First,
I am done - took working on them all weekend but the girls are ready for their Halloween playgroups on Tuesday and Wednesday and to head around the neighborhood on Wednesday night. Why oh why do I wait until the last minute to do stuff like this? Piper's has been a pain b/c I made it too big (that is what I get for always sewing with no pattern) so I have had to redo it a few times.
So Halloween is RIGHT around the corner, is everyone ready? We don't have trick or treaters at our house but we will probably bring the girls to a few of our neighbors homes. Their costumes aren't done yet, I have no treats, and the house is barely decorated - see what happens when the entire family gets sick? Actually I have turned into a HUGE procrastinator since having the kids. I think that I will be able to do things during their naps but instead I spend my time quickly cleaning up the house so that I can get online for a few minutes or just skippng the house altogether and surfing or blogging. Every few weeks I won't go online at all for a few days just to try and catch up - thank goodness I am not also addicted to the TV!
My poor husband had to go to the doctor on Wednesday and they think that he has bursitis, look at his elbow - it is crazy how swollen it was. By Thursday night though it had gone down a little bit so the meds are at least working and he doesn't have to get it drained - gross, gross, gross!
My girlfriend took this picture and I just love it! It was just yesterday that her and I both had babes and now I have 2 and her 2nd is due next month! Look how big Violet looks sitting all by herself!! Ok, back to Wordless :)
Nope, just me tooting my own horn :) Yesterday we spent a leisurely day around the house and while the girls and Matt napped I started on a skirt project that I have been meaning to do for about 2 months now. It took me until last night (working off and on) but IT IS DONE! I also made a handkerchief and put pockets on the skirt b/c what 2 year old doesn't love to put her treasures in either her pockets or purse? I think that it turned out pretty darn cute - of course it gets paired with the boots (what doesn't these days). I have finally given up on trying to get Piper to wear any of the cute shoes that I bought for her this fall and found another pair of those rainboots on eBay in the next size up. They have butterflies on them and little antennas sticking out - how long until those get pulled off who knows but she now has boots for the winter too. Without further ado here is my creation...
This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE ring sling and Mamanista is giving away a beautiful "Suffragette City" to one lucky reader (please oh please let it be me). I don't really own many girlie slings so this would be our first. Perhaps if I was wearing Violet in a gorgeous sage and pink butterfly sling they might stop asking me what my BOY'S name was. If you have not seen a Rockin Baby Sling check out their yummy fabrics - they are so vibrant in real life. This contest ends on November 13 so why wait - enter now!
Read more...The Domestic Diva is having a contest GIVING away a Dyson "Pink" Vaccuum. I was just telling Matt the other day that we NEEDED a new one b/c after 5 years with 5 animals, 2 kids, and the hubby ours is getting ready to die. If I don't get picked for this prize (valued at $400!!!) then I hope that you will. Either follow the link in this post or click on the Dyson in my sidebar and make sure to enter before October 31, 2007. Good luck!
Read more...Too much excitement around the house when that is the highlight of our day huh? While trying to decide what to do with the familia on Saturday (Matt had a RARE Saturday off) we tossed around a few ideas and Sesame Street Live won. Some friends had gone on Friday and talked about how much fun their kiddos had so we said let's do it! We weren't sure that we were going to make it on time because of the ever present backed up traffic on Hwy 77 that we didn't think would be there on a Saturday morning but was. We got there (barely) on time and I had to quick nurse Violet so that she would make it through the show so we walked in, found our seats, and an announcement said the show would begin in 3 minutes - perfect! I had asked to bring a camera to the show but Matt said they weren't allowed, seriously we were the only family without one there. Now, I guess that I am glad that he will teach the girls to listen to the rules but I really wanted a picture! Piper had a ball dancing with the characters and even Violet was enjoying herself. I had her in our Rockin Baby ring sling because I wasn't sure what she would think of dancing furry creatures. By intermission though both girls had enough. We got them up and walked around a bit, then decided to look for the cool Elmo lightchaser that all of the kiddos were playing with during the show and they were $15 - needless to say that didn't come home with us. We stayed until the final number but left while it was still being sung. Piper had taken to standing on the chairs, trying to suck on the rails, eating snacks, drinking water - you know everything BUT watching the show. I can't say that we were alone though, some kids were at this time having complete meltdowns so boredom was ok with me. Will I try again? Maybe next year if The Wiggles come because even Mommy likes them :)
After we left there we grabbed some lunch and headed to Trader Joes. It just opened in our area (actually almost an hour from our house but we were in the area so...) and I hadn't been to one since we lived in SoCal. I used to shop there quite a bit for normal groceries and still would if I were closer but after going through the entire (packed with people) store I can't really remember why I thought it was so awesome back in CA. I, of course, picked up some wine and got the girls some bars but will I travel the hour back there soon - probably not unless after drinking this wine I find that I love it more than my Barefoot that I have been getting at BJ's. If you remember the draw and decide to comment PLEASE refresh my memory as it has been over 8 years since I last stepped foot in one. It was SOOO crowded and Piper was REALLY ready for a nap so I didn't get to browse so maybe I am missing something.
