Life: Enjoying it FULLY

Family of FIVE!!

2011-12-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

At the end of September, my husband and I welcomed into the world our third and final child! She is fabulous! We are all so happy to have her in our lives. The kids love her so much! They are both so good with her! We are all very happy that she is here! The pregnancy took us by surprise, and yet we knew we always wanted three kids. Right before we found out we were pregnant we had decided that two kids would be it for us! Not even a month later I found out that we were being blessed with our littlest K. Even though money will be tight for many years to come she is the perfect little surprise! I could not ask for a better life than the one I have with my husband, dog, and three gorgeous children. I truly am blessed!

Single White Female in a Strange Way!

2011-07-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

So I have my own "Single White Female", but this girl is not after my man; she is after my parents!! I think it is weird. She has the same name as me,and from what I hear,she introduces herself as my parent's daughter when they are out!! Sadly, my parents treat her and her kids better than they have ever treated me or my kids!! I know that is sad, but it is true!! The Phillie's tickets I have been asking my parents for years to share with my family, since they did with my sister for years, they gave to her and her husband this year!! I got one set of pity tickets from them and that was just a way to keep me from their annual "family" camping trip. Yup you guessed it, my parents, this chick and her family, and my sister go camping together every year and leave me, my kids and husband off the invite list. Why would we want to go and break up their happy little family?!?! Besides, I am not a big fan of the girl. She kind of creeps me out!!
Years ago when I was going through rush to join a sorority my father asked me why I wanted to join a sorority! I told him I like the idea of it, the philanthropy, and the sisterhood I would get from the sorority. If you have read any of my other post you would realize I was never really accepted by my family or ever felt loved by them either!! I found what I was looking for in a sorority!! My father was annoyed and told me I have a sister! Really, as if I did not know that already?! Well, years later and I wonder if he realizes that he already has a daughter by the same name of this girl. He finds it so humorous that this chick introduces herself as their daughter. How nice!! I am sure he would be fired up if I did the same to him and introduced someone other than him as my father!!
For awhile I was hurt by the whole scenario of this chick trying to steal my parents,
and I have mentioned this to my parents. They of course just blow it off as me being me!! If the shoe was on the other foot, I am sure they would be pretty upset. At the same time, they didn't want me, they ignore my children and they obviously want her and her family in their lives. They treat her kids like grandchildren while my kids get ignored! Let them have each other! My "Single White Female" won because I created my own family and am sick of being hurt and ignored by the one she stole!!

Halloween

2010-10-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well here we are at the season for haunting! I am so excited to get the kids all dressed up in their costumes this weekend for the many events they have scheduled. Their parade is tomorrow and I cannot wait to see my little princess and little monkey walking among their friends and enjoying the day. This weekend the kids are booked with Halloween Activities and I know they are going to remember this Halloween for years to come. They are both at such a great age now. I love this time of year, and I love this holiday!!

So many opportunities lost

2010-10-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

I think the worst thing a parent can do is play favoritism among their children. Believe me, I know how much it hurts to watch as the other child gets all of the attention. I try so hard as a mother to keep everything fair among my two kids because I would never want either of my kids to feel like he/she is not good enough or needs to earn my love. As an adult I know that can really hurt because that is how I felt my whole life. I have always felt like when it came to my parents I was just not good enough. No matter how well I did in school or how many responsibilities I took on at home and in school, I was just never going to be good enough. I watch now as my parents dedicate a great deal of their time to my nephews and very little to my kids. It hurts to watch, but it is not much different than how I was brought up. Of course, I have mentioned this to my parents and get the same old, "We treat all of our kids and grandkids the same all of the time," which is a complete lie. Granted my sister does invite them on many excursions while I have stopped inviting them since they usually said no to me when I did invite them. A person can only be rejected so many times before they give up.
For years my sister, her husband and their kids had season tickets to the Phillies with my parents. When my sister decided not to do it anymore I offered to buy her half of the tickets so that my kids could have the same experience. I called a few times to see how much I owed and my mother had bought all of the season tickets instead of allowing my husband, kids and I to enjoy the same quality time they did for all of those years. I was really hurt, but when I told them that I was the crazy one and somehow must have made it all up in my head. My husband and I were disappointed and saddened by their lack of respect for us.
My oldest is now starting to ask why my parents do not love her as much as my nephews and sadly I do not know what to tell her. All I can say is, "Honey, it is me and not you that they do not love." I am thankful that their lack of attention for her has not put a wedge in the relationship she has with my nephews. She knows it is not their fault that my parents favor them over her or my son. At the same time, how sad for a child to feel unloved by their own parents or grandparents.
Over the years I have become uninvolved with family things because I never feel welcome even when I am there. I feel as though I am the mistake they got stuck with instead of the child they were blessed with to raise. I hope my children never feel this way about their upbringing. I work so hard every day to make each child feel special! I hope I am successful in doing so!

