Eurika!

So, last night I saw beanie making the "I got poopies on the way" face. I take her into the bathroom, get her on the potty and Eurika! We have poopies!
I have never been so happy for her. I think I scared her Iwas so happy! I was jumping around and giving her high fives and all sorts of stuff. THen this morning...she peed all over thebathroom floor! Go figure! I won the war, just not the battle!

She was kind enough to tell me..."ut oh" after the fact, then she helped clean up and took her diaper to the diaper pal. Guess next time i should get her ont he potty instead of taking the diaper off and walking away, DOH!

Crawling, snow and dancing

It's snowing in West Palm beach...I have the video to prove it!

This next one had me running for the camera...which I had a hard time finding. Why? Beacause Victoria was playing with it and stuck it in her toybox one night.

He's not there yet, but he's getting darn close. In the last few days he has gone from flying on the ground to getting up on his knees and rocking. I know that as parents, we have all said this, but boy so they grow up fast.

This one...too funny. We have Farmer Tad on the fridge. When you press Farmer Tad, he sings a song, though there seems to be only one song that Victoria will dance to...over and over and over again.

This one...just for laughs!

Big girld bed...or not

Friday I decided to tak ethe "slidding" rail off beanie's bed and make it into the transitional bed. This means that there are 2 small "gates" on either side of her bed to stop her from falling off the bed at night. Frriday ngiht she went down...no issues, Saturday, she played in her room for nap time, Sunday, same thing. Sunday night she fell alseep at the gate we have at her door (this stops her from roaming the upstairs at night and from scaring the heck out of me..and it keeps her safe).

Yes, you read that right, she fell sleep at the gate. Michael put her in her bed...20 minutes later, she was back at the gate sound asleep. So, we left her there. This morning, she was in her bed all snuggled up and fast asleep. Kids. Gotta love 'em!

So here's my question to you...my readers...when did you decide to move your child into a big person bed. This goes for everyone...even my mom...though I still have to sleep witht he rail up 'cause I still fall out of bed, and chairs, and cars and swings. Basically, you name it, I have probably fallen out of it...except for a plane and I never intend on doing that in my lifetime.

Double Trouble

I went to pick up Beanie yesterday from daycare at around 3pm. I thought it would be a nice break for her to be home a few hours earlier to play with Jr and myself. Yeah, I got the surprise of the day.

She was tired, cranky and didn't take a nap. To top it all off, she was hotter than the sun. So I bring her home, take the boy upstairs for a nap and take her temp. The reading...102.5. Huh? I didn't know ours went up that high. So i call the dr and they tell me to bring her in at 5pm. So I have Michael come home at 4 to take her in. The reason for the high temp...double ear infection. Yup, you read that right, double ear infection.

So I take her home, drop off the prescription and wait. After I give her her meds, I put her down. At aorund midnight she wakes up crying. So I go in, and take her temp. This time...103.5. Hello Dr. Yeah, I know it's midnight, but come on, 103.5 If i was that high I'd be dead. They tell me not to worry, that's normal. Give her some tylenol and go to bed.

Yeah, you try that. Not easy to do. It was a rough night. She spent an hour in with us, then the boy woke up, then beanie, then the boy...well, you get the picture. What a night. It breaks my heart to see her in pain and unhappy..it's scary. My pain I can handle, Michael's pain I can handle, but hers...nope. It cuts right to the heart. So this is what being a parent is like. I must have missed that part in the parent handbook.

I must have checked on her like 20 times, no wonder she didn't get any sleep. But hey, I feel better knowing that she's ok. The boy, nope, he's fine. Cranky 'cause his bottle is downstairs and he's upstairs and I'm not moving fast enough for him. Go figure.

Today is better. I kept beanie home with me. We kidnapped Michael for lunch for his birthday. It was nice. We had a few friends joing us along with the kids. Beanie loved the time she got with him, although it was short, she couldn't stop staring at him. Daddy's little girl.

so much to write about...so little time

All in all the trip out to California was great. There were a few rough patches...like having Jetblue losing our carseat for the boy on the way out. How can they lose a carseat you ask...especially on a direct flight...if you know the answer to that one, then you are smarter than me.

Anyway, we are home, safe and sound. While we were on the floor today, Jr was screaming and trying to stuff his whole hand in his mouth, so Michael asked beanie to get the diaper bag that was in the other room. She gave him a loo as if to say "you want me to do what?" it was priceless. So in complete and udder amazement, she went into the other room and dragged the diaperbag right to Michael. She even turned it the right was for him and got out the teething ring for Jr. How amazing is that. He asked, she complied. I have never been so proud of her as I was at that very moment...well, today anyway.

New things beanie can say:
Hello
goodbye
Nonni
Grandma
brother, Logan, Michael, mom, nana, drink,, milk, water, Adam, Lena, Matt, Monkey, please, surf (Cousin Aaron said someday he will teach Beanie and Michael to surf)

I wouls have to say that at this point, she can repeat almost anything you say to her. It's great and a bit scary all at the same time.

Who turned off the heat?

Look, I know that many of you that read this will laugh at me and tell me that we are very spoiled...and rightly so. But still, this is Florida...one of the major vacation spots.

Over the last few days the temps here have been below 60 and it's cold. Well, for me that's cold, for the kids that's cold. If I have to turn on the heat...it's cold. Yeah, for many of you...that's a heat wave in the middle of winter that you dream of at night. I know I did when I lived at home in NY.

It wouldn't be so bad if there was something to show for the cold weather...like snow or ice or sleet or something instead of just a sea of jackets. Though it is funny to watch people walking around. You can tell the visitors from the residence. We have jackets on and hats and what not..the others are walking around in shorts, flipflops and t-shirts and they're laughing at us. We'll be the last one's laughing when you go back to shoveling snow every morning, well, until hurricane season comes back around, then..not so funny.

The nice thing about the colder weather here is we are using it for a test run for the trip to California at the end of the week for Thanksgiving. Making sure we have all the right clothes and that the kids will be cozy and comfy both during the day and at night...so far so good. Me, I love the cold weather...time for warm pj's (the soft footed ones...yes, I own 2 pair now, thanks to Target and my mom...don't laugh, you know you want a pair)and snuggling up with the kids and the husband. Logan and I nap together and beanie and I rock at night with our pj's and tons of blankets, somehow she even manages to get a toy and a book in there...though I'm still not sure how.

All in all, life is going great and we are all looking forward to seeing family again. I am even teaching beanie names for people...like papa (since grandpa is tough) and Nonni and aunt, uncle...she's working on it along with happy thanksgiving and merry Christmas.

Logan is working on his christmas list, so far...all he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth...come on, you saw that one coming!

Happy Holidays everyone...may your turkey be juicy (don't forget to turn on your oven...and you know who you are) your stuffing light and fluffy and at the end of the day...a full belly and lots of laughs and great memories!

Parents Time Out

Saturday ngiht Michael and I decided to go out to dinner...and it was wonderful. No kids, no dog, no cat, just us. Michael found this great place called the Cottage. It's this amazing little place where you sit at a table unlike any other place I have ever been to. You sit on upscale patio furnature, table and all. Outside with live music. It was fabulous and very hard to leave. I had steak and Michael tried this pasta with cheese and pears in it. Yeah, not my thing, but he loved it. The steak...to die for or at the very least, leave the kids for a few hours.

In other news...the boy has learned ot hold his bottle..now if we could only get him to change his diaper and clean his room, then we'd be all set!

Mommy the chew toy

As i write this, I look over at Jr who is looking at me with a big smile and his hands in his mouth. Though I'm sure that the big smile is for Danielle and Brian who just found out that they are having a girl and I almost fell out of my chair I was so happy for them. So go check out the rest of their wonderful news and share in the joy of parenthood!

The hands in the mouth, yeah, he's waiting for me to pick him up so that he can use my hands and fingers and arm for a teething ring. Yup, he got not one, but 2 of his teeth, all at the same time. both the bottom front ones.
How i found them? he was chewing on my hand a few days ago and I noticed that it hurt...so while he was laughing at me...i saw the glimmer of white. Watch out world, the boy has teeth and he's not afraid to use them!

History has been made

Obama vs McCaine...Obama won. Either way history has been made.
I'm just glad that the commercials are all done along with the radio ads, the mail, the phone calls and the e-mails.

We now return to our normaly scheduled lives.

Hungry Jr?

Who knew? Our boy has discovered the joy of food, solid food and eating his way to happiness!
He went from eating 1/2 of a jar (2.5 oz) to 2 jars (2.5oz) at each feeding PLUS an 8oz bottle of milk. I thought that was a lot, nope, it's not.
Last night I bought stage 2 for him. The jars are bigger and have more food in them (like chicken and rice) He went straight into eating 2 jars (a wopping 4oz each) plus 4oz of milk.

Holly cow! I had no idea that this kid would catch up ina big way to eating food. Beanie took her time, this kid seems to be trying to win a world eating contest. The upside of eating alot,he slept last night from 8pm to 7:30am. Hooray for us! 6 months later and we may be able to sleep through the night at last. I do hope that this continues over the weekend and beyond, but who knows.
It's funny, every time I feed him, I just want to chant" chug, chug, chug!" Is that wrong of me?

ha ha ha

Smart Child

This afternoon Michael and I were at the table watching Beanie move her potty (that can also be used as a step stool) around the living room. Next thing she moves is her ball house out of the way. She brings over the step stool, places it under the counter and moves the ball house further away, then she gets in the step stool and reaches for the chocolate doughnuts that are on the counter above the sink. How ingeious is that. She figured out that she had to move the ball house and get the step stool just right to reach them. Michael and I just sat there laughing. I wanted to catch it on video, but had I moved she would have stopped.

