Friday, January 30, 2009

Favorite Things Friday

I skipped this post last week like all the others because I was finding it so hard to name things that were my favorite. It was just one of those weeks. Needless to say I am determined to search my soul this week and participate!

So this week my Favorite Things are:

  1. Crossing things off my To Do List. Even if it's one, it's such a sense of accomplishment.
  2. Valentine's Decorations, it makes the windows look pretty.
  3. The smell of muffins cooking in the kitchen.
  4. The look on the girls faces when the got home and realized I baked muffins.
  5. Watching Emma work on her Valentine's homework project.
  6. Seeing Gabrielle recognize me and greet me with a Smile.
  7. Face Book, connecting with old friends is wonderful.
  8. Freecycle, it's incredible for getting things you need and passing on things you don't.
  9. Listening to Emma & Kailee play.
  10. Listening to Kailee tell me the story of the "blue eyed" girl again and again and again.


For more "Favorite Things Friday" check out Tiffany at the boren life

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Thankful Thursday

I skipped this post last week because I was having a really hard time coming up with something I was thankful for, let alone 10 things. I don't like feeling this way and I'm determined to post this week, I'm not sure if I can come up with 10 but I'm going to do my best to come up with something.




  1. My own determination. Without it I'd be lost. I have no choice but to do what needs to be done, and instead of complaining about it, I'm going to embrace it.

  2. A new day. Sometimes I wake up dreading it, and just wanting to sleep and not get out of bed, but I am thankful that I have a new day to dread.

  3. A good report from Emma's teacher. I had my first ever parent-teacher conference. Okay, it was for pre-school but it was still a first. It showed me that she is a good girl when she is not in my company which in turn means I have done a good job in raising her thus far.
  4. A brave Kailee. She tried new food last night. She ate sausage, peppers and broccoli bake! She ate all the sausage, tasted the peppers and the broccoli. Either way I'll take it!
  5. A productive morning. So far this morning in the two hours that Emma has been in school, I cleaned the stove and the oven, squeezed juice out of 11 oranges that Dad sent from Florida, made orange cup cakes, cleaned and decorated the windows, prepared the art supplies for Emma's Valentine School Project and I have a few more things I want to do before resting this afternoon. I'm on a roll.
  6. Friends who understand.
  7. Healthy children.
  8. A husband who gets up and goes to work everyday without complaining.

That's my list for this Thursday. For more Thankful Thursday posts or help in creating your own, please visit Nicole at What a Trip!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Way Back Whensdays



Way Back Whensday is where we get to show a picture or tell a story from way back. Lately with Face Book, I've been spending a lot of time in "way back". I found so many pictures of myself as a child (I wish I knew where the rest of them were). I also started looking through pictures of when Emma & Kailee were little. I am still in awe of how fast time goes by, and I wish that I could slow it down.

My picture for this week's Way Back Whensday is this picture that was taken of Emma after her first bath. It was taken on June 30, 2004.
She was so little! I couldn't wait for all of her "firsts". I was in such a hurry, and now it's gone. I wish time would slow down! We are approaching her first day of Kindergarten. It is incredible how fast time goes by. She was so little here, and I didn't know any better than to just enjoy and embrace it. Now we have full conversations, and she has become so independent, she takes a shower all by herself, she even asked me to leave the bathroom and close the door the other night, I was speechless!
For more Way Back Whensday's please visit:

WordFul Wednesdays

Wordful Wednesdays is a post where we can talk about something we can't stop talking about whether it be a specific subject or a picture.



My Wordful Wednesday this week is about routine. I cannot say enough about routine. Last week for me was great in a lot of ways. It was simplified, I didn't loose my cool too many times, and there was a calmness throughout the house. I loved knowing that the big things were done and I didn't have to rush to get other things done.



The bad part is that I didn't have time to blog, I didn't get laundry put away although it was washed, and I didn't go out aside from bringing and picking Emma up from school. That was not good.



Then comes Saturday and we were out with my husband also, ALL DAY. It killed the entire routine. Not only did I still have to come home and cook dinner cause Lou was starving no one got up to bed until after 9:00. No one got a bath, the kitchen didn't get set up for Sunday, and I didn't make Lou any food to take to work the next day. Which right off the bat means now Sunday is going to start screwed up.. which led to a screwed up Monday and here we are at Tuesday and it's all still screwy. I'm hoping to get back on track tomorrow.



Does anyone have any advice on how to not be so rigid and to add a few more things to the routine? I am really on my own. My husband does not cook, clean or take care of kids so the brunt of it all is on me, he goes to work and will do grocery shopping. I need more hours in the day!



To play along with Wordful Wednesday, visit Angie at:

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Catching Up

It was a great week for me. I found a routine that works, the only problem is, changing the routine, I don't react well to that and it throws everything off, which in turn takes me a day or two to get back on track.

