The Appleby Girls & Boy

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T18:58:00.001-08:00

Keep Believing Christmas Card

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No Time to Blog

2010-06-29T04:16:00.001-07:00

This three kid gig isn't for the weak. I have the world's sweetest newborn, but I am still stretched thin! Anytime I have a free moment I am either playing on facebook, cleaning, planning birthday parties, and searching the internet for treasures for our new home. Here are a couple of quick pictures I just *had* to share.

Ellie has a passion for lining things up. It is a little tiny bit of OCD emerging in her personality. Here are some stuffed animals she lined up in a semi-circle. I got a good laugh out of it until it was time to clean up.

I was crazy enough to take all three kids to the movies. It would have worked out much better if I had bought two popcorns. Let's just say Ellie is a popcorn Nazi.
Emma is getting so big! She is really a little kid instead of a toddler. This is a picture of her after running through the sprinklers.
Ellie enjoyed the sprinklers just as much as Emma! I could just eat her up! That smile is amazing!
John is the sweetest baby I have ever seen. He is so well behaved it almost worries me!

Baby on the go!

2010-06-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

Being the third child John has been on several adventures just check him out!

John at the zoo!

John at the pool!

John at the Aquarium!

John at the Discovery Museum!

John back from somewhere...can't remember where, but darn he is cute!

Welcome John Paul

2010-05-21T17:42:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful baby.

The Last Few Months in Photos

2010-05-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

On the Fritz

2010-03-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are on the fritz.

The great death of the paci occurred last week and I have been paying for it ever since. We actually had two days of what I am officially calling the "honeymoon" phase after the paci went away where she did great, barely whining and still taking a wonderful two hour nap! Now that is a distant memory as she has gone about 5 days of only napping for 30 minutes and waking multiple times at night, and always before 6 AM in the morning. The last two days I have broke down and rocked her at nap to encourage her to break this cycle of thirty minute napping. Apparently she is totally fine without the paci if she can have the gigantic (and I do mean gigantic) Mommy comfort object. I know things will get better b/c I will be dragging her out of bed at some point to make her get ready for school. Until then I can only dream (LOL).

Then there is Emma. Behavior, yeah that has been a issue. She is really, really testing her limits with me. She has realized she can do things that I tell her no about, lovely realization. Unfortunately I have to drive home the consequence for such action. Parenting is not for the weak. It has been really hairy since Sunday and I was almost hoping that there must be something wrong with her, she must be getting sick there is no way my sweet angel could be acting *SO* obscene. The 100.1 reading on thermometer this morning was followed by a big *sigh* of relief. Turns out she has some viral cold issues beginning to brew in the form of a mild cough, runny nose, and sore throat, and she also has an ear infection. Maybe as she conquers this cold she can put her dramatic performances in the past. I always tell people she would be excellent in theater, she has mastered the horror movie scream.

The flip side of the illness, as most of you parents of multiple children know....colds tend to get a little froggy and leap around your house. I am *certain* Ellie will be sick. It is only a matter of time. Then I will have a cranky, sick, almost 20 month old, clingy toddler with no paci, ugh. Until then I am going to enjoy the brief days (or hours) until Ellie's behavior heads South.

So yes, we are on the fritz.

Dog, and not of the Canine Variety

2010-02-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

Santa brought Ellie a dog (stuffed animal) for Christmas. It is quite possibly the softest dog I have ever felt in my life. If you aren't familiar with Brookstone's Nap line I highly recommend going to the store and rubbing your face on any one of there products labeled NAP.

Here is a picture of Dog:

He is a pretty big deal in Ellie's world!! Emma always had a large variety of comfort objects, but never was super attached to just one. Ellie is very attached to her dog. He must always be present at nap and bedtime and commonly travels with us when we leave the house. He even went with her for her ear surgery (see picture below). When we went in for Ellie's surgery a very sweet nurse asked what her puppy's name was, emmm......"DOG." That is a pretty straight forward name right, and not surprising since a one year old named him!

I have a funny story about Dog. Every year for Valentine's Day I have taken Emma to Build-A-Bear and let her make an animal in lieu of a bunch of Valentine's themed junk and sweets. This year Ellie was totally in on all the action. It took her forever to pick out her animal, no really forever!! After a couple of close calls with a cat and a bulldog Ellie settled on this lovely dog.

She was very happy with the newest member of her pack until I went to get an anti-snore pillow for my sweetheart. When I was checking out at Brookstone they were giving away a free cuddle plush animal with a purchase over 75.00. Guess who Ellie saw?.....Dog. Not that impostor above, the real Dog. She took one look at her recently created Build-A-Bear friend and then tossed him in the floor. I guess there is just no substitute for the original.

Home From Surgery

2010-02-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

Things went great this morning at surgery! Ellie did surprisingly well waiting for her surgery considering she had not had anything to eat or drink since the night before! There was a small amount of waiting before the surgery, but honestly things seemed to go by really fast. The hospital shows movies every couple of hours all day and this morning's movie was Up. That worked great at keeping her entertained. (More so than the dozens of toys I toted with us.) I could tell Paul thought it was a bit silly, but I just wanted to be prepared because I really had no idea how long we would be waiting. Until they came into give her the Tylenol with Codeine she had not even needed a pacifier.

I was lucky to have a wonderful friend, Tammy, working in surgery and I know she gave Ellie the extra special treatment (LOL). All the people at T.C. Thompson's were incredibly kind and loving with our daughter and that made me feel much better about the entire process. Dr. St. Charles came out briefly before the surgery and explained what his plans where and said he would be right back and he was not joking! We got back to the room and hurriedly ate two granola bars and he was back! He said that everything went smoothly but both of her ears were infected again! This would be ear infection number 10, if you're counting. They suctioned out both ears and placed the tubes. They gave us some antibiotic drops to use for 10 days but other than that she can totally return to normal life as soon is she is up for it!

The anesthetic upset her stomach a bit because she vomited on the car ride home. She has now been resting in her bed for two hours, but they said it is best to let her rest of the drugs. I am so lucky Emma is spending the day with her wonderful grandparents because keeping the house calm and quiet would be nearly impossible with her here. (I sure do miss that sweet girl!) I have even caught a little bit of rest this morning too! I am hoping that when Ellie wakes up she will feel better and hear better than she has in months!!

The Vitamin Stash

2010-02-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Everyday we give both of the girls a vitamin. No big deal, what is news about that? Well today Paul was looking for his cellphone when he turned over the couch cushion only to find about 10 uneaten vitamins. Apparently Emma thought it was a better idea to hide the vitamins than to take them. Oh the frustration for parents from preschool deception. We had a long talk and tried to explain the importance of her taking her vitamin and even more importantly the danger if her sister had found them and eaten them all.

Pictures of the Onesies per your Request

2010-02-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like I am the only one if the blogger world who is not a professional photographer. How can so many people be so talented with the cameras? Does that make me some kind of camera idiot?? I am going to start playing around with my camera in attempt to get professional-looking pictures. Until then you will have to suffer through with crummy shots like these:

Surgery Scheduled, Relief in Sight

2010-02-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ellie has battled with her ears for the last 6 months and now that we have passed ear infection number 8 her pediatrician decided it was time to visit the ENT. This morning we visited the ENT and things went really well considering her issues. She acted better than certain three-year-olds I know would have behaved. She sat in the chair quiet as a pin while they did the pressure and hearing screen. The good news is she passed her hearing screen in both ears, yay! The bads news was the pressure check showed a good amount of fluid her right ear and some in her left. Even when she is not actively having an ear infection her ears still carry fluid. This fluid effects her balance and prevents her from hearing 100%. Even though she passed her hearing screen today the doctor that explained that going months and months with infections and fluid in your ears is lost time that she could have been hearing 100%. During this "lost" time it is common for children to fall behind in speech because so much of speech is hearing the sounds. I felt like Ellie was slightly behind in speech so hopefully things will change in that area soon. On Wednesday we will go in super early to the local children's hospital and have ear tube surgery. I am not hesitant about the surgery because I am ready for Ellie to feel better, hear better, have better balance, and speak better! The entire procedure is incredibly fast! They estimate she will be out of surgery in 15-20 minutes! I will update after surgery with some cute pictures of her!

I actually bought something for my son!

2010-02-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

A combination of trying to sell our home and the stress of it not selling have left me in total denial of the upcoming arrival of baby John. I haven't shopped for furniture, bedding, clothes, diapers, etc. I am just not ready to start committing myself to those items when I don't have a "place" in mind for him in our current home. Today I was cruising through Target with the girls and they had a three pack of onesies on sale for 6.00. My girls lived in onesies as newborns, and I don't own a single boy colored onesie, not even one. So I bought him some!! Paul said they weren't the cutest outfits but I explained that they were more for necessity.

Is This Lady Crazy, or What?

2010-02-03T04:18:00.001-08:00

I have seen the looks from unsuspecting observers as I walk around with a very large belly, one wiggly toddler in my arms, and an opinionated preschooler by my side. Those looks are usually followed by my all-time-favorite comment, "You have your hands full."

There was a time which seems not so long ago when I was a mother of one. My sweet innocent little trophy child. I could not have been a more attentive mother to Emma. I was verging on overbearing. Just to give you a small glimpse into my world, I held her day and night for 3 weeks straight, RARELY sitting her down. I pretty much nursed, rocked, and cuddled her 24 hours a day. Unfortunately after 3 weeks physical exhaustion began to take its toll and I woke up one night and she was in the bottom of my lap. I was terrified that the next time I would drop her to the floor. So then I took a big step and moved her to a snuggle nest in our bed. Big change, right?, ehh... not so much. Luckily I finally wised up and got the kid in her crib at three months old. I even had her sleeping through the night at a mere 10 months old (LOL).

Oh how times have changed! I can remember having thoughts about how could I ever have another child. I loved Emma so much, how could I sacrifice part of my time and attention and give it to someone else. I soon realized that I had plenty of love in my heart and Paul and I made the decision to have another baby. I think that growing up with a sibling truly builds character. There are infinite number of life lessons and coping skills that develop naturally in the relationships you make with your siblings.

I still had Emma in the back of my mind. How would she feel about the new baby? How would she deal with the frequent nursing? My inability to always be on call for her! Emma did very well, but still to this day she will act out for attention. I was frustrated one day, and someone said something to me to help me relate to how older siblings must feel. Imagine if one day your husband came home and said he loved you so much, and you were so special to him that he wanted to have another wife!! It is a bit funny to think about.

Well in the span of their little lives quite a bit of time has gone by since Ellie's big arrival and my girls get along fairly well considering their age and personality differences. Life actually began to feel easy?? We had a routine, Ellie slept through the night, each day Emma was more independent and self-sufficient than the day before, and things began to settle into what felt like normal.

Then you hit the point where you look at your husband and ask the question is this it? Is our family done? We talked and debated the positives and negatives of one more child. After much deliberation we decided we were done. Our family felt complete. We were blessed with two, beautiful, healthy, demanding girls!

Then God showed us that he had other plans for us! A total surprise pregnancy! At first we both were shocked, scared, and stunned by the news. After some time the news settled in and the excitement began to grow over our new gift that God had given us.

