I have a couple posts sitting in the draft mode and I need to finalize them before I publish... adding pictures to these blog posts is not the easiest. So what's sitting there and waiting... leaves, Cindy's visit, and getting ready for the holidays with a visit to Santa, decorating a gingerbread house and a marathon day of baking. Soon, I promise... but the priority this week is getting Christmas cards designed and ordered so they get in the mail.
Two quick things without pictures, so very easy to capture.
Nece... let's just say that we're going through a testing stage. It's constant whining until somebody gets her way. God, that kid is strong-willed. Needless to say, it makes for VERY long days/evenings when she is in this mood. We (or should I say I) know we can't always give in because it'll make it worse. So, Sunday night at dinner she wanted a piece of bread. I had half left and gave it to her (knowing that she'd take one bite and tell me her tummy is full)... oh no, that isn't what she wanted. She wanted her OWN piece. Not wanting to deal with that battle, but not wanting her to waste it, I gave her a piece of bread and told her that she is going to sit at this table and eat the bread even if it's til the cows come home.
She takes a couple bites and looks at me, "Mommy, I don't want the cows to come home."
What Nece?
I don't want the cows to come home... they will scare Hazel and Reggie.
Oh honey, the cows aren't going to come home.
You said they will come home. I don't want the cows to come home, they will scare Hazel and Reggie.
I somehow got out of that one, and she ate 3/4 of the bread I was positive she wasn't going to eat. Whew, that kid surprises me sometimes. And the remainder of the night, I heard 'member, you said the cows will come home. I don't want them to come home... they will scare Hazel and Reggie.'
And Franny... my little climbing daredevil. This kid is going to end up in the emergency room at some point. Anything and everything she can climb on, she does... it's enough to make my heart stop on a daily basis.
But, she had her 15 month check-up last week. She looks great. That little peanut weighed in at 19 lbs 14 oz. Come on Franny, let's break 20 lbs soon! She continues to be in the 5th percentile. She is 30 inches tall, which is also around the 10th percentile and I think they said her head was 18 inches, which is in the 50th percentile. So, we continue to keep plugging away and watch her grow and develop.
Til, sooner rather than later with my updates that include pictures!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The BIG day!
This month has been extremely busy with planning for my big surgery on November 20, a visit from Auntie Cindy and daddy working weekend shifts of 24 plus hours. So where have we been and what have we been doing?
After many months of planning, squaring everything away with insurance, losing weight and getting excited November 20 was on the horizon. And that date was coming fast and furious. Knowing that I was having surgery, the list-maker and planner I am... I wanted to make sure that I had everything covered. So, this house got a major cleaning, I visited Let's Dish and made 10 meals, I stock-piled at the grocery store, Petsmart, made sure all Christmas decorations got up, got a jump start on Christmas shopping, got the girls packed and ready to go for a visit to grandma and grandpa M's and continued with the day to day duties of working, being a mom and being a wife. It seemed like it the day was never going to arrive and all of a sudden it was HERE! And how did I explain to Nece what was about to happen...
On Thursday night while eating pizza...
Nece, we have to have a talk.
Okay, mom.
You know grandma is coming tonight, right?
Yep.
When you get up in the morning, grandma is going to be here. Daddy has to take mommy to the doctor.
What hurts?
Well, the doctor is going to fix my boobs.
Okay.
End of conversation.
So, how did the surgery go?!?!
Good, if I must say so myself. Marc tells people that I look like Frankenstein with all the stiches and markings. Friday and Saturday I was completely out of it and didn't know very much. Marc was THE BEST. He made sure I had anything and everything I could ever need, he checked on me hourly to make sure I was okay, he even set my tray up with a bell and the 1st two nights set an alarm for every four hours to get me my medicine. Yes, a bell, if I needed him and he was outside, I had instructions to call his cell and if he was inside and in a different room, all I had to do was 'ring the bell'. Between he and Mona they started bandage changes on Saturday and Marc's been able to do it himself the last couple days. Still swollen, bruised, but looking better every day (so I'm told). On Sunday, I started to get more coherent, Monday I started stretching timeframes between the drugs, and by Tuesday I was essentially completely off the drugs and Wednesday I made my first trip out of the house by myself. Oh, how I enjoyed walking through the mall and pre-shopping for Friday morning!