We took the kids to Lion country safari over the 3 day weekend and beanie said Monkey, then made a monkey sound. Holly cow. She was so proud of herself for that. She even got a crack at driving the car as she was on Michael's lap to get the best view of the drive through park. After the park, we went to a local Farmer's market to pick out pumpkins and to our amazement, she said pumpkin. She was having a huge vocabulary day. It is just so amazing to listen to her as she is able to say all these new words as she explores her world. Her favorite word: mom an dI can't get enough of hearing it.

The boy, yeah, still not sleeping through the night. Ug. I know there will come a day when her does, if not....anyone want a baby boy? Just kidding. I wouldn't change having him for anything in the world.

Scary moment

This morning while i was feeding beanie, Michael brought Jr downstairs. Just as I was rounding the corner to help, Michael slipped.

It was like watching a horror film in slow motion. You just watch it happen knowing there is nothing you can do to stop it. Michael slipped on the last 4 steps on his laptop.

He did a great job at protecting Jr as best he could. The laptop slid and hit the floor under michael, jr was just as unlucky. He hit the floor, face first. I don't think either of us could have moved any faster. Jr is ok, he was scared and crying, but he's all good. Within a few moments he was laughing and smiling and drolling all over me again.

Michael has a sore elbow and he's a little shaken up, but otherwise all is good. It's moments like that that make me want to bubble wrap the kids. It also makes me wish we lived in a 1 story house. Yeah, I know, you can't protect your kids from everything. What...you mean I can't lock them in their rooms until their older? much much older, like 90?

Every parent has fears about thier children. Mine....car crash, falling down with them and falling at home with them in the house and not having anyone else there. So far...each has come to fruition. Does that mean that I'm all done? they say you need to face your fears to make them go away, this is not the way I wanted to face them, but at the end of the day, the kids are ok, heck they are better than we are. I fall and break a knee, they fall and get up laughing Oh to be a kid again!

Update

So today was not a good day for either beanie nor myself. THe dr called back about my knee...a whole day earlier. I went to see Dr. Cohen only to be told that my knee has a fracture. Not the knee cap, but the actual knee bones themselves. The bottom one. So I am on crutches and a brace. Light pressure on the knee and plenty of rest. Ug

Beanie got into a "scuffle" at daycare to day while playing with another child. From the report, she just got scratched. She seems happy and fine...and why shouldn't she be. I have seen this child fall into a brick wall head first at full speed and laugh about it. Talk about a tough cookie.

Her first daycare injury...awwwwww!

Not so funny anymore, Huh?

We had our cleaning crew in yesterday for the last time. The last thing they do before walking out the door is wet mop our floors. So while I was walking around...like I awlways do, I said " while you are laughing at me from falling, could youplease call 9-1-1 and stop laughing long enough for them to send someone?

Yeah, this not so funny anymore. Right after they left...I slipped and slammed my left knee into the tile so now I have a dr. appt tomorrow to look at the damage. This would be the second time in the last 4 months that I have slammed my left knee intot he ground. Can you say bubble wrap? Maybe then I would just bounce back up. Ug

Beanie the Amazing

Since she had been going to daycare, there are a few things that she can now do!
She can now eat with a spoon and manage to keep herself somewhat clean. Her and I I were reading some books that Grandma & Grandpa Romano and Aunt Barbara sent over. One is the alphabet with pictures..Like an apple for a and so on. I asked her to point to the apple and she pointed to the apple then says "apppple", the to the dog, cat, ball and wait for it.....

FISH. My child said fish. I had no idea she could say fish. She can even say frog, though it comes out like **ck. Yeah. I didn't figure that one out unil she started pointing to the frog on the floor that belongs to Logan. Imagine my surprise.

This morning ont he way into daycare, she even carried her lunch in for me. What a big girl, then she cried outside the door and wouldn't go in, but atleast I got her into the building this time. That's a step in the right direction.

Logan is doing very well. Last night he slept through the night, though he was up at 6am...but still, that's a good night for me. He is rolling over from his tummy to his back and almost has the back to tummy thing down...almost. He looks like he's doing a Yoga position, but hey it can't be all that bad, afterall, he sleepes like that. He is also talking more...all the time. Guess he should while he can still get in a word or two! ha ha ha

We switched beanie from her highchair to a "booster seat" that attaches to the diningroom chair. Now she sits att he table like a big girl. She even eats out of her frog dish ( from Nonni and Grandpa) and when she's done...she gets all excited...FROG! Logan is is her highchair so that he can sit with us when we all eat dinner, though getting him to eat solid food has been rough. I know soon he will be eating us out of house and home and growing like a weed! Right now I get in all the snuggles I can...he can't get away from me yet! ha ha ha

Parents night out

Friday night Michael and I went out for our 4 year wedding anniversary. It was nice to say the least. Yes, i missed the kids, but it was nice to have eachother and no one else. We had a romantic dinner, then went dancing. We went back to Palms Ballroom where we went to learn our wedding dance. It was great. We moved, we laughed and we learned, well, re-learned how to move again. I am hoping that we will be able to keep going, either to group lessons or private...which is what I prefere.

After dancing, we headed over to Coldstone for some ice cream before we headed home to see the kids. Did I mention how nice it was to be out? without the kids? I would love to have a date night every week where we go out and go dancing. Even if that's all we do , then come home. Just to be us again. What a dream that is.

In the meantime, both kids are doing great, everyone is back up to speed and doing well. Beanie is doing better at daycare, though she still cries alot when she gets dropped off. Friday she didn't want to leave, go figure. She is learning a few new things each week, like how to share her toys and what not. I miss er during the day, but I know it's what she needs and that it's what's best for her. Someday she will be the one teaching her brother all sorts of things, good, bad and otherwise!

Share and share alike

Beanie got her shots on Tuesday for her 15month check-up, yeah I know, we are 4 months behind on them. I had no idea that she needed shots at 15 months. Someone should have called...or I should have put it on the calender...that would have been smart.

Anyway, tuesday night for beanie as bad. She was sick to her stomach, then come friday (our 4 year anniversary) so were Michael and I. Being sick is hard enough, but to have 1 sick kid, a baby and 2 sick parents...yeah, that's rough. To say the least. As of today both michael and I are on the mends, beanie however, is taking her time getting better. I swear if we call the pediatrician one more time they may change their number and move the office. It's not that bad, but it is odd that after only a few days we got better and she isn't. SO for now she eats bananas, rice, bread and applesauce along with pedialite. She seems to be taking it like a champ, though she is very snuggly and sleeps alot. Which is good, I get alot done and I get to spend some extra time with Jr.

Speaking of Jr., last night i went in to feed him and after he took all 8 ozs, her layed in his bed talking....he was so proud of himself. I went in to get him to settle down and he looked at me and smiled....then went back to talking to anything he could see to talk to. Even the cat was amused to some degree. After I swaddled him, he was out like a light in less than 2 minutes.

He, Jr, is just so proud of himself for finding his voice...he talks and smiles and laughs....ah the sounds of a baby.

In case you were wondering...we had plans for our anniversary. Michael was going to ake us out to dinner, then dancing....yeah that was the part that got me going and all excited we haven't been dancing since before beanie was born, then over to Friendly's f or icecream. We had to re-schedule. A few good things did come out of friday...we exchanged some wonderful cards and got an amazing smelling and long last wreath from Mark and Lia to commemerate the day. can;t wait to hang it, though it will hve to be in the house ( oh what a shame, then I have to walk by it everyday and smile and smell...awwwww) because it says that it has to stay out of heat and humidity, that and I don;t want it to get ruined by rain or the neighborhood kids. So inside it will stay where I can admire it everyday.

New pictures...

you know all those pictures I have been promising to give you, they have arrived. They are under the August file. Like the one of her and the beach....where she didn't wat to put her feet in the sand and the bouncing noises with cousin Sara?

All of those and more are now here!

Hiho, hiho it's off to daycare we go!

Michael and I decided to put beanie in daycare last wednesday. She will be going to daycare 5 days a week until her 2nd birthday, then we wil have the choice to either keep her going 5 days a week or cut it down to 3 days a week. I guess we will have to see how things go until then.

So far she has been having a great time. She even learned a new word: Phone. yeah, the phone was on the couch with me the other day, she came over and pointed to it and said "phone". I just sat there in amazement.

We did discover that she does not like being the last child ot be picked up. I guess Michael was the last parent to pick up there child and she was a little freaked out by it. When I took her in the next day her teachers told me all about it. I guess she was still smiling, but wouldn't let them go out of her sight, she even had a tear on her cheek. Poor kid.

In other news, we are expecting not one, but 2 hurricanes over the next few weeks. Guess this will be a busy time of year for us. At this point, no one is sure where wither Hanna or Ivan will go, but most of the models have Hanna either hitting us or coming very close.

and the most exiting news....NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK. Yeah, you read that right. I was a huge fan when I was a kid, now...not only have they put out a new album, but they are once again going on tour. I can't wait for November. Yes, I was one of those screaming fans who watched every video over and over again. Truth be told...I bought Joe's cd when it came out and I do plan on buying thier new cd as soon as I get the chance. Welcome back boys!

