Ryan's School Christmas Party

Ryan had his first Christmas Party at school last Thursday (12-18)! He was so excited to go to school for his party! We made cookies the night before and he couldn't wait to share them with his friends. Mike ended up working a half day and was able to make it to the party too. Ryan was so excited..he had his Daddy and His Grammie at his party. He was ready to perform. His class sang wonderful songs and were so cute! They did a really great job. The cookies all the parents made were great and we enjoyed them, Madison especially! That girl loves her cookies!!

We are so lucky to have such a great teacher for Ryan. Mrs. Simon and Miss Bell are wonderful! Once again, they did an excellent job with the party and the kids. I tried to explain to Ryan that he is on a short vacation from school. He didn't get it, but I am sure he will enjoy the break, but be ready to be back soon.

Ryan's Gingerbread house

Here it is! These things are so difficult to do. Especially with a 3 year old. Getting the walls up and the roof on is the hard part. Oh and telling a 3 year he has to wait and not touch anything until it's ready. Thank goodness for the Wii, because that kept him busy while we waited.

Once the walls were up and roof on, it was time to decorate. I tried to be very "controlling" and explain how it was suppose to be, but Ryan told me I was wrong. So I just let him do it all by himself. I put the frosting on and let him go! He had the best time! I am glad I let him do his thing, because he was very proud of it when he was done. I think it turned out great!!! Well, until I see Jennie's or Kristin's pictures! Then mine will probably look like homeless shelter! (Maybe they will not have time to do theirs!! Ha ha)

After Ryan was done with the Gingerbread House, Mike asked a good question...."Now What?" HMMMM....It still looks cute!!!

What a Weekend!!

Usually I am ready for the weekend. Cannot wait for it to get here! Well, this weekend was a little different! Friday, I was taking a shower when Ryan came into the bathroom and had to go potty. After he was done, the toilet starting bubbling. It has happen before so I knew what was wrong. Damn Sewer or as Eddie would say in Christmas Vacation "Shitter was full". So I told Ryan to just step back and not flush the toilet. What does he do, yup he flushes the toilet. The toilet starts to over flow. I jump out of the shower and turn the water off at the toilet. No prblem. I figured we would wait for Mike to get home, tell him what happened and have him call Roto Rooter!!

Mike gets home and calls Roto Rooter. They say they will be here in about an hour. I thought, wow that's great on a Friday night. So around 4:30 he shows up...brings in his big machine and begins doing his thing. The kids didn't like the machine and it was loud, so we hung out in my bedroom. At one point, Madison wanted out and to see what was going on. I open the door and I look at Mike and he gestures for me to be quiet. All I could hear was hissing. Then I hear the Roto Rooter guy say something about hissing outside and inside and he smells gas. Then he says he is feeling light headed. (He was talking to his office on the phone, and it was a 2 way radio.) The next thing I hear was the lady on the other end say, if you smell gas and hear hissing, you need to get out asap because that place could blow. She said to call 911 and get out. I went into freak mode!! I grabbed the kids and ran to the neighbors. Mike followed. Explained to our neighbor what was going on and asked if me and the kids could stay for bit. In the meantime, the fire department was arriving And then Mich Con. As I watched from the neighbors window, all I could think about was our house exploding. Mike came over to check on us and I told him to grab the computer with all my pictures on it, just in case! I know, crazy, but they were letting him back in the house because they didn't smell any gas in there and they said it was safe to go in. So Mike grabbed our little hard drive just in case.

Well, to make a long story short, the gas line went through the sewer line and when Roto Rooter was cleaning out the sewer line he hit the gas line. They finally found the leak after digging up the side of our yard. They had to bring in a back hoe to dig up the yard. So finally at 9:30 everyone was gone. My mom had happened to call and see how things were going in the midst of all this and Mike filled her in. She was on her way home from work and turned around to come get the kids. Thank goodness! So there we are at 9:30 with a house with dirt tracks all through it, no water, of course no sewer. We got the all clear to stay in the house, but we chose not to because of not having water or a toilet to pee in.

