Back To Naples

Well by the time you read this I should be all finished packing and off to the sun in Florida. We will be gone for 7 days this time, so I am not sure if I will be able to blog while I am gone. I know I used Tom's Blackberry last itme, but it was a pain typing with my thumbs. We will be bringing a laptop, but it will be dial-up so again, not sure if I will log on to blog.

I will be sure to blog when I return and fill you in on our time away.



One more thing...

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TULIP!

Good Thing

As much as it saddens me to admit it, I must. It seems that I have put back on most of the weight that I lost a year ago. You know, the time when I was down to a size 8/10 and looked good enough to stop logging into Weight Watchers daily and exercise 3 time a week instead of daily. Well, I guess now I know why one needs to exercise daily and perhaps stay on Weight Watchers. Although not logging into the computer did not make me stop watching my weight, I did think I would watch it go away, not come back!


As I went through my summer clothes trying things on to take to Florida, I realized I needed to go into my"fat" container of clothes. I was not happy about this, but glad that I kept a plethora of clothes. I will admit a 14 pair of shorts does feel better than a tight 12. I don't know people in Florida, so wearing these clothes there doesn't bother me too much. It does bother me more to have to wear them again here. Lucky for me I don't see that happening any time soon for there is still plenty of snow around.

I have blamed this weight gain on the weather and on the fact that I believe my thyroid is not working. Perhaps I will go to the doctor and see if it really is my thyroid, or just that I'm getting fat again all to my own doing. I am looking forward to getting outside and back on my bike as soon as the snow stays away and lets some warm air here.

I am lucky on husband front too. Tom has not seemed to mind this sudden addition to my body. The deal still is that if I am a 14 then I need to be a "cute" 14. I am trying to uphold this end of the bargain. He also keeps telling me it is just the long winter and it will melt off as soon as I get back to working off. If only I could be this positive.


I guess after our trip it will be back to the gym and no more Easter candy. Maybe I can get back down to at least a comfortable 10/12 before the need for shorts hits here.

Guess She Wasn't Sleeping

I went into get A after her nap to find that while she was "sleeping" there was a little destruction going on. She did a little of this last week, but it seemed that I did not yell loud enough for she must not have heard me tell her not to do it again.

I made sure to get the point across this time! (there was no hitting, but she did cry)

No, she did not just do one wall..

Needless to say the girl's room will definitely be redone this summer. Good note, I found a person to help me remove the wallpaper :)

Egg Hunt Day

At 9:00 am I made my way in the snow to the park to begin the setting up for the neighborhood egg hunt. After about 300 or so eggs I had the place covered. This is just a small view of the 2-3 year old's area. We divide the park and field into 4 age appropriate groups. I didn't like the snow, but it sure made the eggs look pretty.

A had a little trouble picking up the eggs with her mittens on, but by the end of her time she had her entire bucket full. She did try to get me to do all the picking up for her, but as a good mommy, I told her to do it herself.

B had a better time collecting eggs from the playground. She wouldn't even stop for a quick photo. As you can see her bucket also filled up.

This was taken at the end of the hunt (see, no more eggs anywhere). The snow continued and it actually became colder. It was time to call it a day. The egg hunt has been done! Happy Easter!

My First Trophy

B was so very excited Thursday for it was the last day of tennis. This means it was TROPHY day! She has been thinking about the trophy all session long. She wondered how big it would be, what color, if her name would be on it, and more. This trophy would be her very first one, so it was super important. She had the spot all picked out on her shelf for it too.

Finally tennis was finished and it was time. She could hardly contain herself. Here she is with her new tennis trophy. Can you just see proud pouring out of her?

It didn't even bother her that everyone got a trophy. To her this was for her because she did her best and moved up to the next level. I had to agree with her. I too was proud, even though every kid got one.

Insert Tarzan Call Here....

