7

Seven... Where does the time go? Happy 7th Birthday to my beautiful little V.  In seven years, our life has changed so much because of the amazing things you have brought into our world.  Not a day goes by that I am not amazed by you.  By your talents, your smarts, your fearlessness, your hilarious sense of humor, your positivity,  your incredible outlook on the world.  Thank you for making me feel so lucky everyday to be your mom.  I promise you, I will never stop trying to be the best mom I can be for you.

November Thankfulness

In the month of November we have always (as many of you also do) done a daily thankful post on facebook.  We started several years ago, thanks to my friend S, and it has become an annual tradition that I really look forward to.  As little V has gotten older, it has been great to see her perspective shift.  This year we are doing it a little differently.
Rather than posting it on facebook, where little V will never see it, we are making a wreath.  A wreath filled with leaves of thankfulness.  Every morning we each fill out our leaf for the day then pin it to the ribbon covered foam wreath.  The wreath is something that we all walk by several times a day and it serves as a daily reminder of how fortunate we truly are.

By Thanksgiving we should have an almost full wreath that we will set on our table, with flameless candles in the center and use as our Thanksgiving center piece.

The morning race

I am not a morning person, that is putting it mildly.  I'm really more of a don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even think about joking with me kind of morning person.  Both V's on the other hand, wake up bright eyed and ready to tackle the day. (We are not too sure about baby R just yet, but it's looking like he takes after the cheery two.)  Because of this combination of 'attitudes,' mornings can be kind of interesting around here.  They usually go a little something like this...

The alarm goes off before the sun rises (why do we do anything before the sun comes up, who's bright idea was that?) and little V happily bounces into our room, "Mom time to get dressed," she says.  I sleepily follow her into her room, where I crawl into her bed and slide under the covers while she gets dressed.  Then I slide out of her bed and somehow find my way to the coffee.  We fry eggs or make oatmeal depending on the mood, make a healthy lunch, get the backpack packed, come up with a hair-do, make the bed, and brush teeth. All the while big V is on baby R duty, diapering and feeding. It is a carefully executed, highly choreographed routine that gets us out the door at precisely 7:25 every school day.  We must never be late, little V, at a young age, has learned the importance of not just being on time but being early, she runs on Lombardi time.  This routine will get her into her classroom at 7:50, allowing her 10 minutes to complete her morning work and squeeze in a little socializing before the pledge of allegiance.

But this morning there was a slight hiccup.  We had the duties at the house covered, we got out the door at the right time.  This was something we never saw coming... a train!

According to little V, it was the slowest moving train she has ever seen.  With every second that passed her voice got  a little more concerned.  It was as if with each passing train car I could sense her blood pressure rising.  "Mom, we are going to be late.  Can't you go around?"  Unfortunately, there is no way to get around the train, our only option is to wait it out.  We can handle this, "we still have plenty of time," I try to explain to her.  I feel her calm down as the railroad crossing lights stop flashing and we begin moving.  But it seems we are not the only ones affected by the train, the back up of traffic into school is longer than usual.  Oh no, here we go with her blood pressure again.  I guess it's not just her blood pressure, someone in a car somewhere behind us honks their horn.  And then, the moment I never saw coming, my sweet little V turns around in her seat and shouts to the car behind us, "I KNOW you are not honking at us! Get a grip buddy!"

I guess I better look online for a train schedule, we don't need that kind of drama in the mornings.

Needless to say, we still made it to school on time, I guess there was just a little less socializing this morning.

 

a Sunday from Scratch

As usual, little V woke me up, yes it was still dark out, but I got up without too much fuss.  Good thing too, as we let the dog out for his morning business we were lucky enough to catch a view of a shooting star.  "Quick, grab a jacket!" said little V.  Onto the deck just in time to see another one!  Talk about a great way to start the day.  With the coffee pot going and the pancakes being made, little V made her very own constellation book.  And so the day began...

After pancakes came the usual Sunday business, news, laundry, dirty diapers, more coffee, baby giggles, jenga, and a trip to the grocery store.  Little V was my sidekick and in the midst of all that we also activated some yeast, mixed the dough, and set it in the corner to rise for what would be a loaf of homemade bread.

Lunch, coloring, homemade pop tarts (can you say heaven?!?), nap time, baked the bread, roasted a chicken, a game of secret spies, made a pot of soup, folded laundry, played outside, watched baby R explore by the lake, had a glass of wine with big V as the sun set, enjoyed an apple-goodness desert, brushed teeth, read books, and bedtime for the kiddos.

Today was the best kind of Sunday.

Oh yeah, we made butter too. 

(Not even kidding!)

a Summer re-cap

Because this blog is a journal for our family life, and because so much has happened in the last few months, I need to take a minute to jot it all down somewhere.  So here is the cliff notes of summer 2012...

