Just a little change...

I have gone ahead and altered the title of our family blog. The purpose remains the same. However, I am going to attempt to improve my personal vocabulary while I plug away on these postings. My ability to speak as an educated 31-year old woman has radically diminished since around Oct. 2006! In my posts, you will find my normal bantering ways and then you will occassionally see two words separated by a forward slash. The first word represents a preferred word choice and the second is the original word that I chose. This should be compelling/interesting!

When I grow up...

Reagan said, "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a doctor like Daddy and drive a car like you." Wow.

Garbage Lady

Yep. I did it. I dived deep into the depths of a Costco garbage can, searching for a tiny little baby dolphin. Reagan was hysterical after Evie launched the prized baby dolphin into the awaiting trash receptacle. As you can imagine, the "can" was disgusting. Ev didn't happen to drop it into a newly cleaned, fresh-as-a-daisy, trash can. Evie threw it into the most gooped up, sticky, smelly, fly infested trash can in all of the freakin' store. I tried to get out of "going in" for it. I even circled around the entire warehouse, hoping that the sobbing Reagan would forget. No such luck. I faced the fear, and I conquered the foe. Reagan could have cared less once I finished fishing that stupid dolphin from its temporary home. Gross.

Potty Training?

Could it be so?? Evie stood outside the bathroom door and said, "Potty." I opened the door, she walked to the potty and stared at it. I took her diaper off, placed her on the potty and...she went potty. Well. That was easy. ;-) This was a solid act of potty proficiency and at a very young age. And we also know that she won't realistically potty train for a good 1.5 years. But (BUTT) it is fun for her to try to be a big girl like her sister. Way to go Evelyn!!!!

Mommy's Maddness...

Evelyn had an awful night of sleep last night. As a result, I didn't sleep either. How Ben and Reagan can sleep through her screaming is consistently amazing to me. By sunrise, Evelyn and I were up, yet again. By this time, I was honestly unable to be patient with her and parent her with gentleness and care. To be completely truthful, I had lost that ability around 2:30am. I had nothing left but frustration and "maddness". Evelyn kept screaming and screaming and screaming and I couldn't get her to stop. "Evelyn Maris - STOP SCREAMING!!!! You will wake up REAGAN!!!!", screamed her crazed mother. As one would guess, Reagan appears. She happily came breezing down the staircase. I said, "Oh Reagan. I am so sorry that Evie's screaming woke you up." "Mommy, Evie didn't wake me up. Your maddness woke me up." Lesson learned. Heart breaking. So sorry to start their day off with "maddness". Tomorrow will be better!

Barbie Doll dress...

Complete! When Reagan saw it she gasped saying, "Mommy, it is BEAUTIFUL!" Now, don't get too excited. In reality, the sewing quality is crap. Reagan is a generous soul. Several hours later, after looking the dress over and over she asked, "Could you cover up her butt?" I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. And yes, I have figured a way to cover Barbie's buttocks.

Princess Tiana's Cookbook

One item that I bought with my Mother's Day gift card to B&N was Princess Tiana's Cookbook. The idea is that this cookbook will get the girls excited to continue cooking with their mommy in the kitchen. Reagan always is a-go for cooking and baking and we are anticipating that Evie will enjoy kitchen time as well. Our first recipe was for Froggy-in-the-water Cupcakes. Everyone, including Daddy, participated. Awesome fun! The following evening, I went ahead and made the Jambalaya - all by myself. Weird to be cooking from a Disney cookbook as a 31 year old woman, but the result was uber-yummy. Julia Child's who? Princess Tiana knows how to take on the kitchen!!!

Just another Sunday...

Our Sunday turned out to be a regular, uneventful old day. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary and it occurred to me later that - Just another Sunday - is what life is all about. Each day, no matter what, counts. I am so thankful for my family. We got up, went to church, had lunch, Evie napped, Reagan and I sewed Daddy his pillowcase, Evie and I ran errands together, I made dinner (by myself, using Princess Tiana's Cookbook for Kids - embarrassing but I am woman enough to admit it!), we ate dinner together and then played outside. It was while we were having races outside that it occurred to me just how Blessed we are to be able to have just another boring old Sunday.

