Computer Loss

My computer died last week ... a quick but harsh death ... and I lost everything ...

Baby Bath Tub

Lincoln has graduated from the sink to the baby bath tub ... he was just getting too big for the sink and it was a bit too slippery and looking uncomfortable ... he was a bit startled with the baby bathtub at first but he grabbed hold of my hand and felt a bit more comfortable ... it was a much easier experience too than the sink ... I look forward to when Linc and Skye can take a bath together ... she is looking forward to it too ... she hangs out with me when he gets his bath and asks constantly when can they play in the tub ... my answer is, "not soon enough" ...

Outback Birthday

For David's birthday dinner we went to Outback Steakhouse ... it has been years since we have been there ... and can I just say ... it was delicious ...

Our kids seemed to not be themselves ... usually everyone is very good while we were out but Skye needed to dance and dance a lot ... we were in a bit of a traffic area so we kept going out front to dance ... while Linc needed to cry and cry a lot ... so he would come too ... David and I just took turns eating or going out front ... and despite the craziness we laughed the whole time ... ate some great food ... marveled at our kids ... and really enjoyed ourselves ... I hope we don't wait years again to go back ...

Family Birthday Party

Today we had a family birthday party celebrating Skye's, Ellie's and David's birthday ... we all went to my parents house ... cooked out ... opened presents and everyone had their own cake for the festivities ... it was a wonderful afternoon and so great that in the family we have 3 May birthdays (we have 3 March birthdays too ... Abby, Me and Lincoln) ...

Schuyler just adores Ellie so much so I think it is an added treat for her to have her birthday party with Ellie ... makes it very special for Schuyler ...

And heck David is just cute at his birthday even if he isn't thrilled about getting older ...

Dress Yourself Day

I absolutely adore "Dress Yourself Day" ... just love love love it ... I need to point out it was about 90 degrees with something like 80% humidity ... crazy hot to be wearing a winter hat ... but it did match the polka-dots in the shirt and that is what is important ... and the white patten leather shoes with shorts is especially wonderful ...

By the way she figured out on her own it was too hot to wear the hat ... it lasted about 3 minutes outside ... so I didn't have to be a mean mommy and make her take it off for fear of heat stroke ... she avoided it all on her own ...

Montauk

So because daddy has a close association with Montauk we got this shirt the other day ... it is really a boys shirt but it works perfectly as a nightgown ... it is the new favorite ...

Cockcorn

This is one of the words Schuyler mispronounces ... most of the time I saw the word correctly for her ... but this one cracks me up every time that I don't correct her ... I still say popcorn when we are talking about it but she always comes back with cockcorn ...

It was especially funny in the grocery store yesterday when she yelled out, "Mommy we have to get some cockcorn we just have to" ... sure did bring a smile to my face ...

Duckbill Pringles

Ahhhh the joy of making your first duckbill with Pringles ... there was a lot of practice (because who doesn't want more and more Pringles) and so many giggles ...

Client Loss

So yesterday I lost a client from my web design and hosting ... and I am trying to figure out how I feel about it ...

He has been my customer since 2000 ... 9 years ... it is a long time ... I am upset about it but not as much as I thought I should be ... I lost him because I chose family over work ... which I know is always the way to go ...

He wanted a new site design which I was happy about because that would be a nice check for us and would totally help out during my maternity leave ... but he asked about it at the beginning of March ... I thought I could put it together for him faster than I was able ... I thought the new design would be finished before the new baby arrived ... it wasn't ...

March was crazy ... work was very very busy ... and I was very very pregnant and exhausted ... most nights when I got home I spent time with Schuyler and then spent time with sleep ... it was all I felt capable of doing ... on late nights I was usually still doing office work to try and get ready for my absence ...

With the construction going on and the house a total disarray I just wasn't myself ... I really figured I would have plenty of time to work on it once I was on maternity leave ... but I was wrong ...

Maternity leave with the second child is way different than with the first child ... with Skye when she slept I had plenty of time to work on things ... clean up the house ... nap ... do office work ... it was easy ... she also loved her swing ... so she was right beside me while I did the things I needed to do ...

