Snow, Santa, and Saying goodbyes....

On Christmas Eve we got 14 inches of snow. Driving was no fun, but once we got our stuff done, we had a blast playing in the snow. This was the first time the girls had ever seen this much snow. Bennett took a nap while we made snow people (first a mini snowman then "Lizzie the snowman girl"), and snow angels, and even threw a few snowballs.




On Christmas Eve evening we had a lovely ham dinner and set out some cookies for santa. The kids had fun in their santa hats. On Christmas day, we opened presents and played with all the kids new toys and games. Sooooo much fun!




For Robs "last supper" before deployment we went to Red Robin, the kids favorite restaurant. After he left the girls and I made a paper chain to count down the days until his return. Now we are trying to find our groove again....

Pictures

I just got the picture CD of the pictures that Sue took when she and Shar visited for Thanksgiving/PreChristmas. I loved them ALL! So I made a few collages so that I could share them more easily. I hope you enjoy them too!

Family :


The Kids:


Zoe and Sydney:

The Many Faces of Bennett:

Update

So....solids are a hit! Bennett is loving eating in his highchair and being at the table with the big people. The Thanksgiving/PreChristmas visit of the inlaws was lovely. We covered most of our usual Christmas traditions such as a fancy dinner out and Secret Santa exchange. All went splendidly, if a bit compact. I was of course terrible about taking pictures, so I am waiting for Sue to send me copies of her photos, then I will be able to post a few.

Next week is the last week of school for the girls. Rob is planning to go visit each of their classes during the week. Hoping that this will be a great memory for the girls.

As for Rob, he is on deployment countdown. Getting everything ready to go. As for me, well, this is the most bittersweet Christmas I have ever known. I love the holidays, but thinking about Christmas makes me cry. Everyday. I hate to think of the months ahead when I wll be virtually a single parent and my husband will be away in a dangerous place missing all of the day to day action back home. If you can't tell, I am having some trouble with all of it. Trying to put on a brave face for the kids and convince myself that I am emotionally prepared for all of it, but really I'm not sure that I am. So if you are the faithful sort, please keep us in your prayers.

Bennett

At his last doctors visit Bennett was 26.5 inches long and about 14 lbs.

His doc was still hearing a hear murmur so we had an echo done. He has pulmonary stenosis just like Sydney, although his is a bit worse than hers, there is no need to worry for the time being. We will recheck it in 6 months. He is such a happy baby. Still not sleeping through the night though. Hoping that solid foods will help with that a bit. Per our July baby tradition, he will have his first rice cereal on Thanksgiving (yep, tomorrow....so exciting).

Alboquerque Turkey

Sydney sings "Alboquerque Turkey" a song she learned at school for Thanksgiving.

Update

Well. We are finally getting rid of the cold that has plagued our household for nearly a month now. Nanny and Auntie are out for a visit. We will be having Thanksgiving together tomorrow and then squeezing in some of our Christmas traditions before Auntie has to leave. Nanny will be here for another week after that. Not too much excitement these last couple of weeks since we have all been ill, but everyone is in good spirits and excited for the holidays.

Pumpkins

Sydneys is far left with the nose, Zoe's next with the big smile!

Rob carved the haunted castle. Lacey's has holes and Bennett's says "Boo"

Happy Halloween!

O-klahoma!

What Zoe learned in school...

Swimming

As you may know, the girls are in swimming lessons at the YMCA on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well, the Y cancelled a lesson a couple of weeks ago due to lightning. The make-up lesson was yesterday (Saturday) at 10:30 in the morning. I seriously considered skipping it, but decided to go anyway. I am so glad we did. We were the only ones there! The girls basically got private lessons. One teacher for each kid and they swam for about 35 minutes solid. They were yawning in the shower afterward they were so tired. Zoe is jumping off the diving platform by herself without a float belt (she jumps in and grabs a pool noodle and swims to the side). Sydney wanted to do it too, so her teacher held her hand and she jumped in too (with a float belt). They both love swimming so much. I am glad that they have an activity that they enjoy.

Pictures

Bennett playing


The new hats I knit for the girls (they got scarves too, but only felt like modeling the hats).

Smiles!!!

My kiddos!

Here I go again...

