Well hello there...

Hello?  Is there anybody in there?

I realize that it has been years since I last blogged, here anyway.  I guess my Mummy Brain got the best of me.  But I never stopped blogging!  Just not here...  Anywho...

Let me get you up to speed...

We bought a house, I went to Nursing School, was pregnant and had a baby while in Nursing School, tried to sell the house we bought, currently renting it, and then relocated to sunny North Carolina!  We have been in NC for exactly one year.  In fact this time last year, we were staying at a friend's house waiting for a house to become available for us on base.  It would be another 2 months before we moved into the house we are in now.

To say that I am enjoying Coastal Eastern North Carolina is an understatement.  After the initial shock of the heat and humidity has subsided, well getting used to being a sweaty betty with a greasy face all the time, it isn't half bad down here.

1.  You are never cold.  Unless your a/c is down too low.

2.  You have your pick of the pool or the ocean.  Alligators take up residence in the ponds around here.

3.  You can run or bike outside, all year long.  Except for the 1 day it might snow 4 inches.

Yep I love it.

Of course, I do miss the snow, cuddling up by the fire, bundling up in sweaters...  I don't miss shivering myself to sleep though with cold toes!

The kids have grown so much in the past 3 years and we added another one to mix.  Baby Kevin, who will be turning 2 in September.  He is more of a monster than a baby.  Strong willed, flaring temper, dare devil, smart as a whip, cute as a button, a little sass and some charm, he has the biggest personality in a little person that you can find.

We are working on talking.  It seems that the other 2 were having full on conversations by now, but I know that isn't true.  He has so much to say!  But he definitely has no problem communicating and getting his point across!

I hope that I can keep you back up to date on all our adventures, as everyday is another 50 page chapter of our crazy existence!

So as James would say, "Relax and sit back, Joy the ride!"

Oh did I mention that Kevin doesn't like to sleep in his crib anymore?  Yeah, we have resorted to just letting him drop where ever he drops.

Potty Training

So lately potty training with James has fizzled out.  He started off with a bang a few months back when we bought his froggy potty.  He would sit on it all the time.  Then he plain out refused to go near it.  I tried the big potty and he liked that for a couple of months.  Now nothing until today.  What happened?  I ran out of diapers!  I remember using the last one from the diaper bag last night before jammy time.  When I went to change his diaper this morning, no diapers!  What is a mother to do?  Go to the store immediately right?  No, desperate times call for desperate measures...  The conversation went a little something like this...  I say, "James, we have no more diapers."  "No more?, " he replies.  "No more diapers honey.  Mommy needs you to go pee pee on the potty. Can you go pee pee on the potty for mommy?"  "Mmm-hmm."  Okay right.  So it's been 5 hours and he's sat on the potty three times already!  Fingers crossed!

Lily's new tooth!

There has been a sighting!  Lily lost her two front bottom teeth.  The first one came out January 5th, the day after she returned to school.  She said to me, "Mommy, this has been bothering my teeth."  She then proceeded to hand it to me!  It was such a shock.  I figured we would have at least a couple days of wiggling and whining but no fuss, it literally popped out.  I thought she may have had some sort of injury at school.  Sure enough, the new tooth has been spotted.  Relief!  I really wasn't that worried.  Her bottom teeth did come in at 3 months so I was expecting her to lose her teeth early.  She will be 5 in just a couple of weeks!  She's growing up so fast!

Moving???

Here we go again!  The military likes to keep things exciting!  A couple months ago we were moving to Plattsburgh, last month it is Poughkeepsie and now things are silent again.  It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't already take 7 pre-requisite classes for an accelerated nursing program that starts in May.  Of course I can stay and still go to school, that is an option.  But is it a healthy one for the family?  Do I break up the family during a non-deployment and then again during deployment?  When I start my clinicals, how am I to get Lily to and from school?  Is there a daycare that will take James from 7am to 8 or 9pm?  How am I going to study?  I know there are so many single mothers out there that go to school and work so I know it's possible and it has been done before.  Also, no written orders in sight, just talk.  So we'll see!

