop until I opened the door and let him lay with me. He said "Mommy I need hugs."

I don't know how much of this I can handle. I am waiting for his head to start spinning in complete circles. We just need to get through dinner and bath-time. I am tempted to put this kid to bed at 6:00 tonight. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Spring is here... Maybe??

I woke up to birds chirping today. And yesterday the whole family went for a walk/bike ride. I hate to jinx it, but it seems like spring is officially here. I just hope it stays this way. It would be really nice to have a warm Easter for once. There is no sense in dressing the kids up in nice spring/Easter dresses if there is going to be snow and they freeze their patooties off.

Aria is saying Mama like crazy. I think Daddy is jealous so I have been saying Dada constantly the past few days. I think she will pick it up soon.

Back From the Cabin

We had a blast this past weekend up north at the cabin. The highlight was Stephen on the little ATV all the grand kids got for Christmas. He did awesome!! He learned how to make it go right away, but needs a little more practice to figure out the steering part. I think he had a lot of fun. He looked so serious on the ATV the whole time (see pictures).

Robin and I were able to leave the kids with Grandma and Papa Saturday night and have a night to ourselves. We had a great time at dinner with 2 other couples and many drinks after. I even played the cowbell with the live band (I guess I was pretty bad though). Check out lots of new pictures on flickr from this weekend.

9 Months

Well, my baby as been a part of the outside world for as long as it took for her to "cook" in my belly. Where did the time go? She is officially on the move and constantly getting in to stuff. We are still awaiting the arrival of her first tooth. And even more anxious for her to start sleeping through the night. Aria can say Mama, and every now and then I hear Dada too.

9 Month Stats:

Weight-19 lbs 11 oz

Height 27.25 inches

We also got a referal to a dermatologist for a fast growing beauty mark on her back (she can thank Mommy and Grandma for that). I can't imagine they would want to remove it already. But her pediatrican says if you look really close the borders are irregular, so that may mean it will need to be removed. I think we will wait awhile for that though.

Barking,Bruises, and Blizzards

It has been an eventful past few days. As you know Aria is now crawling, and already has her favorite spots to go get in trouble: shoes and eat all the books on the book shelf. She is getting quicker everyday. On Friday she started to sound really sick and hoarse. I thought she was getting croup because she sounded like a baby seal. I had to take her to the walk in clinic, and she is fine. She is starting to sound better, but is still pretty miserable at night.

I must have sprained my big toe. I ended up in urgent care Saturday morning thinking my toe was broken. X-rays were taken-but it looks good. It is still black, blue and purple. There is still some swelling and I am slowing able to put more and more pressure on it. I am not sure what happened to it, but I am pretty sure some how it got twisted on Friday night.

Sunday was no better. I had to drive to Oshkosh (usually it is a 15 minute ride) for work. Well, it took 45min to get to work. We were in the middle of another snow storm. Absolutely nothing was being plowed yet. It wasn't much better on the way home either. There was only about a 3 mile stretch of highway plowed last night. The anxiety was not work the 5 hours of work.

What a Frickin Night!!!

Last night was the worst we have had in awhile. Lets some it up by saying I was up from 11:30 until 2am! It was a night full of teething madness. Around 1:00am I gave up and camped out in the living room with the mini-monster. FINALLY she fell asleep around 2 after a good dose of baby drugs and lots of love from Mommy. She was so crazy that even Stephen woke up and told her to stop crying. I don't know what is taking so long for her teeth to break through. I have only been giving her hard toys to play with/chew on to help. I swear Stephen had 4 teeth by now.

Now I have to cart my crabby kids to the grocery store and stock up on food and teething essentials for the weekend. This should be interesting.

Surprise!

Someone has something they would like to show you...

If only...

...he was this innocent all the time.

In other news...

*Aria is still NOT crawling. She is a pro at going backwards, sitting up, changing directions, and going backwards again. But still no forward motion. She started to take steps when we hold her up by her hands, so maybe she will skip crawling all together.

*Still NO teeth, although she is gnawing on everything she can get her hands on. She IS babbling like crazy. I swear she tries to mimic what we say, but everything come out "blah, blah, blah!!"

*Oh and how could I forget, she is still NOT sleeping through the night. She will be 9 months next week and I still don't get to sleep through the night!!! The last few nights have been better than the last month or so. I only get out of bed 3 times now, as opposed to 5 or 6. Once for a bottle, the rest for her nookie. (Maybe thumb suckers are better LeAnne!) I am praying that once her teeth start busting through I will have more peaceful nights.

*I am starting my workout regimen again. I have only gone to the YMCA a few times since we got back from our cruise, so it is time to get moving again. We are taking the kids to the daycare there so Robin and I can workout together. He really kicks my butt.

The BIG Event

A picture says a thousand words.... Can you figure out what happened yesterday??

We've Been Saved!!

Today was our triple baptism. It went really well considering there was a 2 year old and an 8 month old involved. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. Thanks to my family who braved the snow storm to be with us on this special day. Here are a couple pictures of the big event:

Busy Busy

It was a VERY busy day in the Donchess house today. The entire first half of the day was spent making pizzas for the upcoming festivities. I certainly hope that everyone that is coming will be very HUNGRY! Then I hit up the gym, ordered a cake, and picked up a different baptismal outfit for Aria (I didn't like the first one). I did manage to make myself take a nap (because I am at work right now until 8am). I then started the whirlwind of cleaning that needs to take place between now and 10am Saturday. I am counting on my darling husband to pick up the slack since I am working a 10 hour night shift tonight, then a 6 hour shift Friday evening. *You are now pre-warned: We live in a tiny apartment with 5 people in 2 bedrooms. There is no basement or really any storage for the mountains of toys and crap this family has accumulated. So I like to say we live in somewhat organized chaos.*

Tah Tah for now.... I should actually do SOME work while I am here getting paid for it.

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