Swim Lessons Again

2010-08-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

My youngest has recently started swim lessons. He is doing great; however, he is not afraid of the water at all. If he had his way we would let him loose in the water. He forgets that he has not idea how to swim. I am hoping this class teachers him how to be safe in the water, but I do not think he is paying attention enough to understand the teacher. He is so busy during the whole class trying to get out of our hands and do his own thing. He will learn eventually...I hope!!
My oldest has started private lessons because I did not think she was learning too much in group lessons. She is doing great and really learning how to swim. The techniques she has learned in just a few weeks are great. She is even practicing outside of the water. This is her 6th swim class, but the first one where she is one on one with the teacher and I think it makes all of the difference. I will definitely sign my youngest up for private sessions when he is 3. I think by that age kids are ready to learn and need more than just games to get comfortable in the water.

The summer of broken plans

2010-08-05T11:59:00.001-07:00

I am not sure why this is, but for some reason this summer everyone makes plans with my kids and than never follow through. I actually stopped telling them what plans we had because my 3 year old would get so disappointed when the other person would not show up. It started right in the beginning of summer with someone inviting us to Longwood and the day of cancelled. Than there was the person who invited us over to swim and never followed through, which was followed by the person who asked us to meet at a park for a play date and never followed through. The final one was someone inviting us to a museum and than again NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH!!! What is the deal with people? I always try to keep my appointments in order not to disappoint the other adults children, but it seems no one has trouble disappointing my kids!! Here is the crazy thing, they were the ones inviting us! Why invite us somewhere and than not follow through? Whatever. My kids and I still have a great time together. We tend not to invite people along because I am sure they WOULD NEVER SHOW UP!!!

Sometimes life is busy

2010-04-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

The kids are getting big. The baby is going to be one next week. We are so busy with two kids that life is flying right by us. This year has flown by us and we are in amazement that he is going to be one already. It seems like yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital. I can say it has been an busy, but enjoyable, year for us!
Recently I have noticed that the kids, especially Kiki's, schedule/s are filling up and things we would have been able to do before, such as attend events for family members, take a backseat to the kids activities. Their activities have to come first since we pay so much money to have them in them and more importantly they enjoy them so much. Life is getting to be so busy.
I hope that the kids never get too overbooked, but I think that is sure to happen. Recently, for example, Kiki was invited to three different parties on the same day and we already accepted tickets to an event. I RSVP to one event and then had to call the mom back up to let her know that we would not be able to make it because we already accepted tickets to an event. I need to keep up with my daily planner so I do not over accept invites again.
Wish me luck as they get older and more involved in activities. I am going to need all the luck I can get.

TIME

2009-11-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

So here I am blogging on a Friday night. Time is such an issue for me these days. I am so busy now that I am back at work. Working as a mother of two kids is much harder then it was with one kid. At the same time, life with two kids is so much fun. Kiki and baby K are so funny together. Kiki will do anything to make baby K laugh. It is really rather cute. Anyway, getting back to time. Life with two is great, but time is not something that I have to myself anymore. I go to work early, spend my morning catching up on paperwork, teach all day, pick up the kids, spend time with them, cook dinner, get the kids ready for bed and by then I am ready to crash so I go to bed. Time is something I need to find in order to keep up with the house, get ahead of myself at work, and relax. I guess I will have some time in about eighteen to twenty years, right? In the whole scheme of things, all the things can wait because the time I am spending with my kids is time I can never get back. =)

BIG GIRL NOW!!!

2009-08-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

In March we finished Kiki's BIG GIRL ROOM!!! It was great, and we were so happy to have it finished. At the same time we were not yet ready to move into the room. We moved all of her clothes into the room, put all of her toys in the room, but we still had her sleeping in the nursery. To be honest, we always had some reason for not moving her into her new room. The truth was that she could get out of her BIG GIRL BED and that was an issue. She never attempted to get out of her crib, so by keeping her in the crib we were fine. Well the time has come to move her into her new room. Her baby brother is growing out of the bassinet and ready for the crib and she was getting sick of the crib. So last night we set up the monitors and moved her into her new room. I was so nervous, but she did great. She loves her bed and slept through the night. When she woke up at 8:20 A.M. she simply knocked on her door and said ,"Knock, Knock...Kiki is up now!" So cute. She was so proud of herself for her big accomplishment. We are proud of her as well. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. It feels like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital and introducing her to the dog. I remember her first night in her crib and the first time we fed her solids. Now she eats with us in a big girl chair, sleeps in a big girl bed, and is a big sister!! Wow two years have brought a lot of changes for us, but with the changes have come moments of extraordinary pride for our BIG GIRL!!! Love you KIKI!! =)

People Crack Me Up!

