Happy Halloween!

I am SO worn out from today! Glad it's over, the weather sucked, but I had an awesome with one of my very good friends. Both kids had a blast, and I have some pics to share with you all, but tonight is not the night.

I have my glass of wine and I'm ready to watch a scary movie and pass out.

Please pray my evil daughter does not wake up at 6am after the time change. I am quite nervous about it! I did put her bed 2 hours later than normal, so here's hoping!

Good night all! Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!!!

**blows kiss**

Wordless Wednesdays

Genie in a bottle

Do you ever feel like you're the Genie from "Aladdin"? Popping up everywhere going:

"Poor what do you need? Poof what do you need? Poof what do you need?"

If it isn't Ella needing my undivided attention, it's CJ needing me to watch what he's doing. Or it's Magellan needing me to proof read an email or paper to a client, or Pee Wee wanting to know what's for dinner. Add to that long list, my stupid dog. She decided to leave the property and find a nice, ripe, dead animal and bathe in it. Sounds lovely, eh?

Not so much....

She freaking stinks. Honest to God, Magellan made me get down and take a big sniff of her fur and I seriously dry heaved. I have never gagged from something that smelled so horrific in my life. And although I typically feel bad when she's outside in the cooler temps here in NY, today I do not. She smells, plain and simple. And later this week I have the luxury of driving her smelly ass to the groomers to get the smell out of her. So lucky me, she gets to stink the car up. Thank you, Magellan for getting this dog who loves to eat her own poop, pee in the house, roll in dead rotting carcasses and dig thru the garbage.

Have I mentioned that I love dogs?

Sometimes I really just get sick of answering questions, watching the new jumps CJ does off the couch (which by the way he is not supposed to do, but some days I just let him do it), clean up Ella's never ending mess of milk and drool, cat litter being dragged up from the basement from one of our 3 cats and so on, and so on. Saturday was just the end of it all for me. I had plans to go to dinner with 3 of my very bestest friends, and I could not wait to get out of the house. Magellan actually had the nerve to ask me if I was taking one of the kids with me. I laughed, said, "You can't be serious?"

Yes, he was very serious I think.

No, I did not cave in and take one with me, although CJ was really begging to go. I had a good excuse not to though: we were going to a Greek restaurant and they did not have chicken nuggets on the menu. I knew CJ wouldn't like anything on the menu, heck I didn't even think I would either, but I have promised myself I would always try something at least once. I mean, isn't that what we try to teach our children? What good parenting skills would I possess if I didn't make myself do the same? And you all know CJ would tell me I had to do a "no thank you bite"!

So off I went to dinner. I have to admit I did not enjoy anything but my friends at the Greek restaurant. The food was just far too different for me. And everything had Feta cheese in it! I have nothing against feta cheese, but seriously, can't you make at least one dish without it? It smells like dirty feet for crying out loud! ICK!

I ordered lasagna, thinking, you can't go wrong with this old standby, right? Right???? *shakes head* it was so not good and to be completely honest with you, I have no idea why it was green! It was mint green. And it sure didn't taste minty. But, back to my night, I did have a very good glass of wine and then the girls and I decided to walk across the street to Simply Crepes. Once again, to a place I have never been, but I was psyched about this one. It's gotten rave reviews, and who wouldn't like to try a huge crepe filled with fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream? It was to DIE for! I can't wait to go back! I had to have my girls roll me to my car, I was so damn full! Did I mention we all also had a Pumpkin Crepe? OH BOY! I am now determined to learn how to make crepes. It looked easy on Hell's Kitchen!

I decided to do a little shopping since I was ticked at Magellan. He wasn't the nicest cherub when I left. I think he was just mad he couldn't go out with a bunch of girls for dinner and dessert ;) Besides, Ella was fast asleep and all you need to do to entertain CJ is pop in Transformers and he's good for the night. So he barely had to raise an eyebrow in the babysitting department. Before I left, I had both kids fed, changed and in their Jammie's. You can't get much simpler than that unless you're Mary Freaking Poppins.

There would be no Genie in a bottle for me for the rest of the night. I went right upstairs to my
room and fell fast asleep after I got home. I was whipped. And sadly, I didn't even buy anything at the Carter's store. My second biggest weakness (my first, remember, is Gymboree!) and I still walked out of the store with nothing in my hand. I saw this gorgeous velvet green dress that would be perfect for Ella for Christmas. But, I'm cheap. It was only 25% off. It will have to wait till it's at least 50% off for me to buy it. I mean, she will only wear it once.

