First Day

Off to 1st grade!

How Much Stuff...

Can a 2 year old fit inside a toilet? Let's see...

6 mega blocks

1 can of shaving cream

1 mustard squeeze bottle from the kitchen set

1 plastic cup from the kitchen set

1 Polly Pocket

2 Polly Pocket outfits

1 Spiderman monster truck

1 King (from Cars) Plymouth Superbird diecast

1 toothbrush

1 large coffee mug from Walgreens

1 book (5 Little Monkeys)

1 box of Q-Tips

Sometimes it's best to let sleeping toddlers lie...wherever that may be!

From My Daughter

I love Mom because

I love Mom's meals.

I love Mom's breakfast.

I love Mom's cookies.

I guess that means I'm a pretty decent cook!

Packing A Better Lunch Box

One night as I was packing Ashleigh's lunch box for school, I realized we were completely out of paper towels. What to do, what to do? Ah-ha! Back in the depths of the kitchen drawer, was a stack of cloth napkins long forgot about. They had been banished to the back of the drawer after my Mother accused me of being pretentious for using them one night many years ago for supper.

What began as a temporary solution has now become a permanent part of Ash's lunch box! Not only does using the cloth napkins cut down on waste, but it helps reduce our consumption of paper towels. And as a family of six, disposable paper products is an area of the grocery budget I'd like to rein in a bit more.

Even though I'm not much of a seamstress (read - I can't sew AT ALL!), I'm thinking it wouldn't be too difficult to find some squares of fabric and make cloth napkins on my own. I could probably even hand stitch the edges. I sense a new project in the works!

Container Garden - Getting Started

The kids and I took advantage of the beautiful weather today, to get started on this year's container garden! We're probably a month behind in getting our seedlings started, but such is our busy life :)

Today, we put the seeds for the organic Roma Paste tomatoes and Genovese sweet basil in toilet paper roll seed starters. Originally I thought about using a fish tank as a greenhouse for our starter rolls. But I found the rolls actually fit nicely in a large, plastic salad mix container. Once we get some more organic soil mix, we'll get our heirloom Rouge de Grenoblouse lettuce seeds started. Plus I'd like to pick up some green bell pepper seeds or seedlings.

Can't wait to get our little garden started again this year!

Happy Birthday Clayton!

Clayton Turns 4 Years Old Today!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy,

With the biggest brown eyes and the most delicate of souls.

I'm so proud to be your mother!

Happy Birthday Ashleigh!

Ashleigh Turns 6 Today!

Wow! It is so hard to believe that my dear, sweet surprise blessing from God is turning 6 years old today! I still remember every moment of your pregnancy. From rushing off to Target to buy a pregnancy test and being so nervous I couldn't pee! To being absolutely speechless the first moment I saw your face.

My daughter, you are simply the personification of joy. If there's any good to be found in the bleakest of days, you will find it. You will love it and live it to its fullest.

Though you have grown and life has changed, I still feel as I did six years ago on that snowy January afternoon - so undeserving, yet so richly blessed to be your mother!

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,

Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,

You never need to carry more than you can hold,

And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,

I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,

Yeah, this, is my wish.

- My Wish by Rascal Flatts

Happy Birthday Reed!

Today, my baby turns 2!

I'm still trying to digest the fact that my BABY is 2 years old! It seems just like yesterday we were on a mad rush to the hospital wondering if we'd make it in time. As fast as you arrived, it seems like you've grown even faster. Someone told me the other day, to not lament for the past but to enjoy the current stage. It is true the present brings it's own gifts. But just know my big boy of 2, when you fall off or out of something, when big brother refuses to share trucks, cars and trains with you and when big sister banishes you from her room, Momma's arms are still here just like when you were a baby.

All I Want For Christmas

Is my first black eye!?!

A fateful meeting between big brother's head and little brother's face while playing. Luckily Daddy was home to ice the little guy down. Momma was too busy freaking out and worrying about possible head trauma LOL! Certainly made for some memorable Christmas pictures.

Looking Back...

Christmas 2004

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2008

My how they've grown!

