Practice makes Perfect

Dentist: Madeline
Patient: Mommy

That's Maddie and I "practicing" for her to go to the dentist yesterday. I explained to her that he was going to look at her teeth and count them. Then, he'd give her some stickers. She thought it sounded good, but wanted to practice with my teeth. After I took this picture, she said the dentist would check my "eyes, ears, nose, and eyebrows." I told her I'd never heard of a dentist checking eyebrows, and she just giggled. Pretty cute. So, today Gabe took her to the dentist for 3 reasons. #1, it's his childhood dentist and he wanted to stroll down memory lane. #2, Grace had her 6 month check up scheduled at the same time. #3, I knew she'd scream and activities that cause her to scream are deemed Daddy Duty in our house. The report is that she did cry, but she let him count, clean and fluoride treat her teeth. No cavities (yay!) and she needs to floss more (gets ya every time). Also, her top teeth are pushing out a bit because she sucks her fingers-no surprise there. She comes from a mother who had braces TWO TIMES and sucked her thumb until she was 9. There you have it. As Gabe took Maddie, I took Grace for her appointment, which of course included shots. Many shots. And an oral vaccine. That's another thing that people neglect to tell you when you're having a baby. How awful it is every 3 months of their first year of life going to the dr. and injecting them what seems a bazillion times. Grace recovers well though. Usually smiling by the time we get off the elevator and walk through the parking lot. So, we're really just on the countdown to California now. We leave day after tomorrow and the packing has officially begun. Not feeling stressed about first time flying with 2 kids... yet. Grace is at a good age because she isn't crawling or walking, so she's usually pretty content in her car seat. Maddie will be entertained by her DVD player, crayons, snacks and few "surprises" I always bring to keep her occupied. Off to run errands and looking forward to a night where neither Gabe nor I have a meeting to go to! Just some time together.

Gracie (6 months old)

Silly Gracie

Gotta get a new cleaning lady

This has been on my mind for, oh say, about 10 months (if not more). Our cleaning lady is also an employee at dog school and that makes the "firing" of her a little trickier than letting a stranger go. Here's the point and let me know if you agree. We have asked her to come at 12pm every other Wednesday. This has been the schedule for at the least the 2 and half years that we've lived in our home. Each time she shows up, it's at a different time. Sometimes as late as 2pm!!! That is impossible to deal with. I have 2 kids that definitely need naps and so I had asked her to come at 12pm because I thought she could clean before they needed to sleep. Well, since she comes late, more often than not, one kid is sleeping in the basement and one is sleeping in her room. This means that the entire basement, a bedroom, and one full bathroom doesn't get cleaned... and I still pay the same amount of money! That seems like a rip off. Can I get an Amen? So, the plan that we sort of forged today is to have Gabe tell her tomorrow at dog school that we are tight on money (isn't everyone?) and that I'll just do the cleaning for now. And, it's partially true. I do A LOT of cleaning on a normal basis (OCD anyone?) and for what we pay her we could probably get a whole crew of cleaners to do it in half the time and on time-which would seem like a luxury! So, that's the plan. It's hard to cut ties like this, but it's been irking me for so long and today I'm definitely at my rope's end. That's what happens when you're up with your chronic coughing daughter til 10pm at night all the while debating if going to California next month will even be doable? If she isn't better, then the trip seems too hard from the get. For example, how are we supposed to fly on a plane for 6 hours if she needs a neb treatment every 4 hours? Confusion and anxiety do not make for restful sleep. Sorry for the complaining- really trying to work on that!

Happy Love Day

Valentines Day is upon us and ours is pretty much like most days. Although, my husband did come home from his meeting this morning to bring me a dozen dark pink roses and Maddie a little stuffed puppy. He said he was trying to think of what to get Grace, but we both sort of laughed. Clearly she won't remember today and not only that, what says "I love you" to a 5 month old? Oh yeah, a bottle and a hug :) So, today is good. Tomorrow Gabe and I are taking Maddie to see Disney on Ice. We are pretty excited to see the look on her face when she sees Bickey and Mimi in real life (translation Mickey and Minnie). Grace will stay with her grandparents and Maddie will have us all to herself. Sounds like true love to me.