2009-08-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

People are so funny, really they crack me up. I just love the people who take, take, take, but when you ask for a favor they act like it is a BIG DEAL!! Or how about the people who always throw judgement around about everyone else as if their lives are perfect. Really, your life is perfect... you have made no mistakes? I especially love the parents who kids do no wrong. For example, your child is playing with a toy and their child wants it so the child takes it from your child. When you go over to find out why your child is crying the parent blames your child for hogging a toy, but never addresses the fact that their child just STOLE THE TOY YOUR CHILD HAD!! HELLO, what are you teaching your child that it is okay to just take what you want no matter the consequence. Great Parenting!! Same goes for the parent who goes to play dates and "accidentally" leaves with a toy or two. Really, I have to do inventory before and after you leave my house?! Then the parent wonders why he/she is no longer invited to play dates. DO I REALLY HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU?!?!

Going along with thieves are liers!! I love the people who play favorites but deny it all of the time even though it is so obvious. Everyone sees it, especially when it comes to your own children. You know who you are, you invite people somewhere, or buy things for someone and say "don't tell so and so I did this for you because they would be hurt." Don't you think they will be hurt when they find out you LIED... come on now the truth always comes out!! Oh wait, my favorite people are the ones who tell you how wonderful they are all of the time. You know the ones, they end every story with, "And everyone told me how wonderful the event was", or "people always tell me how great it is to have me around", etc... Lets be honest, no one is that great to have around all of the time, and furthermore no one really thinks you are all that great to have around. These all lead to the person who lies to make themselves look better in front of others. We all tell white lies once in awhile to boost our image, but to do it on a constant basis and to make the stories larger then life is a bit absurd.

Love the self centered people. The ones who feel like the whole world really does revolve around them. I know this person who feels as though if he/she is going through something you need to be there to hold his/her hand (even if it is as simple as the person has a bad day), but you could be going through something serious like your child is sick and this person does not feel the need to even pick up the phone to make sure your child is okay. Or the person who knows you are dealing with a lot and could use a friendly call, but never calls to make sure you are okay or to check in with you to see how you are doing. They of course are offended that you do not call them is whatever free time you may have. When or if you do call them they don't even ask how you are doing. They only talk about themselves and how wonderful they are even though they know you are dealing with some type of issue. GET A CLUE!!! Show some compassion for other human beings. You will be amazed when you open your eyes and realize that you are not the only living person in the world. Like I said, PEOPLE CRACK ME UP!!! =)

Reliability

2009-08-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

People can be so unreliable and it really annoys me. I mean come on now, if you say you are going to do something or be somewhere then do it. At this point in my life the reliability of people does not effect me as much as it effects my children and that really annoys me. If someone says they are going to be somewhere and do not show up don't they think my two year old, who expected them, and is now disappointed. I do not expect a lot from people because I am usually disappointed by people, but my daughter is innocent and still expects reliability from people. It hurts me when she is disappointed by people that are supposed to play such an important part in her life. Don't they realize that every time they disappoint her she learns to rely on them less and less. For a two year old that is hard to handle at times and it is hard on me because I am not sure how you explain unreliability to a two year old. Especially when that two year old is crying and hurt by the person. If you cannot make a scheduled appointment I do not think it is too much to ask for the person to just simply call and let me know she/he cannot make it so that I can explain it to my daughter before she gets herself all ready to stand at the door waiting for the person.

Kids Music

2009-08-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

For awhile now my daughter has insisted on listening to either the Sesame Street music CD or classical music. The classical music I do not mind since it is relaxing and great for brain development, but the Sesame Street CD gets on my nerves. If I have to listen to 'RUBBER DUCKY" one more time, I am going to go crazy. I tried hiding the CD, but she found it- LUCKY ME!!! I have tried other Cd's, but those are the only two she likes. If one of them is not in she cries and cries, which leads to a miserable car ride. I hate to give in, but I have to pick my battles. We need a compromise.
With that said, I have been looking for music we can all enjoy, but have been hard pressed to find something that fits all of our tastes- well just my daughters and my taste since my son is still too little to really have a say. I am happy to say that I think I found the perfect CD- Jack Johnson's Curious George Soundtrack!! I am so excited. I really like his music and my daughter loves the soundtrack. Even my son smiles when he hears the music. The best part is that if I get sick of that CD, I can just order another one of his Cd's since I love his style. I am so excited and cannot wait for the CD to come in the mail. ENJOYABLE CAR RIDES ARE IN MY FUTURE!! YIPPEE!!!=)

My Promise to My Chidren

2009-08-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

To my dearest children I make the following promises to you:

1. I will always be there for you.

2. Your needs will always come before my own.

3. I will always treat you fairly and never put one child above the other.

4. You are loved equally and with all of my heart. If you ever question this please ask and we can discuss it thoroughly.

5. I will always be HONEST with you.

6. I will never lie for you.

7. I will never ask you to lie for me.

8. I will never make a promise to you that I do not intend on keeping.

9. I will strive every day to be a better person so you have a mother to be proud of in life.

10. I will provide for you and make sure you are happy, but I will not spoil you (for the most part).

That is my list so far for you my beautiful children. As you grow I intend to add to this list. This list is just the beginning of our lives together and promises I know I will keep.