CJ had gym class tonight and unexpectedly Magellan decided to grace us with his presence. See, he can be a family man once in awhile (He'll love me for that one!). Ella was unusually wound up, probably b/c daddy was there and she's walking on her own now, so she had to show everyone her new trick. She was quite impressed with herself and made sure everyone watched her. If they weren't she would screech. That's my Diva for you.

So, off to dream land I go now. After my glass of wine that is....

Life's good

I suppose once I publish this post, something will happen. That's typically how it works with me....i jinx myself all the time. But, truly this has been a pretty good week. Best one in almost a month.

Ella is fully over her cold/teething/whatever the heck was going on with her. She had her 12 month check up this past Monday and she is doing fantastic! I still cannot believe, along with all her Dr's, that she was a preemie. She is officially walking, taking a lot of steps on her own, and getting the motivation now to walk to get something rather than crawl fast. I think she's really enjoying this new found freedom she has! She currently weighs in at 20.9lbs which is in the 50th percentile, and is 30" tall, which is in the 80th percentile. Do not ask me where this girl gets her height from. You can clearly tell by looking at her she is taller than most girls her age. At CJ's gym class there is a baby that is at least 17 months and Ella and her are the same height. It's funny. And I hate to say it, but she is bigger than CJ was at her age. CJ was only 19.9lbs and 30", and that's considered small for a boy at 1 year of age. But anyway, back to Ella's update....she has 8 teeth and is working on her 1 year molars. Which she is now handling pretty well. The first few days the top ones were trying to break thru were an absolute nightmare. She was very crabby and so not herself.

But this week she is back to normal, rarely crying and not even fussy!

We have successfully dropped all daytime bottles. And here I was, giving myself an ulcer over it b/c Ella is a complete bottle junkie. She used it to fall asleep at naps and bedtime. I have to admit I was very concerned about how this stage of the game would go. But she pretty much did it all on her own. Oh, and it did help that I found the "magic" sippy cup that she will drink a ton of milk out of. So before naps she gets a cup of milk which she promptly guzzles down, we go upstairs for about 5-10 mins of cuddle time in the glider and then I put her down. She rarely cries after I put her in her crib which is an awesome accomplishment for me. We struggled in this area with CJ for years, so I made no mistakes sleep training this child! It helps that she loves her sleep tho.

And get this: the other day she slept from 7p til 8a, then went back down for a nap around 945a and was out cold for 2 hours! Oh to be a sleeping baby again!

Besides walking, Ella is talking more, pointing at things that she wants, helping to dress/undress herself, saying hi to everyone, waving more to people, laughing all the time, having some pretty comical/dramatic "princess type" temper tantrums, eating like a piggy still and loving her milk! Yay no more formula! She recently tried green olives, and I'm very proud to say she loves them just as much as her mama! She eats them for a snack, LOL! Everyone says it's gross, but after having such a picky eater like her big brother, this is wonderful! I honestly don't think there is a food I've had her try that she hasn't liked. Oh, another silly funny thing is that she loves apples, but likes to hold them and take bites like a big girl. My dad tried cutting it up into pieces for her, thinking it would be easier for her to eat, and she immediately threw all the pieces on the floor and cried. It was so cute! She's just getting way too big and independent.

Oh, and might I add she is slowly becoming a cuddler, but only right before her bedtime. It's cute. This might make it easy to drop that last bottle.

CJ is doing amazing in school, not that that's a shock to anyone. They recently did some testing on all the 4 year olds and he did excellent on his test. Out of 100 questions he only got 4 wrong. We have a parent/teacher conference in November and I can't wait to see which questions those 4 were. I'm so proud of him and all he's accomplished so far this year! He's really opened up these last few weeks and has made more new friends and is even trying new foods, even if he still insists he doesn't like them! His teacher calls it a "no thank you bite" and it works! I just love his teacher, she comes up with some awesome things!

As for me, I recently had leg vein treatment. I want to get rid of some of these horrendous spider veins. So far the first treatment wasn't bad. I was a bit sore, but it really isn't all that painful. They take a special solution and inject it into your legs where the problem areas are and then bandage you up for a few hours. My next treatment is 11/20 and I'm hoping I see some more good results.

