sorry!

Sorry I know it has been a while since I've last posted, I've been dealing with A LOT of stuff, emotional stuff. First off I had my first OB appointment and it went well, just not like I had hoped it would. The OB is very cautious, I think because he doesn't have my prior history, it was never an issue before but now that this baby is biological etc... So I left the appointment scared. As of today I am 10 weeks two days:) My next appointment is Jan 4th, and I will have another ultrasound. My OB really wanted my past history basically, the baby we lost etc. It was hard to track down all my history, when I say hard I mean physically and emotionally. It was digging everything up again and bringing the emotions all back. No one seemed to have my records, I felt like I was going round and round. Thankfully my mom works for a doctors office and was able to help out tremendously, she was able to get all the needed/ pertinent info to my OB's office. We finally know the diagnosis of the baby we lost (acrania, which is not genetic) after 8 years! I'm sure we were told back then but it was a lot to take in at the time. The "bombshell" at least for me was that we told our baby was a boy, we named him after both my grandfathers, and we had him buried at a local catholic cemetery; the amniocentesis revealed that in fact our baby was a girl. I couldn't believe it after 8 years of thinking our baby was a boy, it was a girl. I am not sure what to do with this information, I mean do we change the headstone etc.. We haven't told anyone, I think it is kind of one of those things we aren't sure what to do with the info. I don't even know how to begin to tell our kiddos who knows they have a "big brother" in heaven etc..
The other "big" news I have been dealing with is my brother and his wife are separating after ten years of marriage. They are waiting till after the holidays so the kiddos have a "normal" Christmas etc... Then my brother plans on moving out, I don't have much of the story other than my brother says "trust it is for the best". I just cannot imagine that it is for the best, I don't know I just worry about my niece and nephew and how it will affect them.  I am still processing this info and what it means for everyone involved, not only will it affect them and their kiddos but my kiddos as well. I am trying to be supportive and help out however I can. For now we are to "act" like everything is the same.
So with all that going on, I also have been dealing with running the kiddos here and there and every which way to girl scout meetings; cheer leading practices and games; basketball games; gymnastics practice; sign language club; Christmas programs at both their schools and do all the "Christmas" activities. Hubby is pretty much non-existent right now with his job- it is there peak season. I think I have all the Christmas shopping done with exception of hubby's because he hasn't given me any ideas/ a list. I haven't done any wrapping. Today is the first day of Christmas break for my kiddos and I have my niece and nephew- they spent the night and are with us all day today. Tonight I am working the concession stand at the basketball game (part of the requirements of my kiddos participating in sports) for a couple of hours, thankfully my parents are watching the kiddos for me. I had planned on taking my kiddos to paint pottery (I need to get L's Christmas plate done, the other kiddos each have one) however I am not adventurous to take 5 kiddos to paint pottery not to mention the cost. Tomorrow is L's 18 month check-up at the pediatricians office and at some point I want to get some baking done, the kiddos look forward to making cookies each year.
We have decided we are going to tell our families are big news on Christmas. So this Sunday we are going to hubby's side of the family so we will be telling them at that time, but of course before we do that we need to tell our kiddos;) I have been trying to come up with a creative way to tell the kiddos and our families but just haven't come up with anything. I welcome some creative input:) I think M suspects that I am pregnant, she asked me about a week and a half ago but I kind of just laughed it off, didn't tell her yes or no because I don't want to lie to her.
So that is basically what has been going on in my little neck of the woods. I hope everyone is doing well and if I am unable to post again before Christmas that you all have a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas with your family and friends!!!!! ( I know after last weeks school tragedy in Conn. I will be looking at this Christmas with my kiddos a little differently, definitely more hugs and kisses and "special" time together)

First ultrasound

After very little sleep, and an anxious morning I had my ultrasound. Well hubby went with me and we had L, had no idea kiddos weren't allowed, so hubby had to stay in the waiting room- I about broke down walking back to the ultrasound room without hubby. I think the ultrasound tech realized because she was very sweet. We have a beautiful baby with a heartbeat (146)!!!!!! The baby measures 8wks but my calculations I'm 7wks 3 days, so that is what they are going with which makes my due date July 15th. It sure was a relief to see the baby and the heartbeat!!! I know we aren't out of the woods. I met with the nurse this morning after my ultrasound, then had blood work done; I see the doctor for the first time next Thursday morning. I'm praying that everything continues to go smoothly and our little ones continues to grow healthy and strong:)

I'm here

Sorry it has been a bit, hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and if you participated in Black Friday had a good shopping experience with lots of good bargains. Me Thanksgiving was good, the two youngest had the start of a cold, which I thought was H's allergies and L's teething. We got together with family we hadn't seen in a while, which was nice. Friday was spent at home, just vegging- hubby works on Friday and I don't do black Friday shopping. As it turned out the three kids and I weren't feeling real good, L started running a fever and by Saturday M and L were both running low grade fevers. Hubby wasn't happy that the kiddos were sick because we were suppose to go to his family for Thanksgiving on Saturday. He ended up going as soon as his workout was done on Saturday, he did take H with him because he threw a fit to go, so I stayed home all afternoon and evening with the girls trying to get them better. Thankfully my mom brought some Thanksgiving leftovers for us to eat, as I didn't have much in the house for dinner and didn't want to drag the girls out in the cold weather. It was nice just to relax, nap and not do much however I was bummed that we didn't get any Christmas decorating done:( I have no idea when we will get to the decorating, with Hubby's crazy schedule it doesn't lend it self to much of that. Hubby isn't much for decorating, although he will do the outside lights for me and help set up the Christmas tree; what I really need help with right now is getting all the stuff up from the basement- hopefully this weekend.
We did get some good news last weekend:) The owner of the car, that caused the accident that we were in finally contacted us, so we are starting to move on getting my car fixed:)
Well I have made it to week 7 (by our calculations) and this Thursday is our first ultrasound- the viability scan. I am so nervous, I have run every scenario over and over in my head. I want to be prepared but we are so excited for this baby, I pray and pray that all is well and we see a beautiful, healthy baby with a heartbeat:) My back is still bothering me off and on, which of course gets me worried- I know it is "normal" as long as there is no bleeding- which thank God there has not been. I started worrying that something has happened when I don't have any symptoms, or I don't "feel" pregnant which is crazy I know because I am only 7 weeks but it still freaks me out. I am hoping that I get some comfort in the ultrasound. Over Thanksgiving I found out that my cousin had an ectopic pregnancy (she had to have surgery for, and thankfully the surgery went smoothly with very little bleeding and no damaged to her tubes), so then my mind started to wondering and worry. I try to not worry because I know it is not good for me or the baby and it accomplishes nothing; I am trying to pray each time I start to worry. My ultrasound is scheduled for this Thursday at 10am- please pray for us and for our baby, that we see a beautiful healthy baby with a beautiful healthy heartbeat:) (It would be a great way to celebrate our 10 yr wedding anniversary that is this Friday!)
I will try to update everyone sometime Thursday afternoon.

Doctors appointments and insurance companies- UGH!!!!!

Okay I'm sorry about this rant but I need it!!!! Okay let's start with insurance companies- they are a necessary evil; and yes I'm very thankful for the insurance that we have (and pay dearly for)! With that said, can they PLEASE do their job, and do it right!!! H sees an OT once a week; this OT doesn't take insurance so we have to take care of the billing which I thought wouldn't be that big of a deal- so wrong! First of we have what is called a "gap exception" because this provider is out of network so each month that I fill out the paperwork a d submit the bill along with the paperwork I have to include the gap exception number on each form which I do, and highlight. Each month I have to call the insurance company to find out where the check is, because each month they file it as out of network and applied to our deductible! Now tell me why I put the gap exception # and highlight it so it's very visible??!!! I asked them what can I do to not have to call every month and do you know what they told me, nothing I'm doing everything I'm suppose to do and apparently someone there isn't! To top things off we never get paid the same amount and I've asked why and they said they "discount" it?! What the?! Ugh so very frustrating!!!
Another rant about insurances, went to pick up my test strips for the month for my blood glucose monitor, and about fell over when they told me they would be $120!! Apparently the insurance co had decided to change my test strips to a non formulary drug whatever that means so they will only cover a small portion of these strips (pharmacist informed me that insurance co can do this as much as 3 times a yr!). So I had to get my doctor to order a new monitor that takes different strips that the insurance company would cover. The new strips for the month and my new monitor came to $60, half of what just the strips were going to cost me. Oh the hoops we go through!!!!
Now my rant about my OB. I LOVED my experience with this OB last time however this time around has been less than desired . I think because last time I didn't start with them until I was 12 wks along. I've gotten nothing but the run around this time. It took me almost a week just to get my ultrasound scheduled! I would call scheduling to schedule it, they would say there wasn't an order so they would send me to the nurses desk, where I would have to leave a message, nurse wouldn't get back until 5 pm or after, and scheduling would already be gone! Finally got my ultrasound scheduled for November 29th (a day before our 10th wedding anniversary). However my appointment for labs, meet with the doctor etc isn't until Dec 14th?! It's suppose to be around 6 weeks but it's scheduled at 8 or so weeks. Anyhoo I'm hoping to get it done sooner, once I have my ultrasound.
So now I've developed a rash, very similar to the rash I had when I was pregnant before with L, except it didn't start this soon. It's on my stomach, legs and arms- its small red itchy bumps (before I was told I had pupp). So I called the OB's office first thing Friday morning (8am)left a message for the nurse explaining what was going on, and should I be concerned etc. Do you know they did not call me back till 5:25pm!! The nurse proceeds to say well since its so late, just use 1% hydrocortisone cream; take benadryl every 6 hours (um how is that going to work, when I'm already tired and have 3 kiddos to take care of?!). If it doesn't help or clear up in 48-62 hours call your regular physician or a dermatologist. So now basically I feel like I've been "labeled" a problem patient and they just don't want to deal with me. I hate that, all I want to know is, is it going to hurt the baby!! Once again very frustrating, I'm scared as it is, so afraid of losing this baby, and the doctors and nurses don't seem to understand that.
Okay, okay enough ranting. I'm looking for a peaceful and hopefully quiet weekend at home with not much planned before the craziness of the week begins. M has two days school and H is out of school all week:) M's cheer leading practices begin this week - Mon and Tues nights 6-7pm; H has basketball practice Mon nights 5-6.  Then the holiday fun begins. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!! THANK YOU again for all the love, support and encouragement!!