There are definite limitations and I knew about those. No lifting greater than 10 lbs for 2-4 weeks... that's going to be interesting once Franny gets home. I can't really lift my arms more than parallel to the ground and if I go too far... my body reminds me very quickly, slow down. Showers take forever, but I'm getting better and better at it. We all know I am an independent person, and it is very hard for me to accept help, but I have NO choice. And I've been asking for help whenever I need it (which is alot).
The girls were going to come home this past Sunday (2 days post-surgery), but we decided to leave them at Grandma's for the week. According to grandma, they haven't asked for either of us once, they don't seem to act like they are missing us and when I called tonight, Nece didn't want to talk to me. Boy, I hope she's not angry at us... if she is we'll deal with it.
So, after a busy month of planning, I feel like it was all worth it. My 'work' around the house is pretty minimal, meals are planned and prepared for the next couple weeks, I have a husband that has been fantastic and my girls are coming home within 48 hours!
After many months of planning, squaring everything away with insurance, losing weight and getting excited November 20 was on the horizon. And that date was coming fast and furious. Knowing that I was having surgery, the list-maker and planner I am... I wanted to make sure that I had everything covered. So, this house got a major cleaning, I visited Let's Dish and made 10 meals, I stock-piled at the grocery store, Petsmart, made sure all Christmas decorations got up, got a jump start on Christmas shopping, got the girls packed and ready to go for a visit to grandma and grandpa M's and continued with the day to day duties of working, being a mom and being a wife. It seemed like it the day was never going to arrive and all of a sudden it was HERE! And how did I explain to Nece what was about to happen...
On Thursday night while eating pizza...
Nece, we have to have a talk.
Okay, mom.
You know grandma is coming tonight, right?
Yep.
When you get up in the morning, grandma is going to be here. Daddy has to take mommy to the doctor.
What hurts?
Well, the doctor is going to fix my boobs.
Okay.
End of conversation.
So, how did the surgery go?!?!
Good, if I must say so myself. Marc tells people that I look like Frankenstein with all the stiches and markings. Friday and Saturday I was completely out of it and didn't know very much. Marc was THE BEST. He made sure I had anything and everything I could ever need, he checked on me hourly to make sure I was okay, he even set my tray up with a bell and the 1st two nights set an alarm for every four hours to get me my medicine. Yes, a bell, if I needed him and he was outside, I had instructions to call his cell and if he was inside and in a different room, all I had to do was 'ring the bell'. Between he and Mona they started bandage changes on Saturday and Marc's been able to do it himself the last couple days. Still swollen, bruised, but looking better every day (so I'm told). On Sunday, I started to get more coherent, Monday I started stretching timeframes between the drugs, and by Tuesday I was essentially completely off the drugs and Wednesday I made my first trip out of the house by myself. Oh, how I enjoyed walking through the mall and pre-shopping for Friday morning!
There are definite limitations and I knew about those. No lifting greater than 10 lbs for 2-4 weeks... that's going to be interesting once Franny gets home. I can't really lift my arms more than parallel to the ground and if I go too far... my body reminds me very quickly, slow down. Showers take forever, but I'm getting better and better at it. We all know I am an independent person, and it is very hard for me to accept help, but I have NO choice. And I've been asking for help whenever I need it (which is alot).
The girls were going to come home this past Sunday (2 days post-surgery), but we decided to leave them at Grandma's for the week. According to grandma, they haven't asked for either of us once, they don't seem to act like they are missing us and when I called tonight, Nece didn't want to talk to me. Boy, I hope she's not angry at us... if she is we'll deal with it.
So, after a busy month of planning, I feel like it was all worth it. My 'work' around the house is pretty minimal, meals are planned and prepared for the next couple weeks, I have a husband that has been fantastic and my girls are coming home within 48 hours!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Swimming Lessons comes to an end...
So, last night was the last night of swimming lessons! Nece absolutely loves Tuesday nights with mom and going to swimming lessons. Every night as we'd hop out of the van and walk up to swimming lessons, she'd hold my hand, grin from ear to ear, hardly contain her excitement and tell me 'this is gonna be so fun, mom'!!!
She knew the entire process from hollaring at me while I drove "MOM... there it is".
We'd get out of the car, walk up to the doors and hit the handicapped buttons that were clearly marked "children should not play with these buttons".
Walk past the pool and I'd hear something like, "mom, there's the pool".
Down the stairs... as we held up others and she would typically tell everybody 'there are alot of stairs, or mom, we're going down the stairs'.
Into the locker room... that was always interesting. Very intrigued by all the old naked ladies, announced to everybody that 'my potty is coming out or I have to poop' to wanting her own cupboard (locker). Putting everything into the cupboard and off to the pool area we'd go.