There are days when I feel sweet baby John squirming around on the inside and I just can't wait too snuggle his sweet little face against mine! Then there are those days when I feel stretched so thin with the girls that it is hard to imagine having on more person relaying on me twenty-four hours a day. I am human. I lose my patience. I lose my temper. Can I really handle three??

Obviously I will survive and hopefully my kids won't turn out too screwed up (JK). I wish I could be there for all of them all the time, but that is impossible. Sometimes someone will have to wait and I just won't be able to do everything I would like to do for them all the time. But I will never run out of love to spread among them. I will love them all so much and I know that I will do everything I can to be the best Mom I can to each of them. Being a mother is ever-changing role. You have to be able to adapt as your children grow and change and I am willing to do this for them.

The next time you see someone with their hands full of kids and their hair full of Cheerios try to cut them a break. They were once a mother of one, and at one time a mother of none. So I do have my hands full, and I always will. I personally like the way full feels.

On a lighter note, here is a picture of Ellie to make you laugh. Her first self portrait, someone needs to explain to her that a self portrait means drawing a picture of yourself, not drawing on yourself.

Snow in the South (sort of)

2010-01-08T08:50:00.001-08:00

I *love* when people from the North make comments about what babies we are in South when it snows. Have a little compassion! We don't know how to drive in snow or ice. Our vehicles are not equipped for snow and ice. Our state road services (i.e. TDOT) are not equipped to sand all roads during snow or ice. It is also a very hilly part of the state and sometimes a car just can't get traction going up on ice. How would you feel if you got hit with one of our 90-100 degree Summer days? Would we call you a baby for complaining about heat and humidity so strong you can't breathe? (Yeah, I probably would.) We just had a dusting of snow in these parts (haha) but because of the cold wave it is not melting and instead packing down into ice on back roads. The main roads seem to be fine, but the back roads around here are a bit sketchy. This morning it was a bone chilling 14 degrees here but with the "wind chill" it was 1. I forced my kids to bundle up and brave the cold for a few pictures. (They actually were very excited about the snow).

Where did the year go??

2010-01-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

I have been so bad about blogging, but in my defense our house has been struck with illness after illness and on top of that we had all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Well things will be returning to "normal" soon; that is until baby boy shows up and flips everything upside down again!! I am not one to resolve to do anything, because chances are I won't do it and then I just feel stupid for resolving to do anything. I am trying to make a shift in our house to healthier eating. After watching the movie Food, Inc., I will be thinking more about what I feed myself and my family. I have switched to Organic meats. They are pricey, but it is an area I feel is necessary to make a financial sacrifice in! We shall see how my food budget goes now!

I won't post a bunch of Christmas pictures because I am sure you are all sick of the holidays by now, but I will post last year's mantel photo and this years. Boy have they grown!

I have to bribe the kids with an apple to get them to sit on the mantle! Notice Emma's apple last year (haha).

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

It was time for a title update

2009-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

Ellie's New Love

2009-11-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

If these images mean nothing to you, it is time to check out a great movie. Keep the tissue box handy. Ellie is madly in love, laugh at loud, with the movie. I can't decide if she loves Russell or Doug more. I dare not admit how many times this movie has played at my house.

Well... I have been busy

2009-11-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Not the good kind of busy, the "up-to-my-ears-in-sick-whiny-kids" kind of busy. It started a week ago Thursday with Ellie being incredibly fussy and unable to sleep at night. She spent the majority of the weekend crying and refusing to eat. What I thought, after pediatric visit on Thursday, was teething. By Monday I had decided that there was no way teething could be this bad, but I decided to wait until Tuesday AM to take her to the doctor (making use of Emma being in school). Turns out she had these under her tongue. No this is not Ellie, it is really Emma. You guessed it, Emma got them from Ellie. Ellie was far to hard to photograph the underneath of her tongue. Emma was exposed before I even knew Ellie had them. Who thinks to look under their tongue? Well they are incredibly painful and encourage the kids to not eat or sleep. Emma is a real mess today. Ellie is past the sores but now fighting a bad head cold. The sores are caused by the coxsackievirus. The illness is very similar to Hand Food Mouth Disease. We are treating the pain, but that is really all you can do. I hope to return to the world soon. I am going incredibly stir crazy after spending the last three days completely confined to home. Not to mention, the kids have made short order of destroying the house.

..."You Didn't Tell Me You Were Going To Kill IT!" (Carving of the Pumpkin)

2009-10-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

School Party

2009-10-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

The Petting Zoo at Emma's school was such a big hit I had to drag Ellie away! When presented with the option of food she amazingly recovered (as seen above). It was a great party!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-31T18:08:00.000-07:00

Stroller Strike

2009-10-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Ellie has gone on a bit of a stroller strike, to state it lightly. I guess it is the months of riding while I trained to do my 5k. Whatever the cause, it is horrible. Yesterday I had to run some errands in the mall, which is impossible without confining your toddler. I tried snacks and loads of distraction, but the crying never stopped (and started instantly). I was in Gymboree trying to check out with my two black turtlenecks when a lovely women in front of me said, "I am so glad my kids aren't that age anymore." I was so offended. I politely replied, "Sometimes you have to get things done, and as far as I know no baby as have died from crying or riding in a stroller." Don't make snappy comments to a Southern pregnant women and expect her to smile and nod.

Bathing Beauty

2009-10-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

This was completely Paul's brain child, I can claim none of the credit. He found this little tiny bath towel and discovered it made the perfect baby bath wrap.

Ellie's New Sleep Schedule

2009-10-16T04:45:00.000-07:00

Ellie has always been a go-to-bed-early kind of girl. She typically is in her bed asleep by 6:30 PM. She had been waking up around 6:30 the next morning. This week there has been a wind of change. She has been waking up at 5:00, almost on the dot. She then comes to bed with her BFF, Mommy. I watch her for several minutes and her eyes are wide open staring at me. I close mine so she thinks I am sleep, but guess what I fall asleep. The next time I open my eyes she is out cold snuggled in the bed with me. Paul and Emma typically start making their rounds through our bedroom about 6:30. If she survives the multiple sound and light interruptions she will sleep until 8:00. I snuck out at 7:00 before Paul went to work and she is still snoozing away snuggled within my pillows. I am nervous wreck the entire worried she is going to fall out of my bed. I am not crazy about this new routine, but it could be much worse. Here is a pic I made of her sleeping in her bed the other morning. I had to wake her up to take Emma to school, so I thought why not make a cute picture first.

Is There Something in the Chicken?

2009-10-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about being pregnant and Chick-fil-A, but they go together so--- well. If I am ever beyond nauseated and nothing sounds good, guess what Chick-fil-A does. I could do any meal from there. Breakfast: Chicken Minis please!, Lunch/Dinner: Charbroiled Chicken, Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Strips, and you can't beat the Original Chicken Sandwich. Unfortunately I can't eat there everyday or my husband would probably cut up my credit card. Luckily for me Tyson Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets seem to be a good second place right now. They are a big hit with all the Appleby Girls and maybe we have gone through an entire bag in two weeks.
Emma humor for the day:
Mom I can spell Ellie's name, L-E. Makes sense to me.
Emma is very interested in getting married. This weekend she asked Paul again if she could marry him, and he politely explained that he is already married to Mommy and she would have to marry someone not in our family. So today she asked me if she could marry Ty, (her cousin). I explained that he is family too, and is not a viable option for marriage. I began to name other male friends that she has that could be possible husbands. She then told me ok, she would marry them all. How do I explain polygamy to a three year old?

Feeling Like Blah

2009-10-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy is a ~~beautiful~~ ~~wonderful~~ experience. Some woman "love" being pregnant and actually look forward to it. I could live without the 6-12 weeks of illness and the 40-65lbs of weight gain. The end reward does outweigh all the not so lovely side effects of pregnancy. With all that being said my general emotion lately has been "blah." I am sick to my stomach, tired, and just generally irritable. I have good days and bad but for the most part I just feel blah. I have even been lazy about blogging but there have been so recent funny happenings I thought I would share.

Emma is very much aware of my pregnancy this time around. It is amazing what a difference two years can make. She has seen, mainly heard, me getting sick this time and yes she pretends that she is coughing on the verge of vomiting. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? She has become a bit of a comedian. Her new obsession is jokes.

Emma's Jokes:

Why did the chicken cross the road? ..... To get to the other side.

Why did (fill in the blank of any other animal) cross the road? ..... To get to the other side.

Knock-Knock, Who's there?, Boo, Boo- Who?, don't cry it is just a joke.

You are expected to laugh very hard at these jokes and other ridiculous versions of them.

Ellie is not lacking in humor or ingenuity these days. One of her new favorite games is the snatch and run. Ellie give that back, must sound to her like "run like the wind, this is something good." She also made her own little picnic lunch one day this week. I had given her some sandwich bread to snack on while I was making chicken nuggets. When I heard her stirring around a stool pushed into a corner. When I looked down she was sitting on the bottom step of the stool and using the top step as her table. I was so proud of her that I let her have her entire lunch there. It worked out pretty well until when she was done she opened the storage lid on the stool and dumped her scrap food on the ground. Colby quickly cleaned up the evidence.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

Appleby Annual Halloween Party

2009-10-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

If you read my blog and have been to one of our previous (self proclaimed) awesome Halloween parties. We have a question for you. Would you come if we held it at a local playground? We were thinking of providing the drinks and cupcakes and still making it a potluck. Would you come out and play? We would be willing to offer lots of trick or treat goodies and prizes. Just look how much fun it has been in the past. (With the sale of our home, hosting here will be nearly impossible this year.)

Yes That Was Me Monday

2009-09-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

Ok let me just start off with saying I have a laundry list of horrible things I could fess up to this week, but honestly I am just not up to it. I have divulged some of last weeks horrible happenings to close friends and even they think it might be to much for the general public. Instead this week I am going to be an optimist and brag on my hard work training for my first 5K. I began the training program a little over 3 months ago and carried on even after I learned I was pregnant. My goal was to complete in under 30 minutes, but with the heat and some pretty serious hills I ran just over 30 minutes. I will get the "official" results soon, but based on "Diana time" I was about 30 1/2 minutes. I worked so very hard and I am so proud of myself. It was wonderful running along so many people out to support a great cause like the fight against breast cancer.

"Not Me" Monday

2009-09-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

First of all my laptop is not rebelling against me making it impossible to actually insert the "Not Me" logo.

MckMama started this blog carnival inviting us to be all a bit more honest. Join the fun and fess up! Check what everyone is not doing here.

I most certainly did not find Ellie playing in the toilet like it was a water table. She had not been in there long enough to locate bath toys and throw those in to add to the fun. When I caught her and began the rapid clean-up process I did not notice that Emma had peed in the toilet and not flushed, so she was playing in pee-toilet water. YUCK!! NEVER!

We are still in the preparing-to-sale-mode with our home and life does not at all remind me of a famous Tom Hank's Movie. It actually might be slightly less than two weeks :). We are hoping to be "on the market" by the end of the week.