During a brief school break I have 3 quilts and a huge scrapbooking project on task.  Actually 4 quilts.  Two I need to finish and 2 are for baby showers.  I know the quilts are a stretch but I am making headway on the scrapbooking.  A couple hundred photos, a bin load of supplies.  I can do this!  Time limit:  just under 3 weeks.  No new pictures will be ordered until everything is pasted and scrapped.  I'll try to post some pictures of my progress.  I figure one project at a time right?

So far ten pages have been started.  I like to mount the pictures and decorate the pages and then put a heading, words or journal entry later.  I'm not sure if my system is the most efficient way to get everything done.  But when I'm back logged I do the assembly-line approach.  I'll pick out a few pictures for about 10 pages.  I usually do a 2 page layout for each theme.  So 2-3 photos a page, so 4-6 photos for a 2 page spread.  I design the page and mount the photos and embellish a 2 page spread at a time.  Now fully equipped with a Cricut, I go back to the 5 2-page layouts and finish with words and descriptions.  So far so good. 

I can't wait for the day when I can scrap one event at a time.  I hope I get there!  I still need to fill in James' baby book!  Fortunately I write daily events down in a calender so I can go back to that and look back at pictures and dates to fill in the gaps.  Time flies when you are having fun!!!

Winter

I love the cold, the snow... well in reason. If it's cold and there is no snow, I'll admit it, I get a little irritated. Last winter was miserable. It was the first winter up North after living in Virginia for 6 years. It was cold and wet, maybe 3 or 4 snow storms but mostly rain. I didn't have an electric blanket. gasp! I tell you, that thing is a lifesaver! No more getting in to bed shivering in the cold sheets... (Thanks mom!) This winter has been gorgeous. For the past week we have awoken to fresh powder. Everything is just so peaceful under a blanket of the white fluffy stuff. And so far I really don't mind shoveling, even though we bought a snow blower. It's a really huge John Deere and I just don't feel comfortable starting it yet. I'll get there I'm sure after the next couple snow falls.

The kids play in the snow just like my sister and I did. Bright red cheeks, freezing cold fingers and utterly exhausted but they keep building their snow tunnel. Nika loves the snow as well. She whips around the backyard like she was still a little puppy, helping the kids with digging their tunnels. Lily loves sledding. She is a little thrill seeker. She already loves fast rides at fairs and amusement parks. It will be just a matter of time before she is on-line to the biggest and fastest roller coaster. James on the other hand shares my sentiments of going fast, we just don't like the feeling of our stomachs jostling around. At two years old, he's not keen on sledding this year, he prefers to make snow angels and eat the snow. So cute!

I'm glad we are back up North because I really did miss this cold. But again, it's only been one and a half winters. Things could very well change in the next couple of weeks!

Christmas has come and gone! *sigh*

Wow.  Where does the time go?  It's bittersweet, really.  You spend all this time in anticipation and then the big day comes and it's over in an instant.  Now I understand why my father would tell us to slow down and attempt to take "breaks" for coffee refills or even breakfast.  His attempts were futile and within minutes, all the presents would be opened and the paper carelessly tossed on the floor.  It seems like just yesterday it was Black Friday Eve and the hubs and I were trying to decide if we should take naps before our midnight shopping excursion.  We were very organized.  We carefully perused the ads and then made a list of stores and items wanted at those stores. 

It took us 8 hours, 12am to 8am to get all our holiday shopping done.  We started at midnight at the Lee Shops then headed to the Berkshire Mall at 3am to hit Old Navy and Sears and then was outside of Target on-line before the doors opened at 5am.  Target was a little crazy and scray at the same time.  Some people were literally out of control and angry.  It wasn't pretty but we were able to get the items we wanted and then we were off to Joanne's at 6am and then Dick's and finally Home Depot.  Phew, what a lifesaver.  With all the holiday cookie baking, fudge making, cleaning to get the house presentable, and cooking of Christmas dinner, and then all the birthday parties before Christmas and Christmas parties to attend, who has time to shop for presents?  And honestly, who really has the money?  Yes we strive to get that perfect gift or two, try to set limits, but it can be an impossible feat.  In this economic climate we should all be saving for an uncertain future, but if we don't spend, the economy sinks further.  It's a no-win situation.  But on a brighter note, what a wonderful time of year.  People are happier and brighter despite the long, dark and cold days. 

