Mommy Stress!!

We are getting ready to leave for Evansville (YAY!) but I am stressing! Does anyone else feel like since you have had kids you have to pack the house with you just to go away for the weekend? I am serious.....we have three suitcases already packed, two bags of toys, two bags of bath toys, and we ARE NOT DONE!! I do not think that there is gonna be any room in the car for the kids! I still have to pack pillows, blankets, and all of the Christmas presents for the family in Evansville!! AHHHHHH!!

Things sure change when you have kids......I know that I should know this already......but it never ceases to amaze me! I remember when Josh and I used to decide to go away for the weekend and not pack anything. We would just buy what we needed when we got wherever we were going!

OK well thanks for listening to me ramble on! I hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas!! Here is a pic to make you smile if you are stressed out like me! :o)

CHRISTMAS DAY!!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

This is my favorite time of year! This year has been hectic and crazy, but when I see the faces of my kids when they come down the stairs on Christmas morning to see if Santa has come, it makes everything worth it! The girls were so happy this year! Bianka had a list that seemed to never end, and Lexi learned about Santa this year, so she never stopped talking about him! Lexi was so excited about Santa that we had to take her to see him at the mall three times! Bink is really into Hannah Montana this year, so we tried to find everything for her that we could. I can not believe how popular that girl is!!

We did the traditional dinner at my Mom's on Christmas Eve, then we headed home to wrap. OMG!! I do not know if anyone else out there waited until Christmas Eve to wrap, if you did I am so sorry for you! With working and school I just didn't have time to do it any other time this year. We were up until one in the morning, and Bianka and Lexi had us up at 5:25!!We opened presents until about eight, and the we headed over to Mom's for round 2!

Here are some pics of our Christmas at home, pics from our Christmas in Evansville will be coming soon!!

The Spirit of Christmas ( The Whoo Villagers )

Bianka was in the Spirit of Christmas 2007 This year. She has SO much fun!!

They do put these kiddos through a lot though! Bianka had to practice every Saturday from August until Thanksgiving! While it was a lot for me......Bianka is a little performer and she never complained!

You can see Bink's performance on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qc-h05OosI

Enjoy!!

My New Found Respect for Working Moms

I am usually a stay at home mom, but for the last six weeks I have had a taste of being a working mom. Lets just say I do not know how people do it! My house was a disaster, I never got to spend any time with my kids, and I was tired all of the time! I know that I am sounding like a spoiled little brat right now, but I really can't help it! I could not believe the toll that working an eight hour day(sitting in front of a computer)could take on you! I honestly have a new type of respect for all of the working moms that I know. My mom did it all of her life, and most everyone I know has kids and works. I guess that I am just not as tough as them!

Ramblings of a Sappy Mother

You know you find out that you are pregnant and you envision this wonderful new little human being. You think about what she will look like, whether she will look like your husband or you, what color will her hair be. You wait for that first little flutter in your belly that really verifies that there is a life within you. Pregnancy is a wonderful and beautiful thing. Then when you find out that there may be a problem, your whole world changes. You wait anxiously on the next kick, you spend more time with the doctors than you do with your husband, you spend countless sleepless nights playing the absolutely horrible "what if" game. Pregnancy is no longer a fun experience. This is a horrible feeling. I am sadly not alone in this experience. It may sound very corny, but I will risk saying it anyway. God has a plan for you before you are even a light in your parents eyes, and nothing is going to change that. I was, for what reason I do not know, watching Special Delivery(a show on Discover Health Channel about high risk pregnancies and newborns with complications) and it was then that I realized that my life could be a million times worse and I need to thank God for every single moment I have with my girls. My pregnancy with Alexis was absolutely awful. I was a nervous wreck, I never stopped crying, I never stopped worrying. All I ever thought about was what would I do if she wasn't OK. Then when she was born early I have never been so terrified in my life. The very worst moment in my very short life was the moment the doctor cheerfully said "Its a girl!" and I waited and waited and didn't hear a sound. Not one little cry from my beautiful new daughter. I thought that my world had ended, I honestly think that I went into shock. About four minutes later I experienced on of the best moments of my life. Our little girl responded to the emergency treatments and let out the sweetest most beautiful cry ever cried. I knew then that everything that I had went through was worth it ten times over. Besides some small complications associated with her being premature, Alexis is an absolutely beautiful perfectly healthy little girl. The point of all of these ramblings are that I have always been thankful for my girls, but some of the horrible pregnancies end up in tragedy, now I realize how good I have it and how thankful I am every second of every day for my two little girls. Sometimes you have to cry for somebody elses tragedies to appreciate your own blessings.

