I know we are not alone in saying that we have very crazy, chaotic lives. There is always a bbq to go to, laundry to be done, phone calls to make, loved ones to visit, dinners to make, babies to bathe. Sigh. Just typing that makes me tired!
We are really trying to complete some projects around the house and feel like we never have time to do them, in between, well...."life". The rare nights when we don't have any plans, we still have to cook dinner, clean up dinner, play and read to Acadia, give her a bath, put her down for the night, then we are completely exhausted! I wish that I had more energy, more time, more motivation to complete these projects, but the fact of the matter is, that when the little girl goes down for the night, Matt and I will most likely be found on the couch with a glass of wine. Completely spent.
So, for TFT, my question is: how do you do it? How do you motivate yourself when you are physically and emotionally exhausted from your day? We could really use the inspiration right now! LOL!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thanks a LOT Pino Grigio!
My friend Jules made me a CD last night with a bunch of really cool, mellow songs - I love that CD! (Thanks Jules!) She and Sammy also had us over last night for dinner and Jules and I had a few glasses of wine with dinner. Wine. Always. Makes. Me. Cry.
So here is the conversation I had with my poor husband last night in the car ride home, while listening to Jules' CD.
This song came on and I burst into tears.
Matt - What's wrong?!
Jenny - This is the song that was playing when Denny died!!!
Matt - OMG! ......Who's Denny?!
Jenny - Giving poor Matti dagger looks with my eyes. IZZIES FIANCE!!!! ((Silently goes back to crying)))
So here is the conversation I had with my poor husband last night in the car ride home, while listening to Jules' CD.
This song came on and I burst into tears.
Matt - What's wrong?!
Jenny - This is the song that was playing when Denny died!!!
Matt - OMG! ......Who's Denny?!
Jenny - Giving poor Matti dagger looks with my eyes. IZZIES FIANCE!!!! ((Silently goes back to crying)))
Shake it off!
After playing in the horseshoe pits last night with Uncle Sammy, he told her to shake it off! It's hard to hear, but you can see her shaking it off a bit :)
Peek a boo!!
We went to visit my aunt recently and Cadi had a fun time playing peek a boo down by the lake :)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Happy birthday Uncle Sammy!!
Sammy's birthday was yesterday and his fiance threw him a bbq. Honestly, she is the best cook ever! It was a perfect night, weatherwise, and was fun to catch up with the girls while the guys played horseshoes. We joined them after a while and played some games with them. Miss Acadia loved playing with Uncle Sammy in the horseshoe pit, too!!
Happy birthday, Sammy - we love you!
ps. I am SO bummed, but somehow I didn't get any pics of Jimmy and Miche :( I don't know how that happened!
Driving Uncle Sammy's boat
The boys playing horseshoes
Happy birthday, Sammy - we love you!
ps. I am SO bummed, but somehow I didn't get any pics of Jimmy and Miche :( I don't know how that happened!
Driving Uncle Sammy's boat
The boys playing horseshoes
Some updates on Acadia
*She now says: book, cheese, hi, no, mamma, dadda, daddy, boat, up, juice, baby, doggie, car, hot, snack, boo!, baa (when she sees a pic of a lamb), mmmmmm (when she sees a pic of a cow), cookie, hat, choo choo (when she sees a train)
*She signs: milk, more, please, eat, all done, drink
*She runs like crazy, plays peek-a-boo, loves playing in the park, is obsessed with kicking her bouncy ball, likes to pick flowers and smell them, play in the dirt, read books
*Can show you where her toes, eyes, nose, ears, mouth and tummy are
There are probably things I am forgetting, but I wanted to give you a quick update!
*She signs: milk, more, please, eat, all done, drink
*She runs like crazy, plays peek-a-boo, loves playing in the park, is obsessed with kicking her bouncy ball, likes to pick flowers and smell them, play in the dirt, read books
*Can show you where her toes, eyes, nose, ears, mouth and tummy are
There are probably things I am forgetting, but I wanted to give you a quick update!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
8 silly monkeys jumping on the bed...
So, maybe she wasn't jumping on the bed, but Acadia did fall down and bonk her head. Twice. In 5 minutes. Poor thing was trying to pick up her new train and she tripped and fell down on the corner of a wooden crate. I picked her up and looked at her forehead, expecting to see blood and mentally counting the amount of stitches she would need, but thankfully, there was no blood. A bruise and welt popped up immediately, but nothing our little friend, Boo-Boo bunny couldn't handle. I rocked with her a bit and she calmed down and was ready to play in no time.