Beanie and the book

This morning when I was bringing the kids downstairs, beanie got down to the second step from the top and sat down. She looked at me and said "book?" I told her I don't have her bookm that her book is in her room. I tried to get her to come down with me, but she just looked at me and said ; "book". So i told her to go get her book and we would go downstairs.

So, the amazing thing...she went into her room, got the book we were playing with earlier and came right back and started down the stairs. She amazed me...she got her book out of her room and came right out. She didn't make a mess or play with anything else, she didn't go into Jr's room, she got the book and came right out. How amazing she is!

I am so proud of her for asking for what she wanted and going after it. What a smart girl she is!

Back home...

So I promised that I would tell you all about the flights when I got home. So...here it is. THe first flight was direct from Ft. Lauderdale to Buffalo, NY. It was very intersting, to say the least. Jr. slept that whole flight...like he could do anything else. Beanie however....she had a rough time. She wanted to be held by me and lets face it...my lap is only so big. So there was a very nice lady to took beanie and played with her. They watched tv and colored. She had a little boy...well, he was 5-9 years old. He kept telling his mom to give beanie back...that she didn't belong there, this made both myself and the mom laugh....very hard and the harder we laughed, the louder he got. It was very amusing.

The flight back was a little better, but not by much. We did not get a direct flight since I left a day earlier that was planned so that we could get back before TS Fay hit...that was a bad idea. We landed just as soon as she did. Rough landing would be an understatement. Anyway, beanie slept on the first part of the flight and was up during the second. She did alright...she wanted to be held, so i played with her, fed her some snacksand sang...yeah, the people around me were not thrilled with me singing as well. Now I know why they supply ear plugs!

I know you are all wonding how I traveled with 2 kids all by myself. I had help...lots and lots of help from strangers. There was a group of 4 women who were even kind enough to find out where my layover was to see if they could help me there. I wish I could thank them again for all their help. Without them I may never have made it out of the hotel.

Alright...words beanie now know:
Nose-she can point to her nose, head, hair, eyes, ears, feet and tummy
eyes
ears
head
feet
bye bye
hello
MOM-yea...so impressed with this one
dad
dog
cat
boy
ball
She can also turn around in circles...though she has learned togo the other way to "unwind". I tried to join her in this, but I always get dizzy and fall down. Go figure.

Other than that, life is good. Logan went for his 4 month check up, things are well. He is 12 pounds 8oz and 20 inches along. He is awake more often and talking. He has also learned how to flirt with women. He loves to smile and coo at anyone who will watch him...which is everyone that comes in contact with him. Just like beanie...no stranger danger. I hope someday that changes.

My Highschool reunion and Family time

So August 1st was my 10 year reunion. Yeah, I can't believe it either. It's been 10 years and it seems some things have not changed. We all sat with the kids that we knew back then and even gossiped about the other tables. It was just like it was back then.

I got to see some old friends that I hadn't seen in, well, 10 years. Others I wished had gone far far away...no such luck. I even re-connected with a few old friends that I am glad to have back in my life again. They were missed.

Now on to the the rest of the trip. It has been great to be home. I got to spend time with Michelle and her husband, Jenna and her son and all my Uncles and Aunts and cousins. Beanie has been having a great time, all these people to play with. I'm surprised that she remembers how to walk as every one was more than happy to pick her up. SHe even learned a new trick, to drink out of a straw (thanks to EJ). We even got to spend some time with Danielle, Brian and Jeffrey at the Strong Museum of Play. That was a great day and I am glad that we were able to join them. It's always wonderful to see friends again.

Ok, so I have some great videos of beanie with her cousin Sara. Sara is bouncing beanie on her lap and to show her intelligence, beanie is making some odd noises that has all of us cracking up. I know, I have got to get that posted, but you will have to wait until I get home. There are way more great pictures to post.

Mom and I took beanie to the beach for the first time ( yeah, we live 10 minutes from the ocean and never go...to windy and too much sand...laugh if you want to..go ahead....are you done?) It was great. I put sand on beanie's foot and she held it up and moved away from the sand. Like it was gonna eat her or something. I know she's a girl,. but come on, even I played in the dirt as a kid. Jr slept through the whole thing, what did you expect, for him to sing an opera? maybe do a dance?

I was lucky enough to get a build a bear kit form my Aunt Brenda ( thank you for it, I can't wait to get home to start the process). You cut the bear out from the fur pattern, then sew it together. I may never buy another toy again, though the house may look like a fur company exploded, oh well.

We are waiting on some test reults to come back for my cousin, who recently blew up like a watery balloon, don't worry, he's back down to his normal skinny self and has an amazing attitude about it. Even in the face of "danger" he's laughing and carrying on like nothing is wrong. We all wish him and his family all the best of luck and we are here if you need anything...or any body parts...though I have been told that my parts are "too old". Never thought I'd hear that one. Too old? Me? who are you kidding? Ok...someday my kids are going to look at me and say that I am, in fact, old. I guess that would be the point that I turn my hearing aid off so I never hear that one!
ha ha ha

Anyway, I will post about both flights and the rest of the trip when we get home!

Got Milk?

So while Jr was in the NICU, I had a great milk supply. I mean, I finally got to feel how cows must feel all day long.

I thought I was doing a great thing when he came home to start breastfeeding him. Boy was I way worng. See, because I wasn't taking out the milk that he didn't drink, my body decided it no longer needed to produce all that milk, so it started to produce less and less, this caused a huge issue. I mean, did I really think that this kid would be drinking 2 oz for the rest of his life?

SO when he started drinking more...ou would have thought that my body would keep up, right? well, it didn't. So now after trying all osrts of things to get it back up to snuff, i have gone back to basics. I nurse for 10 minutes in each side and then whatever more he needs i use a supplimental nursing system...which I have to say is very cool. If Michael ever wanted to know what it felt like to nurse, this would be the system to do it with.

So I have gone from 1-1/2ozs to almost 5oz in a few days, plus taking fenugreek everyday. Does it suck to get up every few hours, yes does it suck even more to watch $50 go out to formula every month when I could use that money for fun things...like the ball house we got Beanie...YES.

On the upside, last night Jr slept from 9pm to 5am. Too bad for me that I didn't go to bed until after midnight. We were up watching I Am Legend. Oh my goodness, what an amazing movie. Go see it...rent it...borrow it...it makes a good statement about mankind and humanity. After you see it or if you already have...the questions is...what would you do?

wide-r load coming through

I thought I had escaped the widening of the hips after having 2 wonderful children. The reason behind this is because for the last few weeks when I have had the need to wear jeans, I wore my maternity jeans...you know, the ones with the elastic on top. So when I decided that it has come time to get back into my normal jeans, i discoverd that I no longer fit into them.

My hips are just too big for them. Downside...bigger size, upside, i get new jeans. Though I guess it's not really a bigger size as I can still wear the 14s. I just can't fit into the 12 or the the 13/14 sizes anymore. But i have to say, the bigger size is well worth it. I mean, my kids are great and I would do it all over again given the chance.

Borh kids are doing great. Beanie is walking around the family room making a mess and cleaning out the diaper drawer for me. How nice she is. Logan is sleeping in his favorite chair in front of me. I guess being in the NICU was a good thing for him. He learned how to sleep through the family noises. He can even sleep through beanie poking him to wake him up.

So we are back to a normal routine after coming home from California. THough Benaie decided not to sleep on the 5 hour plane ride home, that was rough. No one got any sleep that night other than Logan who can sleep through anything. It was a wonderful trip and Beanie got to spend lots of time with the grandparents (Nonni and Grandpa). She even made a new friend at the local farmer's market and washed grandpa's car while Michael and I took the night off to go see Wicked.

By the way, I recommend going to see Wicked or at least reading the book. It's an amazing story and it shows you both side of the story. I can't wait to read the other books by Gregory Maguire.
For now it's laundry, naps, dishes and family time.

2,000 miles and one right turn

We made it to California without any major issues. The kids were great on the flight, though changing diapers was a bit of a challenge, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Here we are on Monday and I am wishing that time would slow down. Victoria is having such a wonderful time playing with family. We were lucky to see both Gina and Rene on saturday. It was great, they both had a wonderful time playing with beanie and she had a wonderful time showing what she can do.

I understand that there may be another addition to the family in the near future and we wish the soon to be new parents all the love in the world and we look forward to hearing the good news and the due date.

Last night we headed over to Nonni and Grandpa's house for some family time and an amazing dinner that was enjoyed by all. Nonni and Grandpa bought beanie some great new toys for her. One is a cow bowlingball set. The cow is the ball with plastic milk containers for the pins. I wish I had caught the look on beanie's face when the ball mooooooed at her. Priceless. They also were generous enough to get her some rings to play with. These quickly became the toy of the night. She would dump them out, then put them all back in the box. Just for fun, grandpa would connect all the rings and watch her take them all apart and put them back in the box.

Last night we discovered that beanie can eat corn right of the cobb. and yes, I have pictures to prove it. I wish i had been able to catch it on video, but it was too dark. We have never laughed so hard. She took the corn of cobb (after Aunt Sarah discovered that beanie wanted some corn, good catch Aunt Sarah) and stuck as much of it in her mouth as she could. She ate what was left of dad's corn, then a whole one all by herself with the help of Aunt Sarah who was kind enough to turn it for more corn. What a night it turned out to be. Fun with family and great food to boot....and we live in Florida why?