I took both of my lovely well behaved girls to the Creative Discovery Museum. My sweet, precious Emma would never have a tantrum in public. AND if by some rare event she did tantrum it wouldn't be due to the fact I caught her sporting the "I've-got-to-pee" dance. When I said to my sweet daughter, "Emma is your body telling you that you need to go potty." She would never break into a horrible screaming fit and say NO over 100 times. I did not have to physically escort her to the restroom where the tantrum escalated to the point that she could not pee. I did not gather up my two children and bolt out of the museum like I was on fire. I did not run across the street to my husband's work and insist he take her to the bathroom and make her pee. She of course was totally over the tantrum by the time rescue Dad surfaced and willingly went to go potty!!! UGH!! I would never make false threats that I was never going back to her.

This week my oh-so-independent one year old did not refuse ice cream because I insisted she wear a bib. She would rather go without than wear a bib!!!

By the way I am not starting to "feel" pregnant. I did not eat a huge burger and then finish off with a Gigi's cupcake yesterday. The combination did not make me feel so sick that I dry heaved over the toilet for 10 minutes once we arrived home.

SAHMs Do you hear me?

2009-09-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

SAHM - Stay at home Mom

The title is slightly misleading since we are rarely at home. This is a new weekly blog that I am going to try to commit to posting. I am inviting all other mothers, stay at home or otherwise, to express some of those thoughts that plague us during our daily life. Feel free to join!

Why does a serious injury or other child related emergencies always occur while I am on the toilet?

Why does it matter if the sandwich is cut into triangles or rectangles?

How can kids mess up in 5 minutes what took 30 minutes to put away?

How does anyone make dinner (or shower) without using television to hypnotize their children?

When I said I wanted a third arm, I didn't mean of toddler-size extending from my hip.

Why does my three year old complain every time I make dinner and request I just make crackers instead?

Your thoughts?

(Side story related to dinner at our home. Last night Emma started her usual I hate vegetables routine while I was preparing dinner. So I told her the the cauliflower with cheese sauce was crunchy mac and cheese. She tried one bite and told me she didn't like it. Well at least she tried. She actually asked why it turned white in her mouth, seriously kid? )

"Not Me" Monday

2009-09-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

MckMama started this blog carnival inviting us to be all a bit more honest. Join the fun and fess up!

I did not do a "Big News" blog about selling our home and sneakily said I was not pregnant when I really was. In my own defense I had no idea that I was!

Ellie did not make this face when I told her she was going to be a big sister. No really she has no idea what is about to hit her.

Emma is more "in the know" she does not insist that I have a girl. I repeatedly have told her that we have no way of choosing the gender of the baby. She has mentioned naming the baby Ellie, and I told her that might be a little confusing. She is an old pro at the big sister gig just check her out!

I did not make multiple pictures of Ellie in the bath after she had played with the Curious George sticker book because I felt it was the cutest thing I had seen in days!

Our home is not actually on the market yet. We are actually hoping to put the finishing touches on this week and get it on the market by early next week. So in preparation to sell have not packed up enough junk from our home to fill a 20x20 storage unit, no way! What normal people can pack away that much and still live in there home! I just pray our home sells fast because we have our eyes on a piece of property in a fast moving area!

Three's Company Too

2009-09-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

Come on into our life.....
We're excited to meet you......
Where the kisses are hers and hers and yours,
Three's company too.

Come and dance on on our floor......
Take a step that is new.....
We've a lovable space that needs your face,
Three's company too.

You'll see that life is a frolic and laughter is calling for you......
Down at our rendezvous,
Three's company, too!!!!!!

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you hit and make a home run. That is what we are going to do! We grow more excited every day that goes by. I am very excited to go back to the greatest OB ever and meet this little peanut for the first time in just a few weeks. I look forward to posting lots of new pictures soon!

Never Say You Aren't...this could happen to you.

2009-09-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

BIG NEWS

2009-09-02T14:50:00.001-07:00

(NO I am not pregnant)

FOR SALE

It is in Their Eyes (Literally)

2009-08-27T04:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days when the world wanted to beat up on the little Appleby women. First we went to the Creative Discovery Museum. We were waiting to meet some friends and my girls when splashing enjoying the delightful water area. Emma grew tired of the area and went to explore the ship. (I was hoping she had hung around.) Ellie is still loving the water splash time! UNTIL....(Dramatic Music) a three-year-old toddler terrorist dumps an entire cup of water on her head. The highly chlorinated water (I hope) ran into her eyes and soaked her entire outfit. The oh-so-attentive mother politely said to her son, "please don't do that." I was like really? really? really? Can I get an apology for my one year old? Well her eye looks red today and if she gets an eye infection I will be more than livid. We all remember this, don't we?

Then we were on the way home and I spy through the rear view mirror that Emma is stroking her shoes. I ask her to please stop touching her shoes, shoes are dirty, etc... Then I hand her a bottle of hand sanitizer I keep in my car and ask her to clean her hands. (Loud Shrieking Three Year Old) MY EYE! MY EYE! Immediately my mind returning to my old days in the Chemistry Lab....Quick an eye wash station! Wait I am driving down the road at 50 miles per hour. So I pulled over grabbed my cup of ice water, pulled Emma from her car seat, trapped her hands between my legs, held her eye open with the left hand, and dumped ice water into the eye several times. Well it was a miracle of miracles because Emma started screaming my eye is fine please no more ice water!! After peeling a freezing ice water covered shirt off we all returned the car and continued the journey home.

"Not Me" Monday

2009-08-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

MckMama started this blog carnival to invite us all to be a bit more honest about the not-so glorious aspects of motherhood.

My sweet little peanut started back to school this week (Preschool that is). She loves it! Really, she was excited about it for days preceding it. I was surprised that she was delighted about moving up to a new class. SO I most certainly did not want to laugh when she fell on her first day. She tripped over a box of trains, fell into another box filled with tracks that flipped and landed on her head. I did not find this a bit humorous. I did not take a moment in the car to laugh it all out.

Paul and I took the kids to a local amusement park called Lake Winnie. It is not the trashiest place in the South, just the trashiest place within 50, maybe 100 miles around here. While there I did not use up a large amount of my Weight Watchers splurge points on a greasy funnel cake. Who eats those things? I also did not guilt my husband into eating half of it. While there sweet little Ellie had the time of her life, just see for yourself.

We did not indulge the kids with ice cream push pops. They would never have gotten so messy and sticky that we would be forced to let them ride home topless?

When reviewing the pictures I did not realize I have the worst roots in the entire county. I am not elated, thrilled, delighted beyond words, that I get my hair done tomorrow. It doesn't bother me at all that it would be after I have already been to my husband's company picnic and meet all his coworkers.

I am not listening to Polar Express while I type this post. I most cetainly do not let my children watch Christmas movies in August at 7:00 AM.

We Have A Winner

2009-08-21T12:22:00.001-07:00

Becky, from Life with the Bell Boys guessed carrot! "IT" use to be carrot some time ago! Pick your prize and let me know! Thanks for playing!

A Giveaway of Sorts

2009-08-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

Let me first throw out a disclaimer before going any further with this post. My husband is amazing, wonderful, extraordinary (according to Fancy Nancy that is a lot of words for Fancy.) I am however the primary care taker of the home. I am totally fine with that considering my profession is homemaker. I do however find a bit of twisted humor in the amount of time certain messes are allowed to go unattended in my home. A particular area of comical interest is our floor. I actually "try" be more diligent with this area b/c I have a certain peanut on all fours, but all the same we are human. A few weeks back I noticed a goldfish cracker in the floor. I thought well surely the dog will eat. Well a few days past and he didn't. Then I started to wonder if anyone would even notice the loan little goldfish cracker swimming in a sea of hardwood floor. Well no one did, and it eventually became stomped goldfish cracker which lead to a flurry of goldfish crumbs where the fish once swam. Well I cleaned up this said mess and moved on with my life. Then I happened to notice another morsel of food had wandered its way from some one's plate into the living room. I thought surely someone will pick this up. Come on somebody notice this other than ME! Seriously....anyone?? Does anyone walk through here? Dog, come on eat it! Then I noticed it started to shrivel and decay. I was really grossed out, but in order to further my experiment I ignored it. Except when Ellie was near I watched avidly to insure she did not consume it. (She actually didn't notice it either). Well here is a picture of the said "IT". If you can name it I will give you a monogrammed something of your choice from my monogram website Appleby Mommy . It is your pick bow, bloomers, bib, or new child aprons! Only rule is no answering from hubby (don't spoil the fun). Make sure you leave your email in the comment so if you are right I contact you for your prize!

"Trim the Fat Thursday"

2009-08-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

My friend Angie created this blog to help create a support network for all of us out there who are striving to trim the flab and shape it up!

Well I finally completed my 20 minute nonstop run, and I have ran up to Day 2 of Week 6 of my Couch to 5k Journey. For those of you out there you want to begin this journey yourselves click here to read the program. I also had my first online weigh-in on Weight Watchers and lost 1.6lbs in my first week. I am very happy with that. Only 8.4 lbs to go! I did succeed in going to the gym for my two ridiculous early workouts and did all my running! I did not use any restraint when we went out to eat last Friday. I ate an appetizer, entree, dessert, and coffee with three sugars and cream. I pretty much used all my earned activity points and all my allowance points in one sitting. It was worth it! The food was a great and I think a little splurge helps keep me focused the rest of the week. My basic goal for next week is to keep up with my exercise program and stay focused on counting my points.

On a side note....every time I see food it appears in the form of Weight Watchers Points. I literally have to think about everything I stick in my mouth!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Spotted

2009-08-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I just spotted my sweet Ellie on the Chattamoms site. I wanted to click on her, but first I had to grab the screen shot and share. Feel free to visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/chattamoms/ and vote for my kids. :)

"Trim the Fat Thursday"

2009-08-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Updated!

My friend Angie created this blog to help create a support network for all of us out there who are striving to trim the blab and shape it up!

Well it has been five weeks since I began my journey to a 5k. I may appear to be in great shape, but things are not always as they appear. I have never been a runner, ever, never, ever (Angela if you are reading this your grammar radar is probably going crazy). In college I had to run 1 mile to get an A in my EHLS class and I did and then proceeded to almost die of cardiac arrest. Then one day my friend Angela (not Angie who created this blog carnival Angela) did a blurb on facebook about how she was starting a couch to 5k program. (On a side note she is actually not doing to couch to 5k anymore because she is pregnant!) I was like couch to 5k?? Hmmm...I got the couch part covered how hard can the 5k part be? Well today was serious business I was suppose to run 20 minutes nonstop, I have done about 90% of my weekly runs with my girls in the jogging stroller. Well today they were with me and I only made it 17 minutes. I was so disappointed in myself, but my lungs were burning so bad!! I am going to try again on Saturday without the kids and see if I can do it! I never dreamed I would be able to run 20 minutes nonstop, and now I am so close I can't taste the sweat.