But. Not 5 minutes later, she was trying to sit on her wooden chair at her table and she fell over and landed on the table on her forehead. I was in the bedroom when it happened, but heard Matt yelling at me to come out. When I opened our bedroom door, I saw him running by me and into the kitchen to get another ice pack. Poor Acadia was freaking out and I snapped at Matti for reacting in such a way. Immediately feeling badly for snapping at him, we both took care of Acadia and her second egg of the day. She was fine after a few minutes, and after some rocking, she fell asleep.
After she was down for her nap, Matti and I were able to sit on the couch and discuss both incidents. IMO, I don't think overreacting helps any situation, especially when dealing with a baby, who looks at you for how they should react. The weird thing is that Matt is the most calm person I have EVER seen in a crisis. He is the "go to" guy for our friends, family and, of course, me, in any sort of overwhelming situation. He is calm, rational and thinks very well under pressure. Me? Nope. I usually either freak out, cry, or freeze up in a time of crisis.
Which is why it's so interesting to me how differently we react when Acadia hurts herself. I'm more of a "Ohh! Good job! Nice fall! Come on, get up - you're ok, my big girl" sort of person. When I know that she seriously hurt herself, I will rock with her until she calms down, then try to distract her with juice, a snack, toy, book etc.
I think that maybe it is a bit more overwhelming and upsetting for Matt to see his little girl hurt. I'm not sure if it's because I am home with her all day long to see all the boo boos she gets every hour on the hour or mommy's instinct that keeps me calm when she hurts herself, because in situations where someone else gets hurt or there is another sort of crisis, I don't do well and often overreact.
What about you? How do you react when your child is injured (either a little fall or big fall). How does your husband/wife react?
But. Not 5 minutes later, she was trying to sit on her wooden chair at her table and she fell over and landed on the table on her forehead. I was in the bedroom when it happened, but heard Matt yelling at me to come out. When I opened our bedroom door, I saw him running by me and into the kitchen to get another ice pack. Poor Acadia was freaking out and I snapped at Matti for reacting in such a way. Immediately feeling badly for snapping at him, we both took care of Acadia and her second egg of the day. She was fine after a few minutes, and after some rocking, she fell asleep.
After she was down for her nap, Matti and I were able to sit on the couch and discuss both incidents. IMO, I don't think overreacting helps any situation, especially when dealing with a baby, who looks at you for how they should react. The weird thing is that Matt is the most calm person I have EVER seen in a crisis. He is the "go to" guy for our friends, family and, of course, me, in any sort of overwhelming situation. He is calm, rational and thinks very well under pressure. Me? Nope. I usually either freak out, cry, or freeze up in a time of crisis.
Which is why it's so interesting to me how differently we react when Acadia hurts herself. I'm more of a "Ohh! Good job! Nice fall! Come on, get up - you're ok, my big girl" sort of person. When I know that she seriously hurt herself, I will rock with her until she calms down, then try to distract her with juice, a snack, toy, book etc.
I think that maybe it is a bit more overwhelming and upsetting for Matt to see his little girl hurt. I'm not sure if it's because I am home with her all day long to see all the boo boos she gets every hour on the hour or mommy's instinct that keeps me calm when she hurts herself, because in situations where someone else gets hurt or there is another sort of crisis, I don't do well and often overreact.
What about you? How do you react when your child is injured (either a little fall or big fall). How does your husband/wife react?
Camping
This past weekend we went camping with our friends; Sam, Jules, Miche, Jimmy, Ross, Lindsey, Kelly and Nick. If you live in Vermont, than you know what the weather has been like and it was no different this weekend! Rain, rain, rain! We arrived on Friday afternoon and stayed until Sunday am. Saturday actually was pretty nice for most of the day, and the girls were able to lay out in the sun while the guys played games on the beach. My mom came to visit on Saturday afternoon with Acadia, which was awesome (thanks, mom, for babysitting!). We can't wait to take Cadi camping with us the next time we go camping!!
The battery in my camera died while we were camping, so I don't have very many pictures....
Ross wearing the 3Man Hat
Sam, the chef
Miche and Lindsey
The best part about camping! The food :)
What most of our weekend looked like - trying to get out of the rain!
