Christmas? Check.

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and I'm officially a grown-up because I'm actually glad that it's over. I remember hearing adults say that as a child and I was disgusted...now I get it. Christmas transforms children into little monsters! Between all the candy, cookies, presents, and general hooplah, they're strung out! It's awful!
Christmas Eve was spent with Carl III's father's side of the family. It was a lot of fun, but they're a large family, and that means nothing ever starts on time, which resulted in 2 overstimulated kids out 2 hours past their bedtime. YIKES! They were so strung out that they didn't even fall asleep in the car on the 30 minute drive home. Ugh. You would think that maybe because they were up so late that they would sleep past 6:00am, right? WRONG!
Christmas Day was nice, though. We got up and did stockings and opened our presents here at home, then headed to Debbie's (Carl's mom) for breakfast and more presents. Then, after dragging the kids out of Debbie's kicking and screaming (sidenote: why do they always act like they'll never see her again? They see the woman almost every day!), we came back home and had lunch and naps (aaaah...naptime, I love you!). Then, we got all dolled up and headed over to Carl's aunt and uncle's house (which is fortunately only 5 minutes away) for Christmas dinner. We had a great time, and I'm a little more relaxed with the kids when we're with that side of the family, because they see them more often and I know they'll whip them into shape if the need arises!
An exhausting few days, but well worth it for the excitement shown by the kids (especially Carl IV). All I have to say is thank God Christmas is only once a year!

***My camera is rebelling, so I'll try uploading some pics at work tomorrow***

Ho! Ho! Ho-oly CRAP!

Sunday morning we took the kids to see Santa, and let me tell you...he was a big hit! Even Paige was in total awe of the big man in red! She kept stroking his beard and trying to "talk" to him. All in all the trip was a huge success!

I have to admit, Santa is a useful trick to have on-hand when dealing with a 2-year-old. Take this morning, for example. Carl III's mom comes over in the morning from 7-9 so I can get ready for work since Carl III's not home. So, I'm drying my hair this morning, and hear Debbie shout, "What are you doing?!" I come out knowing that nothing good can come from a statement like that, and am faced with my son's ashamed (not nearly enough in my opinion) face. Debbie was in Paige's room changing her clothes since she'd ended up with half her breakfast all over her 1st outfit of the day, and in the time she was doing that, my son had opened a drawer in the kitchen, found a blue Sharpie marker, drawn all over the kitchen counter and his bedroom walls! BLUE PERMANENT MARKER! I swear, I had to turn around and go to my "happy place" and take a few deep breaths, or I would've knocked the kid out. I know what you're thinking..."Dee, he's 2. He doesn't know any better." Bullshit. He's not your typical 2-year-old. Anyone that's been around him for more than 5 minutes will vouch for that. He knew exactly what he was doing! I have actually witnessed this kid ponder the cause and effect of his actions, and still decide to go ahead and be bad anyway. He's EVIL! Grrrr! My mom tells me it's payback for all the walls that I "decorated" with lipstick and crayons in my day, but mom...this was a SHARPIE! I'm never getting that off!!! So, please...if you're reading this, pray for my sanity and my son's safety, because I'm still pretty peeved, and it's been a good 5 hours since this happened! Deep breaths, Dee. Deep breaths.

Anywho, where was I going with this? Ah, yes...Santa. Well, when I get home tonight, we're going to have the little monster (otherwise known as Carl IV) "call" Santa, tell him how very bad he was, and apologize. I already told him Santa might have to give his presents to a good boy who isn't rude and destructive. Needless to say he was not pleased at that thought. I think I'm going to take down his stocking when I get home and pretend that Santa asked for it back until Carl could prove he wasn't a bad boy. We'll see...

What do you mean it's almost Christmas?!?!

