No Where Else I Would Rather Be!

My job is not glamerous and in the last 24 hours I have been covered in and cleaned up more vomit then I care to remember. But, as I look at my sleeping babies (you know Lilly is sick when she naps) I know that this is where I need to be. With them - taking care of them. I was up most of the night with Lilly - it breaks my heart to see her sick. She asked for a bath at 2:30am - so there I sat rubbing her back and washing her hair at 2:30 in the morning. The thing that is most important to me is that my girls know that I am here for them and I believe that they know that. Like I said my job is not glamorous - I have done 8 loads of laundry in the last 48 hours and I am OK with that. I am fine with the fact that I have given up having the material luxuries that I once had. We still have more then what we need. Right now I am the best gift that I can give them.

I am grateful...
To be home with my girls - even thought I have moments that are very tough (and make me want to go back to work)
That my mom brought me everything I need to take care of my sick babies (so that I did not have to leave the house)
To John for sleeping with Anna and taking care of her last night so that I could care for Lilly

Grateful

I almost forgot..

I am grateful for...
1. The quite hour I just got!
2.John cleaning the carpet - I am strange - that dirty carpet makes me crazy!
3. That we have family so close and that we see them often!

A Quiet Week

I have not written for a week and definitely need to catch up! Last Sunday Uncle Justin watched the girls so that John and I could go to dinner ALONE!!! We have definitely not been doing this enough. It was a wonderful dinner at The Ritual a pub/restaurant right near our house. We walked over and had a yummy dinner and some drinks! We definitely need to get out just the 2 of us more often. Monday was a teacher in service day so no school for Lilly - she was still as she puts it "a little sick" and no speech on Tuesday because of Veterans day. On Tuesday we did have out family pictures taken by a great photographer and mom www.sarahjayne photography.com - she has a few previews up. After pictures it was off to Chuck E Cheese with Jess, Les, and the kids - they had a blast. I love CEC because the big kids are now old enough to play without us having to watch them every second! Wednesday was back to school and Thursday was gymnastics and playgroup (we hosted). Lilly has moved to the "big girls" gymnastics class - no more mom in class! It is good for her to be with the big kids and her friend Lily is in the class. After gymnastics we headed home and some of our friends came over. It was a small group but the kids had a blast! We went to Soup Plantation with my parents for dinner and the girls went through 3 bowls of Mac and Cheese - you would have thought I hadn't fed them in days! Friday was school and play time at Jess and the boys house after. We had a restful afternoon and then Uncle Justin came over for dinner. I made Passoli and it was so Yummy! Saturday I had a craft fair (not very successful, but fun) and Saturday night Uncle Justin took all of us to a great new Mexican Restaurant in South Mark - El Camino. It was his thank you for all of the home cooked meals that I make him. The girls were both amazing at dinner! They both ate and had A+ behavior - I actually got to enjoy my meal. Today is Sunday and the girls and I went to church - actually we went to music class and play time at church - I had every intention of going to the service after music, but my little ladies had their own ideas. I had a nice time talking to Courtney and the girls had fun. Then we were off to Grandma and Grandpa's for breakfast. My mom made pancakes, but Lilly decided that she wanted left over Venetian "noodles". She is a funny girl. We hung out with my parents for a while and Lilly stayed with my mom while I went to the grocery store with Anna. From there it was off to the Heffington's to meet up with Daddy and play with the cousins. Anna and I left early because she needed a nap BADLY and John and Lilly stayed and went swimming. Now I am having a few minutes of quiet. My grocery shopping is done for the week, my menu is planned, my house is clean (good enough), John cleaned the carpets - the man knows how to make my happy, and I only have 2 loads of laundry to do! I am ready for the week. I have a craft show tomorrow night and I am hoping it goes better then Saturday! Anna should wake any minute so I better get load 1 of laundry in.

On The Mend and Mom got a night off!

Well it looks like everyone is on the mend! I still feel good - thankfully I never got the bug that John and the girls got. I am a little tired from Anna wanting to get up at 3 am. We finally let her cry it out and even after 30 minutes of crying/yelling she went to sleep. The crazy thing is that Lilly's bed is 3 feet from Anna's crib and she never woke up. Kids are amazing! I took the girls to the Zoo for a few hours to let John get some rest. He let me go back to sleep earlier in the day and I was very grateful. We did not get a lot of rest this week. After the Zoo we relaxed and I brought some clips to So Childish and then I got ready to go out. Lilly decided that she needed lipstick and brought be a "beautiful headband" to wear - she is such a sweet and loving little girl. It makes me smile that her favorite thing to see at the zoo is the snakes and she likes to wear lipstick. She is a well rounded kid! I was so excited to go to a nice dinner with Jess and Diana and we had a great time. It was nice to have a glass of wine and a nice meal and not be worried about or feeding someone else. We did talk about the kids a lot, but that is our life! I am off to bed because at the rate things have been going I will be out of my bed 3 or 4 times tonight!

