October 2003 Moms and Kids - II

[Renrel]

Just a quick post, to make sure it does not sound like I am letting Gabe dictate our IVF decision. I do know he is only 4 and that he is not equiped to make this kind of a decision. But DH and I are also ambivilent about another kid and our major reason for going forward is wanting Gabe to have a sibling. But Gabe has stopped asking for a sibling ages ago and when he did ask it was more about whne he would "have a baby" like his friends at school. He has in recent months indicated that he does not want one, at all. And he is so used to having all our attention and so out of sorts when he can't have it that I am really worried that he will view a sibling as a bad turning point in his life when he "lost" his parents. I know this is a worry that most parents have when the contemplate the second child but it still has me concerned. That is of course on top of the how can we handle another when we can barely handle or lives at the moment questions.

[Renrel]

Mityrd - how is your nose? I don't understand how parent can make it though the toddler to school age period without either breaking a nose or a jaw. It just seem inevitable the way the jump in to and out of our laps and such.

Jen- I can understand worrying about your kids when they are with other people, particularly at a beach. I am sure they will be fine but you can't help but think, What if? Enjoy your trip. :)

I hope everyone is feeling better at your house. You are brave to take on Easter dinner on top or your school, work and home responsibilies. I hope it goes smoothly.


This morning Gabe was wearing DH slippers so I pretended he was DH and asked him what he was going to do at work today. Gabe thought for a moment and that said he does not to go work. He learns how to teach his kids. He explained that he meets people and learns things all day and then comes home and sits with his kids and teachs them about what he learned. Then he corrected himself to say "his kid", and than again to say "our kid."

Interesting what he thinks of our lives and how they revolve around him.

Purim is Thursday night into Friday. I have bought snacks for Gabe to put into packages for his school friends to celebrate and brought books into school to explain the holiday. If possible I will take him to hear the megilah read on Thursday night (the story of Queen Ester which is the theme of the holiday) but it is hard enough on a work night and with the move coming up I don[t know if it will happen. It would be nice for him to see such a fun service though. He has only been to high holiday services which are rather dull for a kid. Purim is loud and noisy with people in costumes and you are encouraged to make alot of noice everytime the name Hamon (the bad guy) is mentioned.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: That's cute that Gabe thinks you spend every day learning new things to teach him.

mittyrd: How's your nose? When's Sam's surgery?

I'm hoping all the illness is gone from our house. I thought we were safe as of yesturday. Mia stayed home from school, played and rested and then we went to see the Easter Bunny (which Mia loved and Ayla hated) and to dinner for my birthday. Everything was fine until 11:30 last night. Somehow I could hear Mia crying (her room is down a long hallway and her door is closed). I went to check on her and she had gotten sick again. I had to wash her hair in the sink while DH changed her sheets. I spent yet another night in her bed. Keep your fingers crossed for a quiet night tonight.

Ayla's vocabulary continues to crack me up. Our neighbor stopped by the other night. He's an elderly man who is fairly overweight with a large white mustache and white hair. Ayla just stared at him while DH and I talked. As he left, she said, "Bye Santa." Our neighbor didn't hear, but DH and I cracked up.
She's been throwing a ton of fits lately. Today I told her she was driving Mommy nuts. The rest of the day she told everyone, "Mommy nuts. Daddy nuts." If she only knew how true it was.

[mittyrd]

Erinn: Happy Birthday!!

As he left, she said, "Bye Santa." Our neighbor didn't hear, but DH and I cracked up.

LOL!!

My nose still hurts although it is getting better.

Sam's surgery is on Monday :( I'm trying to prepare him that he's going to the doctor on Monday and he keeps saying "I no want go doctor!!" He asked me if I would stay with him :( Poor Sam. Matt will probably have the harder time dealing with daycare without him though. And I'm the one who will need a sedative....

[AlisonCO]

mittyrd - I'm glad that your nose is feeling better. I will be thinking of you all tomorrow - I hope that the surgery goes well and quickly! Hope mommy-Jake day was fun.

erinn - It sounds like we are leading the same life re. sickness. I thought that we were finally better but this morning Caitlin vomitted once - this has all been going on for a month!

jenyfer - Hope that you are having fun!

Renrel - I hope that you all had a nice holiday and got some packing done. Have you been to the IVF class yet?

We had a nice Easter - the kids had so much fun looking for the eggs - I think that we re-hid them 4 times throughout the day. We had to do it inside becasue we got a ton of snow last night. Aidan got a foam sword, doggy doctor playdoh set, a huge book with disney stories from the bunny.

Hope that you all had a fun weekend!

[mittyrd]

The surgery went fine. Sam was the best little boy in the whole world. He didn't cry or whimper once even though you could tell he was so scared. Mom cried though when they put him to sleep. The surgery took an hour and the doctor said the hernia was bigger than he had thought it would be. But it's all fixed now. Sam is very sore and not his usual happy self but wasn't too cranky. I am so glad it is over.

[jay&erinn]

mittyrd: How was Sam's surgery?

Alison: I hope the kids all get better soon- I can't wait for Spring weather! Maybe that'll chase away the germs.

Easter was nice, but exhausting. Saturday both sides of the family crashed our house so we ended up feeding everyone lunch and hung out most of the day. Mia was playing the Wii bowling against my brother and kept beating him- it was hysterical to watch. Yesturday we were at church by 7:30 am. Mia was really good and Ayla was a handful (big surprise). We came home and the girls found their baskets and the eggs. Everyone spent the day here and we had dinner with all the family. I think the last people left about 7:30 last night. At least my house is fairly clean since we had no choice last night. There was Easter grass all over the floors, plus the food from all the kids, so we really cleaned. Ayla got a new baby doll and lots of Elmo/Zoey stuff for Easter (Thank you Target $1 bins);) and Mia got polly pockets and a new game for her leapster. Overall it was a really nice holiday.

[Renrel]

We are now, finally, living in our new house. The move was horrible. It took the movers all day and two trips to move our stuff and there are still a few things that need to be moved, trashed or taken away. I took off Friday and we packed Friday through Saturday (going to bed Sat at 3:30 and waking up at 7:00) and I though we were most done but when we started moving there was still so much junk that was not packed. The mover left around 6:30/7:00 and we had no food in the fridge. We ordered a pizza and devored it. I can't find Gabe's box with his bedtime stuff but at least his lovey did not get lost and he did not ask for anything I could not find for him last night other than flavored water. (I put a splash of flavored water in his night water.) We overslept this morning because we set the alarm wrong some how but I had anticipated having trouble getting in in the mornings and changed my schedule about a month ago so that at least I would have no meetings until 10. So I was late but no one missed missed me.

I will do shout outs once I have more time.

Gabe is doing great so far with the move. It helps that all his friends, other than an adult upstairs neighbor and a cat, are through his school near where I work, so they are not changing. We just get to make new ones near by.

[AlisonCO]

mittyrd - How is Sam doing? I am so glad to hear that the surgery went well.

erinn - Are you all finally well? Sounds like you had a nice Easter. I hit up the Target $1 bins too - last week some of the stuff was only .50 so I got the kids some bags of little bugs for the sandbox and a paint a pot kit.

Renrel - CONGRATS on being in your new house! Moving is always such a nightmare so I hope that the worst is behind you. Glad to hear that G is doing well.

We are all well, finally healthy. Last week was Spring Break so I am looking forward to Aidan being back in school this week. Caitlin is in a difficult stage right now so hopefully some one on one time will help, plus I need to catch up on some phone calls (so hard with both of them home!)

Hope that you all are well!

[Renrel]

Glad everyone had a nice Easter. I need to start preparing for Passover. I don't know what that means at the moment since all my pots and pans are still in boxes and I don't know where half of my pantry stuff is in order to gather it and hide it away until the holiday is over but I will need to do something.

MItyrd - Is Sam recovered? Everyone else doing well?

Erin - When do you finish the class you are in? Is this the last one?

Alison - Glad everyone is well and that Easter was good. Thanks for the congrats. I am so bad about phone calls and the such with just the one that I am not sure I have any friends left to catch up with. :o


DH spent all of yesterday dealing with the cable/phone/internet connection (and they did not assign us the same number as they promised so I still have to deal with that) and getting the rest of the stuff out of the apartment. His mom called him and said something along the lines of you had all this time why are you under the gun/you did this too yourself, which while in part is true is not helpful at all. We are well aware of our weakness and flaws without having them pointed out, so he blew up at her. The one good thing was having let off that steam he felt much better and when he came home finally around 9 last night we had some fun as a family in our new home. It was late but Gabe was full of energy and had us using a rolled up carpet as a balance beam and then announced he wanted to make a speech, so he and DS sat down with pen and paper and wrote out a short oral report on "living things" which he then presented to me in his room. I was quite impressed. But mostly it was just the relaxing and playing together in our new home that was special and nice. Yes there is a ton of unpacking to do and we all needed sleep but we were happy and there is always tomorrow to unpack. Gabe's room is the only room that looks like a livable space right now but I do like it. It is roomier than I thought it would feel and I am really enjoying the wall to wall carpeting in there. So nice for sitting on the floor and playing.

[Renrel]

We are starting to settle in. Everything is still in boxes (I only know where one pot is at them moment but luckily the Microwave is set up and working and I found glass and china bowls and plates) but we are starting to feel at home. Figuring out where we play, where we eat, which bathrooms get used by who, where we hand out coats and drop of things. Gabe actually played alone in his room last night doing a large floor puzzle while I unpacked kitchen boxes. That is a good sign since it is still hard to get him to play by himself. He always wants us to join in.

We are stuck with a new phone number due to moving to a different rate center. (ERRR) Today the locksmith was coming so that all the contractors will no longer have access to our home. If DH does not get home before me I will be locked out.

I am happy though. I like our house and I think we will be happy here. There is so much potential for this home. There are of course 101 things we need/want to fix and change but it is a well built home with good flow (now that we knocked out a few walls) and a great piece of land in a really nice neighborhood with excellent schools. We just have to figure out what we really want to do to improve it, what needs to be done first and what we can afford to do when.

[mittyrd]

Renrel: It will be so nice to be settled in your home. It's so exciting to have your house become a home. It seems like the transition has not been too hard on Gabe which is nice.

I stayed home with Jake today b/c he woke up in the middle of the night covered in vomit. Yuk. He seemed fine today. DH thinks it was b/c of the dinner I made last night (spaghetti/homemade sauce). So guess who DIDN'T make dinner tonight?!! Everyone else ate it but no one else became sick. I am going to be so fired soon with all of the time I keep taking off for all these kids.

Sam is doing great. It seems to bother him once in a while although nothing like that first day. He had his follow up with the surgeon yesterday and he thought it looked great. He was very impressed when Sam asked him if he could take a bath (he hasn't been able to since last Sunday) and said "thank you for fixing me, doctor" when he was leaving. :) He has to go back in 4 months and hopefully that will be it.

[jay&erinn]

mittyrd: I'm glad Sam is feeling much better. Hopefully that'll be it and you guys can just have some fun without any worry for awhile.

Renrel: Congrats on the move! It must be somewhat of a relief with how long you looked. Now the fun part of making the house yours.

Alison: Yea for finally being healthy!

