Profoundness…

Kids have an interesting perspective on the world.

The way they learn things is through asking questions… a BAJILLION different questions.

Mostly, “Why, mommy?” “Why?” “Why?” “Why?”

{Which causes mommy to think, “Whyyyyy? Whyyyyyyyy? WHYYYYYYYYYYYY (isn’t Daddy in the car)?”}

This morning on the way to work, Aidan asked me, “Mommy, where’s God?”
I always debate on this whether to say, “Heaven,” or “He’s everywhere.”
Today, I answered, “He’s everywhere.”
Aidan replied with, “He’s playing hide-n-seek?”

Cue mommy’s laughter.

Then he said that he doesn’t want to ever go to outer space.

*Random, but I rolled with it.*

I told him he will never have to go to outer space if he doesn’t want to and that he can just pick something other than an astronaut to be when he grows up.

To which Kaia responds with, “Mommy, I want to be a make-up girl.”

Watch out, world- Kaia is the next Cover Girl!

Tame the Beast

*WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST*

30. I am thirty. For some reason that doesn’t seem as scary as telling Kaia that “I was born 30 YEARS ago.” That hit home.

So on Tuesday this week, David asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I said, “Wow- I am actually SURPRISED that it’s the TUESDAY before my 30th and you are just NOW thinking of what we should do.” Ya see, there has been a trend of surprise parties for my friend’s 30th birthdays and so I was kinda expecting a surprise party too… but it wouldn’t have really been a surprise party since I was expecting one… but you know what I’m saying.

Well, David actually said, “Well why does your birthday fall during FOOTBALL season?” Ha. Ha. He suggested The Melting Pot and said we’ll invite Chris & Erica (my sister and her hubby), and Shin & Yvette (my brother and his wife). While I was still surprised that I wasn’t getting a suprise party, I was happy that I would get to go out to a nice adult dinner with some of my favorites.

I also planned to take the day after my 30th off from work to go shopping with one of my best buds at Potomac Mills. I was EXCITED. Friday was going to be a good day.

Thursday was actually my birthday, but I had to work and Addi had her 2-year well-visit. I love the people I work with and they were nice enough to have a “surprise” princess party for me after I got back from taking Addi to the doctor. I say “surprise” because they put on my calendar a 2PM meeting entitled “Super Top Secret Meeting.” Being stealthy just isn’t their thing.

Then they let me leave a couple of hours early. So I treated myself to a pedicure. Ahhhhh- if I could have weekly pedicures, I totally would.

I went home and my kids ran to me and told me “Happy Birthday, Mommy! We made you a cake!” Then they dragged me to the kitchen and shoved my birthday cards in my face. David made one of my all-time favorite dinners: HAMBURGERS… mmm… and he even sauteed some mushrooms. Delicious. My cards had the kids’ scribbles all over it and everything was perfect. David told me that my birthday present was to go to JMU’s Homecoming this year. He was working on getting us football tickets and securing a hotel room, but we already had our babysitter in place. He knows me so well- hamburgers and JMU… and we still had our adult night out to look forward to. My 30th birthday was shaping up to be a great one and WAY more than I expected.

*Cue Friday, the 13th stereotypes*

That night every single kid woke up SEVERAL times. Aidan complained that his ear was hurting and I thought he just slept on it funny. Kaia and Addi must’ve been having bad dreams. Needless to say, I was one tired 30-year old mommy.

In the morning, Aidan was still complaining of ear pain… and cheek pain (?)… so I decided to take him to the doctor. I couldn’t get a morning appointment with his pediatrician, and he said he did not want to wait until the afternoon- so I took him to Prime Care. I was in-and-out in no time and still thought I would have time to make it to Potomac Mills. Then he starting saying his belly hurt and he needed to throw up. He begged me not to leave him. So after texting Kim and telling her I was running late, I texted her again and told her I had to cancel. BUMMER.

Brought my boy home and he had a lazy day on the couch but the meds seemed to kick in rather quickly. I started the laundry. Not exactly the way I planned to spend my day off, but I guess mom’s can’t take days off.