Now onto the downside of running. When I began running I had the mindset of I am exercising so it is ok to eat a little more. Well I am not the queen of moderation. Let's just be honest and say I can easily put away a Big Mac, large fry, soda, and still be up for an ice cream cone. I love to eat. I am not on of those people who typically makes "good" eating choices. Well after 4 weeks of running and zero weight loss I decided I needed to take hold of my diet. I am an example for my children and really my entire family (since I buy the food around here). I don't want my sweet little angels running on junk. I am back on Weight Watchers to drop this lingering 10lbs and shape up the eating regimen for my family. My fridge is stocked full of vegetables and fruits and mainly Fiber One Yogurt. I am in love. Fiber One Yogurt is zero Weight Watchers points and extra yummy!!

This is a photo of me before I delivered Emma: (That is hubby with me) The picture really doesn't do justice to the extra 65lbs I was carrying around.

This is a picture of a series of pictures made around Emma's First Birthday. (I wanted to use a different picture but hubby is too busy with work to help me find where are digital pictures are hidden inside the "big" computer.) I was the skinniest I have ever been and my arms were ripped.

This is me before I delivered Ellie, only a mere 45lbs up.
This is me at Ellie's First Birthday (I know Ellie looks thrilled in this picture).

To make a long story end... I just want to lose around 10lbs and firm up this body. I am working out at 5:15 in the morning two days a week and running 4-5 days a week. My goal is to run my first 5k at the end of September and lose 10lbs in 3 months. Short term my goal is to not over indulge when I go out to eat tomorrow night and to complete 20 minutes of running nonstop.

Update: I did not use moderation when I went out to eat, but I have been following my points except that one splurge. Here is the picture of Emma and I that I was thinking about. I want to be this skinny again.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-05T15:37:00.001-07:00

One Night in Bangkok Two Nights with the Amick Boys

2009-08-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well I would have to consider Angela one of my bffs (Do people use that term anymore?). We meet over three years ago at breastfeeding support group and have grown to just love each other. If we wrote down a detailed description of one another you would think what do these two have in common, but in actuality the list goes on and on. I have two girls and that makes me pretty much a complete idiot about all things boy! When presented with the opportunity to watch Angela's boys I was very excited to help. While she was dancing her bon-bon off at a wedding, I was with her two lovely boys. Jump over to her blog to read her story about her life and two wonderful children. In the meantime her are some pictures I made of her lovely little men.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T06:46:00.001-07:00

http://spotted.timesfreepress.com/photos/index.php?id=1723798

Check out my girl!!

Resemblance

2009-07-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Do Kids Age Dogs too?

2009-07-24T15:32:00.001-07:00

Emma and Colby May 2007.
Ellie and Colby July 2009.

or maybe cats age dogs? (Emma, Colby, Gnocchi July 2009)

Girl Toddler Talk

2009-07-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Angie's most recent post I thought you might enjoy some of my conversations with Emma.

Dad to Emma, "What do you want for breakfast?" Emma: "Bagels." Dad: "We don't have bagels." Emma: "I can make some." Dad: "How do you do that?" Emma: "Just roll up some bread and squish a hole in the middle."

Emma to Mommy: "I just love Daddy." Me: "I love him too." Emma" "But he is my Daddy." Me: "He will always be your Daddy." Emma: "No he won't." Me: "Why?" Emma: "Because I am going to grow up and marry him just like you."

Emma to Ellie: "Do not touch my markers." Me to Emma: "Emma be kind to your sister. Just share one with her with the lid on." Emma to Me: "Mom, I am trying to be kind, but Ellie is not cooperating."

Emma to Me: "Mommy can I sleep moody?" Me to Emma: "Do you mean nudey?" Emma: "Oh yeah, nudey." Me: "No, but you can wear a princess t-shirt." Emma: "Well then you will have to read me a princess story."

Then there is my sweet Ellie. This week I tried to get Ellie to finger paint. She wanted no part of it. I ~~forced~~ strongly encouraged her to try. She wanted to eat the paint instead. Well today at dinner she wanted ketchup like her big sister. So I happily obliged. BUT did she want to eat it, no she wanted to finger paint, figures. These pictures really don't do justice to the mess.

This was a few nights back but it was so funny I had to go ahead and throw it in there. She is wearing Paul's goggles.

Not My Girls Monday

2009-07-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

MckMama has always invited us Moms' to divulge some of our not so glamorous actions. Well this week we get to give the dish and all of the not so wonderful actions of our precious children.

For those of you who personally know my youngest Ellie you would likely agree that her appearance borders angelic. She is this blonde headed, blue-eyed, bouncing, bundle of baby. She most certainly is not the most preciously precocious thing I have ever seen. She does not climb into and onto everything. She does not make it her mission to seek and destroy her sister's dollhouse. She does not even vaguely resemble a pint-sized Godzilla here. She absolutely is not chewing the paint off her very expensive crib (UGH!!). And when in the confines of her crib she always naps perfect long naps, and of course she sleeps through the night she is over a year old, right!! (I wish!!) Her select small baby vocabulary does not include the word "gas," because my children never flatulate.

Emma, my oldest, is always incredibly obedient and has a firm grasp on the rules and regulations of our perfect Appleby home. She certainly did not take a marker to our couch. She is provided with many more suitable outlets for her creative side. (I also did not flip the couch cushion to hide most of the disaster.) She also does not remind me at all of a certain Looney Tune character when it comes to her care of her cats.

She never would grab them by the tail, try to wear them as a scarf, sit on them, hold them and carry them around the house dragging them. When have the utmost respect for animals here at the Appleby home.

Christmas in July!!

2009-07-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Christmas came early this year. Thanks to my friend Angie's awesome blog swap! Check out the dish on what everyone received here. I had a wonderful blog partner who not only got lots of great goodies for me, but individually wrapped them all!!! Here is a link to her blog(s) Avon Blog Personal Blog.

Well on to the goodies!! I was so excited about the package I forgot to photograph everything all wrapped, you can get a small glance at the cute wrapping paper from the single candle left wrapped sitting on the great cookbook. So let me give you a run down:
Bath and Body Works Lavender Vanilla (Sleep) Body wash and Lotion (I should drown myself in during this sleep training period.) Paul brought it to my attention, that it is not that I don't sleep well, it is that I can't sleep because there is a screaming baby waking me up. Either way the scent is heavenly!!
Reeses 100 calorie wafer bars-yums and more yums. I am savoring each one of these. I haven't seen them anywhere around here. Peanut Butter + Chocolate = one happy lady.
5 Ingredients or less Cookbook- Finally a cookbook where I actually might have all the ingredients on hand!! I actually tried one of the chicken recipes this week. It got a thumps up from Paul (and two thumbs down from Emma...figures).
Yankee Candle-Beach Walk- If you can't be on vacation, at least you can lite this and pretend.
3 Slatkin & Co. Coconut Vanilla votives- I LOVE LOVE LOVE this scent I feel in love when my friend Jessica got me this big one for Mother's Day. I get so many compliments when I lite this one!!
This was a great treat and I am so grateful to Marjorie!! Thanks for all your hard shopping I hope you enjoy your gift too!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

Life Bed Changing Experience

2009-07-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Does anybody remember when I finally upgraded Emma to her "big girl" crib?, if not click here. Emma has recently asked when she was going to get a real bed like ours. We have tried her in the real thing a few times when we were on vacation and she did very well. So we decided to make the big upgrade. Unfortunately the real estate in her bedroom just took a major downgrade. Paul's exact words were somewhere along the lines, "it is a good thing she has a playroom because there is no room to play in here." I made the bed and made one picture before I even let her on it. I am well aware that it will never look like this again.

Her and Daddy had some fun "experiencing" the big girl bed! I told Paul I was going to post this picture, but I bet he thought I was kidding.

Here is the happy face shot.

Well the new bed must be pretty comfortable because Emma and Daddy didn't have any trouble taking a two hour nap there together today!This is really sleeping:

This is fake sleeping. (notice a difference?)

Emma Talk

2009-07-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

We frequently have a slideshow of pictures running on our TV thanks to my computer genius of hubby. Yesterday a picture from my wedding day was on the screen.

Emma: "Mommy you look so skinny."

Me: "Emma, Mommy was the same size then as I am now."

Emma: "You look better then and Daddy you look skinny too."

I don't know how she even knows what skinny is or looking better is?? but I guess kids age you and make you fat.

Not Me Monday

2009-07-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

MckMama started this blog carnival inviting us all to be honest with ourselves and fess up to the not so bright side of motherhood. Here is my piece of the shame pie.

First let me say I would never go a ridiculous amount of time without blogging. I also would never start a blog about vacation and not finish it. I don't enjoy unresolved business. While I was on vacation I most definitely did not witness a dog driving a car.

I also would not post this picture of me and my pint size pookie in sheer paradise to make you jealous.... and no that is not my fat roll creeping out b/c I did not eat my weight in seafood the 6 days preceding this photo.

I also did not return from vacation to take Emma back to swim lessons. I did not drive 2 hours out of town every day for swim lessons for Emma. That is insane. I have way too many obligations to drive over 1200 miles in a mere 5 days only so my daughter can swim...

I would never let them put Ellie in the pool too?? (No she didn't take lessons I just put her in to help cool her off.)

I also would not buy a cake, balloons, spend hours making a tutu, and setup an entire set to make a picture for my daughter's first birthday invitation. AND if by some craziness I did all of those acts I would NOT end up using a close up shot b/c the rest were too horrible.

This is the shot I used.

I also would not take one of my children who woke appearing to be moderately sick on a car ride to a waterfall two hours away. I would also not bribe her with a toy zebra to behave and not complain. (I actually didn't bribe her with the zebra it was just a Daddy gift from Cracker Barrel.) By the end of the day her fever was not as high as 102.8...

Happy Not Me Monday I am trying to get back in the saddle.

4:41 AM

2009-06-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would be so excited to be awaken at 4:41 AM. (Here is the story why.) As parents we all have those "things" that are important to us. The things that we are meticulous about. Well I am a big one for getting my kids to fall asleep on their own, and not using bottles past the first birthday, etc. BUT I am horrible about getting my girls to sleep through the night. Emma did not sleep through the night until 10 1/2 months old. I swore to myself I would beat that goal with Ellie but unfortunately I did not. One thing lead to another, and we were traveling, or she was sick, or she was teething, the list goes on and on. Well I restarted sleep training again this week. Day 1 she woke at 11:00 PM and I was back and forth until she finally gave up at 1:30 and went to sleep. She then slept until 4:00 so I feed here and she went back to sleep until 6:30ish. Day 2 she woke up starting the same stuff around midnight. I turned the monitor off (as I always do to try to keep from waking up Paul). Well I watch the clock and go check on her every 5 to 10 minutes. EXCEPT on Day 2 I fell back asleep. I woke up at 1:30 and she was still crying (oops.) The good news is she was not hysterical just really more screaming and complaining. Well last night was Day 3 and a miracle happened. I laid her down at 6:45 PM (yes, I know she goes to bed really early). WELL not a sound, not peep, not blip on the monitor until 4:41 AM!!! That is 10 hours of perfect uninterrupted sleep (for her)!!! I am so happy for her to get the rest that she needs to grow and thrive! I feed her then and she went back to bed until 7:00AM!!! YAY!! I know that I still need to push her a little further, but for know we have made leaps and bounds in progress and I hope that we continue. I will have to update tomorrow on whether last night was some freak anomaly or the being of beautiful sleeping pattern. IF and I do repeat IF they pattern repeats tonight I will be thrilled, elated, so excited I just might squeal like a pig, because with Emma it was almost 10 night of sleep training before it truly "worked." I have gone over 11 months without sleeping through the night myself and I am really, really, really looking forward to it!!!

