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.

Eco-Friendly

Riding Bikes in the Snow

We Survived....

....being up past midnight with a 2 year old and an 8 month old. We had a great time at my bro-in-law's 30th birthday party on Saturday. It was a long night though. Stephen did not take a nap that afternoon, but you would've never known. He was so full of energy and lasted till 12:30am when we finally left. It was a whole other story when we finally made it back to Grandma and Papa's house. Both Stephen and Aria were screaming as if we were going to kill them. Thankfully it only lasted about 5 minutes. Sunday was a very lazy day. Aria napped for 4 hours when we got home, and Stephen and Daddy napped for 3 hours on the couch. I unfortunately was unable to fall asleep.

Laundry and cleaning the rest of the day until I go to work. Fun Stuff!!

I am in love with Children's Place

It is that time of year again at my favorite store...Super Clearance sales! At least twice a year Children's Place has a huge clearance when they change seasons. So right now all the winter stuff is $4.99 or less. I have been hitting up these sales since I was pregnant with little Steve-O. I wish I had a bigger budget to really stock up for next winter. I got 11 items for under $50!!! My total would have been $165.00, that is ridiculous. I was a little disappointed with the boy selection (it is disappointing everywhere it seems). So anyone who has kids, get in your car right know and go to the nearest Children's Place!!!

Look What They Can Do

Aria holds her own bottle...

and Stephen can put things in his nose.

Caught the Cleaning Bug

I decided that since Aria will be getting around any day now, I better give everything a really good scrub. I spent all morning and part of the this afternoon cleaning carpets and furniture. That was my number one priority since were are past the projectile spit-up baby phase, and we no longer have potty accidents. I also had to catch up on the laundry because I was at work all weekend (apparently I am the only person who knows how to use the washer and dryer). My project for tomorrow is to scrub and disinfect all the floors and toys. Hmmm, now that I think about it I only get this gun-ho about cleaning when I am pregnant. Good thing that is IMPOSSIBLE, if God has other plans someone please shoot me in the head now.

I also dreamt up this new pizza recipe a few days ago. I swear in another life I must have been Italian. Maybe that is why I married one. Anyways, I can't give away my secret recipe but it is a spicy pizza. There is some heat in all aspects of the ingredients. I hope it is a winner. I think some day Robin wants to open up a restaurant again. (His mom had her own pizza place when he was in high school. It was a family business.) We will have a few varieties for my family to try out next weekend when they come for the triple baptism.

On Strike

I have boycotted doing any laundry that doesn't make it into a hamper or basket. It shouldn't be to long before a certain someone runs out of work pants or underware. Hmmm....Who might that be???

Crawling, Good Byes, Layoffs...

Everyday I wake up thinking that today is the day that my monster baby is going to start crawling. To be honest I can't really say how much progress she has made in the last 2 days, I am working 10 hour days on the weekends. I feel like I am missing so much, but at the same time welcome the break with open arms. Aria gets on her hands and knees and rocks/bounces like crazy. She is able to scoot backwards, but that really pisses her off. I was told she managed to scoot4-5 ft on her belly yesterday. It should be an interesting week. I wouldn't be surprised if she is crawling by this coming weekend, just in time to see Grandma and Papa Bee, and the Nolls. The camera is going to be glued to me this week to catch her in action.

This morning we dropped Grandma Carol off at the airport. It is always sad to see her go. Unfortunately Lyhna wasn't able to come with us this time. Usually there are many, many tears when Lyhna comes to the airport. Stephen was sad too. He kept trying to sneak through the security check point to get "one more hug gamma!" We can not thank her enough for coming so Robin and I were able to reconnect and go on vacation. It is so hard not having any babysitter or family close by to give us time for US. So thanks again Grandma!!

The economy sucks so bad. Unfortunately we have been effected by layoffs. Thank goodness it is only temporary during the slow seasons. I suppose one week a month isn't so bad compared to everyone else. This just means that I get to bring home the bacon too. Robin is getting a bigger appreciation for what I do at home, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

The Things a 2 Year Old Says...

It seems like since we have been back from our cruise that Stephen is speaking in longer sentences. For example: Where my basketball go Mommy?, Gimme basketball now Mommy!

Other funny sayings:
Every time I put him in time out, he sits for about a minute then lays down and says "I tired Mommy."

I ask him to clean up or sit down to eat dinner, he replies "Mommy I busy."

It is really hard not to laugh because most of the time he is talking back or just being sassy, but it is damn funny to hear it.

Best Trip Ever...

I uploaded more pictures from our trip onto flickr, so check those out. Here is our trip in a nutshell:
Day one: Chaos, flight from Midway to Ft. Lauderdale, shuttle to the ship, embarkation process (which went pretty smoothly), wonder around the ship to figure out where everything is, get lunch, wait for our luggage to get to the stateroom (wait to see if we were successful in smuggling booze on the ship, we were!!), leave port, eat drink, enjoy!
Day Two: Breakfast, arrive in Freeport- Grand Bahama Island, disembark, get rental car, drive along the coast looking for secluded beaches and snorkeling sites, get rental car stuck in the sand, go to Deadman's Cove-Paradise beach to snorkel and taste grilled conch- delicious, head back to town to wander around the straw market for Dads rasta hats and coconut drinks, back to the ship, hit up the buffet, shower, got to dinner, continue to eat and drink all night.
Day Three: Breakfast, arrive in Nassau, get rental car, drive all along the coast to see where we wanted to go, stopped at Clifton Park (got some amazing pictures of the cliffs), snorkeled at a few beaches, spent most of the afternoon at Gordman's Bay (where we saw the starfish) snorkeling and sleeping on the beach, fish market for more fresh conch dishes, wandered through the straw market to get souviners for the kiddos (got offered some doobies...no thanks), back to the ship, buffet, shower, dinner, more eating and drinking.
Day Four: My favorite day... Great Stirrup Cay (cruiseline's private island), spent all day on the beach, snorkeling, and hiking all over the rocks and cliffs. Robin saw some giant baracudas and immediately got out of the water, we stayed on the beach side after that. A very relaxing day filled with sunshine, snorkeling and drinking. Back to the boat for more food, entertainment, and drinking.
Day Five: Got kicked off the boat by 8:45am to get on the shuttle again to go to the airport. Sat in the airport for 4 hours, flew home after a 45min delay, then drove another 3-4 hours home. It was great to see the kids again, all were very excited to see us. We got Stephen a Bahama shirt that he wants to wear everyday. He calls it his "obama shirt."

It truely was the greatest trip I ever went on, we will definately be cruising again!!