IT'S A GIRL!

My sister is having a girl!! Madeline is especially excited to have a cousin to play dolls with.

Now on to planning a pink baby shower. :)

I’ve had enough…..

…of winter, that is. I’ve been dealing with it just fine up until now. It’s time for old man winter to go away so I can stop warming up my car in the morning, having to bundle all of us up and trudge through all the snow. Good thing I have a lot to look forward to this winter to help pass the time a tiny bit quicker.

First, my sister finds out what she is having on Thursday. My bet is on a boy. Once she finds out, then I’m in full baby shower planning mode.

Then Andy and I are planning a trip to VEGAS! We haven’t been on a real vacation since our honeymoon almost 3 years ago. Everyone has been saying how Vegas is on sale, so we looked into it recently and scored a great deal. We cannot wait!! We’ll be gone for 4 days and I have no idea how I will deal with being away from Madeline that long. I can barely stand not seeing her when I’m at work. I guess I’ll figure something out.

Laughing with Daddy

A Day in the Life of M

Mommy's been slacking on the pictures lately so I thought I would show you how I spend my days...

I love seeing Mommy in the morning and always greet her with a big smile.

While Mommy and Daddy get ready for work, I sit and play with my toys.

Then it's time to go to daycare.

Don't worry about me Mom, I like it here.

After playing all day, I'm excited to see Mommy pick me up.

Then it's dinner time. I love Sweet Potatoes!

After dinner, I get to play with Mommy and Daddy. I love standing up now. Look at me standing all by myself.

Check out my new bathtub. It's comfy! And the duck quacks. hehehe

At bedtime, Mommy reads me a few books. Our favorites are "The Poky Little Puppy" and "Goodnight Moon."

The Cult of Motherhood

I read this today and just had to pass it on. It's hysterical and so true.....
_________________________________________

The Cult of Motherhood
Come, join us...By Kristen Chase

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but we moms have more in common with Katie Holmes than we'd like to think. That’s right. Because when we popped out that kid, we got an automatic membership to a special cult of our very own.

It’s called "THE NAP".

Don’t try and tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about because I’ve seen you. And it’s sucked you in too. Hell, I’ve been a card-carrying worshipper since 2004.

Sure. We don’t wear crazy white sheets, sport bad blue running shoes circa 1982, or shave our heads, but on some days, I’m thinking those would look better than my 3-day old gauchos, Old Navy shirt, and inside-out underpants.

Why do you not change your white sheets disguised in way-too-clingy-to-my-roly-ass stretch pants you ask? It’s because I’ve been brainwashed. And all I can think about is THE NAP.

Membership to THE NAP is for the kids-only crowd. If you don’t have kids, then you just don’t get it. They ask us “What’s this NAP you speak of? Why does it rule your life? You’ve got to just get out from under THE NAP.

But we know. And we laugh at them. GET OUT FROM UNDER THE NAP? Have you lost your fucking mind?

THE NAP RULES MY LIFE. THE NAP RULES MY LIFE.

It plays over in my head like a broken Best of John Denver record. THE NAP makes us do crazy things, like weird hip-rotating dances and bizarre rituals such as turning on rain machines and walking in weird figure eight patterns to avoid creaky floorboards.

And we sing crazy songs like “Hush Little Terror Baby” and “Twinkle Twinkle, Take a Fucking Nap.”

It makes us weep uncontrollably and beg for mercy.

PLEASE GIVE US THE NAP. I WILL GIVE YOU MY SOUL AND FOUR PAIRS OF GOOD-ASS JEANS. JUST FOR THE NAP.

And you never discuss THE NAP with anyone - even if you actually see THE NAP – particularly the long one. YOU NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE NAP for fear that you will never see THE NAP again.

The presence or lack thereof of THE NAP determines the course of your day. But you have no power over THE NAP – it has a mind of its own, determining your fate in a matter of 15 short minutes or 2 glorious hours.

But if you do happen to please THE NAP and it shines its face upon your pasty white complexion thanks to spending way too many hours attempting the aforementioned NAP, joyous tribal celebrations ensue – dancing in the shower with actual soap, shaving of the legs and pits, hair drying, and eating. Eating of a full meal in one sitting.

So if you thought that donning frocks formed from recycled potato sacks, wearing a $26 single strand red yarn bracelet or birthing of children in silence was crazy, you might want to think again. Because let’s face it. That daily rock, beg, lay, and creep ritual you do in yesterday’s pajamas? Makes even quiet labor look the epitome of sanity.

