Whirlwind

Sometimes, you just need to have a day that flies by. Today has been like that. This morning I had three little ones here to keep me busy - Chloe, Katelyn (22 mo, who my friend Jennie usually watches) and Luke (who is now almost 3 months old and growing like a weed).

Luke has now been picked up and it's just me and the girls. Days like today remind me of why I miss Cecelia so much. Her and Chloe use to have so much fun together and it kept me on somewhat of a schedule during the day. How is it possible to get more accomplished on a day where you have 3 kids versus a day with just one? Granted I pretty much fall into bed and am instantly asleep at the end of the day - sometimes just barely staying awake until my own kids are in bed.

So, now it's my mission to find one more full time little girl like Katelyn so Chloe can have a playmate during the day. (Would also mean extra money in my pocket, too.)

Score Card

Number of cute babies who were insanely well behaved at the car dealership this morning: 1

Hours spent waiting for an oil change, tire rotation and DVD player problem at said car dealership: 2 and a half

...

Number of tractors stuck behind on the way home just today alone (in a no passing zone too, of course): 3

Number of corn stalks surrounding our neighborhood: too many to count

Idiots using the camera on their cell phone while driving: 1

I guess that's what you get when you move out to a neighborhood in the middle of farm country.

Seriously In Need Of Getting It Together Here

This morning started out to be just like any other Monday morning. You know, dragging yourself out of bed, getting the kids up, dressed, fed, etc for school. By 8:30am, Chloe was in her high chair chowing down on her eggs and sausage when the dog perked up and started barking at some noise she heard. I thought to myself, "No. Couldn't be." Then I looked down and remembered that I hadn't gotten dressed yet. I was still in my shorts and tank top with no bra, no makeup and my hair wildly escaping it's pathetic attempt at a ponytail. (I don't rush to get up and pretty myself up for Chloe's mom - she's a good friend and has seen me at my worst already anyway.) And I thought, "Oh, Lord!" It was. Luke's mom was here to drop him off. I wasn't expecting them until 9:30am. Somewhere we must have gotten our wires crossed. I have never been so embarassed in my life. Okay, that's probably not quite true. Oversleeping and running to the door in my tank top and underwear at 6:30am to find that it was Dan and not my (another good) friend Kelly dropping Cecelia off that morning a few months ago was definately more embarassing.

(Side note:) Luckily I caught myself that morning before opening the door. Just cracked the door and said, I'm going to run back and get dressed. Go ahead and come in after I close the door. (I know how your minds work so I figured I'd clear that one up.)

Exhausted

4 kids + 3 days = 1 very tired and exhausted Lynda.

I've got pictures from Monday night's softball game on my camera and will post them as soon as I can find the time and energy to do it.

My Little Helper

Cecelia has been so cute while I've been working. She's sat perfectly still in the middle of the pool table while I've sorted, bagged and priced. Thankfully, the Little People stuff is almost done. Or at least it was almost done...

Caught in the act.

Totally busted - and she knows it!

Please note that no babies were allowed to play with dangerous plastic bags today. They were only allowed to dump them - then they were taken away. I know you were thinking it! LoL

The Payoff

There are days when the babies have gone home and my own kids are in bed and the house is quiet for the night and I look forward to enjoying some quiet time by myself or just sitting on the couch watching something from on the DVR with my husband (who patiently pauses whatever we're watching everytime I think of something I want to tell him).

Then there are days like yesterday afternoon when one of the babies snuggle with me on the couch for a half an hour all sweet and content. Or there's this morning when the other baby lays her head on my chest as I rock her for a minute as she falls asleep in my arms and I contemplate whether I should lay her down or hold her for a few more minutes, inhaling her sweet baby smell.

There are also times when my daughter will give me a hug for no other reason than just being glad to see me or sad to see me go even if it's just to go out with the girls from the neighborhood for a couple of hours. Or when my son will tell me I'm the best mom in the world and actually give up one of his rare hugs and kisses because I've done something that has made him truely happy.

These times are so rare that you just never want to let go of that euphoric feeling that it leaves you with. It's times like those that give you the biggest payoff possible - the payoff of knowing that you're doing something right and are truely loved and appreciated.

It's A Boy! Maybe.

So, I might have the opportunity to add a newborn baby boy to my daytime bunch next October. I'm seriously considering it. Am I crazy? One of Ashley's teachers is due in August and is looking for a sitter. You can't beat a teacher's schedule. But three kids under the age of 1? Hmmm...got to think about this.

Let Me Out!

Nine months old and already begging to go outside and play.

The Girl's Got The Moves!

You can't argue with talent. Especially her little "shaking of the head no" move.

Top Four Reasons Why My Husband Is Not In Charge Of Decorating Our Home

Over the past couple of days, Chloe has almost mastered the whole crawling thing. Out of fear and knowledge of what could happen, my husband and I moved Ryan's Lego table into Ryan's bedroom. Moving this table will also make room for Bret's Grandma's China Cabinet (or whatever the proper term for it is) that I've managed to talk Bret into getting.

