Madeline and Santa

Taylor had stole my bottled orange soda. I said, "give that back!" Madeine said, "Stop Momma, thats Daddys!" I said, "Nope thats Mommas!" "NO!" "Momma is going to tell Santa.." She walked over, grabbed the soda and told Taylor, "Opps thats Mommas!!"

Glitter Pine Cone Mobile

This afternoon Madeline and I made glitter pine cone mobiles! She was so excited to get them all done that most of the ones she did didn't have enough glitter on them! Oh well, its the experience right?! We did gold and red pine cones! You need spray adhesive, glitter, pine cones and bags (plastic or paper.) Spray the adhesive onto the pine cones, place in bag, add glitter and SHAKE!

'tis the season!

It is finally December!! And even more importantly it is finally getting cold! I am so ready for snow and frost to kill all of these mosquitos at our house!! Both of my girls have been sick this week. Madeline has double ear infections and Lacey Reese has croup. No fun and no sleep. We did get to go see Santa last week at Kites with Lights in Nags Head. Madeline asked for a puddle.. yep like the one outside! That is all she wants for Christmas. I guess it is either a good thing or a sign that she has too much already!
We have also baked some sweet treats! We baked sugar cookies that we rolled in sprinkles! What a messy fun time that was!

Tomorrow morning Madeline and I are headed to a cookie exchange. Like I mentioned earlier I have two sick kids and my husband has been at work the past two days so I did not make cookies. Instead we made these sweet treats! They are a pretzel, a Rollo candy and a Christmas colored M&M. You could also do it with Hersey Kisses and I think it would taste best with a Rollo and pecan.. aka a Christmas turtle! Yum!!

Thanksgiving 2011

We had such a great Thanksgiving this year! We spent it with friends who live out in Grandy, which is a much more rural area than where we are! The house was packed with good friends and a lot of kids for Madeline to play with! She had such a great time! We packed the kids sized picnic table and brought them some paper for coloring and paper airplane making! We even got a family picture which rarely happens! We had lots of great friends and food! Madeline had 3 friends her age that she got to run outside with and do lots of playing inside! We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area and be blessed with such great people in our kids life!



..as you can see, Lacey takes her time getting ready and likes to make it known that Hurricane Lacey made landfall!

Recent Madeline Quotes

Madeline met Santa and asked him for a puddle..

AND-

"I love you baby." -Mama
"I not a baby." -Madeline
"No, but you're my angel." -Mama
"I not an angel, I a barbie!" -Madeline

Madeline really enjoys cooking! She loves to "help Momma" in the kitchen! She pulls up her a chair and gets right on the counter! To celebrate Fall we made pumpkin brownies!

Lacey Reese is ten and a half months old. She says Momma, hello and Daddy. She still likes to wake up during the night.

Speaking of waking up during the night. Last night Madeline didn't sleep, she told me she is afraid of beds! Hope that fear passes soon!!

Too much playing in the hay!

Yesterday Madeline, Lacey and I went to the Grandy pumpkin patch! We had a great time on the tractor ride and picking out our own pumpkins. A little while before we left Madeline came to me complaining that she had hay in her eye. It was a little red but I didn't think much of it. At ballet her teacher brought her out to me and said she was rubbing her eye and it was red. Again I assumed it was fine.. by dinner time she looked like she had a black eye! The urgent care and doctors office were closed so off to the ER we went. Madeline has been to the ER twice now and she loves to go because she gets popsicles! She sat there like a champ while they touched her eye, put drops in it and shined all sorts of crazy lights into it. She was so tough and remained so calm! All of the nurses were coming in and complimenting her! In the end she had a corneal abrasion which should heal up in the next few days.
So today we went to the eye doctor just to check on everything. We passed the hospital and Madeline said, "Momma we passed the doctor, we are on the wrong path!" It was so cute! She is such a doll!

Bring on the Pugs

About a month a go my pug was getting a break from little, snappy dogs. He was just starting to enjoy retirement and his old age..