Seriously...what happened to 2009?! I can't believe in 2 weeks Paige will be 1. I can't believe Christmas is 2 days after that! Where did this year go?! It's amazing how differently time passes as an adult compared to when I was in school. I remember how the time between August (school starting) and Christmas felt like an eternity! Now I feel like I must've slipped into a coma at one point and missed a few months!
We're going to be taking the kids to see Santa in the next week or so, and Carl IV is SO excited it's contagious! He calls Santa every day on his toy phone to tell him he's being good (whether that's the truth or not is often open for debate). We put up our Christmas tree on Sunday, and he's absolutely thrilled every morning when he walks into the living room and sees it all lit up with presents undeneath. It's the cutest stinkin' thing!
Good news on the job front for Carl III. A friend of his from high school works for a trucking company down the road from our house that was looking for a new driver! The interview went beautifully, and he's starting on a trial basis once his background check clears! Basically, they're test-driving him to make sure he's as good in real life as he looks on paper, so if you know Carl, he'll have them impressed in no time!
As for me, work is still going very well. I even had a client (who happens to be a friend of my boss) tell me, "You know, Jerry speaks very highly of you. I know what he's like, so he probably doesn't tell you to your face how impressed he is, but he knows good and damn well that without you he would be screwed." I was like, "Wow. Thanks!" That made my day. It's nice to know that I'm appreciated and that my work gets noticed!
All in all things are going pretty well for the Rudegeairs. The only problem we keep encountering is Paige's teething... it's amazing how you block things out from child 1 to child 2. I know Carl IV went through the same thing, but I can't remember it lasting this long, although I'm certain it did! Ah, well. I'll be sure to post the kids' picture with Santa once we make the trip to the mall. Whoops, did I say the mall? I mean the North Pole!

Paige's 1st Birthday Party

I know what you're thinking...didn't Paige just turn 11 months??? Yeah, yeah, but with her birthday being squished in with Christmas, and the fact that Carl III's cousin, Libby, was born on Christmas day (I don't want to steal her thunder), we decided to celebrate a little early. All in all a success...not that you have to do a lot to impress a (almost) 1 year old. Paige looked absolutely adorable in a dress my mom found (thanks, Nana Jules!), striped leggings that barely fit over her Michelin Man legs, and pigtails! She was thrilled with all the girly toys! It's funny how instinctive certain things are SO different between boys and girls. The first thing Carl does with a new toy is try and use it as either a weapon or a hammer. Paige grabbed every baby doll she got (keep in mind, I don't think she's seen one prior to this party) and hugged it SO HARD! Freakin' adorable.

Thanksgiving is this Thursday...it's always a lot of fun, but a ridiculously long day. We start out in King of Prussia at the Turkey Bowl (a football game going on it's 12th year between Carl and a bunch of his friends), head home, shower, change, nap (hopefully!), then head out to Carl's Aunt Patty's house (about 45 minutes away), eat dinner, then we pack up and head over to Carl's other Aunt's house (this year it's his Aunt Karen...the Rudegeair side) and have dessert/drinks. I'm tired just typing all that. Whew! Should be a good time all around, though.

So, from the Rudegeairs to you and yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!! Gobble, gobble!!

"Chill Out"

My son is hillarious. Don't get me wrong, he's also obnoxious, mischievous, whiney, etc. But fortunately he cracks me up more often than not. This past Saturday we went to an annual "Pumpkin Chunkin'" party that one of my clients has every year. Basically, he and his neighbors spend all year building these ridiculous contraptions that fling the pumpkins left over from Halloween across his property into his lake. Whoever's thingy-ma-jiggy flings it the furthest wins the title of Pumpkin Chunkin' Champion until next year. (side note: these people think southerners are rednecks?! Hello...) Anywho, I thought Carl IV would get a kick out of it, and at the very least it would be a nice way to occupy our time on a Saturday afternoon. So, we get out to this party, and Carl IV is instantly mesmorized by these giant slingshot thingies that hurl the pumpkins. I am like a broken record for the next 4 hours repeatedly saying, "No, sir. You may not. That can hurt you!" to which my son replies, "Be wight back," as he shoos me away with his hand. When I grab said hand to pull him back out of the way he looks me dead in the eye and says, "Chill out, mom." Are you kidding me?! My 2-year-old just told me to chill out! What a little parrot! I tell him that all the time! It's frightening the things this kid remembers! Then, he saw some teenage boy at the party hock a loogie (sp?), and for the remainder of the afternoon was attempting the same thing. Ugh. Boys are gross!
We're having Paige's birthday party this Sunday so it's not all smooshed in with Christmas (not to mention that Carl's 13-year-old cousin already has to share her birthday with Christmas, and I don't want to steal her thunder anymore than that), so that should be a good time. Pictures to come.

Trick or Treat!