I am grateful..
- That John knows that me getting out with friends and having a break makes me a better mom
- To have wonderful friends to share a meal with
- That my kids are feeling better - seeing them sick breaks my heart

2 Puking Kids and a Clogged Sink

That sums up the last few days. Both girls have been sick and the kitchen sink is clogged up! The plumber is coming tomorrow (John tried to fix it to no avail) and it looks like the girls are on the mend. I feel like the last few days have been some sort of initiation into motherhood. I have been a mom for 3 1/2 years, but I have never had to care for 2 sick kids at the same time. It is one heck of a balancing act! I love my girls so much and it is so hard to see them suffering. Lilly was begging me for food - poor little girl. She spent much of today on the couch with her barf bowl (her cute hair in pig-tails) looking so tired and telling me "I'm sick mommy - I don't feel very well" - my poor little girl. Anna was feeling much better today. You could tell because she was bugging her sister. She kept sneaking into their room while Lilly was sleeping and pulling on her covers and laughing. The last few days also reminded me how grateful I am to have my family so close. My mother-in-law has been here a few times this week and my mom brought me grocery's this morning. They have both been wonderful. I have had a long few days, but I would rather be home taking care of Lilly and Anna then anywhere else. Being there mom is the best (and toughest) job I will ever do. I was watching them sleep tonight and the amount of love I have for my 2 little girls overwhelms me.

The Sick Family

Everyone except me is under the weather! John's bug started on Sunday and Anna was grouchy by Sunday afternoon. Lilly seamed OK until she puked all over the floor of McDonald's on Midway right after I picked her up at school. I was trying to keep the girls out of the house so that John could rest - no such luck! I am hoping that I will not get it, but only time will tell.

I was watching Anna walk around the house this evening. She is so confident! She can get down the back step into the back yard and she is SO fast. I have to keep the bathroom locked all the time because she wants to get into the bath. It is so cute watching her little 17 pound 10 month old body walk like a little person. She is one determined little girl and she knows what she wants (and she lets us know)! She is growing up so fast.

I also wanted to post a yummy recipe that I made yesterday. I actually made it in the morning and kept it in the fridge until dinner.

Corn Casserole

3 large eggs - separated
1 2/3 cups milk
2 1/2 cups corn
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 small onion chopped
3 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional - 3 cooked chicken sausages (I used the chicken apple from Costco) - This makes it more of a meal

1. Grease a 2 1/2-quart shallow casserole dish and preheat oven to 350
In a medium bowl beat and egg yolks and milk for 1-2 min. - mix in corn, 1 cup bread crumbs, 3/4 cup cheese, onion, butter, and salt (and sausage if using).
2. with an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff - fold egg whites into the corn mixture - scrape into casserole dish - top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs and bake until golden brown - 45 min

A Busy Week

It feels like Tuesday (the last post) was so long ago. On Tuesday Lilly started Speech therapy - her teacher said that she did good for her first day. I am assuming that it will take a little while to see improvement. It is hard because I (as her mom) understand almost everything that comes out of her cute little mouth. She is in a class with 4 other kids and they also work on behavior with them. She goes at a local public elementary school and I drop her off for 1 hour. She was not at all apprehensive about me leaving her there and that was Great for me! During that hour I ran errands and Anna slept. After I picked her up from "speech school" we went to have lunch with Jess, Jack, and Luck. It is our Tuesday tradition since Lilly and Jack no longer go to the same school and have very different schedules. We had fun with them until Jess had to take Jack to school. We had a relaxing rest of the day with a trip to the park.

Wednesday was my Dinner exchange. I love the dinner exchange. You make a bunch of 1 thing and get a bunch of different dinners. It is great. Anna had so much fun playing with her little friends. Grandma Mary came over in the afternoon and took Lilly to the park.

Thursday was gymnastics and playgroup. Lilly and I are doing mommy and me, but next week she is going to try the big girl class. After gymnastics we went to Halloween Playgroup hosted by Christine. We all had a blast - she is an amazing hostess and Lilly did not want to leave.

Friday - Halloween!!! Lilly had school and then we came home and visited with our neighbors Marge and Grant. Lilly and Grant played and then we got ready to hear over to the Castagnola's annual party- we had a blast trick or treating with friends. It was a wonderful evening! I will post pictures of my little pirate and Dorothy.

Saturday daddy took the girls to the beach and I got to go to Dim Sum with Karina and then come back to a quiet house. I worked on Clip Fairy stuff - sent out a big e-mail about our holiday clips and so far 4 new orders!!! I love our clips!!! My dad and Justin came for dinner and my dad brought yummy pizza and salad - I did not have to cook!!! It was a nice night. My mom is in Kentucky picking up her new puppy - we can't wait to meet little Posie.

I am grateful for..
-having a husband who gave me a much needed break today
-the aprons from my wonderful cousin Emma (I wear them all the time)
-my girls - they might drive me nuts sometimes but they are the light of my life

2 girls 1 room

We have been waiting for this day for a long time - 10 1/2 months to be exact! The girls are in THEIR room - Anna in her crib and Lilly in a twin size bed. It has been 2 nights and so far so good.