It's official: I am going back to school. After four different colleges, countless major changes, and a short stint in cosmetology school (yep, I'm a beauty school dropout) I quit to raise a family. One husband and three kids (plus 2 cats and a bunch of fish) later, I am ready to try again. This time I actually intend to finish what I started all those years ago. After fortuitously stumbling upon a government program that helps military wives pay for education towards a "portable career," I applied to Columbia Southern University. ( I also qualified for a Pell Grant so pretty much everything will be paid for - Hooray!!) It is the same school that Rob graduated from, and is 100% online. The "portable career" stipulation gave me limited choices as to what degree I could pursue, so I have chosen a B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism. Considering that working for my parents jet boat tour business was the best job I have ever had and that the industry is widespread and varied I think I will be able to find a career to my liking within this field (more so than IT, healthcare, or the other choices available at least). At first glance I am thinking about event planning or possibly hotel managment. Though, I am excited to learn what other careers are available. Heck, I am excited to learn period. My first classes (Orientation, Principles of Microeconomics, and Intro to Tourism) will start on November 30th. Luckily, the school took a ton of my transfer credits. I only have one general education class (Microeconomics) to take and the rest are all within my area of study. Hopefully, I will be able to successfully go to school while raising three kids (virtually on my own for a very large chunk of next year) and keeping up with the house and whatnot. Wish me luck or better yet wish me patience! Cause here I go... again.

Hahaha. Now I have that song stuck in my head: "Here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone....."
I will stop now before it gets stuck in your head too.

I don't know if any of my readers (there are readers out there right???) are military wives or know any. But if you are or know one the program is called myCAA (my career advancement account). They will pay up to $6000 towards education for a portable career. Check it out if you think you might be eligable.

Little hearts...

Sydney had an appointment with her pediatric cardiologist today. She was so brave! What a champ! She didn't even make a fuss, even though a lot of the tests are very different than standard doctors office stuff. I am just so proud of her. In case you are wondering, Sydney has a heart murmur. At age one the doc diagnosed her with pulmonary stenosis. Today, he said she still has narrowing of her pulmonary valve and she has a very small hole between the two upper chambers of her heart, as well as some extra tissue on her heart. To me this all sounded very scary. The doc said that none of it is major. She doesn't need to restrict her activity and no medication or treatment is required. She just needs to come back and get checked in three to four years. I guess "heart defect" or "heart abnormality" would scare the pants off of any parent. Even with the doctors reassurance, I'm still not feeling great about it. The kids regular pediatrician said she heard a bit of a murmur on Bennett too. We are watching that for the time being, but I have a feeling we will be back to the cardiologist with him at some point. Zoe's little ticker works just fine though. In any case, today has been a bit stressfull. Ready for it to be the weekend already!

Update

Bennett is three months old today. I can hardly believe that it has been that long since he entered the world. He seems at once so big and so small, so new and yet so much a part of my life that I can scarcely remember what I did before he was here. He smiles pretty regularly now and is trying to get his first teeth. I fear that teething is going to be a long and painful process. He is having all kinds of symptoms (excessive drool, spitting up, swollen gums...) but no real progress so far.
The girls have started a new session of swimming lessons. Man, these kids love to swim. Zoe has the same teacher as last session and syd is very excited to have a "new,boy teacher with spikey hair" as she calls him. They are having a great time of it. School is also going well. Zoe is making great progress in her reading (we do homework every day) and Sydney brings home lots of fun art projects and sings a lot.

First smiles...

Rob laughed and Bennett smiled. This was the first time he had smiled at Daddy. So Daddy kept laughing, and Bennett kept smiling. Forgive the histerical giggling. Parents will do anything to make their very serious 2.5 month old grin.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Etsy