School finished for the year, the dance season ended and we headed to the windy city...

Of course, we had to go to the American Girl doll store.  (What a place that is!  Who knew dolls need skateboards, but thank goodness our doll got her hair done!)

We headed out to Camp for the 4th of July.

We hit the beach in Virginia...

baby R's first dip in the ocean!

We packed up all of our belongings and...

have settled into lake life.

Nourishment

I've always believed in the power of breastfeeding, the magic of mama's milk.  I believe it makes stronger, healthier, smarter kids.  I am not, however, one of those crazy 'milk nazi's.'  If it doesn't work for you & your baby, don't do it because in this house we live by the creed "if mama ain't happy-no one's happy."  I enjoyed nursing little V.  she liked but was always ready to move on to the next thing (much like her personality now!)  But this baby of mine, this chubby little ball of happiness, he could be the poster child for nourishment by way of mama.  He get's so excited to nurse, grabs onto my shirt while he's feeding with those chubby little hands as if to say "thank you mama!"  I find the quiet time shared during his feedings are providing nourishment for the both of us in many more ways than just nutrition.  These quiet moments have become moments I really look forward to.  Of course they provide time for baby R and I to build the mother & child bond, but they also provide time for me to be still.  (Still can be so hard when there are two kids, a dog, a home, and a business all needing attention.)  In these  still moments I am given time to reflect, reflect on all of the wonder of our lives - a growing curious 6 year old, a wonder of a happy baby boy, the changing of our future lives, and the deepening bonds of our marriage.  This time when he is small will go by so fast, I want to always remember these quiet little moments of our life right now.  In these moments of reflection I find myself always left feeling recharged and immensely grateful.  Grateful for all of the love that abounds in this little family of ours.  Nourishment in so many forms...

Allowance

Little V has a new interest...money.  Yep, the girl is learning all about buying her own goods.  She wants to do it herself, buy her own toys, hot lunch, dollar spot goodies. There must be some serious recess talk going on about allowance, because little V came home one day with a plan. 
"Mom, what do I have to do for an allowance?"
I held back the, "what-who-how did she find out I should pay her for helping around the house shock" and calmly told her  I would talk to her Dad and we'd come up with something.
So, here's the run down:  little V has to make her bed everyday and do a few easy things on a regular basis (take out the recycling/garbage, load the dishwasher) for a weekly payday.  She can make a little extra for doing big stuff (vacuuming, mopping.) 

So far, I am really enjoying her new found interest...

Family Game Night (and a winner!)

There is a new favorite game in this house, so long UNO! 

Pictionary! 

(Our own homemade version, no fancy cards or egg timers here!)

Little V thinks it's the best thing since sparkly nail polish, even baby R is getting in on the action!

(by the way, don't you just think little V's boots with the dress is just so Molly Ringwald in the Breakfast Club?!?  Big V and I are getting the biggest kick out of this latest fashion adventure!)

And the winner is...

Amy W. is the winner of the kit to make these pendants.  Amy- I'll be in touch, congrats!

aren't they sweet?!?

We are really loving this crazy summer weather in March!  Hope you are spending lots of time outside soaking up the sunshine too!

Just a reminder... If you want to be entered in the drawing to win the supplies to make those pendants, you need to sign up to follow the blog before Thursday night!  Little V will be drawing the name of the winner out of a hat before bedtime!

4 months

Can you believe this little guy is 4 months old already?!?

I would love to tell you that we have fallen into a beautiful rhythm of life with a baby and a kindergardener, but the truth is that everyday we are flying by the seat of our pants (if we remember to put said pants on!)  Yes, things are pretty crazy around here, but this little guy is just about the happiest baby on the planet and we are all really enjoying every single smile and chuckle he makes.

He has gotten so big, so fast!  Aren't those chubby thighs just the best?!?

That super cool quilt he is playing on was made by little V and I before his birth.  A special gift that she presented to him when they first met.

6

 Her constant excitement for life and inquisitive wonder inspire me on a daily basis.  Her endless creativity is awe inspiring.  I love the little person she has become and am so incredibly proud of the positive way she sees everything around her.  Her sense of humor is unstoppable.  Every second I spend with her is an adventure.  My life was changed in the best way imaginable on the day she was born. 

 

Happy Sixth Birthday, little V!

I love you more than you will ever know.

Super Human Strength

It's Saturday night, we have just returned home after a fun filled evening with friends.  The kids are snuggled into their beds, warm and cozy.  The eleven o'clock news is on and I'm anxiously awaiting the start of SNL while nestled warm under the covers.  Uh-oh, I left some bags in the car.  One of those bags contains the breast milk I pumped earlier in the day, other wise known as liquid gold, not a single ounce can go to waste!  I look at my hubby, also warm in bed, and ask him to go downstairs into the cold garage to fetch it out of the back of the car.  What a great guy; downstairs he goes, into the frigid night. 