Logan got into the action as well. He got into the spirit of sharing and decided to share his used milk with nonni while they were sharing a very tender moment along with a very stinky diaper that was quickly rushed outside.

5 days to go and I wish we had more. As the kids get older, it reminds Michael and myself everyday how important family is and how hard it is to have everyone so far away. Thankgoodness for planes, trains and automobiles!

Beanie-cise

Beanie-cise is a form of exercise...but for beanie.

So with Michael in the Big Apple last night and heading home tonight, I have the kids. So the normal routine is I feed the kids first (Logan with the bottle, then I get beanie ready) then I sit down and eat...I try to time it just right so that Beanie and I can eat at the same time. this does not always happen.

While I am eating, she wants whatever it is that I am eating. So here's how I handle it. I just move my plate from one side of the table to the other. I know that it takes her a short amount of time to walk around the table to get to my plate...this only works for a few rounds before she figures it out and figures out that she can walk behind my chair thus making her round trip much shorter. At this point I give in and share whatever I happen to be eating. The funny part is, when I finally share...she decides that since the challenge is no longer there, she doesn't want my food after all. Go figure.

Yeah, this cracks me up. Even the dog gives up at this point. I guess she figures that If I won;t share with beanie, then I won;t be sharing with her either. Good choice Sandy!

It's 8am already?

So I started to feed Jr rice cereal in his bottle at night. I have also gotten into the habit of "topping him off" at around midnight. Now normally he wakes up around 3-4am...even with the extra milk at midnight. Last night however, he didn't wake up.
Yeah, imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning all confused. I mean, I was well rested and I actually WANTED to get out of bed at 8this morning. That hasn't happend since...well since before we had kids. Even then it was a stuggle.

I went in to check up on him to make sure all was alright..yup, you guessed it, I woke him up. Yeah, that will be the last time I do that. I mean we have a monitor for a reason, so that things like this don't happen. Then Beanie heard me walking around and she decided it was time to get up as well.

So today I am ready to go and full of energy. There are so many things I want to do with this new found energy before it goes away like.....finish a knitted doll I made for her ( she likes to throw her plastic one at people and her brother) hang some pictures, clean ( i never volunteer to do this) make a few outfits for the plastic baby, and post all the pictures I have been to lazy to post.

Oh the things I can do now. Hopefully from now on he will be sleeping through the night...now the hard part is over. well, except for potty training. That will be next and I have to say I am looking forward to it. One less diaper to change or smell for that matter. Who knew bananas could smell that bad! ha ha ha

now, I am going to go start my day of fun and cleaning and organizing and playing...lots and lots of playing!

Kisses and the rain

So I caught beanie kissing her brother as only a sister can. It was a moment that I am both awed by and joyful for because I did catch it on film.
it may take a moment to get there, but just watch!

She was so proud of herself for being nice to him. I wish I had caught the smile, but she didn't do it until she was next to me. What an amazing big sister she is turning out to be. I am so proud of her!

Here is a video of the rainstorm we got...Mainly this is for my mom who loves thunderstorms. I ahve to admit, the ones down here tens to scare me as they always come with warnings: tornado, flood, hurricane...ya know, those type of warnings! ha ha ha Enjoy!

AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

So normally I can deal with the day to day issues of being at home with 2 kids. One wants to sleep, the other wants to play...with her brother. Not so good. I re-direct her away from her brother and we continue playing.

Today I have hit my limit. I had the kids all day saturday, most of sunday, all day monday, today and I will have them all day wednesday-saturday night as Michael has a lot of work things to do.

I need a break. a very very long break. I need mommy time. Uninterupted time to do what I want without being bothered. I now understand how some moms get depressed. Especially when they are running on so little sleep.

6-18-08

Today seems to be a bit better, though i am over tired and our toaster broke last night. No waffles for breakfast today. So I get to go to Target and do some light shopping...and I can't wait. Though I will have both kids in tow, beanie like to look around at things and people and when we get home, she takes her 3 hour nap....that equals to mommy time...if Jr stays asleep.

So what have i done for me time? I bought a book to knit or crochet toys for both beanie and jr. A doll for her (so she can stop throwing the plastic one at her brother) and a turtle for both of them. When he gets older...i will make him a boy doll. Yeah...something for them...but it helps me relax and de-stress for a few hours. That and I have taken to reading while I am pumping in the middle of the night. I have a wonderful book light that is just bright enough to get the job doen. When I am done pumping, I go to bed....I get the best of both worlds and I am multi-tasking! yay me!

Solo Flight

After reading this you may think I'm nuts...and after this I just might be. My highschool reunion is coming up August 1st and I plan on being home for the event. This requires me to fly home...with both kids.......alone.

Yes, I am going to brave the airlines with 2 kids under 2. Before you freak out (yes, Suzanne, I hear you sreaming loud and clear...now stop laughing) I have a direct flight from Ft Lauderdale to Buffalo. This is the only way I could go. I can't have both kids sitting on my lap for the flight...as much fun as that may sound!

I am looking forward to the challenge, but I am also scared to death. Now I just have to figure out which kid gets the carseat...too bad they can do rock paper scissors to figure it out. Ug!

Check back at the end of July to find out how things went!

End of the Rainbow

I have found the end of the rainbow...and it wasn't pretty. In other words...the crayons that beanie ate have passed. YUCK!

I took both kids to the mall today so that beanie could run around in the play area and there are a few things I realized about people.

Why, as a society, we complain that our children are not getting enough excersie when we as adults don't get up and get moving? Why do we complain that our children are not getting the nutrition they need or eating large amounts of junk food while we are doing just that? Eating bad food. I saw a 3 year old drinking Pepsi from a vending machine that his mother handed him. This kid will have the rest of his life to drink that stuff...why start him out on the wrong foot of drink choices.

I am just as guilty...but not in the way you might think. Beanie drinks milk and water...eats fruits and veggies and almost everything she gets is baked, grilled or is a sandwhich. So basically, she eats all the right things and usually gets a balanced diet while I eat chocolate, fried food and pasta late at night. I should take a lesson from what I'm feeding beanie. DUH!

On the lighter side...I had a duh moment when I put her down to bed tonight. I kept seeing this light flash "outside". So I pull back the curtains and I tried to find out where the light was coming from, then I saw it out of the corner of my eye in the hall way and I thought that something was on or tht the smoke detector was having issues....are you ready for what I found?

Yeah, you're gonna love this....it was my bluetooth blinking. The blue light that blinks to let yo kow that it's on and working correctly was bouncing off the wall that I was standing oh so close to. I was catching the blinking out of the corner of my eye. DUH. ha ha ha

The sleeper, dreamer, screamer and snore-er

So Logan has, over teh last few nights, woke up and screamed like someone stole his diaper and bottle. This causes both me (the dreamer) and Michael (the snore-er) to trip over eachother to see what his issue is. The problem is...Michael always goes to the wrong room. The last two times he has gone into beanie's room instead of Jrs. Yeah, after I figure out that he just wanted to snuggle with someone, I laugh at Michael for going into the worng room.

The sleeper (beanie) somehow manages to sleep through all this commotion. I still can't figure that one out. How can she sleep through something as loud as Jr? Heck, I can hear him from downstairs with the tv on...loud and clear. That child is amazing.

And no, no sight of any rainbows in unusual places...as of yet. Yuck!

Non-Toxic

So I found these great crayons made for toddlers. They are round and the crayon comes out of the top. I thought this would be a great idea, until I turned my back to check on Jr...this was what I found when I looked back......

Yeah, she ate the crayon and not just this one. She ate both the blue and green one. I don't want to be the person that changes that diaper. To make matters even more funny, when she smiles, you can see the crayon stuck in her new top molar. Yuck. Lesson learned.




This was BEFORE she discovered that crayons tast so good. Look, all sweet and innocent and cute. Yeah, she had me going too. I thought she was harmless with crayons...guess I was wrong.

Yes, I have taken them away...yes I am still in awww. I have to wonder if she will be one of those kids that eat glue. Can you buy glue in bulk? just kidding!

On another note, we had a thunderstorm come through this afternoon and just like my mom did with me, i opend the slidding glass door and watched. Even Beanie was entranced with the storm. The dog of course couldn't get close enough to me. It was great. She even laughed a few times at the lightning.

So I started aerobics as Michael's office on Mondays and wednesdays. Yeah...try walking up the stairs after an hour of leg squats, marching and running. Not so easy. I feel great, but oh the pain the next day. I had no idea I had that many muscles, but then again I didn't do too well in biology. I am sure i was warned about those muscles in class.

oh...over th weekend we took both kids to the park. Beanie learned a new trick...how to climb UP the slide. Yeah...she went the worng way and loved it and she did it all by herself. I have never seen our child so happy.
Imagine our surprise when she crawled to the top of the slide. I guess she doesn't like going down as much as going up. Logan had such a good time he slept the entire time we where there, though he kept one eye open to keep an eye on Beanie. I don't blame him for that. She's scary. You have no idea is she's going to be nice to you or throw something at you. Can't wait for that phase to end.

Oh how I need some sleep, followed by more sleep and a good book in a hot bath followed by another nap.

