I'm behind....as usual

Well it's been almost a month since I came here to write.  What is it about summer that gets me so far behind?  Oh yes- the sun, the kids, and Big Brother (who do you want to win??).

We just got back from our annual vacation to Lake Erie and let me tell ya- if you aren't vacationing with grandparents, you're doing it wrong.

We all have so much fun on this trip and I think I can safely say it's win-win for everyone.  The kids get to hang out with their grandparents (who they might love more than us) and Steve and I get to have some alone time while still having fun on the beach with the kids. 

Ever since Steve was 2 years old, he and his parents have gone to a private community in Vermilion Ohio on Lake Erie.  There is a great park for kids, a beautiful beach and some really amazing houses.  Last year was my first year on this trip and I fell in LOVE.  It's the most peaceful place I have ever been and it is now my dream to own a house here.

Emily is a beach girl for sure- she loved playing in the sand, walking in the water and helping me find lake glass.  She was not however, a fan of wearing a life jacket- so no boating or swimming in the lake for her.

Gavin was not a fan of the beach at first.  He didn't like the sand or the wind coming off the water.  Once the wind calmed down, he did start to warm up to the beach life.  He would throw rock after rock into the lake and he loved having water poured on his head.  But his favorite part of vacation was playing at the park and daily bike rides with Grandpa- oh and chasing sea gulls.

Steve and I had a couple of dates, which is always good.  

The kids played so well together (better than the norm) and we all had ice cream just about every day (I'm now on a diet).

There is just nothing better than a relaxing week away with your family, is there?

 

 

Now it's back to the real world - happy Tuesday!

Transitioning to a big girl bed

The time has come....for Emily to sleep in a big girl bed.  I was always the mom who saw other kids going into big kid beds and said- NO WAY, crib for life (right Kelly?).  But when we went to Illinois a few weeks ago, we had Emily sleep on an inflatable mattress and she did so great and she really loved it!  So when we got home Steve and I started talking about re-decorating her room for her 3rd birthday and getting her a big girl bed. 

To start with the trasition to a twin bed we decided to take the front off of her crib.  She LOVED it!  So she's been sleeping in her crib like this for probably 2 weeks, maybe more, and she does really well.  We put a big padded mat next to her bed in case she ever rolls out- which she has done a couple of times- but she always goes right back to sleep.

So fast forward to this weekend.... Grandma & Grandpa graciously got Emily a big girl bed as an early birthday present and we put it together last night.  I wish I had a video of how excited Emily was- it was priceless!

She slept so great last night, barely moved at all and announced this morning that she "slept all night in her big bed!"

thanks G&G!!

How did (almost) 3 years go by so fast??

Ever have one of those days?

I know you all have.  The kind where you're asking yourself all day, "is it a full moon??"

To set the mood, these are the texts my husband got from me yesterday:

10:21am (side note: I held off texting until mid-morning so I feel like a should get an award):  Today is terrible and you better be coming home for lunch. (he didn't make it home for lunch)

12:00pm: This has been my whole day.... (video of screaming children throwing themselves on the ground)

12:50pm:  Steve seriously I can't handle this.

2:00pm:  G napped for like an hour.  Back to screaming.  I'm leaving when you get home.

3:00pm:  Emily can't poop and she's been crying about it all day.  I don't know what to do.

A little over the top?  Maybe.  Today I look back and think it was a tiny bit dramatic but yesterday- no way was it dramatic.  Gavin and Emily woke up at 5:30am on the WRONG side of the crib.  They then took turns crying for the entire day.  And I literally mean the entire day.  And sometimes they cried together just for the extra effect.  I could do nothing right.  They even cried on our walk which is usually their favorite thing.

I'm not even sure what was wrong with Gavin.  He's been in this crying about everything and throwing fits phase.  I remember it with Emily around this age too.  He isn't talking yet so if you can't figure out his grunts and points you are in serious trouble.  And he hates when Emily is sad so that makes him cry too.

Sorry for the TMI, but I'm keeping it real here.  Emily could not poop.  She needed to poop and she couldn't.  She would try and start screaming and shaking.  And I did everything to try to help her.  It was awful.  When Steve got home I ran out to get children's suppositories- I will leave that description out but let me just say I hope to never have to do that again.  And 2 hours of laying on me and crying later, still no poop.  She didn't want dinner and she kept saying she was tired so I put her down for bed. Before she went down I rubbed rosemary and ginger oil on her belly doing the "I love you" massage. At about 10:00 Steve said she was crying so I went in to check on her.  She had finally pooped in her sleep- hallelujah!! 

I stood in the kitchen with Steve and I just cried.  I can't remember the last time my day was so hard that it actually made me cry.  I felt physically and emotionally exhausted and beat up.  I felt like a crap mom.

But this morning, when I went to get Emily out of her bed and she smiled at me and said, "mommy I so happy to see you and I feelin so much better today", the struggle of yesterday was (mostly) erased and I knew I could do it all again today.

family reunion in Illinois

Last weekend we made the long drive back to Illinois for my family reunion.  When I say the drive was long- I really mean it.  We hit stand still traffic at least 4 times, Gavin cried most of the way and we stopped more times than I could count.  On the bright side- Emily did fantastic and was a huge help with Gavin- as you can tell from the pictures.