I know, I suck. Sorry, but it's been a crazy month between kids getting sick, Carl getting laid-off, working, etc., etc.
So we took the kids trick-or-treating for Halloween, and I have to say that my kids are FREAKIN' ADORABLE! Ugh! It's too much for me to stand sometimes. It was so cool because Carl IV actually "got it" this year, and he was so excited! His enthusiasm was contagious!

Is there an echo in here?

Note to all parents whose children aren't talking yet: WATCH YOUR MOUTH!! Trust me, stop the potty-mouth thing now, or your children will store up every bad word they've ever heard you say only to shout them at the top of their lungs at the WORST possible moment!!
Let me paint you a picture...the Rudegeair family is walking through Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning looking at Halloween costumes for the kiddies. While strolling through the little girls' aisle, Carl III says, "Why are all the little girl costumes so slutty? As a dad, that pisses me off!" To which Carl IV responds, "What slutty? Pissed?" Ugh! No, no, no, no, no!! I just broke his habit of saying , "Aw, crap!" because he'd heard me saying it (which was an edit from my prior, "Aw, shit!" which I heard him say once and was shamed into watching my language). So, trust me, parents...it's easier to start watching what you say from day 1, rather than wait until you have to "un-teach" them to say something. Yikes!

Long time, no BLOG!

I know, I know...I'm a slacker. I haven't posted anything in forever! Sorry.
So, a lot has happened since my last update. Paige is officially walking (yowza!), Carl IV is talking like a real person now, and Carl III and I went to Pensacola for my 10-year high school reunion. Whew! Busy, I know.
First things first, can I just say once again what genetic FREAKS my kids are?! I mean, really...walking at 8 months?! Stop it. Paige has also recently discovered the joys of finger foods and hasn't looked back since. She has absolutely no interest in baby food and being spoon fed anymore. If she can't pick it up with her chubby fingers, she wants nothing to do with it. So, we're buying a lot of avocados, diced pears, frozen waffles, etc. She had some noodles with red sauce last night, and I'm telling you, the kid looked at me like, "Why were you feeding me that pureed crap for so long? You've been holding out on me!" It was hillarious!
Onto Carl IV. It is the coolest thing in the world being able to hold a conversation with your kid. I actually sat down the other morning and had a conversation with my 2-year-old! Love it!
Me: "So, buddy, what'd you have for lunch today?"
Carl: "Umm...cheese...burger. Milk. All gone."
Me: "Wow, that sounds good! What else happened today?"
Carl: "I draw. I swim. I bike...fall...me too small."
Really?! Could he be cuter?! Ugh!!!
Last weekend Carl III and I went to Pensacola, and we left the kids with Carl's mom (God bless her!). They had a community day in our neighborhood, and she took the kids because they had all kinds of free rides and firetrucks, etc. All in all I think she said they were there for about 3 hours, and all went home and passed out for another couple of hours! Good times were had by all.
Meanwhile, Carl and I were living it up in Pensacola. We stayed in a condo on the beach with some friends, and it was great being back for a visit. I have to say, it was nice to leave behind the 9billion% humidity and return to 34% humidity with a high of 72*. Ahhh...I love you, PA!

Beach Pics

BEACH! DIG!!

All this summer we have been trying to get over to the beach in Ocean City, NJ with the kids, but any time we finally set a date, the weather ruins everything! So, studying the weather forecast intensely we decided that this past Sunday showed promise. Carl's aunt Vicky has a house in Ocean City, so even if the random storm blew through, we'd have somewhere to bunker down until it passed.
We told Carl IV about heading to the shore the day before we left, and all he said for the whole day was, "Beach! Dig!" because he found a new shovel that he's been told is for digging in the sand. ALL DAY LONG he was carrying this shovel around following anyone and everyone saying repeatedly, "Beach! Dig! BEACH! DIG! YAY!" Paige of course found this hillarious, and kept falling over on the floor laughing her head off. All in all a very loud Saturday at 1120 Egypt Road.
Carl III and I woke up around 6 Sunday morning and packed all our crap up (on that note, I swear, I used to just take a towel and a book to the beach, but with kids it's like we're packing up for a month!). Before I even finished brushing my teeth, I could hear Carl IV in his bed singing to himself..."Beeeeach...Diiiig...Beeeeach...Diiiig..." What a weirdo. I opened his door, he popped up, ran to his dresser, pulled out his swim trunks, pulled them on, and ran to the front door with his shovel in hand. "Done. Less go (his saying Let's go)." All before my 1st cup of coffee. Ugh.
We finally arrived in Ocean City, and had a BLAST! He dug half-way to China, went in the water with my mom-in-law and Carl III, chased seagulls, etc. Then, we took showers and changed to head to the boardwalk for dinner and some rides. That's right, Floridians, rides! There's a whole mini-amusement park for kids right on the boardwalk! He rode a little kiddy roller coaster, the Tilt-a-Whirl, but his favorite was the Scream Machine. I have pics and video to put up soon, but I forgot my camera today, so you'll have to check back again soon...