Screaming day and night

For those of you that read this to see how I am handling having 2 kids close together and being home with them all day long...this is for you

Ever night i am woken up by the screaming of Jr. I try to get to him before he screams in fear that he is going to wake beanie up, but lets face it, his screaming is what gets me up the fastest, plus it's one of the few things I can hear at night.

I wake up in the morning to the "screaming" of Michael's cell phones alarm clock to which he snoozes for an hour before he finally gets up for work. Then throughout the day I have the screaming of both beanie and Jr. Beanie screams when Michael or myself leave for any one reason (bathroom, cleaning, dog, laundry, etc...) or if she's really tired before she goes to bed.

The only screaming that people can't hear is mine. There comes a point when I can't take the screaming anymore. For those of you that have kids you know what I'm talking about. There have been times when I have joined beanie and screamed my head off. It does make me feel better, until she thinks that screaming is funny and trys to scream louder. Ug

I love our children...except when they scream and it gets worse when they do it together. Conspiracy? I think there might be!

I need a vacation...one with drinks that have umbrellas and have tropical names and come in fruit and beaches that go on for miles and no cares, no worries and no diapers...the funny part of it all...my favorite place to vacation is on our back patio with Victoria playing in her pool and logan sleeping in the shade. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Sniff baby sniff

So while my mom was here, she taught beanie how to sniff...watch her face:

Does she look evil or what? It's so funny to watch her sniff. I even have her doing it when she has a stinky diaper. She can also point to where Michael is, along with the dog and cat. If you ask her where her baby brother is...she will walk over and find him for you. The things she is learning is amazing. Yesterday a neighbor gave us their old bounce house for beanie to play in. I have never seen that child so happy in my life...well, as long as there was someone in there to play with her.

She can bounce around, fall down, jump and be wild and not get hurt. The added bonus is I can get in there with her and bounce around and it's small enough to fit inside the house for rainy days and outside on the patio. I can stick her in there and be outside with Logan and not worry about where she is or what she's getting into. I was told that you can add water and soap to the inside and create a slip n slide or add balls for a ball bounce house. All of this is great and I can't wait to give it all a try. I even thought about adding her water table in there just for laughs...though i have a feeling I would be the one laughing.

My mom also bought beanie a monkey...this is no ordianary monkey...first off, he's yellow and he wears a shirt, second off, if you puch his tummy he yells at you. Yeah, I'd yell too if people kept pushing on my tummy. We keep the monkey upstairs and when she gets up, we play the monkey over the monitor just for fun...well, yesterday the monkey found its way downstairs and this is what happend:

Randomness

So having 2 kids has been rough...fun and oh so intersting, but rough. Jr crys...so does beanie. Beanie cries so does Jr. Is there a list of things that these two have to do at the same time or is there a check list on how to drive mom crazy everyday?

Jr spits up while I'm trying to get beanie down for a nap who is now screaming because her diaper is wet and she has a small rash...again. I said it earlier, it's the rash from hell. Just when you think it's gone...it's back again.

There are a few new things I have learned over the last few days. I found out that not only can I change a diaper in the dark, but I can also feed Jr in pitch black. I can also help beanie get back to sleep from a bad dream without opening my eyes to get to her.

So yesterday I decided to be brave and take both kids (yeah it was a crazy idea...but hey i learned a valuable lesson...one kid at a time) out on my chores of returns and purchases. yeah...bad idea. Jr stays in the carrier and Beanie sits in the cart...no room for returns or purchases besdies, whatever I could fit, beanie takes out, examines and then throws out of the cart. This makes buying things impossible...fun, but impossible.

She did get a kick out of the coin counter at Bank atlantic. It counts all the change, then you get the cash back...including whatever change was left over. Yeah...just what I need, more change floating around the house.

SO I have to give Kellie credit for talking about the target bags that she can reuse over and over and over again. I bought some from Publix for .99 I had no idea that those bags could hold so much. I had a cart full of food and it all fit in 4 reusable bags. Very impressive. Now I use them around the house for recycling, well to get it into the box atleast, and for taking things upstairs and for returns and purchases other places. Those bags are amazing.

Anyway, my favorite time of day has come...both kids are down for the count...atleast until I try to head downstairs, then beanie will be up wondering why I'm going downstairs...is it to eat? to leave? to have some down time? whatever it is, she has to be a part of it. Mommmy is not allowed to be alone.

Who knew that having 2 kids would be so much work and yet fun at the same time? I can feed Jr, put him down to bed, then play with Beanie until she collapses with laughter or pure exhaustion. As a friend told me...If I can do it...she can do it...I look at jon and Kate plus 8 and figure the same thing. If they can handle 8 kids...then i can handle 2 kids and live to tell about it.

Beanie has figured out that while Jr is being fed...mommy can't get up and get her. During this time she finds things to get into. She can climb onto the couch and watch me panic as she gets WAY to close to the edge, then falls onto the couch laughing or she will chase the dog...this is after she has closed the doggy door in the gate we have so that the dog has no escape...this also provides the cat with some comic relief...utnil she comes in and gets locked in...then it's not so funny...well, it is for me!

Yesterday I let beanie have the run of the upstairs so that I could finish the curtains for jr's room. I have never seen that child so happy. She got into everything she could. She rearranged all the clothes in both her rooma nd jr's room. Then she came into the spare room and much to my surprise and happiness she only played with the toys ont he book shelf. She left all of Michae's papers and pictures alone. Smart child. I caught her cleaning up her mess, but as soon as she saw me, she stopped what she was doing and started making a mess again. Guess that's what I get for watching her clean up!

I have started up with the sign language again. I am teaching her more. I am hoping that this will stop the crying when her milk is all gone. Hey, I even made a lady happy the other night at Walgreens because I was able to tell her Jr's name, weight and thank you for the compliment of having a beautiful baby all in sign language as she was deaf. It was great, she was happy, I was proud and the clerk was shocked and happy and amused. It was a good night at walgreens!

Update:
Jr is 5 pounds 10.5 oz and growing. The Dr is very happy with his weight gain and wants to see it continue. Beanie has another tooth coming in and drooling like an Irishsetter staring down a t-bone steak at dinner and chewing on everything...the baby, not the Irishsetter!

Me? yeah, sleeping more...eating more (guess that's why there's more of me!) an waiting for our next family vacation!

Invasion of the sleep snatcher

So We were fortunate enough to have my mom come down for the first 2 weeks that Logan was home. I can't imagine what life would have been like had we not had someone here to help out.

So here's how the day goes:
Beanie gets up at 8-9am
I get up when Logan wakes me up
I feed logan every 2-4 hours while mom plays with beanie and keeps her entertained while I feed and nap
8-9pm is family time. We all play and hangout together
9pm beanie goes to bed
11pm Logan feeds
1am logan feeds
3am logan feeds

ok, so you get the point. Sleep deprivation has set in. I have no idea if I am coming or going forst thing in the morning...I can't even remember what day of the week it is...then again I never can anyway.

Logan went for a check-up today to see how things are going and the answer is...not so well. Well, that's not true, he's doing great. He looks great, he's healthy, but he's not gaining enough weight to keep the pediatrician happy. Last week he was 5 pounds on the dot, this week he's 5 pounds 3 ounces. So he now gets fed every 2 hours...no matter what. Then just for laughs the pediatrician tells me to get some sleep. Yeah, feed every2 hours, but get some sleep...who is he kidding.

Between you and me...I am scared to death of being on my own. One kid was easy, but 2 is hard. Especially since beanie wants my attention all the time and wants to be with me when I am feeding Jr. She climbs up onto my lap or she trys to get her head into my lap when Logan is there. Very cute, but very dangerous to Logan's health.

The only other thing that is hard for the moment is that I need a nap...longer than what beanie takes. This makes life kind of rough...she wants to get up and play and I want to sleep and eat chocolate....lots and ots of chocolate.

I guess all in all life is pretty good. Beanie seems to be adjusting well. She even goes to check up on Jr when he cries...but only when he's in the pack n play downstairs. She can stand on her tippytoes and look in to see what his issue is. It's very cute to watch.

Beanie has learned something new...she can now back up to sit down on something or someone. She backs up until she reaches her destination, then she sits down...vry gently. She is getting very good at it. She can even get up and down from the couch. I'm telling ya...the kid is very talented.

Our Adventures in NICU...

Have come to an end.
3 weeks after being born, Logan Paige Brugger has come home. We were met at the door to the NICU by his day nurse, Debbie with news that he was officially released and where we went from there.

We had the chance to speak with the Doctor that was on call on how things were going and what came next. We were sent home with formula to add an extra 2 calories to the breast milk he's drinking. No, it's not injected into my boobs before he drinks it...that would be silly and very painful.

For the moment he is still on the bottle and eating 2oz per feeding every 4 hours. It was bitter-sweet. Logan was fed the new formula in the breast milk to make sure that he would be alright eating it since he had been taking 24 calories. After feeding came the longest hour of my life. We had to make sure that he didn't spit it up after the feeding. Instead, he waited to do that when he came home... and to make sure that he got things off to the right start, he aimed for the middle and nailed it!

Beanie did very well with her new brother, though she is still very curious about him. She likes to climed onto the couch while I am feeding Jr and watch. Which is fine...until she's ready to move on to other things...then it gets a little crazy.