When David got home he said I should go out for a little bit to shop since that’s what I wanted to do originally. I figured I could hit up Kohl’s since I had some Kohl’s cash I had to use and that I would pick up the girls on the way home. So I did. And I treated myself to a new shirt that was on clearance and a cool necklace. I also stopped by Marshall’s and Ross because I LOVE those stores and I found a white bedside table for $39.99. SCHWEET.

I picked up my girls and brought them home. Kaia gabbed the whole way home about her day and then right before we turned in the driveway- she threw up. OMFG. So I threw her dress and car seat cover into the washer and debated whether we should go out for dinner. Since Kaia was back to her old self and didn’t seem to be affected by the fact that she just threw up her lunch, David insisted we act like nothing happened and proceed with our date night. Sounds good to me!

So I wore my new shirt and necklace and we headed to the Melting Pot. I-95 was at a crawl so we hopped on Rt. 1 and got stopped at practically every red light. Then David hopped on 95 because he though going 35 mph was better than red lights. We made it to The Pot 10 minutes late, but ready to enjoy our evening. Things were great! My sister, Erica, who always spoils me bought me my FIRST ever COACH purse. She knew I would never treat myself like that and I have to say- I love it.

Shin and Yvette showed up a few minutes later and the seated us. Pablov was our waiter… I think that was his name. As Erica pointed out, he sounded like the French gay race car driver on Talledega Nights. A very astute observation.

Everyone was having a blast and then I started to feel full after the appetizer and salad courses. Then during the main course I started to feel lightheaded and nauseas. Then I asked to be excused and I almost passed out on the way to the bathroom. I went into the second stall and hugged the toilet. I never threw up, but all of the energy and life drained out of my face. Erica and Yvette followed me to the bathroom to make sure I was okay. Did I mention how nice it is to have an ER doctor and nurse in the family. Yvette started asked me medical questions and quickly decided that my blood sugar must’ve dropped and she told me to take some sips of coke. After a few sips I started to feel better, but I said, “THIRTY SUCKS!”

I was able to walk back to the table and I found it extremely hilarious that David dumped our entire tray of meat into the fondue pot so that if we had to leave he would not waste any lobster or meat!

*Not that I blame him… look how yummy it was*

Chris also made sure to pour the rest of the wine bottle we just opened into David’s glass so we wouldn’t waste a drop. After dessert, we settled our tab and decided that we didn’t need to go to JMU since we just spent $175 for the two of us to have dinner. OUCH.

After my trip to the bathroom

We took some nice pictures outside of the restaurant before we went home… and my memorable 30th was over.

Or. so. I. thought.

The next day, I lounged around the house. David said he had to go food shopping and to Lowe’s to pick up a part for the bathroom. So I watched the kids while he went out. Then when he got back I put the kids down for a nap and started touching up the paint in our new 2nd bathroom (more to come on that!) so that we could hurry the whole process along. David had a football picnic and evening practice under the lights that night so I planned on taking the kids to his parent’s house to have dinner and say goodbye to Aunt M’liss, Santino and Francesca.

Kimiki told me that everyone left the house to go to Costco and they were just going to eat while they were out. I thought that was wierd because we ALWAYS do family dinners before ANYONE leaves to go home, but oh well- Costco IS amazing. Kim and Cesca said they wanted to come over to say goodbye to the kids before she left for CT. I said I should just bring the kids over to Grammy’s house so that we could all go swimming. Kim said no one was there and that they were just going to come see me… so I said to come on over.

Then I started making dinner for all of us and when the kids woke up from their naps we sat down to eat. I saw Kim and Cesca whispering over the oven in the kitchen, but I thought they must just not like Chicken and Dumplings.

*RING RING* My house phone rings. I answer it. My friend Megan is on the phone saying that her car broke down at the Food Lion and she has been trying to reach her parents and Dara, but she can’t get ahold of anyone, and her husband, Steve, is out of town. So I immediately RUSH INTO ACTION to save the day. “Sure, Megan. I can come pick you up. That’s no problem. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” How CONVENIENT that Kim and Cesca were there. I asked them to watch my kids for 30 minutes because my friend was stuck at the Food Lion. They said, “Sure! No problem- we’ll start their baths and they will be all nice and clean by the time you get home.” SCHWEET.

So I go to pick up Megan in my sports bra, tank top, and cargo pants. No contacts. No deodorant. No make up. NO JUDGING!!

