Playing Catch-Up

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mom!!!!! wish I could be with you today! soon... anyway, last weekend Todd and I went away just the two of us to Ponte Vedra for a little r & r...it wasn't long enough!!! Reality hit like a ton of bricks... but we did have a great time. It was so quiet...we didn't even turn the radio on in the car.

Here are Bella and James after eating green beans for the first time--neither of them particularly enjoyed them!

Our little mall posse...
the high-chair commandos...

Lily today at Jonathan's birthday party at the park...
Lily at jazz class...

Lily after school on Friday waiting to pick up Ty...
Our friends Josh and Michelle, Amy and Jeff, and us out at Dragonfly the other night...

Jonathan's party today...

The birthday boy and his brother Adrian...
Lily and Adrian...
Ty Ty and Lily, tearing it up on the playground--they had fun! Cheers!

just another day...

here are James and Isabella, hanging out on their blanket...

Ty Ty just waking up this morning...

Here's fashion model Lily, wearing a dress that I made from one of Todd's old Hawaiian shirts--she even has good model hair!!!

James and Baby Trevor at mission control...
James sampling oatmeal and loving it!

i feel better!

yeah for z-pack!!! i am much improved and on the mend! this was the discussion as we were leaving dinner--me: lily, i think you grew older last night... lily: i did? me: you did! lily: did i turn five? (with the sweetest most innocent little look on her face!) also, the babies are doing better. james is now on amoxicillin for his double ear infection and bella finished hers today! i just want everyone better before our weekend of r&r!!! more tomorrow! cheers...

i feel yucky

so i've had a sore throat for over a week now and i am not improving. i tried to call my doc today and be seen, but the next appt. is next tuesday...not going to work. i even called my old doc and can't get in until tomorrow...so, i will be visiting the walk-in-clinic today. i can hardly swallow. sonia gets here around 4 so i will wait until then. i'm thinking it's strep--VERY sore throat, stiff and sore neck, a fever a few days ago, aches, chills...do i get a day off??? i could have sworn i read that in the contract somewhere... anyway, i never did post the babies' stats after their visit the other day. james weighed 18lbs, 14 oz.! and bella weighed 16 lbs, 14 oz.! they are healthy and big!! i'll post their lengths later--can't find the paper right now... lily is loving school this year, by the way. we had our neighbor samantha (who is also in her class) over today after school for lunch and play and they had a ball. samantha is almost 5 and it's amazing to see the difference between she and lily, who is barely 4. big changes happen in that amount of time! lily is current;y obsessed with charlie and lola ( a disney show about a british brother and sister)--lola drinks pink milk and now so does lily. lily also does a fab british accent and her ability to remember dialogue from the the show is amazing... ty had me put his backpack on this morning and that made him superman. he would go running through the house "flying" making a pshhhh noise all the way. he is such a little ham, too. we had a date this morning along with the babies--ty had a "chocwet" muffin...i will post more later after i visit the doc-in-the-box...cheers

Gas is how much????