We are finally all healthy. It was definitely a rough winter.
I started my last class on Tuesday- I'll be done at the end of the month. I've been working my butt off trying to get ahead of the game. I'm throwing my brother's fiance's bridal shower and bachelorette party the last weekend of this month so I need to have my final projects done before then. Ideally I'll have them mostly finished by the weekend before (that's only 2 weeks:eek:) so I have time to cook, clean and finish planning. I took the Monday after the shower off so I could finish up my final projects (there are 2 in this class) and get them turned in. Then I'll be officially finished. I can't wait. I also can't wait to clean out my house. It's been 2 years of shoving stuff into closets and then not being able to find it again. This house is a mess.

[AlisonCO]

erinn - You are so close to being done, wow!

Renrel - It sounds like you are happy with the house and getting more settled - is G still doing well with the change?


mittyrd - I can't believe that your DH blamed your cooking on J getting sick.:D Sounds like Sam is recovering well what a relief.

It was my b-day last Wednesday so my parents are coming over today and DH and I are going to my favorite mexican rest for margaritas.:) The kids got me new sandals (that I picked out) and a basket of stuff from Origins. i also rescheduled my girls weekend and I leave this Friday and come back Monday - I am really looking forward to sleeping and relaxing and seeing a movie.

[mittyrd]

Alison: Happy Birthday!! Have a great weekend! (I'm a little jealous...)

Erinn: You are a busy girl!

Anyone's kids love Max & Ruby? It's like a sedative over here. I love it for that reason. It's the new bedtime show.

[kerrykate]

Mittyrd~ So glad Sam's surgery went well and he's doing better. Lauren does like to watch Max and Ruby although it's on pretty early here so I have a few episodes recorded.

Erinn~ Congrats on almost being done with school! I bet you can't wait.

Alison~ Happy Birthday! Have fun on your girls weekend:)

Renrel~ Congrats on the move and getting settled in. Hopefully the unpacking is going well. It's such a process, I know I still have a few boxes shoved in a closet from when we moved in 2 years ago...
How did your IVF class go? I know how you feel regarding the sibling age difference, Lauren and this baby will be almost 5 years apart. She is SO excited about the baby but I am nervous because she's been the center of our attention for so long and now here comes this baby that is going to need so much from us. Right now I'm just trying not to think about it too much or I'll get too stressed out.

Everything's going well here. I'm 28 weeks and my belly is getting huge, I've been asked so many times if I'm having twins... We are having an extremely difficult time picking out a name. And the shots twice a day are getting very difficult to do, my belly is so bruised and so big/tight it's hard to find a new place to do the shot. I have to do them until I'm 37 weeks so I figured out that's only around 125 more shots:eek: I'm so ready to be done with this pregnancy, I'm DYING to hold this baby girl.
Dh is out of town until tomorrow so Lauren and I met up with a friend and her son and went to the park then to dinner and ice cream. It was so nice to get out in the warmer weather.

[jay&erinn]

kerrykate: I cringed when you talked about the shots. They sound so painful. What a wonderful thing you're already doing for your baby girl.
My guess is Lauren will adjust wonderfully to the new baby. Mia repeatedly asks for a new baby because Ayla is now too big to hold. She also says that she was too little when Ayla was born and wasn't allowed to do alot with her. Now that she is big she could be a big helper.
Congrats on hitting 28 weeks- I remember thinking what a big milestone that was.

mittyrd: Mia likes Max & Ruby but I never know when it's on. She's also gotten away from Nick Jr and really likes Disney channel now. Oh, and I forgot to comment on your DH saying your dinner made Jake sick. I so wouldn't cook for a good week as payback for that comment;)

Alison: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Enjoy your girls weekend. I think my favorite part would be sleeping in.

[AlisonCO]

Thank you all! I had one normal size margarita when we went out and I was definetely tipsy:).

kerrykate - Congrats again, I hope that the next 12 weeks goes quickly and smoothly!

erinn - Sleeping in, actually just sleeping more than 6 hours straight is what I am looking forward too. Plus eating and peeing when I need to, not just when I have a minute.

mittyrd - I didn't know that there was a Max and Ruby show, Aidan really likes the books though.

Hope that you all are well, I will "talk" to you when I get home!

[jay&erinn]

Plus eating and peeing when I need to, not just when I have a minute
Better yet- eating and peeing without someone sitting right next to you watching your every move.

This class is so much work. I keep telling myself it's only a few more weeks, but I'm putting in so much time every night to keep up that I'm just ready to be done now, not 3 weeks from now. There are 6 assignments, 2 exams and 2 final projects in 4 weeks. It's just crazy. I've managed to get 4 assignments and 1 project finished so far. DH just laughed when I told him my table of contents for the project I just finished is 3 pages long.
By the end of the weekend I need to have my next 2 assignments finished and a start on the other project. The second one is much more intensive. Luckily DH is off on a long weekend so I can just work as much as possible.

[mittyrd]

Erinn: You will need to celebrate with a margarita when you are done!!

Alison: I didn't know Max & Ruby was a book! Guess we watch too much tv here and not enough reading of books!

Kerry: Wow, 28 weeks already? Seems so fast for us (I'm sure it doesn't seem so fast for you) I'm so sorry you have to go through so much with all of those shots. Maybe baby girl will reward you by sleeping through the night as soon as she comes home :)

Sam & Matt are both showing interest in the potty. Yay. Maybe we'll be out of diapers soon. My goal is to have them trained by the end of summer. They are also obsessed with my "boobies". Typical men.

[Renrel]

Just a quick post to let you all know that we went to the IVF class today but are still not sure we are going forward. I am feeling very emotional and tired. The house still feels good and we now have a working laundry room. Gabe fell off the toilet yesterday (he had his arms and legs pulled into his shirt and lost his balance) and has a huge goose egg right on his eye brow. I have never seen a bump pop up so quickly. I will do shout outs when I am more present.

[mittyrd]

So I get a call from the kids' daycare last night saying that one of the other kids has lice :O I checked the boys and couldn't see anything. Of course, I've been itchy since. Anyone know what the incubation period is? The boys spent time with this little girl on Friday.

[AlisonCO]

Renrel - Was the IVF class info about the process or more about the emotional aspect? I am glad that the new house is feeling good.

mittyrd - No idea about lice but I certainly hope that you avoided it! Yeah for potty interest - maybe watching Jake will help them like it helped Caitlin.

erinn - This class sounds terrible - it is always the last class? Geez, you should sometime easy for the last class.

I had a really nice weekend away. The weather was nice, we went for a hike, ate seafood, went to see a movie, slept in and drank too much wine.:)
The kids and DH did great - I don't think that they ate many veggies but they did some fun things.

[Renrel]

Allison- It was mostly about the process. Tell us about all the drugs and how to mix them and store them and inject them. When you come in for monitoring. How the take the eggs out and put them back in. How the decide how many. All the waivers and such they need you to sign. But they did have a social worker talk about how very very very emotional the "pin cushions" will between the homones and the stress of given the drugs and coming in for testing and having your life dictated by medical procedures for a month or more while of course being pissed that you just can't get pg the old fashioned way and worrying about if it will take and the finances of the who process, and how we need to take care of ourselves and how our SO need to understand what when we cry or yell about stupid stuff its not personal and that they should just hug us and tell us they love us. DH said he looked around and all the woman had a dazed deer in the headlight look on their faces. It was a fun 3.5 hours :rolleyes: and we did not even stay for the personalized injection class where DH gets to give me big needle in the butt to prove he knows how to do it.

[AlisonCO]

Renrel - Have you started the injections yet or are you still deciding whether or not to move forward?

erinn - How many more weeks do you have?

mittyrd - Did anything come of the lice?

We are doing well. Aidan had a field trip for school today and I drove - we went to a petting zoo. They had such a great time I had fun watching him interact in that setting. It was a wonderful farm with about every animal you coul imagine and they were all friendly - even the camel! Otherwise we are enjoying the nice weather and going for lots of walks.

Hope that you all are well.

[mittyrd]

Alison - Thankfully, nothing came of the lice. I'm still itchy just thinking about it.

Things here have been fairly quiet. We've been spending a lot of time playing outside since we have finally have had a nice week. Tomorrow we are taking the boys to the Aquarium in Boston. I am so excited. And the boys are more than excited.

[Renrel]

Hey all. I was techinically on vacation the past week. I was off from work and my parents took Gabe for most of the week but it was not a resting vacation. Last weekend was the Start of Passover and my parents did both seders at their home in NY. My sisters and I all came and stayed over for the first night. My Parents went to a hotel since all the beds were filled with their kids and grandkids. The cousins had a great time together. Then on Sunday my sister had a melt down because she asked my mom to take her two kids as well as Gabe and my mom said it would be too much, not realizing that my sister really needed the help that week. After alot of emotion and discussion my mom took Gabe and the two girls for Monday through Thursday. DH and I stayed though Monday afternoon, so we helped with childcare till then. Gabe was having serous pooping issues and refused to go for 3-4 day, finally going in his pant one evening when he fell asleep at 3pm and slept till 8pm or so. Then the next night one the girls peed in the bed and for good measure the other peed her pants. My parents had there hands full but the kids had a really good time bonding. Gabe was really sad when his cousin went home a day before he did. Suddenly nothing was fun.
I spent Monday night through Friday evening trying to get my backlog for work down,the moving boxes emptied, and the house organized. It was hard work but I enjoyed it. I wish I could spend more concentrated time on being a homemaker. I did not get as much work work done as I wanted but I made a good dent. House wise, I got the guest room empty of boxes and picked, ordered and had a daybed delivered. Of course we chose the wrong color due a bad picture on line, the the room was ready for my parents, except that DH never got around to putting a door up. Woops. I got all but three boxes emptyed from the dining room, which is the main living area of the home. I got nearly all the bedroom boxes empty and the kitchen is mostly organized. I am feeling good about the house, though I can barely think about decorating yet. I am still about getting things organized and figuring out where to put what we have and seeing how what we have works.

Friday my parents came up with Gabe and I have been cooking and cleaning and dealing with Gabe's constant requests for my company since he says he had not had enough time with me and really needs it because he is little. He is a regular Jewish Mother with the Guilt I tell you. My parents are easy guests and my mom will take over cooking and cleaning if I let her but I really wanted to show her that I am the lady of house and most of the time I told her to just sit and relax. But when Gabe would call me away I would come back to find the table cleared and things put away or cleaned.

On the IVF front we have put it off for at least one more cycle. I just could not go into that process with an overwhelming work backlog and a house that was full of boxes. I need to have some sense of control and order elsewhere i my life before I can decide on or enter that path. I also keep hoping for a mircle and that Mityrd's comment about new house/new baby will just happen. That our bodies, knowing we are in a bigger space will just homonally change and we will get PG.