Not the weekend I had planned

I had planned on posting this before my weekend started. I'm attempting to post from my phone as I'm waiting in car pool line for H. Little Miss L has been sick ALL weekend:( She woke up on Friday morning with a fever, we went to the doctors on Saturday and they ruled out ear infection, strep, her lungs sounded clear and they attempted to get a urine sample to no avail. Poor L wouldn't eat anything and is taking small sips here and there of juice, her fever was as high as 103.8 over the weekend. I took her back to the doctors this morning with a urine sample and that came back normal so they ran some blood work (which I don't understand why they didn't do this on Sat.?!) and determined its a virus that has to run its course. L is so pitiful:( just lays around, sleeps a lot, not herself at all- she is down almost 2lbs since Saturday morning. I'm hoping the worst is over and she will start feeling better and getting her strength back!! Thankfully (knock on wood) everyone else is okay:)
Now on to me. I got a call from my OB's office late Friday that scared me because I wasn't expecting a call. The nurse wanted to make sure I got my beta hcg results from Thursday but she actually gave me the wrong ones- the ones from Monday (again scared me!!!) so I had her double check my results from Wed/Thurs and they were right:) While I had her on the line I got some "clarification", I am 4weeks (5weeks) tomorrow, so they will want to see me next week or the week after for some lab work, and ultrasound. So I've got to call and set that appointment up with them today (scheduling was already gone when I got the call on Friday), I'm going to try and get an appointment for the week after Thanksgiving because H is out of school all next week and M is off Wed- Fri.
So I think I might have a yeast infection:( I'm not sure, I've only had one, one other time. Hope this isn't TMI but I've got itching, but no odor or discharge. So I don't know if it's just the hormonal changes or a yeast infection so I guess when I call the doctors office I need to talk to the nurse, and see what they want to do. My blood sugars have been out of whack all weekend so I had to call my doctor for adjustment on my insulin- but this is a good sign because as the pregnancy progresses it will affect my blood sugar readings, I just have to continue with my strict diet and keep on top of taking my blood sugar and administering my insulin. Right now I'm faxing my blood sugar reading to my endocrinologist every day (except Sat. and Sunday).
So that's what's been going on with me:) THANK YOU ALL again for your continued prayers, support and kind comments!!!!!!!

Finally!!!

I've been waiting ALL day, with my stomach in knots for the doctors office to call with my Beta hcg results. Every time the phone rang, I would get nervous and my heart would race- I know not good for me or the baby. Finally at 4:10 I could take it no longer I was so afraid the doctors office would close and I wouldn't get the results till tomorrow. So I called, and whoever gave me the results was nice but I still have answers I need answered. My beta was 444.6 (it was 201) on Monday so that is a good number:) I just want to know where we go from here, hoping for an ultrasound around 6 weeks. Anyhoo they are suppose to call me back to let me know but I doubt I will hear something today. I'm just relieved to have a good number. I pray that this pregnancy continues to go smoothly and our little surprise/ miracle continues to stay put and grow!!! THANK YOU ALL for the support and prayers- please keep them coming we have a long road ahead of us- I hope and pray!

Prayers Please

I'm really scared! Late this afternoon I felt a little crampy, and now my lower back is hurting. I'm so afraid that I'm losing the baby:( I'm trying not to worry and pray- and leave it in God's hands. It is sooo hard to do that. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with my endocrinologist/ diabetes doctor and then after lunch I have my beta/ hcg labs. I will not get the results till some time on Thursday. So I'm please asking for several things:
1.) pray that I'm able to leave it in God's hands, and be okay with his plan
2.) the pain I'm feeling is implantation/ baby growing
3.) at least a 402 or larger number from my beta/ hcg results on Thursday

Thank you all for your kind thoughts, prayers and support, it truly means a lot to me!

**UPDATE** Blood Test Results

Okay well I just got a call from the nurse at the obgyn's office and it really doesn't ease my nerves. My number was 201 so she says I am very early on, only like 2 weeks- which scares the hell out of me because that means I have a LONG way till 12 weeks (the time when I feel like I can take a small sigh of relief). I don't know if this is a good number or not. (Btw THANKS to blogger and my blog- I posted on October 9th that I had started my period, so that is about in line with the doctors thinking that I am only 2 weeks or so). I didn't realize that the urine pregnancy test would pick up soooo early!!
So you all know the drill I go back Wednesday for another blood draw (and this time they are not going to stat it), I will find out Thursday the results. So prayers, fingers crossed etc... that the number at least doubles!!! I mentioned to the nurse about using progesterone or as I call it baby glue, she said typically 9/10 times that a pregnancy without fertility treatments you don't use anything, which makes me even more nervous.
PLEASE, PLEASE keep us in your thoughts and prayers- MUCH appreciated!

SHOCKED!!! and SCARED!!!!

OMG!!! Where to begin? A week ago this past Friday I was putting L into the suv to go pick M up from school, it was raining and I was having to reach to put her into her seat (she sits in the middle), both of my feet slip on the running board and I BANG my legs- it HURT!!!! It was all I could do not to cry it hurt that bad. Anyhoo I had to get to M's school to get her so I couldn't worry about it. Not till I got home and pulled my pants legs up did I see how swollen my one leg was- my shin looked like my knee! I keep it elevated as much as possible with ice on it and over the next couple of days the swelling went down but not completely and it still hurt especially when I hadn't been on the leg for a while. Then by Thursday I noticed it started to itch- I thought oh it must be getting better! Friday hubby comments on how red it looks and I say yes and it is warm to the touch.  Of course we google it and you can imagine the things that come up! I was SCARED!
Saturday evening hubby and I have a date night! Yes you read that right, a date night! I couldn't tell you the last time that happened! Nothing fancy just going out to dinner just the two of us:) My parents were going to watch the kiddos, and the two older ones decided to spend the night. I showed my mom my leg before we left on our date and she said I should really get it checked out. Anyhoo we go on to dinner- nothing fancy just a chain seafood restaurant but it was nice. Then at dinner I start to get worried about my leg and decide maybe I should go ahead and get it checked out. So after dinner we head to one of the local hospitals to get it checked out- I know some date night! LOL!
I was surprised to see no one in the waiting room, and they moved very efficiently before I knew it I was back in a room. So I am getting checked out and they really think it is an infection (I don't get that since I didn't have an open wound etc..?! but ok) but they want to get an x-ray to make sure it is nothing more. In order to do an x-ray they want me to do a urine sample/ pregnancy test just to make sure- so I oblige them, whatever! So I am laying in the hospital bed hubby is watching the football game next to me, the lady from registration is taking my insurance info and the nurse looks at me a mouths YOUR PREGNANT! WHAT did you just say????!!! HUH?! Talk about being in COMPLETE SHOCK both hubby and I couldn't believe it! So the nurse asks if we want the test run again- UM YES! SO he runs another urine pregnancy test and it comes back positive too, he says "girlfriend you are pregnant!"! OMG! I cannot believe this is happening.  (Btw my leg turned out to be an infection and I am on some heavy duty antibiotics).
Now we are in COMPLETE SHOCK, EXCITED and SCARED out of our minds!!! The lines on the pregnancy test seem a little faint to me so that has me questioning things, I don't have a clue as to how far along I might be because I don't know normal cycles and I don't keep track (I hate keeping track- a infertility thing). I think or should I say my best guesstimate of when I had my period last was the end of September.
So first thing this morning I start calling my doctors- I called my obgyn and the got me in around lunch time for a blood test- so now I am trying to patiently wait, I should know the results this afternoon some time. I called my diabetes doctor but surprisingly haven't heard back from them. So I wait and wait, with my stomach in knots. I sooooooo want everything to be all right and this pregnancy to go to term; I am trying to be optimistic yet at the same time prepare myself. I want to get started on medications right now! to help with this pregnancy, you know "baby glue" etc... I sooo want to be far along in the pregnancy that I don't have to wait much longer for the 12 week, sigh of relief but yet I know I haven't been taking the best care of myself so I wonder what that might have done to the baby. And through all of this I keep telling myself  "don't worry, just pray". So will you please keep me and my baby in your thoughts and prayers!!!! (BTW you all are the only ones besides hubby and my parents that know., it is so hard I just want to SHOUT it our to the whole world)