I think we're going to buy a cow--we'll ride it to and from school and church, milk it daily, and then slaughter it later on--very economical, eh?? Seriously, can gas prices really being going up $1.50 a gallon? I'm VERY curious to see what happens tomorrow morning when I pass by the gas station...anyway, we went to dinner tonight with our friends, "M" and "J**h"--I do that jokingly because they are reading this blog now and KNOW I am referencing them... anyway, I will continue to honor their privacy...but we had a great time at dinner!! Josh's (oops!) quote was, "We're not trying to be better husbands, we're trying to be better wives" (meaning himself and Todd)--this rings so true because the more I'm at this whole parenting thing, the more I realize that I need not just emotional support, but substantial help running the household! Of course, in addition to Todd, I have my parents and my in-laws who are all wonderfully helpful beyond measure, I have our precious and wonderful Sonia...which, anyone who knows me can tell you that my mood has lifted significantly since she's been back...plus I have a gaggle of wonderful friends who would do anything for me as I would for them...It really does take a village (or in my case, the whole state of Florida!). This season of parenting very young children is just more difficult than I had ever imagined--or perhaps it's not the parenting part that's so hard, it's parenting whilst trying to cook, clean, and maintain order...I enjoy the parenting part...
The babies have their well-child visit tomorrow--can anyone else not believe they are six months old already?? Me neither! James's eczema is improving and the main issue with him is introducing solids---I am gearing myself up for allergy issues, so hopefully things won't be as bad as I fear. Isabella's ear infection must be improving because she's back to her normal happy self. Todd and I are concerned about her hearing, though...if you clap right behind her head she hardly flinches if at all. She also sticks her tongue out ALL the time--very cute, but I want to make sure that isn't a symptom of some condition...I'm also anxious/curious to see what the babies weigh--that's like the effort part of the parent report card for me (considering all the breastfeeding I've done with them...I want to see RESULTS!!!). Ty and Lily have school tomorrow and they both really seem to be enjoying their classes. Poor Lily was up all night last night with diarrea and she couldn't always make it to the potty :( What an incredible mess...and I felt so bad for her--she was just so helpless and innocent!! She was absolutely fine today and went to tap class this afternoon, which she still loves! Ty has been just a sweetheart lately and I think Todd and I need to take him out on a "date" sometime soon. I love watching his little mind grow each day--you can almost measure the things he learns minute by minute!
On another note entirely, I had my MRI and my gall-bladder ultrasound today and the procedures went fine--don't have results yet, but will post when I do. I'm just glad I had it all done and am ready to move forward without worrying all the time anymore! I will try to take some photos tomorrow to make up for an all-text post :) Cheers! ps--oh, Lily's quote of the day after I moved her bedroom around (as I LOVE to do) "I think I'm going to cry happy tears!"

A Two-Fer at the Doc's Office...

well i took james in today to have his eczema looked at because it was so bad and turns out that bella has an ear infection!! she had a fever last week for 2 days and one of her ears had looked questionable at the time so i thought i would see if it had changed today--it had. so, she's on her first course of amoxicillin and we'll see what happens. james was switched today to nutramigen, which is enfamil's hypoallergenic formula--i am still pumping and breastfeeding, but there are days when i just can't keep up so he has to have formula. bella has been on enfamil lipil except for 1 or 2 feedings a day when i nurse her and she does just fine. also, lily had her second day of school today and LOVED it!! she went right in, no problem, and had a ball!! THANK YOU GOD!!! enjoy some pix i took of the twins yesterday! cheers!

my poor baby boy's eczema--this really doesn't do it justice! he had scratched his head so much it was bleeding! just awful!!!

A BUSY week!!

Happy Gator Game Day to all of you! As I am writing this, the Gators are beating Miami and I am not watching very closely--I'd rather blog...lucky you!! This week has been so busy and I can honestly say I am glad it's Saturday! Lily's first day of school was Wednesday and she seemed to enjoy it--MUCH better teachers for her this year! No more wheedling and cajoling--Mrs. Hofstetter grabbed her hand and said, "let's go Lily!" And away she went! She enjoys playing with Baela, a little girl in her class, and Alexander from last year is in there too. She had to miss Friday because she had thrown up in the middle of the night Thursday--I think it was a one and done virus. Ty's first day was Friday and he had a ball! Jonathan, Kendall, and Zachary (from last year) are all in his class! They were on the playground riding on the springy equipment and it looked like a little two-year-old posse riding into town--so cute. Lily had tap class again this week and continued to enjoy it--it's the first extracurricular activity she's done in her life where she doesn't fight with me about it!! She had jazz class this week too and it was a hard sell. It remains to be seen if she will be my little dancer... anyway, got some cute pix of the boys in their gator gear today. Todd went to the game with Jeff--Amy and I went to church tonight with the kids. We had a beautiful communion service--a wonderful reminder that communion, for me, is not an act of religion, but a reminder of the relationship I have with Jesus Christ, who died for me individually--as our Pastor so wonderfully reminded each of us. At the end of the day, it is nice to rest in that assurance. Enjoy my pix and video--cheers!