We've finally gotten the green light to get Ella's cyst looked at. Now that's she is a year old her pediatrician gave us a recommendation for a plastic surgeon. Her consultation is in December, and once they look at it (it's right above her right eye and getting rather large) the dr will decide how to proceed for surgery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be an easy and somewhat painless procedure for her. The reason for her seeing a plastic surgeon rather than just a regular one is because her cyst is right on her forehead they want to be very careful with any and all scarring. And obviously seeing a plastic surgeon is the best dr to go see so they don't screw anything up for her.

So, I guess that's about it. Randy is still doing ok with work as the weather gets colder. I'm keeping my fingers crossed he gets a few more contracts signed and then we might be ok thru the winter.

Have a great weekend!

A trip down memory lane

Ella is here....This is her story!

October 17, 2008

So Friday night, I started getting contractions, which stopped Saturday morning, but started up again. Around 330p they were getting kind of strong, and were coming regularly. Randy was out with CJ, and I called to let him know how I was feeling. Around 7p I called my OB, and he told me to go in and get checked b/c I was only 36 weeks and they still wanted to err on the side of caution b/c of the previa. We dropped CJ off at my parents, and got to the hospital around 830p. The best part about the ride is Rand forgot how to get to Highland and thought the GPS I had implanted in my brain was working that night. I sure as heck didn't remember! Men, right?! They checked me there, I was 1cm, and not much else was going on. I walked around for an hour, and they checked me again and nothing else had progressed. So the triage nurse said it was false labor and sent me home w/some Tylenol with Codine to help with my pain. I have to say I felt really good after having the meds! Randy stopped to get me a big juicy burger and back home we went to rest. Well, twenty minutes after we got home, I went to use the bathroom and my water broke all over the floor! I never had this happen with CJ, so it was quite shocking to say the least. I didn't even really know what to do...I made Randy come clean it up while I stared at the floor, thinking oh my god, this is the real thing now! Back up to the hospital we went b/c I would need antibiotics b/c I hadn't had a certain test done. We finally went up to the hospital about 2am and of course the triage nurses have to reconfirm it's your water. They have 3 tests they have to do, all the while keeping you open with a huge metal speculum like a thanksgiving day turkey. Very painful in my opinion! So after a few minutes the nurses come back and tell me I passed 2 tests but not the last one. I was like, how is that possible? So the OB said that it's either discharge or urine. I told her there is no way it's either b/c I never had a problem gushing liquid every time I moved a muscle. Well, she said they had to do the test again. Great, opened me up again and it was every bit as painful as the first time, but once that crazy nurse opened me up, I gushed a ton of water and she said, Ok you're right! So they gave me an IV in my wrist, which might I add is one of the most painful things I have ever had done?! I actually had tears in my eyes. They gave me Tylenol w/Codine to help with the pain and put me in a room, hoping contractions would start since my water broke. Of course that never happened, so at 730a Sunday I got started on antibiotics, penacillian and pitocin. Absolutely nothing went on for hours. I had not one single contraction, or at least that I could feel. They were very small I guess. I sent Randy home to get some rest b/c I figured at this rate I wouldn't deliver till Monday, LOL! That was around 930a Sunday, and I just watched tv and read for a bit. Couldn't eat b/c of the pitocin though. Every 45 minutes they cranked the pitocin up, but still nothing. Randy called around noon and asked how I was doing. I said still the same, little bit of pain but not much and I was still only at 2cm and 80% effaced. No sooner did I hang up the phone, then my nurse came in and asked if I was feeling anything and I said not really. She said, "Well you're contracting every 4 minutes and they look pretty good." We laughed and I said I'd tell her if they got painful so I could get my epidural. As soon she walked out the door, they started coming every 2-3 mins and I was in more pain. I called Randy back and told him to get his behind back to the hospital b/c I was in pain. I called the nurse back in, and my regular OB checked me and I was a 3. So I asked for my epi and they upped my pitocin again, all this around 1pm I think. The epi hurt more this time than with CJ, not sure why though but it worked wonderfully! I felt good. And I could finally stop getting up every 1/2 hour to pee or lose more water. Sitting in bed w/your water broken with it just gushing out every few minutes is like slow torture. I loved the catheter because I no longer had to worry if I would make it to the bathroom! My mom called to say she would stop up on her way to work and stay as long as I wanted her to. At that point I was only at 4cm. She finally showed up around 4p and my OB checked me and I was finally at 7cm and fully effaced. An hour later I was a 10 and ready to push. Ella started having some decels with the contractions, and there was some concern about it, so my OB told me I had to push with all my might b/c we had to get her out quick. So without feeling like I breathed at all, she was out in 10 minutes and born at 516pm. She had the cord wrapped 2x around her neck and 2x around her body. But she did awesome after that. I on the other was not doing so well. I lost 750cc's of blood (almost 3x what a person loses with a normal vaginal del), and they couldn't get the bleeding to stop. They had to knead and rub my stomach for about 1/2 hour, it hurt so unbelievably bad. I had 2 dr's working on my uterus, and Randy says the entire end of the bed was filled w/blood. My OB said it's mostly from my previa, you just bleed more. They gave me a shot in the leg to help clot and luckily it did. But later that night around 7p when they moved us to a postpartum room, I wasn't doing good. I had a horrible headache, was dizzy and nauseaus and lightheaded so I couldn't even hold Ella or try feeding her at all. Randy stayed until the nursery opened around midnight b/c I couldn't do a thing with her b/c I was too weak. They gave me some stronger drugs for the pain to help me sleep and I actually slept ok. We had a ton of visitors on Monday, and Tuesday morning both Ella and I got the greenlight to go home. So far she is a dream baby. CJ was a very difficult newborn, had some colic and reflux and always had to be held. She sleeps thru everything, could care less what you do to her and only cries if she needs her diaper changed. She squeaks for everything else. She's eating like a champ now, which is good b/c she lost some weight after we left the hospital. We went to the pedi yesterday for a weight check and color check and she's pretty yellow. They drew her blood yesterday for her levels, which were at 12.7. They said for now make sure she's eating like 3oz every 3 hours and peeing a lot. We go back again for another heel prick to check her levels. If they go up, she goes back to the hospital overnight for some "tanning sessions", and then should be fine. Well, Little Miss Ella ate SO much last night, with very minimal spit up, had a ton of wet diapers and her color looks good to me. Must be she heard the nurse say she'd have to come back, get pricked and maybe go back to the hospital.

