Joy

It's possible that it's a little too late for this post, but it's been a busy holiday season. We just took our first breathe since Thanksgiving.

During the holiday season we were always asking Blake what the holiday season was really all about. Her answer changed night to night. She did always says that the holidays are about joy.  This got me thinking about what brings me joy. I'm channeling Oprah, just stay with me here.

1. Bedtime

I know what you're thinking, Yes, I do enjoy finally getting the peace and quiet that I've been silently pleading for all day, not the part that brings me joy. There is this moment right after I put Blake to bed when I'm shutting off the lights on that end of the house. Every night, crazy or not I get so excited that those two little people that I just tucked in their beds are MY little people.

2. Mail

I've mentioned this one before, but it never gets old. I love Christmas cards, catalogs, magazine, letters, I want it all. I don't care how technologically advanced we get, I need my mail.

3. Traditions

It's incredible how something so small can make so many feel they are apart of something bigger. Having this little thing in common does so much. I force my family to sing "12 Days of Christmas," during Christmas dinner every year. It's my family's tradition to pretend they hate it. After Josh and I got married I grilled him on his family traditions, so now on Christmas Eve I make a french meat pie.  My crew has a Sunday tradition of eating breakfast in our bed and watching a movie. Dean doesn't currently enjoy this tradition. I could list a million more, but I'll leave it at that.

4. Coffee

My name is Ellen and I'm a coffee addict. When I met Josh I drank Starbucks, sometimes. I had no strong feeling about coffee. I now drink Dunkin Dounts coffee everyday. Everyone who works there, knows me. They know my voice and order at the drive thru. I bring them a cookie tray at Christmas. My husband did this to me. Ask him if he even drinks coffee anymore.

5. Family

I know that to some family is a nightmare, something you tolerate.  I love holidays and birthday parties. I love seeing my cousins with their kids. I love watching all of the little ones run around together like little banshees.. I love spending time with grandparents and aunts.  There are people in the world who have nobody. I'm just thrilled with all I've got.

6. Baking

I love the holidays when you can spend an entire day just making cookies. I love eating cookies and cakes and possibly pies. This year I had so much fun with my baking because Blake helped with everything I made. I think she'll grow up to be a much better cook than her mommy.

7. Wrapping

I start thinking at least a month in advance of my holiday wrapping "themes." I like to have special tags and ribbon. I think there is something therapeutic about wrapping a gift.  Once you're done they all look so beautiful under the tree.

8. Christmas Tree

I love our tree. When the lights go out on our tree I think I'll have a service for it. I love our tree so much that I found a way to include it in Dean's birthday.

Dean's winterONEderland tree

9. Conversation

I'm not talking about just any conversation. I'm talking about an uninterrupted conversation with my husband. It sounds easy, but I assure you that it's not, between kids and work it's rare. I don't even care what we talk about. We could be talking anything from sports to taxes, I'm all in.

There are a million other things that I could list, but you'd all be bored. Instead, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures from this holiday/birthday season.

Until next time

Autumn Snuggles

Tonight Josh insisted I go out for some time alone, so I write this post with a belly full of sushi & wine. I haven't blogged in awhile. Since school has started I've realized having a 4 year old and a 9 month old occupies every second of my day. Once they go to bed I'm busy cleaning up after them and after that I can barely keep my eyes open.

The past two weeks have been different. We've been on fall break. Fall break means no school, story time or dance. I decided that I was going to take full advantage of this time with the kids. I didn't  come up with two weeks worth of crazy activities that would have us driving all over the place. We were going to slow down and enjoy our time together.

I'm not going to tell you that we sat in the house and stared at each other for two weeks, that would be criminal. Blake did a small camp at school.  She had her final soccer game, sweet relief. We also managed a trip to the apple orchard, pumpkin carving and a Halloween party.

I took time to actually play with the kids, which feels like a luxury. I let Blake style my hair. I played princess village with the little people. Dean & I played ball a million times. The absolute best part was the kids would get in bed with me most mornings and we would have a little snuggle, bliss!

Fall Break Project still incomplete

This probably sounds silly to most people. Why would I need to remind myself to play with my kids? I always want to laugh and play, but who will do the laundry or make dinner? I find that a lot of times I'm just getting ready for the next thing. That's just how I'm wired. The reconditioning starts today.

Dean 2014

Blake 2010

General Stats:

Dean is almost 10 months. He weighs 20 lbs. He's crawling and pulling up. I think he'll have the stairs mastered by the end of the week.  My little man is working on his 3rd tooth. Big boy!

Meeting Uncle Josh

Blake is getting really good at reading. The two of us have almost completed our first Harry Potter book.

school picture

Until next time

Exceeding All Expectations

Tomorrow is my 5 year wedding anniversary. I'm not sure why, but anniversaries aren't something I usually think a lot about. This one has me all sappy.  I've been thinking all that has happened since I met Josh. I got married, bought a house, quit my job, not to mention gave birth to two amazing little human beings.