I just opened an Etsy store. Check it out at www.abstractinfusion.etsy.com

Update

Wow, have we been busy! I almost forgot about the blog. Well, here is what has been going on with us:
I had a couple of parent orientations to go to for the girls.
Zoe is doing great in kindergarten, she really loves it. She doesn't even mind the homework (more on that later), hope that attitude lasts her entire educational career.
Sydney started pre-preK at First United Methodist Preschool. The class is called "Rainbows" so if I start talking about rainbows you know I'm not totally crazy. She didn't really act like she wanted to go at first but she was very brave and went without so much as a fuss. I hope this also continues, since Sydney is known for being stubborn, if she doesn't want to do something it can be quite a struggle to change her mind.
Since they are both in school at the same time I have had to start a carpool with another mom who has kids in the same classes as mine (so furtunate that that happened or I would have had real trouble). I pick up Zoe on Mondays and Fridays because only she has school on those days, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays she rides with her friends mom and I pick up Sydney and her friend Maya. It should work out well.
As for kindergarten homework - if you were wondering what that could possibly be- they have reading to do. The teacher send home poems and basically a lesson plan for it and we do that together. She is suppose to do 100 minutes of reading a week. I have to sign off on a sheet of paper how many minutes she does a day and if she does all her minutes she gets a prize the following Monday. Practicing sight words, writing her name, and reading other books can also count towawrd her minutes. I don't forsee us having much trouble with this because Zoe loves to read and practice writing. Rob started her on sight words earlier in the year so she already knows about 50-60 (way ahead of the 4 her teacher wants them to know).
Bennett had his 2 month well check and is growing well. He weighs 12lbs now and is 23.5 inches long (almost 2 feet already!!!). He had a bunch of vaccines and was not a very happy camper that day or the next. The doctor said he has a slight heart murmur, much like what Sydney has, and she wants to keep an eye (ear) on it. He is also still a bit colicky, but with the help of "Gripe Water" has been sleeping pretty well. Of course I say that and then he decides to have a growth spurt the last couplke of days and wants to eat constantly. Oh well, as long as he is thriving.
The girls also started swimming lessons. This is Zoe's third session (she is now an eel) and Sydney's first session (she is a pike). They both really enjoy it. Zoe is actually a pretty good little swimmer - confident in the water and seems to be pretty strong. The first day of eels she didn't wear a float belt like the other kids and managed to keep up swimming the width of the pool several times. She feels more comfortable with the belt though and opted for wearing it again the second day of class. Sydney of course is just getting use to the whole idea but is very proud to get to do this big girl activity.
On top of all of this stuff, Zoe brought home a cold from school so she has been coughing a bunch and gave it to Sydney who has just a little cough and to Daddy who is sicker than anyone. So far Bennett and I are hanging in there without being ill - knock on a bunch of wood, I can't afford to get sick! Hopefully this long weekend will afford everyone the rest they need to get feeling better.

Priceless Moment

Tonight the girls and I finished reading Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth. Which led to a discussion about what we want to be when we grow up. Zoe wants to to a cowgirl, a painter, and work at Build-a-bear. Sydney wants to be a big purple butterfly.

Father and son

I dressed Bennett and a few minutes later Rob

came out of the bedroom wearing the same outfit. Too Cute!

Kindergarten

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to my dad that I am not a fool..." - Billy Madison

Today I woke to a thunderstorm at 6:30am. Great. Rain. It's Zoe's first day of kindergarten and then Rob and Shar are going to pack her things into the moving truck. Great. Rain. At least it will hide my tears should I not be able to hold them back. Zoe gets up and comes out to find me in the living room bringing out Bennett. She is already excited about school. We go and dress her in her new dress from Nanny. Next is breakfast for her (Waffle, eggs, banana, vitamin, milk) and Bennett (breastmilk). Hands washed, teeth brushed, hair combed, and everyone else is still asleep. I wake Sydney up. She gets dressed and eats, etc. then Daddy and Auntie emerge. We are all ready to go before we think we need to be, but we leave at 8:30 just the same. The line of cars was tremendous. It's still raining. Rob drops Zoe and Shar and I at the entrance and stays in the car with the kids. We walk back to the cafeteria and there are people everywhere. Signs with teachers names and lines of kids all in various states of anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. We find Zoes line and she sits down and waits patiently. I ask if she is nervous or scared. She shakes her head "no." Do you want me to stay? Nod. So we stay. The girl in front of her in line has both parents there. She isn't crying but is clearly nervous. I ask her name and introduce Zoe to her. Her parents take a picture and Zoe smiles at the camera. Cheese! Then its time to follow Ms. Bigelow to the classroom and Mommy and Auntie have to go. She just walked right off - no problems- she doesn't even look back. Shar gives me a squeeze. I know she is emotional about it too. We head out. Stopping to talk to a mom-friend briefly, we make our way to the door. Where is Rob? Did he park? Hmm. I don't see him. Is that him up there with the lights on and one blinker blinking? If not it's some daddy with a kid on his lap. We walk there. It was some other daddy with a kid on his lap. Ha! Tromping through rain and puddles we find the car and head home. Such was the start of the first day of kindergarten. Mommy has more trouble than the kiddo - big surprise there. When I picked her up she hopped right in. Said her day was good - no details. When I ask questions she "can't remember." Oh well, I am sure I will find out eventually. Tomorrow is another day and a new routine is taking shape. Sydney starts school September 3rd. Another big day for mommy I guess.