Halloween, maybe pink eye and then some

Kind of a late post about Halloween, hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween with lots of treats and no tricks! Our Halloween was okay. Tuesday afternoon after school I noticed H's eye's were really really red, and I just knew it was pink eye. Since it was late in the day I decided to see what it did in the morning (crusty etc..), however H had his first wrestling practice- not real thrilled that hubby wanted to get him involved but he was willing to take him so I thought he could give it a try. Well since we weren't sure if it was pink eye, H went to the practice but just watched- which is super hard for him because he wanted to get out there and get in the middle of the action! Wednesday morning rolls around, H's eyes are still super red but no drainage or crusty's etc.. however L's eyes are draining, no red?! What is a mom to do? I decided to not be "that mom" and told him he couldn't go to school that I needed to take him to the doctors, just in case it was pink eye, so that all his friends wouldn't get it.. Well H threw a HUGE fit, first of all he is the kiddo who LOVES school and second of all it was there Halloween party and they were getting to wear their costumes. He said "I was the worstest mom ever!". While all this is going on, I look over at M and she is rubbing her eyes like crazy trying to make them red so she doesn't have to go to school- yes she is the kiddo who EXCELS at school but doesn't like it! So I get an appointment at the doctors appointment for later that morning, I had my annual lady appointment (GRRR...) with a new doctor first thing that morning. I liked the new doc, things went well but those old feelings of being "the infertile" one crept back in while waiting in the waiting room with all the preggos, and then having to rehash my history. Anyhoo the appointment went well and fairly quick. Took L and H to their doctors appointment, doctor doesn't think it is pink eye, thinks H's is allergies (even though he is on claritin and benadryl) and L's is a cold. He did go ahead and give me a prescription for the medicine for pink eye incase L's eyes got red and H's started to drain. Still not convinced of this diagnosis but then I am not a doctor! L's eyes are still crusty when she wakes up although not bad, but no redness; H's eyes are still red and now M's eyes are a little red but no drainage/ crusty so what is a mom to do?
Needless to say H went back to school yesterday, I sent a note saying the doc didn't think it was pink eye that it was allergies etc..and to call if they started bothering him.. Of course H comes home that afternoon and tells me he told his teachers and friends that  he has pink eye! UGH!!! So I am sure I am now "that mom" that lies to send her son to school.
Back to Halloween day, so H missed school and his halloween party for nothing so I am the worstest mom ever! M went to school had a fun day and Halloween party at school. That afternoon we finally decorated our pumpkins (M had a little attitude and was upset that we hadn't decorated our pumpkins saying it was going to be November before we got to it!), we took the "easy" way out and bought the decorations that you just push in to the pumpkin- LOVE it!!!!! The pumpkins turned out super cute, and the kids could do them with very little help.
Since M was a baby we have always gone over to my parents house to have dinner and trick or treat. Well late Halloween afternoon my mom called and said they weren't going to be at home, that my brother and his family were going to be at a local firehouse halloween party and they were invited (my brother and his family live about an hour away and have always chosen to stay there to trick or treat). Well I was just a little upset! We don't know our neighbors well enough to trick or treat, and hardly anyone in our neighborhood hands out candy ( one day I hope to live in a nice neighborhood where everyone hands out candy and LOTS of kids trick or treat, of course if that ever happens our kids will probably be too old to trick or treat). So I wasn't sure what we were going to do, didn't really have anywhere to go! Then my mom called and said we could come too, I wasn't thrilled but at least we had somewhere to go. We went to the firehouse party, my brother and his family hardly talked to us- don't know what there deal was?!; it was SUPER crowded and it just wasn't "Halloween" to us, I like tradition. However with all that said the kiddos had fun and got candy. I was bummed because we don't have any pictures of the kids "trick or treating", especially of L on her first Halloween where she could participate. Anyhoo I hope next year we go back to the "traditional" Halloween. M went as supergirl, H went as Jan.go F.et.t and L went as Str.awb.err.y Sho.rt.cak.e.
UPDATE***
Update on the accident we were involved in:
We got the police report this afternoon, doesn't have the guys insurance, says he has it but didn't have it with him. I would be willing to bet he doesn't have any! Oh and their apparently was a passenger in the  car- which makes me even more suspicious of what went on, because the guy had been drinking (blew .048 and legally drunk is .08) and said he had worked all night and was tired. I just don't get how two people in the car can get on the wrong way, speeding and they not realize it unless they were on drugs and or drunk!!! I am sooooo upset with everything it makes me sick! So now we have to try and contact this guy, send a certified letter etc.. to get his insurance info and if we can't then we have to take him to court!
Anyhoo that is the latest. Hope everyone has a great (and safe) weekend!

Praying for the East Coast!

Just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all those on the East coast as hurricane Sandy comes ashore- very scary storm and I hope all are able to stay safe!!! I have a cousin up in the East coast who lives on the bay and I pray that she and her little girl are safe!!!
Today here in Kentucky we are already getting the wind associated with Sandy! This afternoon they have issued a wind advisory until tomorrow evening. We are also having unseasonably cooler temps- tomorrow isn't suppose to get above 50 degrees and they are even calling for a chance or a few snow flurries, rain/ snow mix for tomorrow as well as for Halloween.

EVENTFUL and SCARY Saturday!

Friday evening was such a nasty night out, it was cool, windy and rainy so I decided we would just stay in, I would cook dinner and then we could all get in our comfy clothes and watch the football game- GO CARDS!!! Yes our beloved UofL Cardinals were playing football on Friday night and it was a thrilling game that they WON - they are undefeated this season:)
Saturday we had a busy day ahead M had gymnastics all morning and then we were planning on going to H's school for the fall festival there; then home for some rest, and dinner before heading to M's school for their fall festival. It wasn't a typical Sat. morning hubby was home- his personal training class he wasn't doing so he was trying to sleep in and I was taking M to gymnastics with the intention of leaving H and L at home. Well L woke up right before we left so I took her with me so that hubby could sleep in. We were on our way to the gymnastics place going down the freeway when a person doing about 80mph the WRONG way!!! He had sideswiped the car up ahead of us and was in our lane headed head on toward us! I got over on the shoulder as far as I could and was able to thankfully avoid him however the debris from his vehicle (one of his tires and a shredded rim) hit the front of my new vehicle- I had just gotten the tags for it on Friday! The debris messed the front of my vehicle up which is going to require some body work. Thankfully we were not hurt and like the police officer said it could've and should've been A LOT worse than it was! The guy was not "legally" drunk (in our state legally drunk is .08 and he blew a .048 on the Breathalyzer test), he said he had been working, was really tired and got on the wrong way, but like the cop said something just didn't sound right but given the law they couldn't arrest him. So now we have to wait 7-10 business days for the police report and then attempt to get our vehicle fixed. Here is the REALLY freaky part, one year ago to the DATE we were in another accident, where a person driving a U-haul pulled out and hit our vehicle (our mini-van that we traded in when we bought our new vehicle just recently); oh but wait there is more! Eight years ago this week we had just purchased a new car when a teenager pulled out and hit us. I think next October first of November I am NOT going to drive or go anywhere for that matter!!!!
M ended up missing gymnastics, by the time the EMS checked us over, we signed the refusal for care paperwork; the police did there paperwork; cleared the accident scene etc... we just decided to go on home. We did all go to both the Fall Festivals and had a good time. I have to tell you about the cake walk at M's school. She was so excited to do the cake walk- she had never done one but had read about it in a J.un.ie B. Jon.es book. Well M won and what did she choose? no not brownies, cupcakes, cookies or even a chocolate or iced cake, nope she choose a store bought artificially flavored banana walnut cake! I said are you sure that this is what you want? But she was adamant that this is what she wanted- LOL! (just like the book with the main character Jun.ie. B. Jon.es wins and chooses a fruitcake!) Needless to say she was not a fan of the cake and it still sits on the kitchen counter with only one piece gone.

M and Mommy night

Thursday night I took M to see the K.ell/og.g'.s tour of G.ym/nas.ts. We were both VERY excited to see the show, and hubby did AWESOME with our tickets!!!! We had great seats- floor just a few rows back from the front. The only disappointment for M of the night well actually there was two- 1.) they didn't sell cotton candy- her fav! and 2.) they didn't do the vault- it was more of an artistic show than competition or showcase of events. I was frustrated with the place where they held the event because their machines/ system was done and they would only take cash for anything purchased, food, souvenirs etc... I did managed to get M a t-shirt and poster. We had a fun mommy and daughter night, but it was a late night for both of us, it was 10:30 before M got in bed (she typically is in bed by 8pm most nights) and 6am came way too early!

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken this past Wednesday at a local park. My husband's co-worker is a professional photographer on the side and he is the one who took our pictures. I decided on everyone wearing jeans; H and hubby work gray Henley's; I wore a gray sweater and the girls wore purple long sleeve shirts. We looked good, coordinated etc. however I think we could have used a little more color in our outfits after seeing the pictures. We had a gorgeous fall afternoon at a local park close to our home and for the most part the kiddos did well. M was LOVING the camera, constantly posing  and smiling, she was eating it up. We got to see the proofs this past Saturday and he took a TON of pictures- hundreds!!! We haven't narrowed down which ones we are going to get but we have quite a few good ones to choose from. We did family pictures, then kids individual, just the kids and then just the two of us- this Nov. is our 10th wedding anniversary. I am looking forward to creating our Christmas cards with these pictures too!

Need some Advice PLEASE!!!

Last minute decision (on my hubby's part) to have our family picture taken this week. I have been after hubby to talk to his friend that is a photographer and he finally did however with everyone's crazy schedules and trying to get some Fall color in the photos we are doing our photos this Wed. night. SO I need some advice on what to put everyone in, I need suggestions on outfits and colors. We are doing the pictures outside at a local park. The plan is to use these pictures as our Christmas cards etc...I don't know whether to put everyone in jeans and same color shirts; girls in matching outfits ? just what. So if you are a photographer PLEASE I welcome your input or if you have done outside picts before or just have an eye for this kind of thing- please please help!
THANKS a BUNCH in advance!!!

Fall Fun :)

I've been trying to squeeze in some Fall fun with our hectic schedules. This past weekend we didn't have a whole lot planned so I thought it was a good opportunity and our only one to go to the pumpkin patch as a family. We had planned on loading up and heading to the pumpkin patch (we were thinking of trying a new pumpkin patch in our area, it is a farm that I had been to at the beginning of the summer with the kiddos to pick strawberries) on Saturday after M's gymnastics, however hubby was in a fowl mood (that's putting it mildly), he didn't really want to go and the weather wasn't great either:( it was very cool, threatened rain all day etc...) So I agree to wait till the next day- Sunday when the weather was suppose to be better etc... however we would have to go to a different pumpkin patch because the one we planned to go to closed too early, since we couldn't go till after hubby got done with his class ( he personal trains on the weekends).
So needless to say Saturday after gymnastics we stayed in, I got into my comfy pj' pants and a t-shirt and we just hung out which was kinda nice for a change. Then Saturday night we made homemade pizzas- one of the kiddos favs and had family movie night watching the new Mad.aga.scar 3.
Sunday L and I went to church, hubby slept in and H and M didn't want to go to church with me :(   When I got back from church hubby and M headed to the studio for his class, M LOVES to go and "workout" with daddy, H really really wants to however hubby doesn't have the patience. Finally Sunday afternoon rolled around, and we had a GORGEOUS, sunny fall day to go to the pumpkin patch. We loaded up the car and the kiddos talked about what they were looking forward to the most, H- the corn cannon, M getting a cider slush and L was sleeping:) We had a beautiful 40 minute drive to the pumpkin patch, I loved seeing all the Fall color in the trees.
We get up the the same pumpkin patch we went to last year, and come to find out (and might I add was it NO WHERE to be found on their website!) they now charge admission!!! I was FURIOUS because we basically had no choice but to pay $26 (since we had already driven the 40 mins. the kids were sooo looking forward to it and we don't have another opportunity to go as a family to another pumpkin patch since next weekend is booked)  for our family to essentially "walk" onto their farm. That $26 did not  include the $1 per 3 shots at the corn cannon; the $2.00 for the cider slush; $3 to ride the pony or the cost of the pumpkins!!!! I could NOT believe it! We really really liked the place last year but after this year we will not be going back it is just too expensive, when there are too many other farms around that have just as much stuff to do and don't charge an arm and a leg- they don't even charge to get in. Okay I will stop ranting.
H had fun shooting the corn cannon; all three kiddos enjoying playing in the kiddie hay maze; unfortunately the corn box, slides and swingsets were way too crowded/ lines were long and we didn't have a lot of time. We took a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch and the kiddos picked out pumpkins- only H and M got to get a pumpkin because I was carrying L and hubby could only carry two pumpkins etc... so I plan on taking L somewhere local this week and letting her pick out a pumpkin.
We finally got all three kiddos their Halloween costumes-YAY!!!!! L is going to be strawberry sh.ort.cak.e; M is going to be Su.per.g.irl and H is going to be J.an.go F.et.t (st.ar w.ar.s). I am looking forward to next weekend with all kind of Halloween activities planned to go to:) H and M each have something at their schools- thankfully not at the same time! M has her halloween party at G. S.c.out.s- good times:)