With Linc it is totally different ... he doesn't like the swing or the bouncy seat ... and it has taken me several weeks to realize that when I am not holding him he does well in his crib ... I hate that he is away from the rest of us during the time he is asleep but it is how it is ... each child lets you know what they like and don't like ...

But when he is laying down I want to spend time with Skye ... it is a gift that I get these few precious weeks home with her ... that I get to see her more than an hour in the morning and 2 or 3 hours in the evening ... I want to soak up every available moment with her ...

So why does it feel so wrong that I didn't just put all that aside to get a customer's site done ... I took on the task I should have done it ... but his big beef was that I couldn't talk on the phone when he wanted me to ... that I wanted to communicate through e-mail and then talk after reading it ... when it was good for me ... when I didn't have screaming kids and guests and what not ... because the few times we spoke on the phone all that was going on and 5 minutes after hanging up I forgot everything he asked for ... but he is not an email person and this didn't work for him ...

I think I am a bit upset at how I found out ... he sent an email asking me to transfer his domain to GoDaddy.com ... that was it ... nothing else ...

He is a customer of ours at work ... and I know that most people find him to be a PITA ... advertisers have fired him forgoing the money because it isn't worth it ... but I on the other hand am sad to lose the money ... and a customer ...

Sad thing is in about a month I am back at work ... and he called me at work all the time because he knew when I was there and that I answer the phone ... so 9 years down the tubes because I was putting my family and their needs first ... I am proud of myself for doing ... but it doesn't make it all any easier ...

Myyyyyy Noooooose

So Skye is sick ... she woke up very upset ... crying so hard she made herself throw up ... I was still in bed beause it has only been an hour and a half since I had laid down ... but I heard her with David ...

She has taken to the couch and about every 5 minutes she wails ... "myyyyyyy nooooose ... oh my nose" ... the poor thing ... I feel so bad for her ... but I gotta say ... it was almost easier before she could really communicate ... I could just take care of her ... now she fights it ... and can let me know how miserable she really is ... just makes me feel worse for her ...

Lincoln in the Lawn

More Caterpillar Fun

As soon as we went outside today Skye started looking for her caterpillar ... but unfortunately he was not around ... we ran around and played and then she started yelling, "Mommy he came back ... he came back!!" ... and there he was (or one that looks just like the caterpillar from yesterday) ... she was soooooo excited that she ran right over and picked him up ... yesterday she barely pet him and today she was carrying him all over the back yard ... having him climb up her arm and shirt ... giving him kisses ... it was so cute and so great to see her not scared of a bug ...

She tried really hard to get us to let him come in the house ... she wanted to sleep with him ... we had to explain he needed to stay outside because that is where he live ... especially when she proclaimed him her new best friend ...

My Caterpillar Friend

Recently Skye has become very scared of bugs ... just hates them ... although a huge spider in the house the other night didn't freak her out but a moth makes her crazy ...

Today we were playing in the backyard when I heard a desperate scream for "MOMMY" ... there at the top of Skye's slide was a Caterpillar and it needed to go NOW ...

I went over and showed her there was nothing to be afraid of ... pet the Caterpillar ... we talked about one of her favorite Little Einstein episodes where the Caterpillar goes off and becomes a butterfly ... and then I picked him up and moved him over to the fire pit ...

Well it was a total break through for her ... she became enthralled with him ... even touched him ... then said we should get our cameras which I am so happy about ... because I absolutely love the photos of her with the Caterpillar ...

She got him some leaves so he would have something to eat ... she showed him to daddy as soon as he got home and all night she talked about her Caterpillar ... was he OK in the rain ... has he gone to sleep now that it is dark ... she thinks he is great ... and tonight she has wanted to look at the photos over and over again ...

I hope her new fearless attitude toward at least caterpillars sticks around for a while ...

Bread

David has been working on perfecting his bread recipe using his quickly becoming famous sourdough starter ... this is the second try ...