Favorite games in the water were definitely motor boat, hokey pokey and running on the mat. They had a mat that helped the kids balance on the water and they could jump off it into our arms... LOVED that part of every evening.
After swimming lessons, we'd play in the water for awhile until she'd tell me that we're done, I have to go potty.
It only took me about five weeks to realize that I could've killed two birds with one stone and instead of 'rinsing off the pool water' and coming home to shower, we could just take a shower at the Community Center. Made life easier for me, and Nece liked taking showers there... it was something different.
Last night we received our "Certificate of Participation" and Nece was proud as a peach. It's hanging on her mirror in her bedroom. Better than the living room wall which was the first place she wanted to put it.
We talked a bit about do you want to go to swimming lessons without mommy, like the other big kids? And here is what I've been hearing for the past couple weeks, "Mom, one more time I go to swimming lessons with you, and then I go ALL by myself. I a big girl! You can drive me and I go all by myself."
So there you have it, Nece will move up to the next group and go to lessons on her own beginning in January! So, it's either 2 activites in the winter or just swimming lessons again, we haven't decided. The other option we're looking at is tumbling. We'll see...
She knew the entire process from hollaring at me while I drove "MOM... there it is".
We'd get out of the car, walk up to the doors and hit the handicapped buttons that were clearly marked "children should not play with these buttons".
Walk past the pool and I'd hear something like, "mom, there's the pool".
Down the stairs... as we held up others and she would typically tell everybody 'there are alot of stairs, or mom, we're going down the stairs'.
Into the locker room... that was always interesting. Very intrigued by all the old naked ladies, announced to everybody that 'my potty is coming out or I have to poop' to wanting her own cupboard (locker). Putting everything into the cupboard and off to the pool area we'd go.
Favorite games in the water were definitely motor boat, hokey pokey and running on the mat. They had a mat that helped the kids balance on the water and they could jump off it into our arms... LOVED that part of every evening.
After swimming lessons, we'd play in the water for awhile until she'd tell me that we're done, I have to go potty.
It only took me about five weeks to realize that I could've killed two birds with one stone and instead of 'rinsing off the pool water' and coming home to shower, we could just take a shower at the Community Center. Made life easier for me, and Nece liked taking showers there... it was something different.
Last night we received our "Certificate of Participation" and Nece was proud as a peach. It's hanging on her mirror in her bedroom. Better than the living room wall which was the first place she wanted to put it.
We talked a bit about do you want to go to swimming lessons without mommy, like the other big kids? And here is what I've been hearing for the past couple weeks, "Mom, one more time I go to swimming lessons with you, and then I go ALL by myself. I a big girl! You can drive me and I go all by myself."
So there you have it, Nece will move up to the next group and go to lessons on her own beginning in January! So, it's either 2 activites in the winter or just swimming lessons again, we haven't decided. The other option we're looking at is tumbling. We'll see...
Monday, November 2, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Franny's not getting the shaft...
As I posted last night, and reviewed the blog quickly this morning, it looks like Franny is getting the shaft. Obviously this is not intentional... it just seems easier to tell 3 year old stories. So... what are the latest happenings with Franny on her 14 month birthday!
- we had our 2nd flu shot yesterday. fun stuff, i know
- she's still little... but we've now graduated into the 12 month clothes! FINALLY, I was getting so bored with her other stuff
- within the last couple days, I've noticed that her 7th tooth has popped through (and it was one of the eye teeth, hello crabbiness)
- she is cruising around EVERYWHERE; this kid doesn't just toddle around, she runs
- she is into EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. It's like a little tornado has gone through... we move from the kitchen to the living room, to Nece's room with the toys to the bathroom. Funny thing though, she doesn't really rip her room apart. And the basement, I should just take a picture after she's been in the play kitchen and has everything completely ripped apart.
- she feels the need to be a climber. This kid can get herself onto the bed, couch, chairs, and my personal favorite... is when I find her standing in the middle of the kitchen table with a little grin on her face like "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but here I am... what are you gonna do!"
- she is STILL a mama's girl and loves to be with me. She still is my little snuggler and I love that
- she isn't talking much... that we can understand, just the chinese babble. She does say mama, dad, and done consistently
- she loves to get right in the middle and wrestle with her sister and dad
- Marc makes this weird voice and she can imatate it like no other... it cracks us up every time
- recently, she's started to help with little 'chores' around the house. She puts the dog bowls where they belong after Nece's fed them, she gives Reggie treats every morning (while Nece does Hazel), she closes the dishwasher when I'm putting stuff away, she puts Nece's pull-up in the garbage every morning, she gets her shoes and jacket
And that is a quick snapshot of what Franny is currently up to!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Holy Buckets... Where did October go?