Christmas in July

2009-06-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

My friend Angie started this absolutely fabulous blog idea of a gift exchange. Run over to her site to check out all the really fun details!! I am very excited to participate and I know as Mother nothing would beat a sweet little surprise in the mail.

Beach Bum Babes - Part 1

2009-06-09T16:50:00.001-07:00

Well this is my last night of vacation....and I should be packing and preparing for the ridiculously early departure, but instead I am blogging. Luckily I have really stayed on top of things so most things are ready to go. I have done laundry every day of vacation so I will be taking home almost zero dirty clothes, yes be jealous. Well here is a quick recap of the Appleby explorations of islands around Dunedin/Clearwater/Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Day 1:
We biked over to Honeymoon Island. It was approximately a 3 miles bike ride from our wonderful, three story, over 3,000 sq ft. condo!!! Paul and I were slightly disappointed with the beach, but the kids had a great time exploring the ocean for the very first time. Emma was a bit nervous about the ocean, but was ready to build her first real sand castle, I use the term castle loosely. Emma had a slight meltdown when the ocean almost washed away her sand toys. She was still malfunctioning when we put her back in the bike trailer. After we bathed, napped, and recharged the kids we ventured out for some good seafood. We stumbled upon a local ice cream shop for some after dinner delight. Ellie was given her first mini-ice cream cone. It was actually ice cream, it was rainbow sherbet and it was darn cute!!! We made this a semi-regular stop during our trip. The very first time we went the camera battery was dead, but day two still made for a cute reenactment. After being pulled around in bike trailer, playing in sand, and eating ice cream, what could be better than ending the day surrounded in bubbles in a huge jet tub.

Day 2:

We hopped aboard the Appleby jet boat and headed off in search of America's number 1 beach, Caldesi Island. Well the water was incredibly rough and our jet boat doesn't fair well against two foot ocean waves. When we arrived at the island the beach was less than impressive, and the surf was impossible to beach the boat so we kept on searching for the perfect spot through St. Joseph's Bay. We stumbled upon a little island that was the perfect size for the kids to splash and play and we are able to easily beach our boat. We unofficially named the island Ellie Island. After nap, grub, and a general recharging of the fam we headed to a local park for some afternoon fun with the girls.

Ok...well that is only two days, I have four more left to blog, but my laptop is starting to overheat and I need to really prepare for departure. Tune in soon for me fun details!

Swim Lessons

2009-05-30T04:22:00.000-07:00

Details to follow. Questions welcome. Emma asked to go back this morning.

I am not sixteen anymore

2009-05-22T08:32:00.001-07:00

The other day I was waiting to tan at the tanning bed salon. (Hold your lectures please.) We are planning a trip to the beach and I would like to look more Tropicana instead of Red Lobster. Back to the story... The girl working there was 15 or 16 years old and as I was looking at her I thought wasn't that just yesterday?? (Hold your comments again, it has been 10 years ago.) I knew everything!! I was so ready to grow up, get out on my own, make my OWN life. Life was so momentary will he or she like me, will I make the grade, will I get the car I want, etc... Life was all about me. Well know at my ripe young age I realize that I know nothing. Ok well I know a few things how to change a diaper, how to get somewhere on time with two wild children, how to shove a ridiculous amount of clothes into the washing machine. But seriously... in the grand scheme of things I realize I am still just a babe making up the rules as I go. Just a little food for your thought...what will we think in ten years when we look back at life now?

Update on Ellie:

She has the flu, not swine flu, but influenza. The pediatrician said this is the first year he has ever seen flu in May. Yesterday she was the fourth case of flu he had diagnosed. She is slowly improving but I missing my sweet, giggly, ball of joy, Ellie. The fever has stopped but we are still in recovery mode.

Now some fun pictures:

I said Paul make a picture of me with the girls...after multiple attempts I was laughing! It is impossible, seriously.

This is Ellie and I on Mother's Day.

Emma and Grandmar (too sweet).
That is Emma on a REAL bike! She is frustrated that she can't peddle backwards but other than that things are going great!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-13T11:34:00.001-07:00

Three Years in the Making... Emma

2009-05-12T11:51:00.001-07:00

Paul has already warned me that my video tribute to Emma is way too long. I don't expect anyone or everyone to watch the entire thing. With all that being said, here it is. Happy Birthday Baby!

Not Me Paul Birthday Hodgepodge Hang on to your hat Monday !!!

2009-05-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

MckMama started a wonderful blog carnival inviting us all to be a little more honest with ourselves and own up to some of those oh so painfully truths of motherhood. Here is my part for the week: (WARNING: Retinas may bleed from excessive reading.)
I would never let me my almost 10 month old self feed herself out of a high chair! I would also never give her Bertolli pasta frozen dinner and Mott's applesauce for dessert. My girls always have home cooked meals with at least two vegetables!

I would never let my 10 month old baby play until she is a laughing mess with empty packaging. Come on that could be a choking hazard.
I am also definitely not training Ellie to balance a ball on her head like a trained seal. NO Really I am not; I just put the ball up there because it looked really cute.
My children always act perfect in every sense of the word. They would never carry a toy around in their (her) mouth like a puppy.

My husband is sweet, honest, responsible man who would never risk his life precariously perched atop a ladder, atop a ladder, cutting a tree down that fell in our pool. He would definitely not use an electric chainsaw near, much less above water. He knows life is way too precious to take chances like that!!!!
I am always incredibly sensible with our money and budget. I would never spend an outrageous amount of money to get a princess cake. I mean come on does she really need an entire castle!!
Even if someone was so crazy as to buy the ridiculous princess cake, they would never buy the matching balloons that sing "Happy Birthday Princess" so loud it may cause partial hearing loss. That is just insane, balloons are money in the toilet they just go flat in a week and create garbage.
I would never let my Dad swing Emma over and over until his arms almost broke. (Ok, I would because she totally loved it.)
Everything always runs smooth at all of our social gatherings. My daughter would never hit her head at her own party, and I would never miss the entire thing!! OF COURSE I would have never forgot to feed Ellie; so I wouldn't be sitting in the car nursing her when all this went down!! I would never let my daughter play with a laundry basket during an expensive Little Gym Party! I would make sure I got every penny worth out of the party (LOL). AND I certainly wouldn't let her force her best buddy, Evan, to push her around in it!! We are beyond those sexist stereotypes.
No really, I didn't see she pulled him too!
Emma would never sprinkle princess dust on her buddy, Andrew, no really she wouldn't would she??
I would never serve the leftover, batched up birthday cake to the family the day after the big party!! AND if I had to I would be completely prepared. I am always incredibly organized and I would never forget candles?? come on seriously!! (OK actually I couldn't find the sparkly number 3 candle I bought. I couldn't find it anywhere in my car.) So we didn't sing "Happy Birthday" to Princess Belle.
And of course Emma didn't lick icing off the bottom like it was a real candle.
Birthday post to follow soon (it will be a tearjerker). Hope your eyes don't hurt too bad!

Dude Looks Like a Lady Daughter Looks Like Her Daddy

2009-04-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

The Child That Didn't Want to Play

2009-04-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

The girl who didn't want to play. Her Mommy made her try against her best efforts to not play.

The feeling of accomplishment....worth all the struggle.

"Experiencing the Zoo"

2009-04-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday The Appleby Girls had the pleasure of experiencing the zoo with some close friends. For the first time ever Emma was allowed to pet animals at the zoo. I am not a big fan of touching wild animals but with large amounts of hand sanitizer I can suck it up for the happiness of Emma. I NEVER do the petting zoo but yesterday we did a preschool experience at the zoo that including petting some birds and a chinchilla. Her are some videos because my good camera is temporarily out of commission.

Emma and Chinchilla

Emma and Rooster (and yes it crowed, LOUD.)

Emma and a Dove

Bathing Beauties

2009-04-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

Oh how time flies when you are raising little kids! It seems like just yesterday when we had the unforgettable floating Bumbo incident.That would be when I had the genius idea to bath the girls together with Ellie in the Bumbo. It worked out well until the Bumbo began to take float. Well in what seems to be about 5 seconds (more like 4 months). Ellie has made some serious bath progress. First there was the "duck."

Well now... She takes a bath just like the big girls, usually with the "Big Girl." Here are some recent pics of my little (not so little) baby.

An Ode to My Nine Month Old Princess

2009-04-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

At a sweet 9 months she is so fine,

Still quite chunky but less in the behind,

She crawls and she chews and jabbers all day,

Often throws a fit when things don't go quite her way,

She chews on most things as she quickly creeps,

She does so quite well her with her shiny new teeth,

She loves her big sister but is learning quite fast,

That you fight for what you want or you end up in last,

She is no sleeping beauty I am learning that too,

For I find myself with lots, lots, to do,

So charming, so sweet, so unique, it's true,

Without my sweet Ellie I would be oh so blue.

Happy 9 Months Baby! (a few days late the big day was 4/7/09)

Eggxtra Beautiful

2009-04-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Ok... that was a ridiculous play on the word extra. I am just trying to get in the Easter spirit. I took the girls to a fun Easter egg hunt last Friday hosted by a friend (I know almost a week ago). Emma is a serious egg hunter, watch out kids she means business. I have been so busy I am just know blogging about it. Ellie was a complete angel the entire party. Emma told me her favorite part was finding chocolate in the eggs (figures). Her second favorite part was the strechie Easter bunny she found at the party. He is blue pictured below. She loved it so much that when we were buying party favors to stuff her eggs for school she picked strechie bunnies (luckily they were half price at Hobby Lobby this week.) She had her Easter Party at school today. Pictures to follow soon. I will probably do a big Easter post after her the big hunt at Grandmar's on Sunday. I might have to do a special Easter "Not Me Monday" that includes a picture of the stack of clothes to iron in my bedroom. It maybe be too humiliating even for "Not Me Monday." On to the good stuff the pictures.

"Not Me" Monday

2009-03-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

MckMama started all the "Not Me" Mommy fun, but this week she is finding herself emotionally overrun with worry and anxiety about her sweet little Stellan. Run over to her blog to find out the latest on his condition and his story (http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ ).

Of course I haven't given my husband blog updates periodically with ever "twitter" from MckMama's blog. I also haven't been brainstorming a genius way to spell out Stellan name and add to the gallery. I also haven't shared the story of a sweet little baby boy with a broken heart living in the frozen tundra to anyone who would listen. Actually I have because... although we are 1,000 of miles apart, we are both Moms who love our kids. I have been overwhelming blessed with two healthy children and my heart aches for mothers who have to deal with much greater burdens. I have comfort in knowing they can lay their worry and stress on much stronger shoulders above us and ask God for help in coping.