Imagination

I love 3 year old's imaginations. Lilly is very into dressing up, making up stories, talking for her dolls/animals. I love listening to her. The things she says are so funny and enlightening. Tonight she was running around the house with a pool noodle pretending to put out a fire! She loves to hide under the covers and make a cocoon or pretend she is hiding from monsters (she is not afraid of monsters). I love playing dress up with her. She has a wide variety of things she likes to dress up as from being a wonder pet with her cape (www.babypop.etsy.com) - (Dori and Jess if you read this I am getting these for the boys for Christmas), to being any number of princesses, a bumble bee, etc. It is so cute how she makes John and I dress up with her (I need to get a mommy size tutu - I am going to break hers). Listening to her play with her doll house makes me laugh every time. I love the innocence of childhood!

Bates Photo's

Here are some pictures of Lilly and Jack through the years and the girls this year. I need to dig up the one when they were babies.

Bates Nut Farm

I Love Bates Nut Farm! I have been going there for years and taking Lilly every year since she was born. We always go with the Castagnola's. Jess and I have great pictures of Lilly and Jack every year (except this year - they did not want to cooperate and neither did the babies). We will have to settle for them being in the same picture. At one point I asked Lilly and Jack to kiss and Jack was screaming - "Lilly don't kiss me" as she pulled his shirt in an attempt to get him close enough to kiss. It was something I wish I had on video. The only problem this year was that it was HOT!!! It was 80 degrees when we arrived at 9am and 90 degrees when we left at 11:30. I don't think that the heat helped our photo taking. This is a tradition that I love and that we will continue to do, well forever! It was so nice to spend the day with wonderful friends at a place we all love - even though we were all way too hot!

PS - The girls wore the adorable Pumpkin Dresses my friend Connie made - too cute!

I am grateful..
-for wonderful friends - Jess, Joseph, Jack, and Luke are such an important part of all of our lives
-for traditions - they make life that much more special
-that my girls are asleep in their room together - it took a while to get them both in there and sleeping through the night

A Wonderful Day

We had a wonderful afternoon and evening. John and the girls got back from the pool and Anna took a nap while Lilly watched an "episode". Uncle Justin came over and we all went to So Childish for a wonderful Halloween Party! The kids had a blast and we got to hang out with the Slakoff and the Yates families. After the party the Courtney and her boys joined us for pizza and after pizza we walked over to our favorite ice cream shop The Daily Scoup (they have the best ice cream). Lilly and Kegan were so cute dressed as a Pirate (Lilly) and a Power Ranger (Kegan). By the time we finished our ice cream the kids ran back to the car and were ready to pass out. It was a great day!

I am grateful

-for my siblings - they are the best gift my parents ever gave me - they are so special to me, John, and the girls and I feel so blessed to have them in our lives

-that I got a break today - I love being with my girls every day, but once in a while I need some alone time

-for the clip fairy and Leslie - It is a fun little business and I am glad that her and I do it together

- for my new computer (a gift from my dad)

Flash Back to March 2008

I wanted to post a few pictures that were taken back in March 2008. A wonderful mom and photographer Sarah http://www.sarahjaynephotography.com/ too some pictures of our little family. It means so much to me to have such wonderful pictures of the girls while they are little.

Lilly turns 3!!!

Lilly turned 3 on July 7th 2008! She had a princess party, but all she cared about was the Jumpee. That girl loves to jump (and so do most of her friends). The pinata was also a lot of fun. When all of her friends left Uncle Justin got out the Slip and Slide and Lilly, Daddy, and Uncle Justin had some FUN!!! She had a wonderful party at my parents house. They always host her party and we are so grateful to them for their generosity.

Here is a flash back to July 4th 2008. We always go to the Castagnola's to celebrate the 4th and finally our kids were old enought to have their own float. They were so cute.

Craft Fair Fun

Today Connie (my new friend and great dress maker - www.chansler.etsy.com), Leslie, and I did a craft fair at the ZLAC Rowing Club. We had a great time and sold lots of hair clips and dresses. It was nice to get away from the house alone and be around adults for a few hours. I also got to come home to an empty (and a little messy) house because John and his mom took the girls swimming. They both LOVE the water. Tonight we are going to a Halloween party at So Childish www.sochildish.com Layla the owner loves Halloween so I am sure it will be a great party. Uncle Justin is going with us and the Slakoff's will meet us there. I am so excited!!!

The Beginning

I have wanted to start a blog for a while but was intimidated. I have been reading blogs by other mom's and decided that this was a great way to put my memories into a concrete format. I want to remember all of the things that my girls are doing. This will allow me to look back. They grow so quickly. They change every day and I want to remember everything. Lilly is 3 - almost 3 1/2 amd Anna is 10 months. I am in awe of my girls every day. They are so sweet (most of the time) and innocent. Lilly is so full of life. Anna is changing from a baby into a toddler (much to quickly). Anna is wakling and trying to talk - she does not want to be a baby. She wants to be a big kid like her sister and she is making that happen.

Another reason for this blog is for me to keep a "gratitude journal". I want to remind myself what I am greatful for and I have so many things to be greatful for.
10/24/08
I am greatful for
-my wonderful husband and girls
-my mom (the girls and I had a wonderful lunch with her today)
-living in a beautiful place and having a home
ok I could go on and on, but I am going to say 3 things each day...