This is a shot of A on one of her favorite things at gymnastics. For the last 5 minutes or so of class the kids get to swing on the rope over the sponge pit. The first time A did this I was in shock and held my breath the entire time she was on the rope. I thought for sure she would fall and somehow get hurt in all the sponges. I did not think that she would be able to hold on, but she sure did. She swung on the rope a few times until her teacher caught her and the next week she was letting go of the rope and falling in the pit!

I was so happy to get a good shot of her doing this too. I think it might be one of my "coolest" photos yet. I really do like this camera :)

This week since I remembered my camera she did not do the interesting pieces of equipment. I hope to get a few shots of her on the bars or the rings. But for now these of the balance beam will have to do.

Here is A doing her "freeze and stick". See even at a young age they are teaching the kids how to stick a dismount. It is really cute to see her jump and freeze then hands in the air for the stick.

Stormy Night

Tom and I hit Wildfire last night to celebrate our anniversary. It is one of our favorite restaurants. I decided that since it was a special night and Aunt Vic was home with the kids I would get my favorite drink. Well my 5 favorite drinks.

I love the martini flight here. This is a smaller version of 5 different martinis. I think there was a cosmo, a raspberry, green apple, watermelon, and my favorite of the night, a stormy night. I had these drink finished quickly and thought it would be best to follow the waitress's order of getting a full sized one now for dinner. So a big stormy night I had. Oh it was so good! It was like a liquid sucker going right down.

Tom saw nothing wrong with this especially as my drunkenness progressed. I even ate a stuffed portabella mushroom and scallops wrapped in bacon!!! Those of you who know me know how I hate mushrooms and sea food. But then again anything wrapped with bacon can't be all that bad right?

Dinner was great and even our "half piece" of chocolate cream pie was good. When the bill came it was more than I think we have ever spent. I now remember why I choose not to drink much when we go out. Good thing we didn't buy gifts for each other...this was plenty. A perfect night out.

I'm Back, But Still Behind

I am sorry that I did not jump right on the computer to blog about my trip. I am so far behind in my house duties and holiday prep, that I barely have time to read a blog let alone write on mine. I also picked up a cold from the airplane. The girls are sick now too, but nothing major.

My time in Atlanta was great. Maryann and I had a blast together. I even loved the alone time that I was given. The chance to sit and read a book without having to get up or talk was breathtaking. Maryann and I also had good time shopping. We hit a new outlet mall and found heaven at the Pottery Barn outlet. I so love the bedding for the girls, but couldn't buy it since I am not sure what we will be doing for beds for the girls. Will it be bunk beds, single twin beds, Full bed on bottom bunk with a twin on top... I did find out that if I call them they will ship stuff to me. I will be keeping the number of this store handy!

As for my husband and girls. They did very well. Husband was very tired when I got home and also stated that he no longer wants to be a stay at home dad. I'm not sure he respects all I do more, but at least he perhaps understands why I get so tired. I did come back to a messy house, but there were efforts mode. Laundry was attempted, girls were clean, groceries were purchased, and a few more. I did not have any guilt for leaving and it was good to come home. I still would like to go away again for perhaps a full week, but I'm not thinking that will happen soon. I need this trip to fade out of memory before I talk up another one.

I now have been neck deep in activities and holiday prep. Hopefully many of you received your yearly St Patrick's Day card by now. If not it is on it's way. I got that out Saturday morning. I have a neighborhood egg hunt this Friday that I was working on, and to top it all of my 8th anniversary is tomorrow! I have not even thought about it. I have my sister booked to babysit, but there have been no plans made for this event. I have yet to buy a card or gift and what is worse is that I have no idea what to buy for a gift. We also are leaving for Florida in a week so that planning and prep work is just about putting me over the edge. Oh wait, I think I have to do something for Easter too. That means coloring eggs, getting Easter dresses and white sweaters, finishing baskets... Why do I sleep?

Now that I have once again see what I have to do I best get to it. Oh who am I kidding, I am going to go sit and either flip through a magazine or flip through the channels. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

That Is One Way To Get Me Upstairs

I finally sat down to watch Ghost Whisper from last night. How is that possible with the day that I have had you ask? Well A is up in her crib for her nap, and B is at the library with Daddy for a special activity (they are making slime). This leaves me with a quiet house and both the washer and dryer going, so nothing to do. I have finished my pre-trip cleaning and now get to sit and enjoy the peace for 1...MINUTE!