I thought it was odd that when I got there she only had a six pack of beer and two bags of ice. I jokingly asked her if she planned on drinking her face off tonight, but she said that her sister was coming over tomorrow and they were having a cookout. She explained that something was wrong with her tires and the steering wheel was shaking and that her dad would come out tomorrow to take a look at it. Even though she only lived 2 minutes from Food Lion, I didn’t question the reason she did not want to drive it home. I also didn’t question the fact that it’s a relatively new Honda and that they never break.

So I was telling Megan all about my sucky birthday and that I was surprised that David and Erica didn’t throw me a surprise party since that’s kinda what we DO for
30th birthdays around these here parts when I pulled into her driveway and noticed several cars.

I was so entrenched in complaining about my birthday that it took a second for me to see the big group of people waiting in her driveway. My first thought was, “Why couldn’t any of these people pick you up from Food Lion?” Then I started to recognize these people’s faces and Megan said, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” I was shocked. I thought, “Man, I wish David could have been here (still thinking that he was at football practice)!” Then I saw David. Awwww. Then I panicked and thought, “Oh, someone needs to tell Kim and Cesca that I’m not coming home and that Aidan needs his medicine!” David just said, “Ummm… they are watching the kids for the night- we’ve kinda taken care of all of that.” Then I realized… DAMN IT- I look like HELL.

But, it was SUCH a great surprise. They really got me… and I’m so lucky to have all of them. We had a tasty seafood broil- crab legs, shrimp, corn on the cob, peppers, potatoes, summer sausage. Delicious.

We had cake and a champagne toast. Peanut M&Ms… because we don’t go to a party without them. I was surrounded by some of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

David even made sure to bring my bathing suit so that I could swim in the pool. We had beer relay races in the pool and even tried flip cup on the side of the pool. Needless to say, my team kicked butt and the whole event was awesome.

By Sunday I was feeling 30. 4 whole days of celebrating makes for one tired 30 year old. But my mom planned a nice dinner and invited my in-laws. Aidan had a fever in the afternoon, so I ended up going over with the girls while David watched AA at home. The dinner was great, the conversation good, this was the 4th day in a row I was eating cake, and I’m PSYCHED because my mom got me a piece of furniture with lots of storage for my kitchen since my hutch is LITERALLY falling apart. My mom and mother-in-law made me realize that the 30s are your best years because you know yourself, you know what you want, you’re at a good place in your career, you get to watch your babies grow up, and it’s definitely the “I am woman. Watch me roar,” period in your life. HERE I COME, AMERICA!

So morale of the story… tame the beast (that is your bikini area) at least 5 days before and after your birthday because you never know when you’re going to have a surprise pool party.

Goodbye 20’s.

My last day in my twenties… I thought it deserved some recognition.

I’ve been asking people pretty much for the past 6 months about whether they had issues with turning 30. Some of my friends said that they cried all day. Some said that it was not a big deal. I think I am leaning towards the latter. I’ve taken inventory of where I’m at in my life and I think I’m leaning towards… juuuuust right.

I’m happy.

I’m married to my best friend.

I’ve got three beautiful children.

I love my family and friends.

I love my job… even if I get frustrated at times.

I’m exercising and healthy overall. I will never be a size 2, but I don’t feel bad about my size considering I’ve had 3 kids… and I would rather work out than diet ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

Would there have been things I may have changed in my life? Yes, maybe a decision here and there. But I have to say I’m proud with where my major decisions have brought me thus far. Even though having 3 kids in my 20s was tiring, now I can spend my next thirty years focused on raising them, rather than tired from having them.

So life is good. I am blessed… and I know I am.

But you better ask me again tomorrow, just to be sure.

Let’s Get Messy!

How did my little baby go from this…

2 days old

… and this…

1 mo. old

… to this…

1 yr. old

… and this…

2 yrs. old

Where does the time go? Baby Addi will always be my baby… but soon enough she won’t want to curl up in my arms, she won’t want me to sing her a lullaby to soothe her tears, she won’t run to me and scream “Maaaaaamaaaaaa!” when I pick her up after work. I gotta admit, I’m not ready to lose that.

And yet, here she is entering her “terrible two’s.” There’s NO way that my sweet, little, adorable, smiley-faced, angel-kissed, perfectly curled eyelash Addi will act like a defiant, eye-rolling, stubborn two-year old… or teenager, right?