It has been awhile

2009-07-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile and there has been a big change in my life since I last wrote. My son K Z was born in April. He has been such a great addition to the family and his big sister K loves him (sometimes too much). He looks just like his daddy and has his temperament, too. KZ is a laid back baby, but when he is mad you know it. I cannot believe he is two months already. His life is already flying by me. The past two months have been filled with a lot of laughs, a lot of discipline for his older sister, and a lot of love. K is enjoying her little brother, but is also jealous of him. Who can blame her, her whole world has been turned upside down. Tonight she wanted me to feed her her dinner. She has not wanted me to do that since she was one. What can you do, we are all adjusting.

My son is such a pleasure to know. His pregnancy was really tough on me since it was high risk, but it was worth it. I could not imagine my family without him in it. He has completed our family and brought such joy to our lives. He has this amazing smile that warms your heart and he recently found his giggles. SO CUTE!!! I cannot say enough about him. He is just so adorable. His big sister calls him her baby and gets really concerned when he cries and cracks up when he giggles. It is amazing to see the two of them together and I hope they always have a close relationship. I feel so lucky to have them and I hope they always feel loved and safe in their lives.

Things going on in life

2009-02-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

Since I last wrote, Kiki turned two. I cannot believe she is two already. The last two years since her birth have flown by way too quickly. She had a great birthday with lots of gifts from her friends and family. She loves to open gifts and to spend time with people. I think time with a child is the best gift you can give a child. She loves when people are around and she can show off for them. She cracks us up.

She has a big year ahead of her since she turned two and is going to be a big sister in a few months. She is really excited about the baby right now. I am not sure if that will still be the case when she has to share mommy and daddy with the baby. That may be a time when she is not as thrilled with her new role in life (big sister).

Her language skills and abilities have really expanded over the past few months. She started tumbling class in January and loves it. She loves to try all the cool toys out and exercise. She will be going back to swimming soon, but tumbling was a nice break. I think she is looking forward to swimming again, because she has been pulling out all of her bathing suits and dressing her dolls up in them. SO CUTE.

Besides Kiki, Z and I celebrated our five year anniversary. WOW time really does go by fast. We have been together much longer, but the five years of marriage have had their ups and downs and mainly their ups. Along with Kiki's birthday, our anniversary, and the holidays- our dog M also hit a milestone. She turned ten in January. I am amazed how quickly it has gone by. I got her when she was only six months old, so the past nine in a half years have really just flown by.

Well that is our life up to date. I hope everyone is doing great.

Christmas Day!

2009-01-07T18:16:00.000-08:00

Kiki had a great Christmas this year. She really got into the whole Santa thing and really loved all the presents under the tree. She was so excited Christmas morning when she came downstairs and saw all of the gifts and realized they were not all for her. She was so happy to open gifts and to watch us and the dog open our gifts.

Kiki and daddy checking out the tree!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

LOOK AT ALL MY GIFTS!!! WHAT?! There are more over there? This day is GREAT!!!

She also got to spend Christmas day with her grandparents, cousins, and aunt and uncle. She was so happy about being able to get gifts and see everyone. Christmas was quite a success this year. =)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

December

2008-12-28T19:10:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe Christmas is over already. December flew by since we were so busy with activities with Kiki. She had quite an action packed December with meeting Santa twice, making Christmas cookies, playing with cousins, and shopping with mommy and daddy. She was quite the busy little girl.

In the beginning of December we took her on a train ride with Santa. She loved the train ride, loved the scenery, but was a little freaked out about Santa until he gave her chocolate. The chocolate made them fast friends. The train ride was really great and something I will definitely do again with her. A few weekends after the train ride she had the opportunity to meet Santa again and have breakfast with him. Not only did she have breakfast with Santa, but she also had both sets of grandparents there with her to share in the memories. She absolutely loved all the attention and really enjoyed Santa that time. We all had a lot of fun at the breakfast and the food was fantastic.

Besides the Santa events she made Christmas cookies and also spent a lot of time shopping for her parents, dog, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. She does love to shop. What she loved more then the shopping were the people and decorations all around. She was fascinated with all of the lights this year. I have to say, this December was a lot of fun. She really embraced the holiday season.

She really loved the preparations for Christmas this year!!!

I know this is late!

2008-12-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to add these pictures in for awhile, but I keep forgetting. Back in October Z, my sister, brother-in-law, and father got to celebrate the big win for the Phillies at the WORLD SERIES GAME. Z had a blast even though he had to spend one night sitting it the rain before he got to go back for the BIG WIN!!! Of course he says it was all WORTH IT, and he loved being at the game/s. So here are the pics of the game.

Pics from Kiki's swim classes

2008-11-22T05:56:00.001-08:00

I wrote two previous entries about Kiki's swim classes. She really loved the classes. We have taken a break for the winter months because she hates having her hair dried, and I cannot have her leave with a wet head. We will sign her up again in the spring. By then she will move up a class and the activities will be different. She will enjoy that.