Then it was abruptly ruined by a new pug named Pugsley. Pugsley is possibly worse than Reina was. He bites and tugs on Otis 20 hours a day. He is very fast and runs laps all through the house. He enjoys going potty in our guest room. I don't think he cares for grass. But he really loves both of our kids. And Madeline thinks "Baby" is the best thing since goldfish shaped bread (which she also loves!) Madeline still asks about Reina and when she is coming home. And when we got Pugsley fixed she wanted to know if he was going to the vet to go to heaven to be with Reina.. and if we could bring Reina home from the vet. It is still very sad and we miss Reina very much. But this new ball of energy has breathed new life back into our house and we all (even Taylor) love him very much!

Nags Head Pumpkin Fair

Last week we went to the Pumpkin Fair in Nags Head! They had a lot of great pumpkins, although we didn't bring any home! We have two trips to the pumpkin patch planned so I was happy Madeline didn't insist on getting a pumpkin from the fair! Madeline mainly played on the playground and she also got to ride a pony named Big Al. It was her first pony ride and she LOVED him! I was very nervous though because no one walked beside my 3 year old who had never been on a horse before! Not safe!




As usual my sweet Lacey got left out of the pictures. I will be so glad when she is toddling around so she can be involved in more. She already is so into everything Madeline is doing I know they will be best friends and have the best time together!

Not a Nice Sissy.

Lacey is a snatcher. She likes to snatch every toy Madeline wants to play with. And she doesn't forget about the toy she wants if you give her another toy, she still goes after Madeline's and will use her entire body to get it. A few minutes ago Madeline pushed Lacey and Lacey bumped her head on the wall. I made Madeline go to time out and she had to say sorry to Lacey. Madeline's apology was, "I so sorry I knocked you out Lacey!"

On this day in 2010..

Madeline moved into her big girl bed!

Today in 2009..

Madeline started walking.. Fun fact..

I will hopefully update on hurricane Irene soon!

Reina

Yesterday our beautiful Reina passed away. I will never forget the first time I saw that little black puff ball in my parents front yard. My heart hurts that she died alone, that Madeline keeps asking when "Reiny" is coming home and because my entire family has lost such a loyal friend.

And my baby turns three..

It has been awhile.. I have decided it is because it takes too long to upload pictures..

More importantly, my first love, Madeline Taylor has turned three.. We celebrated first with Taylor's mom and sister. My camera was broken, but she brought Madeline the most adorable octopus cupcake.. On her actual birthday I surprised her with another octopus cake.. And at her mermaid themed birthday party I surprised Taylor with a snazzy octopus cake (which was planned long before I knew about the other two octopus cakes!) Madeline is such a beautiful, sweet and strong little girl. She lights up my life every single day.

Taylor and Madeline decorating pink polka dot shells for her friends to find. We made monogramed buckets for them to take the shells home in.

There were plenty of adorable cupcakes and a beautiful mermaid cake for Madeline.

I am so thrilled you had an amazing third birthday Madeline! These three years with you have been the best years of my life! I love you!

Sweetness..

This is my sweet Lacey.

And this is my sweet Madeline. Atleast this is how I like to think of her..

But sometimes I find her looking like this.. covered from head to toe in peanut butter and Sharpie.

Then I look over and discover the Sharpie on the tv screen.. pure joy.

Blog,

I am sorry for neglecting you. I haven't even been reading what other blogs are writing. Taylor has been gone for 5 weeks. He has been in Charleston, SC. We went and visited him last week. We had a blast. My mom joined us during the week. Lacey is 5 months old. Madeline is using sentences. She is so sweet and wild at the same time. Both of my girls get more precious every single day.

Don't know what day!

Greek yogurt. Picnic lunch. Grilled chicken with beans!

Eat..