.

Luckily for Chloe and Cecelia, they're cute so they'll be forgiven for whatever they get into.

Taking advantage of the temporarily free wall space, Bret tried his hand at decorating. He says he wanted more space in the livingroom.

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So, let me give you:

The Top Four Reasons Why My Husband Is Not Allowed To Decorate Our Home:

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Reason #1:

Reason #2:

Reason #3:

Reason #4:

Yes, I know. You never thought you'd see my house filled with baby toys again, but where did my hallway go?

Am I wrong to change it back and break his heart? LoL

Update on the mixing of medicine and alcohol

This is Kelly, Cece's mommy, not Lynda. So, at about 5 pm, my husband and I decided to see if any neighbors wanted to come over to have a few adult beverages. The W********'s were out because a new Lego Star Wars video game was at their house. However, Scott called them over... all attended initally but Lynda. However, Bret called her a few hours later and Lynda, in a medicine "coma" showed up. From about 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm, Auntie Lynda, as we call her, had ONLY 3 drinks. In this time, she went from the normal, jovial Lynda to a woman who was laughing hysterically as she twirled back and forth on a bar stool! I love this lady... because she just shared a beer with me... I praised her long before this little glass of beer appeared before me though! For those who have never watched others' children... Lynda, as I am sure Chloe's mommy would agree, is an amazing woman who truly makes working moms feel blessed for the opportunity to ""have it all!" How one woman can be the matriach of a family of 4 and still find time to be the caretaker of 2 young infants is well beyond my scope of imagination. Thanks for all who read about my little treasure... and thanks to you, Lynda! You always make going to work a pleasure instead of a guilt trip!

Why Can't They Stay Little?

Chloe is now 7 months old and Cecelia is now 6 months. Where has the time gone? Can they get any cuter?

Chloe hams it up for the camera.

Cecelia is always full of smiles.

Chloe: I'm getting such a headache from all of this picture taking stuff. Do you think she's about done, already?

Cecelia: Who knows. Here let me massage your headache away.

Chloe: Okay, but I get to play with your head next.

Cecelia: Um, I don't think so. I saw what you did to that teddy bear's head earlier.

A Riddle

Question: What's worse than being home with two cranky/teething/ear infection/runny nose babies?

Answer: Being home with two cranky/teething/ear infection/runny nose babies and a sick and cranky runny nosed husband.

Only because I'm just as much fun when I'm sick, right?

What Day Is Today?

I'm not quite sure what day of the week it is anymore. It's all been quite a blur. I did indeed end up with that horrible cold that's been going around. The kids got it, too. While we're feeling much better than we did last week, we're still not quite over it. I did finally getting around to unloading the pictures that have been sittting on our camera for the past month.

* * * *

Cecelia and Chloe, who keep me so busy that I'm not sure what day or time it is anymore. I'm not complaining though, because it's been great watching these two grow and discover new things. Chloe is sitting by herself now and Cecelia is almost there herself. They love being together during the day and really amuse each other. This afternoon we even ventured out to Sam's Club since they have such huge carts. The girls did great and since Cecelia's car seat takes up so much room in the cart, she kept me from throwing too much stuff in. Chloe got most of the boxes thrown in around her up front though. She wasn't going anywhere, even if she wanted to.

Ashley's been keeping busy with homework. She and I spent Saturday morning with Shawn getting quite a bit of hair cut off and my much needed highlights redone. Maybe I'll get around to getting pictures of our new do's sometime soon.

Both kids are such a big help when they get home from school with the babies. They look forward to getting down on the floor and playing with them. Ryan is nuts for Chloe and she's quite attached to him, too. Ashley and Cecelia seem to have bonded, too. I guess they've picked their favorites.

Well, I'm off to go get round three of feeding time ready for the girls so they can take their afternoon naps. Might take one myself.

Booked Solid

Throughout the day today, I've felt the same cold that both babies and my two kids have had slowly creeping up on me. I don't have time in my busy schedule for this! I can possibly schedule a cold in for a brief time on Friday evening, but it'll have to be gone by the next day so I can get my house cleaning done on Saturday and join everyone over at Kelly and Dan's (baby Cecelia's parents) for the Bear's game on Sunday. Ugh. I hate colds.

So in my foggy headed state I must have lost my mind today because I packed up the babies and attempted to make a quick trip to the library. Normally that would have worked out fine, but I just had to decide to go to one of the older libraries on the other side of town because the online card catalog said that they had my book in stock. Halfway there, it starts snowing again. Really snowing. Once I got there I loaded them up in the double stroller and pushed them through the snow accumulating on the ground and up the icy ramp towards the door without falling down. So far so good. They had a ramp so one would think the building would be stroller or wheel chair friendly, right? Wrong. Once inside the doors I found there was only a small landing that then went up about 7 or 8 stairs. Bummer. Since I couldn't bring the babies up with me, I just had the librarian look it up for me. Turns out the book wasn't there after all. Figures. Two minutes later, with a hold on the book we were out the door and heading home. I should have just called.