I am not ready to return to work tomorrow but vacation is over, such as it was. Coming up in our lives is a family bat mitvah for which I need to get Gabe some dressy clothes, but I don't know what it appropriate for a 4 yr old. I just can't see getting him to wear a suit for very long and the service alone will be over an hour. We are also planning on taking Gabe to the circus this Friday. It is set up right next to his school, so very convenient.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: I hear you on the control stuff- I have a real hard time moving into new territory when my current life feels out of control.
Would it be appropriate for Gabe to wear Khaki colored pants, a button down shirt and tie? The pants he could wear almost all year round and in the fall/winter the button down shirt could go under a sweater or something. Then you're not buying an entire outfit for one day.

mittyrd: How was the aquarium? Both my girls would love something like that.
Glad the lice never turned into anything. We went through that with Mia when she was a little over a year. My neice was visiting over Thanksgiving and we found it in her hair. No one ever noticed the eggs because her hair is so blond/white so my mom found them once they hatched. Really gross. We treated our entire house- carpets, furniture, all of our heads because she had spent a lot of time playing here.

Alison: The field trip sounds fun. Mia's finally getting to the point where she might not freak out over the animals. Both my kids are so afraid of animals- especially dogs. The humane society visited Mia's school a week or so ago. Mia was so proud of herself because she gave the dog a hug. The teacher took her picture to show me how well she did since I had warned them of her fear. Ayla on the other hand still hates all animals. She asks me to hold her if she even hears a dog barking when we're outside. She says Doggie hurt. I don't know where that comes from.

Kerrykate: How are you feeling? Not much longer!

Well, I have 2 days left of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to take my final tonight and decide if I want to submit my final project today or look at it one more day and submit tomorrow. Then I'll be finished! I can't wait to be able to play with the girls without worrying what school work I'm neglecting.

The girls are doing well. Mia's doing great in school so far and her original teacher comes back next week. The sub has been great and quite a few of the parents were going to complain to the principal about the original teacher. The moms are somewhat clicky in Mia's class and I'm sure I didn't raise my standing with them by not attending their meeting. I just find it a little rediculous. Sure, if I had a choice I'd love to have the sub on a full time basis. However, she's not the teacher and there's really nothing wrong with the original teacher. Mia's safe and learning with her so what's there to complain about. They just don't like her because she's not quite as outgoing and friendly. However, she had to leave in the middle of the year for major knee surgery because she couldn't take the pain anymore- makes it hard to always have a smile on your face. I figure that this is life, you don't always get exactly what you want, and no better time to start learning about that then now. I also hate that they approached the principal as a group. There was one mom that was the "ring leader" of the whole thing and when she approached me it was really uncomfortable. I'm wondering how many moms showed up just because they felt funny saying no. I think making an individual appointment is much more appropriate.

Mia started an art class a few weeks ago and is loving it. She was supposed to be in with 4.5-5.5 year olds, but there weren't enough signed up, so she's in with 5.5-8 year olds. I'm surprised at how well she's able to draw already. She brought home a panda bear (drawn facing foward) and a gecko (which she calls an echo). The gecko is hard to tell what it is until she tells us, but the bear is obviously a bear, even though it's rainbow colored:) My girl loves color. It's an hour a week for 6 weeks. So far it looks like something she'll want to do again next fall.

We also took the girls ice skating on Sunday. Mia's been bugging me to take lessons and I told her no until she could try it first. The first 10 minutes were rough and she didn't really like it. Well, I took Ayla off the rink (she even had skates and tried although her skates were 3 sizes too big) for a snack and DH was waving to get my attention. I go back out and Mia's in the middle of the rink on her own "skating" around. She LOVED it so now I have to figure if we're going to let her take lessons. There is a summer session so we have to decide soon.

Ayla's still a little pistol. She cracks us up daily and is talking in 3-6 word sentences. It really freaks people out when they hear her talk since she's so small for her age- most think that she's around 14 months old. She's much more adventurous than Mia and will find more trouble in the long run. DH walked into the living room and she was standing on the ottoman (she's so short that she needs to climb on something else to get onto the ottoman). He told her to sit down and she said, "No, I jump Daddy." Before he could get to her she jumped. That pretty much sums up our days with Ayla.


Well, I wrote a book, but it seems like forever since I've been able to catch up. I hope you're all doing well!

[Renrel]

Errin - Congrats on being out of school. That must be such a relief!

Mittyrd- How was the aquarium. We usually have a great time there.

We took Gabe to the Big Apple Circus last night. We probably had the worst seats in the house which made it hard to enjoy. We had obstructed view and the sound of the generators under out seats. :mad: Gabe was so excited to go and then as soon as we were in our seats and he realized there were grown up heads in front of him making it hard to see he wanted to go home. We had him on our laps the whole time. He would laugh hysterically at the clowns and as soon as the funny act was over he would say he wanted to go home (like immediately, seconds later). I thought we would leave at intermission. At intermission we went to the concession stands and got cotton candy and slurpys (gotta love having an excuse to buy your kid normally forbidden foods, and in my mind the circus is a good excuse.). Once he had these snacks in hand he decided he wanted to stay. He sat happily through the whole second act eating his treats and watching the show. I am glad we stayed cause the second act was better than the first. But I am looking forward to taking him see Barnum and Baily one of these days, because three rings are definately more fun than one. We even have a free pass for him somewhere, the one they will give you the year your kid is born.

We are having serious pooping issue though. Gabe did not go the last two days becuase he usually goes at bed time and bedtime was messed up. Today he had to go but would not because he said it hurt. After dinner he went up to lie on his bed, which is what he does when he needs to poop but does not want to and was asleep within 15 minutes at around 8pm, which is very strange for him. He is usually up till 9:30 or 10:00.

[AlisonCO]

Hi all.

Renrel - Bummer about the seats but it sounds like you still had fun. Hope some poop happens soon!

erinn - CONGRATS on being done!!! That is awesome. Aidan has been asking to go ice skating too but I am not brave enough to take both and weekends are so busy.


Aidan has 5 more days of school and then he is done - I can't believe how fast it went! Otherwise we are doing well just in another sleep funk - he now sleeps all night but is up around 5:45:(. I swear if it isn't one thing it's another. A friend of mine also has a terrible sleeper and she is going to the CHildren's Hospital to see a specialist - I might seriouslt consider it if she likes it.

I kept asking him if he wanted to do swim lessons or soccer this summer and he would always tell me he would do those things when he was 5. But I did sign him up for one session of swim in July.

The other day we has beautiful weather so we stayed home and cleaned up the yard. For some reason Aidan saw a few $1 coins on the counter and wanted it so I told him that if he helped me clean the water table and bring the sandbox toys out that he could have one for his bank. He looked very cutely at me and said "4?" No you can have one, I said. Then he said "3?" I laughed and he said "Ok, OK 2!" Turkey!:rolleyes:

http://www.allsam.com/200805/images/050408_47.jpg
http://www.allsam.com/200805/images/050408_73.jpg

[Renrel]

Gabe finally pooped this evening. The first time since Wednesday night. I don't know what to do to get him to go more regularly. It is not that he can't go and needs more fiber or something. He just wants to hold it forever because he thinks it will hurt because it once hurt. I was hoping to get him to start going by himself but with this current issue I need to make potty as pleasant as possible so I am stuck reading him stories while sitting on a stool next to the toilet. My back and neck are not happy.

We are also dealing with mice in the new house. Ugh. We are finding droppings all around the kitchen and a few in the basement. DH bought two mouse zappers that electricute one mouse at a time, if they to in to eat the bait. No luck last night. It looks they they found a way to nipped the peanut butter from the outside.

[AlisonCO]

Renrel - Ughh, we had mice in our last house and we always found droppings under the stove! Glad that G finally pooped.

So Aidan just got sent home from school with pink eye! His eye was a bit red this morning but it had no discharge so I didn't even think about pink eye. The director called me and said that it was all over school and that sometimes there is no discharge. I feel terrible that I am now "that Mom" who sent their sick kiddo to school, but at least now I know.

[Renrel]

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I am having a nice day. Last night DH and I had a sort of date night. When we finally got Gabe in to bed to stay around 10:30 or so, we got out some wine and cheese and watched a grown up movie from Video on Demand. I can't remember the last time I sat and watched a grown up movie start to finish at home. It was so nice to just curl up and relax with DH. Then this morning DH got up and got bagels and served me bagels and lox in bed (per my request). Gabe was very proud of the card he made me and refused to go shopping for a gift with DH saying he had a present for me, his card. He did a great job with his lettering and had reason to be proud of it. DH got me a bag of gardening tools but told me I should check out a different version to decide which I want before using it.

Gabe keeps saying how it is mother's day so I am not allowed to do any work, except of course taking care of him. :rolleyes: My real present today is that I get to do whatever I want without guilt, though I still felt a bit guilty not going hiking with DH and Gabe. Gabe was in a really good mood and it would have been fun but I never get the house to myself to do what I want and decided to take advantage.

I ran into one of the Moms I did my mom groups with when Gabe was newborn. She lived near by and we sometimes had little playdates for the boys. She now has a 2.5 year old as well who was with her in Costco. The older boy was home with Dad so I could not see how he had grown up. She told me she got a birth announcement from one of the other moms recently who just had her third.

[AlisonCO]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I hope that you all are having a wonderful day!

[Renrel]

Would you believe I spent my time alone in the house washing the kitchen floor, doing sheet and towel laundry and doing more unpacking? It was still so nice to do it alone in the house with out Gabe asking me to play (or feeling guilty that I was letting him watch tv or play on the computer so that he would not bother me) or feeling like DH is watching what I am doing and thinking I should be doing something else (I feel that way when ever anyone is in the house and am cleaning...or not cleaning. I always feel like there is something more productive I should be doing.) I did spend a little time walking around the house trying to figure out what we need to do to make the outside look better. There is an ugly bulk head on the side of the that you see as you drive up and we have to find a way to block the view without blocking access to it. I also went around taking tiny cuttings from our flowering bushs and trees and weeds and made a lovely tiny little flower arrangement using a frog I bought ages ago (a metal thing with lots of little prongs to hold flowers in place). It is very zen looking. All in all I really enjoyed my day though.

[AlisonCO]

Would you believe I spent my time alone in the house washing the kitchen floor, doing sheet and towel laundry and doing more unpacking?

Yes I would, sadly! I did 2 loads of laundry and mopped yesterday while DH took the kids for a walk. It was nice to be home alone even if i did housework. We did have yummy steaks for dinner and ice cream sundaes after the kids went to bed so it was all good.:)

[Jenyfer9]

I went to church (without the kids) and after I came home, we all went out to eat. After that, we came home and Tom watched the boys play (it was not very nice weather outside) while I took a nap. Oooh, exciting, let me tell you!

Nah, it was a nice day, even if the weather sucked.

Happy belated mothers day to all of you!

[jay&erinn]

A belated Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Alison: I love your pics! I love the one of him in the pool. Mia's still petrified to get her face wet. DH says he doesn't know where she gets the fear until his mom ratted him out. He apparently would do anything to keep his face dry. I, on the other hand, could swim by this age.
Mia's very into negotiating these days. It's getting old fast.
How's the pink eye? I had to go to urgent care last week because my one eye was swollen and really sore. It was a sty under the eye lid. The nurse asked if anyone in the family had pink eye and it made me think of you.

Renrel: I hope the mice are under control. We've had a few mice here and there over the years. Nothing that a few traps haven't taken care of.


