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------->

Our Photo shoot

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.