sunday eve..

what a great day, we all slept in just a little, Dh more than the rest of us, but it worked out..
I got to make muffins & color with big dd while baby dd slept in with DH..
after a late breakfast we went outside once again to do yard work.. while dh mows the back yard, big dd rides her scooter and we take the stroller for baby girl. it's a good walk, the one we did every night before dh broke his foot.. well, halfway through the walk, I made a phone call and big dd ended up talking to my sister on the cell for about 10 minutes or so, this is a huge deal for her, she never wants to talk to my sister.. made them both very happy, made the walk worth it..

while dh mowed the front yard, we hooked up the sprinker in the back for big dd.. she was LOVING it.. and since baby dd was sleeping, I went and weeded again then sprayed the weeds for me to remove later in the week -- if I have time.. crazy week in this house.. something big every day..
monday - eye dr. appt for big dd
tuesday - breakfast & walk with my godmother
wedneday - baby girl has appt with ent.. follow up appt.
thursday - kindergarten orientation -- I am really worried about this.. but dd isn't.. she is getting more and more excited as the days pass until the start of kindergarten.. (i have more thoughts on this and will post later)
friday - maybe a day for me to play.. also big dd last day of camp...

like I said, crazy crazy week.. who am I kidding? every week is a crazy week lately, but today after the yard work was done, we just HUNG OUT.. we played Barbie pool, sprinkers, swinging on the swing set.. and baby girl was in her swing out there too.. just a great day.. finished up with a vist from my other sister, the younger one and her dog for a BBQ.. seriously, I love grilling out, but I hate hauling all of the stuff out just to eat, then haul it right back it.. still makes dd happy, so we do it.. and a great mystery for me, we didn't even eat in the house, yet my kitchen table is one GIANT mess.. I mean, it was clean last night and most of this morning.. what the hell happened??

okay, the point to this blog post, being a sunday, I was feeling like I should be doing a grateful list, a list of things I am grateful for.. I actually think that this is going to be a weekly post for me.. I think it's the catholic church raising that made me think that I should be doing this on a sunday.. (this thought made me think of my mom.. well, not true, I have had my mom on my mind alot lately, also, the topic for another blog)

so, 10 things I am grateful for..

1. Dh got paid this week, it was nice.. finally being able to pay bills & NOT pull the money from savings... good feeling.. very good feeling..

2. baby girl is sleeping very well at night, not a great napper, but super at night, she still wakes up for a bottle every 3 or 4 hours, but goes right back to sleep..

3. big dd is such a great kid, she is still adjusting to sharing our attention, but really makes the best of it.. and tries really hard to be gentle with the baby..

4. I got some scrapbooking done this week.. just a little bit, like 5 pages, but some time, just for me..

5. I was able to connect and visit with my friends and make plans to do it again.. I am happy about this..

6. time with my family.. today just rocked, we were just together, working & playing..

7. my new camera, this should have been my number one, dh and I found a great deal and we bought a cannon power shot.. now, I know that I should have held out for a digital SLR, but honestly, I wanted something I can put in my pocket & just take photos with.. the stick we have holds like 1800 photos.. and I plan to start taking more and more..

8. baby girl is really smiling.. seriously, big big smiles.. so wonderful..

9. I cleaned up some in the basement, including my scrapbooking space.. feels good to see things cleaning up again..

10.. dh and I made future plans for the things we want to do in the house / yard.. feels good to be hopeful that we can make improvements to the house and still pay off bills.. just a great feeling all the way around..

okay.. DH wants to check HIS email and baby girl is likely ready for her bed.. I am off to finish watching the movie I fell asleep during.. 21 -- it seems really good.. I guess I am just really tired lately..

:) Monique

holy cow.. time escapes me..

I don't know how it happens, but time is escaping me.. I seriously feel like I worry about the world in 3 hour incriments since that is the little ones feeding schedule..
I did get a ton of cleaning done early today.. which means I can either a. spend the week cleaning in the basement while the baby sleeps or b. scrapbook..
I will allow your imagination to fill in my option..

I had a great day today visiting with friends and so did big DD, she had 2 friends here too, but with 3 kids, 2 are 5 and one will be 6, it's crazy & loud.. but the baby LOVED it & I managed to set up my 2007 and 2008 albums and actually get one page scrapped.. tonight I am cleaning up again.. I so prefer scrapping by myself.. quicker and less messy.. so much for scrapbooking being a social activity.

OHH.. the baby is smiling.. it's so cute.. I managed to get her Monday photo of her smiling today.. first time EVER! thrilled me endlessly.. the baby has been smiling for big dd for a while now.. also can report that the baby LOVES the swing, atleast to nap in...

Okay, there is more to report on,but I have a limited time option here, so I am going end and promise to write more on other topics laters..

if I knew better I would have scrapped first and blogged later, but I figured I was so long overdue it was time..

:) Monique

a whole new world..