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. -Michael Pollan

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday

Monday Taylor came home and brought us donuts. I didn't eat one because I only like plain glazed donuts and he brought home chocolate. The rest of the day we ate at home. Yesterday we had Kashi bars for breakfast. Taylor and Madeline ate at home for lunch. I ate out with a friend and got a pedicure. For dinner I made a steak, homemade loaded mashed potatos, broccoli and homemade cheesecake. Today Madeline had a Kashi bar at the library. I skipped breakfast. We had a playdate and went to Caption Franks and had some super yummy hotdogs. Anyone who knows me knows a good hotdog is one of my favorite foods. At home I put mayo on it and dunk it in ketchup. It is a southern thing! In public I don't because people think it is strange haha. So I had mustard, chili and slaw. It was all yummy! For dinner we had chicken nuggets. Not the healthiest but to be honest my kitchen was clean since we hadn't cooked for breakfast or lunch and I wanted it to stay that way. So the toaster oven to the rescue. Last night I watched a documentary on netflix called Food Inc. A few years ago I watched a Pam Anderson document on chicken and I haven't really ate chicken since. The only chicken I eat is fried on a sandwich. Weird huh? But after watching Food Inc it really made me wish I lived in an area where I could get local grassfed meat. It also made me wonder why I live in a huge fishing area, yet in the Food Lion fish section all the fish are previously frozen and from China? Baffling to me. In other news I did get an SLR Nikon D1300 to start taking pictures for the blog! I have barely even opened it though. I need a new memory card because it wanted me to delete my other card and I am one of those people with a million memory cards because I never delete any of my pictures.

Lacey..

rolls over! So proud of her! Cheerios for breakfast. Ham on hawaiian bread with yogurt for lunch. For dinner was my strange creation. I marinated thin chicken breasts in soy sauce, lime juice, garlic and honey. Then grilled it. I had spaghetti noodles and made a sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, honey and canola oil. Then I added steamed broccoli and peanuts. It was pretty good. Madeline dipped her chicken in honey. Next time I would add corn starch so the sauce would be thicker. Madeline and I then tried to make M&M cookies to surprise Taylor because they are his favorite. But I used Crisco and it was horrible. To cover up the taste I added butter but I think it made it worse. Madeline even through away a cookie so you know it was bad!

FAILED

Yesterday I had a ton of people over for breakfast. We had baked oatmel and a grit casserole. Yummy. We just snacked on that for lunch. Dinner we got take out from La Cabana. I got a Mahi Mahi taco but when I ordered I didn't realized it was fried. So I just had guacamole and bean tacos instead. Yummy.

Today I slepy ALL day. I am embarassed to say what time I woke up. So I had a brownie for daytime food and we ate out AGAIN for dinner. Guilty. This time we got a pizza for Madeline and Taylor and a sub for me. It was nasty. I wish we didn't eat it because it wasn't worth the cheat!

9.

Kashi bar. I forgot to give Madeline one on the way to school. Horrible parent. Apple for snack. "Belly jelly" and yogurt for lunch. Grilled chicken, peaches and corn for dinner. Ice cream.

Sarah is here! Tomorrow I am having a ton of kiddos over for breakfast!

Day Eight-

Breakfast-Cheerios.
Lunch-Nathan's hot dogs and Chobani
Dinner-PB&J, Baked Lays, Brownies!

Today-Lacey's first tooth is popping through. She has a stye on her eye and her entire eyelid is inflammed. We went to the library, had a mini cupcake and went to the beach with SM!
Tomorrow- Sarah and baby Eli comes for a visit!

Wow what an awesome day..

So yesterday was a horrible day.. Today was awesome! Lacey didn't nap yesterday so she slept from 6:30pm to 7:15pm. It was incredible! Madeline got up at 7:30 because my alarm went off and I was feeding Lacey so I couldn't get up. We had Kashi bars for breakfast. I did go to Dunkin Donuts and got a coffee (McDonalds frappes are SO much better!)Madeline went to preschool. I went to Food Lion and then shopping around town with a friend. I picked up Madeline at 12. I had an apple for her in the car. Once we got home she has a pb&j and cucumbers with dip. I had a Nathan's hot dog. Madeline told me she was tired so she took a nap. A MIRACLE! Lacey also took a nap so I was able to do some online browsing and clean up my kitchen. Madeline got up and she told me she had to potty. Just for kicks I decided to put her in big girl underwear. She only had ONE accident all afternoon. And the only reason she had that was because we were outside playing and she was too excited to come inside. We had spaghetti for dinner. Madeline now wants to read to me at night. I am no longer aloud to hold the book! If she wants me to read she will point to my mouth but she still has to hold the book. Then she will reread the story and make things up. Tonight we read Llama Llama Red Pajama and she would babble on about how llama was crying and sad. It was adorable. When I was walking out she announced she had to potty and I said no go to bed. She insisted so we got up and she really did have to peepee! I was so proud of her! Lacey went to bed at 8:30 so I have been cleaning my house since. Hopefully I'll get to bed early again tonight!