Sweetness hanging out
The battery in my camera died while we were camping, so I don't have very many pictures....
Ross wearing the 3Man Hat
Sam, the chef
Miche and Lindsey
The best part about camping! The food :)
What most of our weekend looked like - trying to get out of the rain!
Sweetness hanging out
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Feeling the need to explain a bit...
My husband (always the accountant) says to me last night after reading my "Pay it forward" post, "So....you're just going to buy someone a present? Why? How much are you going to spend? I don't understand." Ha!!! LOL! Yes, Matti is very black and white, whereas, I? Not so much.
So, here's the deal, in case a few of you out there aren't sure what this contest is for: The point isn't to just go out and buy a present for someone, although presents are always nice :) I will select the name at random, so it could be a friend, family member or someone who regularly reads my blog. If I pick a friend or family member, maybe I will surprise them and bring them over a special meal, bottle of wine and some hand cut wild flowers. Maybe I'll buy them their favorite CD or book. Or I could take them out for a mini-spa day, out to lunch, burn a CD with all their favorite songs. I also have an idea in mind if someone who reads my blog, but lives out of the area wins, too. The possibilities are endless...
My only request to the winner is that they pay the good deed forward. In any way they wish. The goal of pay it forward being to start a chain of events in which people are performing good deeds, for no reason, to a friend, family member, stranger, neighbor, etc.
It isn't about the money. It's about doing something nice for someone else, just because.
Example - Our next door neighbor, who we don't talk to very much - we never seem to be outside at the same time, decided while we were in Chicago to mow our lawn every time he mowed his. How nice is that?! We expected to come home to a disaster of a front lawn and we came home to a clean, immaculate lawn instead, because of one person's generosity. What was probably a simple act for him made our day!
Also, I have had a couple people ask me if they need to post a response under the "pay it forward post" to win, and you don't. Just a comment under any post from now until Friday will do. I have also decided that if you post more than once, you will be entered in more than once, because why not? I'm the boss, so to say, of this contest and I can make up the rules! LOL! And I have some very loyal readers who are so good about leaving comments, which I always appreciate, so I wanted to give them a good shot of winning :)
If anyone has any other questions, feel free to post them and I will respond asap.
So, here's the deal, in case a few of you out there aren't sure what this contest is for: The point isn't to just go out and buy a present for someone, although presents are always nice :) I will select the name at random, so it could be a friend, family member or someone who regularly reads my blog. If I pick a friend or family member, maybe I will surprise them and bring them over a special meal, bottle of wine and some hand cut wild flowers. Maybe I'll buy them their favorite CD or book. Or I could take them out for a mini-spa day, out to lunch, burn a CD with all their favorite songs. I also have an idea in mind if someone who reads my blog, but lives out of the area wins, too. The possibilities are endless...
My only request to the winner is that they pay the good deed forward. In any way they wish. The goal of pay it forward being to start a chain of events in which people are performing good deeds, for no reason, to a friend, family member, stranger, neighbor, etc.
It isn't about the money. It's about doing something nice for someone else, just because.
Example - Our next door neighbor, who we don't talk to very much - we never seem to be outside at the same time, decided while we were in Chicago to mow our lawn every time he mowed his. How nice is that?! We expected to come home to a disaster of a front lawn and we came home to a clean, immaculate lawn instead, because of one person's generosity. What was probably a simple act for him made our day!
Also, I have had a couple people ask me if they need to post a response under the "pay it forward post" to win, and you don't. Just a comment under any post from now until Friday will do. I have also decided that if you post more than once, you will be entered in more than once, because why not? I'm the boss, so to say, of this contest and I can make up the rules! LOL! And I have some very loyal readers who are so good about leaving comments, which I always appreciate, so I wanted to give them a good shot of winning :)
If anyone has any other questions, feel free to post them and I will respond asap.
Do not touch
If I tell Acadia not to touch something, she will do one of two things: stare at the object and say no over and over, OR put one finger on it! And then freak out when I lead her away from whatever it is I don't want her touching.
The other day, I was trying to empty the dishwasher and the dishes were hot, so I didn't want her touching them.
