road trip

We made it to LBI! It was a long two days in the car, but the trip went so much better than I had anticipated. The girls were troopers in the car...I had to provide a new activity for them every half hour or so, but overall they handled it really well. On day one, we spent an awesome afternoon in Savannah, eating ice cream, seeing the sights and running around the park to blow off some steam :) We spent part of day 2 doing a mini tour of DC...the kids played on the lawn in front of the Washington Monument and we visited the Lincoln Memorial. Ryan LOVED it...the kids were just happy to not be in the car for at least a little while...and I don't care where we are or what we are doing....as long as I am with Ry and the girls, I couldn't be happier :) Emma kept saying that it was the worst trip ever and she was NEVER doing that again. I don't think she realizes that we have to do it over again next week............

just a few pics of the girls' birthday party thanks to maria!! poor claire spent more time in her crib than at her own party :(

party time!

I am exhausted and the house is a DISASTER, but this was the best weekend I've had in a long time! My parents and my sister, Jason and the kids came into town this weekend for Madeline and Claire's birthday party. Madeline absolutely loved every second of her party and poor little Claire was so exhausted from too much partying with her cousins the day before that she slept through almost the entire party and still hasn't eaten her cake :( I thrive on party planning and love having the house full of family and friends, so I was in my glory! The best part of the weekend, though was the time I was able to spend with my parents, my sister and my girls. Life with three little ones (six when you get my sister and I together!) often gets so incredibly hectic that it is easy to go into survival mode and forget to stop and savor the moment. After church on Saturday, Kristin, my parents and I went out to dinner with Madeline while Ryan and Jason had the rest of the girls. It was so special to be able to have that one on one time with Mad and to be able to really enjoy her. (It made me realize that having one kid is a DREAM!). She was so sweet and snuggly and it was precious to be able to really spend the night intent on her. It was also great to be with my family without all of the chaos that normally surrounds us. Sunday was Emma's turn for one on one time, and she came to the beach with my parents and I. She soooo needed this. It was wonderful to be able to give her all of my attention doing something that she loves. The four of us ate bagels on the beach and swam and talked all morning...it was perfect! I spent the rest of the afternoon going out to lunch and shopping with my sister with NO KIDS!!! These moments are few and far between and it's crazy relaxing to just be together doing girly things without the stress and chaos. I am so thankful that Ryan was such a big help with the kids, allowing me to really enjoy my family this weekend...it really couldn't have been better :)

All of this blabbing and I forgot about the birthday party...I'll post some pics when I get them!!

gum

So, I took the girls to Toys R Us for a stroll through the store to get birthday gift ideas for Madeline who is the HARDEST kid to shop for!! Emma obsesses over everything she sees and collects about a million different things and Madeline is just not really into anything in particular, making it difficult to know what she would really love. After an hour and a half of scouring the store and walking up and down each and every aisle (they were in heaven!), I asked Mad what her most favorite toy was in the whole store and what she would love to get for her birthday and she says, "Um, how about just gum?". She is so sweet in the way that she's so not demanding and is totally content, but at the same time frustrating for a mommy that thrives on making holidays a big deal!! :)

she's one?!

I can't believe that Claire is one already. This seriously was the FASTEST year of my life. She and Madeline are having a joint birthday party on Saturday, so yesterday was pretty low key....just a lazy day around the house with Gina and the kids over to swim. We sang to Claire at EVERY meal with a candle and all.... in the morning over blueberry muffins, at lunch over donuts and at night over brownies and ice cream....ew, that's way too much sugar now that I think about it!! She was mesmerized every time we sang to her and by the last time, she was so bashful that she tried to hide her head under her highchair :) I found myself not wanting to put her to bed last night because I didn't want her first birthday to end, so I sat in her room and rocked her and sang to her for the longest time just snuggling with her and trying to get my mind around the fact that it's already been a year since I had her. When I finally went to put her in her crib, she was so angry...she was enjoying being spoiled for a little bit :) Now we are off to the doctor for her checkup and a round of shots..... :( Next thing I know, she'll be two...I'm trying not to think about that!

where has the time gone?

Tonight was Emma's graduation from preschool. For the first half of the night, she was so typical Emma...frowning, sulking and refusing to talk to any of the other kids. About halfway through, she finally came out of her shell and we ended up closing down the place :) I knew it was going to be a sentimental night for me and I was right. I was fine up until the point that Miss Mehlberg put Emma's cap on her head and I've been choking back the tears ever since. I know it's just preschool, and it sounds silly, but she looked so grown up wearing that cap and receiving her "diploma". It really set in that she's not a baby, not a toddler, not even a preschooler anymore, yet I feel like it was just yesterday that I took her home from the hospital, potty trained her, went "shopping" for preschools. I remember being at the pool with her when she was a year old and some other moms asked if I had her on any waiting lists for preschools and I thought they were crazy-preschool seemed like a lifetime away. Now here we are, and just like that it's over. I think the thing that gets to me the most is knowing that I will never get that time with her back and it has gone by too quickly. I feel like this is just the first of many closed chapters in her life. Oh, so emotional!!!! When we got home, I gave her her graduation gifts-a jewelry box and a game for her Leapster and she was ECSTATIC! She kept her eyes closed while she was unwrapping her gifts because she didn't want to know what she was opening until the very last second. And the look on her face was priceless....she couldn't have been happier. It was a great night for her and I love that!

utter chaos

Ryan has been in New Jersey all week. He comes home tomorrow....yay!! Whenever he is away, everyone always asks me how I do it. Here's the truth......I don't! While he is gone, I am in complete survival mode. The girls had fast food for two of their three meals today, we have no milk in the house, I just threw in the first load of laundry since last weekend and ran the dishwasher for the first time all week!! I don't think my bed has been made in days and the girls bedrooms look like a bomb went off. But my goal is by the time Ryan gets home tomorrow night to have the laundry done, the house cleaned and the fridge stocked-that way I can enjoy him all weekend rather than spending my time getting caught up on housework! Good thing he doesn't get home until late tomorrow night. I'm gonna need all the time I can get :)