Been a while

I've been a slacker blogger lately and for that I apologize. But, since this has been the home of all sicknesses (cold/cough, pink eye, and one bout of 24 hour throwing up bug) I've been a bit busy. We are doing better and since one of my resolutions is to complain less, I'll leave it at that. Last night Gabe and I had our weekly date night and the plan was for us each to go to our prospective meetings and then out to dinner. Well, as we left the house we came to a stop light and I noticed a man at a bus stop who had just pushed (possible punched) a woman in the face. At first I wasn't sure about what I'd seen, but as the light continued to be red, he continued to yell, scream and invade the woman's personal space. We called 911. The officer promised to send someone ASAP but I told Gabe we should park and watch because if they left or something worse happened I wanted to be able to tell the police. They left the bus stop and started walking towards a shopping center where we followed them and watched as the man attacked her from behind. He hit her in the head and Gabe got out of the car and yelled for me to call the police again. I did and they were there in a few minutes. I was yelling for Gabe to get back in the car (this man he wanted to approach was obviously a maniac). I had seen on TV that instead of getting into an altercation with the aggressor, you should simply offer the victim a ride or a way to get out of the situation. As I was preparing to do that, the cops got there. We drove away, too late for our meetings to go and headed to dinner. The cops called me and said that the couple was saying that nothing happened and that they are totally fine and in love. I have to say that I'm not surprised that happened. I've heard/learned/read about the fact that often if the man is in trouble for domestic violence the woman won't testify/agree about the violence because once he gets out of jail the abuse she'll suffer will be 100 x's worse. What an awful way to live. It hurt me to watch someone being so abused-right on a public street no less. It's hard for me to understand that kind of relationship and also for me to understand why people can be so harmful to one another. I told Gabe that this is too urban of an environment for me. I'm not naive; I know that crime, domestic disputes, etc. happen in every community, but it was a lot to take in. I still believe it was the right thing to do to call the police. I don't think anyone should ever stand by and think that it's not their business, etc. It's left me with a sour taste in my mouth, but at the same time I think we did the right thing. Opinions?

Snow!

Here is a video of us this morning with Maddie discovering that it snowed while she was sleeping. There's another video to come of her sledding!

Sick, again!

Yup, we are sick. Actually, Maddie and I are sick while Gabe and baby are fine. We had yet another scare with Maddie's breathing troubles on Friday night and it's been a watch-and-wait game over the weekend to see if she was getting better or if we needed to take her to the hospital. A few phone calls with the on-call pulmonologist and some prednisolone later, she seems to be on the mend. I, on the other hand, have learned what a panic attack feels like and have also gotten sick. Friday night I could barely bring myself to sleep because my fear of Maddie not being able to breathe was all consuming. It's impossible to have a child have a hard time breathing and not be affected. Thank God we have the doctors we have and the medicine she needed. She has to go in this week to be evaluated and see where we go from here. I think I have the same thing, but because I'm an adult, it isn't so detrimental to my breathing. My throat aches as does my body, but that's about it. Feeling not so great today, but hopefully getting better. So, that's the news here. Not fun, but on the mend (finger's crossed).

It's finally here!

So, inauguration day is upon us and I'm so glad it's here. It's been a looooooooooooong wait (8 years anyone?) and today just has a sense of electricity in the air. Well, the electricity in my house is coming from our couch (what is that all about)-but I digress. Today is a monumental day for the whole country-and in particular my little part of the world. I drive to Maryland every Monday night and last night I think there were at least 20 signs that reminded us that tomorrow there would be road closures due to a "DC Event." Who on earth, or at least in DC, Maryland and Virginia doesn't know what "event" is happening today? I thought it was a little comical but I'm sure it was also necessary. So, I just wanted to mark this day by saying I'm so happy, emotional, joyful and peaceful. I'm also so happy that my daughters' first memory of a president will be Mr. Obama. It gives me chills.

Is it just me or...

do the days seem longer even though there's less daylight? Maybe it's because every day around this house starts at the ripe hour of 6am and by 2:12pm every day, I'm pooped. So, yeah, I guess it is just me. Also, I went out for a quick errand an hour ago and when I came home I could hear Maddie crying/screaming from outside. I ran in to see what was wrong and she was standing next to Gabe crying. He said that she looked out the window and saw that I had pulled up and began wailing. What's the deal? She was so happy to see me she was in hysterics?! I guess I have that effect?...

Early morning riser...