Our first stop was only two hours into the drive- Gavin was ecstatic to be out of the car and didn't sit or stand still the whole time we were at the rest stop (thus the blurry picture).  Pretty sure this is when Steve and I knew we were in for it.

 

 



 

 Our last stop on the way to Illinois was by accident.  We were coming up on our 5th traffic jam and I screamed at Steve to take the exit that was literally right next to us on the interstate.  I knew none of us would keep our sanity if we had to sit in traffic again.  Thankfully there was a huge outdoor mall right off the exit and we ate dinner and the kids ran around.  It was a lifesaver.



these two kill me

When we got to my Grandpa's house it was about 9:00pm (we left at 8:30am) and the kids were WIRED.  We unpacked the car and started to get things settled.  My kids are shy- there's no doubt about that.  When they meet new people or see someone they haven't seen for awhile they hide behind my legs and take a bit to warm up.  But when they saw my Grandpa they walked right up to him and started showing him their "friends", it was absolutely heartwarming.

The next day we spent a lot of time at my dad's farm (where I grew up).  The kids had a lot of fun playing with some of their cousins and seeing lots of new things.

eating sour apples picked from Grandpa's tree

checking out grandpa's soy beans and throwing apples

exploring

shucking sweet corn for lunch

cousins!

jumping on a tractor inner tube like mommy used to do

and of course- climbing trees!

That night most of the family went to Jungle Bungle and the kids had a blast while the parents did a lot of chasing the kids around. 

Sunday morning we went to visit my mom's grave.  The kids have never been to it so it was pretty emotional for me.  When we got out of the car and walked up to her grave, Gavin squatted down right in front of it and wiped her picture off and just stayed there looking at it.  Cue tears.

 

 

Then we went to my family reunion.  I've been going to these every year since I can remember but since we moved to PA, we haven't made it back for one in a couple of years.  It's basically a pot luck and a "meeting" where they record marriages, births, deaths, etc. I didn't get many pictures but I did get one of my Dad and Regina with most of their grandkids- I love it!

After the reunion we went back to the farm for more playing! Grandpa got one of his tractors out to take all the grandkids on rides but Emily and Gavin wanted no part of it...

These sweeties were all born in 2011 (can you believe Emily is the youngest of the three??)

 Future farmer Gavin- youngest (and possibly naughtiest) of the grandkids.

Minus the drive, it was a great trip back home. I was so happy to see my family and the kids were troopers.  Next time we visit I do believe we will be flying!

I'm slacking.

I start writing posts and then I don't hit publish.....

Lots of stuff has been happening around here. I've been working part time, staying home part time, working on my oil business part time, trying to keep my husband & kids happy and the laundry from taking over the house.  It's a lot to juggle but I'm focusing on the good.

selfie attempt #fail

The kids saw their first parade and they were in love/a little scared.  Meaning- Gavin loved it and Emily loved it until the fire trucks let off their sirens and then she was scared to death.  But, she is still talking about the marching band a month later so I'll call it a success.

Grandpa also loved the parade

Gavin is naughty with a capital N.  He is all boy and it's so funny to see the difference between him and his sister.  He gets into everything, has no fear and is just plain mischievous.  They couldn't be more opposite if they tried and I love it. 

I'm not sure when he turned 5

Emily is starting to show interest in potty training.  She has gone a few times a day at home- only with me and only with the promise of three m&m's and a sticker to add to her potty chart.  The girl is a serious negotiator. She doesn't tell me when she has to go yet so it's only happening when I ask her if she wants to try.  And since she's only home with me 4 days out of 7 it's nothing serious yet.

 

Gavin is a social butterfly (again, the opposite of Emily) he will just walk over to anyone- neighbors, kids at school, complete strangers and start playing (I think he gets that from his daddy).  He still isn't talking much but he will say mama (this means Dad, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Emily), ball, yeah, baba (bottle) and the other day he said Rubble (Paw Patrol).  He's trying to say a few more words but nothing consistent.  He understands everything we say and gets his point across with grunts and head nods so we are just going with the flow. 

making himself at home in the big kid room at daycare

We've been spending a lot of time outside, it's basically all the kids want to do.  Except they want to do different things and with only two hands & two eyes it can get tricky for this mama to keep track of them.  Emily loves being in the water and Gavin loves not being in the water.

You're crazy if you think I'm getting in there mom.

Emily is growing up.  I mean like really growing up.  She has real conversations with us and is acting more and more like a little girl.  It's blowing my mind that she will be 3 in a few months.

she's a hat girl just like her great grandma

These two just break my heart wide open daily.  I love them so much- more than I ever thought possible. 

I'm the luckiest.

Weekend wrap

Our summer weekends are going by too fast!

Our days consisted of....

Checking on our garden (329 times).  We are having so much fun with our first garden!  The kids love to go check on the plants and help with watering everything- including themselves. 

Playing catch (Emily's new favorite thing), "mowing" (Gavin's new favorite thing) & coloring the whole driveway (and part of the house) with our "colors".

And, Booty got another hair cut- it's the shortest we've ever cut it and I can't get over how much older he looks without his curls. 

Is it Friday yet??