Your happy little blogger...

jazz class...awful, isn't it???

first day of school--noticing a trend here??
after tap class...the ONE thing in her life that she LOVES!!!

Ty's first day of school...

I can't think of a clever title tonight...

just went walking with lisa--very invigorating. lots of changes around here--we took down ty's crib and returned it to jennifer (thanks again!!!) and moved the day bed into his room. so he's now sleeping in his big boy bed with no issues thus far! he told me tonight he had been dreaming of a blue dinosaur that had been sitting in his little chair. we moved the changing table out of the bathroom and back to the babies' room where it belongs. SO much more room everywhere! todd let me sleep in until 11 today--i feel better than i have in months! i took james to publix with me today and had him in the baby bjorn--he is HEAVY!! i think like 19 pounds now! he was so cute--just like a little owl, turning his head and watching everything. lily has been obsessed with angelina ballerina lately and flits around here using a british accent and calling me mrs. mouseling and todd william. today she was arthur the butterfly, also from angelina. isabella had a nice diaper blow-out this afternoon and todd was the lucky changer...what a mess. i must say i love days like this, though, where we're all home and just hanging out...but i'm still ready for school to start!! anyway, hope everyone has a great week and let's pray for hurricane hanna to turn right and go away! cheers...

ha ha ha

my bff jamie clued my into this site http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ which we had a ball visiting! you basically upload a photo of yourself and it superimposes it onto pix of different people from different years--so here's too, lily, ty, and myself--see what you think!

today was good--gg, gran, and tim are here visiting and the boys went to the gator game today. the girls and kids went to the mall for lunch, germ pit, and a wee bit of shopping (todd calls it punitive shopping since i couldn't go to the game...). all is well. cheers...

untitled...

Today was good, although I started the morning feeling quite rotten--headache, stomach issues, some more vertigo...I wanted a day off!! I took Lily to worship dance at church and then to tap class at O2B Kids, without toting the rest of the gang. Worship dance was a flop with her--she didn't let go of me and cried intermittenly--when will this end??? But then, we had a chat about the logistics of tap class--no, I can't go in there with her, mommies have to wait outside, you'll love it...she went in no problem and had a ball!! I just never know with her--but I was tickled pink that she did so well for tap!! Tomorrow is her meet-the-teacher and I am just so anxious and hopeful about the whole thing...pray for all of us! My awesome, wonderful, thoughtful husband surprised me with a pedicure tonight, followed by a few hours where I could disappear to Joann fabrics and Publix--alone...this was heaven tonight! My toes are now Kennebunkport Red and I am blissed out...the spa always reminds me to buy more products with lavender--that smell just shouts RELAX to me...as I strolled through Joann's, I began thinking of my BF Jamie, who is celebrating her birthday today--Happy Birthday my dear friend of 16 years!! You inspire me in ways that you'll never know--I love you to pieces!! On another note, I went to ballet last night, which kicked my booty! My quads now need substantial recovery time..I got to experience being the "fat girl" in class, which was a humbling first...but the point is that I WENT, and I will continue to go. I did appreciate the sympathetic glances from the 18 year-olds, though...the mind is so willing...the body was so not able...one final note--the Lily quote of the day: "Mommy, come quick, LOOK! My poopy made an 'L!'" figured I'd spare you the picture! Enjoy the photos etc. from today! Cheers! Here's Miss Isabella, age five and a half months...

Aren't they just stinkin' cute??? I LOVE this age!!!
Oh, and James rolled over in the last two days from his back to his tummy!!

And here's Ty performing his routine, "NO" enjoy

Todd just asked if I had any pictures of Ty on here where he's happy and looking cute...and I realized that I don't--so, TOMORROW, I will present the happier side of my baby boy...

dog for sale...