The next day we called Roto Rooter to have them come back out to fix everything and put it all back together. We were finally up and running around 2 pm but broke. We had to shell out 700 bucks for this whole mishap. However, it was all Mich Con fault for running the gas line in the sewer line in the first place, so we will be calling them in the morning for total reinbursment. I will let you know how that goes after the call! Let's just say we are ready to put up a HUGE FIGHT!

Here is one picture of Mich Con out in front of our house. I didn't get any pictures of the fire department because I didn't have my camera. I wanted a picture of all the lights and all the excitement. This will have to do!!

My New Baby.....

Here she is..................

For the last month, my camera has been giving me problems. The zoom button, was "slipping" and not working right. I never really liked the camera. It was a Canon, and I was really not on great terms with it! So on Saturday night, I was having problems again. I told Mike I needed a new camera. I was not taking the chance of going to Disney World and my camera taking a crap on me! So we decided to call Circuit City to see if we still had the warranty on the camera. We bought the camera just over 2 years ago, and got the protection plan with it. We usually don't get the protection plan, but with having kids, we thought it was a good idea. Luckily we did. However, we had to have the box, and EVERYTHING that came with the camera. Of course, we were never told this was when we bought the protection plan. Being 2 greatly organized people (not really)..we had kept EVERYTHING. This was a shock, because we usually throw everything away. So we packed up the old camera and headed to Circuit City. I hate Circuit City. I hate them! I was going in ready to fight. We went in, talked to a guy, and since the camera was 2 years old they just gave us money on gift card to pick out a new camera. So I had 475.00 buck a roos to pick out what I wanted! I debated, between a regular digital and a SLR. I really wanted an SLR, but I just don't have the time to figure everything out before the holidays and before our trip! So I settled for this camera. It is great! I LOVE IT!!! It has a smile button on it and when the kids smile it will take the picture automatically. (have to get them to smile first, arghhhh) I have been taking pictures of any and everything, to try to get the "feel" of the camera. It takes me a long time to get comfortable with a new camera. But I love it!

We are not ones to spend the extra money on these protection plans these places offer..but I am sure glad we did with this one.

No other pictures yet, I am still trying to figure out how to get the pictures off the camera and on the computer....Mike can not get home soon enough!!!!

Another week gone by....

I can't believe that Christmas only a few weeks away! The time is flying by. I am still working on getting a picture for our Christmas cards. The kids are not cooperating very well! That's OK, if I can't get any good shoots, I will be sending the ones with the kids are crying. At least it will show their true frustrations of what I make them go through!

We went to see Santa yesterday at the Mall. Ryan said he was going to talk to Santa and sit on his lap. I was shocked and excited! So we made it into the mall when Ryan started walking really slow, and he didn't look so well. I stopped and asked him what was wrong, and he started to cry. (We weren't even by Santa yet) I asked him what was the matter, and he said he didn't want to see Santa! I told him he didn't have to. I was not going to force him! So we made it to Santa, of course Ryan didn't change his mind. I didn't push him and let him do what he wanted. Madison on the other hand, she is still young enough where she doesn't really know what is going on. So Madison got her picture taken with Santa, ALONE, AGAIN. She sat in Santa's Chair while Santa stood behind her. After that picture we tried one of her sitting on Santa's Lap, No go, she started to cry. But at least we got one of her with Santa. Mike made the comment to me..."Disney World is going to be so fun!" Ya know what, it is and the kids are getting their picture taken with Mickey Mouse even if they are crying...hey maybe it will make for a great Christmas Card for next year!! We have just over a month to "make" Ryan and Madison like humans who dress in costumes!! I don't think it is going to happen! Looks like I will be getting my picture taken with Mickey Mouse instead!!
I know another post WITHOUT pictures. I promise to post pictures later today...if I have the time. It seems it's going to be another long day today!!!