A is calling me. What do you need? I yell up the stairs to her. Like hell I'm getting up to see what she needs now, I just put her down.

Mommy, I need to go poopies! Man! I better run.

I get in her room to find that she is spread like a bridge from her crib to the chair trying to grab her stuffed frog.

A: "Help me mommy!"
Me: "What are you doing?"
A: " I needed my froggie"
Me: As I help her back into her crib, Do you need to go potty?
A: Oh, Um, No, I don't think so.
Me: Don't climb out again and now lay down!

Back downstairs I realized that she has found the one way to get me to move quickly. God knows that if she had just called for me I would not have come up until the next commercial. Well at least I still have some time left to finish my show.

When Am I Leaving?

I am leaving for an alone trip. I have decided to finally go visit my friend in Georgia for few days. This is a big thing for me and the family. It has been touch and go for days. I am going, I am not going, I am going, I am not going... I have not taken a trip alone since Joan was pregnant with her first (he is turning 4 this June). So it has been a long time.

I am looking forward to this time away, but as all you mommies out there know, getting ready for a trip without the kids is no easy task. Well it might be easy if I had a live in nanny or something like that. I do not however, have that type of situation. I do have a couple of friends and family members that have graciously volunteered to take my girls for various amounts of time during the 4 days that I am gone. Luckily for my husband.


Normally it might not be a big deal if I picked a weekend, I did not. I will be gone Monday-Thursday which equals prime activities and school! It seems that my husband is able to take time off of work to golf and for spring break, but not so much for my trip. This is why I have had a lot of stress and issues. I now have all lists and schedules typed out and think all will work.


He is looking forward to spending time alone with the girls too. How much time alone? I'm not sure. I'm sure B is looking forward to some Daddy time too. She has figured out that Daddy time = no rules. A, I'm not so sure about. She is a mommy's girl. I assume that this time will be a little hard for her. It will be good for her too and I know she will be fine.

I guess the girls have decided to really make it easy for me to leave Monday. There has been non stop drama here. I of course seem to start the drama as soon as I go to sit down to breath from the last episode. Some how the girls know that I just sat down, so that must mean I need something to do.

Last night around 2:30 A woke up coughing and throwing up. This lasted for at least 1/2 hour and 2 changes of sheets. She was pretty scared and did not like the whole thing. I don't blame her, but had to keep trying to convince let to "let the yuckies up" and to "spit it out". She finally fell back asleep around 3:30 and nothing since that. She is totally normal today. I have no idea if it a bug or just cause she was coughing.

Then B had an issue that required a full bath and scrubbing of her carpet in a few spots.

To top it all off A took B's special snow globe the Aunt Vic had given her and dropped it down the steps. The glass snow globe and hard wood steps did not make for a good time. Yes, the globe broke all over spraying glass, snow, and water on many steps as it rolled down. I don't think A meant to do this, but not really sure. All I know is that I had just gone to take the rising bread out of the oven and now I had to clean up a huge mess. The girls were both upset and Daddy, not so helpful with this one.

Now at this time the bread has been kneaded, the mess cleaned up and I have just been informed that A has poopies. Some in her undies and some on the potty. I think I will go and change my flight for later today :)

What Every Princess Needs

I found this while reading the Goodyblog. I though it was super cute. Not so sure I would buy it for my princesses, but for my many little princesses out there, absolutely!

I mean what girl should not drink out of an ice made wand? I also love that the tray makes 2 wands. No fights at my house! Now all I have to do is find pink straws, right?

Cushion Fun

What do 2 girls do when they can't go outside to play again since it is just too cold?

Well, they take all the couch cushions off and use them for all sorts of things. They were building, jumping, running, boating, stepping on stones... and the list goes on. I am not a huge fan of this, but it did also provide a time to clean out all the food and toys from under the cushions.