No pictures today (hee hee LOVE YOU BABY) but maybe I will later as I think today is the day we are going to pick up our pumpkins - woohoo PUMPKIN SEEDS tonight!
There was a knock at the door and my Great Grandmother got up to answer, it was my Grandfather and he had bad news; that evening my Mother was killed in an accident. She was the passenger of a truck that went off the road and she was thrown from the vehicle and died. The family all started arriving shortly after that, there were many tears shed that night but not from me. If my memory is correct I walked around telling everyone that it would be ok but that is trying to remember back 32 years and I am not sure if they are my own memories or those that have been told to me over the years. I unfortunately did not know my mother to grieve for her that night, she was mother by name only.
It used to make me so angry that she left me as a baby, never intending to come back and care for me as a mother should. As I grew older though and went through my own highs and lows I understand that she might not have been in a very good place in her life to care for 2 girls. However, after having babies I can't imagine how a mother would ever just drop her daughter off and not come back and get her. I don't know if she ever visited because I have no memories of them if she did. There is 1 surviving photo of her and I and as far as I know it is the only one EVER taken.
When tragedy strkes a family like this there are many children who don't get as lucky as I did. My Great-Grandparents kept me with them, as it had always been, and I had a wonderful home to be raised in that was filled with love. Many times there isn't a person in the family able to care for the children and they are sent into foster care, my heart breaks for those kids.
I did not even know until this year the actual day that she died, it just didn't seem to matter to me. Who knows how life would have been different had she survived the accident as the driver did, maybe she would have come back for me and my sister I would like to think so anyway. Today on the anniversary of her death I would just like to thank her for choosing life for a daughter that was a huge mistake at the time. I would also like to thank her so much for choosing to leave me with my Great-Grandparents, a more loving home couldn't be found.
Every year the dogs get to dress up for Halloween too - whether they like it or not :) Obviously the Chihuahua does not! Anyway, our resident vampire dog...
Lately Piper has decided that she enjoys helping me do various things around the house. She has been known to grab the wipes in my bag and clean walls or tables, who the heck knows where she got that from. Anyway, I have been letting her help me cook and it has been so much fun. This past Sunday I was making a meal for a friend that just had a baby and I had Piper help me make the no bake cookies that I was bringing her for dessert. All the ingredients were either a 1/2 cup or a full cup so we used the 1/2 cup and practiced our counting. Piper has started counting a little in Spanish so we counted to 6 in Spanish while adding the oats. Everyone in the house loves chocolate and as you can see Piper had to taste test before it was done. Look at her corny "cheese" face - crazy girlie.
It has been pretty crazy around here this past week. I swear we were really busy each and every day, next week we will try and not let it get so hectic. Well, after taking Piper to preschool again on Tuesday I decided to pull her out. There is a good little story time at the library on Thursdays and I will find something else for her to do, I just couldn't deal with her crying whenever we mentioned that she had to go to school. Finally got the laundry done from the vacation *blush*, I have gotten so bad at laundry - my poor family. Today Megan and I went to an Etsy craft show at Independence Park in Charlotte. It was pretty cool, I met Amy the Crankymama IRL and bought Piper one of her monster bags. After getting it home I think we will hold off on giving it to her until her birthday and then maybe we will fill it with fun little girlie gifts and maybe a new book or 2. I also found a really cool mama Lori of LORiOLA that made glass necklaces - did I get one for a certain mama expecting...hmm will have to wait and see. Afterwards we headed to the Charlotte Farmer's Market and I got a great deal on 2 HUGE mums for my front pots. While Violet slept this afternoon Piper and I planted them and then also got out some of the Halloween decorations. She saw so many pumpkins today that I will have to put that on our list of places to go next week that will be fun for her. Life around here is pretty boring so I am going to end this post with a montage of our beach trip since I just got to downloading the pictures tonight. Am I the only mama that loves that her daughter digs Dan Zanes, Piper loves him! Here are the beach photos (make sure to turn up your volume), this got a little long but painless I think...