We had Mia's preschool parent conference last week. It was a good report. They stated that we could put her in full day kindergarten if we wanted since they feel she is ready both socially and academically. I opted against it and will put her in preschool for three full days instead. I think there's a lot of benefit of her being home part time still next year. Plus, I don't want her being the youngest in the class. As it is, there are 4 kids who are already older than she is in this class. I can't imagine how young she'd be if we moved her ahead.

[Renrel]

jay&erinn - Glad we are not the only ones with the fear of water on the face. Until recently shampooing Gabe's hair was a nightmare and I am embarrassed how often I just let him go around with a dirty face because it is easier than hysterics over his face getting wet. I want him to learn to swim but this will be a major obstical. Let me know if you come up with any solutions.

We have seen less sign of the mice but plan to call an exterminator to come and take a look. We know from when we put in the laundry that there is alot of mouse poop in the insulation in the walls. That may be from prior infestations, given that we have not seen much evidence of mice out and about recently but we need to find out what we are dealing with. Wondering if every dark crumb you see in the kitchen might be a mouse dropping is getting old fast.

The last week or so I have notice Gabe being a bit more coopertive. He complains vehemently about things he does not want to do, but does so while doing, which to me is a big improvement. He is allowed to not like it and to express his dislike, even if it make my life less pleasant. He is not allowed to not do what is asked or to be sassy in his expression of the dislike (ie telling us we are annoying.)

[mittyrd]

Happy Belated Mother's Day! I had a nice day. My boys all snuggled in bed together in the morning and actually slept until 6 am. Woo-hoo!!! DH & Jake made me breakfast. My mom, grandma and niece came for lunch and then when they left Dh watched the boys outside while I did some weeding and relaxing. It was very nice. The boys made me a sticker at daycare that I had to wear on my (new) shirt all day. Unfortunately, the glue did not come off my new shirt so that is ruined. The sticker was cute though and they were so proud of themselves.

I'm home with a sick Jake today. Just a non-stop cough. It's driving both of us crazy. Of course, he does not want to rest at all.

Sam woke up yesterday morning around 3:30 am complaining that his belly hurt. I got him back to sleep then when he woke up again at 5 am he complained again that his belly hurt. DH took off his diaper and Sam had the perfect imprint of a foot across his lower belly. And the imprint was the same size as Matt's foot. Oy. The 2 of them were playing so rough the night before and I couldn't control them for anything. Sam never cried so it didn't seem to bother him at the time. Of course, if he hadn't had surgery in that same spot a month ago I would not be so concerned. It doesn't seem to bother him anymore. Someone told me that if I had girls, that wouldn't happen :)

[Renrel]

I had a busy weekend. I was up early on Saturday to get my hair done at a new place. I go anywhere from 6 to 24 months between coloring and cutting my hair so I needed it. I tried a new place and ended up going for a half head of highlights rather than just a one process color and cut alot off. I was there for 4 hours and as soon as I got home I had to wrap a present and take Gabe to a b-day party. It is the same place we had his 3rd year party and it seems that every kid since than has insisted on having their party there. It is a indoor place space with one of those huge crawl around inside maze, ball pit, climbing ect things, as well as lot of other play areas. It is intersting seeing how much they have grown up in a year and a half. At Gabe party many were unsure of themselved or could not get up some of the inclines or got scared and had to be rescued. This party they were all pro's. The only tear were near the end when some of the kids were over tired from skipping a nap. The place just added a bounce house thing which had Gabe in 7th heaven. After we came home DH and I spent the whole night cleaning up because his parents were coming to see our house for the first time on Sunday. They just got back from Florida Thursday. The of course we were up cleaning and cooking Sunday morning until the arrived around 11:30. The visit went well and they seemed to like the place alot. The brunch also went well. They had not seen Gabe in 7mths either so played alot with him. Then a cousin came over later afternoon to visit and we all went out to dinner, even though DH and I had bought fish and beef to grill in case his parents stayed late. Tomorrow Gabe has a dental appointment in the morning. I should actually be able to sleep a wee bit late since the appointmetn is later than when I usually start work.

[AlisonCO]

Renrel - You did have a busy weekend. 4 hours at the salon must have been somewhat relaxing. The b-day party sounds fun - we are going to one this weekend where the girls dress up like princesses and the boys knights and then play games and make hats to take home.

mittyrd - Did you take a picture of the foot imprint on Sam's belly?:)

erinn - The pink eye is all gone from our house thankfully and I escaped. It got worse for each person that got it - Aidan's was very mild, Caitlin's a bit worse and poor DH had it the worst.

We had a fun weekend. Saturday we went on a tour of a working ranch. We got to tour the ranch on a horse drawn hay wagon and see some amazing birds, frogs and fish. Aidan's last day of school is tomorrow and I am sad - I can't believe that is is done with his first year of school. I helped him write a note to his teachers and he picked out a gift card for each one.

[Renrel]

We have been busy, again. DH niece was bat mitvah this Memorial Day weekend, so we drove down on Friday to avoid traffic. Had our best time ever, 3.5 hours and Gabe slept for most of it. We had a nice Shabbot dinner together with my parents and then they put Gabe to sleep so we could catch a movie. (Raider of the Lost Ark, fun but silly.) The Bat Mizvah was Saturday Morning and Gabe did a great job of sitting quietly in his seat or my lap, and keeping his Kippa on his head without complaint, for about 30-45 minutes of the services (which is half in Hebrew). Then DH and I were called up to the Bimah (alter) to read a translation and Gabe sat with his grandparents. Then I took him out of the sanctuary for the rest of the service because I did not think it fair to try to keep him still for any longer than that. ( I was very proud that he had lasted as long as he did. He is getting so grown up.)
He had a great time at the party afterward. It was at a club they rented out for the party. There was a band and they handed out lots of fun flashing toys. My Niece and Nephew and their friends were all trying to get Gabe to play with them and take pictures but I was on Mama duty most of the party since I did not want Gabe to become a burden to anyone in Niece's family on this special day. Then there was a bbq at their house after the party and I relaxed a bit and let Gabe played with the older kids. It was a long day. We went back to my parents to sleep after 10pm. slept late in the morning and went back to Neice's home for a brunch. We hung there most of the day and then went to my Sister's house where Gabe and my Neice, who is one year older than him played happily for most of the visit. My nephews 2 yr birthday was also on Saturday and we missed it of course. Gabe would have been in 7th heaven as the rented a big bounce house. My nephew is taking after Gabe. He looks alot like him and can already name all of his letter and his number to 10. We slept over my sisters and left the next day.
We were making great time getting home on Monday, until a deer decided to run across the highway and ran right into the side of our car. We are told it flew 15 feet in the air and landed (thank goodness) on the median. I saw it and yelled to DH to watch out. He did not know what to watch for but went on alert. So he was able to keep control of the car even though the windshield totally shattered. He got us safely off the road and someone stopped to help. We were all fine, other than having lots of glass dust on us and a few pin prick type cuts from the bits of glass. Gabe was of course scared but recovered well. His first question was "What happened" We explained. His second questions was "How will we get home?" We told him the police man would likely give us ride, but it turned out the man who stopped drove us to the train. His final question was "Why did the deer do that? We explained that the Deers mom did not teach him about not running into the street. I however joked to DH about needing to teach deers to read so they will know where the crossing is. Gabe heard and has been talking about teaching the deer to read.

Anyway we took the Train and then a cab home. The car was towed to a place in Conn. We have since learned it can be repaired but I have been without a car alll week. DH has been driving Gabe and me to the train and picking us up. To may matters more fun there was an awful train accident on our line Wednsday (which would would have been in if I every left work on time and got Gabe out of daycare in a rush) in which the driver was killed. So they have been shuttling people by bus for part of the run, which is already a 40 minute ride. Gabe has been doing really well so far though. A real trooper.

(Oh, and to make the week even more fun, I have had a UTI since Wen or Thurs. and I was premenstral.)

I was very glad that this weekend nobody was coming to visit and we were not going anywhere. Today we bought Gabe a new car seat/booster - The Sunshine Radian 65. We are not sure if this is the one we will keep but so far we like it the best. We also bought him his first real 2 wheeler. He has been doing great on his balance bike and we think he is ready to move onto a real 2 wheeler. We will let him ride with the training wheels for a bit to get use to the feel of it and then, hopefully try to get him really riding before the summer his out.

We also attacked one of the rooms which we have not really touched since we moved in. A Den that was mostly storing boxes of books not yet unpacked. We unpacked a few more boxs and moved the furniture around. It is now a usable room. We just have to figure out what to use it for. Gabe has declared it the libary (It has a wall of bookshelves filled with books. I want a computer downstairs, so that room is a likely place since there is no room in the kitchen.

[mittyrd]

So sorry to be MIA but I have been so exhausted and my computer is in the shop and my other one seems so far away to use when I just want to sit on the couch and veg out.

We went to NJ Memorial day to visit my brother and the boys were so perfect in the car. We hardly heard a peep from them. Yay for DVD players in the car. Poor Sam did not like sleeping on the floor in the basement (the 5 of us slept there together) and kept crying to go home at bedtime :( Poor me, ended up sleeping between Matt & Sam the first night with about 3 hours of sleep and then with Jake the second night with a little more sleep. They had so much fun with their cousins though so it was worth it.

I started a new job last week and so far I love it. It's a bit overwhelming though b/c they have not had a dietitian there in 2+ months so there's a lot of catch up but the people are so nice there. I'm still covering 2 days a week at my old job until they hire and train someone so the new dietitian is not overwhelmed when she gets there. Hopefully, they will hire someone soon though b/c I like having that day off during the week!

The boys are doing great. I gave them all buzz cuts over the weekend and they look adorable. If I can ever find the energy I will upload some new pictures of them.

We have 6 parties (birthday, graduation) coming up in the next 3 weeks. Oy. That's a lot of partying. Matt & Sam will be 3 years old in 3 more weeks!! Where does the time go? I feel like I just had them. Jake reminds me daily that he is not a little boy anymore b/c he's going to be 5 soon. It seems like they are just growing too fast and I am not on the same time frame as them.

Everyday the boys bring home projects from daycare and I usually glance at them and then recycle them (don't tell them that ;) ). Today I noticed that Jake wrote MAMA on his turtle that he colored and then made 3 hearts under my name. It was so sweet. I did not even know that he could draw hearts. That one I kept. It's sitting on the fireplace mantel now.

Renrel: That is so scary about the deer. I'm so glad you guys are all ok. And scary about the T. I had watched the coverage of that for hours last week.

Hope everyone is doing great!

[AlisonCO]

Hi - so much for a relaxing summer - we have been so busy so far with houseguests, b-day parties and getting ready for our trip.

The kids are doing well but Aidan asks every week if it is time for school again. We have been staying busy doing lots of hiking before it gets too hot and lots of swimming. We have also planted tons of flower seeds and the kids have been in charge of watering them. Aidan is really into riding his scooter lately and is getting pretty good.

We leave Friday for our 9 day trip to Canada. The preparation sucks but I know that we will have fun once we get there.


Renrel - Sounds like you had a fun trip except for the deer! Does insurance pay for something like that? Hope that the unpacking is going well.

mittyrd - Congrats on the new job! We plan to do a buzz cut after we come home from Canada. Must be party season - we had 2 grad parties and 3 b-day parties and it is not even mid-June!