*knock on wood*

A mom can dream…

Last year Addi did not get the 1st birthday party experience that she truly deserved. I did make her cupcakes, but I was not able to take off from work that day to spend with her like I had done on Aidan’s and Kaia’s 1st birthdays. So she spent the day in daycare. Then when I went to pick her up- we had cupcakes. She didn’t get a big party at the house, because we were all celebrating the return of her Uncle Cliffy from his first deployment overseas (a very joyous occasion, but just not for her). So while she never even understood that she was given the short end of the stick last year- I KNEW and I’ve felt mommy guilt ever since. I was not about to let the same thing happen this year.

(She sure didn’t look UNhappy with last year’s cupcakes… but I still carried that guilt with me all year.)

So on Friday, August 6th, I took off from work. I dropped Aidan and Kaia off at Ms. Norma’s so that Addi and I could spend the day together. At first, when we pulled out of Ms. Norma’s driveway and Addi realized her big bro and big sis were not in the car- she freaked out. “AAaaaaaaaaaaaa! Boooooooooo!” (She calls Aidan- AA, and Kaia- BooBoo). I thought, “Ohhhh, why doesn’t she want to spend the day with ME??” Of course, I realized that she is not used to being by herself and having all of the attention. She is always with AA and Boo-boo. So I asked her if she wanted to get a birthday balloon and she replied in her tiny little sad voice, “Yeah.”

Once we were out and about, Addi was fine. She started to enjoy all of the one-on-one attention. We stopped at 5 Below and I let her pick out a few things. She picked plastic glittery bracelets and a Dora The Explorer tin purse/lunch box.

Then I took her home for lunch. She was so silly while she ate her PB & J. She would just randomly start giggling. I wonder what she was thinking about, but I’m pretty sure she just loved that I was sitting down with her, watching every movement she took, and giving her my 100% undivided attention.

We were lucky enough to have my nephew and nieces over for a cousin’s sleepover that night!

They helped Addi celebrate her big day!

That was just the start of Addi’s birthday bash… her REAL party was on Sunday afternoon. It was a “Let’s Get Messy” theme with finger/foot painting, water balloons, sloppy joes, a candy bar, and a decorate your own cupcake/ ice cream sundae station! We were lucky enough to have Aunt Kricky bring her pony, Maybelline, to the party for pony rides.

Here is evidence of the good time had by all…

A SURPRISE IN STORE (thanks, Aunt Kricky)

Dessert Bar

If there was an award for best cupcake decoration, I would have to give it to Sophie.

Uncle Shinny joining in the fun…

Aunt Laura

Uncle Danny

The Loot

Family Pic… Take 1

Take 2…

MOVE, CHRIS!!

I think Addi got the party she deserved to have when she turned 1… before I know it Daddy will be walking her down the aisle.

Are you ready for some football?

Let me begin by saying that my hubby, David, is THE best father and husband in the WOORRRRRRRRRLD. (dramatic enough for ya?)

Seriously though, he is SO hands-on, helpful, and makes parenting three babies a LOT less crazy. (It’s still crazy, but it would be downright INSANE if it weren’t for him.) I listen to some women talk about how their husbands never change a diaper, don’t cook, don’t clean, etc. etc. and I honestly don’t know what I would do. David has ALWAYS helped with these things… even before we had kids- he would make dinner or clean the bathroom. He is a pretty good cook too (although there are times when I have to remind him to make a vegetable or when our entire dinner was made in the Fry Daddy, but overall, he does a great job). He’s been hands-on with our kids since the day they were born and he was never intimidated by parenting.

So you can imagine how hard it is for me when football season comes around every year and I lose his helping hands… 90% of the year I have to get all 3 kids ready in the morning by myself. From the end of June until the beginning of August- David is there to help me and I can actually DO my hair in the morning rather than walk out of the house with a wet head and I can actually drink a cup o’ joe if I want. His summers make it seem like I am on vacation too even though I still have to go to work, because my mornings are RELAXED. Then, in the afternoons when he is out for the summer, he will sometimes pick up the kids from daycare and cook dinner for us. So by the time I get home from work- the kids are home, fed, and sometimes even BATHED. HEAVEN.