Look how innocent Zuzu looks--sweet, cuddly, and just plain old adorable! awwwwww....
and then you come home and she has opened and chewed up a box of wipes...I mean honestly, what possesses a five year old dog to do this on a perfectly sunny day??? I can understand thunderstorm anxiety, but this is just rotten behavior to retaliate for us not being home...
So Zuzu isn't really for sale...but who would buy her???Oh well, we still love her and this wasn't NEARLY as bad as the vertical blinds! Anyway, had my doc visit today and she is letting me have an MRI to put the kiebash on my worries over my head. She recommended Lexipro, but I wanted to try the MRI and some therapy first. She thinks the migraines are from stress and I guess the MRI will show any sinus problems. I forgot to mention the other day that Lily got stung by a wasp after church on Sunday!! Poor little girl! She was a real trooper though! I go to ballet class tonight--pray for me... cheers!

tuesday, tuesday...

couldn't get it in gear this morning so i got to moms' group about 30 minutes late--no sweat, though...we've all joked that there's no such thing as being late to moms' group. my kids were great today--i thoroughly enjoyed them even though i am still so tired for some reason. my doctor' s visit got moved to tomorrow so i have a bit longer to wait to discuss the vertigo i've been experiencing lately. on a good note, i did not have a headache today! and school starts for Lily in one week! she has "meet the teacher" on friday and i am so hopeful about this year--i pray that she adjusts better than she did last year. she was so cute today--isabella was laughing at her and lily says, "she's laughing up a thunderstorm!" ty told me i was the best mommy tonight--could anything be better? a funny thing--i tried to call my folks last night and couldn't get them--the hours ticked by and at 9:50 pm i still could not get them--very uncharacteristic for them to not be home! when i finally got them at 9:55, they were leaving the ER!!! my dad got a fish hook caught in his pinky finger and couldn't get it out--here i was imagining the worst and it was only a fish hook!! i gave them a stern lecture about bringing their cell phones...ha! just glad all was ok. more tomorrow after my doc visit--cheers!

Go Away Fay!!

Tropical Storm Fay has really been a non-event here--lots of rain, some wind, and too many days in a row of clouds!! I think I'm susceptible to seasonal affective disorder--too many rainy days in a row really put me in a funk...although it could be being couped up in the house with four small children during those rainy days that's affecting me, but who knows...anyway, things are still going fairly well in my little world. The big kids have continued to behave normally--sometimes good, sometimes not--but fairly predictable. I took all four to Target today--Ty in the high cart seat, James in his carrier in the basket, Lily walking, and Isabella in the Baby Bjorn. Yes I'm nuts...but amazingly, the kids stay with me. Lily was so cute, helping me put items underneath the cart and arranging them to make room for more. She really is a good little helper. After Target we went to the mall to meet Lisa for lunch and the kids played in the germ pit. I need to send the mall a Christmas card this year--it's done so much for me...I also got a little retail-therapy fix at Gymboree--is it a little sad that the salesgirls and I are on a first name basis? BUT...I have never paid even remotely full price for anything there--I am quite the savvy little shopper and can practically smell the clearance rack and all the hidden treasures it contains all the way from the parking lot! This afternoon my friend Jeni B and her girls Natalie and Vallarie came over (and new baby sister Lauren, too)--so great to see them again after their summer away. So different having a playdate with only girls, too...quietish, lots of dress-up and dolls...Ty was napping so it really was ALL girls. We went to Firehouse Subs tonight since I desperately need to go to Publix but didn't make it there today. tomorrow...and Mimi and Poppy are coming for a visit tomorrow, too--can't wait!! I'm homesick for them! I have a few requests of you for prayer tonight...first, my friend M has an appt at the OB Monday first thing to measure her twins--the little one is still hanging in there and she's 19 weeks pregnant now. My prayer is that those babies keep growing and that they both survive to 27+ weeks and can be delivered alive. second, my friend Sarah's twin girls are sick with a nasty virus and perhaps pneumonia--I haven't heard the latest from her. They are very tiny and they need healing, so please include them in your prayers as well. finally, i need some prayers for my anxiety. it is running rampant and causing me some problems when i'm trying to sleep. i'm having headaches every day and a touch of vertigo. i have a doc's appt on tuesday and i'm going to be calling a therapist to help me through this sans meds. thanks to each and every one of you who read my blog and pray for me and those i share with you. you will be rewarded with pictures in the next few days...cheers!