Aidan at a princess/knight party we went to:
http://www.allsam.com/200806/images/060108_61.jpg

Hiking last weekend:
http://www.allsam.com/200806/images/060108_13.jpg

[Renrel]

Mityrd - I am glad you like the new job. That makes life some more more pleasant. I have not had the nerve for a buzz cut yet, maybe this year.

alison- Great Pics! I love the knight in shiny armor. I can't believe how big Catlin is already.

Enjoy your trip to Canada. We have not made any vacation plans and DH keeps saying he needs one. Gabe just wants to go back to the Dude ranch/resort his grandparents took us all to last year as a 75th b-day celebration for MIL. But this time he wants to take his best friend with us.

Gabe is into a super hero phase right now. He and his best friend are apparently super heros that don't have names yet. They collect the pollen that falls from the trees and call it goo, which they can throw at the bad guys. They also are building a leaf throwing gun or something. I found a book called 'How to be a Spy Kid" and Gabe was so excited because he could use it as "research" for being a superhero. I love how their imaginations are so huge and open at this age.

This morning it was so cute. His best friend arrived first and insisted that he only wanted to play with Gabe and is looking very sad. Just as he is announcing this Gabe arrives and they run into each other arms. Then Gabe takes BF to the reading corner and starts reading him the spy book. This friend apparently told his mom that GAbe and he have a reading club and that they can go into their club house and read books.

Tomorrow is Graduation for most of the kids in Gabe's class. It is a big day since lots of the kids have been in this program since they were infants. 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, all year, is a long time and leaving is a bit sad. I a have attended two other graduations and even without my kid graduating I get teary. I will be a mess next year.

Saturday our neighborhood has a huge all day "block party" - Bounce House, train, music, yoga, bike decorating contest, tennis competion, poker games, a big picnic dinner at night. It should be alot of fun. We are hoping Gabe will finally meet and make some friends in the neightborhood. I don't know what we are doing Sunday for Father's day, though Gabe is planning a surprise party. We had to make a list and are checking things off as we complete them. Tuesday is a local holiday that I get off "bunkerhill day" so I took off Monday to make a long weekend. Maybe I will finally get the plants I bought last weekend out of the flats and into the ground. We also need to schedule an exterminator to come out and tell us what do do about these mice.

The weekend after this one we are having friends who helped in various ways with our move over for a brunch in the morning and then we are invited to a BBq birthday party in the afternoon/earl evening, with a bounce house.

The commute by train has been both easier and longer than I expected. Gabe really likes the ride and the attention. We eat a snack, read a book, do color wonder, do brain quest, play 20 questions and eye spy and sometimes he gets to do some handheld electronic games. Yesterday I left the house a few minutes after 8 and was not at work until 9:20, and this was with a no fuss drop at the preschool which is less than a five minute walk from home. In the evening I left work at 5:15 and got home after 7pm.

[Renrel]

We had another full and fun weekend. Friday was graduation for most of Gabe's classmates. I always attend graduation and it always makes me cry. They do an awesome job with the production and the kids in little blue gowns with mortar boards look so grown up until the have to climb into a chair on stage.

Friday night we went for a walk after dinner and Gabe took his new bike. He gained confidence and before long DH and I were having a jog rather than a stroll in order to keep up. He did not even let a fall stop him. He keep telling us how good he was at this and how he has the best bike ever. Saturday he took his bike to our community "block party" and on the way home he fell rather badly and scraped up his arm. Now he says he is the worst rider ever and hates his bike. :rolleyes: I am sure he will be fine once his boo boo heals enough not to hurt.

The "block party" was amazing. It started at 8:30 am and ended after 9pm. There was a bounce house and an inflatable obstical course thing and a trackless train. There was story telling and instument making from recylables. There was a tennis match, a poker match, a soccer game, a pie eatting contest. There was yoga and face painting and square dancing and live music and food. Gabe had a great time and made at least one new friend. We may have found a babysitter. Gabe thought the square dancing was a blast and started creating his own "dances" as soon as we left the official dancing.

Father's day was mellow. The only thing DH asked for was too sleep late. Gabe spent a good part of Saturday (we took a break mid day) making a suprise party for DH out of play dough and stuff. DH decided he wanted to hang pictures in the house, since it was raining, so it would start to feel more like we were living here. And we took a trip to Ikea for some more stuff and had Chinese food for dinner.

I have the next two days off. I get to hang around for exterminators to do an estimate and get done all the chores errands we have not done this weekend. Gabe will be in school though, so that is a big break right there.

[jay&erinn]

Hi Ladies- it's been forever since I've check in. Who knew it'd take me 2 months to try and get my life back in order since finishing school. It's still not back to the way it was, but I think some of that involves having added Ayla to the family during that time too.

We've been busy the past month. My brother got married in KY so we traveled there. It was a lot of fun, but Ayla continues to be a nightmare in the car. It was 5 hours of her whining and crying about her car seat being too tight and that she was stuck and she wanted out. My younger brother rode down to KY with us, and I think we've cured him of ever wanting children now;) She never even fell asleep, even after getting up at 5 that morning. The way back wasn't any better either. The DVD player only helped for the first 15 minutes of the trip, after that it was all down hill. I hope she gets better soon- I really dread traveling with her. We are going to Erie to visit my cousin in a few weeks and then to DC a few weeks after that to visit my brother. I think we're going to travel after bedtime from now on to see if that helps our sanity.

Mia is getting so old it seems. She no longer seems like a little girl. She has friends and loves to go off and play with them, happily leaving me behind. That's kind of sad. She had her gymnastics show last week and loved performing in front of everyone. She did really well (although I don't think she's going to be the most coordinated kid in the world- but don't tell her that;)). She starts ice skating tomorrow- I'm not sure what she'll think of it, but she begged to try. She's happy to be out of school and home with me and Ayla for the summer. We had a garage sale last weekend and she had a lemonade/cookie stand. The kid made over $10 selling everything for 25 cents. I was pretty impressed, especially since it rained most of the day. I think I'm going to brave another day and hold the garage sale saturday again. The weather was so bad that the crowds were really light. We still made $300, but none of the kids stuff went. I'm going to advertise specifics this time and hope to see the clothes and toys go. Unfortunately I'll have to do it on my own since my parents will be out of town and DH has to work. It should be interesting.

Ayla is doing well. She's already not napping on most days. That's a killer. She learns so much from Mia, it's really amazing. She already knows a lot of her colors (orange is her favorite), some of her letters and is counting to 14. Other than the colors, Mia wasn't anywhere near knowing those things at the same age. It makes me a little worried that we'll be holding her back because of her birthday, but we don't really have a choice with the school cutoff being June 1st. Even though the girls will be in private school, I don't want to push since they may end up in public school eventually. Ayla won't start 3 year old preschool until 2 months after she turns 4. I do love the idea of her being home an extra year. I think there is benefit to that too.

Not too much else new around here. I'm trying to plan Ayla's birthday party since it's next weekend and have some doctors appointments to catch up on- I have 2 today- yuck.

Mia playing in our Irises
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5051.jpg?t=1213705741

Ayla playing with the decorations at my brother's wedding
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5019.jpg?t=1213705863

Ayla checking out the flowers
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5048.jpg?t=1213705924

Mia making crazy pretzels
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5037.jpg?t=1213705977

[kerrykate]

Hi ladies!
Love the pictures of all the kids, they are all so cute and looking grown up!

I'm still pg... I am due a week from Sunday but I had a growth u/s last week and she's already almost 8lbs so I'm getting induced on Monday. I can't believe it's finally here, I dying to hold her and see if she's going to have red hair like her big sis! We still haven't decided on a name. I'll post as soon as I can and let you guys know how it goes.

Lauren is doing great, she's loving the warm weather and wants to go swimming all the time. She is definitly 4 going on 14, she has to try and negotiate everything these days which gets old... She wanted bangs so we took her to get them cut about a month a go. It makes her look so much older. I'll have to get some pictures up, my friend took some beautiful pictures of her out a childrens garden.

[jay&erinn]

Good Luck Kerrykate! We'll be thinking of you. Update us when you get a chance and have a healthy and as pain free delivery as possible. Lauren's going to make a great big sister!

[JLRenheos]

SO to kerrykate!! I wish you a happy, healthy and safe arrival of your little girl on Monday!! Congratulations! I'm sure Lauren is super excited to be a Big Sister!!
I'm not to far behind you! Do you still have my email, if not then just PM me when you find the time. I'm taking 12wks. off. Maybe we can meet up during that time w/our little ones?!

[Renrel]

KerryKate - My thoughts have been with you all day. Hope all is going well and I can't wait to hear about your new addition.

Errin - I love the photos, expecially the one of Mia in the flowers.

We had a nice weekend. We invited everyone who had helped in some way to get us into our place over for a brunch on Sunday. So Saturday was all about getting things ready for company. Gabe earned himself a dollar washing windows. I am not sure how clean they were when he finished but he put in a great effort and kept wanting more windows to wash. He was so cute standing up on the bay window cleaning. And he inspired me to give a few of those windows an extra good cleaning. DH finally mowed the lawn that was at knee height in places. We had to borrow a mower from the neighbors. I dug up a border next to a walk way next to the house and planted impatients with the help of another neightbor. I asked to borrow a shovel and edger and the next thing I know she is over helping me plant with a watering can filled with mircle grow. Gabe tried to help us but did not seem to like any of the jobs we offered him.

The brunch was very nice on Sunday. As soon as our guests left around 3:30 I had to wake Gabe up from a nap he put himself down for, and go to a b-day party we were an hour late for (I had warned the hosts we would be late) and kiss DH good bye as he left on a 4 day business trip to CA.

[Renrel]

Kerrykate- Can't wait to hear from you. Hope you had an easy delivery and that the baby is eatting and sleeping well.

[kerrykate]

Hi Ladies!
Baby Emma Katherine was born on Monday 23 Jun at 221pm, she weighed 8 lb 12 oz and 21". I ended up having a c-sec. When I got to the hospital to be induce I was dialated to 4, after about 7 hours I was only barely 5cm. The baby was really high and not engaged in my pelvis at all, they thought the cord was wrapped around her neck and not letting her decend(it actually turned out not to be wrapped around her at all). Her heart rate kept dropping so the doctor decided to do a c-sec. It was pretty scary, the doctor told me they going to do the c-sec and everything moved so quickly and they baby was out 20 min later. Dh walked in the room and sat down and the doctor pulled the baby right out. She came out crying and is perfect. She looks so much like Lauren and has red hair although it's a bit lighter. We are all so in love and Lauren has been awesome with her. She is so excited to be a big sis finally.
I'm going to try and post some pics the wi fi at the hospital is driving me nuts... Edited the images, they should work now.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj55/kerrykate22/1sisters.jpg?t=1214448020
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj55/kerrykate22/1Emma.jpg?t=1214448072

[Renrel]

Kerrykate-
Mazal Tov
I am so happy for you and your family. I can't wait to see pictures. All that is showing now on my screen is red x's. How are you feeling? Your labor/delivery sounds alot like mine on a physical basis. 7 hours of labor, no engagement and then a CD. But I knew 48 hours in advance that mine was ending in a C-section and there was no scary part with the baby maybe being in danger, which I am sure made the experience very very differnt for you on an emotional level.