Epic failure....again

So, as you might have guessed already, the Cinnamon rolls didn't come out so well. As a matter of fact, this might have been my worst attempt yet. :( I think it's time to hang up my baker's hat on this one and call it a day.

Cinnamon Rolls, take # 150,001

Okay, so maybe not quite that much. But I've tried to make homemade ones alot and they come out super crappy every time. It's a recipe from my neighbor who makes T.H.E. best cinnamon rolls EVER, so I know it's not the recipe.

Well, a girl from work brought in some homemade cinnamon rolls that were really good, so I pounced on her. (Side note: Who brings in homemade cinnamon rolls to work?!) Anywho, I grilled her on what she did and think I might have figured out my downfall.

I'm giving it another try this weekend. Wish me luck! If I'm successful, I'll tease you all with yummy pictures.

"I can't get my arms down"

Ya know, like Ralphie from A Christmas Story? That's what M was screaming at me this morning in baby speak. I should have taken a picture of her. She did look pretty rediculous. But it's flipping 7 degrees outside! Sorry little one, like it or not, you are getting bundled.

Andy is playing soccer again!

He joined an indoor league and his first game is this Thursday. I’m so excited for him! Unfortunately though, with M going to bed by 7pm, I doubt we will ever get to see him play. :(

Let’s hope he doesn’t break anything. Last time he played in a sports league, he broke his nose. But this is a 30+ league after all. hehe (He will kill me for saying that.)

Playdate with the boys

Madeline had a playdate with a bunch of stud muffins this weekend. She was the only girl there.

This here is West man. I just love his hair! It's so thick and starting to curl. And he crawled circles around the rest of the babies.

There two sweetie pies are twin brothers, Will and Sam. They do look slightly different than each other, but I still can't ever tell them apart. I promise to get it right one of these days. They were kind enough to share their toys with the rest of the group. And since there are two of them, there were plenty of toys to go around!

And this cutie-pa-tootie is Jake monster. His mom and I have him and M as college sweethearts when they grow up. But he plays the field alot with girls in other play groups, so I better keep my eye on this guy. ;-)

Tag, I'm it

Tammy tagged me…

here is how it goes: go to your 4th folder (where your pictures are stored) and find the 4th picture….and post it. then explain it.

This picture was taken at the beginning of September when M just turned 4 months old. I got her dressed up for her monthly birthday "photo shoot" in her cute little skirt from Aunt Jackie. She was looking cute as always.

I'm tagging:

Sarah W., Kenzi, Liz, Jody

Maggie is four years old

Yes, I have two other babies. They are our two beagles, Maggie and Miles. We got Maggie as a puppy the first year we lived together. We weren't even engaged yet so it's crazy to think how much has changed since we got her. She was a spoiled rotten puppy and is definitely the queen doggie. These two are so completely different in personality, but we love them just the same.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Miles' arrival. She was none to happy.

But now they are best buds.

Teething sucks

We are so tired.

People would ask me all throughout the holidays, "Is Madeline teething yet?" And I would say, "No, I don't think so." She was drooling and putting things in her mouth, but she had done that for months. Then a week later, a tooth pops through. Who would have known?! But the symptom we can't mistake now is not getting any sleep at night. Holy moly, I can't wait until tomorrow night when the week is over. If I make it that far.

By the way, tooth # 2 popped through two days ago. :) It's her other front, bottom tooth.

7 months old

This picture is getting harder and harder to take. As soon as she notices the sign, she wants to grab it and eat it. There should be video of Andy and I trying to keep her attention. Now that would be funny!

Let's see, this month...

- she got a new tooth

- she likes to babble da-da-da-da-da-da-da alot. I'm trying to get her to babble ma-ma-ma but she hasn't figured that one out yet.

- she is almost up on all fours but not quite. It won't be too long though.

New tooth

Christmas pictures

Madeline writes....

"My Aunt Jackie better learn how to feed babies before my cousin gets here in June."

"My Mom finally remembered to take a Four Generation picture with my two great-grandmas on her side. "

"Here I am having a good time with my Mommy on Christmas Day."

"Look at all the new babies! We are gonna have a great time next year when we can all run around and play together."

"Good thing we took this nice family picture before my, umm, accident. We won't discuss that."