Back Home

Thank you all for the prayers! Reed was able to come home from the hospital yesterday morning. He made it through Thursday night without needing any oxygen! We have breathing treatments to do at home over the next few days, but he is very much back to his old self! As soon as he and Dave got home, Reedy ran from the car over to his tricycle and started playing!

Monday morning we have a follow up appointment with our pediatrician. Since this is not the first time Reedy has experienced the wheezing and signs of respiratory distress, we'll discuss what it could mean long term. But we're so grateful he's back home and on the mend!

Been Awhile...

Seems like I've been away forever! I was planning on blogging about a recent trip to Goodwill as a Frugal Friday post, but that will have to wait. This morning, Reedy was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. Last week, he came down with a cold that seemed to have subsided. But yesterday, he started throwing up and as the day progressed, his breathing became labored. He's had a few episodes like this before. So when Dave took him to the pediatrician this morning, we expected they would send us back home to continue what we had been doing like before - Tylenol, vaporizer and fluids. But after the breathing treatments at the ped's office failed to raise Reedy's oxygen levels, they sent him straight to the hospital.

Thankfully, his chest x-ray was clear (no pneumonia). Most likely its some sort of viral infection. His oxygen levels were back up into the high 90s, but the ped said he would probably need oxygen overnight. We're being told he could possibly be released tomorrow. However, the ped wants to see him make it through a night without needing oxygen. So it could be Saturday before he's released.

Please say a prayer for my Reedy Pooh. It was good to see him getting back to his old self - smiling, laughing and talking. But I just wish he was home.

The Week That Was

And boy, was it ever a week! Last Tuesday, Ashleigh started kindergarten full time - if you're keeping score, this is like our third "first" day of kindergarten LOL! We were all a bit nervous and anxious that day. I could barely concentrate once I got to work. And couldn't get back to Ashleigh's school fast enough. But to my relief, I found her having a ball on the playground with the other after care kids under the careful supervision of the coordinators.

By the time Dave got home that night, I was just a ball of emotion. It was our anniversary and I ended up crying on his shoulder much the same way I did on our wedding day. It wasn't necessarily because I was sad, it was just such an emotional day. All the anxiety that had built up came rushing forward. It just felt so good to have survived the day and be back in his familiar arms.

Ashleigh is still adjusting to kindergarten. She thoroughly enjoys after care (she gets to do her favorite thing - the playground), but is nervous each day about the cafeteria. She told Dave she gets grossed out by seeing other people eat with their mouth open (you would think with a 3yo and 1yo brother that kind of thing wouldn't be shocking LOL!). Coupled with the noise and the teacher trying to get her to eat more of her lunch, its been pretty stressing. We are continuing to talk to Ash on our end and Dave even spoke to the teachers about it, but they've been less than helpful. I know they have other kids to attend to and this is probably just part of the adjustment, but we were under the assumption that school is a team effort between the parents and teachers. We thought they would want to know about something that might affect how Ashleigh performs during the day. But I guess now we've labeled ourselves as "those" parents (the over-involved, pains in the you know what). But this is my baby and if just one little hand on the shoulder and "Are you doing okay, Ashleigh?" will help to get her over this bump, is it really too much to ask?!?

Work was/is tremendously busy. We are in the process of implementing a new computer system. While the new system will make my job less tedious and more streamlined, for the month we are running parallel with the old and new systems. Which means double the work - how fun! The new system does bring some benefits but it also means the elimination of one of my dear friends' position. I know he is moving on to bigger and better things, but it's kind of bittersweet. Add all that to having to prepare for our "big" hospitality and meeting for our members and helping to cover the front desk (yeah, I'm versatile LOL!) and it's just been crazy.

Please tell me this gets easier!

First Day!

Well, we survived the first day of kindergarten -- with most of my sanity still intact! It was quite a wet morning. I knew it was going to be rainy, but I was figuring on some light showers. It was actually a full fledged hurricane! So needless to say, we were all pretty soaked by the time we made it from the parking lot to the building.

Once we arrived to Ashleigh's class, we were happy to see one of her teachers from the Early Start program. We gave Ashleigh a hug and kiss and she went right on with putting her things away. Strictly business as usual. Dave & I kind of stood there waiting for a bit more to-do, but the teachers gently suggested we go. They are really adamant about the parents not lingering. I didn't think we were lingering in a bad way LOL!