*yawn* Ugh...

Let's just get this out in the open...I don't do babies. Even if they're mine, I just don't do babies. The crying, the drooling, the spitting up...ugh. Poor Paige has been absolutely miserable the past week. She's teething like crazy, and has the inevitable diarrhea that accompanies incoming teeth (by the way, can someone please explain to me why those 2 go hand-in-hand?!), which has resulted in excessive wiping of her rear, giving my poor little lady the WORST diaper rash I have ever seen! Her little hiney was bleeding on Saturday. So, I guess she has every right to be crying, etc. Still, I don't like it.
Sunday morning was a success, though. Rather than go to mass on Saturday evening again, I decided to try Sunday morning and see if that went any more smoothly. It was an especially brave endeavor, since Carl had volunteered to help a buddy take down a tree in his yard, I was going to be outnumbered. But, I knew if there was to be any hope in getting the kids used to church, it had to be a weekly thing. No excuses. So, I packed the munchkins up with books, bottles, graham crackers, etc. and headed to the church for 7:30 mass. Yes, I said 7:30. I used to go to the early mass all the time when I was pregnant, because I couldn't sleep anyway, and it's nice to go to church, and still have time to enjoy the rest of your day. So, I knew from experience that this early service was very no-frills. No music, no long-winded homily, just the basics. This was exactly what we needed! We were out of there before Carl had even finished his juice, and Paige was only awake for about 10 minutes of the whole service! Whoo-hoo! We have a new plan! Mass at 7:30am Sunday, then to Dunkin' Donuts and the park! What a great day we had!

Little angels?

In the spirit of just having had the kids baptised, Carl and I decided to start packing up the whole fam-damily for mass on Saturday evenings and then having a family dinner out every week. Figured it could be a nice opportunity for family bonding. Sounds nice, right? Well, if this past Saturday was a sign of how it will always be, I know for certain now that God has a sense of humor. We are officially "that family" with "those kids" at church. My son is VERY 2, which means sitting for more than 2 minutes is so far out of the question is preposturous. And since Paige started crawling, she starts whining the second you pick her up off the floor. She's aparently a very busy girl with places to be, and me interrupting her crawling to these places is the most frustrating thing for her. I was anticipating these problems, so I loaded the diaper bag with toy dinosaurs, coloring books, animal crackers, Matchbox cars, a bottle, teething rings, Baby Orajel, etc...and that all worked beautifully...for about 3.5 minutes. I'm beginning to wonder if there's something pumped through the venting system at church, because my kids can be absolute angels all day, and the second we open the doors to church, they're like rabid monkies! Ugh! 43 long minutes later, we were piling into the car to head to dinner. We had made it through mass, how bad could dinner be?! My son is the happiest when he's got food in front of him! We decide to go to Friday's since it's a family restaurant, and it's early enough that a crying kid won't attract dirty looks. Keep in mind that by now it's almost 6:30, which is when Paige is usually snuggling up for the night with a nice bottle and her daddy in a rocking chair. So, the loud, bright atmosphere at Friday's was lost on her. She was miserable. Carl, on the other hand, was behaving as though he had been mainlining espresso for the past 2 hours! He was bouncing off the walls! Our poor waitress...I left her a really good tip, so I'm hoping they won't run screaming should we decide to go there again!
That being said, in hindsight, things could've gone much worse than they did. I'm a firm believer in beginning as you intend to go on. So, this will be our Saturday evening routine for years to come. If they don't get used to going to church now, it's only going to be more difficult in the years to come. So, for those of you in the King of Prussia area, if you hear screaming children around 5 pm Saturday night, don't worry...it's just the Rudegeairs.

Baptism...check!

At last! We finally had Carl and Paige baptised. It was a royal pain in the you-know-what getting everything in order, but the planets aligned and we pulled it off.