No secret for my love of Mondays.. I just love the newness of them..
Well.. today was the official start of DH NEW job.. he is commuting to Boston, so he gets up as a NEW time to start his day, I too am getting up early to ensure my time for a shower before the girls get up.. working on his NEW routine and my NEW routine to still get things done..
it will all be changing by the end of the month when DD starts kindergarten... but it's NEW and like anything NEW, there is change.. and for me.. change is really really hard.. I am bumming about how late DH is coming home, but we are working on that.. once we establish a rhythm & routine, things will work out just fine... still change is hard.. although getting a paycheck again will be a NEW change that I welcome...

Tonight DH and I sat down and filled out the paper work for his job, direct deposit, and health insurance.. this will be our LAST month to pay.. WOO HOO... another good thing coming from a NEW change..

I was able to clean all 3 bedrooms, do all the laundry, even if it is not all put away and clean up the kitchen .. also, while baby girl took her pm nap I was able to get in all my ironing for the week for DD & DH.. woo hoo..

I have my list of things to do for tomorrow and I plan to include some fun stuff.. maybe some shopping.. I have returns galore to do.. so we will have to see.. I plan to meet up with a friend and her kids on Friday and lunch on Thursday to show off my new baby, and maybe a wednesday play date with my scrapping buddy.. see, I am fitting it all in.. next few weeks is dr. appts for me & the baby.. so this is my fun week..

photo sort going well -- 2003 is the only year left and I am almost done month sorting.. GO ME!
I did drop off the disposable camera to be developed so I will have baby photos back by the end of the week.... I am so excited.. I truly can not wait.

DH also got a sign on bonus with his NEW job, and we are allowing ourselves some LONG overdue play money.. about 200 each.. including some fun things for the girls... WOO HOO.. see, NEW can be good... I am drooling about the new toys I might buy .. just for me..

Also, Big dd lost her first tooth.. it was a momentous occassion.. she was truly over the moon about it.. the other tooth is right behind it and I am sure there will be more dollars to collect from the tooth fairy in the not so distant future..

If I knew better I would be off to bed. but this photo pile is calling me.. so we'll see who wins..

:) Monique

just shoot me now..

Last post I mentioned that I am organizing my basement.. this includes my scrapbooking stuff.. trying to make the space look pretty to entice us to use it more than we currently do.. so far, it's now working..

one of my major projects would be to organize 9 boxes of misc photos into the correct order and figure out what I do and don't have scrapbooked.. well.. this project is really motivating because I truly would love to print and and begin scrapbooking 2008 photos, especially .. baby photos ...
well.. I did great, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 are organized.. YES, I have a box that is considered like a round 2 box, just stuff that didn't make it into the right spot the first time, portraits, which are stored elsewhere and that sorta stuff.. I am even taking the time to throw away lousy photos, or photos I will never need copies off.. I am also starting piles of photos to give away to specific people and then I plan to just go through the extra stuff and sort through what I can reasonably give away to others too.. I don't need all these photos hanging around..
especially considering there are about 3 more boxes hiding in the back room somewhere..

however, 2002 & 2003 are killing me.. half of them are not labeled, don't know what I have or have not already used and I can't even tell how old Miranda is.. OH MAN this is going to be a long and laboring process.. I must try to find the will to convince myself that this process is worth it.. and it' s not working ...

on a good note, the baby is sleeping sweetly in her swing.. :)

off to do some more sorting..
If I knew better I would never have let this mess get as bad as it is...
:) Monique

a month

baby girl is officially a month old.. that is as of yesterday.. we celebrated in style too.. we bought some mini-cupcakes, which big dd got to eat and sang to her like 3 times.. sorta neat.. we did this for big dd too.. sorta a custom for my husband..
I need to take a photo of the baby with her frog, I plan to do this every month.. I also need to get her professional portraits done soon.. as in .. saturday or maybe in friday.. will have to wait and see what the time brings..
her appt. with the ENT about her breathing was promising, basically, her reflux is aggrivating her immature skin covering the larynx, there is a fancy name for it..but I can't say it, let alone spell it.. but she should will all likelyhood, out grow the problem.. we just need to keep an eye on it and see how things progress.. controlling her reflux is more the big concern.. we have taken very pro-active steps to help with that too.. we switched bottles from Avent to Dr. Brown.. a good friend gave me the dr. browns.. they are excellent and even cost less than avent bottles.. both work well, but for this baby, dr. brown bottles work so much better.. we use gas drops in her bottles which help a ton and we are also using a natural herbal supplement called Gripe Water from Tiny Tummies.. it's AMAZING.. if you have an infant with colic, bad gas, reflux or even hiccups, this stuff ROCKS... you can use it for older kids & adults too.. basically it is made of ginger & fennel extract and it settles an uptight belly.. whatever it really is.. I LOVE IT.. to me.. 7.49 is a an easy price to pay for liquid gold...
she is growing well too.. she currently weighs 9lbs and 7 ounces... growing super well..