Wow what a bad day..

Yesterday on the menu Taylor took care of breakfast with Madeline. For lunch was sandwiches and dinner we had Nathan's hotdogs. Yesterday was not a fun day because Taylor left until Friday night and Madeline was very upset about it! Plus I was sick.
Today we started with homemade waffles. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com and we did not like them. The top didn't get crispy, instead it just burnt. Maybe it is the waffle iron I have, but we wouldn't make these again. For lunch Madeline had a peanut butter and honey sandwich. I had a Lean Cuisine. While I made dinner I let Madeline play out on the deck, I was talking to Taylor on the phone (it is our anniversary today) and I noticed what I assumed was brown sugar on the floor. I walked over to inspect and behind me Madeline walked up with a fist full of sand and threw it everywhere! She had been throwing sand in the hall! The reason it is so hard for us to cook is because it is impossible to keep up with her while you prepare and then clean up by yourself is immpossible! So we made the Nelly's broccoli mashed potatoes,a can of corn and hawaiian bread. We were supposed to have a chicken breast, but I never got that far. My kitchen is a complete dump but I am too tired tonight and will hopefully get it cleaned up tomorrow during preschool.
Tonight I was frustrated and I was sitting in the bathroom floor upset and Madeline walked in. She had a starfish she had stolen from our guest bathroom (which she normally gets in trouble for taking!) She took my hand, took one finger and said, "one finger Mama" and showed me how to pet the starfish. It made my heart smile because today we went to the aquarium and the guy got one of the starfish out for her to pet (and she also petted a snake the same way) with "one finger." It was so cute that she remembered doing that. It reminded me she is a sweet little girl who is soaking in everything I do. So no matter how tired, upset or irritated I feel, I need to be there and positive for her!
Six days and our eating in challenge is still going fairly well!!

BUSTED on Day 4

Yesterday was day 4 of our 30 day eat in challenge and we FAILED. We were supposed to go to the 4h Horse Show. So I got up early, packed lunch for us and put a chicken dish in the crockpot. We got online and realized the horse show was the previous weekend so we decided to go to Chesapeake for the day to do some shopping. We had Cheerios for breakfast and then we had FRIDAYS for lunch. It wasn't very good, was $41 and when I got home I had SERIOUS upset stomach until about 10am this morning. Hopefully it is gone now because I am finally starting to feel better. Overall it was a big mistake and I am mad at myself for letting us go there! I don't even like Friday's! Taylor and Madeline did eat my crockpot chicken. It was chicken legs topped with spicy mustard, honey, garlic, soy sauce and lime juice. Taylor liked it. I was entirely too sick to eat it. Ugh annoying.
Taylor is in Charleston for the week for a fishery school. Of course he leaves the morning I have been up all night sick as a dog! I am supposed to be taking the girls to the St Patricks Day parade this afternoon but we will see if I have recovered from my sickness! It is in two hours and really I would need to leave in like an hour to be sure we have a parking spot! sigh too much to do!

Third Day

This morning Madeline finished up the baked oatmeal. Taylor was getting home from work this morning so I made him and I eggs and bacon in a muffin tin. The only problem was I didn't cook the bacon before so it was still raw. So I didn't eat it, Taylor was a trooper and ate one though! Lacey and I napped through lunch, but Madeline and Taylor had sandwiches. For dinner was grilled chicken, Hawaiian sweet bread and salad. Tomorrow we are taking the girls to a horse show because she is obcessed with ponies! I am not sure what I will make for breakfast, but we are attempting to pack a lunch since we will be gone all day and I am making a crockpot meal for dinner!