Remember to try and get up and walk around as much as possible. It helps with the healing. But also don't over do it. You had surgury, after already being tired from labor, you would get tired quickly even if you were getting any sleep, which I assume you are not.

Are you BFing? Is she a good eatter? When do you get to go home? Do you have anyone coming to help?

(respond when you feel up to it. I know you have more important things to worry about at the moment. Thanks for stopping by to update us. )

[JLRenheos]

kerrykate Congratulations!! She's a big baby! I like the name Emma Katherine! Sorry you ended up having a c/s, but alas she's here! Glad to know that Lauren has been great w/her. ;) Did your DR. end up delivering your baby, or did you have an On-call OB on hand for the c/s? We may end up having our baby next week by c/s(we shall know more on Friday). Congrats to the new family!!

[Renrel]

OMG.....She is goooorgeeeous! One of the benefits of a CS is that the baby's tend to be prettier. Less trama for them coming out. She does look like her sister. Sooo sweet.

[jay&erinn]

CONGRATS Kerrykate!!!!!!! She's beautiful and looks so much like her big sister.

[Renrel]

DH just got home last night after being in CA for 4 nights on business. It was not too bad at home but my hats off to those of you who are SAHMs and have DH who travel. It was so tiring being a sole parent even with Gabe in preschool most of the day and on pretty good behavior for the week.

Are you all finding that your kids are taking a turn for the better behavorwise? Don't get me wrong. Gabe is still fully capable of throwing fits and being sassy, but the last month or so he seems more cooperative. More interested in being helpful. A bit more grown up in a good way, if that makes any sense.

[AlisonCO]

kerrykate - huge CONGRATS to you, Emma is so beautiful! I hope that things are going well.

erinn - Your girls are so so cute - great photos.

Are you all finding that your kids are taking a turn for the better behavorwise?

Renrel - Uhh, not really:). We have basically been gone for 3 weeks so that didn't help plus being out of school, Aidan has been really pushy/touchy with Caitlin plus he is being a bit mouthy with me. He knows just how far to take things as to not get into trouble but to seriously push my buttons. I think that school was an outlet for him to be physical with his friends so he doesn't have that outlet plus I think that he is missing the stimulation and structure.

Hi all - we just home from our second trip and it feels so good to be home! We were is Toronto for 9 days, then home for 3 and then in Aspen for 5. All in all the travel went really well and the kids did great and had a blast. The trip to Toronto was to have spend time with DH's family including our neice and nephew who are almost 2 and 4.5. We spent 3 days in the city, 3 days at a cottage on the lake and then 1 day in another town. The the trip to Aspen was for DH's companies annual family retreat. Both kids had a bit of car sickness when we were going up a 14000 foot pass on very winding roads. We had fun and spent alot of time at the pool. Aidan really did amazing with all of the travel, change in sleeping arrangements etc and was just mister personality.

I hope that you all are well and enjoy the 4th weekend.

[Jenyfer9]

Congrats Kerrykate! She's beautiful and WOW does she look like Lauren did!
Are you all finding that your kids are taking a turn for the better behavorwise?
Yeah, no. My "nice, well behaved" child (that would be TJ) is showing a naughty side these days. We were in church the other day... and while I'm used to Will being a bit on the non-listening side, Will was Will and TJ was Will too! It's really frustrating that this kid who used to be such a nice kid is starting to talk back, act out, throw tantrums... you name it, he's doing it. It's not fun! Oh, and I've discovered that TJ is definitely showing a preference between DH and I... he'd take DH anyday! Will, on the other hand, is quite the momma's boy. Anyone else with 2 (or more ;) ) see kids that show preference?

We've had a pretty relaxing summer up until today... I'm taking the boys (by myself) on an Amtrak to Michigan. My dad is meeting the train and will then drive us up the rest of the way to my parents' vacation house. DH will join us on Thursday evening. The boys are SO excited for this trip. TJ woke up this morning and said, "Mom, it's VACATION DAY!" We've gone up there many times, but never on the train... and since my boys both are crazy for trains, this should be fun! Keep your fingers crossed that they don't get bored an hour in to the 3 hour trip. :)

Well, that's about it for now. I'm sorry that I'm so hit and miss on posting, but I do actually visit every time there's a new post... I'm just bad about posting :)

[mittyrd]

I have not been getting the notifications when there is a new post so I missed the baby news :(

So, CONGRATULATIONS TO KERRYKATE AND YOUR FAMILY!! She is so beautiful! (and a great b-day - it's my mom's) I am so glad everything worked out and you have 2 beautiful little girls now.

Matt & Sam turned 3 yesterday! Yikes. We had a huge party/cookout on Sunday. It poured in the morning and then 1 hour before party time it just dried up and was beautiful. About 1/2 hour after the last person left, the sky opened and rained like I have never seen rain, and thundered and lightening. Amazing. These boys are definitely blessed.

[QUOTE][Are you all finding that your kids are taking a turn for the better behavorwise?/QUOTE] Yes and no. Jake can be so unbelievably obnoxious but then other times just so sweet and adorable. I'm not sure who I'm going to get every day. He can be very manipulative so his mood can depend on what he wants.

[Renrel]

mittyrd - Congrats on the b-days. I can't believe the babies are already 3! I still tend to think of Gabe as just a bit older than 3.

Our 4th of July weekend was low key. Thursday we went to the Boston Pop rehearsal of the 4th of JUly concert. We got caught in a big thunder shower and hid out in a tent we made out of our picnic blanket and some chairs. Gabe was totally done with everything before the concert even started. He had had his picnic and ice cream and just wanted to go home. We left early. On the 4th we mostly hung at home until going to the fire works last minute. Gabe enjoyed them and actually went right to sleep when we got home.:eek: On the 5th I took him to the town pool for the first time. He was scared of the deep water (3ft :rolleyes:) and just wanted to be in the kiddy pool. I was hoping to get him a wee bit of swimming practice but at least he had fun. Unfortunately the pool does not allow any floatation devises which I think I will need to get him to relax in water over his head.

And our big new milestone - Gabe can now open a beer bottle! :eek: - It is not really as bad as it sounds. He found a bottle opener on the table and wanted to know what it was and how it worked. The explaination ended up requiring a demonstration so DH put a cap back on an empty beer bottle and banged it down for a sort of seal and openned it. Then Gabe had to try it himself, over and over and over. The only bottle we had that it would work on was that beer bottle or we would have used something else.

As far as the change in behavior question I asked, maybe better behaved is not the right word but there is a change in the type of behavior. Gabe at times seems so much older and able to behave. But he is also very obnoxious at other times (He is way over the top with potty language) and his having "BIG" issues with power and control. He really feels it is sooooo unfair that he has to listen to us and we don't have to listen to him. Whenever I threaten or enforce a consequence he tries to even the playing field by telling me "Well then you won't get any of MY Behavior!" This morning he was getting all upset because he wanted to dawdle on the way to school when we were already late (we have to walk across a large plaza, full of distractions, to get from the train station to school) and I was telling him he had keep walking and walking in regular steps not baby steps. Twice I told him he was going to lose dessert if he didn't stop. He stopped but with resentment and short started again. I finally got him to move, without having to take away dessert, by acknowledging what he was feeling. Just stating that I understood that it really really bothered him that he has to listen and do what we say and has no power and that it does not feel fair got him walking again, and talking about how this was exactly how he feels, that he has NO power. I told him we would see if we could make a little bit of time a day when he could be on charge but he did not like that it was "a little time." Sorry kid, thats part of being a kid. He also pretty much told DH the other day that the reason he likes to be so bossy when we play with him (telling us where and how to color, how to build and making up games with rules that often change mid way through) is that that is the only time he gets to gell US what to do. DH, who really gets annoyed with Gabe's this behavior, told me is much more OK with being bossed during play if this is the reason fo rit. He is mostly afraid that DS will try to boss his peer around and end up with no friends.

[jay&erinn]

Hi Ladies! How is everyone? We're doing well here. It's finally not going to rain this week. Seems like a small miracle the way summer has been going. We went to Erie this past weekend to spend time with my cousin and her family. It was a lot of fun and the girls had a great time.

Behavior: NOPE. Mia is going through a challenging phase right now. Most of the time she's good, but she's having a rough time once or twice a day- deciding she doesn't want to listen and pitching huge fits over not getting her way. I'm hoping it passes soon. Her behavior seems to go in waves. Big periods of cooperative, fun to be around child, and then the rotten 4 year old stage rears it's ugly head for a few weeks.

mittyrd: Yea for 3 year olds. It seems like they were just born. UGH- how time flies.

kerrykate: How's life with 2? Hope you're adjusting well.

Alison: Sounds like you're having a nice summer. We have friends who live north of Toronto in Berrie. We haven't been up to see them in forever, but talk about it all the time.

I'm booking our trip to Disney for the beginning of December. I'm already excited. I'm not sure how much of a vacation it's going to be, but I'm looking forward to our first family vacation without anyone else. This will be the first time we've gone away without some other family with us.

[Renrel]

errin - I am jealous of your Disney trip. Should be such fun. I was thinking we might go in November this year, having read in the Disney thread that that is the least expensive time but DH has volunteered us for Thanksgiving and I jut don't think it will work.

Jenyfer9- Hope your vacation is going/went well. On prefences, we only have the one but Gabe definately shows a preference for me. Luckily it is less strong than it used to be.

Mittyrd - Is your weather as weird by you as it is around here. We have experienced 2-3 hail storms already this summer.

Kerrykate - How are you adjusting to life with two? I hope all is going well.

We had a nice weekend. Saturday we dragged Gabe to the beach against his protests and he had a great time. We intentionally head there late to avoid the crowds. We arrived around 3pm and stayed on the beach until around 6:00-6:30 when it started to rain. We sat out a big thunder and hail storm in the car, and then drove over to a beach "resort" area a mile or so down the beach. They were having a sock hop on street and fireworks at 10pm. We got Gabe fair food and took him to the arcade, danced to the music and watched the fireworks. He had a great time. This was the beach area DH and I frequented when we were married and it was where we got engaged. They used to have a little amusement park but unfortunately that is gone. Sunday we drove out to the inlaws for the afternoon and then left Gabe with them for a visit. They are suppose to bring him back Wednsday evening. DH and I plan on dinner or a movie date night tonight and we are having some friends over for dinner tomorrow night. This is the first time in almost a year the Gabe has not fussed at all about being left at a Grandparents home. He used to not mind at all but since last August he has complained and fussed in between having lots of fun. Hopefully he is back to just having a good time.

[kerrykate]

Hi ladies, thanks for all the congrats:)
We're doing good here. Lauren is doing so well with her new little sister. She is an incredible help. I do feel guilty that I don't have as much time for Lauren and I always feel like I'm telling her to "hold on" or "in a minute" because I'm feeding the baby or trying to get the babe to sleep. Friends and family have been so helpful with taking Lauren to the park or swimming and giving her lots of attention. Yesterday dh and BIL took her to a waterpark and she had so much fun. My parents, sister, and nephew are taking Lauren to Lake Michigan next week for 4 days. I was really nervous/hesitant at first about her going because it's a 5-6 hour drive which seems so far for her to be away but I know she'll have a blast and honestly it'll be a nice break:o

Overall Emma is a good baby but she definitly has her cranky times. I had forgotten how much work a newborn is... She is a great sleeper and did a big 4.5 hour stretch the other night. Yesterday was her 1 month b-day and she gave us a big smile.