As the New Year approaches, literally in just a couple of days, we start to think about possible resolutions.  I've pondered a couple.  Loose that 5 pounds.  Well I could do it in a week if I really wanted to!  Cut out sugar.  Quite impossible.  Again, I could do it for a week but I would fall off the wagon.  But maybe I should focus more on others like working on being more patient.  Or stick with last year's, finish unfinished projects.  What can I say?  I am a busy mother of two.  Well maybe four, if you add in a husband and a dog.  Technically speaking, I did start back to school this year.  I have taken 7 out of 8 pre-requisite courses for an accelerated nursing program.  There was no time for scrapbooking and quilting projects. 

Maybe I should be more thankful and stop taking things for granted.  I had a wonderful child psychology professor this past semester and during one of his lectures something he said just hit home with me.  He said if you think you are having a bad day, park outside the oncology department at the hospital and watch the people struggling in and out of the entrance.  "Those people, my friends, are much worse off."  And it's true.  Things can always be worse.  Appreciate the family and friends in your life more and stop taking those relationships for granted.  But of course, that should be a lifelong resolution.  

In the short term, I think finish unfinished projects again.  I have a plastic bin of quilting fabric and another of scrapbooking supplies.  My goal for the next couple of months is to at least finish the scrapbooking and get to the point where I can do current events.  I am registered for 2 class for the Spring semester.  Nursing school starts in May, if I am accepted.  I have a lot to do in 4 months!  Short term goals are always more attainable.  Well usually.  Fingers crossed!

It's been long overdue...

Has it really been two years since my last post?  Miss me???

So last night I was reading back through a couple of posts, and the memories came flooding back.  And my, how I have grown!  To bring you up to speed... I now have three little monsters running around, Lily is now 4, though closing in on 5 in a month, James just had his second birthday and of course our crazy dog Nika.  We have moved 3 times and bought our very first house one year ago.  A cute cape bungalow with a small gorgeous "secret garden" like yard.   I was going to start a blog about decorating the house, then I was going to start a blog about our exterior painting adventures but then I realized, I already had a perfectly nice blog and I would just add to it.  So that's what I'm doing!  So exciting!  I'm still as unfocused as ever, dabbling in gardening, quilting projects, scrapbooking, decorating, organizing, designing a wardrobe space...  I already know what you are thinking, I'll admit it, I am a domestic goddess.  ha!  In addition to my domestic duties, I have enrolled in a community college up here in NY and I am taking pre-requisite courses for an accelerated 3 semester nursing program.  I have 7 classes completed, one more to go in the spring and I have already applied to the University.  I should learn of my fate by February.  Also in the mix, another possible relocation to either Plattsburgh, 5 hours North or Poughkeepsie 3 hours South.  Ah, military life!

So... I invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy some light reading about my daily adventures!

Defending myself

Very often I run into someone, friend or family, random teammate on a softball team and I am asked the following question, "What do you do all day?" The question is posed in a tone I particularly detest. A condecending tone that makes me feel like I need to defend my position as a stay at home mother, though I rarely stay at home, of a 21 month old on the verge of the terrbible two's. On top of that, I have a 5 month old lab mix puppy. What's the mix you ask? We are thinking now she is part boxer. I will explain this position in a few lines.

I am a full time mother running on overtime. So what does that mean exactly? Well it is isn't rocket science nor am I laying on the couch all day tossing bon bons into my mouth while I flick through the channels and TiVo my soaps. Being a full time mother is an extraordinary responsibility as with any job dealing with and interacting with a child. They are little sponges absorbing the ways of the world and if that view is slightly scewed, that child will grow up slightly scewed or worse! They are very impressionable and tremendously insightful. They do not like to sit around, they are busy exploring, putting things in their mouths, grabbing things off of low shelves, and quite often, enjoy sampling the culinary delights of Purina.

In the following timeline I will try to accurately represent what constitutes a typical day for this stay at home mother...