My mom flew in from Pensacola on Thursday afternoon and stayed with us for the weekend, which was nice, but crowded. Fortunatly, we have a comfy couch, so I think she was okay. Friday was a pretty laid-back day of running errands, and Saturday we packed up and headed to the zoo. I have to say, this was our best trip to the zoo yet! Carl appreciates it more every time we go, which just makes it really fun to be there with him. It was ridiculously humid (I blame mom for bringing the stickiness with her from Florida), so we had ice cream...whew! That was messy, but delicious. I was EXTREMELY proud of my little potty-trained man. He made it the whole time without an accident! Granted, I was well-aware of the risk of an accident, and was therefore only giving him just enough water/juice to keep him alive! Still...it counts as a success! So, after trekking around the Philadelphia Zoo for a few hours, we were all exhausted and just hung out at the house the rest of the afternoon. Fast forward to Sunday morning (the day of the baptism) and the entire east coast is being SOAKED! I think Ryan put it best when he texted Carl that morning with: "Hmmm...the Rudegeairs are getting baptised the same day we're getting terrential downpour and severe thunderstorms...coincidence?" But, things dried out right before we had to head to the church, and it ended up being a relatively nice afternoon. To all that were there, thanks so much for being a part of such a special day!

Goodbye, Size 5 Diapers!!

Yes, it's true! He's finally potty-trained! Accident-free for 2 days now! I'm so excited! It was exhausting, but it looks like he's finally got it. Poop and pee are now being deposited in the bright green frog potty instead of my son's pants (which is, from what I've heard, a major accomplishment)! As of Friday afternoon, we were kissing diapers goodbye, regardless of accidents, they were not in the picture. So, after cleaning up a couple of messes, I baracaded my son into the kitchen since it's easier to wipe pee off linoleum (sp?) than carpet. He did amazingly well. So, I decided to take the baby gates down and let him watch Thomas the Tank Engine (he loves this show, plus each little story is only about 4 minutes long, so lots of chances to go potty). While standing in the living room watching the show, sipping on his juice, I ask him, "Is it time to go potty? You've had a lot of juice...it's probably ready to come out now."
"No pee," he replies. So I think to myself, "Okay. I'm not going to make him go sit on the potty if he doesn't have to go. The whole idea is for him to realize the feeling of having to go to the bathroom, and doing it." Not 30 seconds later, while still staring at the television, he pees on the living room floor. Aaaaaaagh! I was furious! I turned off the t.v., dragged him into the kitchen, popped him on the butt (for lying about not having to pee...don't judge me...I'm not pro-spanking, but sometimes [with my kid at least] it's the only way to get his attention!), and made him sit on the potty for 5 minutes. Then, after his five minutes were up, he had to take his wet shorts and underwear to the laundry, clean up the mess he made on the carpet, and practice running to the potty from every room of the house. From that point on, he was accident free, and has been going potty without being prompted or reminded! Hooray! Now...is 7-months too young to start the other one? I kid, I kid...

Damn you, technology!

Grr...okay, so I didn't do that right. I'll try again.

SUCCESS!!! Enjoy.

Facebook | Dominique Rudegeair

Facebook Dominique Rudegeair

Okay, if I did that properly the above link should take you to a video of Paige STANDING UP in her crib. Yes, the monster is pulling herself up on everything now. Goodbye, peaceful days of being able to leave cups/remotes/books/etc. on tables...you'll be missed.
We finally got all our ducks in a row and are having the kids baptised August 2nd. It should be a good time as we're inviting everyone to our house for food and drinks after. Fingers crossed for good weather. Hopefully my mom will be able to come into town that weekend as well. That would be awesome! (No pressure, mom! Heehee!)
We tried putting Little Carl in big boy underwear the other day on a whim. We got the idea from the fact that when he's in a swimsuit (he can't wear those swimmy-diapers...he has a terrible allergic reaction and breaks out) he jumps right up and says he has to pee, then he pees like it's his job! So, I thought,"Hmm...maybe he's not telling me he has to pee because he knows he can pee in diapers." I had heard that losing the diapers can make some more stubborn kids uncomfortable enough to use the potty. So, we put on his Cars underoos and he was dry...for about 30 minutes. Then, he was so upset that he had to take off the wet underwear...it was pitiful! I'm thinking that this weekend I'm going to give that "Potty Training in Less Than 1-Day" method a shot. Wish me luck!