A lot of times, women in particular, map out their whole life. They start thinking about all of their hopes and dream when they're 10. I'm not one of those types of people, mostly because being disappointed is my biggest pet peeve. I would have NEVER have imagined the life I've got. I can't say that I ever thought there would be so many people in it. I didn't have any idea that I would be so happy. I'm still pinching my self.

 Josh and I are polar opposites. He's the optimist and I'm the pessimist. He saw that we could be an us, even when I wasn't so sure.  He believed that we could have a baby, when I was sure I couldn't. He waited patiently for me to be sure that I could have a second one.

I would have never imagined my life could be so full. I know that there is so much more in store for us. I've never been so excited to do something that I know is going to be so much work. He's totally worth it.

Thank you for always believing in us. I love you babe, one hundred times more than I did five years ago.

Until next time

One Of THOSE Moms

There are all these moms out there always blabbing on and on about how busy they are and how tired they are and how they don't have a spare moment. My favorite was when they would talk about how they forgot to eat, no one forgets. I would always nod in agreement, but secretly  thought they were a little bit dramatic. Now that I have two kids I totally get it.  I've become one of THOSE moms.

May and June have been an absolute whirlwind. To say that we've been busy is a gross understatement (seriously, listen to me!)  We've had birthdays, recitals, end of school, playoffs, a baby shower, mother's day and father's day. It was all fun, but man am I exhausted, (get over it lady!)

Since there are so many events to cover I'll keep all of my summaries brief. Where should I start...

Blake's 4th Birthday- It was a week long event. On Wednesday we went to Blake's, "special day," at school. She made a collage with pictures of family and friends and shared it with her class. We brought snacks, so fun to see her with her peers. Friday was her actual birthday. Josh was away in Miami for a playoff game, so we did pizza dinner with Mimi & Pappy. Saturday was the big party. This year we did a Royal Tea Party. It was fabulous. We had pink tea. fancy snacks, games and a little craft. The best thing about the party was Snow White. I arranged for a family friend, Emmie, to dress as Snow and show up at the party. Emmie and Blake are pals and I assumed that she would recognize her, but still think it was fun. She never did! She still tells people that Snow White came to her party. If anyone tells her they'll have to deal with one angry mommy.

Last Day of School- Blake just completed her first year of preschool. Crab Apple Creek is the most amazing school and has done wonders for our little girl. I can't believe she only has one more year before kindergarten!

Mother's Day- Josh was out of town, so the kids and I had a low key day. Mom and Jack came over and I made breakfast. We gave Mimi the herb garden we made for her. We kept it simple.

Dance Recital- Blake's first year of dance class was a lot more work than I anticipated. Blake really enjoyed it, but whew. I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a dance mom. As soon as her teacher started talking to me about fake hair, I was about out the door. We made it and the recital was adorable. Blake is so lucky to have so many people who love her, even Aunt Lauren and Titi made it to the show. Verdict is still out on next year. Maybe soccer instead?

My first dance recital

Father's Day- Since Father's Day and my birthday were the same day this year, Blake and I decided we'd surprise Josh with his own special day on Wednesday. We ate all his favorite foods and went to all of his favorite places. You can bet that Olive Garden was involved. We love you Daddy!

Baby Shower/Birthday- Justin and his boyfriend James decided to visit the weekend of my birthday. They were kind enough to help me put the finishing touches on Katie's baby shower. This was the last shower I plan on throwing for Katie, so I wanted it to be special. We had a scrumptious brunch. We did a few games and a ton of gifts. The event was a success, except for the small stabbing. You'll have to talk to Jack for more info on that one.  The rest of the weekend I spent laughing with friends and family. I think it was one of my best birthdays ever.

This post has already been really wordy and I haven't even got to Dean. People were always telling me how neglected their second child was. They didn't have pictures up, they didn't take pictures blah, blah, blah.  Again, I was always horrified. I take a lot of Dean pictures, but I JUST framed my first picture of Dean and don't get me started on baby book!

Dean is five months. He rolled from his belly to his back for the first time today! He's almost sitting up on his own. He's devouring his rice cereal and we're going to try our first veggies this week.

 So take me or leave me, I'm one of THOSE mommies.

Until next time

Figure It Out

Parenting is hard, right. I know that you hear that a million times, but sometimes it really knocks you on your keister, (this is an all ages blog.) It's like I'm inside some giant story problem and I can't get out. Here are my issues:

1. Dean won't sleep in his crib.
2. Blake can't stop sucking her fingers.
3. Dean's head is already flat.

Over the past few weeks I've been on every mommy blog trying to get this all figured out. The blog you're currently reading is not a mommy blog, it's a crazy lady ranting blog. In these blogs women and some men pose questions and then the masses weigh in on, judge and commiserate. Every time I have a kid problem I check them out, but I have NEVER commented or put a question out there. Who are these people?