She put herself on her own schedule yesterday, eating at night around 1030p, then up at 230a to eat, and up again around 6am to eat again. It's a gift from God, she is. CJ used to wake every 1-2 hours no matter what, even if he wasn't hungry. I am so in love with her, and Randy is too! A father and daughter love is so different than father/son and I'm glad he gets to have both in life. It's amazing how sweet and lovey he is with her. CJ is over the moon, is the best helper ever and I feel with all we've been thru the last year, I have been very blessed with life. I'm very thankful for God watching over Ella and keeping her so healthy and strong!

My recovery has been amazing, I am up and moving around like normal almost and I actually feel great.

Wordless Wednesdays

Evil and Anonymous

Magellan hates my Not Me Monday posts...he says they're boring and they make no sense.

I happen to love them b/c then I can tell you all what I do. I'm not perfect, I'm human and I make mistakes just like everyone else. And I learn from these mistakes. Well...most of the time I do. But, today I have something else to blog about that someone brought to my attention.

For those of you that noticed, or didn't noticed, it doesn't really matter either way, I changed the title to my post about Ella's birthday. I had a wonderful "Anonymous" user tell me Ella would hate the fact that I call her "Evil One" later on in life when she reads my blog. Really, do you think my blog will be around that long? Come on now... I'm not that good.

First off, I hate anonymous users. I really do. If you're bold enough to leave a rude comment, then at least share with us all who you are. Must be you're not really that bold. It bothers me more that someone wanted to stay anonymous rather then someone pointing out that I call my daughter "Evil One." You probably don't want to know what I call CJ then, LOL! We call him "Monster." Go ahead and comment on that one.

And no! he doesn't mind that we've called him that his whole short life. He actually likes it.

Evil is by no means intended as a slap in Ella's face or meant to hurt her. It's a comical name b/c she's sneaky, crafty, naughty, sweet, lovable and funny all in one. I call her Evil b/c she does some evil things. Evil by baby standards, not by "big" people standards. If I want to call my daughter Evil, I will.

And if you don't like it, well, piss off. Do I sound mean? Good, b/c you've caught me at a bad time this month.

No, I don't have my period. I am experiencing intense amounts of lack of sleep. And in case you hadn't noticed on the sidebar there, "I may be rude, but at least I tell the truth."