Then I hear it, an incredibly loud clattering, the entire house rattles.  I can't believe my kids are not wide awake screamin' for momma.  Big V comes upstairs in a huff, throwing on jeans and warmer clothes.
 "What happened?" I ask. 
His response, "the garage door fell down." 
"What?!?"  And then, the response any caring wife would offer to her frantic husband, "is my Yukon okay?!?"  Yep, that's right, I sent my wonderful husband into the cold dark night to fetch the breast milk, the thousand pound garage door falls, and my first concern is my truck...
I am currently accepting nominations for wife of the year.

Somehow, big V managed to lift the door and back my precious Yukon out of the garage, it was parked in the garage when it fell.  (I will always wonder how he managed that, could it have been one of those moments of super human strength in the face of sheer panic?)  For the meantime, our garage door is very 'classily' roped up, appearing closed and functioning. 

The repairman comes tomorrow.

 

Wine

After days like today, wine is the only way to wrap up the night.  In fact, it is such an essential ingredient to the end of day madness that no fancy wine glass is required.

Cheers to you all!

Monday...

It was a very long weekend.  My studio girls had their first competition of the year (they did awesome by the way), we got our first official snow of the year (at least the first snow worth anything), the V's hit the slopes for the first runs of the year, and baby R has his first official cold.  All of this has led to one of "those kind of Mondays."  Appointments, snot, major to-do lists and general tiredness are making for a bit of a blah start to this week.  Not to mention, I haven't even started little V's Valentines Day gift... uh-oh!  I need to focus on all that sunshine outside to snap me out of this!

How is your Monday?  Do you have a case of the blah's today too?

Coneys and memories...

As you drive down the main drag of the town I currently live in and grew up in there is a little place with a big hot dog sign out front. You know those hot dogs with sunglasses on? Yep, it's one of those kind of hot dog signs. The parking lot is small, just like the building, and there is always a car for sale out front. The inside is covered with movie memorabilia and kitschy collectibles. (When I say the inside is covered, I don't mean the cute Max & Erma's kind of wall hangings, I mean every free bit of space on the walls and ceiling is covered with something. I've been going there my entire life and every time I notice something I haven't seen before.) There is only room for a few people at a time, 5 booths and 6 stools at the "bar" total. The menu is simple, coneys, burgers, grilled cheese, and fries cooked up right in front of you. You can also get a Vernors float or a chocolate milkshake with sprinkles. This place is Walt's and I promise you, they serve up the BEST coneys. Coneys and memories...
When I was a kid, every once in a while my Bumpa would pick me up from school. (Bumpa is my grandfather, in case you're wondering.) Whenever I would come out of school and see his red GMC Jimmy, I knew it was coney time. We would always go to Walt's. The order was always the same, two coneys with everything for Bumpa, a coney with no onions for me, and an order of chili cheese fries to share. We would sit and talk about things, sometimes big things like what was going on in my family or at school, other days it was simple things like the weather and when spring would come, sometimes we would just sit and look at all of the stuff hanging on the walls. To me, Walt's was our spot, my favorite place to spend an afternoon with my Bumpa.
These lunches with my Bumpa at Walt's continued through college and into adulthood. If we couldn't get to Walt's, then we run through their drive thru. (The Walt's drive thru is really just a window that opens and a sign on the outside of the building, but it works!) Just a few weeks ago I went through the drive thru and delivered the goodness right to Bumpa's favorite chair.
Nowadays, Walt's is one of little V's favorite spots. We go there whenever she has a half day. The order is always the same, a plain hot dog for little V, a coney with no onions for me, and an order of chili cheese fries to share. We sit and talk about things, sometimes big things like a new baby, sometimes small things like the weather and if it is ever going to snow, sometimes she asks me about all of the stuff on the walls. I hope that Walt's will always be a special place for her too.
Whenever we go I think about those afternoons with my Bumpa, how much I learned on those afternoons, how much I enjoyed those afternoons, how much I now cherish the memories of those afternoons. And I always notice something new amongst the stuff on the walls, today it was a signed Mohammed Ali photo.

Toothless Grins

The breakfast dishes are on the counter, the coffee table is covered with the remains of little V's activities- books, beads, and magic markers, the beds are un-made, the dog wants out, both V's are en route to school, and I am in need of a shower.  But here I sit, with baby R on my lap, making faces and silly sounds.  In return, I am enjoying one of the greatest gifts of parenthood, tons and tons of toothless grins...

Those cheeks are just outta control, aren't they?!? 

What is going on?!?