FUN Day with my Girl:)

Last weekend I got some good quality time with M. I really hadn't had much time just the two of us, especially since L was born. On Saturday I took M to her friends birthday/ skating party- she skated ALL afternoon- 3 hours! Poor thing was worn out after 2.5 hours of gymnastics in the morning and then skating all afternoon. Then Sunday M and I had some more Mommy and M time; we went to the Amer. Gi.rl Fas.hi.on Sh.ow/ te.a par.ty, we had a lot of fun together but I was not impressed with the food at all, it was not kid friendly or at least I didn't think so. We went to the noon time show, and they served, a small square sandwich (bread and turkey); a few raw veggies and dip; a small cracker with a dollop of chicken salad, fruit skewers, brownie and a cookie. Now I know I have a picky eater however I think they could have done better and served MORE for what we paid. Needless to say we left hungry and had a busy afternoon ahead with M's last v-ball game- she did AWESOME got 3 serves in a row over:) and then it was on to her gi.rl sc.out mtg. I was so thankful for some good quality time with M:) I am looking forward to MORE M and Mommy time this week when the Ke.ll.ogg's tou.r of gym.na.sts rolls into town- just the two of us are going, and from what I can tell we have really good seats:)

Do a little shopping!!

Want to start Christmas shopping, upcoming birthdays, showers or just want like to shop check out this blog!!!
http://weareexpectingmiracles.blogspot.com/2012/09/lets-shop.html?m=1

CRAZY I know!!!!

I know it is crazy to think/hope after trying for almost 10 years that I would be pregnant but that is what happens each time it gets close to my "time". I wouldn't call it time of the month because it isn't exactly month-LOL! This last time really got me, I was feeling nauseous, of course my boobs were tender you know all the symptoms but no I started:( I hate to feel so disappointed and for lack of a better word depressed that I wasn't pregnant. I know I am VERY VERY blessed with three beautiful, healthy children; but I would LOVE another kiddo and the only way that is going to happen is if A.) we win the lotto- which we don't play so kinda hard to win or B.) we get pregnant on our own, which would be like winning the lotto!
I am seeing lots of posts lately of woman who are trying EA or other methods of getting pregnant again, and I have to admit I am a little jealous, I would LOVE to try again and be pregnant again- I LOVED it!!!! and of course love my kiddos. Don't get me wrong I am very happy for them but at the same time wish we could.
Anyhoo thats my little pitty party.

If anyone is still reading

Well all I can say is LIFE! Yes I've been busy and to be honest I couldn't tell you when the last time I got the laptop out, I've been using my phone lately for most everything. I have tried over and over to start a post only to not finish it and when I get back to it and I need to start over. Well today I am home with a sick kiddo:(   H is running a fever, yesterday he complained of a sore throat however once he found out he couldn't go to school because he was sick he said he was fine and not sick- he was very upset with me because I wouldn't let him go to school. Yes he loves school but he also has a little friend that he says he will miss- a little girl he plays with on the playground. I am hoping its just a little cold, he hasn't complained of a sore throat today, and he is just running a low grade fever this morning- so we shall see.
So what has been going on?! Well I am no longer a mini van momma!!! Yes after driving a mini van for almost 10 years I got an suv:)  I know you saying 10 years? Well right before we got married hubby and I bought a new vehicle, we decided on a mini-van because we planned on starting a family right away- LOL! So yes I drove around town in a mini van for several years without any kiddos. I've been wanting a suv for some time and a couple of years ago we attempted to buy a suv only to have a huge mess in purchasing a lemon etc.. so it made us very leery. Anyhoo long story short I got a nice large hybrid suv and I am loving it:)
Girl Scouts started for M, so every other week we have a meeting. She is also still doing volleyball however her last practice and game is this week- she really has improved over the season. This past weekends game she got 3 serves over the net!!! After the volleyball season ends she will be starting cheer leading- so no it never stops for this momma!!! M had conferences the end of last week, and she is doing AWESOME in school, we are so very proud of her!!! Yesterday at school M read on their morning broadcast- which is HUGE because she is so shy. She also volunteered to do a reading at church in an upcoming school mass, we are waiting to see if she gets picked and what she will be reading. I am one proud momma, she is really blossoming and doing so well at her new school- making all kinds of friends.
H is also doing  awesome at school, his OT seems to be helping alot as well. He started going full days one day a week last week. (His school, in kindergarten they have a graduated system where you go 5 days a week half days to start the school year; then in Oct they start going one day a week all day; then in January they will start going 2 days a week all day) He LOVED it he was sooooo excited to be able to take his lunch and eat at school with all his friends. We don't have conferences for him till next month but his open house is next week. H is going to start playing basketball in the next month or so- should be very interesting! I will keep you posted on how that goes!
L is into EVERYTHING!!!!! She definitely keeps me on my toes- LOL!!! She is still a great eater- anything and I mean anything I am eating she wants! She eats salad, sub sandwiches you name it she will at least try it. She is doing so much better at drinking milk. We are done with bottles :( but still taking a paci. She is doing awesome about sleeping in her own bed for naps and bedtime.
A week or so ago we took the kiddos to see Di.sn.ey on IC.e when it came to town- I won tickets!!!! Yes I was SHOCKED! I NEVER win anything and I won 4 tickets with awesome seats to see the show (L was free since she could sit in our laps and was less than 2 yrs of age). The kids LOVED the show, even L got into pointing to the characters she knew and dancing to the music. We had an awesome (cheap) family date night.
This past weekend we had my niece and nephew from Friday afternoon till Sunday afternoon (my brother and sister in law went out of town for their anniversary). So it was interesting having 5 kiddos- I must say for the most part everyone did well. Friday night we just stayed in and let the kiddos play etc... Saturday was our usual busy morning with gymnastics and then that evening we decided to be adventurous and take all the kiddos to the local zoo for the WorL.ds LA.rGE.st Ha.ll.OW.eeN P.arTY. Since it was kind of a last minute decision, I had not had a chance to buy the kiddos costumes nor did I had my niece and nephew's Halloween costumes so I told the kiddos to raid the dress up bin and come up with their costumes! H decided to go as El/M.O and  he was a HUGE hit with all the kiddos at the zoo- LOL! M went as Pr.inc.ess Ja.sm.ine; L went as a butterfly; my niece went as a b.ar.bie cheerleader (although she kept saying she was a black ba.r.bi.e cheerleader because it was very cool Saturday night and I told the girls to wear long sleeves and leggings under their outfits and my niece choose a black shirt and leggings.) and my nephew went as D.ar.TH VA.D.er.  I think all the kiddos had a great time, enjoyed each other's company and of course LOVED getting CANDY!!! Sunday morning the girls and I went to church and afterwards they had coffee and doughnuts so when the boys found out that they had missed out they were not too happy- but hey should have gone to church! LOL:)  Then M had her volleyball game on Sunday afternoon so she had her own little cheering section with her cousins, brother and sister- yes L yells for M at the games it is sooooo cute!!!  It was a good weekend but by Sunday night I was EXHAUSTED and not ready for Monday morning at all.
This weekend is another CRAZY weekend ahead!!!! M has gymnastics all morning, then hurry home change clothes and head to a birthday party for a girl on her vball team, its at a skating rink for 3 hours so by the time it is over M will be EXHAUSTED!!!! Then Sunday is a M and Mommy day:)  YAY!!! I'm excited. I hope to post more about that next week. M also has her last vball game and a girl scout meeting. WHEW! I don't know what I am going to do when all 3 kiddos are in sports/ activities!!!!
Anyhoo if you are still reading- pat yourself on the back- LOL! This was one long catch-up post and thanks for sticking around to read it:)

15 month check-up

WOW!! I cannot believe that I am posting about L's 15 month check-up, seriously where oh where is the time going???!! OH it is going WAY WAY too fast:( I am trying to soak up as much of this time with L (and with the other two as well), because it just goes back in the blink of an eye.
Our appointment was at 9:30 yesterday morning, so I dropped H off at school and then went to L's appointment with the intention of taking her to the park after her appointment and before picking H up from school at noon. However the doctor didn't come into the room till 10:30 and by the time we got done we didn't get to go to the park:(  L did awesome at her appointment especially since it took a while. She is healthy and beautiful. She is in the 41st % for height right at 30 inches; 71st% in weight 22 pounds 14.5 ounces and drum roll her head circumference 97th% LOL!!!!! LOTS of brains:)
Now when it came to the vaccinations, poor thing got one in each arm and one in her leg- OUCH!!!!! L was NOT happy and she wanted NOTHING to do with the nurse! After her shots the nurse tried to give her a sucker and she shook her head no and turned away; she wouldn't even take the sucker from me! The shots haven't seem to bother her thank goodness. I am so very thankful for a healthy healthy baby girl who is a ball of energy who keeps us on our toes with her antics .

7 Years ago....

7 years ago this past Sunday we were blessed with the most amazing gift- our daughter M. I cannot believe that she is already 7 years old, where has the time gone?! She is truly an amazing young lady with a heart of gold, very caring, loving, smart, the best big sissy to her brother and sister,and beautiful inside and out.
M had a pretty amazing birthday, we celebrated with dinner out several nights, a small get together with my family (mom, dad, brother and his family) and a skate/ Bi.ebe.r party this past weekend with all her friends at the local skating rink- thank goodness I could go out on the floor without skates on :) She decided on a skate party without ever roller skated before- but she did awesome and had a good time. The party was 3 hours so by the end she was pretty tired (that morning she had had 2.5 hours of gymnastics!). H even got on on roller skates and did awesome- after about 10 minutes of my help he was skating on his own:)
She got just about everything she asked for including the Amer. girl doll of the year- Mc.K.enn.a who is a gymnast. H got her a green light saber she had asked for- LOL yes my girly girl asked for a light saber! Everything else she got was pretty girly- clothes. jewelry, purses, J.B. singing toothbrush!! LOL!
I wasn't quite prepared at the age of 7 for my daughter to have sooo many questions about her birth parents already- they mainly center around what they look like (I really really wish I had a picture of them to show her!!! however I did find them on fb so the next time she asks I can show her), when can she meet them etc... I have to admit it isn't easy to talk to her about, don't get me wrong I am forever grateful for their precious gift and I knew this day would come I guess just not yet. I answer her as truthfully as I can with as much information as I can- which is actually limited even though we had an open adoption and live in the same city.