So, I'm up and blogging at the ripe hour of 6:10am because my little munchkin decided to play a game with the noises she can make with her mouth; it sounded a lot like a dying animal :) I woke up and came down to make her a bottle while simultaneously making a bubba for her sister (because I was sure she was awake too) only to find that by the time all milk products were ready for consumption the upstairs had become quiet! So here I sit actually enjoying some alone, blogging time before I hear them again. I haven't been blogging as much and that's been bothering me. I really like to keep fam and friends updated, but it seems like a lot has been going on around me lately that has taken my attention and energy. So, today marks the day that it's back to business as usual. Yesterday, Siobhan and her girls came over for our first visit since October! They were gone for so long and it was great to have them back. Aibha and Maddie don't seem nearly as different as the babies did since the last time we saw each other. It's that baby thing. They change so much from week to week; if you blink you will miss it. Siobhan and I were both marvelling at how fast this time around is going with our little ones. It's hard to believe Aisling is already 7 months old and that Grace is 4 months. I think we both harbor some sadness at the idea that this is the last baby. The last time to watch someone become their own little self, to grow hair, to find their fingers, to cut their first tooth, to want only their mom... It's interesting to me because when Maddie was about 6 months old I started to really know that I would want another baby sometime after she turned one and a half. I wonder if that feeling will hit me so strongly this time around? Right after we had Grace we said to each other "That's it." Well, mostly Gabe said that and I, having just undergone labor, was in total agreement. But, I love the idea that it really is totally unknown. For me, there's no way to really know when you're done having children. Even at the toughest times, they are the most amazing little beings. I'm not at the point where I would even consider more kids (don't get that message from this post); the labor is too fresh in my mind ;) Plus, Grace is amazing. I love her babyhood and want to relish it the way I did Maddie's. Two little girls feels pretty perfect to me.

Grace eats for the 1st time!

Grace is really unsure about eating rice cereal! Maybe better luck tomorrow :)
Because it's been a while since I blogged, I just want to say that we are doing well. Maddie went back to preschool this week and loved it. Gabe is doing dog shows all weekend about 45 minutes away; he showed yesterday but didn't win anything. I'm good; been to the chiropractor every other day this week because of my neck :( Feeling good this morning though. Happy Friday!

Busy, busy,...quiet /Happy New Year)

So, it's been pretty busy around here for the past week or so and now it's so quiet. We had a very nice Christmas here at our house and then spent time with Gabe's family and then my family came to visit. Now, it seem so lonely because everyone has left. My Dad, Claudia and Gianna have been staying with us for the past 5 days (they're on an airplane heading back to CA as I write this) and it's been awesome. It's been so fun to watch Maddie interact with them and for them to really get to know her at age 2. I have to say that there's just something about spending time with your parents while they play with your children. Something special happens. You see your parents in a youthful light as they get down on the floor to do a puzzle with their granddaughter. I kept having the thought of how thankful I am. Thankful for God, for family, for health, for airplanes (so we can all see each other), for our dogs, for so many things. My dad got an email that he forwarded to me yesterday because I liked it so much, but one thing it said was "I'm too blessed to be stressed," and I think that should be my motto for 2009. There's too much good in life to be so worried, angry, irritable...you name it. We will be staying in tonight and just keeping quiet. 2008 has been quite a year in our household, but I'm choosing to see it as a great one. It's the year that Gabe got sober, that God became the center of our home, that Grace was born, that the girls got dedicated and that Gabe and I were baptized. To me, it's been amazing. Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas!!!

Matching Pajama's courtesy of Nonnie :)

To see more pictures of our Christmas, click here.

Merry Christmas Eve

*this was meant to be read yesterday!*

Well, the big day is here. Yes, tomorrow is the biggest day, but today is the big for a few reasons. Every Christmas Eve something not-so-good happens to me/us. Two years ago, I fell down the stairs holding a 2 month old Madeline on Christmas Eve. And let us not forget last year when we were trying to drive from Missouri back to Virginia and then decided to get on a plane and just get here faster. Only to be at the ER in Alexandria by 10pm that night with Maddie terribly sick. So, I'm determined to have a better Christmas Eve than we've had for the past 2 years. We're staying home, making a ham and opening one present (it's going to be the one from Nonnie that's for all of us-Pajamagram anyone? :) We're also going to leave cookies and carrots for Santa and the Reindeer and read "The Night Before Christmas." We're also going to continue to play with our Nativity Set that I bought for the girls. It was suggested to me to get a Nativity Set that kids could touch-so that they could play and I could tell them the story of Jesus' birth. It was also recommended that no mom get too upset if their children put baby Jesus on the roof of the manger or any other crazy thing they come up with. Their just kids. Well, Maddie has made a pretty funny scenario with her Nativity Set. No matter how many times I tell her which one is Joseph and which one is Mary and how they are the parents of the baby, she continues to make Mary and the one of the wise men kiss each other! Pretty funny. She likes this particular wise man because he is carrying what we think is Frankincense and she thinks it's a bottle that she tries to drink from! It's wild to watch but I know she means no disrespect. Love to all!