I not only found the loaves beautiful ... they were so tasty as well ... he doesn't think it is quite perfect yet ... I of course told him to keep on try and I would keep on tasting ...

Good-bye Dr. Cole

I had my 6 week postpartum appointment today ... it was the first time I saw my doctor since I gave birth to Lincoln because he went on vacation right after ... so I was very happy to see him and catch up ...

I just adore my doctor ... I interviewed several doctors when we started talking about having a family and he was the best by far ... I didn't know if I would ever find a doc I liked as much as Dr. Klein in Cali ... but I did ...

He told me I needed to make my yearly appointment for 4 months from now and then said, "But this is the last time I will see you. I am moving to Seattle." ... my jaw just dropped ... I was stunned and bummed and even began to tear up ... I don't want to find a new doctor ... I want him as my doctor ...

David and I toss around the idea of another child ... or if we decide not to I want to have ablation done ... I wanted him to be the doctor that does all that ...

I am just really so sad he is moving away ... I will really miss him ... it is hard finding a doctor that you really like and trust so much ...

Schuyler's 3rd Birthday

 
Schuyler's 3rd Birthday 5/13/09

There were so many great photos and videos from the day I made a montage rather than post the pictures ...

I can't believe 3 years ago today I was giving birth to my little big girl ... seems like yesterday ... the time really does zoom by ...

We started the festivities yesterday by making party hats ... which was a blast ... and it made her even more excited for her birthday ... she has been talking about her birthday for a month now but this activity let her know it was almost the big day ... for the last month she has been telling us she needs party hats, cake and candles for her birthday and we made sure she had all those things ...

She woke up this morning and saw her party hats on the table ready for the celebration ... along with balloons (her favorite) and cards (which she LOVES to open - she even opened all of my Mother's Day ones for me) and a present on the table ... she was in awe of it all ...

The present was a jump rope with bee handles on it and she couldn't stop saying "thank you" ... she has wanted a jump rope that is her size for some time now ...

After cinnamon rolls for breakfast we got dressed ... grabbed "kitty" and headed to the mall ... once there we headed straight to Build-a-Bear where she picked out a new outfit for kitty and found out they now have tiny versions of their animals ... so your stuffed animal can have its very own stuffed animal ... so of course Kitty needed her own kitty ...

We then went and had french fries in the food court (such a treat) and headed for the car ... she kept saying she wanted to go to the car and pointing us in the direction of where the car was ... turned out it wasn't our car she wanted to go to she wanted to play in the play area at the mall ... I didn't even know it was there and David said it has been at least 6 months since she has been there ... but she remembered it and where it was ... so we hung out there for some time so she could play and run around and have a blast ...

Everyone was wiped out when we got home so we got to take a nice family nap and rest up for the most exciting part of the day ... CAKE ... she woke up asking for cake for breakfast so it was a long wait for the end of the day ...

We all donned our party hats ... lit the candles and sang happy birthday ... and she was in heaven ... she looked oh so happy ... as soon as she blew out the candles she asked if we could do it again ... and why not ... you have to wait 364 days for your next birthday ... so we lit the candles again and sang happy birthday again and it was even better the second time around ...

We all loved the ice cream cake ... Schuyler kept proclaiming, "It's delicious mommy. Thank you." ...

Later she was passed out with a bowl of spilled apples on her bed and her jump rope in her hand ... you know it is a great day when that is how you fall asleep ...

Birthdays were always so special in our house ... my parents always made me feel super special on my birthday and I looked forward to big day all year ... I still do even at age 39 ... I sure hope we are instilling that feeling in our kids ... it is nice to have that great feeling ... it has always meant a lot to me and I am thankful for it ... I hope one day Schuyler and Lincoln feel the same way ...

Mother's Day With Two

Well it was my first Mother's Day with two kids and it was fabulous ... it started off with everyone ... including my littlest one sleeping in ... I got a glorious 6.5 hours of sleep ... it was amazing ...