WOW! It's been 21 days since I last updated... where have I been and what have I been doing this month? I DON'T know, but obviously the computer hasn't been a priority. Let's see if I can go through the last 3 weeks in my head and see what we've been up to! Maybe moving backwards will get me to the first of the month!
Daddy has been working ALOT. That is the nature of the beast this time of year. Weather cooperates, dad works. The month of October and November are crazy for dad, so it's lots of time 'just us girls'. And what does that mean... mommy finds stuff to do because being home too much causes stir-crazy mommys and kiddos and then nobody is happy.
This past weekend... we started on Friday night visiting with our friends Keith and Nance, Todd and Carrie. It was great to see all them and let the girls play/visit. Once the candy was discovered... Nece was in heaven! She takes after me and LOVES her candy! I had part 3 of her photography class on Saturday morning. The girls got to spend some much overdue time with Emmie. My workshop was good, but a fairly decent time commitment over the last four weeks, so now its putting all the learning into practice. Saturday afternoon, we were lazy bums... cleaned and worked on ripping the final stuff out of the garden. Big task completed! YEAH! Sunday... what a FUN day! I headed off to the apple orchard with the girls (and the rest of MN residents) for a beautiful Sunday filled with a wagon ride, walking through the apple orchard, having an apple right from the trees, and then finally off for a special treat! A great way to spend one of the only beautiful fall days we've had all season!
The previous weekend there wasn't much planned... until grandma called and let us know that she was going to be at the waterpark overnight with Jon, David and a couple of their friends! We had a great night and holy buckets... I don't have ANY idea where Nece gets all her energy. She was rip, roarin and ready to go, while the rest of us were dead dog tired! Daddy had a rare Saturday morning off and had the opportunity to go to the Gophers game and said the new stadium was incredible!
And the weekend before that... let's see how good my memory is. Honestly, it's not that great, and looking at our calendar it looks like we didn't do much. And if I'm remembering clearly, I think we did have a fairly quiet weekend at the beginning of October. We probably enjoyed decent weather outside, played and made sure we caught up on everything!
And Tuesday nights... we go to swimming lessons! They've been going well. Of course one week a kid pooped in the pool and we had lessons in the big pool and let me tell you that water was freezing and it was miserable! Nece is doing well with the lessons and gets excited every Tuesday night. A funny from this week, as this was our conversation in the pool in the middle of the class:
Mommies have big boobies and daddys have little boobies, right?
Yes, Nece.
Mommy, why?
Nece, that's the way God made us.
Mommy... I have little boobies, but when I get to be big like you, I'm going to have big boobies too.
Next topic. Done and quick... except this conversation had to happen in front of the only dad in the class! Fabulous!!!
And the locker room talk. Use your imagination... lets just say the ladies that are regulars just giggle to themselves as they listen to our conversations. Most notably last night when I was informed (very loudly) that Nece wasn't going potty... just poopy! And as she flushed, she proclaimed her famous line:
BYE Poopies! Don't come back!!!
I'm sure there are more highlights... but that's all that is on the top of my head at the moment! It took alot to pull the computer out, but I know with Halloween coming up... I will have more to post in a week!
Til sooner rather than later... lets hope!
Daddy has been working ALOT. That is the nature of the beast this time of year. Weather cooperates, dad works. The month of October and November are crazy for dad, so it's lots of time 'just us girls'. And what does that mean... mommy finds stuff to do because being home too much causes stir-crazy mommys and kiddos and then nobody is happy.
This past weekend... we started on Friday night visiting with our friends Keith and Nance, Todd and Carrie. It was great to see all them and let the girls play/visit. Once the candy was discovered... Nece was in heaven! She takes after me and LOVES her candy! I had part 3 of her photography class on Saturday morning. The girls got to spend some much overdue time with Emmie. My workshop was good, but a fairly decent time commitment over the last four weeks, so now its putting all the learning into practice. Saturday afternoon, we were lazy bums... cleaned and worked on ripping the final stuff out of the garden. Big task completed! YEAH! Sunday... what a FUN day! I headed off to the apple orchard with the girls (and the rest of MN residents) for a beautiful Sunday filled with a wagon ride, walking through the apple orchard, having an apple right from the trees, and then finally off for a special treat! A great way to spend one of the only beautiful fall days we've had all season!