Cut to August 1st every year. Football season. Don’t get me wrong- I am excited for football season and I LOVE watching David in his element. Coaching is the reason he wanted to teach in the first place and he’s really good at it… but as excited as I am for him, like any child during back-to-school season, I am also dreading the WORK that it means for me. He has already started leaving for practice before I wake up, which means AM kid duty. Then because we still have projects around the house that he needs to finish before school starts, I have been picking the kids up after work so that he can have a few hours at home to work on finishing the bathroom. He does still make dinner, but that will change in a couple more weeks when he starts having teacher work days and afternoon practices. Then I will get PM kid duty all by myself. So football is bittersweet. I love the excitement of the season and watching David do something he loves SO much… but I hate all of the extra work that comes with it. Hopefully, it won’t be as hard this year since the kids are a little bit older. Maybe we can even make it to a few games this year!

Some pics from football seasons past…

2005 Go Culpeper Blue Devils! Ethan helped cheer on his Uncle David!

2007 Go Potomac Panthers at the State Championship Game in UVA’s Stadium

Last Year- 2009

This year we will be cheering on the C.D. Hylton High School BULLDOGS! Good luck, Hylton! (Make all of this extra work for me WORTH IT.)

50 Years… Is a Looong Time.

When I think back to my wedding, I remember it as one of the most perfect days of my life. A year of hard planning ending in the ultimate party, surrounded by my family, friends, and my new family-in-laws. It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since then. You’re probably wondering why the title of this post then says “50 Years…” Well, this post isn’t about my wedding. We actually just returned from a trip to CT with all of our kids for my husband’s Godparents’ 50th wedding anniversary.

Auntie Babe & Uncle Vic

I believe I’ve only ever been to one other 50th Wedding Anniversary party and that was when I was in middle school. It was for my stepfather’s parents’ big day. I remember it as being fun but I didn’t realize just HOW special a celebration it was because I was a kid and couldn’t comprehend truly what an achievement it is to be married to one person that long. These days over 50% of marriages end in divorce… that’s just sad and scary. Especially when the majority of people on their wedding days feel like they are not going to ever be in that part of the statistic. What happens? Where does all of that love go? But I digress…

This day was all about Auntie Babe and Uncle Vic. This celebration touched me more than any wedding I’ve ever been to. I can’t imagine what it was like for them. Surely, they thought back to their wedding day and how great it was. But I swear, this day had to mean so much more than that day 50 years ago. Even though in 1960 they were surrounded by their friends and family… in 2010 they were surrounded by their OWN children and their OWN grandchildren. People that wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for the love that these two people shared.

All Because Two People Fell In Love.

When their granddaughter, Christen, sang them three beautiful songs- I just about lost it. Talk about a TEAR JERKER.

The Beautiful Christen

I just thought about what that must be like for them… I imagined Aidan’s future daughter, or Kaia’s future daughter, or Addi’s future daughter singing to us on our 50th anniversary. I felt so blessed just to be a part of their special day… and I hope that my kids will use this family and all of the successful marriages within it as examples for their own relationships one day.

Other shots from our trip to CT

Our House is… Getting There

Sooo, remember when the housing market was at its peak? You know- back in August of 2005? Well, that happened to be around the same time that I finished grad school and my husband and I were anxious to finally buy our first house. I had just secured my first job in higher ed working as an academic advisor and recruiter for Germanna Community College. It took me a month after I graduated to get this job offer (I look back and am thankful that I graduated when I did, because it would’ve taken me much longer to find a job now, I’m sure). David was continuing to teach and coach at Culpeper County High School. We felt we needed to buy a house now before the prices for houses went up even further and we wouldn’t be able to afford a house anymore. Here we were, an educated, young couple with reliable jobs and great credit and the only houses we could afford in Spotsylvania were DOUBLE-WIDE trailers!! If you aren’t familiar with Spotsylvania, then you should know that “Spotsy” is ideally located half-way between Washington D.C. and Richmond, which is why houses were selling for an arm and a leg. Even though David’s parents kept telling us to WAIT because there was no way that the market could keep rising at the pace that is was, we doubted them (naive, silly youngsters that we were). So when we found this little 1941 cape cod on over an acre next to farmland and open fields, we placed an offer on the house the SAME day. Did I mention that it was the first house we actually visited in person?? Oh, how you learn about life as you go…