Weekend in Review

First I would like to say that I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was great and I really enjoyed Mike having the entire week off. It kinda felt like I was on vacation too! He is so great and we LOVED spending more time with him!
We had our plans set for Thanksgiving. My family on Thanksgiving Day and Mike's family on Friday. This has always worked out great, because there is NO WAY we could do both families on Thanksgiving Day. It usually works out without hardly any complaints. We made it to my parents house on Thanksgiving morning. The kids were so excited about the "party". Madison helped my mom and I cook all day. She snacked on everything. Even though last year was her first Thanksgiving, this was her first Thanksgiving to eat. Last year she was only about 4 months old, so she really didn't eat anything. That girl can eat, and loved everything! When it came time to eat, Madison didn't want to eat anything. I didn't push her because I just thought she was full from snacking all day! Ryan didn't eat much either. I didn't push him because he is a picky eater and just let him do his thing. Well it was a couple hours later, when all the excitement began. I was cleaning up and my mom was playing with Madison, when all of sudden, I hear my name being called. I run to the living room to see Madison getting sick. My mom was holding her and she had gotten sick again. All over Grammie. I felt so bad. I grabbed Madison and ran into the bathroom. She was so scared. I gave her a bath and she was good to go. I thought she had gotten sick because she ate too much. My mom took her and laid with her in bed when again she got sick. Another bath, another change of clothes and she was good to go. In the mean time, Ryan was hanging on my leg and wanted me to hold him. I told my mom, something is not right with him. I put him down and he got sick at my feet. This is when we realized the kids had the flu. Ryan got a bath, a change of clothes and was good to go. So between 6:30 and 8, Madison had gotten sick 6 times and Ryan twice. I had no idea how we were going to get home. We decided to make a break for it...Ryan with a bucket in hand we headed home. Madison got sick once on the way home, before she fell asleep. Ryan fell asleep around the same time. We finally made it home. Got the kids in bed, I started laundry, Mike ran to Meijers for Pedilite and 7 up. Madison got sick only one more time around midnight. Poor girl!! She got the worse of it.
There was no way we were going to make it to Thanksgiving for Mike's family on Friday. We were not going to drive 2 hours there and 2 hours back with 2 sick kids. The 45 minute drive from my parents was hard enough. We needed the day to rest. Especially since I went out with the crazy people shopping Friday morning. Got most of shopping done with a few exceptions. I had a lot of fun with Theresa and My mom. I never thought I would be able to get up mom out the door at 3:45 am to go shopping, but I did! I was proud of her. She kept up with us young girls great! Even though we lost her in Meijers for about 45 minutes. She was probably looking to buy Madison more baby dolls.....I didn't know Madison needed 100 baby dolls for Christmas!! We finally found her sleeping on a bench at the front of Meijers...ok so maybe not sleeping, but that's what we accused her of! She was waiting for us, and we had no idea!! We walked around Meijers for a long time being followed by floor walkers and all!! They probably thought we looked suspicious walking around that store so many times!!
The kids are finally starting to feel better. Madison is still having "issues" but at least we don't' have to follow her around with a bucket!!

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

The jacket is to die for! I love it! Madison would look so cute in it! I hope to win..it would be so nice to finally win something.

It's Monday

It's one of those days already. Ryan and Madison are fighting like cats and dogs. He just whipped Madison with his blanket. He has been in my dad's birthday cake all morning. He is very sneaky about it too. Something about the red and black frosting all over his fingers and face tell me he was in the cake. (even though he said he wasn't) Ryan is on his 3rd set of pajamas because he likes to make more laundry for me to do! I asked him why he keeps changing his pajamas and his response was because I like to wear all my jammies! As I type this, Ryan and Madison are putting all their books into Madison's crib! Nice!! I guess at least she will have something to read when she takes her nap this afternoon.
To add to this day, It's snowing out, I have to go to the grocery store and I don't want to! I hate bundling the kids up and venturing out in the snowy weather! I guess I will be talking to Mike about moving somewhere warm when he gets home! Whew...ok now I feel better....I am off to get all the books out of the crib!! I hope everyone elses Monday is going better than mine.

