Rumble

Perhaps, judging by the amount of yelling happening in my house, the adults should have staggered the start of their diets...

My baby sister...

got married!


This is Sarah and her Joe. Congratulations and I love you guys! ~:-D

Christmas at Our Place

This year we had Christmas at our place. It's been a lot of fun! Nana, PopPop, and Mo (aka Neil) came up from VA to visit us. I love my family (but I seriously miss my sister)! I thought I'd continue my recent blogging style and offer you a holiday in review.

Connor, Nana, and I made a gingerbread house together. It was from a kit, but I bought some extra candy to use. This was so much fun. Of course, nearly the entire thing had Connor's licked fingers stuck on it. And yes, by the end he was as hopped up on sugar as he looks.

I... ehr... Santa brought Michael a huge Toblerone. This is a source of contention in our home. Let me ask you. Exactly how long can a Toblerone sit on your counter before you have to start eating it?

Clara got all of her favorite things for Christmas. Nana and PopPop brought her pretty shoes and a purse and Santa brought a doll baby, stroller, and Elmo. She spent Christmas day literally doing laps around our house pushing the stroller. She immediately started growing a circular bruise on her forehead, the result of falling over into the stroller as she tried to load her baby into it.

My sister made these awesome dolls for Connor and Clara. I'm so glad I finally got that sewing machine to her!

Connor got lots of good inside play toys. Here he is with the dominoes Nana and PopPop brought. He can't quite do them himself (no patience), but Nana would set them up while he played and then call him over when the time came to knock them over. His eyes would just light up and of course he would immediately say "Let's set them up again!"

We've had a great Christmas! I hope you've enjoyed yours. Have a happy new year! ~:-D

Moma...moma...moma...

Another blog I frequent had this clip on it... I had to share. This is so my life sometimes!

So silent...

here in blogger-land! I haven't abandoned you, I've just been working really hard to get ready for convention. That's right, I am going to Denver for Stampin' Up!'s yearly convention. I am sooooooo very excited. I've been working hard on making card fronts to swap. I haven't done that many, but I am seriously squeezing out every last second I have. I have 20 more I have to make (for organized swaps), and then I can do the fun stuff. Hopefully I will get some serious time in the next few days (even if it means a little less sleep)!

Connor started school on the 5th for the summer. He's starting to like it. The first few days were a little rough for him I think... no bad reports from his teachers, just a seriously grumpy little boy at pick-up time. The last few days he has been happy and even answered a few of my standard mom questions (Did you have fun? What was your favorite thing today?). He was very happy today. He got to sit next to his best buddy at lunch! Unfortunately, we found out T was in a different class on the first day of school. That might explain a little of the grump.

Clara has been a shrieker for the last few days. She's just not a happy camper unless we are outside running around the yard. Okay... sometimes she is happy running around the kitchen. I think her second top tooth is breaking through again. I hate how they pop out and then disappear again! Anyhoo... at this time Clara looks like she's been in a fight. We were outside when she decided she could walk down our front stairs without any help. I figured she would stop, like she's always done in the past. Imagine my shock (and horror) as she stuck her foot out into the abyss. She got soooo lucky! She caught the first step with her face. The edge was right under her nose. Then she flipped and landed sitting up-ish. She banged the front of her head a little, but she was wearing a hat, so her skin stayed intact. That fall could have been so bad... that's all I want to think about that.

On another note, I'd like to ask for some prayers for our family. Michael's right on the edge of getting orders. The wait is driving me crazy. We are also in the process of some other big decisions. These will have a MAJOR affect on our family (hopefully all positive). There's just some pretty big things brewing for us and heavenly guidance is required. Thanks!

OMG...

It worked! For the last, well, few months I guess, we've been having a really hard time getting Connor to stay in his bed at bedtime. This is a never ending source of frustration for me... I really get upset when he won't stay in bed and giggles and wakes Clara and plays in my room and... it's been lovely around here. We tried moving his bedtime around in case he just wasn't tired and we tried threats and laying with him and ignoring him... nothing has worked. Finally I may have hit on something. He has a little buddy who lives down the street that he just loves. Every day, it's "Can I see T? Can T come over our house? If we go to park, will T be there?" Well, T goes to bed at the same time every night and stays in his bed. So this evening while we were eating dinner I talked to Connor about it. He had said something about being like T (probably about "pre-skoool") and our conversation just naturally flowed to bedtime and how T behaved the night he stayed with us. Anyway, Connor did not get up tonight. I just realized it. A full hour later and there hasn't been a peep from him! Normally the cats are meowing to him and the doors are opening and closing upstairs... but not tonight!