I am just one of the thousands and I do mean thousands who follow Mck Mama, but last time I checked there is no limit to the amount of prayer one person can accept.

Not Me Monday, Not Appropriate

2009-03-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

I actually had some good stuff for "Not Me Monday," but considering the current situation with the "Not Me" originator, MckMama, I feel I should skip this week. Please head over to here blog to get up to speed and send prayers her way. http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

Wordy Wednesday

2009-03-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

If anyone out there reads my blog they were probably wondering if I had lost the function of all the keys on my keyboard and had resorted to mouse clicking some pics on! Needless to say, I have been busy. I have actually been more busy than just my normal life busy. I now have a fun hobby to occupy every other free second of my life. I begged, pleaded, and sweetly asked my husband to let me get a ridiculous priced embroidery machine. He said "Yes!", must have caught him on a good day :). I have been monogramming left and right. Watch out if you come over I might monogram the shirt on your back. In the process I have made some pretty cute creations. I hope to sell what I make to help compensate for the price of my machine.Well my kids have just been growing and changing like crazy while I have been wasting my nights away slaved over an embroidery machine. So here is the run down of recent life with the Appleby girls. Miss Emma is officially 100% potty trained. For those of you who follow me she now poops!!!! I don't know that I have every been so excited about bowel movements in all my life. Some Moms might be blessed with the lucky few children who just click with potty training and breeze straight through.... us not so much. It has been an off and on again battle for almost 6 months. After tears, fits, dirty panties, and Miralax it has finally come to an end and before the big 3rd birthday!! She is amazing! I rarely have to remind her most of the day she is just going all by herself!!!!!!!! It is so cool when I hear "Mom, I just pooped come look at it!" Miss Ellie is growing and changing too, a ripe 8 months old! She is rocking in one place on all fours, crawling backwards, lying to sitting, and standing holding on to something. I am in no hurry for her to crawl and really don't expect it soon. Emma didn't crawl until just shy of 11 months old and she is totally fine now! Ellie is developing a bit of temper and attitude. Emma and I sing a little song to Ellie that goes like this.... "Throw yourself back and have a big tantrum, just throw yourself back and have a big tantrum." Emma enjoys laughing at Ellie's tantrums. (Hers not so much) The girls are becoming closer every day that goes by. They are commonly exchanging loud shrieks, hugs, and kisses! Ellie is also learning how to fight for her own around big sis. I caught Emma taking something from Ellie and before I could say anything Ellie had her by the head of the hair pulling hard! (IT BEGINS.) Here are some great recent pics of the girls.

Mouth watering while she decorates.

Yummy.
Ellie saying Happy St. Patrick's Day... ok not really she doesn't talk yet.

Aquarium sending mixed messages about touching the butterflies... Don't touch them unless some guy who works there hands on to you... then it is ok.

Ellie finally getting to experience the aquarium.

Wordless Wednesday ...almost (It is not ribs, it is a bitter biscuit)

2009-03-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-25T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yes That Was ME Sunday!

2009-02-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

For all of those who only follow me in one location (not facebook too). I saved my youngest's (Ellie) life this weekend. OK... I know that sounds a bet dramatic but it is really true. Here is the story for those of you who haven't heard.
I was cooking dinner with both kids awake. Ellie was inside the highchair and Emma was bouncing around the kitchen with all the joy of toddlerhood. In an effort to keep Ellie away from the heat of the stove, I had the highchair pushed against the counter near the sink (the furthest point within the kitchen). Well she reached over and grabbed an empty cardboard butter box. I knew that she grabbed it, but playing with it was making her a happy little bug and allowing me to finish cooking dinner. Well Ellie was carrying on quite loud with the box and then all of a sudden..... silence. This is more of an attention getter than loud screaming. I looked over to find her waving her arms, eyes watering, making breathing in motion, but no sound. Everything from that point happened incredibly fast. It was a complete maternal, natural reaction. I did not even think, I just acted. I grabbed her out, tilted her downward supporting her neck with one hand, and gave her a swift (somewhat hard) thump on her back between her shoulder blades. Then cardboard came out and entire feeding worth of chunky milk. I have not taken infant Heimlich - CPR in over 10 years but in that moment of urgency I did it like I had been practicing every day. She immediately coughed a few times, looked up, and smiled. She had a face like "Thanks MOM." She went right back to playing in the highchair (not with the box!). No more paper product around little peanut. I just thank God that everything worked in my favor. Couldn't imagine one day of my life without that sweet smile!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

Emma or Ellie?

Interview

2009-02-17T16:41:00.001-08:00

I feel as though I becoming a real blogger (LOL). Well my friend Angie is a real blogger and she interviewed me so here are my responses to her questions.

1. If you had to lose one of your five senses, which one would you give up? Smell. Don't get me wrong I love the smell of fresh baked cookies and freshly bathed baby, but never smelling poop, cigarette smoke, or tuna would be fine by me. I couldn't imagine life without being able to see my sweet children and hear there loving voices (and Pterodactyl screams LOL).

2. If you were to be recognized by posterity for one thing, what would you like to be known for? My devotion to my family. I feel like am living my life for my children and spouse. (Some might argue I am living my childhood vicariously through my children). I try to consider their lives and feelings with every decision I make. The most important one being my choice to be home with my children while they are little.

3. If you could, in retrospect, change one thing about your childhood, what would it be? This is pretty sad... but I would be an only child. I can't say one good thing about my brother. (He didn't even call when my children were born. He didn't even see Ellie until Christmas.)

4. If you could dine alone with anyone from any period in history, which person would it be? I could not be any less of a history buff, my hubby is my go to man for historical references. I am college graduate but a Math/Science person.... I have thought and delayed posting this blog in hopes to decide and I give up. I would just love to have dinner with my husband, alone, in restaurant that requires a fork and knife to eat the food, possibly at a normal dinner time, and not feel rushed to hurry home because my kids are fussing or my milk is leaking.

5. If you could be the personal assistant to any famous person alive in the world today, who would you choose and why? OK this again is a hard one. I don't really idolize any one person and politicians are sure to let you down.... SO I am going to have to go with a more practical person. I enjoy Rachael Ray. I don't obsess over her show or her for that matter but what I see I enjoy. She is not overly politically driven and she always is very kind to her guests and audience. BUT mainly she is a great cook. I have know idea what to stock my pantry with or what to buy at the grocery to get the most food bang for my buck. I would also like to branch out and make a meal that includes more ingredients than meat, cheese, and bread. Plus I heard she has a huge wardrobe closet, maybe I could snag a few pieces.

Potty Talk

2009-02-17T16:24:00.001-08:00

Only under the strongest influence of Paul have we re-begun the potty training phase. Each day is getting slightly better than the day before. Today for the first time EVER Emma kept dry panties all day long at school. I was so excited when I picked her up and she had the same pants on that I had left her in! She actually had her first poop on the potty today. It was a hard battle. She woke up early from her nap with a mega case of the grouchies. I insisted that she sit on the potty and try to pee. Well she was hysterical the whole time, I don't want to... I don't want to... So I just left the room. (leaving her on the potty). I needed some time to breathe and I thought she could use a minute to herself. I went back about 10 minutes later and she was really upset. I said Emma you can get off the potty, do you want a snack, blah blah... WAIT a tick.... What is that in the potty? POOP!! YAY! She was not happy or impressed. I explained to her that it was a good thing. She said she needed Tylenol. (I am not sure if going to the bathroom hurt or her head from all the screaming.) When she calmed down she was very excited to hear that Daddy was going to take her to get a toy for going poop on the potty. We have tried to discuss that going poop is a good thing and we should try to do it again tomorrow. If she keeps dry panties she gets to watch TV.

My First "Not ME!" Monday

2009-02-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is my first Not Me! Monday! I am a Not ME Virgin (LOL) The idea I totally stole from my friend Angela who also stole the idea from MckMama. Seeing as how this is my first one I wanted to start it off right with a NOT ME! video.

Ok, I would NEVER feed my child a breakfast food like eggs for dinner. NO WAY! I always make sure she has a balanced meal that includes at least 2 vegetables (green ones at that). AND I would never feed my child directly from the frying pan to save a paper plate! What do you think I am a cave woman?

No I would not take a picture of my husband looking sexy napping and post it on my blog for my million (LOL) of readers to view. (Including his coworkers.) That would be ridiculously humiliating and a total invasion of privacy.

No I did not let me two old dig through my best friend's closet and parade around in her clothes!!! That would be incredibly rude. I never would violate her privacy in such an inappropriate manner.

We always put safety first at our house. My daughter would never ride on the back of tricycle, without a helmet, with her rambunctious three year old cousin at the wheel!
We always make sure our children feel are provided with the highest level of comfort at all times. We would never take a paci from our baby's mouth to get a better picture. NEVER! (and for the record the picture is worse without the paci.)

Happy Monday I hope you all had a wonderful President's Day!

2009-02-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

2009-02-13T17:04:00.000-08:00

Epcot Pictures!

2009-02-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

2009-02-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

2009-02-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

Vacation in a Nutshell

2009-02-11T17:01:00.001-08:00

I am going to have to sum this vacation up because honestly all kinds of funny things are coming to mind to blog about and I keep forgetting them.

Day 2 Epcot

First the weather: Cold, but not horrible and very sunny. First thing we hit the Nemo ride; it was really cute especially the turtle talk with Crush. We killed some time checking out the England area and then headed to Norway for lunch with princesses. Emma was beyond mesmorized! Ellie LOVED Cinderella like leaning out of my arms to her!!

Day 3 Hollywood Studios

Weather: Cold and windy (40ish) We immediately ran to Toy Story Mania. Emma loved it and we only waited about 25 minutes. I came out to find Paul and Ellie huddled in a corner out of the way of the freezing cold wind. (Neither looked very happy.) At this point I was incredibly concerned on how we were going to make it for the rest of the day. OH and Ellie was missing a shoe. (Lovely...UGH). Emma was fussy and cold and so were other adult members of the family. We decided to ahead towards our character meal and try to get in early. The character meal was with Little Einsteins at Play and Dine on Vine St. Emma loved it! She even got to go down and dance with lots of other kids. There were very small crowds so both kids got lots of attention from the characters. We got some great pictures of Ellie with Goliath (a lion from Playhouse Disney). We were totally regenerated after the wonderful lunch experience and made it to Playhouse Disney show, The Little Mermaid Show, and Beauty and the Beast. This ended up being our best park experience in the entire vacation.

Day 4 Animal Kingdom

Weather: Freeze your a** off did I land on the NORTH POLE? (37 with a strong wind). It was down right miserable!!!!! We immediately headed to our character meal and stood in direct sunlight to try to stay warm before our name was called. Well the meal was wonderful (as all of the character meals were) but when we returned to the freezing cold we all were on the fritz. Emma was reaching exhaustion after 4 days of Disney park marathons and the cold was probably pissing her off too! We went to do the Kilimanjaro Safari and Emma fell had a meltdown and Paul said forget we are leaving. I tried to plead the case of "this is our one chance to come here, blah, blah, blah... I lost. We returned to the hotel. Emma took a big nap and Paul was allowed some time to cool down. We ended up going back and doing the safari and catching a little of the Jungle Parade.