The first day was actually an observation/evaluation day. Everything went well except at lunch time one of the teachers told Ashleigh she couldn't bring her organic snack bar to lunch because it was like candy??? So much for my stockpile of free organic snack bars. Last night we went back to find out the final classroom assignment. Ashleigh's teacher is actually the same teacher that evaluated her for the Early Start program. We also had a nice chat with the teacher's aide. She picked up right away that our last name seems Polish but is actually Lithuanian. She even speaks a bit of Lithuanian herself.

I feel really good about the teachers and I know Ashleigh is handling everything just fine. But the whole process brings to mind a saying from one of my favorite shows, "foolishness and mayhem". It's so overwhelming! There's so much to buy (more supplies and now community snack!), so many forms to fill out. But if you fill out a form for one thing, you still have to tell ten other people because the office doesn't communicate things to the teachers. Uggghhh! It all has my stomach in a knot. I felt like I came away with more questions than answers.

I really don't know if I'm ready for kindergarten!

Stuck In The Middle

Between a beautiful little girl who dreams of butterflies, fairies and ponies. And a rough and tumble little firecracker who doesn't realize he's just a baby, is a sweet, gentle soul with big brown eyes - our middle child, Clayton. He loves everything with wheels - cars, trains, bikes and planes; and balls - football, basketball and baseball. Sometimes he's off saving the world and flying through the air when he's Super Man or Spider Man. Other times he's lightning fast like his favorite movie character Lightning McQueen. But he's always our Clay - cautious, sensitive and sweet!

Since Ashleigh started successfully pottying at 3yo, we thought maybe it was time to give it ago with Clayton, since he's 3.5yo. We hyped up the potty as best we could and Clay seemed very excited to give it a try. So we went out and bought a potty with him and his own big boy undies. As expected, on Day One there were some accidents and some tears. We tried to give him as much praise and encouragement as we could, even when he just sat down on the potty and did nothing.

By Day Three, all heck broke loose. I came home at lunch to drop Ashleigh off from school. Clayton was sitting on the potty crying and my Mom greeted me with saying she would rather be out working in the field picking cotton than dealing with Clayton and trying to get him to use the potty. I was more than a little upset and confused, especially since she was so excited we were finally getting him out of pull ups. And now she's telling me she would buy the pull ups herself if she had the money. And if we get him a potty book like some woman on TV then he can use the pull ups and the potty?!? Hello??? These are the same pull ups he's been going in for the past three years, what makes you think a book would get him to stop?!?

So now here we are several days removed from the incident with my Mom. I'm still a bit upset and saddened by her attitude. But if she's not willing to help then we'll just work on potty learning during the evenings and weekends when we're home. And then there's the issue of pottying itself. Clayton cries continuously if we put him on the potty. Physically, we think he's ready. But emotionally, there's some stumbling block there that we're having a difficult time overcoming. Which has bought us to the conclusion that maybe Clayton isn't ready just yet.

I imagine it has to be a struggle for Clayton as well. Part of him wants to use the potty and be a big boy. He does ask to use the potty. But then there's a greater part of him that's very fearful of the change. Because of his sensitive nature, we have to be careful about how much we push him into new things. Change can be overwhelming for him. And learning this new skill is the biggest challenge he's faced in his life.

Of course part of me worries that he's going to be behind and might even go off to kindergarten in diapers...{sigh}

Kindergarten Here We Come!

Last month, Ashleigh said goodbye to the preschool and teachers she'd come to know and love. It was a sad moment for me as well. Watching my baby "graduate" and taking those steps off into the big world. Now comes Kindergarten. With larger classes filled with unfamiliar faces and making friends all over again. Packing lunches, checking daily folders, filling supply lists, this is all new territory for me. And there won't be anyone there to grab Ashleigh up as she walks into the classroom and give her hugs and snuggles like at preschool. They won't know just how special she is.