The previous weekend there wasn't much planned... until grandma called and let us know that she was going to be at the waterpark overnight with Jon, David and a couple of their friends! We had a great night and holy buckets... I don't have ANY idea where Nece gets all her energy. She was rip, roarin and ready to go, while the rest of us were dead dog tired! Daddy had a rare Saturday morning off and had the opportunity to go to the Gophers game and said the new stadium was incredible!
And the weekend before that... let's see how good my memory is. Honestly, it's not that great, and looking at our calendar it looks like we didn't do much. And if I'm remembering clearly, I think we did have a fairly quiet weekend at the beginning of October. We probably enjoyed decent weather outside, played and made sure we caught up on everything!
And Tuesday nights... we go to swimming lessons! They've been going well. Of course one week a kid pooped in the pool and we had lessons in the big pool and let me tell you that water was freezing and it was miserable! Nece is doing well with the lessons and gets excited every Tuesday night. A funny from this week, as this was our conversation in the pool in the middle of the class:
Mommies have big boobies and daddys have little boobies, right?
Yes, Nece.
Mommy, why?
Nece, that's the way God made us.
Mommy... I have little boobies, but when I get to be big like you, I'm going to have big boobies too.
Next topic. Done and quick... except this conversation had to happen in front of the only dad in the class! Fabulous!!!
And the locker room talk. Use your imagination... lets just say the ladies that are regulars just giggle to themselves as they listen to our conversations. Most notably last night when I was informed (very loudly) that Nece wasn't going potty... just poopy! And as she flushed, she proclaimed her famous line:
BYE Poopies! Don't come back!!!
I'm sure there are more highlights... but that's all that is on the top of my head at the moment! It took alot to pull the computer out, but I know with Halloween coming up... I will have more to post in a week!
Til sooner rather than later... lets hope!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...
Halloween is approaching and I'm stressing out! I know that Nece has definite opinions and if I don't include her in the costume decision she's going to buck the system and it's not going to be good.
I know in the back of my head, she wants to be a princess. This isn't too hard to figure out, considering we come home every day, she walks into her room and puts on the following: a crown, Cinderella or Tinkerbell skirt, red winter scarf, high heels (yes, high heels) and finally carries the wand around.
I wanted to use a nice warm, cozy Ladybug costume for Franny, but then thought it would be cute to coordinate the girls. So... I started on a quest to come up with something and chatted with friends. The BEST one I've gotten thus far is Dora and Boots. How cute would Franny be dressed up as a little monkey?!?!
So, I had the costume discussion with Nece this morning:
Mom, I want to be a princess and Franny too.
Do you think Franny should be Boots and you can be Dora?
No, mom… I be Cinarella and Franny wants to be Ariel.
Fast forward 5 minutes.
Mom… boots is a monkey.
I know Nece, should Franny be a monkey for Halloween and you can be Dora?
No mom, I told you. I be Cinarella and Franny be Ariel.
So... what to do? That is the question! I'm going to have a repeat of this conversation this evening. If I get the same answers, I know she's pretty serious, and will oblige! If we get different answers, I may do what I want to do and bring princess dress up clothes as a back-up on Halloween!
I know in the back of my head, she wants to be a princess. This isn't too hard to figure out, considering we come home every day, she walks into her room and puts on the following: a crown, Cinderella or Tinkerbell skirt, red winter scarf, high heels (yes, high heels) and finally carries the wand around.
I wanted to use a nice warm, cozy Ladybug costume for Franny, but then thought it would be cute to coordinate the girls. So... I started on a quest to come up with something and chatted with friends. The BEST one I've gotten thus far is Dora and Boots. How cute would Franny be dressed up as a little monkey?!?!
So, I had the costume discussion with Nece this morning:
Mom, I want to be a princess and Franny too.
Do you think Franny should be Boots and you can be Dora?
No, mom… I be Cinarella and Franny wants to be Ariel.
Fast forward 5 minutes.
Mom… boots is a monkey.
I know Nece, should Franny be a monkey for Halloween and you can be Dora?
No mom, I told you. I be Cinarella and Franny be Ariel.
So... what to do? That is the question! I'm going to have a repeat of this conversation this evening. If I get the same answers, I know she's pretty serious, and will oblige! If we get different answers, I may do what I want to do and bring princess dress up clothes as a back-up on Halloween!
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