Day Two of No Eat Out Challenge

Today was day two of our no eat out challenge. This morning was a school morning for Madeline and that means we are rushed. So breakfast was chocolate milk and a peanut butter Kashi bar for her. I had nothing and then stopped by McDonalds for a caramel frappe.. Only half a cheat! Lunch was pb&j and yogurt. Dinner is my mom's baked oatmeal recipe and fruit. We will probably finish it up for dinner! Yum yum one of my favorite things! Not really sure why we have had breakfast for dinner both nights!

30 Day Eat In Challenge

My family eats out A LOT. Atleast once everytime Taylor is home. So I set a new 30 day challenge that we eat every meal at home and it must be homemade. This will be messed up a bit because Taylor will be in Charleston, SC all next week for a fishery school so he will probably be eating out there and he won't be home to eat with us. However Madeline and I are still going to stick to the challenge! Today we made homemade buttermilk pancakes. They were AWESOME! So much better than box mixes. I can't wait to have these again! For lunch we had peanut butter and banana sandwiches with an apple. For dinner we had eggs, bacon and toast. Tomorrow morning Madeline has school so we will probably start our day with Kashi bars!

Spring Outfits

When Madeline was "younger" (aka up until 2) I dressed her like a doll baby. Most things came from Gymboree and of course my favorite place on earth Target. However now she goes to preschool. At preschool she gets paint all over her clothes and plays outside and gets them dirty. That isn't complaining, I am grateful she has such a great time at school! But now I am sitting here looking through my Hanna Andersson catalog thinking about what I am going to get her for spring and I remember that it all gets ruined! The past month at school Madeline mainly alternates four outfits because I don't want her to get her good outfits dirty! So I am trying to decide if I need to accept she needs to wear knit outfits from Target or if it is still worth it to get the better quality outfits that I LOVE. Sigh. Why do sweet little girls have to grow up?

Two Months

My little girl is two months old! She now smiles and chatters away! She loves watching her big sister! And her hair makes her look like Conan O'brien's twin!

The end of the world.

For my two year old getting a baby sister must seem like the end of the world. Today she got home from school and has been exhasted. I put her in her room to take a nap.. two hours ago. She has been screaming nonstop.. for two hours. She is so afraid I am alone with the baby she can't stand it. She screams, "I want my daddy!" The truth is if she took a nap she would feel so much better, but she still fights it. My heart hurts for her. My heart hurts for the frustration I feel for her. Hopefully soon she will realize things aren't as bad as they seem. Until then we will all be praying the wrath of Madeline is over soon.

AHH!

Lets take a minute to be honest. Having two children ages two and under is hard. Is it harder than I expected it to be? Yes! I feel like 80% of Madeline's day she is spent in trouble. I am constantly saying, "Madeline don't do that." "Madeline put that down." "Madeline do you want time out?" "Stop." "THAT IS IT!" I swore when I got pregnant I would not make Madeline feel like I was choosing the baby over her, but I also never expected for her behavior to get so out of control! If the baby is crying she is either telling the baby to shh or telling me the baby is bad. She will run for me to hold her or try to make the baby stop crying so I won't be able to pick her up. It is awful!
Lacey is using laid back although she is much more demanding than Madeline was. When she is ready to eat, she is ready to eat right then. She has been sick for over two weeks now and I am taking her to the doctor tomorrow to make sure she doesn't have a ear infection or anything. The last hour before bed is pure hell with Lacey. She screams and screams for no apparent reason. It doesn't seem like her belly is hurting her, it just seems like she is angry and can't get comfortable. After she does calm down and you move her it starts all over again. Tonight my patience was running a little thin and I stuck her in her crib, turned on her mobile and the humidifer (because he nose is so stopped up!) She has now calmed down but I am not sure if she is asleep.
Two kids is hard. They both need things. I am only one person. I don't have a husband at home at night to help me or give me a break. Sometimes I lose it with Madeline just because she repeats herself 1,000 times, "I want jelly. I want jelly. Mmm I love jelly. I want jelly.." It never ends and I just find myself saying, "Stop talking about jelly Madeline!" It is something I am working on. Today we went to the library for story time and I had no socks, Lacey was still in her pj's from the night and Madeline had dried snot all over her face. We are surviving. Somedays are prettier than others. Last night Madeline and I made brownies together. She was so excited to be doing something with me. Yesterday we played soccer outside. Every night now we read a book together, just me and her. For every not so pretty experience, I am trying to make another beautiful one. I am doing the best I know how. And my girls are too. For that I am grateful.