To help ease the transition into big girl school, we enrolled Ash into an Early Start program at the elementary school. It's sort of like Kindergarten Lite. It's a half day program where they work on social and early literacy skills. She'll get to know the teachers and aides and become familiar with the new routine. It will also be good practice to help get our morning routine down before school starts in the Fall.

Monday we begin this new journey. Ashleigh is taking it all in stride. She has a great ability to adapt to new situations quickly. And I'm confident she'll be successful in the classroom and enjoy going to big girl school. She's much braver than Momma when it comes to taking on new challenges. As for Dave and I, we're still trying to wrap our minds around the carpool routine - pull up, drop kid off and then drive away?!?!? Of course she'll be there with the teachers aide and the other carpool students. And they will escort them to and from the classroom. But really, leave my baby at the curb?

Gettin' Our Hands Dirty

Over the long weekend, I decided to create a fun, hands-on learning experience for the kids by planting our own container garden of tomatoes, green peppers and sweet basil. In my head, I envisioned a mini science lesson of sorts. Starting out with worksheets about plant growth and the identifying the different parts of the plant. Pretty ambitious for 5, 3 and 1 year olds I know LOL! While it didn't quite work out that way, I think the experience was a lesson in and of itself.

Ashleigh & Clayton filling the pots with soil

Reedy came over to check things out

Poor baby also got a big mosquito bite on his forehead :(

Sampling a little of the soil. It's organic, right?!?

Group shot!

Experiencing one of God's little creatures

Clayton's turn to hold Mr. Earthworm (I have no idea why he's sticking his tongue out! LOL!)

Watering the plants

More silly faces!

The Ickies Are Back!

2 out of 3 babies in our house are sick. Those are not good numbers. Reedy has developed what seems to be a respiratory infection. He was congested all day yesterday but then got increasingly fussy and distressed as the evening went on. I held him - he cried and cried. My Mom came out and held him - and he still cried and wheezed. I felt helpless. It was after hours at our ped's and Dave was still at work. My Mom was getting emotional too because she didn't know what to do for him either. I called the after hours nurse and she suggested warm liquids to break up the congestion and keeping him under a vaporizer. After drinking a bit of warm apple juice, he seemed to improve. He played with Ash & Clay for awhile, then came back to my lap for more snuggles. Not being able to get comfortable in my lap, he took his blanket and laid down on the floor by my feet and fell asleep.

As we were dealing with Reedy, Ashleigh started complaining of a sore throat. She also felt a bit warm so I gave her some Tylenol and put her on the sofa with a pillow and blanket. As Reedy would cry, Ashleigh would start whimpering. I tried to reassure her that her throat would be okay with rest but to no avail. At this moment, I was feeling totally overwhelmed with two sick little ones both needing of my attention.

Dave finally arrived home bearing gifts for the kids - cookies n cream ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and marshmallows. I quickly sent him back out for a vaporizer - ours mysteriously disappeared from its last known location and some ear drops just in case we were in for a bad night again with Reedy. To add to all the commotion, as I was looking for the ice cream scooper in the drawer, I accidentally cut my finger on the carrot peeler. Ouch! That seriously hurt and is still a little sore this morning.

I just get so stressed and concerned when any of the kids is sick. They are usually so playful and going a mile a minute. It's hard to see them hurting in anyway and not acting like their usual selves. Doubly stressing when it's two sick at the same time. And of course, my mind goes through a million "what ifs" and worst case scenarios. Thankfully, Clayton is doing okay. Except he has developed a strange affinity to the dust pan. He insisted on sleeping with it the other night. And when I came home yesterday evening, he was still playing with it.

My First Mother's Day

Today brings back memories of my very first Mother's Day. We actually found out we were pregnant with Ashleigh (our first) the Friday before Mother's Day 2002. After waiting a week to make sure I was "officially late", we rushed out to Target on Friday night for a HPT. Then waited another hour because I was so nervous I couldn't pee! LOL! But the results were instant. Before I even sat the test down on the counter, two lines! We were having a baby! That Sunday, we went to Mass as usual. At the end of Mass on Mother's Day, the priest gives a special blessing for all the mothers in attendance. So I stood up, looking not even the least bit pregnant, and received my blessing. That was my very first Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! Be sure to give those little blessings extra hugs and kisses today.