L update

Thought I would do an update on L since it has been a while since I posted. L is a mess- in a good way, love her like crazy and she keeps me on my toes. L into EVERYTHING, climbing- she can now climb up onto the couch, her brother's bed and move stuff to where she wants to climb- oh my! I think her favorite thing to do is "clean" the bookshelf, now when I say clean what I really mean is empty the bookshelf and we have a lot of children's books. She will stand and watch me clean every single book up and put it back on the shelf and then turn around and "clean" it again! Her second favorite thing to do if given the opportunity is to empty the dresser drawers. We try to keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed to keep L out of stuff but you know occasionally a door gets left open and any drawer that she can open will be empty of its contents. Fun times trying to clean in our house!!!
Back when M started school I took H for his kindergarten/ 5yr physical at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week I had L at the doctors because she was sick. I wasn't sure what she had, I suspected either her ears or strep throat- because it was going around. Well when they checked her ears and said they were all clear I knew it was strep even though the doctor didn't think so because she is so young. The doctor went ahead and ordered a strep test and was quite surprised when it came back positive:( So a round of antibiotics and she is all better.
First big boo-boo came over at my parents house when they were suppose to be "watching" her. Apparently the story I get was they were in the backyard playing and my mom was in the yard while the kiddos were up at the back porch and L fell down the steps onto the concrete. L scraped the whole side of her face and had a knot on her head. I wasn't too happy, I know accidents happy but I feel like their best judgment wasn't used. The thing is, we don't have anybody else to watch the kiddos.
Just last night L got another boo-boo. I was bathing H, and my hubby was checking on the muffins in the stove and had M trying to keep L out of the kitchen/ away from the stove when M accidentally bumped L and she fell forward which resulted in a very fat lip, and lots of blood.
The BIG news with L is that she is officially sleeping in her own bed all night!!! I know many of you all are against co-sleeping and yes I know the risks etc... I love the bond that it builds and honestly it didn't start out my plan but after she was in the hospital sleeping on me instead of the bed because that is where they would examine her etc... she wanted nothing to do with the crib and she is VERY STUBBORN!!! Last weekend when we got ready for bed she woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep thought it was fun and playtime, I was exhausted and I was afraid I would fall asleep and she would get hurt so I put her in her bed. The first night I put her in her crib she fussed for just a little bit and was asleep in no time; since then every night I put her in her crib she has done fabulous! Yesterday morning she must have known it was a holiday because she slept till almost 10am! I am so glad it was an easy transition back to her crib- she must have been ready and now we are all sleeping better.
Last thing to update is L is getting another tooth, a bottom tooth, this will be her third one on the bottom and her 7th tooth.

Attempting to post again!!!!!!

You alI don't know how many times I have attempted to post!!! It seems like everything is against me with trying to blog- LOL! Between having very little time, to computer, internet and blogger issues I think I finally might get a post posted!
I am going to break this post up into several smaller posts in hopes of actually getting one done:) It has been a CRAZY busy time with the kiddos. I took a little break (or at least that was my intention) from blogging to enjoy my kiddos during the last days of summer before school started. We had a great time enjoying a local slash park; the city zoo as well as a small independent zoo; going to Holi.day W.orl.d; the library, a local play place with inflatables etc...I tried to make this a fun memorable summer for my kiddos and I wanted to enjoy every second with them- they are growing up way too fast!!!! We also enjoyed watching the Oly.mp.ics especially the gymnastics- M LOVES Gabbie:) She is sooooo excited to see her and the others on their tour. We are going to have a Mommy and M night- I got us tickets to see the tour when it comes to town the end of October.
M started first grade at a new school and she is doing AMAZINGLY well, I am so pleased with how things are going. She joined the volleyball team and seems to be enjoying it- of course that just adds to my "to do" list with practice on Thursday evenings and games on Sunday afternoons- both times when I have all three kiddos and no help from hubby. But I am thrilled that she is getting involved and making friends. School seems to be going well for her with a few minor bumps along the way with adjusting to a new grade and school but all to be expected.
H started back to school just this week and of course it has been an adjustment for him as well. He is in kindergarten and this is his last year at his school before moving to the same school as his sissy:) He was thrilled to be back and see his friends and his cousin who is going to the same school and is in the same class. So I am thrilled that even though we were all dreading to some extent the end of summer and the beginning of school it all went smoothly:)
H turned 5 the middle of August- I still cannot believe that my baby boy is FIVE years old!!!!! That seems so big:(  He had a FANTASTIC birthday, of course we don't just celebrate one day it is like a whole weekend:) We went out to dinner with my parents, brother and his family and then back to my parents house for cake and presents. Then there was celebrating at home with just us and getting his presents from us- it was an ALL St.ar W.ar.s birthday from the presents to the decorations and cake. Then there was his friends party at a local candy shop, the theme was L.eg.o S.t.ar W.ar.s and at the party the kids got candy le.go.s to build with and eat.  We were suppose to have a family party with all the cousins (second cousins too), aunts, uncles (great aunts/ uncles) etc... however with everyones crazy schedules it just wasn't going to work out.
Now we are getting ready to celebrate M's 7th birthday in just 9 days. So I am busy preparing for that, she is having a friends party at a local skating rink which should be really interesting because she has never roller skated before (only ice skated once!). She is having a Ju.st.in Bie.be.r party- oh my baby girl is growing up:(
So you can see I have been busy busy!!!!! Well gotta run and get H from school . Fingers crossed that blogger will let me post this:) I will try to post more late or this weekend.

M.I.A

I know I've been M.I.A, and I'm sorry. I promise I will get back to regular blogging with updates:) I've been trying to enjoy the last sweet days of summer with my kiddos before school starts next week. I've also been enjoying the Olympics, especially the gymnastics. I'm looking forward to seeing our Olympic gymnastics teams in person this fall when I take my little gymnast to see them on their tour! It's been a hoot watching the Olympics with my kiddos and hearing the things they say!
Hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics as well as the last days of summer before school starts back. If your kiddos have already started back like my niece and nephew hope they had a good start to a great school year!!

Can't Believe I almost forgot to post about this!!!!

My last post about vacation, I cannot believe that I forgot to mention that L got FOUR yes FOUR teeth in while we were on vacation! All four of her top front teeth decided to come in all at once. She was a real trooper about it, aside from a few bites that I got on my shoulder- OUCH those little teeth hurt! So now that L is getting more teeth in we are giving her different types of foods and she is great about trying stuff and she will definitely let you know if she doesn't like something- LOL!
Not only is L getting more teeth but she is more mobile!!!! She is ALL over the place. L had a blast at the beach house because it was so open. Now that we are back at home we have to keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed at all times because she LOVES to get into stuff she is not suppose to- she LOVES to climb up on her brother's bed (his bed is lower to the ground thus easier for her to climb into); she loves to empty drawers out, she just flings stuff over her shoulders having a great time, no matter what it is clothes, socks, ziplock bags etc...; and she enjoys emptying the kids book shelves as fast as she can. YES she is VERY mischievous. L's newest "stunt" started this past week with climbing on anything and everything she can and she just smiles or laughs at you like she knows she is just the cutest thing ever! I had to put the straps back on her highchair because she was squeezing herself out and standing up giving a great big TA-DA and smile. We had to rearrange L's play area because she was climbing up and standing on her little table and cube as well as climbing up on those items and attempting to climb over the baby gate. H and L are partners in crime too! I thought H was a handful, I have a feeling he was just the warm up to L! LOL!!! LOVE them all- they keep me on my toes:)
On another note summer is slipping away:( We are gearing up for the start of school around here. M goes back Aug. 15th and H starts back the end of Aug. It has been a great summer but way way too fast. I cannot believe that M and H will both be going to school 5 days a week. It sure will be an adjustment for L and myself. I have started the back to school shopping, thankfully I already have M's school supply list so I was able to get a jump start on that. My mom bought the kiddos new shoes at the outlet mall on vacation however M will not be able to wear her new ones because they are against the dress code:(  I don't have clothes to buy for the kiddos for school because M wears uniforms and their birthdays are at the end of summer so they get fall clothes:) Anyhoo we are gearing up and I am trying to be smart about back to school buys/ finances.
Hope you all are having a great week!

I'm Back!!!!