Hey, I might make a great politician some day!

So, if you don't like my blog, and what I nicknamed my daughter, then bugger off and read someone else's sugar coated words b/c you are NOT going to find them here. That's not me.

Thank you, and have an ass-kicking day!

The Princess turns 1!

I still can't believe my baby princess is one now. What a little sassy thing she has turned into. She is so much fun and learning so much, it is so amazing to me. It's been a long time since we've had a little one around seeing how CJ is 4.5 now. And every day Ella learns and does something new. And I just love how she cracks me up all the time. Her personality is shining and she loves to entertain people.

So anyway, we celebrated this momentous occasion on Sunday the 11th. We had tons of family and a few close friends over to enjoy the day. And I have to admit just about everyone was there on time! Ella didn't nap too well that afternoon, but she was in such great spirits. I think it's because she basks in the limelight. Not that she really has any idea what it's like to be the center of attention, but she loves to be around groups of people. At CJ's first birthday party he seemed to be completely put off by all the people and attention he got. So not true now! But, Ella visited with everyone and loved showing off how she's starting to walk all on her own. She certainly wasn't real sure what to make of the singing and cake thing, but she sure loved licking the PINK frosting off of her finger. There was some purple frosting on her piece of cake and she very matter of factly picked it up and threw it off the side of her high chair. She was only having pink!

Ella got some wonderful things, her most favorite being her Laugh and Learn Shopping Cart and her Glow Worm. Fisher Price apparently makes some new and improved Glow Worm's and my parents got her a Pink one. She's already figured out to push it's belly and it lights up and plays a lullaby. Ella got a very sweet Cupcake outfit from one of my best friends, and she didn't even have a clue that Ella's nickname is "Cupcake". The cake was awesome, the pizza was great, and I love having family time like that. Ella was simply gorgeous in her pink princess dress and pink crown. It was really a fantastic day!

Enjoy the parade of pictures!

Oh and since she's hit her milestone birthday, this is what the crazy girl has been up to:

*is walking on her own, not every time she moves but it's getting more consistent

*is now getting her molars

*does a fake cough and has the cutest "naughty" smile

*digs around in our garbage for any left over food (I don't let her eat it, but it's comical nonetheless!)

*mimics everything someone does (like trying to juggle like her Daddy!)

*waves hi/bye and gives kisses

*tries to do everything on her own (putting on her shoes, putting on hats)

*loves bath time and puts her head under the water as it's coming out of the faucet. She is scared of nothing

*terrorizes the cats by pulling their tails and chasing them

*loves to be tickled but don't you dare try to snuggle with her...she hates to snuggle!

*goes down for naps/bedtime with no crying finally!

*eats everything, and I mean everything in sight!

*Finally off of formula and on cow's milk and she's doing awesome!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET PRINCESS!!

Funky

Magellan informed me the other day it's been ONE whole week since I've blogged. I can't believe it myself *gasp*! I have been such a slacker. Someone slap me b/c there have been some truely awesome and exciting things going on. But, sadly, I've been in quite the funk lately. I promise to post all about Ella's birthday party and share her pics as they are too cute for words. But, that will have to wait till tomorrow when I have more time.

Right now it's midnight, and I really do need my beauty sleep. We've been having one heck of a time with Ella at night for the last 2-3 weeks, really. She's been waking at least 2-3 times a night and everyone knows mommy gets up with her then. Ella is usually pretty quick to go back to sleep, but hadn't been staying asleep. And she would then wake up at 6am to start the day.

It's hard to say what the real problem is or explain why. First she had a cold, then had 3 teeth come in at once, and then just when I think she's back to sleeping well again, I freaking discover her molars are trying to say hello to us. And she is not happy with that one, let me tell you! She also isn't napping well either which in turn makes for a miserable, evil baby. Hence her new nickname, "Evil Ella."

Add all of those lovely things together and it makes a very tired, snippy mommy. I need my sleep, I love my sleep and when I don't get it, I get into a funk. So, that's where I am...in a funk with no motivation or energy to do anything. For the first time in a very long time, my house is a mess and I really need to vacuum, wash the floors and probably dust again but as I mentioned before, I have no energy to do so. Ella has drained all of what I have. As soon as dinner is done and Ella is in bed, I crash. I get a nice big glass of wine, and lay in bed. By myself. Sometimes it helps me, sometimes it doesn't.