Chicago ~ Shopping with the girls

Last Saturday a small group of friends decided to go on a girls only shopping trip to Chicago. We all had to make purchases at the American Girl Store for Christmas, so instead of paying the high shipping, we decided to go and get away for the day! ALL of us really needed this time away. We all have kids, who we all love dearly, but us moms need a break too!

We began our day at 5 am. I don't think we stopped laughing until 2 am when we got home! It was the best time I have had away from home in a long time! (even though we didn't get to see Oprah) We had some great pizza for lunch..I can't remember the name of the place, (Kristin, you have to help me out here) but it was great. We also found the best popcorn. I guess people will line up for blocks to get this stuff, and Oprah loves it too, so it must be the best!! We did some shopping all around. We even went to a scrapbook place that was off the beaten path. I kept looking at Jennie with a very concerned look on my face, and of course she kept assuring me that we were ok! I just get a little scared when there are places with boards over the windows and Michael Jackson is walking down the road. Ok so not really Michael Jackson, but Kristin said it was him! TOO SCARY!!

At the end of the day we finally made it to the American Girl store. We all made our purchases and were very happy that we made this our last stop! Jennie bought enough to start her our store out of her house! We had a lot of bags!!

We decided to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, which was delicious! Thanks to Kristin and her mom for the extra money for drinks!! Here is the story behind Kristin's mom "Raising her Right". We went to the restaurant to get a table. She put her name in downstairs, I put my name upstairs. Which ever one called our name first, that's where we were going to eat. Well, after waiting about 45 minutes, we were told our table upstairs was just about ready. Well, we still had our other pager for downstairs. Kristin said she was not going to waste it and give it back to the hostess she was going to give it to the next person who walked in the door. So she did. The man and his wife thanked her and went downstairs. (they probably had a 10 minute wait compared to a 70 minute wait like everyone else) We got to our table and got "settled" in when this guy walks up and says to Kristin...."You are Kristin?" I think we all about died, because we didn't know how this guy knew Kristin. The we realized it was the guy she gave the pager to. (we forgot we told him the reservation was under Kristin). He thanked her and pulled out his wallet...He threw money on the table and said buy drinks on me! It was so amazing! He was so thankful what Kristin had done (and so were we). So here is a picture of Kristin with her Money!! What a great way to end a perfect day!

I didn't take a lot of pictures, I think I was too busy people watching and looking for weirdos. Mya--this is the only picture I have of you, well it was of you and Jennie in a cab, but Jennie looks like a cartoon character, and I don't think she would like to me post that picture..it was great meeting you. You were so much fun!

Oh, One more thing. Kristin gets money for being a great person and giving a man her reservation....Mya and I on the other hand, give a lady 65 cents only to have the same lady ask us for 65 cents again later down the road. We thought we were really helping someone out...that was our good deed for the day, but I really think it was a scam!!

Thanks girls for a great time! I can't wait to do it again! This time we will find OPRAH!!

Halloween 2008

Halloween this year was wonderful! We had great weather and had a great time! The kids and I went to Toys R Us for a pre Halloween parade. It was ok..I expected more...but Ryan enjoyed walking around Toys R Us in his costume!

The kids were very excited to go trick or treating! I think Ryan had been practicing for a week, and he was even teaching Madison what to say! She had it down! We were ready to go.