New House

We have moved into our new house! We aren't quite settled because we don't have enough furniture yet! We are planning to get some next week with some of our tax refund! We are loving the room except for all of us are getting allergies from the upstairs of the house. So we have lots of humidifers going and are hoping things will be better soon!

Taylor built Madeline this bed from a pile of lumber! It was a stressful thing but it is done! He got the plans from it off of Ana White's blog! He has to build one more and we will be done with our furniture building experience! We built this for less that $150 but I am not convinced it was easier than just paying $300 in the store ha!

Settling In

Things the past week have been fairly smooth! We had one bad day and that was because Madeline was in desperate need of a nap. Lacey has been sick the past week and a half so she has been extremely laid back which has helped. I have been keeping Madeline busy in the mornings. She has preschool Tuesday/Thursday, Wednesday we went to the library and this morning we went to playgroup in Manteo. That has helped because Lacey usually sleeps in her carseat so Madeline feels like she gets some one on one time.

Madeline is cooking "Sissy" some food. She says, "aw baby so cute!" I got mad at the dishwasher and Madeline said, "Whats wrong Momma?" She is so sweet!

Birdfeeder Madeline made in class.

Lacebug with Morgan! He is 15 days younger than she is but she looks so big compared to him! They weighed the same at birth! Look at her belly!! She weighed 11 pounds last Monday!

All Abroad the Choo Choo Train

First a picture of my baby girl! This week she was 6 weeks old! Its hard to believe Madeline would just be getting out of the NICU this week! Lacey seems like she has always been apart of our family! She is now sleeping from 11pm-6am most nights. It looks like she is going to start smiling any day now. She is a great baby!

Today Madeline went to a very exciting birthday party! A Thomas the train party! Her friend London from school turned 3! His mom is a wedding planner and had a big crawl through choo choo and a bounce house! Madeline had a blast!

Time Passes On

Looking at old pictures of Madeline makes me cry. I still see her as my baby but the truth is she is now my toddler. Time went by too fast, I guess there is never enough of it. One day I will look back at current pictures of "my babies" and think, God they were so small. I wish I could rewind and pause time. I am trying to soak up every moment and enjoy it. I just feel like the moments are passing too fast.

Happy One Month Lacey!

...you have brought us so much joy! We love you!

Baby Blues

When I was getting discharged from the hospital with Lacey the nurse came in and was giving us the discharge instructions. She said, "Now about baby blues. If you are crying for two weeks and upset that is completely normal. You have hormones and two kids. If you are still feeling that way after two weeks, you need to talk to someone about it to get help with any depression that might creep in." About a week later I was sitting with Taylor and I told him how lucky we were to have a week old baby that let us sleep and barely cried. Taylor's reply was "yeah I'm glad she doesn't have baby blues like they talked about in the hospital!" At first I thought he was joking. But he was dead serious. He thought the nurse was telling us that the baby could only cry for two weeks! It was hilarious.

I have spent the last 3 days alone with both girls. Saturday was fairly easy and Taylor came home at night after Madeline was in bed, but atleast I got some adult interaction. Yesterday was just about hell. Madeline screamed for almost 2 hours during naptime. She got mad at me and hid under her bed and screamed she wanted my mom and Taylor. She harrassed the baby and dogs. Her inside voice is now a scream. I was miserable all day. Today has been worse. She has trashed her room during naptime. She has just been mean to me, Lacey and the dogs. I could probably do okay with all of that except for the fact I have a 3 week old baby that wants to be held and loved on. Which is impossible to do when I am trying to give Madeline the attention she needs. So I feel both aren't getting their needs satisfied.

I don't have the baby blues, more like the 2 year old blues haha. I knew it would be this way because Madeline is a fairly demanding child. I have said since I was pregnant I wish I could just have Lacey be a year old and have an extra year with her as a one year old. That way they could interact with eachother. Still when I have the small looks of Madeline piling the play food on Lacey's swing I know it will be worth it because they will be best friends.