I swear, I don't beat my children!

You're probably looking at the title of this post and thinking,"What the hell is she talking about?" Well, my son is a 2-year-old boy in the fullest sense. He's covered head to toe in bumps, bruises, scrapes, etc. The kid is always outside, and he gets so beat up because the boy plays hard! My daughter has entered the stage where she's bored with crawling already, and has taken to pulling herself into standing as often as possible and on anything she can reach. Her latest attempts include a gliding ottoman, the dog, one of Carl's trucks...if you haven't noticed the trend yet, let me spell it out for you. All these things move, and she goes SPLAT face-first into said object, resulting in an interesting array of bruises, bumps, etc. on her poor little head. So, we all head out to Wal-Mart yesterday to grab a few things, and I swear, this one woman was looking back and forth from the kids to me, from the kids to Carl, and she got this look on her face like she wanted to call social services! I feel like I should buy a shirt that says, "My kids are just clumsy!" Ah, well...I'm sure people that have kids understand.

Great FREE Pictures

Okay, I promised them, and here they are:

A Peeing Doll? ...Really?

I am officially desperate. I bought a doll that pees to help me potty-train my son. I've been reading the book "Potty-Training in Less Than 1 Day," and it mentions having the child help you show the doll how to go potty, resulting in your child actually learning as well. So, I hit the web and found an anatomically correct potty-training doll...for $65!! "Screw that," I said. So, the search continued, and I found one that more closely resembles a gingerbread man than a human, but, it was $12. SOLD! So, hopefully this, along with some intense, uninterrupted potty-time, I can say goodbye to Size 5 diapers...until Paige gets into them, of course. Fingers crossed!
We finally got the prints from our free photo shoot about a month ago. They're fantastic! I got a CD as well, so I'll pop some up here. Eventually. Cut me some slack, I've got a full-time job and 2 kids. Sheesh!
I just got an email from my mom informing me that the boy that I used to baby-sit is getting married and moving back into her neighborhood! MARRIED! I can't believe how old I am! Wait a second...I think that means his baby sister has graduated high school already! HOLY CRAP! That's it...I'm going to exercise my rights as an old person and get a drink.

Rain, rain, go away...

Yuck. That's all I can really say about our weather lately. If my calculations are correct, it has rained every day for the past 19 days! What the hell?! I have a VERY active 2-year-old that needs to run around outside! Enough, already! I'm sorry, but I had to get that off my chest. Not to mention, the gloomy weather is bringing me down. I now can say with the utmost confidence that I will never, ever, ever live in Seattle. It's downright depressing.
Okay, onto brighter news...I got a raise! Yahoo! It's nice having 2 decent incomes, I must admit. Paying all of our bills on time every month is a nice feeling. I'm not afraid to answer the phone anymore! Plus, if I want to treat myself to lunch once in a while I don't feel bad anymore. It's nice being a contributor to the financial standing of the family. I know it's awful, but I just didn't get a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when I was a stay-at-home mom. I think the whole family is getting along much better now that we're all busy during the day!
We're heading to one of our friend's son's 4th birthday party on Saturday. Please, let's all pray that the weather is nice, because it's a pool party, and the thought of being cooped inside with a bunch of preschoolers for 3 hours makes me ill! All in all it should be a good time.
Father's Day is Sunday, and I'm yet to decide what to get Carl. He pointed out a few things from the Guinness Brewery web store (shirts, hats, a mini rugby ball), but they're all out of stock!Grrr... Ah, well. I'm sure inspiration will strike soon enough. And if not, I'll just have to rely on the amazing last-minute shopping skills I've developed over my years as a procrastinator! Wish me luck!

Photos

https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=86d124f7-b373-48f4-8708-b048d21a5bb3

This is the link to the photos we had taken last weekend. Check them out and tell me which ones you like!

June?! What happened to May?

