And She's Down...

Paige took a nasty fall yesterday when we were at the pool, she lost her footing coming out of the bathroom and landed her head right into the cement.  It was one of those you know they are going down but you just can't get to them fast enough without literally throwing your other child out of the way and injuring them.  I can say however, that this is my first incident with Paige where she has gotten hurt on my watch and she is 15 months old, props to me.  It looks a little worse today because she has a scap on her nose and forhead now, oh well we can't protect them from everything right, here are some pics of her from last night.

I Survived

Well I did it, Cory has been in Colorado since early Monday morning and comes home this evening. The girls were both really good and we had a good time together, but as of yesterday I was just dragging. I told Claire that I was just so tired, I just felt like I couldn't wake up and I couldn't figure out why, then I realized HELLO you have been a single mom for 3 days now. You wouldn't think that it would affect me that much seeing as how I am on my own with them all day while Cory is at work, but those 3 extra hours each day catches up with you and those 3 extra hours are always the toughest because by 5pm I am so ready for a break. Also, Claire woke up every night since Monday around 2-3am having to go to the bathroom, well last night it was a bad dream about Swiper (Dora the Explorer) stealing her puppy, she hasn't gotten up in the middle of the night for months and then Cory is gone and we had 3 nights in a row of it. So between the not being able to fall asleep until 11:30-midnight because I am paranoid and hear every little sound, my sleep being interrupted for 3 nights straight and trying to think of fun things to keep us busy I now understand why I am so tired.
BUT, Cory is home tonight from his Leadership meeting in Colorado and all should be well again. They said that it was a meeting but Whitewater Rafting doesn't sound much like a meeting to me. They also helped to build new stairs for a company that works with kids at risk and with disabilities. I am not complaining because also on this trip were some people that it doesn't hurt to get to know better on both a professional and personal level, if you know what I mean. So welcome home honey and thanks for bringing some of the cooler weather with you, this is crazy 67 degrees on July 24th.

Time to have a Flashback

When I was at the gym yesterday working out hard to my IPod I started thinking about each song that I have on there and what it reminds me of. SO I thought I would play a little game with any of you who want to participate. I will name the song and what it reminds me of and if any of you wish to respond as to what memory the song brings back to you, feel free:

We will start with the oldies:
Tootsee Roll: dancing a routine to it my senior year on Poms.

Bust A Move: I don't think it would have given me a memory before but now I think of my neighbors Carol & Mike!

U Can't Touch This: My brother in law Jeff talking about his parachute pants that he had just like MC (he is 40 so this was popular when he was in what college?)

Whoomp! There It Is: My dad for sure, he loves this song and every time it would come on didn't matter where we were he would just start singing and dancing. (Still does to this day actually)

The Ditty: My high school days for sure and all my crazy friends!

Always Be My Baby: The summer after our senior year getting ready to go to college and Cory!

Come Baby Come: My BFF, Nicole and the dance she choreographed to it, too funny!

Nuthin' But A "G" Thang: High school all the way, we loved us some Snoop!

Hip Hop Hooray: Again high school, singing it and thinking we were so cool with our arms swaying back and forth.

Now more recent songs:
Bleeding Love: This is Claire's favorite song she actually knows most of the words and will sing it also, my sister in law Lauren LOVES this song. :)

Tattoo and No Air: Both just make me think I should be at the gym, you know how you just associate some songs with some things, well Jordan Sparks makes me think GYM!

Realize: Usually listen to this during my weight lifting time, cooling down.

Stick wit u: Reminds me of an old student who was a pretty good singer and sang this to me and my assistant one day after class.

WOW that was fun, songs are a great way to bring back memories, now I challenge you all to take on the challenge!

Long or Short?

I have been trying to decide whether of not I want to cut my hair so that it is short again. All through high school I had long hair and then when I went to college I cut it short, then I knew I wanted it long enough to pull up for my wedding so I grew it out again and after the wedding chopped it off. Over the last few years I have decided to grow it back out and and have layers put in it. I just think that I am ready to cut it short again. I like the short/swing cut that a lot of women are doing these days.

I always like my hair right after I get out of the shower and have it all fixed but by the next morning it just looks like crap again. With short hair it doesn't take as long to style or dry and it holds it form better and longer than a day. I don't know what I will end up doing my next appointment isn't until September but as of now I am leaning toward cutting it.

Aren't you all glad that you just spent a few minutes of your time reading about whether or not I should cut my hair? HA HA!