We decided to go to my brother Mike's neighborhood. Jason and Austin also joined us. Ryan loved having his cousin trick or treating with him. Poor Madison couldn't keep up with the boys. My mom and dad also joined us on our adventure! The kids were very excited to have Grammie and Papa go trick or treating with them! I think we only went trick or treating for about an hour and the kids got tons of candy. (which Mike has been taking to work each day)

Ryan's Halloween Party

Today was Ryan's first Halloween party at school! He was so excited all week. (I think I was just as excited as he was) I was so impressed with all of his singing! I love watching all the little ones sing and dance. We loved every minute of it! Mrs. Simon and Miss Bell really did a great job and I give them so much credit. Having 18 3 year olds all in one room and all under control is very impressive!

Ryan was so excited to see Daddy, Grammie and Papa at his party. I guess Me and Madison are the ones who drop him off and pick him up everyday, so we are pretty boring, but when Daddy, Grammie, and Papa come...LOOK OUT!! Gotta love him!!

As I look at the video and the pictures I took today, I have to admit I got a little teary eyed because I am seeing him grow up to be a very independent little boy! Mrs. Simon stopped Mike and I on the way out today and said, "He doesn't look like the little boy who walked in here in September, does he?" And he doesn't, he has grown so much in the last 2 months! In September he was the little boy who didn't want to go to school, didn't want me to leave, and would cry when I would leave. Now he wants to go to school, he doesn't care that I leave (he still requires a big hug and a big kiss before I leave), and he does not have any tears when I leave! What a difference 2 months and a great teacher make!! (now let's hope Mrs. Simon is around for when Madison goes to school, fingers crossed!!)

Halloween Gifts from Grammie

Ok, I don't EVER remember getting gifts for Halloween. Especially what my mom got the kids. We went to Sam's club the other night and the kids fell in love with these animals. Ryan loved the dinosaur and Madison loved the horsey. They are extremely cute but for Halloween??? What happened to candy, and Mom did you now read my last post?!? Just because both the kids cried and said they wanted one, she got it for them! They are really cute and the kids do really love them. But now I have to find room for these too! Geeze, I thought Christmas was just around the corner! If this is what they get for Halloween, I wonder what they will get for Thanksgiving??????

WARNING: ADULT CONTENT BELOW

This next picture Ryan did all by himself! I was on the computer and he kept saying... "we are all together mom" I just said "uh huh Ryan, that's great". He kept saying it and saying it, so I finally turn around and see this.........

I about died! I couldn't believe it! I was laughing so hard...of course I had to grab the camera and take a few pictures! Of course, this is all innocent to him, but to most adults, well, um..you have to admit, it's pretty damn funny! I wonder where he gets this stuff from! It must be his dad!!

Thanks again Grammie for the very friendly animals!! I just hope we don't have babies, because I DO NOT have anymore room in my house!!

Dear Santa.....

I know it's getting time when you are going to be getting a ton of wish lists from many kids. Well, when you get Ryan and Madison's list please consider these photos before full filling their wishes.

These kids have just about every toy Fisher Price makes. Believe it or not, Ryan is always complaining about never having any toys to play with. The kids could start their own band with all the instruments they have. (I must say Madison is pretty good on the piano) Remember Santa, this is only the stuff we have upstairs. Our basement and our garage is full of toys! I don't know why you would bring all these toys for Ryan and Madison each year! It just amazes me! So this year please downsize everything! Maybe a couple cars for Ryan and a couple dolls for Madison. So when you get their list or when they sit on your lap and tell you what they want, just remember these pictures!

Update on Miss Madison

First I would like say thank you everyone who called and everyone who wrote "Get Well" wishes to Madison. Also a BIG HUGE Thank You to my mom who picked up Ryan from preschool today, so I could take Madison to the Doctor. I know Thursday's are a very busy day for her and she didn't even hesitate to do me a favor. Ryan LOVED that HIS Grammie picked him up from school. I guess he ran right into her arms and Mrs. Simon said, well I guess I don't have to ID you! I love it! OK back to Madison...her temperature this morning was 104.5. Up last night with a 104 temp too. Well, first off last Tuesday when she was at the Dr. she was almost 25 pounds, today barely 23 pounds. The Dr. looked at her, and she does have a start of an ear infection and her throat is RAW! As her lymph nodes are swollen. So she is one sick little girl! We got some drugs and hopefully she will be feeling better really soon!! I hate seeing her so sick! Thanks again everyone! Oh and thank you Mom for taking Ryan for the night...I don't think I could have paid him to stay here!