Ok, I am going to go and finish sleeping as this is the first night in two weeks Ella hasn't woken up at 11p *knock on wood*. How nice it would be to sleep til 7am just like the good old days?

Have I mentioned I really despise this whole teething thing? It's SO over rated!

It's almost that time....

Can you believe Ella's first birthday party is already tomorrow?

I can't believe on Monday she will be 1 years old.

Where did the time go?

Right now I am spending my time cleaning the entire house, from top to bottom.

I'm happy to say I'm almost done and I can't wait for tomorrow.

I can't wait to share her day with you all!

Update

Well, I haven't done too any real updating the last few days on me and the kids. It's been one week of pure Hell basically. Well, I'm sure Hell would be much hotter and it's pretty damn cold here right now. Have I mentioned before how much I despise winter??

So, what has the Evil one been up to you ask?

Just about everything. She had 3 new teeth make their appearance this week. CJ's teeth always came in one by one, but not Miss Ella. So far she's always gotten her teeth in pairs. But for some reason, she got her third top tooth about a month ago and then BAM! A fourth top one and two more bottoms. Thankfully she really only had like 2 horrible, horrible nights. Which in my book is pretty damn good for having three rockets burst thru your gums and not have any Percocet or Vicodin! But on top of the teething she had a cold, that her wonderful big brother passed on to her. And let me just tell you it was like having a newborn again. And it is with that being said that I know I am very very very happy with the two kids I have! Friday night was just torture with Ella. She was just plain cranky and miserable all day long, not really herself. We did some shopping but she didn't make it an easy task. Luckily CJ was at school all day, however, on this particular day I was not glad that he was. Ella was just in a mood to really be with her Bubba, she was simply lost without him. You could tell she missed him and was looking for him. So I did my best to keep her occupied, but her and I can only take each other for just so long. Probably b/c we are FAR too much alike.

Friday night was the worst night Ella has had since she had Roseola in June. She had a very hard time falling asleep and Randy and I took turns rocking her and calming her down. She finally passed out from pure exhaustion only to wake every hour on the hour until about 7am. It was a difficult night. I really try and stay away from giving her a bottle or anything at night b/c I don't want her to get in the habit of snacking. I finally got her out of that habit a few months back and didn't want to back pedal. But, unfortunately I did break down and make a bottle which Ella very quickly sucked down. I'm willing to bet she's hit her 12 month growth spurt on top of all the other crap going on with her! Let me tell you, FUN TIMES!

Saturday I had a hair appt, but an hour was just not long enough for me to be away. Later that afternoon I planned a dinner out with one of my good friends and her daughter b/c I knew if I didn't get out of the house with Ella, I would drive myself insane if we stayed at home. And shockingly she was quite good. She got a bit antsy at the restaurant, but no one else really seemed to notice. I even had a group of older people (there were 2 couples) tell me that my bf's daughter and mine were the two best behaved babies they had ever seen. That made my night!

Oh and I did treat myself to a new pair of Uggs I've been dying for for the past FIVE YEARS!

But that night was not good for Ella either. She was up a lot and in obvious pain from those teeth. She napped real good at my mom's, we went for a visit Sunday, and Monday was better at night but still during the day it was not good. She was OK last night, only waking up once and I pray tonight is better. She's been happier and close to her normal self, so hopefully that means something.

Oh, somehow I forgot to mention I found a nice nickel sized boil on her fanny. Yep, a boil. Poor girl! Three teeth, a cold, and a freaking boil on her ass. I only know it's a boil b/c I called her pediatrician b/c the bump had me nervous. It's very red, swollen and looking like it's infected. So they said keep an eye on it and if it doesn't start getting smaller by Friday then she has to go in to have it looked at. So far it's looking no better, but also no worse. So we'll see what tomorrow brings us.

My sweet CJ has been doing OK. We've been having bedtime issues with him again lately. We will occasionally find him fast asleep on our floor in the morning. Turns out he will sneak into our bedroom after we've fallen asleep. He grabs his blankets, pillow and sleeps on my side of the bed, all curled up. Although it's a sweet sight to see, he really can't be doing that. So we've cracked down on it, and so far so good. The last two nights he's stayed in his bedroom all night long.