1:45 a.m. Puppy is running around the bedroom, she needs to go out immediately.
2:00 a.m. Back inside, settled into bed, puppy is barking and panting. Who's f-ing idea was it to get a puppy? Christ. Of course it was mine, complete genious.
2:25 a.m. Back inside again, still no elimination, put puppy in kennel where she should have been in the first place.
2:25-3:45 a.m. Yelping, whining, barking, scratching, yelping again, chewing... Ahh, she settling down.
3:55 a.m. Lily crying at her door. She climbs out of crib now and waits for us at the door. Better get her quick before she locks herself in again...
4:05 a.m. Puppy and daughter are now both in bed with us. Puppy is snoring. Definitely boxer.
5:30 a.m. Husband's alarm goes off repeatedly. He hears nothing. For the entire night, he has heard nothing.
5:31-5:55 a.m. Nudging husband to get out of bed so he will not be late for work but doing so carefully trying not to wake either puppy or daughter.
6:10 a.m. The door slams behind hubby in his rush to get to work and puppy wakes up. She has to go outside.
6:20 a.m. Eureka! Elimination! Come inside, fill up food and water bowls, try to climb back into bed for 10 more minutes.
6:30 a.m. Lily wakes me up by kissing me. Was I sleeping? So cute! "Mommy? Mommy? Elmo?"
6:40-7:30 ish a.m. Diaper change, fill up Lily's juice/water combo, turn on cartoons, fix breakfast. This week, Kix. "Yummy cereal mommy!" Do dishes from the night or entire day before.
7:15 a.m. Gevalia begins to brew. This week, French Vanilla. Devine.
It's hazy between 7:15-8:30 a.m. Drink my coffee, pick up cereal off the ground, maybe let puppy out another time or clean up pee in the bedroom, start a load of laundry, sometimes take my shower...
8:30 a.m. Simply Quilts, HGTV! More inspiration on another quilt project that I will never have time to accomplish.
9:00-9:30 a.m. Bath for Lily, shower for me or shower for both Lily and I.
9:30-9:40 a.m. Chase Lily around trying to get a diaper on her before she pees on the rug, clean up daughter's pee, get her dressed.
9:45-10:00 a.m. Find something for me to wear. In the process, clean up bedroom, make bed, throw laundry in the dryer, clean up hubby's clothes from the day and night before. Check email? Lily is following me around and we count everything. 1..2..3..4..5.. uno...dos...tres.. 10:30 a.m. Ahh, we are ready to start the day!

The next hour to hour and a half changes daily. It can consist of rushing to the store, dog park, play date, post office, bank run etc.

11:30-12:00 p.m. Lunch time. Today, hotdogs, broccoli and whole wheat spirals. Fill up water and food bowls for Nika.
12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Put Lily down for a nap, try to get her to stay there. Start the dishes, maybe brew another 4 cups of coffee, start another load of laundry, start folding previous load, hear Lily crying at her door, fill her juice, change her diaper, put her in her crib again b/c she is obviously still tired, I might get in about 30 minutes of cutting fabric and stitching... Come into bedroom and find folded clothes unfolded and dishelved on the floor. Look on the bed, puppy is spread out and snoring. Scoop up the clothes and throw them in the nearest laundry basket. Still trying to clean up the kitchen from lunch. I'm starting to question myself as my husband does... Why do I use so many gd dishes!? Steam basket, strainer, 3 pots, broccoli, hotdogs, pasta, 2 bowls, 6 folks (2 for lunch, 4 for prep?) numerous spoons, knives, cutting board, glasses, sippy cups... It's never ending. Puppy needs to go outside.