Day 5 Sea World

Weather: comfortable (50ish and sunny). We totally rocked Sea World!! The park was just enough to take on in one day. The shows were fantastic and the kid area was great!! Emma got to feed and pet dolphins! Emma called it the best playground ever! They even had sand in the kid area. We got there when the park opened and stayed until we had dinner there!!!!

Day 6 Our Attempt to go to Busch Gardens

Weather: WARM (no really...like 65). We drove all the way to Tampa...went into Busch Gardens and got on the train that circles the animal area. Things were going great it was a really long train ride (almost one hour). When it was time to get off the train... Emma turned into kidzilla and had a horrile meltdown!! That was it for Paul. He pretty much felt like crap from his cold and fussy toddler was just not going to fly with him. We drove back to Orlando and pretty much called the vacation over.

Pictures to be posted next!

Quick Blog About Sleep Training

2009-02-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

I have begun the horrible process of sleep training. With Emma I waited until she was 10 months old, but I guess it is the work of two that has me over the nightime wakings sooner this time. She is totally "ready" to sleep through the night, she is 7 months old and 20lbs!! The kid does not need to eat at night. Last night she woke at 10:00 PM when my head had just hit the pillow. I would let her cry for 5 minutes then give her a paci and pat her back... over and over and over until she finally stopped at 11:15! Well at 1:45 AM I looked down to find myself if the chair in Ellie's room with her asleep on the Boppy! I didn't remember walking in there, but obviously I feed her b/c my breast was still out. Some people sleep walk, well I sleep nurse. I was determined to not feed that little stinker but I FAILED. Day 2 is tonight wish me luck!! This well be the second night in her life she has slept unswaddled and on her tummy. I just swaddled her this whole time b/c we kind of had a routine that worked. Yesterday at bedtime she got really fussy when I went to pin her arms down so I decided to roll her over on the tummy and not swaddle her! My goal is to have her sleeping all the way until morning by 8 months old that gives me 3 weeks.

The Applebys Hit Disney

2009-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

2009-02-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Ok... Some background information... The drama before the vacation: Emma had been very sick with a cough, congestion, etc. Well three days before we are suppose to leave Ellie comes down with the same thing. I called the pediatrician and did some over-the-phone over-the-counter treatment. On Saturday I was so nervous about flying with her that I had to go have her checked out. She was still running a fever and just not herself. Well it turned out that she had RSV and the beginnings on an ear infection. The doctor explained to me that RSV is the most dangerous for children under 6 months and preemies. She was checking out good with her oxygen test so they told me she should be fine to just treat with a cough medicine and antibiotic for the ear infection. My first question was can I fly with her tomorrow? His response was... that is your call??? What kind of answer is that... I can't make a call my judgement is severely blurred my burning desire to take this vacation!!! Just tell me the truth DOC!! Well he didn't and after some "discussions" at our house we were packed and Paul was gone in the car headed to Orlando the next morning. We didn't fly until the afternoon so I spent all day Sunday pacing the floor with a sick baby wondering if I was about to make the biggest mistake ever!! I mean what if her ear drum bursts from the pressure change, what if the RSV progresses and she gets pneumonia, what if all of the above happen and Paul kills me!! Luckily NONE of them happened. She was totally fine on the flight. She even slept through the descent which is suppose to be the hardest part (on your ears).

Day 1 A Cold, Rainy Day in Magic Kingdom
Emma was so excited about Disney she could just squeal. Well as soon as we got to the park we were rushed to make it to our Chef Mickey appointment. So we literally ran in Magic Kingdom and got some monogrammed mouse ears then headed to Contemporary Resort for breakfast with Chef Mickey. Emma's face looking at all the characters is priceless she was in heaven!!! They all received hugs from Emma and even some from Ellie. When we finished breakfast we started walking to Magic Kingdom in "light" rain. We had just enough time to meet Ariel and ride "It's a Small World" before the rain began FULL FORCE. Paul and I looked like wet rats and the stroller was soaked before we finally made it to the car. I felt Emma was cheated from the true Magic Kingdom experience, but I could not talk Paul into going back there. Of the four parks Magic Kingdom is his least favorite. (And that might be a polite understatement)

All of the Ladies before we hit Magic Kingdom. I am not as interesting as what is on TV.

An Early Valentine's Day Smile

2009-02-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

I am totally overwhelmed with vacation pictures and stories to dive into on my first day home. I use the term vacation loosely because there was no resting on this trip. We had a great time despite illness, weather, and your typical toddler meltdowns. To sum it up it will be a cold, rainy day in Florida before I go back there again. (LOL!) We would end up in Florida during a week of recording breaking low temps!! Her a some fun Valentine's Day pictures of my sweet little Ellie!! SUCH A CUTIE!! Just to give you a sneak into my future post... Ellie was recovering from RSV and was still a total angel!!

Sick Kids = Frazzled Mommy

2009-01-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

For all you guys who keep in my loop on crackbook (otherwise known as facebook) already know my Emma has been sick. It started Sunday with a runny nose and mild cough. Well we went to the doctor first thing Monday morning to get a diagnosis of bronchitis. She was up and playing just coughing. Well fever struck us on Monday and has not stopped. Monday night was bad, but not horrible lots of coughing, etc. Well yesterday was Day 2 of Albuterol (a bronochodialtor prescribed to help open airways and stop wheezing). In some cases it causes irritability.... UM YEAH we are one of those cases. I need not vividly describe the horror of my child's actions yesterday. Then phase two of the evil Albuterol struck, the as I like to call, "LOONEY TUNES PHASE." She woke up around 2:00 AMish with all the joys of spring talking like she had been munching shrooms. Even early this morning she was saying stuff that I had no I idea what she was talking about (for example bird cheese?) What the hell is that? Last night she was having phases were the coughing was so bad she sounding like she was verging on vomiting. She was incredibly lethargic this morning and even went back to bed. I started a new medication, Mucinex, around 11:00 this morning. By 1:00 PM I could see a big improvement. She had some personality and was playing before bed. She even had her first bath since Sunday today. (Previous days fever was too high for bathing). Good news is hopefully Emma has passed her worst day; bad news is Ellie has started with a slight runny nose and mild cough. In normal circumstances I would think no big deal, but living the last three days with Emma sick has me terrified. We are so close to leaving for Disney!! (Sunday God willing.) PLEASE PRAY Emma quickly recovers and Ellie is not consumed by this evil plague. I LOATHE THE PERSON WHO WENT IN PUBLIC WITH THIS BUG!! Here is a idea if you are sick please STAY HOME... the general public thanks you!
Amidst all the illness I had to go get my hair done today. It had been over 4 months and with a hopeful vacation approaching I did not want 4 inch long roots to be in all our pictures. Thank God for the most wonderful in-laws in the world!!!! They took horribly ill Emma with no fears! I took Ellie with me... brief moment of insanity. She was actually really, really, GOOD! She sat in my lap for 3 hours. I sang, I bounced, I shook toys, but mostly I prayed. Please God let my sweet little angel not have a horrific meltdown with a my head half full of foil. I ran out the door with a wet head. (I never have done this before.) I don't really know what my hair really looks like because it has not be blow dried and styled yet. Anything has to be better than those roots!
This week has been a true emotional roller coaster. I can't get excited about our big Disney trip because I am so worried about the health of my family. I have had zero time to wash clothes, clean, pack, or prepare to leave in anyway. Sunday will be here before I know it!!! Just pray for healthy kids for me! Thanks for listening to me rant.

Emma's First Haircut!

2009-01-25T07:04:00.000-08:00

Emma finally had her first haircut. I was a little hesitant to cut her hair because well she has been bald over half of her life! It was just really stringy and wild and well needed to be cut. She was so good. She really loved getting her hair cut. When I asked her what was her favorite part she said the sucker. She got a sucker when they were all done. It really doesn't look that different in the pictures (between before the cut and after) because it so wild and curly; in real it life it looks much healthier.

No Dolls Were Injured in the Making of this BLOG.

2009-01-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

Emma really loves her dollhouse. It is a wonderful tool for her to get some creative juices flowing. For instance wouldn't we all love to have dinner in our bedroom? Come on eat, get the sleepies, and the bed is right there. This is Emma preparing for dinner in the doll house.

This is the family getting ready for dinner. It took a little Mommy assistance to get everyone setup but she was loving it!!
Somehow "Daddy" fell one story to the kitchen floor. Luckily he is a doll therefore he was not injured. LOL. (A little really bad Mommy humor.)

Emma's true loves are her cats. The dollhouse is awesome, but it doesn't pur. Colby is chopped liver. He is just a lazy old dog to her. Today for the first time Gnocchi fell asleep in Emma's lap. She was so excited she tried to make a picture with her pretend camera. (I made a real one.) She got a real camera for Christmas but she keeps it in the car and makes pictures out the window.
OK I want to brag on my bargains that I snagged yesterday!! I got Ellie her first pair of shoes on clearance at Stride Rite!! 10.00 bucks for super cute shoes!
Ellie loves her new shoes. She is such a big girl now!! (and they taste yummy too!)
OK another great bargain.... Strasburg Christmas Dress for Ellie next year. Regular price 80.00 bucks, I paid 20.00!!!
Last deal of the day... FREE moisturizer from Dillard's. Thanks to info from Never Pay Retail Again BLOG!! Due to a class action lawsuit in 2004 Dillard's, Macy's, and Saks all gave away free cosmetic products yesterday.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-01-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

I did this for facebook.

1. I am an old spirit inside a young body. Well it use to be young before two kids.
2. I love being a stay at home MOM! It is the greatest gift my husband could ever give me. I know that my kids are only little once and I want to be the one there for them.
3. I think I am just as excited, if not more excited, about Disney as Emma.
4. I love peanut butter. Put it in candy, cake, pie, or on bread and I am in heaven. I had to have it every day of my pregnancy and then I needed at 10 step plan to come off it.
5. I don't really drink, but maybe that is because I have been pregnant or nursing most of my life since I turned 21.
6. I HATE smoking. I am one of those people who will call you out if you are smoking around my kids. I have no problem showing people the no smoking signs.
7. I am anal about my bedtime routine. I have to do the same thing everynight. Wash my face, contacts, brush my teeth, and take my vitamins. Paul laughs because it is like the world will self destruct if I don't do my bedtime routine.
8. I am bossy and pushy. I hate it, but it is what it is.
9. I never have been a night owl. Kids or no kids my clock turns off at 10:00 PM.
10. I married into the best family ever.
11. I have met some of the best friends of my life since I had kids. God gives you these amzing gifts (children) and then they score you some of the best friends ever. They are all unique and I LOVE THEM. SERIOUSLY.
12. As a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist and then I decided the sea water and sun would age me so I decided to do human medicine. Then I decided to start a family. So know I am not sure what I am going to be "when I grow up." LOL!
13. My grandmother was 25 years younger than her husband, maybe it was in my genes. She also raised 22 children, and birthed 11 of them. THAT IS NOT in my genes.
14. I took over 4 years of Latin, because there was no way I could speak any foreign language with this horrible Southern accent.
15. I learned how to drive a manual car before an automatic. Thanks DAD! That was a long day of tears on which I declared I would never drive.
16. As a child I always wanted to go somewhere; as a result my children and I are always on the go. They will probably ask to stay home when they get older.
17. I can go to sleep in less than 3 minutes. (If given the opportunity)
18. As a kid I got a dog to give up my paci at 4 years old. I made Emma get rid of hers at 20 months old and all she got was a Build-A-Bear.
19. I love fresh baked cookies with milk, warm please, oh yeah and chocolate chip.
20. I love my SUV (Acura MDX). I never dreamed I would have a car this nice at 24. I wish I could keep it clean.
21. My locker was always a diaster in school. So were my notebooks. Every year I would swear to be more organized and fail at it, but I always did well with the chaos.
22. I love the way sleeping babies look. It serously makes me feel teary-eyed. Thank God for them.
23. I still have nightmares it is time to graduate from college and I forgot to go to a class all semester.
24. I rate restaurants by the quality of their bread.
25. I love the DVR. I don't know how I survived without it. I watch one Soap. It makes my life seem so easy and normal.