Then I came down to the most amazing pancake breakfast ... David has a sourdough starter and made us pancakes ... I could have sat there and eaten them forever they were soooooooo delicious ... I also got wonderful cards from my kids and husband ... chocolates (which Skye was very excited about) and the whole day was about playing with my family ...

Everything about the day was perfect ... and we ended with David fixing an amazing steak dinner with corn on the cob and baked potatos ... it was wonderful ... I'm just so very lucky to be a mom to such wonderful kids and have such a sweet husband to share the whole experience with ... every day it just gets better and better ...

Mug Painting

Today Schuyler, Lincoln and I went up to the shopping center and had a wonderful time ... our main goal was to paint a coffee mug for mommy ... Caillou makes one for his mommy and Skye thought it was a wonderful idea ... she has been talking about it for ages and today was the day ...

It is the cutest little place and we had a great time ... and Lincoln totally cooperated ... he slept pretty much the whole time ... Schuyler wound up painting two mugs ... one for mommy for Mother's Day and one for her daddy's birthday that is coming up ... we had a great time ...

We also went to McDonald's for a snack and finally the play area was fixed ... we've been a couple of times after Lincoln's doctors appointments and it has been closed ... but today it was open and Skye played while Lincoln ate ... she had a blast with all the other kids ... then we hung out in the toy store ... it is our favorite one ... they have a train table and books to read and a doll house ...

We were gone all day long and had a blast ... it was super hot out but that didn't stop us from having a great time!!!

Love

Big Girl Underwear

Today, like I've done so many times before, I asked Skye, after she went pee pee in the potty, if she wanted to put on a pull-up or big girl underwear ... and for the very first time she said she wanted big girl underwear ... I was shocked ... that had never been the answer ... and to be honest I was a bit apprehensive that once we went into her room and got them that she would have a mini freak out and not want to wear them ...

I was totally wrong ... she got all excited and even ran to the top of the stairs screaming for daddy to come see her "Kitty kitty" (Hello Kitty) underwear ... she was just so proud ...

The first time when she peed wearing them there was a puddle on the chair but she did hustle upstairs when it happened ... and chose my favorite pair in her drawer ...

 

But with these and the next pair it was just a few drops and she held it and got upstairs ... with Strawberry Shortcake ones, her 4th pair of the day they stayed dry the rest of the day ... several hours ... any time she had to go she let me know ...

 

Now she does earn Dum Dum lollipops every time and got alot of them today but I am fine with that ... I am so very proud of her asking to do this all on her own today and sticking with it ... the idea of pooping on the potty still scares the shit ... well maybe doesn't scare her enough to let the shit come out ... but she isn't too keen on that yet ... but all in time ... today was a huge step and I couldn't be more proud of her ...

Stringing Beans

Skye has a new hobby that she loves ... she calls it "stringing beans" but as you can see it is cute colorful beads and she just loves it ... we started with some foam ones that were actually harder because they were bigger but the hole smaller ... today we got these plastic beads and she is awesome at it ...

Out kitchen table has been taken over by the project which is fine by me ... she gets so excited to show off her creations and there are many in progress ... I bought a kind of sample bag with lanyard plastic so she has all different color string and of course with so many choices you can't make just one ...

The first one we worked on together and she doesn't want to take it off ...

So Cute And Tiny

Alone Time

My entire family is upstairs asleep right now ... and I am all alone ... and I can't stop smiling ...

I had to go to the bank and let me tell you it was a treat driving with the windows down ... jamming to Styx super loud ... and all alone ...

It is truly amazing how much of a treat it is to have a little time all to myself ...

Now I unfortunately have to get back to work :)

Leading To The House

David took on a big bold project over the last couple of weeks ... I was so busy with Lincoln that I didn't take during photos like I should but did get these ...

He ripped up the front yard and put in a new beautiful walkway ... made the flower bed areas bigger which they totally needed (they were really pushed up against the house) and made an area where a new tree is going to be planted ...

It looks absolutely gorgeous ... I love the new walkway ... and once he puts in the plants and bulbs we have it is going to be fantastic ... sooooo much hard work but he is very proud of how it has turned out ...