My mom flew in Friday to be here to help out and so far I don't know what we would have done without her. She keeps beanie occupied while I change and feed Jr.

I am sorry to leave the NICU (yeah, I know that sounds odd, but if you got to meet these nurses, you would understand). We made a few friends, we also watched a lot of kids go home along with a few kids that have a long road ahead of them. There were mixed feelings about leaving today. We have a premie...I will be in whatever room he's in. Is it too late to check him back in? He had a heart monitor there...if something goes wrong...there are trained people there to deal with it. Here...hello 9-1-1!

So for the next few days we will try to get into a routine, see the doctor for the first time and if we are lucky...a walk or two outside. So for now...it'll be sleepless nights wondering if everything is alright and paying for the lack of sleep the next day!

Life is not only great, it's amazing and wonderful and most of all.....complete!

More news

So Jr passed the carseat test with flying colors. So you would think that he's ready to go home...nope. We had our first glitch.

Thursday afternoon he decided that he didn't want to eat or nurse. They had to re-tube him or the feeding. The tube came out when he was done, but it set us back another day or so. So far he has been eating good and eating over and above what is expected. We are under the impression that he will be home by Monday. Ug. Just when you think you are home free...you hit a speed bump!

Here's hoping that the next post will be a homecoming post!

The News

So today I was talking with Logan's Doctor...well one of them anyway...and she gave me the ok to bring in the carseat for the carseat test.

So for those of you that are wondering what that means...it means that Logan should be home by the weekend...either Saturday or Sunday. The only thing holding him there is his weight. They are going to watch his weight with just breast milk (either by bottle or directly from the source). Should he start to lose weight...I mean more than just 1-2 ounces, then he will have to stay in the NICU.

Both the doctor and the nurses feel that he will not be there come next Friday. Needless to say both Michael and I are very excited. I can't wait to wake up to feed a baby instead of a noisy pump. The only upside of a pump is I can ignore it for one feeding to get a little more sleep...if i ignore Logan...he just gets louder and louder until someone feeds him!

I have never been so excited and yet so terrified all at the same time. Our son is coming home (hip hurray) Victoria has no idea and loves to throw her baby doll in her toy chest and walk away laughing (could this be a sign of things to come?) Now instead of one child, there will be two. Things are about to get interesting....to say the least.

We will find out in the next 24 hours if he passed or failed the carseat test. Cross your fingers, toes, hair and anything else you can cross that he both passes the test and continues to gain weight!

What's Missing?

Give up? His feeding tube is gone. Last night and today, he has taken a bottle for every feeding without any issues. I even went tonight to try breast feeding again and he latched on like a champ. I have never been so happy. Logan's night nurse said that he should be in the NICU for no more than 2 weeks. We have light at the end of the tunnel.

oh and he weighs over 5 pounds...5 pounds 2 oz to be exact. Grow child grow!

and yes, 3 hours later I am still flying high!

Now for beanie:
She officially weighs 24 pounds with 8 teeth. Her molers are even coming in according to the pediatrician. Very exciting. Nonni and Grandpa sent Victoria a care package for Easter since we were unable to fly out for Easter. One of the items in the package was a new bathingsuit. She put it to good use:

Beanie spent almost an hour in the pool splashing and having a good time. She only slipped once, but she caught herself and managed not to fall on her tush. She had a wonderful time and took a very long nap after.

Cost of pool: $30 Cost of Bathingsuit: $20 Laughing with your child as she splashes in her pool: Priceless. It was great...she was laughing at me laughing at her.

World, We have latch on!

Yup, you read that right!

Today I got the green light to try breastfeeding again. and let me tell you it was amazing. he showed his sister up. He latched on almost immediately and took quite a few gulps before succumbing to sleep. Both the nurse and myself were very immpressed.

I have been authorized...yeah, that's funny and odd to write for me as well, but nontheless, I have been authorized to start breastfeeding once per shift and I am all for it. I still can't believe that Logan latched on right away and it's only his second time trying!

Go Jr go!

March of Dimes

Please click on the link to the right with the great picture of Jeffrey Meehan and support the March of Dimes.

Your generous support helps fund:

Research into stress and other factors that may trigger preterm labor.
Programs to educate pregnant women to recognize the warning signs of preterm labor.
Tools to help health care providers find better ways to detect women who may be at risk for preterm labor.

Thank You for your support!

Where's our child?

I walk into the NICU last night to visit Logan, I look into the first isollet and wonder where his blanket is that we out ontop. Then i take a second look at the kid in there and notice that it's a girl and bigger than Jr is.

So I had 10 seconds of pure terror while I tried to figure out where our child had been moved to. Keep in mind that I had spoken to his nurse about a half an hour ago to let her know that we were on our way to come visit. There was no mention that....

OUR CHILD IS IN THE BACK IN AN OPEN AIR CRIB.!!!!!!!!!

Yup, he has made it out of the isollet and into an open air crib. He is still connected to the heart, breathing and oxygen monitors and he still has his feeding tube, but he's finally in an open air crib. I have never been so excited to see him move. I was so excited to go see him I forgot to wash me hands...yeah, the nurse came running after me to remind me of the whole washing hands thing.

I fed him the first part of his bottle and Michael came in and finished the secind half while I played with Beanie in the waiting room for labor and delivery. It was a very good night to say the least.

and yes, there are more pictures in the picasa picture thing.!

Full Speed Ahead

So today is turning out to be a good day...no wait...a great day. I have been following beanie around the downstairs, taking naps when she goes down and playing airplane with her. I am even playing with the dog to some degree.

It feels good to be back up to speed. There are still a few things that hurt to do...like situps..yeah, like I'm gonna be doing those anytime soon. Though I can't wait to get back into yoga again. i just have to find a dvd that i can do with beanie. We had a good time with the last one, though she wasn't mobile yet...so this time it should get interesting.

I have even started cooking again. I had no idea how much I would miss cooking. The smell in the house, the satisfaction of cooking...if only the dishes would do themselves, life would be even better.

Yeah, I know what you are all waiting for...more pictures and an update on Logan (jr). He's doing well. He is trying the 2 bottle per shift thing again. The first time didn't go so well. He's still in the isollet and on room air. We are even able to dress him to some degree. You should see some of the outfits...yeh I know, you could if I would post some more pictures. I get the hint.

We are just waiting for him to move into an open air crib and to start feeding from a bottle more often. The next step will be to try and breast feed again. The last time didn't go so well. He just looked at me like I was nuts. Hey, he caught in quick! Ha ha ha

Beanie is doing well. She's been having a good time letting me chase her around the house. The nice thing is she takes longer naps and it seems to be easier to get her to go down for bed. She has even learned how to crawl up onto the couch. Yeah, imagine my surprise when she did it. I was shocked, then again, so was the dog who thought she was out of reach...nope, not anymore.

I guess other than that, life is somewhat back to normal. Beanie still has no idea that she has a little brother that someday will come home. That will be very interesting to watch. and yes, we will try to get that on film. I just hope he comes with gloves and a helmit!

Day 4 and counting

This one looks like he's smiling our tired growing boy

So...here's the update:

I got to do Kangaroo Care (skin to skin with Jr). The IV that was in his head (yes...is poor little cute snuggable, hugable, kissable head) has been moved to his right hand. He is off the oxygen completely. They have increased his feedings and will do so over the next 24 hours to 13cc every 3 hours.

For the first time I got to change his diaper, check his temp and snuggle his up something fierce. Actually, he slept, I tried to...sad thing is we both had our mouths open the whole time we were co-sharing my gown that I borrowed from the hospital for Kangaroo care. Oh, and the best part...I got to feed him. Not the way you might think. They have a tube fro outside...in. Right down to his tummy. The milk goes in via gravity at the rate his tummy can take it. It's very odd to watch, but very cool all at the same time. Boy can that kid eat.

It was odd to chege his diaper....very small. We folded a newborn diaper down 2 times to fit him. WOW! He is still a ways away from moving into an open air crib, but it will be here before we know it. He's been doing really well with breathing, temp holding, eating and peeing. I am more than overjoyed with the food and peeing thing. It's all very exciting.

I call every night before I go to bed and every morning when I get up. I swear I am driving the nurses crazy, but hey, you have my child...I want to know what he's been up to and how many diapers he's filled and how all the tests are going and what the results are and most importantly...get him ready 'cause here I come to snuggle.

As for me, I'm healing, though there are moments when I can't seem to heal fast enough. I did figure out that ibprophen has become my best friend. I take one and all the pain is gone...all the muscles have relaxed and I can move like a normal person. God does it feel good to get up without feeling like my insides are going to fall out. Beanie is taking everything in stride. I got to snuggle with her last night...that felt oh so good. She even snuggled with me at dinner tonight. I miss that. I miss the playing and the chasing and the bath time and nap time and all that good stuff. I can't wait for the staples to come out...friday 10:30am ....come on friday....I can play with beanie and drive to the hospital to see Jr all by myself...just like a big girl.

Life is getting better every day!

Roller Coaster

Logan now has a scalp IV...in translation...we can't hold him until it comes off. His day nurse is unsure of when that might be, though the swelling in his legs has gone down and he filled 2 diapers over night...that was a huge relief (for everyone).

I was told that it could be days or weeks before the scalp iv comes out. How long can I go before I go insaine from not being able to hold him. From what I gathered, the ther night he was trying to suck on his hand...this is a good sign. He's hungry, I want to be able to hold and feed him...it's a good match all the way around.