When our house was not yet a home…

Rear View…

We were THRILLED with our little starter house and the steal of a deal we got it for! You could say that I know a thing or two about negotiating (when we closed on the house we actually walked away with a check from the sellers who had agreed to pay all of our closing costs and the amount that they agreed to was actually more than what it ended up costing to close). And I was really thrilled that I didn’t have to tell people that we lived in a DOUBLE-WIDE (not that there’s anything wrong with that). We bought the house, knowing that we would need to put a TON of elbow grease and TLC into it. The house only had 1 bathroom, and we planned to put another full bathroom in eventually. Most pressing though was the fact that the previous owners had three large dogs that apparently had several accidents in every room of the house. Let’s just say the smell was noticeable when you walked in, and so one of the first things we did when we got the keys was tear up ALL of the carpet and put Pergo (imitation brand) flooring in the entire house (except the bathroom and kitchen where we put a cheap nuetral-colored tile). We also painted the entire house, which included tearing down wallpaper from the bathroom. I swear, tearing down wallpaper has got to be the most awful home renovation job EVER. But it had to be done. The bathroom also included an ALL BLUE shower, sink, and toilet- yuck.

We turned it into this:

Looking back now, it’s hard to believe that we settled on this house with all of the issues it had BUT the market was HOT back then and if you didn’t jump on something the same day you saw it, you typically missed your opportunity. It wasn’t a buyer’s market like it is today where you can talk the price down 50 grand and ask them to put in all new stainless steele appliances… ugh, whenever I think about it I wish we had listened to my in-laws and just WAITED. But we had also just found out we were pregnant for the first time and that gave us another reason that we did not want to live with our parents much longer.

Man, I’ve never journaled or anything before but when I get going, I really just start rambling- don’t I? Anywho…

So the flooring and painting were the first things, but then every year after we have done something else to our house.

We tore down the red decks outside and made a 1200 sq. ft. wrap-around deck (it’s actually bigger than our house). I have to admit, I LOVE our deck and our view. It is one of my favorite places to be when it is nice outside and we’ve hosted all of my kids’ birthday parties out there.

Some of my kids’ birthday parties over the years…

Under the Big Top- Kaia’s 2nd Birthday in June 2009

Her Popcorn Cake

Aidan’s Monster Truck Party in April 2010 (4 yrs. old)

A Classy Princess (no thank you, Disney) Party for Kaia’s 3rd Bday- June 2010

Castle Cake

Note: Addi’s 2nd birthday is Friday. Pictures of her “Let’s Get Messy” Party will be coming soon!

Back to business…
We put a cement pad off of the deck to house our hot tub… although we returned the hot tub after a few months when we realized we never had enough time to use it (and we only had 2 kids at the time).

After we returned the hot tub, we used that money to finish off our attached garage and turn it into a mudroom/ laundry room and nice big living room. We needed the extra space since after three short years of living there, we added three new roommates to our cozy home (Aidan, Kaia, and Addi). The living room we had was long and narrow and had to accomodate our 65″ tv, couch, dining table, and kids’ toys. It just wasn’t working. So David finished off our garage and converted it into our new living room (the laundry room that he blocked off in the large space remains complete to this day- 2 years after he started the project). Now our long, narrow all-purpose room has specific purposes- one end is where our dining table is and the other end is a sitting area/ computer desk. It’s so nice to have a designated spot for things.
Old Attached Garage Transforms Into…

… Our New Living Room

Bye Bye Long, Skinny Multi-Purpose Room

The old place where our washer and dryer was backs right up against one of the bedrooms (See below).

So last summer, David started turning it into a master bathroom. Since David is very busy as a football and wrestling coach (and Daddy)- he really only has the summers for house projects. So when the master bathroom was not finished last August when football started, it sat untouched until July 2010. Football started a few days ago and the bathroom is still not totally ready for usage, but it’s ALMOST there. In fact, it is close enough to completion that we switched rooms with the girls, made their big girl room (see previous post), and painted our new bedroom a beautiful ocean blue. David insists that I will be able to use my new shower within the next few days… but I’m just hoping I get to use it in 2010.