I am posting some pics of Kiki and her daddy in the pool. They really loved spending the quality time together and still do a lot of the activities together outside the pool. They are really cute together.

P.S. Ignore the date on the pics. My camera is old and keeps changing the date.

A Pet Peeve of Mine

2008-11-18T18:40:00.000-08:00

I just need to vent about Christmas music starting the day after Halloween. I mean, come on now, we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving. Give me a break! By the time Christmas comes around, I will be sick of the music. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, and I love Christmas music. It is my favorite holiday; however, I also really like Thanksgiving. I would like to celebrate Thanksgiving before the Christmas holiday begins.
Now, some may say just don't listen to those particular stations. I do agree, but when I am flipping through the stations and I hear a song I like it is hard to keep flipping. I love Christmas music, which means sometimes it is hard to keep going past a song I really enjoy. My saving grace is that Kiki loves her Sesame Street cd and is insistent on listening to it when she is in the car. Usually this particular cd would not be seen as a "saving grace", but for now it stops me from flipping to the Christmas music.

Thanks for letting me vent.

More Halloween

2008-11-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

On Halloween I picked Kiki up from daycare early and we came home and made pumpkin and bat cookies. She had so much fun using the cookie cutters and making the cookies. She was cracking me up. She kept smiling at all of her creations and rolling the dough back up and starting all over again. After many remakes I was finally able to get them into the oven. She loved eating them as much as she loved making them. The cutest thing was when her daddy got home and she got to share her cookies with him. She loved his enthusiasm over her creations. She is so cute!!

HALLOWEEN

2008-11-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

It has been awhile. I lost the cord to the camera to download pics and that has been my main delay. So, here I am with a lot of pics to share. I will share a little at a time since I want to focus on each special event in Kiki's life. The pics I am sharing today are from Halloween. Kiki was the cutest little butterfly. She loved her costume so much that it has now been added to her dress up clothes. Last year was her first Halloween and she was not a fan of the whole dress up idea. This year it took all my energy to not let her go to daycare in her costume every day before Halloween. She could not wait to wear the costume in front of all of her friends. I had to hide the costume from her so she would stop asking to put it on each day. She is so funny.

She also loved trick or treating. We worked all week on what to say and she had it down. When we got to the doors she went completely mute, but she had no problem grabbing her candy out of the candy bowl, throwing it in her bag, grabbing her daddy's hand (without saying thank you first) and heading to the next door. Once we got home she ran to the couch and emptied her bag to check out her loot. We were cracking up. Lollipops were her favorites this year. She also loved giving candy out to the trick or treaters. We each had our own baskets for the kids to choose from and she loved that idea. She likes to feel like she is part of the whole thing. I have to say Halloween was a complete success for us this year.

Here are her pics.

Kiki getting ready to go trick or treating.

Kiki playing in the playground after her school's parade.

Kiki pulling her MehMeh out the door to go trick or treating. She was ready to go with bag and all. =)

Best Smile!

2008-10-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, Kiki has a smile that lights up a room. It really is the best smile. When she is sad if you ask for smile she will stop her crying to give you the biggest, cheesiest smile and it really just lights up the whole room. I love this kids' smile. Of course I am bias since she is my little princess, but I am sure you will all agree that her smile is the best. I got this smile below because she was so happy to be eating an orange. Look at that great BIG smile. SO CHEESY AND SO CUTE!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

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October Already!

2008-10-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

The weeks feel like they are going by slow, but the months are flying by. Does that even make sense? I just cannot believe it is October already. Kiki, Z, and I have been so busy with life and getting things in order of our life that we did not even realize that October appeared. We haven't even gotten our Halloween decorations out yet. I just bought Kiki's Halloween costume last week. She is going to be a butterfly. She LOVES the costume. I will post pics after Halloween.

I must say I do love this time of year. I liked it better when it was cooler out; this hot weather is annoying me. Regardless, I do love the fall. The leaves on the trees are beautiful. The ones on my grass however are annoying. What can you do, it comes with the month. Our neighborhood is full of trees (minus the one that fell on our house this summer) and so the leaves are abundant this time of year. My neighbors and I have sat out and complained about it together while we are spending our free time cleaning them all up. The good thing is that Kiki has her own rake and she loves to rake leaves. She doesn't get much, but she has a lot of fun.

Well those are my thoughts on October.

DINNERS

2008-09-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

The hardest thing about going back to work is getting on a schedule and getting dinner made. We keep saying we are going to stop ordering out, but dinner time comes and nothing is ready to be cooked. So, we end up ordering out. We try to plan, but that is useless as well. WE HAVE TO GET BETTER AT THIS!!!! It is something we struggled with last school year and again are struggling with it. In the summer this was not a problem. I was on such a good schedule. KiKi and I would play all day and by 4 I would begin prepping dinner while she played. Now I get home at 4 and need to settle in before I can even think about prepping. I know I should be planning the night before, but by the time Kiki gets to bed I am exhausted and still have papers to grade. So what do I do? I grade for a little bit and go to bed to get up the next morning and start all over again. It is CRAZY. So my weekend work is to figure out a way to get better organized during the school year. I need to get better at this.