The hard part...I still have yet to deal with the full force of the situation. I will be going home and he will not. I love beanie...more than anything in the world, but it's hard to leave a child behind. You want to be able to hold them and tell them that everything is going to be alright...even if they can't understand a signle word you are saying. It's the fact that you are there with them supporting them and loving them, even through the glass.

You have good days...then you have dark days, then you have days when you don't know how to feel so you just smile and wait.

Day 2

So to end a rather rough day...I got a call last night from Michael who informed me that he was in a 3 car pile-up. He was the middle car and thank goodness he drives an SUV. Both the back driver (the one that caused the accident) and the driver infront of Michael went to the hospital. Yes, both Michael and Victoria are doing fine, Michael was a little shaken up, but otherwise he is fine. The car is totalled, but the good news is the the end car has full responsibility and we get a new car seat out of it. From what I gathered from Michael, the insurance company told him to get a new car seat after the accident just to make sure that beanie's old one was not affected.

Michael is running some chores today...like cleaning out the back of his poor car, food shopping and a few other things before he and beanie head over to see myself and Logan. Talk about a rough night!

Anyway, since I was up at 5am this morning, I headed down to NICu to spend some time with Logan. We got to do some kangaroo time, which if you have never done this...it's an amazing feeling. He kept me warm and i returned the favor. It was nice...just mom and baby hanging out together. They tried to intubate him this morning, but he would have nothing to do with it. That's my boy! We took a short nap together (around 1/2 hour) then it was time for me to head back to my room for some sleep of my own. he cried....I can't say that I blame him..going from a warm place out into the cold again....I'd be angry too. The nurse (tracy) turned him first on his side, then onto his tummy where he promptly fell asleep. Must be nice to be able to sleep on your tummy little boy....mommy won't be able to do that for a few weeks. God I miss that part.

So as of right now I am disconnected from everything. No cath., no iv, just me. I even got the chance to take a shower, though just like last time I refuse to look at the staples that I know are looming somewhere below the deflating belly.

So i guess I should relax, put my feet up and take a nap....yeah right....like that'll happen any time soon. I am once again going to march my snails paced bosy over to NICU and spend some more quality time with Jr...nap time anyone?

SURPRISE!

Monday morning I was asked by Dr. Pliskow to check myself into Labor and Delivery at Wellington Hospital as my liver function test had come back higher than normal adding to that I wasn't eating and when I did I wasn't able to keep anything down.

Tusdays tests came back better and it looked as though I would be able to come home, but the one test they ran came back bad telling us that something wicked was on it's way...so I stayed here.

By Wednesday I was once again ready to come home until the blood work came back and was once again climbing up so I had earned myself another night. Thursday night Logan decided to start playing with his cord causing concern for both myself and the nurses. Wednesday night I was given a steroid shot just a precaution, thuesday night I got the final shot and I was happy to have those over with. If you have every had one...you know what i'm talking about.

Friday morning an ultrasound was done in the wee hours of the morning shpwing that Logan had managed to wrap his cord around his neck. I have just earned myself a free ried into an emergency c-section.

So...

We are proud to announce the arrival of Logan Paige Brugger. Born April 4, 2008 at 6:45am. He is 4 ounds 4 ounces and 17 inches long. He is breathing on his own, but as a precaution they have him on oxygen. He is currently in an open crib but will be moving into a isolet for an undetermined anout of time. He is moving and seems to be holding his tep steady. They are going to run some more tests on him to see what's going on in his brain and to monitor his lungs.

We are very hopeful that we will be able to take him home by the end of the month. I know that it will be hard to leave the hospital with out him, but I know that it's for the best and that's where he needs to be.

I am doing well, I am back to eating everything in sight...I missed food, alot. Once again I had to have an emergency c-section that scared the heck out of both Michael and I. We tried to hold onto Logan for as long as possible, but I guess he wanted out.

Yes, I am sore and sleeping periodicaly throughout the day and the feeling is starting to come back to my legs which is very nice, though I will miss the warm feeling i got from the numbing shot for surgery. Michael has been here with me since this morning. Victoria is spending the day with Diane Gutman playing with their dog and swiming. Needless to say I can't wait to be able to hold both kids. I've missed beanie over the last week. The short amount of time that I have been able to spend with both her and Michael has been hard. I can't wait to get home...then we wait for the day that we can take Logan home...then our family will be complete.

Round 2

For those of you tht don't know, Victoria is now walking....all over the place. There is atleast one video of it posted in with the pictures. She is very proud of herself, as she should be. She likes to be barefoot, but can walk with shoes on...though the second she gets the chance to take her shoes off, she's all over it.

Words for this month:
Goggy
dadada
mamama
ducky ( to some degree)

Victoria has also learned to shake her head yes and no...she even answers questions...though it may not always be the answer you were looking for! She has also learned how to hold her sippy cup up so that she can get a drink of either milk or water...that was a huge thing for her, that and walking.

Now, as some of you may know...or don't know, the second pregnancy has been kind of rough. Just like with Victoria...I hit the third trimester and it hit back, though not as hard as it did with Victoria. I have been getting sick in the morning and left with nausea all day long. I have been perscribed some meds, but the side affects turned out to be worse than being sick, so i decided not to take them and just deal with being sick all day long. On the upside I am sleeping through the night, though I am up every morning before 7am for breakfast, and that's just to get rid of the indigestion.

Yes, the Doctor has run some tests, no, I don't yet know what the results are. Yes, I am tired of being sick and unable to do much moving around. The indigestion and the sleeplessness I can deal with...happily, but the nausea I cannot. The question on many minds is will I make it to May 21st (the scheduled due date) or will I end up delivering early. Believe me, I wish at this point I had the answers. Life would be oh so much better if I did, but I don;t so at this point I just have to wait and see what happens with both the remaining weeks and the test results that await me at my next ob visit.

The joys of traveling

So beanie and I made it safely to Rochester for almost 2 weeks of snow, cold and fun. Traveling with her over the past year I have learned a few things.

1-the bulk head is your friend. Beanie can get down and move a little without being too squished.
2-if someone offers to help carry something...the answer should always be yes!
3-flight attendants rock. Beanie has gotten milk, cookies (goldfish) and various other things before the rest of the passengers just for being cute...and sometimes a little loud.
4-our stroller has become my best friend. Even when traveling with Michael. It makes it so much easier to get around...I wish I had figured that out months ago.
5-it doesn't take much to entertain her for hours on end...a few books, a clean diaper, a blanket and some snacks and she's good to go.

Now...we get to Rochester and the weather is all nice and non windy...the weekend...yeah...not so fun anymore. When we walk outside beanie takes a breath and always has the look of shock on her face at the coldness. Me...I'm loving it. I love the cold...well for now that is. I have to remember that just because I'm comfy at 20 degrees doesn't mean that she is.

Beanie is having a wonderful time hanging out with Nana and seeing what things she can get into and which one of us will stop her first. Today it was the plug...uncovered. She has never bothered with them before...but that was before and today was a new day for new things. She learned quick. Both mom and I jumped up and grabbed her before anything major happend. Thankfully we were downstairs waiting for aaa so she won't be seeing that plug except in passing.

Every morning she wakes up and asks for Dada...then sadly I have to tell her that Dada is still at home and will be up wednesday. FOr this news i get a frown and a quiver of the lip, but then Nana comes in and I am forgiven for giving her such bad news so early in the morning. She goes to play and I go back to sleep for a few minutes.

We have not taken her into the snow yet, we have picked some up and let her touch it to which she has no desire to do so. It's cold and wet...no thank you. I am hoping to make some snow angels with her and Michael when he comes up, that will be a sight to see indeed. In the mean time she looks at the white blowing stuff and laughs...I'd laugh too if I didn't have to walk through it or brush it off the car every 20 minutes. It's great to be a kid!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Funny and scary

So this first clip is of Sandy our beagle. She is trying to get the waffles that are left over from breakfast on beanie's highchair. The chair is just far enough away that Sandy can't reach the tray. You may have to turn your volume up for this one...it had me laughing so hard i peed my pants (like it takes all that much for that to happen)

This is the clip that I took last night (2-25-08). Michael has been working with Beanie to get her to climb the steps to bed. This not only helps when jr is born, but it also gets her geared up for bed and uses what little energy she has left. She usually goes right to bed after her long treck up the stairs. She is always so proud of herself when she looks back and sees how far she can climb!

Random stories

Grandpa and Nonni bought beanie these wonderful blocks for Christmas. They are made of wood and very colorful....downside.....they hurt when you get it with them. So I found some foam blocks for beanie to throw and beat up the animals.

Yeah, this lasted for a whole 2 days before she figured out she could eat them. Yes, eat them. They are soft enough for her to bite. Yummy. So she has taken to using the remotes to go after the dog and cat. The cat is small enough to get away the dog however...not so lucky. I try to save her but the kid in relentless.

She has this wonderful animal matching toy that Jeffrey got her for Christmas. This wonderful toy goes on the fridge with magnets. I have never seen her so happy to be able to play in the kitchen and have something to throw at people when they come in to see what she is up to. She also has a choochoo trian that plays great songs that she got from Ej. Now this is some funny stuff.
If you push the green smoke stack in the front, the train plays a song as it move accross the carpet without a track. This part she hates. She hates that her toys can get away from her. So she will chase after the train and knock it over until it stops moving...then she looks at you with complete satisfaction. Victory is Mine at last!