Please note that I don't normally laugh when disciplining my child, but since I knew I was videotaping, I was cracking up that I actually caught it on tape!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Pay it forward
Note: I am totally stealing this idea from my blogger friend LeeAnn - thanks for the idea!! :)
So I try to check LeeAnn's blog out every day, as I do with the rest of the blogs I read, and I noticed today that she is taking part in a "Pay it forward" contest. The premises of Pay it forward being to do a random act of kindness for someone with the request that they pay it forward to someone else.
I really wanted to win LeeAnn's contest, so that I could pay it forward - I mean, what a great idea, right!? Then I thought to myself. Hmmmm. Why don't I just start my own little contest, regardless of if I win LeeAnn's contest. So that's what I'm going to do :) All you have to do to "enter" is comment on my blog at any point from today until next Friday and I will announce the winner on August 2nd. If you don't know how to comment; all you have to do is click on the bottom of my posts, where it will say "1 comment, 0 comments, etc." and a comment box will pop up. If you don't have a gmail account, you may leave a comment under the "anonymous" identity.
Good luck everyone!!!
So I try to check LeeAnn's blog out every day, as I do with the rest of the blogs I read, and I noticed today that she is taking part in a "Pay it forward" contest. The premises of Pay it forward being to do a random act of kindness for someone with the request that they pay it forward to someone else.
I really wanted to win LeeAnn's contest, so that I could pay it forward - I mean, what a great idea, right!? Then I thought to myself. Hmmmm. Why don't I just start my own little contest, regardless of if I win LeeAnn's contest. So that's what I'm going to do :) All you have to do to "enter" is comment on my blog at any point from today until next Friday and I will announce the winner on August 2nd. If you don't know how to comment; all you have to do is click on the bottom of my posts, where it will say "1 comment, 0 comments, etc." and a comment box will pop up. If you don't have a gmail account, you may leave a comment under the "anonymous" identity.
Good luck everyone!!!
Art projects
It has been really rainy here lately, so I've been pulling out the art supplies. Yesterday we made a watermelon for daddy. He loved it and Cadi and I had fun making it!
To do this project:
Brush purple (or black, brown) paint on your child's finger with a small brush. Then, either let them or do it for them, depending on the age, press dots onto the paper with their fingertips. Cut the red construction paper onto a piece of green construction paper, then trim to make the shape of a watermelon.
Hanging her art proudly on the fridge
To do this project:
Brush purple (or black, brown) paint on your child's finger with a small brush. Then, either let them or do it for them, depending on the age, press dots onto the paper with their fingertips. Cut the red construction paper onto a piece of green construction paper, then trim to make the shape of a watermelon.
Hanging her art proudly on the fridge
Thursday, July 24, 2008
TFT - Feeling lucky
My sister in law, her boyfriend and their son were over the other night for dinner and we had the "we-really- need-to-see-more-of-each-other-but-both-of-our-schedules-are-so-crazy" talk. You know the talk; I'm sure you've had it with friends, family or both. Some people you may be able to see weekly, others monthly and still others only a few times a year, due to schedules.
It is easy to feel a bit stressed with so much going on. The summer seems to be flying by and every night of the week is booked. The rare nights when we don't have any plans, we schedule some house time to work on our projects, but are too pooped to do anything. Hence - our last little kitchen projects, garage projects, etc. have not been getting done.
But. Those projects will always be there, won't they? On a daily basis, I think about how lucky we are that we are so busy. We have a group of friends that we consider family, family that we consider friends, and loads of people in our lives that are completely in love with our little girl. How can you get any better than that? So, yes. Even though things are crazy and hectic week to week...can you imagine the alternative? Yes, we are very lucky, indeed.
TFT - Tell me why you're lucky!
It is easy to feel a bit stressed with so much going on. The summer seems to be flying by and every night of the week is booked. The rare nights when we don't have any plans, we schedule some house time to work on our projects, but are too pooped to do anything. Hence - our last little kitchen projects, garage projects, etc. have not been getting done.
But. Those projects will always be there, won't they? On a daily basis, I think about how lucky we are that we are so busy. We have a group of friends that we consider family, family that we consider friends, and loads of people in our lives that are completely in love with our little girl. How can you get any better than that? So, yes. Even though things are crazy and hectic week to week...can you imagine the alternative? Yes, we are very lucky, indeed.
TFT - Tell me why you're lucky!
Some exciting news!
I have some exciting news to share!