School is going real well for him. Of course he has a girlfriend, and coincidentally his girlfriend's name is Jaci. Cute, b/c his name is CJ. I am pretty sure he is the tallest one in his class, and possibly the most advanced right now. His teachers can't believe how smart he is, but he seems normal to me. He is still giving me a difficult time about wearing long sleeved shirts to school, but at least we've moved past the "short" issue. He can write his numbers and letters pretty well, every once in awhile writing some backwards, but my mom told me that's totally normal.

Randy is still staying busy. He found out he just got a contract in New Paltz. I'm happy b/c any work in the winter is awesome. In this economic period you just never know what can happen. However, it means he will be gone for most of November b/c him and the guys will have to stay overnight. Many overnights I should say. So I'll be a single mommy for much of November. Not that it's really any different than what I'm doing now since he's been so busy, but he won't be around at night. Not my idea of a fun time.

Thank God for my scary dog and ADT!

Wordless Wednesdays

Not me! Monday!

Welcome to Not me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by Mckmama at www.mycharmingkids.net. Go on over to her blog to read what she and everyone else has not been doing!

So what did I not do today, you ask?

First, I did not put Ella in her crib b/c she was crying uncontrollably b/c of the 3 teeth coming in. She neither wanted up or down so it was time for some alone time. I am not a mother who can't handle anything that comes her way! I'm super woman!

I did not stick CJ in the bathtub while Ella was in her room so I could have quiet time on the computer. Had to update the blog somehow, right?

I did not spend a fortune on my little girl's first birthday party already. And we haven't even bought the cake or food yet. Yikes!

I did not take a ton of aspirin b/c of my migraine I can feel coming on....it's that time of month again. I did not do it so I could find a way to sit thru CJ's gym class.

I did not haphazardly hide CJ's Christmas presents, only to have him not find one of them and ask if he could play with it. I did not proceed to tell him they were for his friend's birthday.

Have a great Monday!

You need to play nice

I had a great day planned. Partially with kids too. Then it went to shit. Here's how it started, and here's hoping it ends better!

So I had an appt today to get my hair cut and colored. It's about that time again for me to go dark since it's fall and I am so fair skinned. If I stay blond in the winter I look extremely washed out. I don't like that look really.

I got up with the kids, even if it was way earlier than usual, letting Magellan sleep in. He's been working very late the last 3 days and I knew he would appreciate it. Or at least I was hoping he would! Needless to say I could only keep them quiet for so long, and then CJ wanted to see his Daddy for a bit. I tried to keep Ella busy b/c she does not sit still. She is constantly going 90 miles a minute. Saying she's like a tornado is an understatement.

I'm in the bathroom putting my make-up on, and my phone starts ringing. I check the caller ID, and it's the hair salon. Now, keep in mind this is a new salon for me. My hairdresser just moved places and this was my first time to see her since she switched. Well, they tell my appt was a half hour ago....I'm like WTF? I wrote down 1030a, not 930a. So they tell me I can still come in, I just won't have time to do what I want. UGH!

I fly out the door, as Ella is chasing me down screaming for me. She is still at that stage where it's cute actually! I get there and the receptionist gave me a less than warm welcome. Oh, and did I mention no one from the salon ever called to confirm my appt either? Perhaps if they had, I wouldn't have missed it! I end up having to sit and wait b/c my girl was finishing up with her other client from 10am. I can hear both the receptionists whispering about how I was late. I mean seriously, how can you expect to keep business if that is how you treat your clientele?

I'm human, I make mistakes too believe it or not.

I finally get called to see my hair dresser and she doesn't seem herself. She's usually bubbly, cheery...not today. I apologized profusely, I felt horrible. It sets her behind I'm sure and makes her feel rushed. I felt awful, but she assured me not to worry about it.

So, we get to talking, and decide just to do a cut today b/c we didn't have time to do anything else. I'm OK with that, I really needed a cut over anything else! It was getting shaggy and you could see my dead ends. I ask her if she likes the new place and she kind of rolls her eyes at me and says, "Yes and no."

She need not say more.

The girls that worked there were not friendly. No one even acknowledged her or looked her way. It wasn't a warm, inviting atmosphere at all. Not at all like the last place she was at. She was happy there then. It isn't my business why she left, and I wasn't going to ask. By the way, I am LOVING my new cut. It's short...very short in the back. It's an inverted bob that is more dramatically cut in the back with layers in the back. It's cute, I'm glad I got the nerve to chop it even shorter this time!