As for our next projects- we will still have to finish our laundry room, but I would also like to paint our kitchen cabinets a nice clean white to really brighten up the space and make the kitchen look more updated. We had to replace our oven shortly after we moved into the house because it was a very old range that when we used the “self-cleaner” it locked and NEVER unlocked. David almost killed himself by trying to force it open (without turning off the breaker switch). OUCH.

Old Kitchen (Notice the old range oven that nearly killed my hubby)

Our current kitchen… what do you think? Should we paint our cabinets white?

Here is our new oven…

Oh, and I would also like to spend some much needed TLC on the flower beds in front of our house to add some curb appeal. It’s not like we’ll be able to move any time soon, but it’s just another way to turn our little gem into a home. I talk bad about my house, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave when the time comes. Afterall, I brought all three of my babies home from the hospital to our old little cape cod.

Our Original Nursery Ready for Baby #1 in 2006 (you can tell we haven’t had our baby yet because everything’s still nice and neat)

Girls Get Big… Aidan Gets Jealous

There comes a time in every child’s life when they move from a crib to a big kid bed… or a crib to a toddler bed to a big kid bed, but you get the picture. Well, it was about time for Kaia (3 yrs.) to move to a big girl bed after sleeping successfully in a toddler bed. She had been climbing in and out of her crib stealthily for awhile and she was starting to potty train at night time too (she is fully trained during the day, but still wakes up soaking wet every morning) so we put her in a toddler bed, but we were at the point where we were ready to put her in a twin bed like her big brother. Since the girls share a room, I bought matching big girl bedding and started looking for matching used beds on Craigslist. (Love that website). I found a couple of cute white twin beds that were possibilities, but they were all at least 1.5-2 hours away and still relatively expensive. My husband started looking for beds too. I knew I wanted white beds and I preferred that they had storage drawers underneath since they share a room and space is somewhat limited. He found the PERFECT beds for around the same price that we found on Craigslist, but there were BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW. Not only did they have drawers underneath, but they actually also each had a trundle bed! We knew that these beds would last them through when they leave for college and we pictured all of the sleep overs that they would be able to have with their cousins and friends with these beds. We were SOLD. So we bought two beds even though we did not intend to move Addi to a big girl bed for at least another year, because we wanted them to match and we could get a better deal on the mattresses for buying two. Well, David wanted to set them both up in case something was broke or missing so that we could inform the company if there was a problem. I should’ve seen the writing on the wall…

After setting up both big girl beds, David did not want to set up Addi’s crib. (We had to take it apart because we are doing some room renovations and the girls actually moved into another room.) There wasn’t a lot of extra room in the girls’ room for the crib and we knew Addi would fight us to sleep in the bed because she has to be just like her sister. So I bought bed rails and prematurely moved Addi into her big girl bed. She turns 2 on Friday, but I didn’t move Aidan and Kaia into a big bed until after they turned 3! I wasn’t ready for my little baby to be out of the crib stage, but here she was super excited for her big girl bed. Addi and Kaia haven’t fallen out of their big girl beds, thanks to the bed rails (and putting each one against the wall). There have been some minor pinches from playing with the trundles and drawers, but the girls are SO happy with their new rooms, and so am I!

What a big girl!

My baby’s not a baby!

Love those lashes…

This is how they fell asleep at naptime one day… they broke the “Don’t Get Up” rule, but it was too cute to be upset.

Sisterly love.

Aidan was excited for the girls, but as any 4-year old would be- he’s wondering, “What’s in it for me?” I did make a big production out of his big boy bed when we switched him. I got him new sports themed bedding and pulled his twin bed out of Grammy and Poppy’s basement (it was the same bed his daddy slept in when he was a boy). But of course, since that happened over a year ago, he was jealous of his little sisters. So I decided to take some time out of our busy schedules to give him some much needed attention…

I took him out for a special “Aidan Day!” We went to lunch just the two of us at his restaurant of choice… unfortunately, that meant “Old McDonald’s” (as he calls it). Then we went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D at the new Muvico theatre in Spotsylvania Towne Centre. I have to say, I was impressed with the theatre and the movie. I heart Toy Story. It’s such a good series and enjoyable for young and old. I cried at a few different parts of the movie as I held my little antsy 4-yr old. When Andy’s mom looks at his empty room before he’s ready to leave for college and she says, “I just wish I could always be with you…” UGH- RIP MY HEART OUT! Aidan thought the movie had a couple of scary parts… and I’d have to agree with that freaky MONKEY in there. But he had a good time and hasn’t seemed jealous about the girls’ new room since. Now he’s just waiting for their first sibling sleep over…

Playing Catch Up

Ok, so now I’m trying to go back and fill you in on everything that’s happened since our trip to Topsail… a month ago.