YAY!! Cousins!

We recently took a trip to Evansville to see our family, and the girls had SO much fun! They have a great little children's museum there that we took them to with their favorite cousins, Chloe and Calle. We are going back the week after Christmas, and I can't wait!!

Haloween 2007 ( I know it is late, Sorry!)

So I know that this is a delayed post if I have ever had one, but the girls looked so cute I couldn't resist but post the pics of Halloween! Bink was Tinkerbell(for the third year in a row!)and Lexi was a ladybug. They had SO much fun this year! This was the first year that Lexi was really excited, and it was also the first year that Bianka was brave enough to actuall say "Trick-or-Treat" !!

WOW It has been a while!!

Sorry that I have abandoned everyone that reads this blog! I have, to say the least, been increadibly busy for a long long time! But I am back now.....and I will post more often....I PROMISE!!

Hanging Of The Greens

Christmas has always been my very favorite time of year! We started out this Christmas season with Bianka's hanging of the greens at her church. All of the nursery school and Sunday school children made Chrismons(ornaments telling the story of Jesus)and had a special Sunday night service to hang them on the church's tree. Bianka was SO proud of herself. She made a lamb ornament using heavy paper and cotton balls. It was very cute. The children had to learn some Christmas songs that they sang for the congregation and the pastor told a story called the Christmas Candy Cane, which Bianka loved because we put candy canes on our tree. I hope my children have a love for Christmas like I have when they are older. Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Alexis and Bianka's First Bon Fire!

Last night my mom and dad had a hotdog and marshmallow roast at their house. Bianka was excited to roast her first marshmallow and have hot chocolate outside with everyone. It was a lot of fun. My mom and Dad and my sister Heather were all there. Heather took care of the baby while Josh and I played with Bianka in the leaves and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. My dad spent all day making roasting sticks, and they were well used! I think just the few of us used two bags of marshmallows! As with anything my mom does she went all out and had two pots of chili, noodles and baked beans in addition to the hotdogs. It was the perfect Halloween Cookout!

Alexis's Check Up

Well all good news from the good doctor this month! Well almost all good news! Alexis is now an even 17 pounds and is 26 inches long! She is still a Chunky Monkey no doubt about that! The doctor said that her development is right on track, she is lifting her head wonderfully now and is rolling all over the place! He couldn't hear any murmurs or arythmias in her heart and her hernia seems to be getting smaller every visit! He said that the birthmark on her head is not growing at a rapid enough rate to be concerned about it. We did discover though that she has acid reflux! Imagine that! He suggested feeding her baby food three or four times a day and putting her in an elevated bassinet to help her sleep better and decrease her spitting up. Other than this her check up was absolutely normal. She did get four shots ( OUCH!! ) and is a little fussy without tylenol, but thank God all is well! Hopefully no more worries!

Halloween

Three is the perfect age! It doesn't get any better than this, you would have thought that Bianka had won the lottery every single time someone gave her a piece of candy tonight. When we got home and dumped it out, she was in heaven! The joy something so simple can bring to a child is a priceless thing. Bianka was Tinker Bell tonight, and was absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself. Alexis was a pink kitty cat, who was the most adorable baby ever. Both of the kids had a blast, Alexis was happy because we carried her most of the way, and everyone stopped to talk to her. I swear we walked miles! My friend Jessie brought her nephew Cameron to go trick or treating with us which made Bianka even happier ( she loves Cameron ). Mom and Dad came over before we left to see the girls and their Aunt Heather came over afterward to check out all of the candy! All around the night was a success! I love Halloween!!

Bianka's Open House

Tonight was Bianka's preschool open house. Bianka was SO excited that Mommy and Daddy and Alexis were going to see her school and meet her friends! She showed us all around the school and told us about everything, they have a job chart and a calendar and LOTS of crafts and pictures of all of their activities so far this year. Bianka's teachers were there to answer any questions, and of course I had a ton! They said that Bink is doing extremely well and participates in everything. They gave me a list of all of their songs and finger games so I can know them and we can practice at home. I am SO proud of Bianka, she loves school and has all of these cute little friends and is really getting over her shyness! She is growing up so fast! After we went through the classrooms we went downstairs and had hotdogs provided by the nice people at the church. It is so hard for me to believe that I am already attending these functions, it really doesn't seem that it is possible that Bianka is old enough yet! My babies are getting big!

New Dance Pictures!