One Sick Little Girl

I just want to start by saying I sure do not miss the nights of having to get up with a little baby. Last night was a big reminder on how much I need and love my sleep. Madison decided to spike a fever yesterday afternoon, I think at that point it was 102. I gave her some Motrin and it didn't seem to bring it down. So I did Tylenol about 2 hours after the Motrin. This seem to bring it down. She seemed to be perking up a little bit. I figured it was just teething. Well at 2 am she wakes up and is on fire. We put her in bed with us and she tossed and turned for about an hour. Around 3 I gave her some Tylenol and some water. She kept saying "wa wa", meaning water. Well, the water and I am guessing the Tylenol didn't stay down. I was wearing everything she had just drank. We got everything situated and took her temperature. Under the arm it was 103.1. HOLY CRAP! So actually it was 104.1 (all you moms know we need to add 1 degree to under the arm temperature) More Motrin and Mike suggested I take her in. So we ended up in the ER at 3:30. By the time we got there her temp was 103.4. They did a chest x-ray, an urine sample, and checked ears and throat. Everything came back good, so it's just a good ole' viral infection, which we have to let "run it's course." We were home by 6 am. Just in time to see Mike off to work and Ryan was getting up! I was hoping t get some sleep but that didn't happen. So needless to say, today was a very lazy day and all of us never got out of our PJ's. I think we pretty much laid on the couch all day. Madison still has the fever, although it has came down, it's only 103. 2 now. I just hope she starts to feel better soon. I just worry so much when babies get such a high fever. The doctors always say not to worry about high temperatures, but I still do! Let's just hope we get some what of a good night sleep tonight!!

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

Today is the day Mike turns 33. I am sure he doesn't mind me telling the whole blog world how old he is! I am still younger so I can do this!! When I find Mike, I found gold! For anyone who does not know him, he is wonderful! He is absolutely my best friend. He will do anything for anyone at any time of the day! He gave me 2 beautiful children, even though one of them took A LOT of work, he did not complain one bit:). He gives me anything I want. He works hard at his job, even though sometimes people don't' give him credit for it! He truly is a hard worker. The word "Lazy" cannot even fit into a sentence when you talk about him.

Mike is a great father. He loves his kids more than anything in the world. I remember when he found he we were having a boy, he was so excited. He wanted a boy so bad. He was so proud to tell everyone about his little boy! Seeing him hold that little boy for the first time made my heart melt. Then came the day when he found out we were having a little girl! He was so proud! He love s Ryan very much, but I am going to tell you there is something about Daddy's little girl, that just gets him. He loves that little girl so much and it makes me fall more and more in love with him when I see him with her, (and Ryan too). I don't know too many dads who bought their little girl a shirt that says "I love Daddy" in size 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. Yup Madison has the same shirt in all sizes. I don't know what we are going to do once she outgrows 24 months! He is just so WONDERFUL! I don't know what I would ever do without him!!

Happy Birthday Mike! You are a wonderful person and We love you so very much!!!

Mike and Ryan Mike and Madison

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you!!

This is the way we ROLL!!

Today was the annual Pumpkin Roll in Montague. It's always a great time, hectic, but a good time. Well, this year was no exception. There were tons of (rude) people and lots of strollers. It is fun though, I really don't think they can be any more organized than they are. This was Ryan's 3rd time doing it and Madison's 1st. Ryan LOVES it, he was so excited this morning and couldn't wait to get to the big hill. It was great weather too! We started early so it was a bit cooler, but by 11am it was nice and warm.