By 3:30 p.m. Lily is through with napping and it's snack time. This consists of crackers, cheese, apples, raisons, bananas... Might turn on cartoons to finish a square on my quilt, or it's color time. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple! Gymnastic time! Steam roller, summer-saults, chase Nika.
4:00-4:30 p.m. Run around the house trying to straighten up before hubby gets home so it doesn't look too bad and it looks like I did something all day.
4:30 p.m. Hubby returns from work! Yay! I get a break. Puppy needs a quick walk, Lily needs her diaper changed and sippy cup filled, hubby has disappeared! Phenomenal.
5:00 p.m. "What's for dinner?" Hubby, daughter and puppy corner me in the kitchen.
6:00 p.m. Dinner is served. It takes me 30-35 minutes to decide, 25-30 minutes to prepare. Hubby clears table, scoops up dishes and drops them in the sink while I grab Lily and depending upon her condition, drop her in the tub or just change her diaper.
6:30-8:00 p.m. Changes daily, rush off to the store, rush up to Alexandria to see neice and nephew, maybe go to the library, family walk, or rush off to a softball game if it's Monday or Wednesday night.
8:00-8:30 p.m. Lily's bedtime depending on when we get home, how cooperative is her disposition?
9:00 p.m. Quilts, emails, dinner dishes? Na, save them for tomorrow. I've got all day don't I?
9:45-10:00 p.m. Return from softball Monday and Wednesday nights.
10:00 p.m. Project Runway Wednesday nights.
10:30-11:00 p.m. BED! Ah, so nice and comfortable pillow top, Sealy Posturepedic Queen, so soft and wonderful... Puppy jumps up, try to get her to lay down for the next 15 minutes. Ahh, she's settled... Starts chewing and knawing on her rawhide bone. 10 minutes later, she's in her kennel. Barking, yelping, whining... 10 minutes later silence. Glorious silence. Hubby starts breathing heavy. He's asleep. Wow, how can he fall asleep so fast? Why can't I fall asleep? I'm tired, why can't I fall asleep? Say some Hail Mary's, Our Father's. That should make me tired. That will help me fall asleep, right? Try to remember the Rosary. Where are my Rosary beads? Are they under my pillow? No, they are still packed. We moved almost a month ago. Which box? Aren't all the boxes unpacked? Why can't I sleep?
12:30 a.m. Puppy is awake again, clawing at the door of her kennel, she needs to go out. Maybe hubby will wake up and let her out. He did the other night. He doesn't flinch tonight. Get out of bed so puppy doesn't wake up daughter.
12:45-1:00 a.m. Walking the puppy, this week it has been either cold or raining, get back inside, let puppy jump in bed. Immediately fall asleep.
1:45 a.m. Wake up to puppy running around and jumping up on the bed biting my hand to wake me up. Was I dreaming that I let her out earlier? And it continues like this day after day... Fun eh?

What do you do all day?!!

Puppy Training 4:15 a.m. 9/12/06

Note the time that I began this post.

So hubby and I were reading some puppy training material about the importance of crate training, especially at night and random times during the day so that the puppy doesn't associate you being gone and her going into her crate. It also suggests that for the first few weeks, before the puppy completely earns your trust to wander around your home, to leave the puppy on a leash at all times in the house. The puppy learns to lay quietly next you and you can watch the puppy carefully to quickly learn the dogs cues for going to the bathroom and it keeps the puppy out of trouble. The puppy can't wander into another room and tear into your closet while you are zoning in front of the television.

So at 3:43 a.m., I feel a tug on the leash and hear an excited yawning pup sretching out and abruptedly jumping to her feet, on our bed, yes, golden crate training rule number 1 broken, but yes, I did have her on a leash for above said moments. I was prepared. This was her second night sharing with us our Queen sized, Searly Posterpedic pillow top delux, wicked comfortable bed, and of course, Lily joined the party that night as well. Full house. I told hubby that we were going to need a King. But what I was unprepared for is the following...

The moment we leave the apartment, my eyes glued shut from amazingly bright hallway lights, Nika begins to squat. "NO, NO, NO!!!" My sense of urgency to drag her out the door still squating was no match for her sense of urgency not to defecate on the hallway rug under the bright lights. Finally we reach the outside grass and it's more squating for another 10 minutes. Nika's struggling, I feel horrible, the ordeal is over, let's go back into the apartment.

I open up the door to the building, HORROR, runny puppy sh@& has been dripped from our door to the outside door. I'm panicking now because I have to get this cleaned up before 1. someone sees it; 2. before someone who works here sees it; 3. before it sets into the new rug that they installed. Did I mention that Nika is to remain undetected until our move to Dale City in the next 2 weeks. Oh, yes.

I ran into the kitchen looking for the Clorox Cleanup wipes. Damn there are only two. They will have to suffice. Run out to the hallway and start picking up as fast as I can. Not enough. Run back inside. Grab an old towel, begin to slice and rip into rags. Fill up Clorex Cleanup wipe container with hot water and found carpet cleaner under the sink, sent from God. Run back out to hallway. Scrub like the dickens.