I Heart Spinning!

Now that we are back in our reality and the daily grind, I am also back to spinning. I seriously LOVE spinning. It is such a great workout and I never get tired of it. Today was also my first day back to the Y without my three dear friends Amy, Kam and Ericka. Amy and Ericka are friends that I met at the Y and Kam is a neighbor friend. All three ladies and their families moved to different parts of the country while we were away on vacations. It is sad not to have them filling their bikes but I also know that they are moving on to fun and exciting adventures with their families. I don't have any pics of all of us, but there is this little clip of one of our spinning groups doing a silly little thing for a local media channel. Amy and I are stuffed way in the back.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/station/as-seen-on/Wake-Up_Call__Main_Line_YMCA_Philadelphia.html

Latest Sewing Project...

The kids are freaking out right now, so this will be quick. I have taken on a new sewing project. Mom has graciously sewn 3 new pillows for our futon, matching the roman shades that she made previously. We have 4 very ugly, non-coordinating, but quality throw pillows that I wanted to put to good use. I took a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and made off like a bandit. Even Helen the fabric cutting lady said I did AWESOME! I have recovered 2 pillows of the four and they go nicely with the one's Mom has already made for us. I can't take credit for the fancy ones, but I did cover the bigger ones. I have a long way to go with this sewing bit but I am improving. The first pillow cover took me 2 hours. The second one took only 1 hour. We shall see how the next two turn out.

Bethany Beach Baby!

We arrived home from Florida, did 2 loads of laundry, slept in our beds 2 nights and just like MAGIC - out the door we went for a week at Bethany Beach! Mom, Dad, Joel, Heidi, Soren, Markus, Kai, Ben, Leah, Reagan and Evelyn set out to make memories on the sand and in the surf...it was awesome!

The MN crew drove across country, sans Joel, and arrived to the Philly area mere moments after a horrible storm ripped through. Straight line winds knocked trees down everywhere, even across the highway they were attempting to traverse. Heidi, boys and Co. were stuck in traffic for an additional 3 hours before they managed to complete an already 18 hour trip. My nephews are heroes for handling themselves with honor and loads of class, being stuck in the van for so very long.

Our short trip to the beach the following day, was much smoother. We arrived to a beautiful rental property right off of the beach. The location was AWESOME. Great work PapaBoo! Thank you for treating us to a great home and a wonderful week. We spent one entire week basking in the sun, skipping in the waves, building sand castles, playing beach football and simply relaxing. The kids enjoyed the company of one another and the adults appreciated the opportunity to be together once again. We had a wonderful "Crab Night" where we enjoy, yep you guessed it, loads of CRAB! Ben, Joel and I took a quick adventure up to the Dogfish Head Brewery. We all made a last minute trek up to see the wild horses of Assateague (don't ask - the event will give us year's worth of laughs!) and finished our week at the Frog House for brunch. We even managed to catch the majority of Wimbledon during our lunchtime breaks from the beach. The week was as a flurry of activity, creating memories with each experience.

There were two very obvious groups absent from our Bethany week. Jana, Todd and Brayden were unable to make the trip due to work conflicts. Oh how we were wishing they were there. We sure hope to make this trip again in the upcoming years and we simply must make sure that their schedules will coincide. We also very much missed our Johnson family. From my very early childhood, we have gone to Bethany with Karen, Gene, Kris and Lars. Grandma and Grandpa have also joined in on most trips to the beach. We have frequented Bethany over and over. Most recently, we had the entire family together at Bethany, honoring Karen and her memory. This past week I found myself thinking about Karen; watching the waves, digging for sand crabs, runners on the sand, taking on the waves and floating with the swells, kite shops (more Gene with that thought!), restaurants we have visited, Indian Harbor Villas, spending time with my nephews. These were all things we did with Karen over the years and I was wishing she could still be here to enjoy these splendors. Bethany is her beach and I thank her for sharing it with us.