We also started something fun tonight. I have long since tired of Curious George and have been looking for some more substantial books for bedtime. I get a little overwhelmed in the kids section so I finally decided to just start reading him the books I loved when I was a young reader. So, tonight we began Charlotte's Web. I am so happy! I remember just loving that book! It's great because the version I bought has the same pictures as the one I read. I love how a book can give you a warm feeling and remind you of the best parts of being a kid... well books do that for me anyway!

I got a fun treat for mother's day. Clara waved bye-bye while going "Buh!" in the same tone we say "Bye!" It was so cute. She was in the swing at the park (becoming an everyday thing now) and just started doing it. About a week ago I had found my copy of What to Expect in the First Year and that was one of the skills she "may even" be able to do. We really haven't done much of that with her (it's amazing the things you "forget" with the second that were so important with the first) so we had a little session of waving bye to daddy. That was it. Now today she started, and undoubtedly impressed with the reaction she got, she is sure to continue. She has also moved to standing a lot more frequently. I just keep waiting for her to just start walking. She's going to be so much fun!

Well, I need to do some work on my mom's mother's day gift... I know, I'm a slacker! I have the greatest idea for her though, and I really want it to be perfect. I called her today, and we had a good talk (I love our Sunday phone call!) and now I'm really missing her... I think a visit may be in order next month. I just need to figure a better way to drive down there. I need to pick a spot on this end to stop... or maybe I can still stop in our normal spot and make day 1 the long day.

Anyhow... I guess I've blabbered on long enough. There's a ton of other things I could write about (like my killer shopping trip yesterday), but this is a long post with no pictures! Not really my normal style. I don't think I could make it longer without a shot of my beautiful kiddos! So, I guess I'll say ta for now!

Home again, home again...

jiggity, jig. Yes. We made the long trek to VA and back this past week. Wow. Long drive! Actually, down was horrible (we decided to do it in one day YIKES!), but up wasn't too bad. The kids did sooooo well. I of course had a secret weapon. LeapFrog! I bought Connor the handheld version (he got the TV one from Nana and PopPop for Christmas). We broke it out after lunch on the way down. Connor was thoroughly entertained most of the trip. His greatest pleasure came from turning it off and on. Clara slept the whole way home. The trip down was rough for her... especially the last few hours. She was not loving life restrained in her seat. Poor kid. I decided we would fly down for future trips. That may be flexible (like I said, broken into 2 days it's a pretty easy trip). Thank God for my sister though. She flew up here to drive down with me. It gave Michael piece of mind and saved my sanity!

While in VA, I attended Stampin' Up! Regionals (so fun!) and my upline meeting. That was good for mommy sanity and inspiring use of the stamping supplies I seem to be hoarding. :-) I got to go to church, which was good. It was nice seeing faces I've missed. I really miss the preschool and nursery. Connor and Clara are so at ease there. Clara was exceptionally calm. I didn't get the usual anxious look from her. That was nice. Connor had so much fun! Other than that we pretty much hung out and, oh yeah, we closed on the house! Yay! No more worrying about a mortgage payment each month. :-D

We had a little fun by going on an "adventure" as we are now calling them. We visited the Norfolk Zoo. Last time I was there, I was working a USO event (military family day). That was a long time ago... they've renovated since then. It was a good trip.

My favorite animals of the day were the prairie dogs. We came up on the back of the exhibit, so the first thing we did were stick our heads up through the plastic domes in the exhibit. They were running all around us. It was impressive enough that Connor stood and watched for a whole 30 seconds or so. That is an eternity for him. It was neat.

Here is proof that I was actually at the zoo with my children. I'm in a picture. :-)

At the entrance of the zoo there is an awesome fountain that the kids can play in. Fortunately it was warm (almost hot, actually) so Connor, who had been asking all throughout the park, was able to play in the water. He was scared at first to go into the rushing water. After being encouraged strongly, and nearly thrown in by Neil, Connor made the plunge. This is him being talked down afterward. He was a little freaked out by getting so wet so fast. After he realized I was not going to be mad, he had a fine time with "Mo" (Neil). They were both soaked in the end.

And here are my beautiful babies. They tolerated one of mom's photo sessions fairly well.

I guess I should wake them. Nap time is a wonderful thing, especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but I guess it would be good if they were tired to sleep tonight! ~:-)

Hi there...

how are you? I been a little neglectful of my blogs recently. There's always something else to do! My parents came up last week for a visit. It was good. They visited our new church and we went to the aquarium twice! Connor now wakes up asking what adventure we're going on today. Very cute. Clara has a second tooth (which pushed through while they were here) and now, judging by the little sleep I got last night, she's working on some more. Here are some pictures of our adventures.