Big DD is also going to kindergarten.. we got the letter in the mail today.. she has morning K and goes from 9 am until 11:30 am.. she will be taking the bus.. she is thrilled to just SEE the building this weekend..and we get to go in for orientation on the 21st, it was the time of my 6 week follow up with my OB.. but we can change that.. this is clearly more pressing.. we have started getting things together.. making sure that there are new clothes being bought. school supplies (MY PERSONAL FAVORITE) and just getting ready all the way around.. I think the highlight so far was buying new underwear.. she was just starting to outgrow the older ones.. so time to replace them.. she thought it was just a great back to school thing.. sorta funny.. I plan to get her hair trimmed, if not deeply cut this weekend.. we will see how things progress..

also, DH has some very very good offers of employment on the table as of right now... I don't want to jynx anything.. so I will limit myself and what I will say.. for now..

we are planning a special day out with Dad tomorrow since he won't be able to do much for a while.. atleast not during the day.. we were going to try and go away on vacation, but the baby is just too little and I think waking up a few times a night will be rough on big dd, especially in one hotel room.. we will have to see what comes up..

I am posting this so that I have official start date of the project.. I have a TON of photos.. literally, a ton.. I am sorting through and purging the junk and the photos I don't need or already scrapbooked.. I am tired of the piles.. I want to get his project done as soon as possible because I won't let myself print anything from the baby or this year until this is done.. sorta SUCKS, but it is a project that really really MUST be done and I will feel great once it is..

baby girl is sleeping peacfully in her swing, for the first time, normally, she cries and hates it.. so I am going to take avantage of the time and go make formula for her, clean the kitchen and then come sort photos.. sounds like fun...

If I knew better, I would be going to bed early.. but it's still so early and I have so much I want to get done... oh well.
:) Monique

worst mommy in the world

a post originally written on Thursday of last week..
The worst mommy in the world...
That is how I felt last night.. being consistant and following through is hard.. Let me explain,
older dd has begun to show signs of jealousy.. we are working on spending more direct time with her and being more patient with her.. she has rough hands with the baby, praising her for the good stuff is really working well..
anways, when DH got home from his interview (which went well) I handed off the cranky little one so that I could make brownies with big dd... well, she opened the box and I told her not once, not twice, but 3 times and DH even told her NOT to open up the bag of the mix.. well. .being 5 can be tough and last night, it was... she did not wait for me to get the scissors like I asked her too, instead, she opened up the bag and sent the stuff flying.. EVERYWHERE... might not have been so upset if 1. she had listened & waited for me.. and 2.. if I had just JUST washed the floor that morning..
she was really upset when I said that we could no longer make the brownies.. she didn't listen to my directions and she paid the consequences.. it hurt me more than it did her..broke my heart to see her so upset about it too.. but sometimes, you just have to follow through on what you say..

updated note..
we did make the brownies on sunday morning while little dd took a morning nap and DH slept in.. we also played 4 board games and drew pictures.. it was a good time.. probably better than if we had actually made them on Thursday.. She has what she thinks is 2 brownies in her lunchbox, but it is really only one -- but in half... (gotta love the little kid mind set)... and we had a great time together.. a really great time.. just the two of us...

I do know better this time.. I still would have stuck to my guns and NOT let her make them... sometimes.. it just stinks being a responsible parent..

:) Monique

3 weeks already..

My baby will be 3 weeks tomorrow.. is that possible?? she is cute, but has a lot of gas.. we are thinking it might be from her medication, but we are not sure..

I want to do a big post, but will resort to bullet points..

- she is a strong & healthy baby.. she is focusing more and more.. she picks up her head and uses alot of muscle strength to move / throw herself around.. sleeping okay at night..

- big sister is feeling some jealousy, still working on making her the big focus.. harder to do as the baby is getting bigger and needs more direct attention... working on patience and being gentle..

- working on cleaning up the house.. planning to do the Fly lady cleaning method thing tomorrow.. 27 fling boogie.. throw away 27 things around the house.. could be ANYTHING.. just pitch it and move on.. then box up 27 things and give them away... totally on my list for tomorrow.. 54 things out of my house would be a serious blessing.. the more I try to pitch stuff away, the more I realize that DH is a HUGE pack rat.. I corrupted him...

- I want to scrapbook, badly.. I want to print new photos my baby girl and get them into an album.. which I don't actually own yet.. but I want to do it... badly.. DH needs to get his *hit together and get me photos downloaded so I can do that..

- still trying to the 5 things a day list -- it works as long as I am reasonable about my goals..

- my incision is healing well... still get sore from time to time, but doing well.. (seriously, in my next life, coming back as a daddy.. they get to sit more, hold the baby more and do a whole lot less laundry)

- need to look up some simple recipes for cooking.. getting tired of the same old same old menu..

off to do laundry, empty dishwasher, bathe the little one and then watch Hannah Montana.. OH SO THRILLING.. make big dd bed too..

:) Monique