Okay, remember when you were a kid, and it seemed like the year just dragged by so slowly? What happened to that? I can't believe it's already June!
That said, when did I turn 27?! I'm officially in my late 20s! I did not authorize that! Ah, well...
The cause for this smack in the face of my age is my visit to the doctor yesterday. I had to stay home to have my disposal replaced (I'm not cool with just letting service people in the house and then heading off to work...seen way too many of those hidden camera shows), and I've been feeling all dizzy and light-headed for the past few weeks, and also my leg has been going numb randomly. Fun, right? So, I decided that I would make an appointment for the late afternoon, and just get checked over to make sure I wasn't having a heart-attack or something. Turns out I have vertigo (hence the dizziness), a pinched nerve (numb leg), and there's a nodule (or however it's spelled) on my thyroid! So, basically, I'm falling apart.
I was expecting something, like, "Oh, you have an ear infection which is making you a little dizzy, and you must be wearing heels again, which is why your leg's acting up." But, no...I'm just falling apart. So, I have to do these exercises 3 times a day to "re-align" my head's perception of "center," my doc wants me to go to physical therapy 3 times a week for the pinched nerve, and I have to have blood work done and an ultrasound for my thyroid. I just looked at him like, "Hi. I have a full-time job, 2 children under 3 years old, and a husband...when am I supposed to do all this?!"
On a lighter note, we met up with that photographer mentioned in an earlier posting who was offering free pictures. It went...okay. He's a 19 year old kid who didn't have any experience shooting kids, so he didn't really go about it with the sense of urgency that I would have. But, I think we probably got some good ones. I'll post some shots once he gets them edited and such.

Poop!

Okay, so potty training sucks! My son has finally realized that it's uncomfortable to sit in your own waste for long periods of time (good thing). Unfortunately he has also figured out how to take his pants and diapers off to try and correct the problem on his own (bad thing...lots of messes...we'll leave it at that). The first few times he did this, I was like, "Hey! If he can do that, he can go potty on his own! Hooray!" ...silly me. Aparently he still doesn't realize he needs to go until it's too late. So, he runs to the bathroom screaming "Poop! Pee!", whips off his pants and diaper which results in flinging ickiness all over the bathroom, and proceeds to sit on the toilet looking at books for the next 10 minutes with no "results" if you will. So, I guess we're making progress, but it's still so frustrating. Everything I look up online or in magazines about potty-training says a different thing from the next. It's irritating! Also, I feel like we're experiencing a lot of "two steps forward, one step back." He'll be so excited about going potty one day, and the next he will literally pitch a fit at the mere mention of going potty. Weirdo.

Whoops

Okay, so I guess I'm more on-the-ball than I thought, and already posted those pictures. Oh, well...my kids are adorable! Look at them again!

HOORAY!!!

Carl went back to work today! Hip-hip-hooray! It will be such a nice change for all of us to have things to do everyday (not to mention the extra income). Carl's going to work everyday, I'm going to work everyday, and the kids are heading to Grandmom's (a.k.a. Debbie's) house. She's been chomping at the bit for Carl to go back to work. Aparently she has planned all sorts of outings to local farms, zoos, etc. So, the kids (well, L.C. at least) will get a kick out of that.

It'll be nice to have Carl out of the house again, too. Don't get me wrong, the man is an AMAZING stay-at-home dad. He's much better at it than I ever was. But, he's the kind of guy that constantly has to be "doing." So, stuck at home all day, he would find things to keep himself busy. Helpful and fantastic the first, oh, month. After that, it got really irritating.

Me: "Hey, babe? Where's the cereal?"

Carl: "Oh, I rearranged the kitchen yesterday. The cabinets were so unorganized. It's over by the toaster, since toast is for breakfast, and so is cereal. Get it?"

Me: "Ugh. Yeah, I get it."

Or...

Carl: "Um, Dee?"

Me: "Yeah. What's up?"

Carl: "That laundry you did yesterday...I got bored and put it in the dryer, and your shirt shrunk. I'm sorry!"

Me: "Ugh. That's all right. Thanks for the effort."

You get the picture. So, it'll be nice for us all to have more things to occupy our time.

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

Okay, so I'll admit it. When I get bored at work, I surf the internet. Who doesn't? So, I'm cruising through Craigslist today during one of my web breaks and come across an amatuer photographer in the area looking for people who want to sit for him in exchange for free pictures! He just wants the experience and the right to use the shots in his portfolio! Hooray! So, I'm going to set something up with him sometime in June so we can get some family pictures that are a little cooler than the typical JCPenny's "tilt your head a little to the left and smile" ones that we got earlier this spring.

I also finally uploaded some pictures from our camera that have been sitting all month, so enjoy...