Arts and Crafts

After a long morning of laundry, dishes, grocery shopping and the like, we engaged in a thrilling afternoon of arts and crafts. Here is a short video of the girls in action (Daddy helped out too)! They are painting with water colors. When the paintings were dry they drew on them with markers. I have them framed in my living room (we do the same project probably twice a year so I can keep the art updated). Zoe couldn't paint without her "Fancy Nancy" clip in her hair.

Here is Sydney's finished painting:

Here is Zoe's finished painting:

Bennett also wanted to do a craft. Here is what he and I came up with:

The kid has some monster feet. Newborn socks never stay on him (since birth). I guess that is why Auntie Shar calls him "Big Foot".

Bennett in action...

The girls....

Bennett Michael is one month old!

Seven years good luck

No broken mirrors here. Today Rob and I celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss (well, if not bliss then at least happiness despite challenges). So in honor of our annual benchmark of marital success I look through our wedding album (this morning I shared it with the girls, who wondered: why they weren't in any of the pictures? and who stayed home with them?) We have undoubtedly come a long way. And through it all I can still say that I am truely in love with my husband and I am so glad that I married him. And that as handsome as I found him in his tux on our wedding day, he is just as attractive today holding a baby and a basket of laundry or playing legos with the girls. My how things have changed. I am obviously feeling nostalgic, so I took some pictures of pictures to illustrate where my head is at today.

On our wedding day.


Christmas 2008 (I can't believe I don't have another more recent picture of just us together!!!! Better get one.)

Art Exhibition

Today is the opening of an "Art House" exhibit at the Atlanta International Airport that I am participating in. At least one (up to five that I submitted) small painting of mine is included. Another cool thing about it is they are also publishing a book with the included art. So if you are fliyng through Atlanta between now and Sept. 4th check it out. Or look for the book, but I'm not sure what it will be called. It's put together by Art House and the project was called The Canvas
Project 2 - Encyclopedia. Participants signed up and were sent 5 3x3" canvases and 5 random words to illustrate as they see fit and then they sent them back to Art House. At least one of the paintings from each submission are included in the show and book. They are also for sale. Pretty cool deal if you ask me. If you are interested in doing some artwork of your own and participating in an Art House project check them out at: www.arthousecoop.com . I am pretty excited about having my art in the public eye and really stoked about it being published (I even preordered the book - waiting patiently for it to arrive!)

Pictures

Sue sent me these great pictures and I thought I would share them.

Pictures

Well Check and other stuff

We just got home from the kids well checks (annual for the girls and 2 week for Bennett). Everyone is growing and developing well. Bennett has almost regained his birthweight. He may have a small heart murmur. the Doc wants to keep an eye on it but she suspects that it may have been because he was so worked up at the visit (he cried through most of the girls and his own). Sydney will be going to the Cardiologist soon to check up an her murmur. But everyone seems to be in great shape. So greatful to have happy (for the most part) healthy kids.

The girls birthday party went really well. They seemed to really enjoy themselves. The games were a hit thanks to Auntie Shar. Yesterday we went to lunch for Zoes birthday, she had swimming lessons, then we had a "tea party" with her cake and opened a few extra presents. I had a pretty good b-day too. The kids picked the gifts they gave this year. Sydney got me a crossword puzzle book ( thanks to Daddy for pointing her away from the kids books). Zoe got me (drumroll please) ...... a toothbrush! I was so caught off guard, I got the giggles. Rob said that that was what she said she wanted to get me but he got her to pick a cool pink electric toothbrush rather than a two pack oral B that she started out with. Hahaa. Who knows what goes on in their little heads. Regardless, I was thrilled and it was a birthday present I will never forget.