Long Lost Update

It's been a long 5 days since I've updated this blog and I admit that I've been slacking quite a bit. I'll try to do better in the future. Life has been very busy since the holidays. I'm now watching two infants during the day and they keep me very busy. As soon as I think I've got a free minute or two, it's gone in a flash.

Bret is doing better now since his visit with the stomach flu. I've been deathly afraid that myself or the kids might come down with it, but I think enough time has passed that we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Bret was locked in the bedroom in a mandatory quarantine for a good 12 hours until he was feeling better and I stayed in the bedroom downstairs until it was safe to return to my own room.

Then, a day later Cat and Tom (baby Chloe's parents whom I watch during the week) came down with the stomach flu at the same time. I took Chloe off their hands so they could get some rest on Sunday afternoon and kept her overnight and through the next day while Cat tried to go back to work. Did I mention that I'm absolutely done having babies of my own? I got up with her once in the middle of the night and while she did go back to sleep right away, I'm not sure I could ever get use to that again.

I did have quite a few bouts of queasiness during the week and was afraid the flu was coming to get me so maybe I did have a slight strain of it or maybe it was more Migraine related. Who knows.

I'm heading out tonight for our neighborhood Drunko, um, I mean "Bunco" or "Ladies Night Out" night. Unfortunately, it's not going to be a very late night since I've got to get up at 6:15am in the morning for Cecelia to arrive.

I promise to blow the dust off of the camera and get some new pictures of the kids on here soon.

Hapy New Year!!!

Last night we joined the rest of our friends out here in our neighborhood for a progressive New Year's Eve party. Starting at 7pm, we arrived to our first party where jello shots were flowing freely. (A bit too freely!) We watched the Chicago Bears get their butts kicked and then headed over to another party where our bartender was mixing all kinds of homemade shots that most of us stayed away from. By midnight Ryan was half past tired and I had to bring him home. I'm amazed that he lasted that long. He wants to know if he gets to stay up "really, really, really late" again tonight. (He was up by 7am this morning, so I think not). Bret and Ashley stayed at the party across the street for another hour or so and then headed on home. Can you believe that my ten year old daughter outlasted me last night? However, it's 11:30am right now and she's still in bed.

Chloe comes back tomorrow after being gone over the holidays. It's been about three weeks since I've gotten to love on her on a regular basis. Cecelia starts full time on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to bonding with her, too. The kids go back to school on Wednesday and normalcy will reign. (When did 4 and 5 month babies become my norm?)

Guess I should go clean and get ready for the babies to come back. All of the baby stuff is being stored in the bedroom downstairs and it's time to get this house clean and bring it all back up.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Christmas Came Early

Christmas came early tonight for my kids when they talked me into putting together the toy we got for Chloe and Cecelia earlier today. (It'll be staying at my house for them to play with.)

They've been having a blast "breaking it in" for the babies.

Now I have to go break their hearts and make them go to bed. Maybe Chloe will actually get a turn to play with it tomorrow.

First Day Jitters

Today is the first day that I've had both Chloe and Cecelia here together for the whole day. They've been here together at the same time for half days before, but never a whole day. I have to admit I was a little nervous this morning because starting in another month Cecelia will be here full time.

So, are you ready for this? It's gone so well today! I must have been nuts, because when Bret's mom called last night and asked if I could take her to the doctor this morning, I said, "Sure, why not?" So the babies and I piled into the minivan and off we went. They did great! We spent over an hour in the waiting room, complete with double stroller and an overflowing diaper bag and Sally and all of her bags. (What a sight we must have been walking in...lol) Two bottles and two dirty diapers later we were leaving with two of the best behaved babies ever. It's like having twins, but I thrive when I'm busy because once I sit down, I'm done and tired.

The girls like each other very much. Chloe was all about trying to get Cecelia's attention. She's become so social in the last week or so.

Chloe, trying to get Cecelia's attention.

Game on, though. Chloe saw Cecelia's purple blanket and just had to have it.

Cecelia didn't seem to mind too much.
"Got it!"
Before heading off to school this morning, Ryan introduced Chloe to Sponge Bob. He informed me that she likes it very much.

False Alarm

So I get a phone call from the kids' school this morning and they ask me if Ashley is at home because she's not there today. (What!) I tell them she should be because I saw her get on the bus with her brother. They put me on hold. (Silently freaking out!) She comes back and asks if Ashley was leaving early today. I tell her no and she puts me on hold again. (Really getting worried now.) She comes back and apologizes and explains that her bus was late so she was marked absent and that yes, she is there. (Whew!) At least I know now that they call if your child is not there and you haven't called her in.

I've told him many times that he is too big for the baby swing. Does he listen? No!

So anyways, feast your eyes on this. Adorable babies. In my care. Chloe was so cute when Ceceilia got here this morning. She just stared at her, wanting to know what she was all about.