I found out on Tuesday that my 13 year old cat has a tumor that the vet thinks is cancer. He's been limping and the vet said the tumor is rubbing against his bone. I don't know what to do, I don't want him to be in pain. I've had him since I was 18 years old, he was 8 weeks when I got him and I had just moved out of my parents house into my first apt.

[AlisonCO]

kerrykate - thanks for the update, I was thinking about you and hoping that Emma was doing well. So sorry to hear about your kitty.

erinn - Oh you guys are going to have so much fun in Disney - are you doing Land or World?

Renrel - Hope that you and Dh had some nice alonet time. Did you all make a decision about the IVF?

We are doing well - the summer seems to be going pretty fast and I will be glad when school starts again. I got spoiled having Aidan gone 2 mornings a week as well as the fact that he got spoiled by having constant fun and stimulating activities. He plays great by himself and is super imaginative but he and Caitlin together can be great or terrible. She just wants to be just like him and do everything the same but sometimes its not possible.

He had 2 weeks of swim lessons earlier in the month and it went well. He can now put his whole head under and float on his back for a few seconds. He also did a drop in art class last week at the college - they worked with real clay, watercolors and chalk.

DH is taking the kids camping Sat-Sun by himself - I am so excited to have the house to myself, it is going to be too quiet I'm sure! I was going to go but it was short notice and our dog sitter is gone. My sister and I are going to see Mamma Mia Sat and then out for drinks.

Hope that you all are having a great summer.

[mittyrd]

Alison: How did the week go by yourself? It must have been so quiet. Your DH is brave to take them camping by himself.

Kerry: How's it going with the baby and Lauren?

Renrel: I hope Gabe had a good time. It must be nice to have time alone with DH.

Erinn: I'm jealous about Disney. I have finally convinced DH to go Oct 2010. By then I should have plenty of points on my Disney credit card to get some free passes to the park.

Things here have been crazy busy. In my quest to work less hours (with my new job) I have actually been working full time hours between 2 different facilities. And the boys are wearing me out. They are wild. I started to see a chiropractor this week and after 2 sessions my neck feels so much better. I have a pinched nerve and that feels better too. I wish I had gone a year and a half ago when the pain started. I can't wait to go tomorrow.

We are heading up north this weekend for vacation. I'm very excited. We rented a house. My mom and niece are also coming. Then Jake's best friend from daycare is coming for a night (with his family) so that we can all go to the amusement park together. Jake is so excited to have his own friend (since Matt & Sam are "best friends") and it will be so cute to see them together. It will be fun. Then 2 more weeks at their daycare and they start their new pre-K/preschool. I'm sure that transition is going to be hard for all of us.

I hope everyone is doing well!

[AlisonCO]

mittyrd - It was just 2 days, not a week. I think that I would have actually missed them if they were gone for a whole week.:) I did go shopping for myself and bought some new jeans and 2 new shirts for fall/winter. I saw Mamma Mia with my sister (so fun!) and I slept until 8am on Sunday.

Have a really fun weekend away. My kids start school Sept 3 and 4 - Aidan seems much more excited this year than last when he was pretty scared. Caitlin seems a bit nervous.

[mittyrd]

Alison: I thought it was Sat through Sun and I was thinking to myself that I can't imagine letting DH take them for that long without me!! I was thinking you were awfully brave! Although 2 days is pretty brave too.

[kerrykate]

Hi ladies! I wanted to give us a bump up and see if we can revive our almost 5year old thread. Speaking of the birthdays are around the corner... Anyone have plans yet? Lauren wants to have a party at the place she takes gymnastics. It should be fun, they do some organized activities then let the kids play on the equipment, then cake, ice cream, and presents. Then everyone will come back to our house for pizza.
Lauren starts preschool 3 days a week on Monday. We met her teacher last week and she seems very nice.
Here are a couple pictures of L and the baby, they're from last month but it's all I have uploaded right now...
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj55/kerrykate22/CIMG0540-1-1.jpg?t=1219261443
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj55/kerrykate22/CIMG0605.jpg?t=1219260750

[mittyrd]

Kerry: Such sweet girls!

We came back from vacation last week. We went to Storyland and Santa's Village and the boys had a great time. It was so much easier to go away this year than last year.

The boys spend a couple of hours at their new preschool/pre-K yesterday so they could meet the teachers and the other kids. They loved it and didn't want to leave so I guess that is a good sign. Their last day at their current daycare is Friday. I'm really not looking forward to saying good-bye.

Jake's birthday party: We are going to have a "Jake-o-Lantern" party. I did something similar 2 years ago. This year we are going to decorate a lot more and have the kids come in costume.

I'll have to try to upload some pictures from vacation.

[AlisonCO]

Kerrykate = they are gorgeous, the second picture is adorable!

mittyrd= we go for the meet the teacher appt this week - hope it goes as well as yours. Trips definetely seem to get a bit easier as they get older.

b-day - We are having a joint party (Aidan and Caitlin) at a My Gym - I figure that this is the last year we could get away with this and they have many friends and siblings in common so we can just do one big party. Plus the only thing I have to do is bring cake - the staff supervise, do a class, play, serve cake and clean up. Aidan is getting a load of costumes (batman, robin, knight, ninja, cowboy), some new figures that he wants and probably some other things.

Happy weekend!

[AlisonCO]

Hey - how is everyone?

Aidan has his first day of pre-kindergarten tomorrow and seems to be excited. One of his friends from last year will be in this class so that is nice. We met his 2 teachers last week and they seem fun and creative which I love since that is the stuff we don't do at home (lots of hands on science experiments and pre-math centers.) Out of 14 kids, there are only 3 girls which should make things interesting. Caitlin starts Thursday and her class is the opposite - 8 girls and 3 boys.

The summer seemed to go pretty fast except the last 2 weeks. I just cannpt believe that we will be picking an elementary school this January.

I think that I mentioned before that A is really into dress up and so he is getting about 10 costumes for his b-day. I hit up a couple of yard sale and have a friends with an 8 yo boy. He is getting batman, cowboy, robin, mr. incredible, knight, doctor, ninja, police officer. He also wants another transformer and some batman things.

Here is a recent picture of the kids:
https://www.searsphotos.com/ImageServer/dep_show_line_item.aspx?I=5E487A5F-DA4C-4B7D-A252-DC02A1C0813D&C=Nat&R=90

[mittyrd]

Alison: Great picture!

The boys started their new preschool/pre-K program yesterday. So far so good. They love it. Friday was their last day at their daycare and it was very sad for me. They didn't understand what was going on. I cried all day. When I went to pick them up we were both sobbing. Matt and Sam were just staring at us asking us if we were sad or happy. Jake is in a separate room from the twins and he does not see them much at all during the day. It's a big change for him but I think he likes it.

I have to start working on Jake's Jake-o-lantern party.

Hope everyone is doing great!

[jay&erinn]

Hi Ladies- how is everyone? I was unable to log in for awhile, but was still reading along.

Preschool is in full swing. Mia is going 3 full days this year. She loves it and asks why she can't go 5 days. She could, I'm just not willing to not have her home with me for one last year. I work the days that she's in school and I'm finding it odd that I'm not the one to drop her off or pick her up. By the time I see her in the evening she doesn't have much to say about school. She's in a catholic school and I have heard quite a bit about God since she started. She told me that a piece of God was in her heart and he was all through her. Then she asked me how he was in her heart and all through her at the same time. I told her to ask her teacher:o She's only 4 and I already can't answer her questions. She came home yesturday talking about how God made the sky blue and the grass green and that "there were two people, Eve and I can't remember the other one." So cute.

Gymnastics and ice skating also started back up for Mia. She was so excited to get back to them.

Ayla is still a handful. She talks non-stop and asks why constantly. I didn't think that started until closer to 3 and I forgot how annoying it can get. She's still climbing everything, but enjoying having DH to herself on the mornings Mia is in school. DH was so bored on Mia's first day of school that he took Ayla and signed her up for gymnastics with him on Wednesdays so they'd have something to do. Now when Ayla doesn't take a nap you can here a bunch of banging in her crib. When I go to get her she tells me to watch this and then either jumps all over the place or tries to do a headstand in her crib. I told her not to do those things and she said, "Why Mom- I just doing gymnastics."

The end of our summer was nice. We went to visit my brother in Washington, DC. We did the zoo, the aquarium and then just walked around a little. Other than the insane heat- it was 90-95 degrees while we were there, it was great. The zoo was wonderful and Ayla still tells everyone about it. We saw the World War II memorial and it is stunning. I can't wait for the girls to be older so I can take them back to see everything else and have them understand it. We walked in between the white house and the washington monument. There was a large group of Asian tourists taking pictures. One of the young women approached me and asked if she could take a picture with my girls. I told her she could and the next thing I know Mia and Ayla were being passed around for pictures with 40 different people. It was very odd, but interesting. DH was a little confused, but then I reminded him about all the pictures my grandparents had of little kids from the many countries they visited over the years.

We're very disappointed that the pools have closed for the summer. On sunday, Mia finally decided to put her face in the water while she was swimming. Figures, the second to last day of swimming and she finally becomes brave. The pool by my mom's place is still open this week, so we're heading there tonight to give her a little more practice. Now that she's finally put her face in she can swim 10-15 feet without any problems. Hopefully it'll carry over to next year.

We're working on Mia's Hello Kitty party. She's so excited. She wants to invite kids from her preschool, but I'm not ready for that yet. I tried to convince her to have her party at Chuck E Cheese and then she could invite some of her friends, but since they won't allow us to take in her hello kitty pinata she decided she didn't want to have it there- that would be too easy for me:rolleyes:

Well, I think that's about it from here. I need to upload some pics so I can post them. I hope you're all doing well.

[jay&erinn]

Pics from Erie, PA- the Erie Ocean as Mia refers to it. Some are also from Idlewild outside of Pittsburgh. It's an amazing amusement park/water park tailored towards younger kids. Mia is able to ride everything except maybe 2 rides in the entire park, not just kiddie land- and she's short for her age. Ayla was able to ride about 1/2 of the regular rides and then all of kiddie land. I highly recommend it if you're in this area visiting.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5432.jpg?t=1220550267

This is when we told Mia it was time to go home
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5452.jpg?t=1220550332

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5466.jpg?t=1220550369

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5757.jpg?t=1220550398

Riding the spider at Idlewild- I can't believe Ayla is allowed to ride this- and she loved it. I, however, was half sick. Each car spun on it's own as the ride when around in a circle and up and down. UGH.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/erinnbruno/IMG_5639.jpg?t=1220550460

[mittyrd]

Erinn: I looked at the picture of the girls with the baby and was trying to wrack my brain to remember when you had another baby! The girls are beautiful!

[jay&erinn]

mittyrd: I almost spit out my drink when I read your comment. Ayla has pretty much put to rest the idea of having one more. That, and pregnancy just is horrible. I can't imagine trying to do it while keeping up with two kids.