I think they had the most fun running the row of cushions. They even had fun when they fell on them. I liked that they got a bit of exercise without going out in the cold.

Just Checking

Today while Tom was here eating lunch 2 men came to our door. I was actually on the couch watching the finale episode of Project Runway that I had recorded from last night. Tom answered the door and spoke to the guys. They stated that they were from Comcast and that our cable, that we no longer had, was still "running through our lines". They were here to check it and block it. Actually they began with trying to get us to buy it again "for dish back up". They obviously don't know that is when we watch movies when our dish goes out. Luck for Tom he stayed with the "no thanks" line. After 5 minutes they did what they had to do and left.

For some reason I was still not feeling right about all this. I looked out my window a half hour later and saw the guys again. The car that they were driving had no Comcast sign or anything nor did they really seem like Comcast workers. I tried to talk myself out of this crazy thinking, but couldn't

I called Comcast to check this all out. I am so not an automatic bad people thinker, but this time I couldn't help it. How do I know if they are casing the houses on our block to find out which have moms home all day? Or perhaps they are checking which houses have things for them to take? Good for us, we don't have much to take compared to all the "big" homes on our block.

Anyway... I got a hold of a nice lady at Comcast who did confirm the story of the men. I felt better when she didn't laugh at me for being paranoid. Well she didn't laugh while I was on the phone with her, who knows what she did after I hung up.

I do feel better about the whole thing but thought if I blog about it than you could all tell me I did the right thing and I am not a freak. So I am waiting for your support!

50 Degrees Outside? What To Do?

I could not believe it when I looked out to check the temp and saw the needle at 50 degrees. I quickly got the girls to the car for church only to have A fall on the ice and since it is all melty, she had to come back inside and get dry pants and undies. This now meant that church was not going to happen for we would be too late. I hate to walk in late and have people look at us.

We played outside instead. The girls ran and got their scooters and we went next door to play on our neighbor's driveway since it had no puddles or ice.

Another great thing about our neighbor's driveway is that it is sloped. This make riding a scooter faster and a little more dangerous. But way more FUN!

A needed to focus a little more due to the speed. She did well and loved doing what big sister B was doing.

This is one of my favorites from today. A pushing B on her little bike. I also like all the snow around us.

It was well worth skipping church to get some much needed fresh warm(ish) air. The girls played for at least an hour. Then it was off to the airport to pick-up Daddy.

Stop Growing!

This is a phrase that one hears often in our household. My husband thinks that the girls are getting too old too fast. For many things this is true, but I like that they are getting older and more interesting.

B tends to think more like Tom. She is a big dog that truly believes it is a lap dog. You know the kind. They weigh like 100lbs and still swear they can fit right on your lap. That is my daughter. Not that she weighs even close to 100lbs, but she swears she is as little as her 2 year old sister. She loves piggy back rides to bed, sitting on my lap to read, and snuggling next to me on the couch to watch tv. I too enjoy these precious moments for I'm sure they will not last forever.

The problem is that she is finding that my lap is not a comfortable as it used to be for story time. Laying next to me on the couch does not have as much room as it used to. I try to explain that it is a little harder for me to carry both at the same time up the 15 stairs to bed. Does she believe me? NOPE! She finds all of these things upsetting. (For those who know my daughter it does not take much to upset her) We try to find new things that she is able to do because she is bigger, but that doesn't always do the trick. I'm sure it helps even less that little sister still fits perfectly on my lap, next to me on the couch, and is easy to carry on my back. If only she would stop growing...

My Little Ballerina

A has been taking ballet this season for some more physical activity during this long, cold winter. She loves it! She can not wait till Friday to put on her "fancy" leotard and go to ballet with her "best friend Meg". Most of the week I am either shown gymnastics moves or ballet ones. I think it is funny and yet good to know she enjoys these classes so much.

I figured I should try to take a few photos of A before the entire session was over. I did not get too many good ones. She is just not as happy to do as I ask like B was. Plus as soon as BFF Meg ran in all was lost. I did get this cute one of the 2 of them.