Now I look at my work. I have 9 to 10 huge wet spots in the hallway. I need to dry some of this up or something. Run back inside and grab another old towel. By the way, before the puppy came into our lives, I was about to throw the towels away or give them up to the Salvation Army. They are perfectly fine towels, we just have about 30 from years of Christmas presents.
At this moment, I am grateful for having these towels. I run back out. Trying desperately to dry up the spots as good as I could so that they would dry before an employee walks through the hallway later in the morning.

Hopefully mission accomplished. I have an eye appointment tomorrow morning and will be leaving here at 6:45 a.m. Umm, 2 hours from now. Keep your fingers crossed. What a nightmare.

Fast Friends!

Here's Lily with her new sister Nika!

Our daughter, the genious

So Lily is 19 months, going on 20 in 16 days. She can count to 10. Yes folks, won, doo, twee, for, fy, se, set, eight, nigh, den. I will be honest, she might skip 6 or 7 but quickly catches herself and finishes the count. Rememer in July she was singing the entire Happy Birthday tune?

Her favorite numbers are of course, the first 3, which she repeats over and over again before she "jumps." Her jump right now is still a skip but on this afternoon's walk in Cameron Run, she lifted both feet and landed like a long jumper. Definitely going to have her try out for track and field events later in life.

New Arrival!

Our new baby has arrived! We picked Nika up from her foster home in Gaithersburg, MD on Saturday morning. She is a perfect fit and I can honestly say that I have not seen one negative trait. Well, maybe the snoring. We might have to get that checked out but it is so cute! She's pee'd in the apartment twice so far. So far so good!

Saturday was a busy day. We took a walk through Old Town and to our delightful surprise, King Street was blocked off and turned into an open art gallery/show. I was so inspired. I just want to get a canvass and splash some color on it! We have convass and frames, I just have to put one together. When I have a spare moment. Quilting has been put on hold at the moment and probably until after Christmas. I'll start working on Christmas gifts in January for Christmas 2008 at the rate I am going.

We watched my neice and nephew this weekend Sunday we woke up and went to Huntley Meadows for a 2 hour excursion.

Nika ran in the lead, followed closely by Lily. She may be a marathon runner. She didn't stop. Here was Nika after the first hour. She was exhausted. We'll whip her into shape in no time!

My little sister

At the Red Sox/Yankees 2006 Boston Massacre. What a nuthouse the bleachers were that hot Saturday afternoon. A lot can be said about that day, but I will remember the details foundly to myself, and just say one thing, despite everything, Alyssa and I are still best of friends and of course, sisters. Hey, we're family.

See, we're still friends... Love her!

Stay at Home

Well it's official. I'm a stay at home mother. And as you can tell by the scarcity of posts, life is more hectic than ever and will soon be even more busier with the new addition to our family. This little girl was in a high kill shelter in WV, currently in a foster home in Gaithersburg, MD and of course I had to help! We were looking at pugs, bugs, puggles... But there are so many dogs in need confined to shelters. I've always known this little fact but to see their faces on the computer... We tried adopting another girl named Lily, 2 Lily's in one family, but unfortunately her traumatic beginnings of life caused her to be unsure of little ones. So then I across this cutie. We can't wait. Well hubby can, but I can't and since I run the show... Kidding. We are meeting her on Tuesday and we have a home visit scheduled for Thursday. I hope we pass! I have the baby name book out and searching for a good fit.

In addition to this, we have been looking for apartments in the Woodbridge area, closer to hubby's work, since I resigned from my position to stay at home with darling little Lily. We drove around on Tuesday visiting about 6 or 7 apartment complexes. We are unable to buy due to orders that will be given any moment but Lily is getting older, she needs a bed and her own space. So off we move to a 2 bedroom! Moving is so much fun! I can't wait to pack up everything, unpack it all and then get orders to pack it up again with in 3 months. Sarcasm.

Our Little princess is quickly turning into a Queen. We thought that the terrible two's came and went but now they are back at 19 months. The other day as I was getting dinner ready, I took two tupperware tops away from Lily as she was running around the house with them. She walked away from me, obviously annoyed, then came back with my shoe and proceeded to throw it at shins. An adorable showing of frustration and I had to turn away to conceal a smile and a small laugh. But I had to show my parental authority and marched her into the livingroom for a short timeout to cool off. We are back to watching the Nanny so I learned exactly what to do. The timeout lasted about 30 seconds.