Sorry I am sorry I've been a bad blogger but we've been on vacation. The week of before vacation was hectic- the kids had swim lessons every morning, then their was 4th of July, and packing, packing and more packing to get everyone ready for vacation.
We had a good time, on vacation. It was an interesting vacation for several reasons- it was our first vacation with three kiddos and it was a vacation with my parents and brother and his family. It is tough vacationing with others even if they are family because we are so different in our parenting styles and attitudes etc... My brother and his family do NO planning, basically fly by the seat of their pants kind of attitude and my parents as they have gotten older have developed this attitude as well. So you can only imagine how that went over with us when we run by schedule etc.. We tried to make the best of it and help the kids as best as we could. The only nights that we ate dinner at a decent/ normal dinner time was when I was in control/ cooking. The other meals were 9:00/ 10:00 pm!!!! I fed the kiddos earlier because they wouldn't eat what we were having anyhoo. Speaking of cooking I made a dessert called Sand Pudding- it was a HUGE hit and it was YUMMY!!! I tricked the kiddos and they really thought it was sand because it looked like sand and  I served it in a sand bucket with a shovel.
The beach house was gorgeous and the perfect set up for us. The kiddos had their own bedroom with two bunk beds- one for the girls and one for the boys; each couple had their own bedroom with a king size bed and a bathroom. The kitchen with big and open to the dinning room and living room. The front porch was FABULOUS!- it had a swing, chairs, picnic table and a hammock. I loved giving L her bedtime bottle out on the front porch watching the ocean and swinging in the swing- beautiful and quiet:)  The backyard had a playground with sand, picnic tables and a private pool.
The kiddos had a BLAST spending the whole week with their cousins, swimming in the pool, playing on the playground and at the beach. We also did a couple fun side trips that included a visit to an alligator farm where ALL the kiddos held a baby alligator:) we also went to an amusement park. H and hubby did go carts on a very cool track; H and I did bumper boats and got SOAKED but he loved it (somehow we got singled out and picked on by some of the others on the boats and they kept spraying us over and over!). M preferred the more "tame" rides like the carousel, train etc... L even rode on the carousel and had a good time.
L did great on the trip! She traveled well and adjusted to her new surroundings quite well- she became a little explorer- loved walking around!!! L wasn't a fan of the pool for any length of time- I think because she couldn't be independent. The beach however was another story- she was my beach baby, LOVING the beach! She loved playing in the sand, finding shells, walking on the beach and chasing the sea gulls- LOL! L did not like the actual ocean, I think she was scared however their was a big pool of water on the beach when tide was out and L loved playing in it and it helped to keep her cool too.
Our last night at the beach we went out to dinner and had to wait almost 2 hours for our table; thankfully the restaurant was on a boardwalk with shops. The girls and I walked around the shops, found a balloon guy and the girls got all kinds of balloon decorations- hats, bracelets etc... The girls got hair wraps and glitter tattoos as well (now when I say girls I am talking about M and my niece G, L was with me and got a balloon animal but that was it)- they had a fabulous time. H hung out with the guys and my nephew D playing on the playground, feeding the fish etc... It was a fun evening. I even tried something new to eat- alligator! I've been wanting to try it so we ordered it as an appetizer- it was YUMMO!!!! H couldn't eat it because it was cooked with seafood and he is allergic:( however I got my niece and nephew to try it by telling them it was chicken and they loved it! You should have seen the look on their faces when we told them it was alligator- LOL! it was priceless!
All in all it was a good vacation with lots of memories.
Now it is back to reality. The kiddos started VBS this morning and seemed to have a good time:) I am going to try and catch up on my blog reading and plan on blogging at least once a week. Cannot believe summer is flying by:( M starts back to school exactly one month from today- YIKES! I am so not ready for school to be back in session! Although I have started school supply shopping.

Need some help with food?!

Okay I could really really use some ideas, suggestions etc.. on what to feed our little lady! L is picky just like her big sister. She won't eat any meat, she doesn't like cheese, too young for peanut butter. What am I too feed her, I am at a loss!?! Breakfast isn't really an issue, she eats fruit, waffles, yogurt, cereal bars etc... My main concerns are lunch and dinner. She likes fruit and veggies- well most veggies she is a little picky. She isn't a fan of pasta, I tried mac and cheese and even did mac and cheese with some ham and peas- not a fan. She loves crackers, breads you carbs- LOL! I've tried some beans with her and she isn't a fan of those either. So you see why I am at a loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
She is still on some formula, she doesn't like milk. I have mixed whole milk with her formula and she will take it like that- we are up to 5oz whole milk with 3 oz of formula.
Thanks for any advice:)

On the move!!!

Yes she is officially on the move! L is walking more and more everyday. Just in the last week L has taken off and walking everywhere. Last week she was taking maybe 3 steps at a time and this week she is walking across the room; down the hall; into other rooms it's crazy how fast my baby is growing up! She is "exploring" everything. I even caught her in L and H's room on H's bed, he sleeps on a toddler bed still and she managed to pull herself up there all by herself!
I have a feeling L is going to be a girly girl just like her big sister (even though everyone seems to think she is going to be a tomboy!). She loves jewlery, phones- by the way anything and everything is a phone including her sister's hairbrush- LOL! and she LOVES purses. M gave L one of her small purses to carry and around and she loves it- walks around the house with her purse on her arm and her arm raised in the air to keep it on her arm. Back to the phone, she has a couple play phones and the other day she was "talking" on her phone while eating lunch- I said it must have been a working lunch, already multi-tasking. L is a hoot and I am loving every second with her. I have a feeling vacation is going to be a BLAST with my three kiddos and I cannot wait!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend and staying cool:)

M's present to L

Yesterday afternoon while H was at his ot appointment, L, M and I headed to Buil.d a B.ea.r. M was so excited for some girl time and to take L for her birthday present. It took L a while to choose what animal she wanted as she was drawn to every one that had sunglasses on it. She finally settled on one that was pink, purple and turquoise with a white heart on it's belly. How did we know that was the one? A.) she didn't push it away and B.) it was the first one she hugged. So next M picked out sounds for the bear- we opted for sounds rather than clothes. M put the song happy bday in one paw, I love you in the other paw and a heartbeat too. She filled it so it was still squishy. M named L's bear "Heart". I think the girls had a good time together, I can see in the future L will really enjoy it in a year or so! I have a feeling M will make this a tradition with L. We still had time before H's appointment was over so we did a little shopping. We found some baby sunglasses that fit Heart L's new bear but also fit her so we bought those for her bear and L- they were MUCH cheaper than the one's at B.a Bear! It was a cute afternoon spent with my girls.
After picking up H from his OT appointment we stopped at So.n.ic for half price drinks including slushies for the kids and dt cherry limeade for me:) YUMMO and much needed on the hot afternoon!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Stats

Finally getting around to posting about L's 12 month check-up she had last Thursday. I will say the check-up didn't go smoothly I was NOT happy about our experience. I will say that I have liked all the doctors and nurses that we have dealt with up until now- some more than others. We were scheduled to see Dr. R and I signed in and went about our business. We were called back to the room, the nurse was very nice and efficient, took all her measurements, asked the developmental questions etc... and then we were to wait on the doctor. No one ever mentioned that we would be seeing someone other than the doc we were scheduled with, let along at nurse practiciner that I have never met/ knew existed. In walks said nurse practiciner, doesn't introduce herself just gets right to business. L's iron is low and NP says to feed her tuna- really tuna for a 1 yr old? Thought this was strange. She also says that I should start her on 2% milk, I thought they always went to whole milk but she says it has too much fat (I thought that was the reason for doing whole milk). Anyhoo I am not going to rehash the whole appointment but this NP was CLUELESS!!! The nurse over heard her on the milk part and corrected her telling her no I should give her whole milk to which the NP replies "just do whatever you want" Really?! Um thought you all were the experts! The NP also informed me L was going to get like 4 shots when the nurse had already informed me she would only be getting 2- which is what she did get. Needless to say I left the appointment feeling very uncomfortable and some what confussed. I probably should say something but I am going to let it slide this time and if it happens again I will be discussing with the office manager- we go back in a couple weeks to check L's iron levels.
L's stats, gotta love this: height she is almost 29 inches (35%) weight she was 20 pounds 14.5 ounces (65%) and drum roll....... head circumference don't remember the exact measurement it was 19 in something (100%)-YEP BIG BIG Brains!!! LOL!!!! She is already doing skills a 15 month old is expected to do:) So proud of my baby girl!
L is walking more and more every day, getting more independent and more confident.  Her talking is taking off too- she says mama, daddy, papa, puppy, bye-bye, uh-oh, hi, calls her sister and brother by their nicknames- its so sweet!!! She has started blowing kisses when people leave or when she is telling M and H good night.
EVERYWHERE we go at least 1 person comments about her curly curly hair, and it is starting to turn back to more reddish color since the summer:) LOVE the red color just not the temper that comes with it and yes she has that temper-LOL!!!!!! But we love her no matter!
This week is ALL about staying cool which for us is inside! We have been in the 100's as high temps this week and it is expected to last through the weekend- sizzling hot! So we have been doing what we have to outside in the early morning and staying inside the rest of the day. Hope you all stay nice and cool this weekend!
One week till the beach for us!!!!!!! YES we are counting down the days, we leave next Friday night, headed to Orange beach with my family (mom, dad, brother, sister in law, niece and nephew). We have a beach house down there and can't wait!

PARTY!!!!!

L's first birthday party was this past Saturday. I had been working all week to get the handmade decorations done, get all the supplies together, get her scrapbook updated and clean the house. By Friday evening we were in GREAT shape for the party. I had all the cupcakes made and iced including L's large cupcake (I made homemade icing- it was quite tasty!); all the decorations finished and most of them up, all the food ready and all but the last minute cleaning. We were "sitting pretty" for the party on Saturday- you don't know how excited I was, typically we never get this much done this early.
So you know where this is going, right?! Something had to go wrong, and it did. Saturday morning we woke up to a noise- it sounded like it was a helicopter outside in our backyard. It wasn't a helicopter it was our AC and it was already quite warm in the house, Yep you guessed it our AC wasn't working:( So we called our home warranty people and they said they would try to find a repair man for that day. As the morning went on and the house kept getting warmer we realized we needed to move the party to my parents house.
Yes I was disappointed but the party must go on, and it did. It came together just fine. I moved all the decorations to my parents house- I made tissue balls in pink, lavender and lime green; I made a banner using ribbon with cupcakes on them, pictures of L from each month with pink, purple and green matting hung on the ribbon with small wooden clips; then I had her scrapbook/baby book on display (it wasn't completely updated but can't do it all!). I had the cupcakes displayed on a tiered cupcake display so that was a centerpiece for the table.
L looked adorable in her little outfit with a cupcake on the shirt and a pink tutu skirt:) Can you guess what the "theme" was? It was two fold- cupcakes and the colors pink, green and purple.
L had a great time playing and visiting with everyone who was able to make it (turn out wasn't quite what I had hoped, several family members were out of town on vacations, none of my friends could make it and my in-laws didn't come either- which honestly was a relief for me). Once again she really wasn't into the opening of the presents just playing with her new toys. She got several new toys, a book, lots of clothes and some gift cards.
When it came to cake time, she loved the singing- she danced again while everyone sang:) But when it came to eating the cake she kept looking around like what's everyone looking at? She did finally get into the eating and destroying of the cake- she had it everywhere!!! It was a great party, and I think everyone had a good time, especially L. After most everyone had left she crashed and took a long nap- mommy needed one too!
** As far as pictures, several of you have mentioned you want to see pictures. Well I don't feel comfortable posting pictures on a open/ public blog. Also because I have/had (haven't posted to it in a long time) another blog that is private I've apparently maxed out the amount of pictures I can posted because blogger won't let me post pictures:( I would love to post non people pictures however blogger won't allow me too. Anyhoo I just wanted to let you know I'm not ignoring you and explain why there are no pictures.
WHEW! That was a long post! Pat your back if your still reading- and thank you;)

Actual Birthday

On L's actual birthday that morning we took her to get her 1yr pictures taken- oh my she was absolutely adorable!!!!! We had a hard time choosing what pictures to get, they were ALL soooo good, especially the ones with the cake! We ended up spending more money than we intended but she is only 1, once. With all three kiddos we get a smash cake for their pictures as well as their birthday party. Well smash she did! L had a great time eating and destroying the large cupcake- she didn't like the texture of the icing so instead of picking it up she went face first into the cake:) She made quite the mess in the portrait studio- it required a bucket and a mop to clean the floor and wall. I took her straight to the sink! It was awesome.
After pictures we had a busy afternoon of lunch, getting M from girl scout camp, taking all the kiddos for a little fun of bumper boats and go carts (L just watched and cheered everyone on). Then we went out to dinner and back to the house for a small birthday celebration. L opened her gifts from all of us as well as my parents- they came over to celebrate too. Then it was cake time again- she loved the singing, she danced while everyone sang and then dug into the cake- making another mess:) I think L's favorite presents were the cell phone from H and the dolly with stroller from my parents- she loves pushing her "baby" all over the place! L wasn't much into opening her presents, she was more in to the "playing".M decided her present for L is taking her to bu.il.d a Be.ar and helping her pick something out- I think thast is a precious idea, so we are going this Thursday will H is at OT. M requested it be just a girls trip. So L's birthday isn't quite over- LOL! I think it was a good first birthday:)

Sweetest 1st Birthday!!