Truly Blessed

As most of you all know my cousin's husband Dirk has been battling brain cancer for 2 1/2 years now with the most aggressive type of cancer there is. He has surpassed all the doctor's expectations of only living 6 months....... by 2 years. Last night we went to a trivia night to help raise money for my cousin and her three kids Emily is 2, Alex is 6 and Jim is 8. They have so many medical bills it is simple overwhelming and when a few of Betsy and Dirk's friends asked if they would be okay with them sponsoring and trivia night to raise money they thought that would be a great idea. At the event last night Betsy was so braved she got up on stage in front of over 700 people and told her and Dirk's story. She informed us that Dirk has now gotten into the only Hospice House in the St. Louis area, they only have 20 beds and in the past Dirk's conditions wasn't extreme enough to make him a priority. Within the last few weeks he is no longer able to walk, write and can barely talk so he moved way up on the priority list and is now in the house where they are helping him be as comfortable as possible in the short time he has left. Next week will be his and Betsy's 11 year wedding anniversary and we all hope and pray that he can hold on long enough to spend that day one last time with his wife and family.
The evening was a HUGE success and they raised $60,000 for my cousin and her family if not even more, they didn't have the exact amount ready to tell before we left at 11:30pm. If you would all please keep Betsy and Dirk in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks I would really appreciate it. Dirk is such a WONDERFUL husband, father, son, son in law, brother in law and friend to so many people, it is so sad that his life is getting cut short and that he and his family have had to go through all this pain for the past 2 years. Thank you to all my friends who joined us last night to celebrate Dirk and help raise money for my family it really meant a lot to me!!

What is this all about

This week is one of the weeks that Claire goes to summer camp and when I took her on Monday she totally freaked out on me. She went to this same school all last year twice a week and never once cried or said that she wanted to come home with me. However, both today and on Monday she cried and clung to me as I tried to leave. Cory took the day off of work on Monday so we thought maybe she was sad because daddy was home and she thought that she was missing out on something, but when we picked her up she was all smiles. When we asked her why she was crying like that when we left, was it because daddy was home, she said no, she didn't want mommy to leave. She and I talked about it yesterday and how she didn't need to cry because I would be back to pick her up after lunch, she said okay and that she wouldn't cry today. Even in the car on the way there she said "I not cry today okay mommy"? I told her that sounded great, HOWEVER, as soon as we started walking down the hall and approached the room she started clinging to me like a dryer sheet to a pant leg. We got into the room and she saw all of her friends, but it started all over again the tears and calling for me. I even told her that I would read her one book and then I was going to leave and she couldn't cry, she agreed I read the book and then when I went to leave, oh boy. The teacher came over and picked her up to distract her as Paige and I made a run for it. I don't know what this is all about, but I am really nervous because she is starting a different preschool in the fall and if she is acting up like this at a school that she is familiar with for a year now, what is it going to be like at a new school with new surroundings and new friends?

Aren't colds wonderful?

I have been feeling a cold coming on since Friday evening when our friends were over for the 4th. My colds always start the same way everytime with a sour throat. I have been fighting a sour throat all weekend and then yesterday I was feeling better and thought oh good I managed to beat this one, WRONG, as I was watching the Bachelorette (LOVED IT TOO) last night my nose started to run and I knew it was back. I didn't sleep very good last night with waking up to blow my nose or coughing and now today I feel like my body is just going through the motions. Both the girls are taking an afternoon nap and I think I will join them as well. We aren't suppose to get colds in the summer time come on, I just hope that the girls don't get it as I have been washing my hands like crazy and trying not to get too close to them, only time will tell.

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone had a nice 4th, we did we had some of our close friends over and had a nice time eating, drinking and hanging out. The girls stood around and chatted while the guys played some yard games such as washers and hoosier golf! During dinner the topic of my blog got brought up and I was surprised to find out that a lot more of you are reading it than I was aware, you just DON'T COMMENT, it is fun for you all to read what is going on in our lives but it is fun for me to read the comments so leave some already, HA HA! After dinner we decided that we would give the fireworks a go and all got in our cars and headed out. All of the kids did a great job and hung in there so us parents could enjoy the fireworks and our beers! Here are some pictures of our fun evening!

Our Girls!

Me & Cory

Dave & Lori

Jason & Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Me & Lori

Cory & Jason, they've been good friends since they were 17.

Me & Lori we have only known each other for 3 years but feels like we have been friends a lot longer than that.

I have known Jason for as long as I have known Cory.

And we can't forget our oldest child "Killian", he is such a good boy!

Just Need to Vent

Okay so today has been one of those days that you hate, where you are counting down the hours until you can go to bed and start fresh the following day.
When I woke up this morning it seemed like an ordinary day, but quickly started to go downhill from there. I decided that I would be a good wife and mom and clean up the house and change sheets on the beds etc. First I did Claire's room and sheets and then worked my way into Paige's room. As I was changing Paige's sheet, emptying her diaper genie etc I asked Claire to clean up her room. Well as all of us mom's know very well their idea of cleaning up and ours are completely different. I do have to hand it to her she is getting better but still has a ways to go. As I was cleaning up the girls rooms, Paige is following me all around the house whining and crying and driving me crazy. After I got done with her room I decided to put her to bed for a morning nap. After I helped steer Claire in the right direction of cleaning her room and basically just redid everything that she had stuck everywhere it didn't belong I asked Claire if she wanted to watch some t.v. and she said "sure". I quickly took her down turned on Arthur, gave her a snack and some milk and thought I could now run up and clean up the master bedroom and change our sheets. WRONG, within 10 minutes I hear Claire downstairs coming toward the steps and I am trying to beat her to the top to tell her to stop and go back downstairs. Even though she is a very petite little girl she can sound like a herd of elephants running through the house at times. She is telling me that Arthur is over and I know good and well that it isn't because it is a 25 minute program, SO I tell her no it isn't and send her back to watch the rest.