Well I know that I have already put up a post about Bink's dance classes, but I took some pictures at her class tonight that were just too cute not to publish! Bianka is doing very well in the class and I am slowly but surely getting closer and closer to not having to be in the classroom with her. I am almost a waiting room mom! Whohoo! Well I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Alexis's First Cereal

Last night Josh and I gave Alexis her first bowl of cereal, and let me tell you she ate it like a pro! She gobbled it down, and didn't get any on her! She just smiled the whole time and acted like she has been eating for years! I think that she definintly needs the cereal! We took her to the doctor yesterday and at three months and three weeks old my chunky monkey weighs in at 15lbs. 11ozs.! She has doubled her weight over two months early and she is exactly half of Bianka's weight! She is HUGE! But yet still so beautiful! Well hopefully Alexis keeps doing well on the cereal and next month we will introduce fruits.

To Grandma's House We Go!

Well last Thursday we packed up the kids and just about everything we own(three suit cases, Bianka's couch, a hundred toys, etc..) and made the trip to see the family in Evansville, Indiana. It was SO much fun! Bianka slept the whole trip and the baby only ate once. It was really a good trip, we got to Rick and Julies late Thursday and everyone was excited to see us. Brandon and Kossandra came over to see Alexis and Bianka. It took Bianka about a day to warm up to everyone as usual, but after that she was very well behaved, as was the baby. Both of the kids had a little cough all weekend which made it kind of stressful, but it was fun none the less! Bianka decided that she is in love with her Uncle Brandon, which is all I have heard about since we have gotten home. Uncle Brandon was IT, she had to sit by him and hold his hand and he couldn't leave her sight! It was SO cute! We went to lunch on Friday with Bianka's Grandma Sherry at Hacienda and then we went to visit her house. Saturday we had a birthday party for Brandon, Rick, and I. It was a lot of fun. Josh's Mimi and Papa and his cousin Angie(with little David) all came over for cake. It was really nice, Bianka had a blast. Grandma Julie bought her a bubble gun, which makes Julie Bianka's new favorite person( She was already pretty high up on the list anyway)! We took Bianka to the Fall Festival Saturday night and she had fun! Her Aunt Kossandra and her Daddy won her four new stuffed animals($100 later, haha) and she got some cotton candy. Then Sunday morning Bianka woke up bright and early to make breakfast with Grandma Julie. This was probably the most fun she had all weekend! Jules gave her a butter knife and three containers of frosting(yes I did say frosting)and told her to ice the cinnamon rolls! Bianka was ALL OVER this! She had a blast! She had everyone in the house helping her ice these rolls! It was SO cute! And surprisingly enough she did a really good job! Then Sunday night we went to see George, Emily, Chloe and Calle. We had a really nice visit with them and we got to see the new addition to their family, Mrs. Sparkles, their new water dragon! Well all in all it was a wonderfully successful trip and we all had a lot of fun. Hopefully we can make it back sooner this time to see everyone!

Ohio Heritage Festival

After dance class today we decided to walk around the street festival that was going on downtown today. We didn't get Bianka a half a block down the street before this teenage girl yelled over the crowd to Bianka to come over and get her face painted to match her outfit! Bianka was in HEAVEN! If that wasn't enough there was a HUGE Spongebob Squarepants bounce house, a huge slide, and a maze. Bianka did all three surprisingly by herself. My little girl that is scared of everyone and everything climbed up the gigantic slide and jumped and slid down it three times! She then went in this huge maze by herself and about gave me a heart attack. Josh tried to follow her on the outside of the maze but eventually lost her, we called and called for her but she didn't answer so I got a little scared. I thought she got lost inside and would be a hysterical mess, but to my amazement I went in to find her laying down in one of the tunnels just singing a song to herself! Only Bianka! Me running through that little kids maze must have been a sight to see!

Bianka's Dance Classes

Bianka started her dance classes last Saturday and they are SO cute! The teacher is Miss Dee and she is just wonderful with the kids! She has been teaching dance for sixteen years and her daughter is the assistant instructor. So far Bianka has worked on several cute dances, including her favorite, peanut butter and jelly. Bianka does really well at following the movements, although I haven't convinced her yet that Mommy doesn't have to dance with her. This morning she insisted that I had to put on a leatard to go to dance class too! I did a lot of smooth talking to get out of that one! The dance costumes are absolutely adorable and I am going to break us buying them. The owner of the studio hand makes all of them for the younger classes. The are expensive but well worth it! I assume Bianka will have one of each of the costumes before the end of the year. I am really looking forward to June when Bianka will participate in her very first dance recital. It just doesn't seem possible that my baby is this big already! Time Flies!