Well, I finally get home after having to stop and get a Pumpkin Spice Latte to cheer me up, and I write my stylist on facebook to tell her about my cashing out issue. She immediately writes me back to tell me she quit! She just wasn't happy there and no, the girls did NOT play nice. She has another job lined up, which is awesome for her, so very shortly I will get my hair colored just as I'd been wishing for.

Moral to this story:

Play nice and you will have people who want to come back and play with you.

Pictures galore!

I realized I haven't posted many pics of my adorable kids...well, except on Wordless Wednesdays. So here are some recent ones:

My new addiction

My newest addiction, well for Ella anyways, is Gymboree. I have occasionally bought things there for CJ, only when they have good sales. Otherwise it is completely ridiculous to me to pay full price for something he might grow out of in a month. And the before sale price is outrageous as well.

Well, having a girl has completely changed my way of thinking. The last month has been bad. I can't stop buying her outfits, and sometimes a ton from one line. If I get the sweater or dress, I must get the pants/leggings to match it. Then the shoes...then the onesie.....I think you get the drift. I am still shopping sales w/coupons though. You know me, queen of cheap.

Today I failed.

I bought an outfit that wasn't on sale, and I didn't have a coupon for it. UGH! I thought Magellan was going to have a stroke. But, he thought the outfit was so cute, he didn't bother to ask the price.

Someone stop me before I put us in debt!

Ella has plenty of clothes, believe me. Her closet is twice the size of a normal one, and it's full. She has about 8 shelves above where her clothes hang and half of those are full with clothes. Now, don't get me wrong. She gets a lot of hand-me-downs too that she wears. In fact I have a friend, who might I add is a bad influence on me, and all her daughter wears is Gymboree. So, Ella has been getting all of her old clothes. I'm thankful that she will have so many winter and summer clothes and I hopefully won't need to keep Gymboree in business anymore, LOL. But they are just so cute. Not to mention I LOVE how they smell.

Is that strange? I love how the clothes smell? I caught myself sniffing her new dress this evening. It's like the addicting smell in Abercrombie & Fitch. It just pulls you into the store. Is it wrong to want to bathe Ella in that smell?? I just love it.

My major weakness is their Gymbucks program. I won't bore you with the details, but that is how I justify buying more lately. I'll have to take some pics of Ella's closet, and maybe I'll put her in her new outfit tomorrow so you all can see just how adorable it is.

On to more important things....

Had a fun play date with a friend from high school today. I got to meet her little boy for the first time. He was born 7/12 and is the cutest, happiest baby. Well, besides my Ella Bella. He was too stinking cute. Ella and CJ had a grand time playing with different toys and CJ actually enjoyed goofing around with my friend's daughter. It's b/c he loves the ladies!

I cannot believe how close we are to Ella's first birthday! I am so excited about it, and about her turning one. She's not a baby anymore! And I'm excited about that b/c she is so much more fun now. And she just sucks everything in like a sponge and learns so quickly. She's quite the charmer, and I still cannot get over what a little personality she has. She loves to laugh and sing. She sings constantly, not with words you or I would understand, but baby words and you can clearly understand she's singing. Not babbling. Ella is our human garbage disposal, she will eat anything and everything that isn't nailed down. She hates to be have her clothes or diapers changed and is VERY strong and stubborn. She loves to copy things I do, like yelling at CJ. I can tell she's gonna be one of those mommy's little helper girls already. And she's sassy. She will tell you NO, and she means it. She's started the drama queen temper tantrums, but when she sees her daddy her whole world just stops and her face lights right up.

Ella is truly in love with Magellan, and he with her I think. If she hears his voice, she will track him down in an instant. She longs for his scruffy kisses and his laughter. She is so used to him meeting us outside when we pull in the driveway (he helps bring any bags and the kids inside), that every time we park the car she calls for him and looks out the window. It is very sweet. Her love for him is far greater than I would've ever imagined. It's a sweet love and I hope she always has it for him. You can tell she just brightens his day.

CJ has been a bit better behaved. Well, better than the last few days anyways. Tomorrow is his first full day at school. He goes to preschool Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and has recently requested a want to spend a full day at the daycare there. So, every Friday he'll stay all day and enjoy lunch, nap time and playtime with his new friends. It is a much needed break for mama!

Now, I need to find a sitter for Ella on Fridays, LOL!

Alas, I probably wouldn't know what to do with a whole day to myself.

I'd probably go shopping at Gymboree....