Swim Lessons Again

2008-09-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well Kiki and I stared swim lessons again, but now we are taking them on Saturdays. The good thing about that is now her daddy can come with us. I think she really enjoys having both of us with her in the pool. She likes being handed off from one to the other during different activities. She is so cute. When she woke up this morning we mentioned the swim lessons and she was so excited. After breakfast we got her ready and she did the Kiki happy dance (clapping, squealing, and turning around). By the time we got to the pool she was ecstatic. The class is only 30 minutes, but that is long enough in the pool at her age. I am enjoying the classes as much as her. What a great family activity.

The Job

2008-09-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone who commented about the job situation. I am still adjusting. It has been harder than I ever anticipated. I know eventually it will all work out, but right now I am still stressed out about the whole situation. I am also still second guessing the whole thing, but now I am stuck. As of right now I am still on a mission to stay at home while Kiki is growing up. I would like to return to teaching once Kiki and any other children we may have are in school themselves. At that point I think I will be ready to teach again and be able to focus. Who knows.

Crazy Hair Day

2008-09-01T17:33:00.001-07:00

Kiki's daycare had crazy hair day on Thursday, 8/28/08. When I went to pick her up her hair was fantastically crazy. She looked like a WHO. I was cracking up. The amazing thing is that when I put something in her hair she takes it out right away. For them she kept her crazy hair in all day. As soon as we got in the car she tried to take out all of the hair bands. I convinced her to keep them in until we got home and I got some pictures of her. She cooperated with me, and I was so happy. As soon I got finished taking the pics she pulled them all out.

Here are the pics!

Doesn't she look SO CUTE?!?!?!

What was I thinking?!

2008-08-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

I just started at a new school district. It was hard leaving my friends behind and the kids I grew to really care about over the years, but the school was being ruined by choices being made and I was not happy there anymore. I still ask myself, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! I knew the curriculum, I had friends, I liked the kids, and I was close to home. Now I know a few people, I am unfamiliar with the curriculum, and the commute is longer. Again, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!? I know in the long run it will be the better move, but right now I am overwhelmed and tired.

My ultimate goal is to find a way to stay home with Kiki. I would love to be a stay at home mom, but we cannot afford that. This year I am hoping to find something that is actually legit so I can eventually stay home with her. Any suggestions?

The good thing is that Kiki loves her daycare and has a lot of friends there. She gets so excited to go there in the morning. At least I know she is happy to be there. Even though I would rather be with her, I know she needs the socialization in her daily life.

Taste buds and ICE CREAM

2008-08-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Kiki seems to have her father's taste buds in most foods. She loves spaghetti, lemon water ice, cereal and milk, orange juice, is not a big fan of beef, loves fish, etc... It seems if he has a favorite dish it is now both of theirs. The one thing she loves like I do is soft chocolate ice cream with chocolate jimmies. I LOVE THAT and so does she. At first I would get a cone and we would share it, but now the cone is hers and she occasionally gives me a lick. HOW NICE!!! She is so cute when she is eating the ice cream. You can tell she is savoring every lick. It gets all over her and her clothes, but she does not care. The only care she has is that each drop on her clothes is one less drop for her to eat. We do not have ice cream often, but once in awhile it is a nice treat and she loves it.

You can see from the pictures that she is really happy and messy while eating ice cream. I love these pictures. They are the epitome of childhood summer days.

More Vacation Pics

2008-08-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

Now that we are home and back into our daily routine, we miss the lazy days of vacation. We stayed in the Lake Harmony Estates so we also got to use the private lake and beachfront for the Estates. It was really nice. Kiki and R loved the beach and playing in the sand. Kiki is definitely a beach girl like me. We could spend all day at the beach and have a great time. She just loves digging in the sand and snacking. I just love the beach (the smells, the sand, the relaxation, the water, etc...).

Besides hanging at the beach we also spent time hanging around the house and letting the kids play. They had a lot of fun playing with the toys, treating their Pop Pop like a horse, and pushing each other on the cars. It was nice to see them together and sharing so well.

The kids seemed to enjoy the time in the morning before we set out for the day. They loved to hang out with each other and play with all of the toys. I know Kiki really misses her instant play date since now she only has me to hang out with in the morning.

Such a BIG GIRL now!

2008-08-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

As you can see from Kiki's pictures, she has a lot of hair. She was born with a full head of hair and it was and still is thick. With that said she had her 4th (for a 1 1/2 year old) hair cut today. The past three haircuts she has sat on my lap and been very good. Today she sat on a booster seat all by herself. She is such a BIG GIRL now. She was so proud of herself and so good. I did not have my camera with me so I took the picture with my cell phone. Her hair cut looks great and makes her look older. I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. It really is going by too quickly, but each milestone has been so much fun.