Emma update:
She has done wonderful in her big girl bed; she even napped today. She never gets out once she is in and she asks so nicely for Mommy to come before she gets out! GO EMMA!!!! I LOVE HER!!!

"It's like my crib, but different."

2009-01-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

"THE DECONSTRUCTION OF THE CRIB"

Well I made a big change today. I moved Emma from the crib to the toddler bed. Which really just means I took the crib rail down and put on the toddler rail. I have told her "rules" of sleeping in a big girl bed. The main rule is you do not get out of bed in the morning until Mommy and Daddy come to get you. I have warned that if she can not follow the big girl "rules" that the old crib will come back! This was a very hard day for me one I have dreaded for a long time. I was a strong believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Well lately she has been asking to get in her crib and snuggle with her animals periodically through the day. Which requires I lift her in and lift her out. Today I talked to the pediatrician and he said "Diana, I think it is time!!!" He said he usually recommends children be out of the crib by three. These is primarily because they tend to venture and climb out. Well Emma has never even tried to climb out, but all the same I felt her time had come to "graduate" so to speak. She has been so excited about the big girl bed that several times she has gone to her crib and just played since we changed it. She also told me she was so happy to get to play with her crib toys. It was like she felt those were crib property that could not be removed or played with unless within the confines of the crib. She had panda in the stroller for the first time. He has lived in the crib since Christmas (and had never ventured out). Well she is talking in her crib and she just told Ming-Ming that Mommy will be back in the morning and then we can get out. Then she very quietly said no talking. I hope she goes to sleep and sleeps well, since she did not nap today. I say tomorrow will be even worse for napping.

To add to my day of chaos. I also took Ellie for 6 month shots by myself. I like to take her while Emma is in school that way only one child is at the doctor at a time. Dr. Rawlings is off on Thursdays so I have to take her on Tuesdays. Tuesday happens to be Paul's worse work day so he can't make it. It is seriously impossible to take Emma and Ellie to the doctor because Emma begins screaming as soon as he enters the room, even when she is not the patient. It is literally impossible to carry on an adult conversation with screaming two year old in the background. Ellie is 100% healthy. She was slightly above 50th percentile in height and somewhere between 90-95th percentile in weight. He said to start offering solids twice a day and try to stop feeding her at night. I knew that was coming. She hates all the solids I have offered her. I tried again at dinner tonight. I forced 10 baby spoonfuls of apple on her before she let me know that was all!! She did pretty horrible with the shots. She first had to take an oral rotovirus vaccine which she gagged on and immediately began to scream. The nurse asked if I wanted to try to calm her down before the shots. I said "no, please just get it over." She actually stopped crying by the time we were checking out of the office. She took a nice snooze on the way home and was pretty normal for the rest of the day.

This is Ellie post-bath yesterday. She had no idea what was in store for her today. LOL!

Happy 6 Month Birthday Ellie!

2009-01-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well my baby is growing up! A bit too fast. She is actually 6 months and some change, but who is counting. I snapped these pics with Paul's help pre-bedtime tonight. In her grouchiest state she is still a smiling angel. She was asleep in less than 5 minutes post photo session. Thank God for happy, smiley babies. We have also tried some new solid foods. Once I learn to post videos I will have to share those lovely experiences. She is still a milk girl, what can I say nature knows best!

Strange Happenings

2009-01-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

First of all my toddler has eaten two entire cheese pizzas in 3 days. "Emma what do you want for breakfast?" -- Pizza. "Emma what do you want for lunch?" -- Pizza. "Emma what do you want besides pizza?" --just Pizza! She has always been a persnickety eater but now she has decided she can survive on Blue's Clues Smoothies and Pizza. We are now rationing both. In fact, I think we may have to go on a pizza hiatus.

Next we were driving down the road and Paul and I had a moment where we were searching for the hidden cameras. On Saturday we grabbed an early lunch at Jason's Deli. Well the food was horrible. Paul said the red beans and rice tasted like Krystal Chili with Ketchup on it, and they forgot to "grill" the grilled cheese. I thought my food was alright, but when Paul tasted it he immediately informed me it was at least one day old. The ice cream machine shot ice cream all over the place and they were totally out of vanilla. Well Emma had a hot dog which she had specifically requested and then ate about 3 bites of, which left her still a bit hungry. When we got in the car and Paul and I were discussing how disgusting lunch was when Emma pips up from the back. "Let's just go to Logan's." Paul and I immediately burst into hysterical laughter. Logan's is Emma's favorite restaurant because of the peanuts and bread. I can't disagree the bread is awesome. Paul laughs at me because I rank restaurants based on the quality of their bread.

Next we have cats and dog living in perfect harmony. George is a bit of a lone wolf, but Gnocchi (pronounced Noki) loves Colby. She wants to lay right beside him. He doesn't mine the company as long as the cats remember who is in charge (for now at least). Here are some feline - canine interaction pictures.

It is 2009 and I want a small behind!

2009-01-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

Ok! That is an attention getter! I felt like I should do some kind of Happy New Year blog. I guess it is blog peer pressure. I don't really "resolve" to do anything because I don't need to be a failure at anything. There are some things I hope to accomplish.

1. I want to get my kids baptized. Emma is too big for the family gown, but there is still hope for Ellie.

2. I want to de-clutter my bedroom. You know how "spare" bedrooms accumulate all the junk within your home... WELL we have no "spare" bedroom and our room is full of JUNK! Seriously I would be horrified if anyone saw it! I went to my friend Melissa's house and her bedroom looks ripped out of a catalog. I want mine to look like that!

3. I want to finish a little trimming and tone the old body.

4. Get little peanut (Ellie) sleeping through the night.

5. Get Emma potty trained.

6. Scream less at my kids, or rather kid. Ellie doesn't cause much trouble yet.

7. Pray more and learn more about the Bible than what I read in Emma's toddler version.

8. Continue to love, appreciate, and enjoy all the loves in my life (friends, family, pets..).

9. Smile more! I know it causes wrinkles but come on!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2009. I am in the best years of my life and I am going to enjoy every minute. How about an Ellie pic for fun? This is one of my newer favorites!

Where do I start?

2008-12-28T07:16:00.001-08:00

Well yesterday I got food poisoning. No holiday weight gain here. I am thinking, seriously, I just had the stomach flu like 10 days ago! I loathe thee HARDEES! I am pretty sure a bad chicken biscuit did me in. I am hoping it was food poisoning and nothing contagious to my family.

Well on with the Christmas updates:

Twas the night before Christmas and all through our house two rats were still stirring while Paul knocked them out... NO seriously we have a bit of a rodent problem. Luckily they seem to be confined to the attic but the elimination of them is still a work in progress. Paul has now called in for backup... NO not an exterminator like I suggested, two new kittens. I have to admit they have already warmed my heart. They are brother and sister one is named Gnocchi and the other is George (named from the Curious George TV series). Emma is learning that cats scratch. She got a couple of scratches the first day but things are going better now. Luckily they are very easy going cats. Colby has been great with them (for those of you who don't know Colby is our dog). It took them a couple of times to warm up to each other, but now they are getting along great. Gnocchi really likes Colby she has even tried to nurse on him a few times which is incredibly awkward since Colby is a male. He quickly told her to stay away from his teats. We had lots of great Christmas celebrations.
First we went to Mimi's house (as Emma would say) this is my Nanny's daughter. My Nanny took care of me starting at about 6 weeks old. She is now in heaven but I still stay close with her family. Mimi had lots of yummy Lasagna and fun was had by all! One of is Emma's favorite gifts was her squishy thing. She also got the car that goes with her dollhouse Santa brought. When she opened she said "this is just what I wanted."

Emma and squishy thing. She spotted this at Hobby Lobby a few weeks back.

This is me with Tiffany (Mimi's daughter) we are essentially sisters. I have been around her entire life. I am the pale one on the left with the bad roots, and wrinkles. I am older, but not that much older.After these fun festivities we headed home to prepare for the arrival of the fat man!! Emma was very excited to do all of her Santarol duties :). She sprinkled reindeer food on the yard in the pouring rain. She left cookies and milk on the mantel and two apples for the reindeer by the fireplace. This is all of us sitting on the mantel Christmas Eve, it is impossible to get a smile out of Emma but Ellie looks cute.

Well Santa came and brought Emma her dollhouse and panda and Ellie a jungle gym. Here is a picture of both girls with the gifts from Santa. Emma was really excited about the dollhouse she just is not great with the camera lately. I forgot to mention we ended up waking Emma up at 7:30 because the kid never sleeps in and Ellie had already been up waiting for an hour. We worried that if we waited much longer Ellie would be ready for her early morning nap.

Some presents that brought great excitement:

The mini-stuffed animals Santa left in her stocking.

Horton Hears a Who movie (and book).

A Collection of Curious George stories.

White tissue paper.

Shiny, red box.

There were presents inside those, but lets be honest the packaging is more fun at that age.

The cats! I think this is Gnocchi, can't really tell since she is in a choke hold.

Here is a better shot of Gnocchi.

Here is George playing in Emma's Christmas tutu.

We wrapped up Christmas and headed to my parents house. I made about two pictures and my camera battery went dead. We had used it making video of Christmas morning and it was totallly shot! Here is Emma opening the world's most annoying baby doll from my Mom. I insisted that it remain at my Mom's house. My Dad is video taping in the background.

I forgot to mention earlier that Santa brought me the world's coolest HD video camera. It is tiny! You just point and shoot it is called FLIP. I was so concerned with remembering to take it to Paul's parents that I forgot to change the bad battery in the camera so I have very few pictures from there. I that very end of Christmas there I borrowed my SIL, Diane's, battery and snapped a few pics.

Ellie sitting with Aunt Di.

Emma playing Maggie's new drum with Sean.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I really loved seeing all of our families I can't wait to see them again soon!