The other problem with the routine is that I need to add more things to it, because I'm still not accomplishing everything I need to do. I need a nap during the day and that takes up time, but if I don't nap I'm so exhausted which also does not help to accomplish anything. Sometimes I also feel that I spend more time doing responsible stuff that when I do take time out to do something for myself it takes away from the other stuff.

I am overwhelmed with laundry! It's never done, if the washing machine and dryer are empty, that means that there are at least 4 baskets of clothes to be folded and put away which is worse than the actual sorting and washing. By the time it's all put away, the hamper is full again!

I have pumping down pat, I am able to pump at least once a day, I'm going to try to add one more to that and see what happens, but as of right now I have a good supply in the freezer and I am able to give Gab a bottle and possibly leave her and go out, aah to dream!

Last week Gabrielle turned 2 months old. Time goes way to fast, it's so out of control and if I had one super power it would be to slow the clock down a bit, I am cherishing every moment of her newborn stage because I know this time around how valuable it is.

I have a great cooking schedule now (I could use some new reciepes/suggestions, the same old thing is getting boring) also, I come home while Emma is in school, prepare my meal and clean up something around the house, then I just pop dinner in the oven when Lou is half way home. The only problem is the fact that Lou and I are eating at 7:30/8:00 and clean up is near 9:00, which is exhausting. Emma and Kailee even went upstairs and put themselves to sleep two nights this week because they were just to tired and didn't want to wait for us to come up and tuck them in.

Kailee had a strange week. It seems that we took several steps forward at the beginning of the week, she is now dressing herself completely, from shirt to socks and shoes, and jacket, she is even able to completely unzip her coat when we come home. I have given her nothing but positive reinforcement, and I am working really hard on my patience with her. Oddly enough though by the end of the week, she was putting her shoes on the wrong feet again, and was forgetting how to get dressed, and she was putting her coat on upside down. Super frustrating! We even had poop issues again, 4 days without going, and needing a suppository, but I am proud to say that she never once asked for a diaper and we dealt with it, and she did finally go, I need to speak to my new doctor because the stress of the bathroom situation is no good for either of us.

We have her evaluation meeting on February 6th, I'm hoping that through this meeting we will find out what kind of occupational therapy she is going to receive and how often, I am also hoping for some advice/counseling for myself so I know how to deal with her and help her when we are both frustrated.

Tuesday was the day that Emma was "pre" registered for Kindergarten, it's a two step process because nothing is simple. We had to go with proof of address and birth and fill out the application, then we get an appointment to come back with proof of address again, and fill out more forms. Kindergarten is full day, that blows my mind. I can't imagine being away from her for all those hours, and I think it's going to be a huge adjustment for her, going from 2.5 hours a day to going to 6 hours, it's a big jump. I'm worried about her eating lunch in school, she is so picky, I'm worried about her having to use the bathroom. It's going to be a new school with a new teacher, and new children, aside from that she is going to go from having 12 classmates to double that, from two teachers to one teacher. It's so incredibly overwhelming for ME.

Tuesday also brought us a new president. I didn't think it would effect me, but I have to say that I swept up and blown away. My daughters were also intrigued and that was incredible to me also. I hope as does everyone else, that this is the change and boost we all need.

Gabrielle has started wrinkling her nose this week, smiling and cooing. I LOVE it! This is why I want more babies, there is nothing like it in the world, it's the best. All of it, even the bad hard scary days!

Some pictures. I also promise to be a better blogger this week!




Friday, January 23, 2009

Quick Post

I haven't posted in a week and I really hate that I haven't posted. There have been things going all week and I've been busy, but most of all I haven't been able to put my thoughts into words. I do plan on catching up this weekend, with all of my posts including the one's I partcipated in last week.

There is so much I want to say but it's not making any sense.

Gabrielle turned two months yesterday, I can't believe how fast time goes, that is part of why I haven't written this week. I will catch up later, she's crying now and Kailee has a stomach ache!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Favorite Things Friday

My First Favorite Time Friday!!




  1. My DVR. It makes my life so much easier!

  2. My Laptop, it also makes my life easier, I can keep in touch and not be on the phone.

  3. The Library. My escape! So many books that I can loose myself in. I get to use my laptop to browse and add the books I want, then I get an email, swing by and pick them up. I'm almost done with my latest.

  4. Clothes coming out of the dryer. They just feel so warm and toasty.

  5. Clean Sheets. I L-O-V-E fresh sheets, they are the best to snuggle into with a good book.

  6. A smile from Gabrielle. She is still so new and they are so rare and innocent. It's enough to give me the strength to continue through my day.






For more "Favorite Things Friday" check out Tiffany at the boren life.