Happy Happy 1st Birthday to my littlest princess Miss L!!! Wow, cannot believe you are a year old! This year has flown by, but oh what memories we made/ and have our you are sweet baby girl. Mommy loves you to the moon and back! I'm forever grateful for my precious gift of you and the gift of being able to experience pregnancy and birth. I will do a bigger post on L's birthday and party but it's s crazy crazy week. I will say that L LOVES cake- and oh what fun she had with it:)

FUN Family Day!! (and an update to my last post)

Hubby was off from work yesterday so we decided to surprise the kiddos with a small road trip up to the In.dy Chil.dr.ens Mus.seum for the day. We had an amazing day, I just LOVE LOVE that place, it is perfect for all my kiddos. H was thrilled to be greeted by bumblebee (the tran.sfor.mer) in the lobby- he was grinning from ear to ear. They had some special exhibits- hotwheels and legos M and H really enjoyed them especially H. L LOVED the baby/ toddler area- she got down and was exploring all over the place, she played at the water table and the sand table and cruising all over the place. All three kiddos road a restored carousel- L was loving it before we even got on she was clapping her hands and kicking her feet she was so excited. It really was a fun filled day especially for the kiddos. For dinner we headed to G.att.itown for some pizza and more fun, playing a few video games and hubby and the kiddos did bumper cars- I do believe that was the highlight of the night all three of them were smiling and laughing having a blast!!!! We ended the night with some YUMMY YUMMY desert at a local ice cream shop that we all love.

UPDATE:
Last Saturday I did end up leaving L with my parents, against Hubby's wishes and without telling him. L did fantastic,and  had a good time. I did okay leaving her, it wasn't easy leaving her for the first time but I knew she was in good hands and that she would have a better time there than at the play. The kiddos my niece included had a great time at the play. Then we headed to H's last t-ball game of the season. He did great, had two great hits and even fielded a ball or two:)  At the end of the game he got his team and individual pictures as well as his trophy- his FIRST trophy, he was so so proud!!!! I of course didn't know hubby was going to show up to the game as he usually doesn't come to H's tball games especially those on Saturdays and so I got busted he found out that L had spent the morning with my parents. I don't think he was thrilled but I do believe he realized that she was okay etc... Of course he expressed his unhappiness. Anyhoo we are past it for now till the time comes again that I will need to leave L with my parents again.
Also the song that L is singing YES it's a J.Bie.ber song- LOL!!!!!
This coming week is SUPER busy and a BIG BIG day on Wednesday- L's first birthday. I am not sure I will be posting, I have lots to do- two doctors appointments, L's birthday on Wed. as well as her her 1 yr pictures; her party on Saturday; I am going to have my niece all next week too because M and my niece G are going to scout day camp. I have lots still left to do to get ready for her party, as well as LOTS of cleaning and with an extra kiddo in the house not sure how that is going to go! (saw a post on fb- cleaning house with kiddos in the house is like brushing your teeth and then eating oreos- LOL so so true!!!!) Anyhoo hope everyone has a great weekend (and week)!!!!

chatty:)

Sorry I haven't blogged lately, what can I say but sometimes life takes over. I've had a busy week with the kiddos but a fun week. We've gone to the library, had a picnic at a park, went to a farm to pick strawberries and see the animals as well as all our "chores" and errands. I am trying to find something "new" for us to do each week so we aren't going to the same places each week but also watching our budget too!
Miss L has become very "chatty" lately, talking up a storm in her own baby language- I just love it!!! She also "sings" a song thanks to her older sister. She sings "baby, baby, baby, OOOHHHH" it is so sweet. Anyone want to take a guess at the song/ singer that my little one is singing?? LOL!!! If you get it right you will LOL that my almost 1 yr old is singing this song.
L has also gotten into pointing anything and everything- so cute!!! It almost looks like she is holding up the number 1- just in time for her birthday:) I am making progress on that too, I have the invites sent out and pretty much know what I am serving etc...
The latest "dilemma" is tomorrow I am suppose to take all three of my kiddos and my niece to see a play. My parents have graciously asked to watch L for me so I don't have to take her as it would be a long morning for her and make things easier on me. However I am apprehensive about leaving her for the first time (I know she will be fine and my parents will take good care of her etc..) and hubby doesn't want me to. It would only be for a couple of hours, well 3.5 hours. I know it would be much easier on me to take the two older kiddos and my niece and L would love spending time with my parents. I don't want to upset my parents and tell them no and I don't want to upset hubby either so I am stuck in the middle. Really not sure what to do???
Busy weekend ahead with the church picnic:)  YAY!!! Love that and look forward to it each year. We have the play in the morning tomorrow and then H's last t-ball game tomorrow afternoon. I am hoping to get some shopping in this weekend too, this mama needs a new bathing suit for the beach:) Anyhoo hope everyone has a great weekend!

not exactly what I expected

Well last Thursday was my 37th birthday (gosh I am getting old, funny thing is I don't feel it, guess that is a good thing:) and the day didn't go quite like I thought it would. The morning started off okay just handing out with my kiddos, we didn't have much planned for the day. Thankfully the weather was nice most of the day so I decided to take the kiddos to the park for some fun. I let my kiddos choose which park we were going to and we had a great time.
I got all kinds of birthday wishes on fb, several phone calls wishing me happy birthday we well. The rest of the day went well like a normal day lunch, laundry, baths etc... My parents had planned on taking me and the kiddos out to dinner for my birthday (hubby is working out of town during the week) however we got some storms right around dinner time so I decided not to go out to dinner- didn't want to have to drag the kiddos out in the rain etc... So before the storms hit my parents stopped by for a short visit and to bring me a cake:)
So my birthday was okay for one exception, my husband. I got a text from him in the morning- nothing about my birthday all about his work day. Not till 3:30 in the afternoon did a get a TEXT! yes a TEXT that said "Happy Birthday!". I am assuming that, he was on his lunch break checking fb saw that it was my birthday but even if he didn't it still hurts that he didn't say happy birthday till the afternoon and then he did it in a text! And that is ALL I got for my birthday from him. I was crushed I really cannot believe that he didn't call and say or singing happy birthday, no card, no flowers nothing. I know that he has never been very good at romantic but he has at least put some effort forward. I cannot explain the hurt, it is almost as if he doesn't care?!
My parents took us out last night for my birthday, it was my parents, me the kiddos and hubby; unfortunately my brother and his family couldn't make it. I did have a good dinner and a good time. All in all I had a great day with my kiddos for my birthday and I remember many a birthday that I didn't even want to celebrate when we were going through infertility treatments etc... so to be able to celebrate with my 3 beautiful kiddos was very very special. I just wish I knew why my husband didn't "celebrate" my special day with me.

Another....

L has her 2nd tooth popping through!!!! I noticed on Saturday that L had another tooth trying to pop through right next to her first tooth. So now I wonder was it her ears that were bothering her late last week or actually teething? I am still giving L her antibiotic just in case it was her ears or a combination of her ears and teething.
I have been giving L more "table food" really just fruits, veggies; however she has had some plain noodles and homemade banana bread- she seemed to like it however I am not sure how much she actually ingested but she sure did make a mess with it-LOL!!!
I finally ordered L's birthday invitations today (better late than never) and will hopefully be here tomorrow or at the very latest Wednesday so that I can get them out this week. So I am making progress and feel better about L's party. Now if my in-laws couldn't make it that would make me feel even better about the party- I know that is horrible but I get sooooo stressed when they are around!

Again:(

Well I had planned on taking the kiddos to the zoo today. I had several reasons as to why today I was planning on taking them, one being that public school is still in session here (today was there last day) so the zoo shouldn't be too crowded etc... and the weather was suppose to be nice a little warm but still beautiful. Well I noticed last night that L wasn't quite herself, runny nose etc... well we had a rough night sleeping she was restless, congested etc... This morning you could tell L was not herself, she didn't eat much breakfast so I took her temp- low grade but still concerned me. Sunday as L's last dose of antibiotic from her ear infection. So I decided to call the doctors office and see if they thought she should be seen. So I got an appointment for 1:20 this afternoon. I decided to go ahead and take the kiddos to the zoo and take advantage of the morning. The zoo wasn't too crowded the weather was nice a little on the warm side but no rain:) We saw the dinosaur exhibit, the seals, polar bears, zebras etc... played on the playground had a good morning. The kiddos decided to eat lunch in the van on the way to the doctors so they could spend more time at the zoo.
So we get to the doctors at 1:15 for our 1:20 appointment and the doctor did not come in to see L until 2:30- yes by that point I was ready to pull my hair out with all three kiddos. Needless to say we didn't leave the doctors till 3:00 and needed to go to the pharmacy to get L's medicine (as well as to the grocery). The doctor is treating L for another ear infection (or more than likely the first one didn't clear up with the first round of antibiotics). I am really hoping this is not the start of ear infection after ear infection, I am praying this antibiotic takes care of it and we have no more ear infections!!! As a kiddo I had lots of ear infections and several sets of tubes and still to this day have issues with my ears, I do not want that for L! What is crazy is out of my three kiddos L is the only one that was breast fed (granted it was for only 4 months but still the other two didn't get a drop!) and I think she has been the "sickest". I know breast feeding isn't a "cure" or guaranteed protection and I wouldn't change anything- I cherished the time I was able to breast feed. I just find it interesting.