12/20/08 (approx. 15 weeks old)

Grace is really ticklish and so I took this video this morning to share with you! Enjoy :)

Baptism

Okay, so to start off, our baptism was AMAZING! It was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. With that being said there's something else that's been on my mind. In the past couple of weeks, we've been telling people that we're getting baptized. We kept finding that people didn't really know what to say to us. Many people whom are close to us didn't even really ask us what it meant to us, what it was (if they didn't know)- nothing. So that got me thinking. Maybe people thought it was weird; weird because it's something they thought only babies did or to some it may seem "too religious." Who knows? I want to be clear what it meant/means to me: It was an outward sign of an inner change that I made 7 years ago when I asked Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior. That's one of the best decisions I've ever made and last night completely affirmed that choice. Gabe and I were the only married couple to be baptized together last night and so many people came up to us afterwards and thanked us for our testimonies. I could tell that Gabe's testimony really reached several people; one man told us that Gabe's testimony gave him hope for his brother who is battling alcohol and drugs. It was an awesome experience and I hope you enjoy the pictures. We read our testimonies side by side and then we were baptized together. To me, I felt more connected to Gabe last night than on the day we were married! Pretty amazing. There's a reason for this season that we're in :) So, thank you to those of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers last night. I'm off to bed.

Think of us...

If you read this today please think of/pray for Gabe and I tonight at 6pm Eastern Time. We are being baptized together and could always use a prayer :) I'll have more to write about tomorrow!

We're in the Christmas spirit...Finally!

It took a while, but I think we're there. We finally got our tree decorated, put our wreath up and sprinkled a few Christmas trinkets around our family room. It was tough this year to be motivated after the basement disaster, but now we are all set. The new carpet is really nice and we are definitely enjoying it. I'll take a few pic's and post them for those of you who want to see :) What else is going on?... Well, on Thursday night Gabe and I are being baptized. I'm really excited. I've been waiting for the past 7 years for the opportunity to do it and it really is true that God works in mysterious ways because I had no idea why I had to wait so long! I guess it's because He wanted me to wait for Gabe :) It's really neat because we are actually standing up together and reading our testimonies side by side. If you would have asked me a year ago if I ever pictured this happening I would have thought you were crazy! I did not expect to see change in Gabe the way I've seen it. I like to think that even though 2008 has been a tough year for us, it's ending in a really special way. A funny thing has started to happen with Grace. She is slowly but surely finding her fingers (just like the ones that Maddie sucks). It's really cute and A LOT easier than a pacifier because they are always with her :) She's been really working on this, so we'll see if it sticks. We are also in the middle of refinancing our mortgage which is a task in itself. It's funny how life works. You can go many months with not much going on and then all of the sudden it's like the days fly by because you're so busy. At least that's the case in my life. The last thing I want to share is that I'm reading a lot lately and one book I'm reading nightly is called Creating A Charmed Life by Victoria Moran. My mom sent it to me and I just think that it's amazing. I just read this part about "living your life in chapters." She's saying that we should just live our life in the chapter that we're in (for me it's the stay-at-home mom with little kids chapter) and not worry about the chapters that came before or after this one. It helps to live in the present which has been a huge goal of mine for the past few months. I'm trying to hurry less...in everything. I'm not totally successful, but at least I'm paying attention and attempting to change. It occurs to me that to even attempt something different is to already be successful :) Happy thoughts.

Take a minute and watch...

My mom received this today from a friend of hers and we watched it together and thought it had a great message. Take some time to watch it if you can. Click here

Have a great Thursday!!!

Bronchitis, Basement and Baptism

Well, I don't know for sure if I have bronchitis, but I think I do. Going to call the doctor tomorrow and have them listen to my lungs because I can't stop coughing and wheezing. Lovely. The basement is another story. Woke up yesterday to a flooded laundry room and to spare you the details let's just say we have ordered new carpet because a cleaning crew had to cut a bunch of our old carpet out. Gabe and I went and ordered it today and now we are going to have all new carpet in our home :) We've been wanting to do the upstairs too and now we have an excuse! Yay! Baptism is the final thing because Gabe and I attended a class at our church today about getting baptized together on the 18th and I'm really excited about that. Both of us were baptized as babies, but we really want to do it now as adults when we're really making that decision for ourselves in our own church. So, that's all of our news. My mom is here visiting and once we all start to feel better we'll be able to have some fun this week! Also, we had our first snow last night but it wasn't much and it didn't really stick to the ground. Still, it was enough to send Maddie into a frenzy yelling "snowman!" :)