Week One

Week one with Bennett has been, well, let's call it surreal. Rob and I keep looking at each other and asking "are we really doing this again?" Most of having a newborn is familiar, but Ben has his own set of quirks and things. Still trying to figure him out (it's only been a week - we aren't rocket scientists here you know). He is a great little sleeper when his diaper is clean and his tummy is full (barring any gas complications) he will sleep for a good four hours at a stretch. Of course being a baby he doesn't always pick the ideal four hour stretches and we still have sleepless nights, just like any other new parents. No health problems or troubles nursing thank God.
The girls think he is really cool, kind of like a new toy. Zoe loves to hold him and will at any oppertunity. Of course, then Sydney also wants to hold him - but only for about 10 seconds then she is done. Being the big helpers that they are they hover near every diaper change and race to pick out a new outfit or grab a burp cloth.
As smooth as it is all going so far, I can't help but be mindboggled trying to think of us as a family of five and the fact that I have a son makes my eyes all misty (blaming it on the hormones).
In other news, we are preparing for a big weekend of birthdays. We are starting off celebrating mine on friday (its really monday, but since Sue is leaving on sunday and shar has such a long drive from her house to ours we are moving it for convenience). Nothing too major here (just trying not to think about how my twenties are flashing before my eyes). Then Saturday is the big Tinkerbell party for both of the girls. It is actually Syd's 3rd birthday. Zoe turns 5 on tuesday. Mindblowing to have a 3 and 5 year old and a newborn. Scarry!!!

Welcome Bennett!

He is finally here

Induced at 11:45, delivered at 6:03. Bennett Michael 21.5 in, 9lb8oz "yep, he is huge". No epidural, "crazy".

Anticipation

Tommorrow is my induction date. The day I will give birth to my third and final child. So today I wait. Waiting is nothing new, I feel as if I have been waiting for a very long time. However something about waiting changes when you know that the end is near, very near. My body and mind, which up until this point supported me in the "let's get a move on" camp are suddenly a jumble of feelings so inexplicable and deeply tangled that there is really no explaination for the way I feel. The other thing is I really can't think of anything that I want to do to pass the time. I'm sure there are plenty of things to occupy me, yet my ability to concentrate on any singular task has all but disappeared. So here I go marching into a day that I am sure will end in a night of restless sleep . Hopefully those sharing my space make it through unscathed by my hormonal moodiness and whacko anticipatory behavior.

Growing up.....more

Zoe lost another tooth last night! Now she is missing the front bottom two teeth and looks like a whole different kid. She also got to move her booster seat to the back row of the van to make way for the babies carseat. She is feeling super cool, which of course she is.

Growing up

Zoe lost her first tooth last night. Stubborn little thing wouldn't accept help and pulled it all by herself. She cried for a couple of minutes after, but some strawberry ice cream put an end to that! Today she keeps showing me the space where her tooth was and dancing around singing about how she lost a tooth. So cute! I can't believe my firstborn is already big enough to lose teeth! Time flies I guess. Will post pictures soon.

Update

Hanging in here. 2 weeks til baby. At my last doctors appointment I still hadn't made any progress - not that I had expected any. So we scheduled an induction for July 7th, 2009. In the event that the baby decides to stay put until then (pretty likely if you ask me - my kids are stubborn and not a one has come out before they were made to) then that will be his birthday! Hooray!

Father's day went nicely. The girls got Rob a lego airplane kit and a couple of movies. Sue (Rob's mom) sent him some of his baby things and the memories that went with them which was kind of emotional. I plan to put them up in the babies room, not exactly antiques but old (just kidding Rob) and well loved. Shar (Rob's sister) came over and we all went to Red Robin for dinner- Yum.

The other day we (Rob and I and the girls) made a cast of my pregnant belly. Actually, I sat, Rob cast, and the girls took pictures and asked a million questions. That was pretty fun.

Other than that we have just been trying to keep busy while we wait for the big day.

Where I've been...

So about three weeks ago my computer monitor decided not to work anymore. This after everything else in the house also broke (wine fridge, blender, clothes dryer, toilet.....we aren't going to mention the scratched up car.....) So I haven't been able to do any computer related stuff including download pictures or update the blog since then. Now that Rob has returned from his month long TDY I can use his laptop to do somethings but still no pictures until we come up with a more permanent solution to our monitor problem. Everyone is very excited that Daddy is back. We have been keeping busy here and are on countdown until the baby arrives, 20 days until the due date is you haven't been keeping track, (if you ask me that can't happen soon enough - its hot and I'm uncomfortable!) The girls are doing good. Zoe is out of school and summer camp and is now just doing swimming lessons. She also has two loose teeth that she is pretty excited to lose. Sydney is still working on potty training and has been doing pretty good. Both girls are excited about the arrival of their baby brother and their upcoming birthdays as well as an impending visit from Nanny. July is going to be a very busy month around here. I will try to keep posting even without pictures and then there will be lots of catch up once our monitor issues are solved.

For Fun