I ran into my cousin's wife Amanda and her two boys. We stuck together and then once the kids rolled the pumpkins we kinda lost her. Like I said there were tons of people there! But I am glad our kids got to hang out and eat cookies before the event started.

Mike was the lucky one who got to stand in the herd of people with the kids and wait for starting time. I told him he could do this year, because I got to do it the last 2 years. I was able to stand on the sidelines and try to get some pictures . It was hard but I was able to get some good shots. It was great fun, but I was also glad to get out of there right after the kids rolled their pumpkins!

After the pumpkin roll we had plans to go to the Norton Shores fire department open house. This open house is by far the best in the county. It is organized great and they have great activities for the kids. The kids were able to shot a fire hose, go in a smoke house, and go for a fire truck ride. I asked the driver if Ryan and I could ride in the front and he told us to jump on in. Ryan LOVED riding in the front. He was able to pull the horn whenever he wanted and thought he was pretty special to be up front when Daddy and Madison had to ride in the back! He did keep checking on Madison to make sure she didn't fall off!

Sorry about the same picture twice, I couldn't get it outta there! This picture is of Ryan in the smoke house. He insisted he go by himself. It made me sad, because it just shows me that he is growing up and doesn't "need" Mike and I as much as before! He still needs us of course, but just these little things shows us that he is becoming independent!

Fire Trucks at the Mall

As everyone probably knows, October is fire safety month. It seems like just about every fire station has something going on. Well every year we try to take Ryan to the mall to see the great display of fire trucks and other rescue vehicles. We made it this year, however it was an icky day! It was raining, it was cold, it was just plan miserable. Didn't stop us though, I told my brother Jason and Mike to suck it up and be big boys that a little rain won't hurt them. The boys loved it, even thought it was raining. It seemed like there wasn't as many trucks there this year or people. Probably because of the rain.

Inside the mall, they have a huge set up with all kinds of different booths with activities for the kids. Well since it was raining, EVERYONE was inside. There was no way I was waiting in line for this. So what else you going to do...GO SHOPPING!! Thanks to Kristin on the great tip that The Children's Place was having a great sale! I didn't shop too long though, I was on a time limit set by both my brother Jason and Mike.

Something little

I got this little survey in an e mail from Theresa today, so I thought I would just post it here and answer the questions. Just something fun to do.



Four, Four, Four, Four...


A) Four places that I go to over and over: preschool, Mom's house, work, and Target (I LOVE Target)

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Mike, Theresa, Michelle, and my mom

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Outback, Olive Garden, Mom's house, and Chen's

D) Four places I would rather be right now: Somewhere really warm, sleeping, (because my kids like to get up BEFORE 6 am), Las Vegas, and probably the mall.

E) Four people I think will respond: Let's hope some people from Blogland!

F) Four TV shows I watch: ER, Super Nanny, General Hospital, and Desperate Housewives

Ok..if you are reading this it's your turn. Copy and paste in your blog and answer!! Have fun!!

No More Paci for Madison

Mike and I decided that this past weekend would be "The Weekend" to take the pacifier away from Madison. We wanted to do this when she turned a year old, but just kept pushing it back. With Ryan, we took it away at exactly 1 year. It was tough! He would cry and I would cry. I swore I would never give my next baby a pacifier. I think it took about a week of crying ourselves to sleep, but then it was done and he didn't miss it. Now it is Madison's turn. I think we were really dreading taking it away because of how difficult it was with Ryan. So every weekend would roll around and we would make up some type of excuse why we couldn't do it. Well, Mike finally said to me, we are taking it away on Friday night. I agreed, but could only imagine what this would bring. Well, Friday night she went to bed and it was only about 25 minutes of whining, not full crying. OK one night done! On to Saturday at nap time. It was tough. She would yell "Mama, Mama, Mama," it brought tears to my eyes. Then when she realized I was not coming to get her, it turned to "Dada, Dada, Dada." Eventually the tears stopped and she went to sleep. The rest of the weekend went great! She did wonderful. Hardly no tears at all...and today at nap time, no tears either. I am hoping this is not a fluke and she is going to make this easy on us!

