An Officer, a Zoo and a Parade

We had quite a busy weekend. Thursday Scott and I flew to Baltimore to witness Kevin's (Scott's not so little brother) commissioning from USNA. It was my 1st visit to Annapolis and it was just as fabulous as I've always heard. It's beautiful! Our flight in was rather bumpy so it took a few hours for the color to return to our faces but we made it there in one piece. Saturday morning we flew back home to spend the weekend with our babies. We've never been away from them before and they did great. Sunday we headed to the zoo where Tyler refused to sit in the wagon making for a very tired mommy and daddy. It was fun to see how excited he got about seeing each animal but unfortunately he's to the stage where he has a fit about everything so each time we went to move on to the next animal we had a mini fit until we got to the next animal. Monday was the parade at the end of the street. We were originally going to follow the parade up to the local university for the Kids festival but I think we were all tuckered out from all the fresh air and needed naps....at least I know I did.

The Cost of $200 in Carpet?

As I've mentioned before, we're working to get our house on the market by next spring. On our list of to do's was replace the horrid 80's sea foam green wool carpet in the sunroom. As usual when it comes to home improvements nothing's as simple as it seems. This is what replacing carpet looks like in our household.Yes....that's the wall striped down to the studs. Now I'll admit that I've secretly wanted to do this to the sunroon for years (paneling is never an architecual detail to be embraced) but this really wasn't what I wanted when I told Scott I wanted to take up the carpet.

We haven't used the sunroom much in the past year or so and when I opened it up this spring I noticed a distinct musty smell. On further investigation I noticed one of the romaine shades had a stain on it. When I pulled the couch out abit the carpet was moldy and and the paneling felt spongy. Well any how if you take a good look at the photo you'll notice aside from the wall being striped down, there's no window sill, no window for that fact. Anyhow, luckily I don't see any termite damage but obviously this issue has been festering for quite some time. The studs are completely rotted out. We'll need to get a building permit to open things up from outside to get a better look at what we're dealing with. So have any guesses on what $200 in carpet really costs?

Happy Mother's Day

5 years ago I was in a desperate place thinking that I may never get to learn the joy of being a mother. With the anniversary of my lose in early May I spend a bit more time thinking about mother's day then I think the average mother may. I'm still a bit in the air if my whole experience is a blessing or a curse. It was definately the most difficult time in my life but I do honestly believe I am a better, stronger person and mother having loved a being I would never get to meet.

Scott gave me a lovely charm bracelet today to remind me of our beautiful living angels with a bear for Tyler (because he is a bear) and a Giraffe for Leah (for our favorite book Giraffe's can't Dance). Leah had made me a card with Hersey kisses at school but proceeded to sneek off and eat all the kisses. I told her I wasn't mad but next time she just needed to hide the evidence a little better. I then got the kiss I really wanted and she cleaned up the wrappers.

Well no wonder I feel so stupid

I found this on the Ohio department of education website this evening

Boosting Your Child's Brain Power
You may not realize that your child’s brain is busier than yours. As one researcher coins it, your child is an “alien genius.”
We know more about brain development today than at any other time in history. The Scientist in the Crib and From Neurons to Neighborhoods are just two examples of a growing body of research that gives us insight to early learning.
From birth, a baby’s brain cells develop at astounding speeds, sparking neural connections as a child learns, experiences, explores the environment, and grows into a young adult.
By 2 years of age, your child’s brain is working at full adult levels, and by age 3, it’s twice as active as yours.

Not sure if that makes me feel better but it's official....I'm not starter then a 3 year old. Have you ever played a game of memory with a 3 year old? It's like they have ESP. I used to have a great memory and remember thinking my mother had something wrong with her since she didn't seem to remember things very well. I'm her. I can't remember jack. I joke that being pregnant 3 times has sucked all the protein out of my brain but this just confirms it...my 3 year olds brain is more functional then mine at this point.

My Green Eyed Beauty

With Tyler being in the midst of all the 1st I don't think I toot Leah's horn enough. I took this picture this afternoon and can I just say the girl just keeps taking my breath away. There's nothing toddler about those long skinny legs and arms. Tantrum have given way to compassion and the desire to help. In the past year her eyes have turned from a piercing blue more into a green like mine and every day I see a little more of a glimmer of myself in her. She's always been daddy's little girl and while she's alway's been into girly things she's recently formed a new fondness for mommy (just in time for Tyler to become Daddy's little boy). She just so stinkin cute, beautiful, smart, funny and sassy. How could some one so amazing come from me?

Spring has Sprung

I'm sure snow is just around the corner but spring has arrived in Northeast Ohio and we had a blast this weekend with lots of walks, trips to the playground, yard work and even a few home improvement. How can you help but be in a good mood when the weather is this nice.

Tyler got into the storage bin in his closet and pulled out a hand me down halloween costume. Some how I don't think it will fit come next October so I decided to put him in it so we could say he wore it. Leah of course had to follow suit and insisted on proving me wrong when I told her it wouldn't fit then insisted that I take her picture. She wore it nearly all day.

Bottle a Moment

Ever wish you could just bottle a moment? Open it up and have that same feeling flood your senses again? On the nights Tyler lets me cuddle with him before putting him down I try to soak up every nuance of the experience. The smell of his hair, the warmth of his body, the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. It's such a wonderful feeling. Other moments I'd love to bottle are any of the 1st in the child’s life. The 1st time they smile at you, laugh, reach for something, crawl, walk, talk. The fantastic glow or twinkle, you see come across their eyes as they discover something for the 1st time. I could live a whole life relishing moments like these.

These are the things that keep me going when a stomach bug visits my house for the 3rd time in 3 months. I have a theory...since Tyler got sick with a stomach bug in late January and has been sick all but 4 days since.....and since he and Leah has some nasty bug again....They're all going to be healthy after this for months and months........here's to dreaming. Where'd that moment in a bottle go?