Summer Reading

I'm determined to read several books this summer. Since L's birth I've gotten away from reading. I guess I've been a little busy and by the time I do get to sit and relax I just want to veg in front of the t.v. So I've made a list with a few books that I want to read this summer- kind of a goal. Well I kicked summer vacation off with a new book that I picked up at the store this past weekend. Lets just say I was intrigued by EVERYONE on fb saying they were reading this book and couldn't put it down. So yes I bought and started reading Fi.fty S.ha.des of Gr.e.y. I didn't know much about this book, I have a two cousins that have read or at least tried to read, one tried and couldn't read the book the other has read the book as well as the other two. My sister in law is reading it as well, my question is anyone else out there reading it??? What do you think? I will let you know what I think about it if and when I finish it ( right now I am on chapter 3.)
Any suggestions on other books, greatly appreciated.

THANK YOU

Thank you everyone who left comments on my post asking for HELP!  I have finally made a few decisions. I think you all are right simple is the way to go! So I am not making L's skirt- actually found one at one of my fav stores tarjay;) that was probably cheaper in the long run than what I would've spent on materials etc... We are just going to do snacky foods, cake well actually thinking cupcakes and ice cream. I'm not doing a theme just going with the colors- pink, green and purple. I'm going to make a picture banner to hang on the mantel with a picture of L from each month. I have also been working on L's baby book and plan on having that on display. We still need to figure out a time due to hubby's training schedule an L doesn't have a schedule it makes it hard to plan but I'm sure I will figure out something and make it work. I still need to make the invites and get them out asap! But I'm feeling better about it:) Thank you for all your input much appreciated!

Schools Out, Schools Out, Teacher let the monkey's out!!!!!

Woo-Hoo!!!! School is FINALLY out, and yes I am ecstatic to have all my babies home with me every day all summer long. H had an art show at his school on Friday, that is all they had that day the art show and refreshments. He had a great time with his friends and getting a few last pictures before leaving for the summer. Then we headed to "old macdonalds" as H calls it to have lunch and play on the playground with some of his classmates- more playing than eating of course. Then it was time to head to M's school to get her, she seemed to have a good day. Then it was time to head home and start summer vacation:)
Hubby got home from work early so we were able to head out to dinner at a decent time and then go to one of our favorite local ice cream shops to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer.
Saturday was a busy day with Hubby training all morning and M and H had gymnastics. It was M's last class as a level II she is moving up to the Gold team, so so proud of her and all her hard work. Saturday evening we met some good friends for dinner, our plans got changed due to the hot sticky weather! We had planned on going for pizza and then head to the park however we ended up at ch.i.ck fi.la to eat and talk while the kiddos played- it was a fun evening and great to catch up with our friends.
Sunday the girls and I headed to church, hubby slept in and H decided he didn't want to go to church (if he doesn't want to go and we make him, no one gets anything out of church! so right now since he is only 4 we don't push the issue). Then after church us girls headed to st.ar.buc.ks with my cousins and and aunts. Then after hubby's Sunday afternoon training we headed out shopping for pools for the kids along with some water toys. We got the "big" kids a big pool and Miss L a little pool- of course L LOVES the water and prefers the big kids pool- LOL! Isn't that always the case. Sunday night we had a fun family night, with a homemade pizza pool party and family movie night- it was an awesome awesome evening and a great way to kick off the summer. Monday was my first day to sleep in:) ahhhhh so nice to wake up to the kiddos rather than the alarm.
Monday the kiddos enjoyed the pool, nothing like a warm sunny day spent splashing and having fun in the pool and eating popsicles in the pool!
The weekend was jam packed but full of fun family time!!!! Hubby headed back out of town this morning for the week. Today on our first full day of summer vacation I had planned errands- you know the typical grocery, bank etc...however I am staying home right now waiting for the storms and rain to pass- fingers crossed that it actually happens so I don't have to take all three kiddos out in this nasty weather!
Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend spent with family and friends and remembering why we have this holiday weekend!

Need a little help!!!

First off YES this is my THIRD post of the week!! Crazy I know;)  Second of all HELP! I am starting to go into PANIC mode. Miss L is turning ONE in less than a month and I have NOTHING planned. With M at this point I had EVERYTHING planned out, invites made (yes I made them) and sent in the mail already. With H I had ideas, knew what I was doing and was starting to work on the invites etc... (again I a made the invites). Here it is less than a month to Miss L's birthday and I basically have nothing. The only things I do know are that  we are using the colors light purple, light pink and light green; and with the kiddos first birthdays we serve dinner. I also have ordered a smocked cupcake dress (probably for pictures); and I have a cupcake t-shirt with the colors we are using with the intent to make a tulle skirt to go with it and maybe order some embroidered bloomers (depends on our funds etc.). Now I am not sure about making the skirt, not sure about serving dinner and not even sure where to have the party. With M's first birthday we had the party at my parents because our house at the time was small. H's first birthday was at out current house. The issue with having the party at our house now is two fold trying to get the house presentable and keep it that way (remember hubby is working out of town all week/ only home on the weekends and all the kids will be home every day because it will be summer) and are deck it is in need of serious repairs. Now when I say repairs I mean rip the thing down and start all over!!! We don't have the funds to put a new deck on and I am worried about having too many people on the deck that something would happen etc...
So I don't know where to have the party, what to serve etc.... Also I have made the kiddos cakes in the past especially their first birthday cake and smash cake (but it is a lot of work and stress). Would it be wrong if I took the "easy" way out? Had someone else make the cakes for me and made the invites on the computer (picture card etc...) instead of handmade? I don't want L to feel slighted and I know she won't know this year but looking back on pictures etc... will she feel that way. I am looking for a fun, less stressful but very cute party for my sweet L. So ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated:) THANKS!!!! (I need all the help I can get- LOL!)

4 more days (insert happy dance)!!!!!

Yes ONLY 4 more days of school for the kiddos. BRING ON summer time:) I am looking forward to Friday and no more school and crazy schedules. I can relax, and enjoy my kiddos. Although this weekend was a crazy busy one, but a fun one with the family.
Friday night we went to our parish picnic, all the kiddos were interested in was riding the rides, which was fine with me. For the most part they loved the rides. H and M rode a kiddie "roller coaster" basically little hills with a little turn type roller coaster. Well I can tell you M is not going to be my roller coaster girl- LOL!!! I kept telling hubby while they were riding she looked like she was going to throw up and he said no I think she is bored. UM nope when she got off she said "Whew! I almost threw up!" LOL!!! I had a blast watching the kiddos have fun and the bond they have together (going on rides with each other, helping each other etc..) is so precious.
Saturday we were split in all different directions, hubby at the gym, my mom had M at gymnastics- she moved up to Gold Team!!!! SO PROUD of her and all the hard work she has put into it:) and I had H and L with me for H's tball game and family day at the ball fields. H did great in his game, I love watching my kiddos in sports and we had fun at the family day at the ball fields. I sure was thankful that his game was early in the morning- it was a HOT one! That afternoon the kiddos and I headed to a birthday party for a friends little girl and then to a family get together that evening. Sunday was church and M's gymnastics meet (she got another trophy- she loves getting those!)as well as a girl scout meeting in the evening. Last girl scout meeting of the school year and M got quite a few new badges to put on her vest. Great weekend with my kiddos!
This morning H's class had a class picnic at the park. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and we all had a great time. H played and played for 3.5 hours and ate a little during that time! I got some great pictures of him with his friends. L enjoyed being outside and watching the kiddos. We fed the ducks right before we left- they were really hungry and a bit aggressive it frighten the kiddos so we didn't stick around the ducks too long. It was a great morning and makes me look forward to picnics in the park this summer with all my kiddos.
Hope everyone has a great week! (how about that, two posts in one day, what's gotten into me- LOL!!)

11 months

WOW!!! Eleven months old already! Time is flying by way to fast and you are growing up too fast *sniff*sniff*. L you are a pure joy, and the happiest baby. You just adore your brother and sister and I am starting to see a special bond between you and H, the sweetest ever, it makes mommy's heart just smile:) You are a very busy little one, who loves to down on the floor playing and getting into anything and everything. You are very determined, you don't let anything or anyone get in your way and if they try whew the temper you have- LOL! I laugh now but have a feeling I won't be in a year or so. You are crawling and cruising all over the place and we have been catching you more and more standing alone. I have a feeling you will be walking or close to walking at your first birthday. You love to play pat a cake, itsy bitsy spider, and twinkle twinkle little star as well peek a boo. You give THE BEST baby hugs ever, I just love to get hugs; and kisses oh my nothing like open mouth slobbery kisses:) You are "talking" more and more. You say momma really really well! It sounds like you try to say your sisters nickname, and occasionally you will say dadda, we've also heard papa.
You are 20.5lbs- we were just at the doctors on Friday for your ear infection:( although you seem to be doing better. You are still in a size 3 diaper but probably moving up to a 4 soon. Clothes are anywhere from a size 12 to a size 24 months (the 24 months are dresses that are a little big on you but look just fine plus it gives you more time to wear them!). You are still taking 3 bottles a day and it varies on how much of them you actually take. Baby food you love your fruits:) Not a huge fan of the green veggies especially spinach and green beans however you do "tolerate" peas, and mixed veggies. I still cannot get you to eat meat so I have quit trying for now. You are LOVING the snacky baby foods like the puffs, and the yogurt melts etc... you are also a fan of chee.r.ios and r.it.z crackers. You do great with a sippy cup even the one without handles:) You still have only one little tooth so I am not sure on starting table foods etc.. although you had some apple today at the park and corn the other night and did great. You LOVE to make a mess with your foods, I think you do it so I have to give you a bath because you absolutely love the water and bath times, you will get upset when bath time is over. I just recently started bathing you in the big tub, it is a challenge because you are all over the place, pulling up, crawling etc.. but having a blast.
I could go on and on about you. You are a pure joy and I am so blessed you are my daughter! Happy 11 months old L (Oh and you can slow down anytime now;)