1. My sister in law and her boyfriend are getting married!! We found out last night and couldn't be more happy for them :) They don't have a date set yet, because they just got engaged, but it's exciting to know that they will be getting married soon!
2. Our friends Dan and Christine just welcomed a baby boy into their family this morning!!! His name is Grant and I can NOT wait to meet him tomorrow!!
Congratulations!
1. My sister in law and her boyfriend are getting married!! We found out last night and couldn't be more happy for them :) They don't have a date set yet, because they just got engaged, but it's exciting to know that they will be getting married soon!
2. Our friends Dan and Christine just welcomed a baby boy into their family this morning!!! His name is Grant and I can NOT wait to meet him tomorrow!!
Congratulations!
What the heck???
Ok, I know this isn't the best video and she really wasn't in the mood to have mommy whip out the camera, but I am so confused as to how she knows some of the things in this book.
Someone gave us the book "Baby Signs for Mealtime" and Acadia really loves to "read" it. She loves anything with a baby in it, and this one is filled with babies so she reads it every single day. I haven't gone through the signs in this book, but somehow she is able to show me: eat, drink, more, all gone, hot, cereal, ice cream and bib!! I have showed her and she knows the signs for eat, drink, more and all gone, but she has never seen them in a book. Plus, we have always said "all done" for all gone and raised both of our hands in the air for all done (even though it isn't the real sign for all gone) and she does "all done" properly - by waving her hands back and forth with palms touching. I have NO idea how she knows that, other than she is copying the little girl in the book. Same goes for hot - I have never shown her hot in the book - she just points at the word and says hot. I am baffled. I seriously don't know how she learned this stuff by "reading" this book, but somehow she did!!
BTW - I wasn't able to catch it on tape, but the first sign was drink, then she repeats it when I ask her what she just signed.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A day in the life of Acadia
Cadi is doing great at day care! When I dropped her off on Friday morning, she started clapping and laughing when I pulled into the parking lot :)
Here is her daily sheet from yesterday:
Today we began our morning exploring within our classroom. The letter floor puzzle was popular. Friends also had interest in the sorter peg toys. On the table paper was taped and star crayons were out for our friends to color with. We also enjoyed reading stories and singing songs this morning. After morning snack and diapers we got into the buggy and went for a walk and ended on the playground. After we were finished digging, running and climbing, we joined the Bear Cubs in the rec room where we played until lunch.
Here is her daily sheet from yesterday:
Today we began our morning exploring within our classroom. The letter floor puzzle was popular. Friends also had interest in the sorter peg toys. On the table paper was taped and star crayons were out for our friends to color with. We also enjoyed reading stories and singing songs this morning. After morning snack and diapers we got into the buggy and went for a walk and ended on the playground. After we were finished digging, running and climbing, we joined the Bear Cubs in the rec room where we played until lunch.
Gimme that!
Lately Cadi has really been in love with her diapers. If she finds one (a clean one! LOL!) she'll promptly put it on her head and walk proudly around with her new hat. Daddy tried to steal her new toy and she thought it was hilarious!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Please and thank you
Lately, Acadia has been a total sponge. She is repeating words left and right and actually remembering them, which is so much fun. Every time she says a new word, we make her say it a few times in a row to make sure she's actually saying it and it's not our imagination!
Tonight, I have her book she wanted and she said tank too. So, of course I had to get the camera and see if she really did say thank you, which she did! I know she doesn't understand the concept of please and thank you yet, but I do think it's important that she's learning them. I feel badly, though, because if you notice, she says please when I ask her to, but I didn't hear her until I was downloading this video. Oops. Way to go, mom! BTW - for some reason, her new favorite toy is a diaper! WTH?
Also, she's reading 8 Silly Monkeys and whenever I read, "Momma called the Dr. and the Dr. said - No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" I shake my finger, and tonight I caught her babbling over the book and shaking her finger.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Game
What an AWESOME game!!! The Red Sox kicked ax! It was the first, and probably the only, game of the season for us and we enjoyed every minute!! The beer, the popcorn, the crowds - there is nothing like baseball!!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Pre-game drinks
Before we went to the game this past weekend, we went out for dinner and drinks at Game On. This bar was SO awesome - it had flat screen tvs everywhere and EVERYONE was wearing something with Red Sox on it. It was a lot of fun - perfect place to get us excited to see the game!! I wish Burlington had a bar like it - I know our friends would be there on every game night :)
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