While there is nothing better than sun, sand, ocean waves and wonderful family moments, we couldn't end with just that. It was decided that those who had not yet visited NYC and were over the age of 4 would take a day and go see the sights. Mom, Dad, Joel, Heidi and Soren left early Saturday morning while I stayed home to hold down the fort. Boy oh boy, did both groups have LOADS of fun!!! :-)

Tantrums Times Two (maybe Three)

Vacations with a young family are work. They have to be or none of us would ever return to our homes or our much needed places of employment. I will take a few short minutes to document the dismal realities and yucky moments during or 2 vacations. My 3.5 year old and 18 month old both displayed a healthy amount of temper tantrums throughout the course of our 2 vacations. Reagan has been challenging for a few months lately. She chose to kick it into high gear while on travel. Little Miss Sass Box is her new nickname. I had to put her on many timeouts. Ugh. She even became more physical this week. Little kicks and hits that I have not seen her do. While I know she mimics my sassing, I don't know where she gets the idea to hit...she is fortunate to be in a home where hitting and kicking is not allowed. Reagan didn't take the cake, believe it or not. Little Miss Evelyn receives the award for most challenging. Didn't we know that traveling with an 18 month old was a bad idea (cue memories of San Diego when Reagan was 18 months old - misery)? She started the ever-dreaded TEMPER TANTRUMS! Evie was up screaming on most of the nights where we shared a dwelling with others. This is MY FEAR! My tension and fear when we stay with others or other's stay with us is that my children will wake in the nighttime and keep the household up. Sure enough, at Doyle's and at the beach - she had night after night of sleeplessness and was often inconsolable. I was a mess. I lost it on several occassions, not helping the matter. I was so out of sorts, it never occurred to me that she could be sick or teething. I was just angry and exhausted and couldn't see straight. Now that we are safely tucked back at home we know a few things; 1) Evie and her Mother are homebodies, 2) Evelyn was teething during our vacation, 3) Evelyn was getting sick and was sick the entire vacation. 4) I need to relax on vacation and not add to the hysteria. I was so stressed about the children's behavior during the trip that I simply was adding fuel to the fire. While Evelyn has now taken to full-blown, throw-self-on-the-floor-with-an-arched-back, kicking and screaming tantrums, we are now at home and are better adapted and more skilled at dealing with these tantrums. I had my worst parenting moments of all time on this trip. One night (maybe two) at Doyle's, one night at the hotel on the way home from FL and one night at the beach house in Bethany. I seriously thought that I was losing my mind - I was questioning my sanity and whether I was a fit mother. I know now that the "perfect storm" had been created by Ben and I just choosing to take on such ambitious trips with our very young family. I cannot judge my ability as a mother solely based on a few nights of teething while vacationing and on the road. I guess I have seen the ugly and now I can be better prepared for future vacations. The alternative is to lock ourselves in and never go anywhere again. I'll choose to live, learn and book our next trip! Whew - we are all back to our better-selves. Did I say "Whew"? I meant - AMEN!!!! This is the last I'll mention of the Reagan, Evie, Leah tantrums because I don't want to remember these vacations as negative experiences. We made great memories and I have a tendency to focus on the negative. Now for the happy, positive post about our great week at Bethany Beach!!

Sewing Pillow Covers Now?!

It is true. I have ventured into covering 4 throw pillows for our futon. I completed one last night while watching "The Bachelorette". Finally. I have found a way to watch my favorite junk tv while keeping my brain active. The pillow turned out quite nice, given it was my first cover. 3 more to go. Pictures to follow.

**We arrived home from our Wessman family beach vacation on Friday. I am way behind on maintaining our home. Once I get my act together and this place functioning again, I'll post about that quality time. We had a blast and I can't believe it is over already!!!