Taking the pacifier away "cold turkey" is hard, but in my opinion it's the only way to go. I know, just like everything else we do, everyone will always say it's much hard on us parents than it is on the kids, but boy do they know how to make us feel guilty!! Let's just hope the rest of the week goes smoothly and she forgets she even had that ugly "thing".

First Full week of Preschool.......DONE!

Well, both Ryan and I have made it through the first full week of preschool! Ryan did really good on Tuesday. He did start to cry as soon as we pulled into the parking lot and walking into school. But it wasn't a "big" cry it was more like just tearing up. Once we made into the classroom, he was hanging on to my leg pretty tight. Another teacher came and took him, and got him interested in something else so I could leave. As I was walking out, he had already settled down and was good to go! (for the record, I only got a little teary eyed) It's hard to hear your child cry, when you know that you can make him stop by comforting him. Thursday was an even better day. Although the tears did start at home this day. He told me "I can't go to school because I am too little." So cute. As soon as we turned down the road that leads to the school he said he didn't want to go. I just changed the subject. We got to school and he did surprisingly well. There were only a couple tears (no tears from mom, yay) and when his teacher saw him, she asked him for a hug and Ryan ran right into her arms. This made me feel so good because this showed me Ryan does feel safe with her. He will not give just anyone a hug. As he was hugging her I left, he was fine! This was a major accomplishment for him! (and for me, for me not to cry!) He really loves school once he gets there and he tells us about his day all day. So he need to get over the anxiety of me leaving him and he will do wonderful!
As for a little Madison update, she is doing great! Talking up a storm, never stops talking. Her vocabulary has grown so much. Everyday she says something new. She has even put together sentences. "Where's Daddy?" "Daddy go Night Night!" I love it! Oh and Daddy's big accomplish is what he taught her. I ask her "Who's girl are you?" She will answer "Dada"and then laugh! He thinks he is so smart!! Don't worry Mike we are working on changing that! hahaha She loves taking Ryan to school. Loves seeing him after his day! She really does miss him when he is gone! But she really enjoys playing with his toys and stuff she is not "allowed" to play with when he is home! These kids really are my life, and I am enjoying life so much right now! I am so thankful and lucky for the family I have!

Ryan's 1st day of preschool!

Yesterday marked a big milestone in our household. Ryan started preschool. I really don't think I would have put him in preschool this year, but he needs to get away from me and learn how to socialize with other kids. He loves to play with other kids, but sometimes just does not how to initiate play. He has been with me since day one. The only people that has ever watched him is my mom, my dad, and my brother Jason. I am very fussy about where my kids go, and I want to make sure they are well taken care of. It's just hard to let him go. I know he is growing up, but he is still my baby!
Ryan did very good at school. His first day was only an hour long and we got to stay with him. Mike took the day off of work to support me. Well, I didn't know that we got to stay with him on the first day until after Mike took the day off of work or I would have had him take Thursday off of work. Thursday is going to be a different story. It's going to be a very hard day. Before we left his school on Tuesday, Ryan and his friends were sitting on the rug listening to the teacher. Mrs. Simon was talking about the end of the day routine to the children. Then she started talking to the parents about what to do on Thursday. How we need to just drop the kids off and walk out the door and don't look back. Well, apparently Ryan thought she was telling us we could go, because he started crying right there! I felt so bad for and still have the picture of him covering his eyes and crying. It brings tears to my eyes right now! I went over to him and told him I wasn't going anywhere and he was leaving with us today. Poor kid. Like I said it's going to be rough on Thursday. Thank goodness I will have Madison to lean on!!!

Hanging up his backpack!!

He loved the science table! Making new friends!