Eating at Mystic Pizza. I think this will be a stop every time they are up. It's really good pizza. (and I had extreme self control!) Of course Clara had to eat too! Unfortunately she's a little to young to appreciate pizza, so she had so green baby food and sweet potato stars.

Nana and Pop-Pop with the babies. Connor wasn't very happy to have to stop for a picture. He was constantly moving from one exhibit to the next the whole time we were there.

Connor was once again being restrained for a photo op. The series of these is great. He started throwing a fit, but Nana started tickling him. In the end I got this great picture of the two of them.

Connor and the beluga whale. The whales are so pretty.

After eating out so much this week and not being as diligent about journaling my food, I assumed I would not have a great loss this week. (Last week I actually gained 0.6, so I was a little bummed) Boy was I surprised on Saturday morning when I lost 4.6. Turns out I wasn't eating enough the week before. Hehe. Funny how that works. I felt full, so I stopped eating, but my baby feeding body wasn't really being fueled. I can tell you I'm going to miss all those extra points when I wean her all the way! Anyway... I also had a great non-scale victory (NSV) this week. I had to dress shop for the sub ball on Friday... I totally zipped up a size I've never worn in my adult life. I wouldn't say it zipped easily, and there was some serious vanity sizing involved, but still... I had a moment. Wow. I think I said that about 20 times... and I still am. I am so gonna be hot... er... healthy. ~;-D

Crying

Yes, I am. Right now. The short of it is, we are selling our house and I am sad. After many months of waiting to find tenants, we have decided to "get rid of it". We want to be able to buy a house in our next location with no problems. We want to have some savings left. We think it will be the easiest thing. Only now that we are in the process, it is real. Boohoo. Two days after we closed on that house I found out I was pregnant with Connor. I was finally able to have colored walls in that house. I was pregnant with Clara there. I was a new mommy twice there. Basically, that house is our home. It's where we became a family. I am sad.

Michael just called (he's on duty). I told him how I was sad. He said, "I'm not. It's time to move on." Men. He doesn't get it. Or he's in denial and will have his own moment in a while. Right.

I feel the need to post pictures of my beautiful babies.



I took advantage of the sun reflecting off the SNOW to take these. I'm trying to take a page from Ali and be happy with my somewhat fuzzy, but beautifully naturally lit photos. I didn't even wipe the ketchup off of Connor's face. I wanted real. Boogers, baby food, dark circles, marker, ketchup, and all. Those are my kids!

Beautiful blanket!

My beautiful sister sent me a beautiful blanket! It is so warm and fuzzy! It is heavy too... perfect for when I get chilled up here in the frozen north. Connor loves it. He's been touching it ever since I took it out of the dryer. Clara isn't too keen on it yet - she's a little restricted by the weight of it, but I have the feeling she will come around. Mmm... I love a warm blanket! Here are the babies cuddled under it:

Another year... another holiday season down.

Hello! I do live, although barely! Hehe. I am of course joking. It was a very busy week at our house this week. We had both sets of grandparents, an aunt and two uncles visiting this week! Not everyone was staying at our house (that I don't think I would've survived). Fortunately we have a hotel on the same street as us... very convenient for guests.

Michael's parents arrived on the 22nd. We had a good little Christmas with them. Then my parents, brother, sister and Joe arrived on the 26th. We did local stuff - visited the Nautilus (first nuclear submarine) museum and went to Mystic Pizza (yes, like that movie with Julia Roberts) and we did a day in New York City. We opened presents and ate the most Chinese food ever (there are leftovers in the fridge). Overall, we had a decent time. Here are some of the highlights.

Santa brought Connor a mini-trampoline. Little does he know it was really a present for momma!

Clara was so cute. She got a ton of toys. The good thing is, she will play with them. Toys were wasted on Connor as a baby. Of course, Clara would have been the most happy if we would have let her eat the wrapping paper she tore off.

It's "pooperman"!

This is Connor and Gramdaddy about to go down into the Nautilus. Connor was excited to get to go down in the submarine. Ever since we toured the Texas months ago he has wanted to go "down the hole". He was very disappointed when we picked up Michael and didn't go to see the boat.

My love and I. Lady Liberty is in the background.

Radio City all pretty for the holidays.

One word of advice for any of those who wish to see New York City. Don't try to visit the same weekend as New Year's. It was a sea of humanity. It was crazy packed with people. We didn't really do anything while we were there... the lines were insane. Of course, I enjoyed just walking around. I discovered that it's a short enough trip to go there just to shop. How cool is that? Of course, we need renter's before I can think about shopping again. *sigh*

Well, that's the short version of the last week. I hope your holiday was good! ~:-D