[AlisonCO]

erinn - the photos are great - they are beautiful!

Aidan had his 4th day of school today and he is doing great. He loves the activities but wishes that there was more free play time. His teachers are great and are really going to prepare them for Kindergarten. I just found out that starting next year we will have a full day K option (for free, this year it is $1900) - anyone facing that too? I just don;t know. Many of our kids will be older because of their b-days but that just seems like a long day. I guess I need to go visit some and see - maybe the longer day allows for more playtime.

[mittyrd]

Alison: I live in 1 out of only 11 towns in NH that do not have public Kindergarten. Supposedly the town is mandated by next year to have public K. We'll see. They were supposed to have it this year and got an extension. If they do end up having it, it will only be 3 hours, I believe. Most likely, I would have to do private K anyway b/c I need some full days (the only day I have off with them is Fridays now). For the private K programs here they have their set work schedule but then do have quite a bit of playtime.

So far, our transition is still going well although the last 2 days Matt & Sam have been particularly weepy and clingy. I am assuming that is b/c they miss their old daycare but don't know how to verbalize that. They also have a cold which is not helping.

Renrel: Where are you????

[mittyrd]

I finally got around to posting some pictures of our vacation (the pretty girl is my niece)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/2843886689_2bef863419.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/2844721786_a25d982e8f.jpg?v=0

[jenf9]

I'm here! I'm here! This is jenyfer with a new user name... I had problems with my other account so I had to start from scratch with a new one! I've missed you ladies, but indeed HAVE been reading along (I just couldn't post!)...

BOTH my boys started preschool this week... I actually have 2 hours to myself in the morning! I almost don't know what to do with myself!

[Renrel]

I am still around. It had just been a really tough month. I have been behind at work. We did an open house kind of thing to meet our neighbors. My parents came to visit for a weekend. My BIL's family came out of the day. And we took a vacation but did not rent the condo until 2 days before we left on the vacation- and I had to bring work with me because I was still so behind. Just alot of stress, so I have not felt much like taking time to post.

The meet and greet party went very well despite the rain that put a cabash on the bounce house.

My parent visit was nice and they gave Gabe some transformers and he actually started playing with them instead of announcing he does not like transformers which was great, not only because such an announcement would be rude but it means he has more in common now with the other boys in his class who are very into transformers and superheros, games Gabe has not wanted to participate in in the past. He is also now willing to play superhero but likes to make up his own superpowers. For instance, iIf he is wearing a shirt with a construction vehicle on it he can think of any construction vehicle, touch his shirt and turn into that vehicle.

Gabe is in the same class at school but 7 older kids left for kindergarden and 7 new younger kids moved up, so it will be a very different experience this year, being one of the oldest in the class and in the school rather than one of the youngest. It is going better than I thought it would so far. He seems to be happy and the threesome of boys that I thought he would be odd man out in does not seem to be materializing. Maybe due to the transformers.

Vacation was nice. A week on cape cod in a rented Condo at a vacation resort. We had stayed there before Gabe was born with family but I did not remember it. Having all that space was nice, two bedrooms upstairs and downstairs a kitchen and a livingroom/dining room with a slider to a porch. There was an indoor and outdoor pool near by with hot tubs. Gabe was very upset that he could no use the hot tubs due to state law. He wants us to get one for our yard. He got over his fear of the deep water due to my purchase of a $5 inflatable ring. I know it is about the least safe floatation devise around, but it makes him feel secure because his face is way out of the water. With the vests or water wings he always seems to be chin deep in the water. He was doing laps, spashing and having a great time. We tried to get him on a tagalong bike, but it was a disaster. He was terrified. Though today he told me he remembered it being fun. We got to spend time on one beach with big waves and a strong under tow and another that was calm and warm and had tidal flats to explore. We found some fun hermit crabs. Gabe loves building sand castles and for some reason always decides he is finally ready to go in the water 15 mintutes before we are ready to leave. There was of course mini golf and lots of ice cream as well. But I think what Gabe liked the best was having mommy and daddy with him all week long with no work or school or other adult stealing our attention.

I think that about it over here. Oh, I turned 44 on August 30th. DH will be turning 51 on the 22nd and maybe on a business trip that day. What fun.

[jenf9]

What great pics mittyrd!

[Renrel]

I had a fun day. I had what felt like some sort of vaginal infection and decided to stay home because I was very uncomfortable and would be unable to concentrate. While I was on the phone making a doctors appointment I get a horrible crampy pain in my back which would not go away. After leaving a message to make an appointment for urgent care for the initial problem the pain got worse. DH had my doctor paged and decided to stay home since I would not be able to drive Gabe to school or care for him myself when I could not stand up straight. Eventually I curled up on the floor with some pillows and fell asleep and when I woke up the back pain had passed. At the doctors she said is sounded like a kidney stone and the tech for the sonogram confirmed that there were stones in my kidneys and one in my bladder, the one that caused me the pain today. I am not looking forward to going through this again but I may given the additional stones. I have to wait for a report from my doctor now. I also seem to have a unrinary infection and I am going to for a CT of my breast on Thursday to check out a new lump. I have very lumpy breasts so it is probably nothing but we want to check it to be sure.

On the bright side of today Angel Gabe rather then devil Gabe was in residence. He was amazingly well behaved all day, even coming up with the idea to have bed time stories be part of the space ship game he had us playing at bedtime instead of trying to make bedtime later by dragging the game out and then wanting stories. He and DH also went out the the driving range this evening while I made dinner and Gabe did great. He did not get frustrated (well just a little, it is golf after all), hit two buckets of balls and even hit one 30 ft. The also spend some time on the putting green and Gabe had a great time. This made up for the bear he was yesterday when he had not pooped in three days and still did not want to let it out. He was repeating accusing us of intentionally putting the dredged onion on his pizza. We ordered articoke and pineapple and if he really found an onion I have no idea how it got there.

[Renrel]

More fun over here. The sonogram and mammogram indicate a solid mass so I now have to go for a biopsy. Could be anything but I am very nervous. And the antibiotic I am on does not seem to be working so I am still very uncomfortable from the UTI though luckily no pain from the kidney stones. The antibiotics are also making my GI system just a bit off wack to. So between that and nerves my tummy is not so great either.

And Gabe has not pooped in at least 3 days, maybe more. I have been so distracted with my own health I have not been keep a close count. We need to see a doctor about his pooping. It is getting worse not better.

[mittyrd]

Renrel: So sorry to hear about the biopsy. When is it? Keep us informed. I'll be thinking good thoughts.

Jen: Thanks!

M & S are more accepting of preschool this week thankfully. They make great projects there too. I've been hanging them in their room and they are so proud. I made the horrible mistake of picking up early one day b/c I left work early and Jake was so upset with me b/c he didn't want to leave school early. I guess that's good in a way even though he made me feel bad. On the other hand, M & S were soooo excited to see me early.

I took the boys to an inside playground and lunch today with their old friend from daycare. They were all so cute hugging and holding hands and expressing their love for each other. Next weekend we are all going camping together and they are all so excited about spending a weekend with him.

Jake's b-day party: I am going to hide pumpkins in the backyard (praying for good weather) and have them find them. I'm going to set up my little moonbounce. I'm debating about setting up a little craft station or not (I have a ton of foam pumpkin stickers I could use). And then I'm making cupcakes with orange frosting and shaping them into a pumpkin cake. I will have the kids decorate them with halloween sprinkles. I bought all sorts of Halloween lights last year on clearance and will decorate with those. And that's it.

[kerrykate]

Renrel~ Sorry to hear what you're going through. My mom just went through the same thing. She had to have an ultrasound and biopsy of a solid mass they found in her breast. It was a long 5 days waiting for the results but everything turned out fine. Take care, I'll be thinking about you.

Mittyrd~ Love the pics! Jake's party sounds like a lot of fun! Just a little warning, we did a craft table at Lauren's party last year and had the foam stickers that you have to peel the back off of and the little peels were everywhere! It was a huge pain in the butt to pick up all the little pieces out of the grass.

Erinn~ The girls are so cute!

Alison~ Great picture of the Aidan and Caitlin, they look so much alike there!

I am in serious shock here... Lauren has a loose tooth:eek: She's not even 5 yet, isn't this a little early??? It's in the middle on the bottom of her mouth. She didn't even get her 1st tooth until she was 10 months so I'm suprised she'd loose one so early. Lauren is SO excited! What is the going rate these days for the tooth fairy? I'll post a pic once it falls out.

Hurricane Ike made its to Ohio and uprooted trees and knocked down power lines on Sunday. We were without power for 4 days and went and stayed at my parents house. My IL's are still out of power. It really makes me feel sorry for the people in Texas who got hit directly and have it so much worse.

I had to put my cat to sleep a couple weeks ago. It was so much harder than I thought it would be. I know it was time though, he wasn't eating much and was very wobbly when he would walk. I ended up having to take him to the emergency vet one evening to have it done. It was so sad, I haven't cried that much in a long time.

[Renrel]

Kerrykate- I am so sorry about your cat. We had to both DH's cats to sleep and while like you it was obvious that it had to be done it was very very very hard.

DH and I finally had a date night last night. We got the neighbor's 16 year old to babysit and went out to dinner with friends. I can't remember the last time I dressed up to DH. I even got my hair cut and colored in the morning and bought a pair of second hand boots as the resale shop down the block from the hair place I use. Gabe was not thrilled about us going out but he did OK. Sitters always get him to sleep earlier than us.

DH has to go out of town on a business trip Monday night through Wednesday or Thursday and Monday is his birthday. We may be able to grab dinner as a family downtown before he leaves.

We have not made any plans for Gabe's birthday yet. I am thinking about some sort of a secret agent or explorer theme with the kids getting a passport to get stamped and diffent stations to go to. The bounce house, a craft, face paint, cup cake decorating, treasure hunt, that sort of thing. But I am not really sure if it would work. I did pick up a bunch of marked down school supplies to use in either goodie bags or a pinata - folding rules, kiddie sissors, little pencils, pencil sharpers. I have at least 13 of each but I don't know how many kids we will be having. There are 10 in his class, 7 graduate I would likely invite and 3 nieghbor kids, but my out of town neice's and nephews if they wanted to make the trip. Not everyone would be able to make of course but I don't know the numbers. And of course some will bring siblings but these goodies would not work well for the little ones.

[Renrel]

We went apple picking yesterday. As usual it cost more than expected with all the extra's but it was still fun. The weather was unually hot, we should have worn short but at least I changed Gabe out of his sweater before we left the house. This was the same place we took Gabe for his b-day last year. There was a hay maze and mini mountain for him to climb, a bounce house and a area with pedel tractors for $5. $2 a ticket for hay ride. $5 for a pony ride. Farm animals to feed. As well as apple picking (I think it was $18 or $21 for the smaller bag we chose to fill) and the obligatory snack bar with fresh cider donuts, apple cider, carmel apples, ect. We did all the actitities other than the pony ride and snacked on way to small glasses of cider and piping hot donuts. The apples we picked were not that great. Due to the hail this year alot of the apples were damaged and none were very sweet, but Gabe had a great time. He climbed the ladders to pick near the top of the trees (they were small trees so it was scary but not super scary to have him climbing like that.) . He