The Candy Man

2008-08-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

During vacation we visited Callie's Candy Factory and Pretzel Factory in the Poconos. It is a tradition that we have been doing since we were kids. I was so excited to introduce Kiki to these traditions. When you visit the Candy Factory Callie (the real candy man) comes out and does a show where he tells you how he makes his candy. He gives away all of his secrets (or most of them) and tells you how simple it is to make the money yourself. He of course does not recommend doing so since he does not want to lose your business. It is a funny and great show and he is a loud man.
I could not wait for Kiki to see him. Within a few minutes she was bored and her father took her outside. I stayed for the show. At the end of the show he gives out free samples. Kiki and her father came back in for that part and she loved the chocolate.

After the Candy Factory we always go to the Pretzel Factory for lunch. There we eat Pretzel Pizzas and Pretzel Dogs and hang out. The kids (and their dads) had fun hanging out on the motorcycle in the lobby. I have great pics from both the Candy and Pretzel Factory. The kids had a lot of fun.

Family Vacation

2008-08-10T08:49:00.001-07:00

Kiki, her cousin, and her Pop Pop

Kiki and her cousin

Kiki and her dad

This past week my family went away on vacation to Lake Harmony, PA. It was nice to get away and spend time together. We went away with my sister, her son and husband and my parents. Kiki loved all the attention and loved waking up to an instant play date with her cousin, R. R and Kiki had so much fun playing together and hanging out with their grandparents.

Kiki loved the idea of vacation. She got to play all day with her daddy and cousin, and get spoiled by her grandparents. This was the first week long vacation we took since she was born. We usually take long weekend trips. It was nice to break from the norm of our schedule and do activities as a family again.

Longwood Gardens

2008-07-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

Kiki and I met a friend and her son at Longwood Gardens this past Monday and it was beautiful. What a great place for kids. It is so pretty and they have a "Children's Garden" now as well. I think it opened in October of 2007.

Kiki loved the fountain show, the garden and got soaked in the water garden area. She had so much fun. Her friend she was with, A, and her are so cute together. They had a blast running around the place together. They have been friends since they were 7 weeks and have always had this amazing relationship. When I told Kiki we were going to see A on Monday her whole face lit up(That great smile I talked about before). It was great to get out with my friend and her son.

If you live in the area and are looking for something to do than make sure you check out Longwood Gardens.

Off to Grandfather's House We Go

2008-07-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend my husband, daughter, parents and I went to visit my grandfather. It was so great to see him. Since he lives about 2 hours from us we do not see him as often as I would like. He was really excited that we visited him and was really happy to see Kiki. She loves her great grandfather. All she wanted to do was take his hand and lead him around his house. They were really cute together.

My grandfather lives on a bay and so there is always fishing and crabbing involved when we visit him. Kiki took part in action during this visit and actually caught a crab. I missed it the whole thing because I was inside helping my grandfather pack some things up, but my dad videotaped it for us. I am looking forward to watching the video. Kiki came in and was so proud of herself.

The picture above is from our visit last summer when Kiki was only 5 months old. I did not get any pics during this last visit because I lost my camera.

Goodbye Tree

2008-07-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well the adventure is over (in regards to the tree). Thursday morning the guys came to remove the tree from the front of the house. I was happy to see the tree removed from my front doorstep, but sad to know that the tree would no longer be standing proudly in front of my house. I loved that old maple tree. It protected us from the late day sun, and gave us privacy. It was a great tree. My daughter was in amazement watching the tree taken down. The picture is her standing at the front door in total awe as they took care of the stump. It was if she was saying Goodbye Tree. I think she was a little sad to see it go as well.

The tree was removed rather quickly (a little too quickly if you ask me). Don't get me wrong, I wanted tree to be taken care of, but the the guys who did it were so quick. It kept banging back into the house. They knew what they were doing, but I was still nervous. Anyway, the tree is gone, the damage seems to be minimal, and the house has proven itself to us (it sure can protect us).

So all I can say is Goodbye Tree. We will miss you.

Another Adventure

2008-07-23T20:21:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Kiki and I sure did have another adventure today. A tree came down on our house. At 4 the house shook like I never felt anything shake. I looked out my front window and saw nothing but tree. I looked out the front door and our front tree greeted me. I called my husband at work, told him to get home, and took the baby, dog and books down to the basement to wait out the storm. My neighbor called about 45 minutes later to make sure I was okay and to tell me the storm had passed. I spent the rest of the evening meeting my neighbors and discussing the tree. Thank goodness Kiki, the dog, and I were all okay. The house seems fine so far, but tomorrow the tree will be removed and we will see the damage (hope there is minimal).

Mother Nature has a funny sense of humor because just this morning we had an exterior door put on and now it is covered with a tree. At the same time, Kiki, dog and I are fine and we got a chance to socialize with our neighbors. When you put it all in perspective it could have been worse. We were lucky and we are all safe.

The picture above was taken by one of my neighbors. My neighbors have all been great. They have taken pictures, stopped to check on us, and one neighbor even offered to bring us dinner. We are lucky to be surrounded by such nice people.