I do not normally share this much personal information online but this is what it has come to (beware the word uterus is used alot!)  I have many wonderful friends and family members who have been calling/texting/facebooking all week with baby inquiries.  So many in fact, that my iphone needs to be charged by 11:00 everyday!  I love you all, but am getting very tired of relaying the same story over and over, so here goes...

Monday morning at 10:30 I started timing contractions,  by 12:15 I called the doctor.  Woohoo!! But of course, neurotic me, was this really labor?  Into the doctors we went, I made big V come with me, we brought the suitcase, who knows, right?!?  No luck, "go home, relax," says the midwive, "if the contractions intensify, and the rhythm becomes steady then we know it's time."  Then she spoke those magical words, "you will hopefully have a baby in the next 24-48 hours."  Now, how do you not get excited???  We went home, big V went back to work (of course) and I got things ready.  Straighten up the house, pay bills, pack a bag for little V, tonight could be the night!

Tuesday morning, no baby.  Still having contractions, good ones, 5-10 minutes apart but no steady rhythm.  Ok, this may take a while.  The midwive did say 24-48 hours, right? 

Tuesday night, WOW!  These are getting pretty strong, still no steady rhythm.  I bet tonight's the night.  Make sure little V's backpack is ready for school, make sure she has a lunch packed and everything is ready for a middle of the night hospital run.

Fast forward to Thursday morning.  (Yes, Thursday!) Still having contractions...  Does my body know what it is doing?  Have I lost my mind?  Is this really still happening?  I must have one cozy uterus!  Back to the doctor.  "You are having predormal labor," says the midwive. What?!?  "This is a dysfunctional labor, you are laboring with no results."  Ok, I have used dysfunctional to describe many things in my life, but now even my labor is dysfunctional???  You gotta be kidding me!   "You need to go home and relax, your body and uterus are too tired to push you into real labor at this point."  What?!?  Now I can't go into labor?  Unbelievable!  So guess what they do, send me home with a sleeping pill.  Yep, a sleeping pill and a prescription to get a good nights sleep.  The thinking is that this will force my body (and uterus) to relax enough that I will gain the energy to go into labor.  Then more magical words, "you will either begin hard labor after a good nights sleep or (OH NO! PLEASE  NOT THIS OPTION!) you will go into labor whenever it is time."  In the meantime, I ask what should I be doing?  The midwive tells me to relax, do what you would do to relax if you weren't pregnant,  my response?  I would drink a bottle of wine!  (Remember that whole dysfunctional thing I mentioned earlier?)  Of course the midwive laughs (thank goodness!) but strict instructions for no wine.  Home I go, feet up on the couch until bedtime and sweet sleeping pill induced sleep.

So now it is Friday.  I slept well.  (Remember the past few nights were filled with contractions all night.)  Hard labor?  Not yet.  Contractions?  Yep, still having them.  Will today be the day?  Who knows.  As big V reminded me this morning (much to my chagrin) , my actual due date isn't even until the 17th!  Oh lord...

But, did you know today is 11-11-11????  Thank you to all of you who have been texting me to remind me that today is in fact 11-11-11 and would be a great day to have a baby!  I get it!! I think any day would be a great day to have a baby, especially after the week I have had!

Waiting...

We are waiting.  Waiting for newborn toes and naps. Waiting for life as we know it to turn upside-down.  Going for walks, trying to get comfortable, taking baths, knitting, sewing, getting bills paid, preparing the house, but most of all waiting.  These little ones show up when they are ready, when it is the best time for them to make their grand appearance.  In the meantime, we talk about what he will look like, be like, how our life together will be, who will come visit, how little V will help, trying to help her understand life with a newborn, pretending we really remember what it was like 5 1/2 years ago.  Any day, any minute now.  All the while, waiting...

Carving

Like I'm sure many of you did this weekend, we carved our Halloween pumpkins.  This has got to be one of my favorite holiday traditions (despite the grossness of picking a pumpkin with the most 'innards' I have ever witnessed!)  We had a great night carving and just being together, laughing at the pumpkin 'guts' and planning what we would carve.  The pumpkins were carved and ready to be taken to the front porch when I turned around and it hit me,  my little V was washing her hands at the kitchen sink.  (Sounds silly, right?!?)  But there she was, no chair or stool to stand on, not even on her tippy toes, fully able to reach the faucet and soap with no help.  When did that happen?  This growing thing is really getting to be too much for me!  And here we go doing it again.  Maybe this time it will go just a millisecond slower...

Getting out the 'guts'...

Admiring the artwork...

All lit up!

Big V & I did 'pac-man' pumpkins, kinda fun!

Hope you all carved a few of your own masterpieces this weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Beautiful, fall Sundays

Yesterday was the kind of Sunday you dream about, nothing to do but just "be."  The sun was shining, it was a beautiful 60 degrees, and we did a lot of nothing.

Aren't they great?!?

Hope you're enjoying some beautiful, fall Sundays.