She loves to play with farmer tad (kitchen), her train (when she can catch it or we turn the motion part off, she loves to clap and bounce along with the music) or Leo the lion that Nonni and Grandpa got her. I had no idea how fun it would be to sit back and watch my child throw her toys and walk accross the floor while clapping and laughing as she chases down the dog for more torture. Aren't kids great?

Ken Kirkpatrick

On Wednesday Feb 13th Ken Kirkpatrick passed away.

Below is the obituary that Ken wrote himself. If you have any memories that you would like to share, please feel free to leave them in the comment section.

There are a few memories of Ken that I have. One was going boating with Ken, Bernice (his wife)and my mom. I was allowed to sit in the front of the boat...this was a mistake. I had so many bugs in my teeth it was scary. Ken introduced me to water locks...yeah, not what I thought they would be. Years later it still boggles my mind at how boats go from a low level pond to a higher water...but very cool if you are able to stay on the boat. I was also re-introduced to fishing. Ken was very patient with me. He was kind enough to not only put the worm on the hook, but also to take the fish off the line and put it back in the water.

Michael and I were honored enought to have both Ken and Bernice joing us in our celebration of our wedding when we had our small reception in Rochester, though Ken busted my chops about how hard it was to get medical coverage over the border, we were still thrilled to have them both there.

Thanks to both Ken and my Uncle Ernie, we now have a current family tree that seems to be growing by leaps and bounds every day. There are not enough words to say thank you for all the hard work and dedication it took each of them to track down all the information, names and dates of our family tree. I know that this is something that we can pass down from generation to generation adding names as we grow.

Here is the obituary:
KIRKPATRICK, Kenneth Charles Born first of five children, September 28, 1931 in Sodus Point, N.Y., Ken passed away Wednesday, February 13, 2008, Hamilton. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, the former Audrey Bernice Gadsdon, two daughters, Kathy (Sam) Andronico and Jeannie (Gary) Wilson, four granddaughters, Karen (Josh) Hewko, Julie and Lisa Andronico, Laura Wilson, and two grandsons, David and Kevin Wilson. Ken is also survived by half sister, Marian (Lloyd) Smith of Hamilton and half brother Edwin (Vicki) Polkinghorne of Hamilton, sister-in-law Shirley Kirkpatrick of Calgary and brother-in-law Dave Overholster of Hagersville. Ken's father Kenneth Andrew died of heart failure in 1935 at Sodus, N.Y., at the age of 26, and mother Marian (Fowler) died in Hamilton in 1977. Ken's brother James Kirkpatrick died in 1999, half sister Geraldine Overholster in 2005 and his stepfather Sydney Polkinghorne in 1963. Ken held his first part time job at the of age 9, selling Gold Medal seeds while living in Cayuga, and continued holding part time jobs while attending school, until he began a career with Bell Canada in Hamilton in 1949. Ken retired in 1982, then lived in Peterborough County for 12 years prior to moving to Waterdown. Ken had always been an active volunteer since the age of 17 while in Hamilton, Peterborough County, and more recently in Waterdown. He was an active member of the Waterdown Seniors Club, and Knox Presbyterian Church, Waterdown. According to Ken's wishes, cremation has taken place at Bayview Crematorium, Burlington. Special thanks to the staff at Hamilton General Hospital for their compassionate care. Friends are invited to join with the family for a Celebration of Ken's Life at Knox Presbyterian Church, 80 Mill St. N. (at Church), Waterdown on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11 a.m. If desired, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario or the Canadian Cancer Society. Please no flowers. Arrangements entrusted to BAY GARDENS FUNERAL HOME, 1010 Botanical Drive (across from the Royal Botanical Gardens), BURLINGTON (905-527-0405).

One Step at a time

Yeah....it happend! Imagine our surprise when she let go and took her first 2 steps to Michael. I am even more impressed that we caught it on film. I still can't get over it. Had we not caught it I would think that I imagined the whole thing.

She likes to walk around the family room with the assistance of Leo the Lion. She will walk from one side to the other, then turn him around and come back. How time flies. I remember the days when I thought she would never crawl, now here I am posting that she has taken her first few steps. Before I know it she'll be dating and I'll be sending her brother out after her to keep an eye on things! Ha haha Anyway, enjoy the video, there are more with the pictures in Picasa!

Have a great 3 day weekend!

Beanie the amazing

So, things for beanie have been interesting over the last few weeks. She has started standing on her own...for long periods of time. She has even started to reach for things without crawling to them. I know that someday soon she will be walking around and getting into more things.

We bought a new tub for Jr as the other one beanie would slide down. This new one seems to work very well for beanie. She dosn'e slide all over the place and it has a spot behind where she sits for her toys...downside, she'll be out of this one in no time...glade we didn't buy this for her...we'd be in big trouble.

Beanie is also eating solid food full time. It;s fun to watch. She wants whatever your having, she has even tried the dog food...much to my amazement. And yes, she went back for more!

We flipped her car seat forward facing in both cars. That was odd. I can turn around and see her and not through a mirror. I can also touch her feet and let her know that everything is alright.

She has been doing some not so nice things...she bites, hits, throws things and throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. With the tantrums, I just walk away and let her have at it. She seems to get over it very quick...thank goodness.

We bought her some foam blocks to play with as she likes to throw them at people...these son't hurt. Michael has been trying to teach her colors...so the one that they are working on...YELLOW. Yeah, I hear that all night long until she goes to bed. Yellow, yellow, yellow. Beanie had had enough one night and yelled back ...yello yello yello or something close to that. It was very funny and very shocking all at the same time.

Jr is doing well. I go next weekend for the glucose tolerance test. If you have ever been through one of these...you understand how long, boring and oh so uncomfortable they are. Needless to say I am not looking forward to it. I'd put it off, but then I'd have to face Dr. P and that is something I won't do. He controls the pain meds I get sent home with after delivery. Never screw with the person that holds your meds.

I guess other than that...life is good...big and kicking, but good!

A Final Farewell

Wednesday night just before midnight the call came in. My Grandfather had passed away. Grandpa Bales left behind His Son John, Daughter Nancy, 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Grandpa Bales was an amazing man who never yelled, loved his wife and those around him. Those of us who had the honor of knowing him have not only fond memories, but some great stories to share with anyone willing to listen.

When I was growing up mom and I would travel to Indiana to visit Grandma and Grandpa for a few days over the summer. Some of my greatest memories are of those trips. There was the snapping turtle that Grandpa caught on accident and had an awful time trying to get it loose.

When the sun went down what you dredded hearing most was "if you rub my feet I'll give you $1". To a kid this was a geat deal and it made Grandpa happy.

There were a few occassions where other family members would be there to spend some time with the grandparents and the kids would stay out in the living room for the night. This was a mistake. We would laugh at nothing, make silly jokes and keep the whole place up.

Then there were the jokes that Grandpa would tell. I'd repeat them for you...but most were on the adult side. I remember mom complained once that grandpa didn't have any hockey channels, so Grandpa ordered one...and mom never went back. I never heard the end of it.

Grandpa has passed many traditions on to the next few generations. For some it is laughter, for others it's stories and bad jokes, for a few of us it is the love of fishing and playing cards. Uncle John even did a show on spoon fishing. He's just like his father and I hope that never changes.

The funeral was heart warming and full of stories about Grandpa and times gone by. There was a present flag to John as Grandpa was in the Airforce. There was also a 21 gun salute that got to anyone that was there along with the playing of taps. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

I hope that when my time comes I can say that I lived my life to the fullest and have no regrets with lots of family and friends to say a final farewell to. We miss you and will continue to love you for generations to come. We know that you are with Grandma trying to convince her to stop going to kmart as you head down to the doc for some much needed fishing.

Trip to Seattle

Our trip to Seattle was amazing, cold, but amazing. Here is a picture of Jenna, EJ, Victoria and myself at the Seattle aquarium.

We arrived safely tuesday afternoon and hit the ground running. We headed to the local supermarket for some food, then headed home for a nap and some girl time.

After the Aquarium, we headed inside to a place that had games and a carousel and the most amazing food in all the world. The Crab Pot. For the first time I tried lobster bisque, which turned out not to be so good for both Jenna and myself, so it was sent back. The kids had chicken and fries. Before we came in out of the cold, we had the chance to view an amazing sunset...I am glad I got it on film.


We spent the afternoons walking the mall, Target or just hanging out with the kids, watching them play. We even had the chance to go see a movie (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), thanks to Scott who bravely volunteered to watch the kids while we were out. It was nice to get out without the kids. After the kids headed to bed, we once again braved the Seattle cold and went to Barnes and Noble for some girl time and some books.

It was a wonderful trip with lots of memories and not so many pictures...we always had the camera, I just couldn't remember to take it out. I learned a few good things from Jenna, one of them was what to feed Victoria. Yeah, I know that sounds odd, but I'm new at this. It had never occured to me that I could feed her peas and hotdogs for lunch or a pb&j..which she promptly gobbled up. I also introduced her to gatorade and water instead of always having milk to drink. One thing I have found out...she eats and drinks anything you give her.


Anyway, the trip to Seattle was wonderful and I am glad that I had the chance to go before jr is born, but it is good to be home again.