In other news, Lily is becoming quite the little mimic. Her articulation is improving and she is talking up a storm. She can repeat phrases and words like the following, "hey sweetie pie," "you goofball," "you're a crazy girl," "nuts," and my all time favorite, "Jesus Christ." That was a slip on my part, I have slipped twice in front of her and the second time was amazingly quite clear. Lesson learned.

Fenway!

We just picked up my sister at the airport. She's down here for the weekend! She sent these Fenway pics from a tour that she took yesterday. We'll be up there on the 23rd!!!




Here's a pic of Dad and Alyssa at a recent game...

Massachusetts bound

Hopefully we will be up there in a couple of weeks. Thinking about putting this scene in quilt form. More on that later.

More on Lily's first words

Her vocabulary is outstanding. If she hears a plane or something similar to a plane, she will point up to the sky and say "airpwane." The other night we were driving back from dinner in Charles Town (our table over looked the track, wicked cool) it was dark and Lily kept saying "airpwane!" airpwane!" Sure enough, I look out the window of the car and I see some blinking lights from an airplane. Crazy.

If she sees something shiny it's "Ew, preddy!"

Last week we were at BJ's and I was talking to Bob when I suddenly realize that Lily is repeating the same fews words over and over again. "Happy Birday to ew" She was singing Happy Birthday. I called my mother immediately and she confirmed it. We have a witness.

She will say, "I twicked you!" at certain moments. It's so cute.

She knows, dog, cat and she learned my neice's name, Katie today. We had to pick up "Kadie?" (she says it as a question) at Sports camp today. I'm on Joey duty this week and next. And Joey and Katie duty this weekend. Busy, busy...

She also thinks it's funny when she refers to her daddy as "Bob." When she is looking for attention on long car rides, she will scream, "Bob" from the back and start cracking up. It's hilarious.

Her tantrums are cute too. When I say no to her, she screams, "No, no, no!" and starts throwing things. Not good, but funny. She gets stressed out really easily too. Like if she can't move soemthing, she'll start to spaz. I swear it was because I was under tremendous stress when I was pregnant with her. Seriously, the baby absorbs the chemicals that are released when you react to stimuli. So all my stress hormones, she absorbed them all and now she gets stressed out. I had to put her in a time out tonight to cool off. All of 5 seconds of it and then she comes running to me and puts her arms around me and gives me a kiss. She loves to give hugs.

I have more but it's nigh nigh time. All Star game is over. Way to go AL, and Rescue Me was intense as usual, and I'm tired from the day and have to do it all over tomorrow. After we drop of Katie at camp, Joey, Lily and I are going to the 10 am movie in Kingstowne! I can't remember the last time that I went to the movies! Even if it is clay animation!

Nigh nigh!

Here's the cake!

Everything went well and everyone thought it looked and best of all, tasted great! My husband and I got to the restaurant earlier to put assemble the tiers and had about 45 extra minutes. So we went to a couple of stores and found the cake stand. It was perfect.

A huge hello to my fans!

Just kidding, I don't think anyone reads this...

Anywho, I've been wicked busy. I have resigned from my job, my last day is next Thursday, June 29th. I will be starting a nanny position August 3rd, for 2 beautiful children, 3 and 6 months and will be able to hang out with Lily all day long and get paid for it. I know it is going to be a lot of work but Lily is growing so fast and I want to be there for every moment. She is repeating everything you say, understanding even more and I am going to start baby sign language with her. I know it's late for Lily but the other 2 babies will pick it up!

In addition to my resignation, I am making a wedding rehearsal dinner cake for my friend Marcy who is getting married on July 2nd. So exciting! My big debut! The cake tasting turned out fabulous, trying to get more moisture into my cakes though. They seem to dry out slightly at the table but are sinfully divine on the cooling rack. The couple loved the both of them so I will have a chocolate cake and vanilla merigue buttercream for the bottom layer and the 2 smaller top layers will be butter cake with raspberry buttercream and raspberry preserves layers. MMM!!!

As soon as I get my head above water, I will devout much deserved time to this blog! Promise!!!

Elmo

It was one of Lily's first words and she now knows how to turn on the tv and press the tv/video button to Video 3 so that she can watch her Elmo DVD. She's 16 months.