Fourth of July
I love the 4th of July. Mostly because there isn’t much better to me than grilling out, playing outside, and laughing with friends and family. Our small town of Spotsylvania is really growing and with our new Courthouse Village area, they are really trying to get everyone to come together as a community so that Spotsylvania Village becomes the “new downtown.” We benefit GREATLY from this because it is only 5 minutes from my house and my mom owns The Pear Tree, which is a specialty gift shop right in the heart of the Village. So for the past four years (I believe), they have started to have a HUGE celebration with bouncy houses galore, vendors, fair food, and of course, the annual fireworks EXTRAVAGANZA. I took Aidan to the fireworks 2 years ago (when he was 2) and ended up sitting inside of my mom’s store the whole time (after waiting for 6 hours for them to start) because Aidan was too scared of the loud booms. So, David and I decided to wait for big fireworks until we know our kids are ready. In the meantime, we still took our kids to the day event and let them jump on the bouncy houses and run around and eat ridiculously fried food… but then we took them home and lit off some small firecrackers in our backyard (while it was still light outside). It was all they needed to celebrate the 4th of July.

All of that, for this…

I’d say it was worth every penny.

(I’ve decided to separate my updates into different posts so as not to require you to keep reading an unusually looooooong, seemingly endless post.)

What’s to come…

Girls Get Big, Aidan Gets Jealous
Our House is… Getting There
50 years… is a long time.
Are you Ready for some Football??

Long Time No Blog

Soooo, less than a month at blogging and I’m already declaring myself a failure. Does parenting 3 little ones really take up as much time as I claim it does?? I’m going to throw myself a bone here and say, “Ab-so-freakin-lutely.”

Here is what my mornings ALONE consist of:

6AM- Wakey Wakey and work out

6:45AM- Aidan comes downstairs and I finish up my work out. I get Aidan’s breakfast and pull out his clothes for the day.

6:50AM- Start sprinting (literally) through my morning routine. I give myself about 20-30 minutes to eat breakfast, shower, get dressed and beautified before I get my girls up.

7:20AM- Wake up my girls. Addi usually wakes up in a good mood. Kaia is my night owl and by definition then HATES the morning. If Kaia is still sleeping when I go into their room, then I usually get Addi ready before I wake Kaia up. Then I get Kaia up, usually bribing her with a glass of milk, cereal or a Pop Tart.

7:35AM- I am putting the kids’ shoes on, making sure Aidan got himself dressed, gathering their blankies to put in the car, and then yelling at the kids to turn off the tv and lights and come out to the car. I usually make at least 3 trips out to the car and my kids are still so young, that I have to buckle them each in (they can’t do it themselves yet). Usually, when I am buckling the first kid into the car, the other two kids think it’s funny to play hide-and-seek from me. Depending on how my morning went so far, I either play along or get very impatient. One day, while I was buckling the girls into their carseats, Aidan was on the other side of the car drawing me a picture… ON my car… with a ROCK. The evidence of his expensive artwork remains on my black Honda Pilot today. I refuse to fix it because it will probably happen again with one of my girls. I’m pretty sure I scared the bejeesus out of Aidan and he will never touch my car with a rock again.

7:45AM- Hopefully, by this time the kids are all buckled up and in their car seats or else I will be late for work. It takes 15 minutes to get to Ms. Norma’s house (sometimes that seems like an ETERNITY). Then I have 5 minutes to unload the kids and say goodbye, because it takes 25 minutes for me to get to work from Ms. Norma’s. So this schedule puts me at work precisely at 8:30AM (hypothetically).

Where is my hubby, you ask? Well, he leaves for work before I even get out of bed. He teaches about an hour away from our house (without traffic). But it’s the summer, you say? Well, he’s a football coach and looky here… August has arrived, which means football has started and I’m a single parent for bit. LUCKY. Me.