Well we are home from our week at the beach - oh the fun the family had!
1 - cozy cottage set on top of a dune on the ocean. The house we stayed at was perfect for the kiddos, we don't have to worry about them breaking fancy items and the view...what can you say about waking up and seeing the beautiful sun rise every morning and set every night. Sitting on the back porch lazily swaying back and forth on the swing watching the porpoises swimming in the surf. I LOVE the beach!
2 - little girls who played like crazy on the beach. Piper helped us pick up shells and had to have her own treasure bag by the end of the week. I plan on planting a paperwhite in a hurricane vase and having our collection on display inside for the holidays. Everytime a wave would wash up on Violet she would giggle and splash - so darn cute! We didn't do many sand castles though because Piper lost interest too quickly. Just before low tide there was a wade pool near the house that Piper enjoyed "swimming" in. She also wanted to take a bath immediately upon returning to the house and "swim" in there too.
3 - fun filled hours that our family played like crazy at the Children's Museum of Wilmington. We had never gone to one before and although we had to lead Piper a bit she had a ball! We spent an entire hour just in the campfire room reading books and putting on puppet shows. Piper made a bunch of sandwiches for us at the diner and both girls crawled and climbed in the matted toddler room. If you are ever in the area you should check this place out. After we were done we ate supper at The Reel Cafe with our friends that moved to the area, Lisa and Barry. A walk on the Wilmington boardwalk to see the sights followed and there was some snacking on ice cream and fudge. Such a fabulous day!
4 - cockroaches that we found at the house (eewww!!) - R.I.P. One of them was like 2 inches long - yuck, yuck, yuck!!! We have dogs and cats that kill all sorts of things but something about a cockroach makes me want to crawl out of my skin.
5 - pairs of shoes (excessive I know) that I brought to the beach for Piper and she only wore 1, that is right - her rain boots. I have given up trying to get her to wear anything else, to her relief I am sure. This morning when I went to find a site that sells them for when the day comes that they are outgrown I found that there is highway robbery out there when it comes to a 2 YEAR OLDS rain boots, they are asking $24 a pair. Maybe I am cheap, ok I am cheap, but I got these boots at a consignment sale for $4. Hopefully Mother Nature might see Piper sporting her boots and give us some MUCH needed rain then our oldest will be able to splash around in them 1 time before they are too small.
6 - teeth in the mouth of our baby. Violet left with 5 but now has another one poking through. She is also working on 2 more bottom teeth that should be here anytime now. Thankfully she learned very quickly not to bite Mommy with those toothers, it only has happened twice and I am knocking on wood like crazy over here that it doesn't happen again - OUCH!
7AM - that would be the glorious time that the girls slept in until. Some mornings it was even 7:30! They were both so worn out that they went to bed each night between 7 and 7:30 and slept until morning, well except for Violet who has yet to sleep through the night but that is another story. If only we could keep them as busy and worn out when not on vacation when our days are filled with fun and excitement.
8 - diaper changes (at least) per baby per day using gDiapers. We only had 6 covers for both girls and I would strongly suggest if diapering with this system full time to have at least 6 per child. I would wash the cover and the liner each morning because they were in them for so long and I didn't want stinky dipes so then I was left with only 4 covers to diaper with the entire day. The refills do bunch up a little bit between the legs but with frequent changes doesn't present a problem, at least to us it didn't. The covers do take a very long time to dry and I didn't want to risk putting them in the dryer and having them shrink on us because we had nothing else to fall back on. I won't use them on a daily basis because I love my stash of cloth diapers but will use them again when we go to Ohio for the holidays. All in all - g diapers are really great and it makes me feel better to use a *sposie* like them that will decompose in less than 150 days than clog our landfills with regular disposibles.
9 - times per hour some days that Piper would ask "What's this?". "Oh Oh" has been replaced with an even more fun "What's this?". I am guessing this is a prelude to "Why?". To say the least our daughter is very informed about her surroundings after this past week.
10 - well it is actually over 10 feet (15 feet) of Didy yumminess that came to the beach with us. Tobi was the perfect wrap in our stash to bring to the beach with his beautiful blues and yellows. Violet slept most of her morning naps in a rucksack while Piper ran along the water splashing and Matt and I combed the beach for sharks teeth.
That is our vacaton in a conch shell (hee hee), pictures will filter in as the week goes on- off to work on my mounds of laundry, Happy Monday!
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