5 months and crawling?!

Ladies and gentlemen, it's official. Carl and I are breeding a super-human race! Our 5-month-old daughter has started crawling! Don't get me wrong, she's not traveling long distances, but she's scooting around for a few feet before she lands face-first in the carpet. At this rate, the girl will be walking before you know it! I thought L.C. (little Carl) was advanced for crawling at 6-months...this is just ridiculous! It must be peaceful to have children who are boring.

Mum-Mum

Yay! At 2 years old, my son finally started calling me mom! He used to just grunt in my general direction when he wanted me, which drove me insane since he said "dad" all day long! Grrr...
So, I started ignoring the grunting. It made me feel bad at first, but aparently it did the trick! He looked at me this morning, and while twirling my hair around his finger (his favorite pasttime), he grinned and said, "Mum-mum!" It's funny, because he sounds like a little English boy. "Mum." I'm so excited, though! I think me going back to work made him realize how cool I really am.

Paige has starting rolling all over the place, which is unsettling. I had forgotten how cautious you have to be with a small person rolling around on the floor! We have pillows lined up along the bottom of most of the furniture to prevent any major damage to her, but she's still so anxious to move around that she'll get up on all fours and rock from front to back! (Hello!! She's only 5 months old!) Then, she'll get too tired to hold herself up and her head goes crashing into the floor with a resounding "thud." The poor kid looks as though she's been in a bar fight...little bruises all over her forehead! She's starting sleeping through the night, which is super exciting to the rest of us in the house. She's a lot more pleasant, as well! Hooray!

Whoops...here are some pictures!

Meanie Mom

So, realizing that my ten-year high school reunion is fast approaching, I got the wild idea to start running to get in shape. No big deal, right? WRONG! It has been, easily, 3 years since I did anything even mildly resembling exercise. By the time I ran a block I was wheezing like a 90-year-old emphazima patient!!! But, I had my iPod on, blasting some motivating "move-your-ass" music, so I was able to press on for about half a mile. Boy, am I glad that I decided to be an early morning runner. If I had been out in daylight, while other people could see me, I'd be the source of great entertainment for the entire neighborhood! Red-faced, sweating, gasping for air...it was not pretty. But, I have to say, I do feel better today than I have in quite a while. ("Just wait until tomorrow morning," my boss says, laughing.)

Carl's still laid-off from U.S. Roofing, and it's driving him nuts! They called him twice last week asking him to come in for that one day. He was like, "Hello?! I have 2 kids! You can't just call me in for 1 day! I can't just dump my kids in my sister's lap for one day...that's stupid. Call me when you need me full time." Turns out, they had a guy go on vacation, and they were short-handed, so had he gone back, he would've only gotten that 2 days, and back to unemployment. He's so frustrated (well, we both are, honestly).

On a happier note, the kids are still alive. Trust me, that's an accomplishment that should be noted. When you consider that we have a 2-year-old who is in the midst of the "terrible-twos" and a teething 5 month old, the fact that we didn't send them out to play in traffic says HUGE things about how much more patient Carl and I are than we ever thought we could be. Little Carl (L.C. hence-forth) has been worse than I had thought possible these past few days. I don't know what his deal is, but it's driving us bananas!!! He was so bad yesterday that he didn't get to go to Mady's (our neighbors' kid who's 3) birthday party! That's something that's supposed to work as a threat! I shouldn't actually have to keep him home! Ugh...I felt like such a meanie, but he's just testing us now, so I have to be a hard-ass so he knows we mean business. Paige is growing like a weed. I swear, the girl never stops eating. She's in 6-9 month clothes already (and they're tight around the middle)! I'm hoping she'll have a growth spurt length-wise soon or she's going to start looking like a Weeble.

How does this work?

Okay, so I'm joining the modern age of blogging. I'll try and keep this as up-to-date as possible, but having a full time job and two rambunxious children, I make no promises! If nothing else, I can guarantee the most recent pictures to be posted.

So, it's May 15, 2009. Carl and I are prepping for our trip to Pensacola for my 10-year high school reunion. I can't believe it's been ten years since I graduated from Woodham! When did I turn into a grown-up?! We've decided to leave the kids here in PA, so it should be a really good time! Not that it wouldn't be fun with them there, but it'll be a nice change of pace to just be "Dee and Carl" instead of "mom and dad."