I hope everyone's evening was less eventful than mine. Talk to you all later.

A Great Group of Friends

2008-07-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today Kiki and I had the pleasure of having lunch with some friends from our mommy's group. One of our friends, we will call her M, and her family (hubby and two adorable kids) are moving away. Kiki and I will miss them terribly. We have known M and her oldest, we will call her E, since E was 2 weeks old. I cannot believe all the kids in the group are over 1 already. It seems like yesterday we all met at a hospital class when our little ones were less then 2 months and we were just trying to make it through the day with our newborns. We all grew together as moms and bonded during this special and frenzied time of our lives.

Now the kids are all walking, talking, and full of energy. It has been great watching them all grow up together. Although I did not get together with them as much as I would have liked during the school year ( I was so overwhelmed and just made it through each day trying to enjoy the little time I had with Kiki after school and before bedtime), I always know this amazing group of women are there for me and their kids and Kiki are great friends. I was so happy to reconnect with these women when the school year ended, and Kiki and I had time to spend with everyone. Today was a great lunch with the ladies and the kids. It was so great to get a chance to say safe trip and safe move to M and meet her new little one, A.

Well M, I will miss you terribly. Lets not lose our connection and keep in touch. Goodluck with the move and make sure to email when you arrive safely. Kiki and I will also miss E terribly. Keep us posted on your family through emails and pics and we will do the same. You are great friend and terrific mother. I know we will meet up again. Whenever (or if ever) you come back to visit, we would be happy to have your family stay with us. Let me know. Our door is always open.

Have a great day everyone. Kiki and I are off to another adventure. =)

Swim Classes

2008-07-22T11:01:00.001-07:00

Kiki and I started swim classes today at the Y. She was so excited to get into the pool and splash around, but once we got in she became very timid. This was only her second time in a big pool; I could imagine she was a little nervous. I was with her the whole time (holding her close as we sung songs) and after about ten minutes she was splashing around and trying to kick. She loved getting out of the pool and counting to three to JUMP back in ( while I had a tight grip on her of course).

I was so excited to start the classes with her. It is something I have wanted to do since she was born, but just never made it to the Y to sign up. Well now we are signed up and really enjoying them so far. One class down and already she is kicking in the water. I want her to appreciate the water and learn how to act in it as well.

I am looking forward to the future classes and spending this quality time with Kiki. She gets this great smile on her face when she is really happy and since class she has had that smile on her face. When I ask her if she liked the pool she say "YES!" and gives me that great smile. She did not want to take her bathing suit off and when we got home tried to put it back on herself.

She is napping now and we have errands to run this afternoon, but later I am going to let her get into her little pool. She is going to be so excited. Of course it is not as cool as the BIG pool, but she loves that little pool.

Have a great day everyone.

My little Reader

2008-07-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

From the start of KiKi's life we wanted to make sure she appreciated the written word. This is one of my favorite pictures of KiKi and her father reading together. She looks so engrossed in the newspaper.

The other pictures are from last summer. She actually looks like she is reading the books. She just loves to look through books and point at the pictures. Even her daycare teacher told us how much she loved books and that KiKi always made her way to the book shelf a few times during the day at school.

Now she carries books with her everywhere. Most kids have binky's or blankets as their comfort lovey's, but my daughter has books. As an English teacher this makes me so proud. I guess she gets her love for books from both her father and me. We both love to read and we read just about anything. Right now I am in the middle of two novels and my husband in the middle of one novel. It is safe to say that she sees us with books in front of us a lot and loves to mimic us. I cannot say it enough, SHE IS SO CUTE (and SMART). =)

Introduction to our little Princess

2008-07-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Again! I wanted to introduce my daughter to you all. She arrived kicking and screaming into the world in 2007. She is now a year in a half and she is a lot of fun (most of the time). I started with this picture because her expression is priceless and one she still gives when she is annoyed. She cracks me up. Her nickname is KiKi so that is what I will call her on this blog. She has completed our family and brought my husband and I closer as a couple and as friends. Together we are a team and now that we are reaching the terrible twos (6 months early) team play is important. So here she is. My little princess. Isn't she so cute?!?!?!?!

Hello World!

2008-07-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

Alright, here I am blogging again. Some of my oldest friends have blogs on this site and as I was reading I thought what a great way to communicate with people I have lost touch with and people I talk with everyday. It is just a great way to get your life story out there for people to read about (even if you don't care what I have to say)! I am going to post about life in general for me and my family. I will discuss the adventures we take, the activities we do, and joys of living within our little family (daughter, dog, husband, wife). The one goal I have for myself is to live life to the fullest every day. When I look back on my life I do not want to have any regrets. I have the same goals for my daughter. I want her to enjoy each and every day we spend together and look back on her childhood with fond memories. Her father and I are a great team, and I hope she appreciates and loves all the adventures we will embark on as a family. So here it is- Life: Enjoying it FULLY!!!