I'm getting off topic. Let's start with number one. My cousin suggested this adorable Fisher Price napper for my newborn. It is so cute and he slept really well in it. He slept so well, that he's refusing the crib. Currently I'm trying to get him to nap in his crib and we're still doing nighttime in the napper. He'll do 30 minutes tops in the crib. By the time we get to bedtime he's an absolute wreck because he's soooo tired. When he starts taking real naps in the crib, then we'll work on bedtime.

Lets move on to Blake's slobbery fingers. I've wanted to break this one for a long time, but you can't exactly take a kids fingers away. We went to the dentist last month and she went crazy about how Blake's mouth is ruined. Bad mommy! I decided to get drastic. I had Josh bring some tape home from work and we taped her fingers together at bedtime. I probably shouldn't be putting this one in writing. Don't be too horrifed, because it didn't last that long. No matter how hard I tried, she always got the tape off. She's an addict, pray for her. I just ordered a crazy contraption that cost way too much, but people swear by it. I'll let you know how it works.

Last but not least, poor Dean and his dented dome. I swore that I wasn't going to let this happen with the second one. I don't even know how it did. It seemed like it was fine one day, flat the next. I force tummy time several times a day. He screams for most of it. I refuse to let him sit in anything with a back. There is a possibility that he's going to wear a helmet. I bet you can't wait for those pics.

I love my children and I want them to be realativley normal. Is that even possible? Pretty soon I'll be dealing with yard dilemmas, which really make me crazy.

Until next time

The Corbeil Inn

The beds have been stripped and the towels have bee washed. The Corbeil Inn is closed for the season. Even though the weather wasn't great, we managed to have a lot of fun.

I wanted to wait and do this post after all of our company was gone. Our first visitors came on February 5th and our last visitor left on March 9th. Whew... we've been busy. I hope that all of our visitors enjoyed themselves and remember that they're welcome anytime.

Let me break this all down, our first visitors were Allie and Landon. I was a little nervous. I couldn't wait to see these two, but was unsure about adding another baby to the mix. It was incredible. Landon is such a good baby and an amazing napper. Allie was able to handle her little one and even help me with mine. I got a chance to see what a wonderful mother my sister in law has become. I think we really bonded on this trip. I know that sounds hokey, but working together as mothers really changed our whole relationship. We were friends before, but we're even closer now. I'm not going to say that these three little tater tots didn't give us any trouble, but we were able to laugh about it over a cocktail after bedtime. Did I mention she also helped me rent and then buy a car? She was very knowledgeable. Somebody better show this post to her father in law, I know he'd be proud.

Our next visitors were Monica and Brian (aka Grandma and Gramps.) They arrived the day before Allie and Landon had to leave, so they got a day with all the grand kids together. I doubt that is going to happen too often, so it was pretty special. We didn't go on any huge outings during their visit. Grandma got up and did night feedings several times, which was amazing. We just hung out and played with the kids. They were here during All Star break, so Josh was able to get in some family time. The Florida group was not a huge fan of the snow and frigid temperatures, but we managed.  Did I mention that we had a few glasses of wine?

Our next visitors were Ric and Chris (aka Pepere and Pop Pop.) These two have experienced an Indiana arctic blast, so they weren't too upset about the weather. We cooked dinners, some good, some not so good. We also had wine and worked on THE PUZZLE.  Let me tell you about the puzzle. Blake's new thing are games and puzzles. She can do a 100 piece puzzle in about 15 minutes. I thought she needed a bigger challenge, so I got her a 750 piece Frozen puzzle. This was one of the most difficult puzzles I have ever seen. We worked and worked for over a week. Finally, after a late night Chris and I finally finished the puzzle. We saved the last few pieces for Blake. I wanted to get a picture of Blake with the puzzle, but she tore it apart before I got a chance. Why Blake, WHY! I'm still not over it.

Our final visitor was my friend and old neighbor Bre. Bre did lots of baby holding and Blake entertaining. She currently lives in Denver, and the baked goods are not so good at such a high altitude, so we ate a lot of cookies and cake. I'll do anything for a friend. Josh was gone, so Blake kept calling it a girls weekend. I guess her brother doesn't count. We had a lot of laughs. It was a great visit.

Somewhere in the middle, Dad and Marsha (aka Pa and Gigi,) came for a night.

Ok, that's everybody. It was wonderful to see all of your beautiful faces. Please don't be strangers, this Inn pretty much stays open.

Before I go I wanted to give everyone a little Dean update. He's growing so fast. When he's not crying he's smiling and giggling. I got a little video and I guarantee you can't watch it just once. If anyone can show me how to make this my ring tone, call me.

I just can't stop! Dean is a big time crier, so I sing to him often. There is one little dittie that has stuck with Blake, so she did her own cover. No, she isn't wearing pants. Yes, I am wearing Halloween socks. Enjoy.

Until next time.



P.S. Happy First Birthday to the best nephew ever! We love you Landon. Even though we weren't able to be there, we were with you in spirit.