Once Paige woke up from her nap we had lunch and then headed to the mall. By the time that lunch time hit I was starting to get a headache and feeling really drowsy and blah, but mom's never get a chance to sit down and rest even when you feel like complete crap. SO I sucked it up and went on with my day and list of errands, heading out the door to the mall. I needed to run in to just one store and get some shampoo so I told Claire that she was going to walk and I was going to carry Paige, not feeling up to dealing with the stroller. Everything was going great until we got into "Regis" it is a hair salon that sells products too. I swear one of the ladies saw me walking in with two little ones (who weren't in strollers) and freaked out, she immediately came running over to me asking if she could help me find something, but I am not on the slow train I knew that she just wanted to help me and get me out before someone (Claire) split or broke something. I told her that I was fine, got what I needed and headed to the register, the whole time the lady is giving a not so pleasant look. Yes, Claire was opening up the shampoos and smelling them but to be honest at that point I was feeling even worse and just DIDN'T CARE!!!!!!!! I so badly just wanted to say to the women "Chill out, you don't have kids do you"? After I got shot one more look of what are you thinking bringing your children into our store without a stroller I gave her a killer smile, said thank you and left. Off to the grocery store we go!

I decided that since I had a ton of stuff to get for the 4th of July get together we are having at our house I would go to Shop N Save and everything was going great until my stomach starting rumbling and not the hungry rumble if you know what I mean. I remembered where the bathroom was and quickly parked the cart, grabbed both the girls and headed into the bathroom. Well as soon as we opened the door I thought my headed was going to explode as the smell was awful. I got the girls into the stall with me and was trying to keep them from touching anything, which is nearly impossible in a tiny a$$ stall that is disgusting from top to bottom. Claire had to go to the bathroom first, of course, so being the good mom that I am I let her go even though my stomach was really hurting by this point, plus there was someone else in the bathroom and I was hoping if Claire went first they would be gone before I went, not knowing how that was going to turn out if you now what I mean. SO Claire is done and I got new toilet paper on the seat and the other women is washing her hands by this time. Well she seems to be taking forever and Claire starts telling me "that something doesn't smell very good". I mouth to her that my tummy hurts and I know, but of course she can't let it go and repeats herself even louder the next time by saying "that really doesn't smell good mommy". Don't forget the whole time this is going on I am trying to keep Paige from sitting down or touching the floor or anything else. FINALLY we are done in the bathroom, I got a few more things and then we headed to the check out line. Why is it that Paige is usually really good until we get to the check out and then she starts yelling and screaming and wanting out? Anyway, I pay and start bagging my grocery with the girls sitting in the cart pointing and talking/screaming to go see Barney. Everyone around me is looking at them and me but again I am to the point that I just DON'T CARE, I am just about to lose my mind because all the bags have huge tears in them and I have to keep re bagging my groceries so keep watching if you want to people because you are about to see me lose it over plastic grocery bags............ Then I go out to the car and start loading all the bags into my car and YEAP they start ripping and dumping all over the back of my car. I am standing in the parking lot screaming "Oh my god, you have got to be kidding me".

FINALLY we get home I am unloading the car and then I notice that Paige is already half way down the driveway heading for the street. I start running after her callng her name and you all remember that game, she starts going even faster instead of stopping, so now I get to hold her and unload the rest of the groceries. Well they are asleep now and I am going to go lay down myself, it has just been one of those days!!!!!!!!

The Butterfly House

Today, Aunt Lauren, Great Aunt Lisa, Great Grandma and I took the girls to The Butterfly House, I have been there one other time about a year ago when Claire was 2and Paige was only a few months old. It was fun to watch both of the girls faces as the butterflies flew past them. Paige kept trying to catch one and Claire was the complete opposite, where she liked to look at them but had no desire to touch one. Apparently the lotion that I put on my legs this morning must be a favorite of the white and black butterflies as they were all flying around my legs and even landing on me. At first I didn't mind them as I know that they are just butterflies and don't bite but then I looked down and saw them moving their legs all around as if they were sharpening their claws to go in for a nice taste. I could tell that Claire did not like them being on my legs she had a concerned look on her face along with saying, "no mommy, get them off your legs". By this time I was ready for them to be off me too, but didn't want Claire to see that I was getting a little freaked out, so I moved my legs back and forth and it worked they flew away. Paige on the other hand loved them being on my legs for they were just at her level and she kept trying to catch/smash one! After we left the butterflies we headed over to the playground to run around with about 100 other kids and then headed home. Here are some pictures that I took it really is a pretty place to take some good pictures with the water falls and flowers, when the girls get a little older and will cooperate for pictures a little better we will go back.