The countdown begins...

Counting down the days.....my sister (we'll call her Nomie) from Swizerland is coming to visit for 5 weeks, July -Aug. The rest of her family (my three neicesn and brother in law will be here between 3-4 weeks). So...I get an entire week of my sister all to myself! It seems like a long time to have company...right? Well, actually NO not at all. Time with my sister seems to go so fast. Her kids are like my kids and vice versa. Last summer I went out there to see her and stayed for 4 weeks which seemed more like 2 weeks. The days go fast when you spend the majority of them laughing your butt off. About what? About nothing of importance just plain laughing. To the point of tears. I get my year of laughs in one short month. My mom and her husband are coming out for 2 weeks. And hopefully my niece and nephew from AZ will make it out for a weekend. I will have people coming and going for the whole month. Then Nomie and her family will leave us for a week or so to visit Yogi Bear.

America is a BIG deal to my 3 nieces. They will spend the first week comparing everything between America and Switzerland. They claim that everything is so BIG in America. Well, thats partially true. Things here are big....food...portions....grocery stores...one lead to another. I have one niece who will be in ahh of the American trends (that's the one most like me) then I have another niece that is very Swiss by nature...she will enjoy her time here but will glad to be back to the green mountains of Switzerland...and the youngest niece is still too young to get it all, she will enjoy her time here but at the same time enjoy going home. All three girls will be absolutely gaa gaa over my Pic and Pea. They will be at their every need. Pic and Pea will have little Mommies coming from every direction.

Well, 4 more weeks until the fun begins!

NO!....say it isn't true.....

Did I tell you that we finally have bonded with a couple from Chicago. Being new to this town we have only really met a few couples that we have totally bonded with. Couple friends are hard to find. I met Riley's mom at baby boot camp. We were like long lost best friends. Our kids love each other. They play good together. Pickle and Riley should be arranged for marriage...they adore each other. Pickle walks around saying Rye Rye, Rye Rye, Rye Rye, over and over. We all hit it off like peas in a pod. They also just had another baby. Mason and Peanut are 2 months apart and Pickle and Rye Rye are two weeks apart. To make a long story short...they might be moving....we are so sad! Good friends are hard to come by especially when the husbands also get along.....:(

Things that make you smile :)

Our routine...the alarm in our house is Pickle calling for Dada around 630. D has taught her that when she is ready to get out of her crib to call his name. I lay there laughing at the fact that she calls for him. He gets Pickle's diaper changed and then brings her to our bed. He always heads downstairs to let Daisy out, get Pickle's milk and bring me my coffee. I ALWAYS have my first cup of coffee in bed. It's my most favorite thing.

Step touch, grapevine, the old aerobics days.

I didn't realize that old school aerobics still existed. Leave your spandex leotard and scrunchies at home. I went and was pleasantly surprised at how well I remembered the old moves. Step touch, grapevine, hussle forward/back.....brought back a lot of great Bally's gym memories. And, half the class were older silver haired ladies. I actually broke a sweat. I'm desperately trying to get back into the swing of things and get a workout routine with Pic and Pea. I refuse to blame my kids for being fat. There is a daycare at my gym where I can drop off the kids for 2 hours. They are worth every pound of weight gain BUT I'm tired of carrying around the extra baggage. I've got enough emotional baggage. Working out is one of those things that I feel people make up all the excuses in the world (myself included). No...it's not always fun, no...time won't be handed to you on a silver platter, and no...excuses won't change anything. I did it when I worked full time and went to school so, why is it so hard to find time now? It's like brushing your teeth, you just gotta do it. A walk, a fitness dvd, the gym, whatever your heart desires. Like I always say.....If I have time to watch an hour of tv.....then I have time to get a workout in. Right? Right!

Blogging...

Blogging has become the new fad. It's a great way to express your feelings (kinda like a journal). There was a lady on Oprah the other week that started a Mom's blog and it has gotten so big that her husband quit his job and she just writes about daily mom things (think the site is deuce something or another, can't find it now) can you imagine having so much to say that you can support your whole family based of what you write on your blog. I imagine she gets paid through sponsors who offer free stuff to her so she talks about it. Not exactly sure. Don't know how to make this my job but I have fun doing it as a hobby or better yet as a means to vent about life, question life, talk about life etc etc. Not sure if you knew this but all blogs have pubic access. So, you can scroll through other peoples blogs. Hmm....not always sure about this. I try and keep most things anonymous but at times I make a slip here or there. With all new things comes expectations. Expectations that you must meet. People start to look for posts (at least you hope) and people look for photos to be published. There is a fine line in updating your blog because you get inspired to post something vs. the expectation to post something. Not everything in my life gets documented nor is worth writing about. I try to keep most things like Pickles struggle with going #2, the my trip to the local wally world, basic boring life (actually my life is never boring to me) out of the blog. I spare everyone the concoction's I have tried to make Pickle poop. But I try to stay up to date on our life. It has been a great way to keep my family in the loop of watching Pic and Pea grow up. And most importantly I would LOVE to know who visits my blog. You can comment or just say hello by clicking the comment section under the actual post.

Blessings in Disquise

Who would have thought that my little brother would be where he is today. A few years back I started loosing hope for him. He got involved with a bad crowd and was headed downhill fast. Then there were a few situations that happened in his life that made him realize life is too short. He cleaned up his act, graduated from college and has made a good life for himself. He was blessed with his daughter D girl two weeks before Pickle was born. She was a blessing in disguise. He never planned on having kids at 22 but it was actually the best thing that has happened to him. He is a great father and D girl is a total Daddy's girl. His situation reminds me a lot of my Dad's. D girl is his life and I know they will always be close. I'm proud of the man he has become and I know things will continue to turn around for him. He deserves the world!

Skipping through the blues.....

Peanut is now 9 weeks old.....where has the time gone? He has grown so fast, and trust me I have cherished every second with him (in case my baby making days are over). I have really taken the opportunity to hold him, snuggle with him, nurse him, nap with him and stare at him. I actually think it has been a very easy transition. I figure, if I have one....might as well have two....might as well have.....more! Actually, we are undecided on more for the moment ( I have been pregnant or nursing for 28 STRAIGHT months). There was my light bulb moment, I have never done the actual math. No wonder, no wonder, no wonder. I'm sure my body is cursing me.

Peanut and Pickle have been so much fun. Pickle has really surprised us with her motherly ability. She has taken baby Peanut under her wing. She loves, adores, and is somewhat obsessed with him. She must know 100% of the time where he is and what he is doing. She wakes up and starts calling "baby" "baby" "baby!" It's so cute to see her playing and then to run over and give him the biggest kiss. Only a few times has she laid on top of him, poured water over his head, or put her hand over his face but of course after all those things she proceeds with a giant kiss. Not sure so she won't get in trouble or because she thinks all those other things are okay. The two kid thing hasn't been too hard at all.

The hard part of this whole process has been having our house on the market. Can I say gulp, sigh, big sigh, even bigger sigh. Two kids is nothing but having financial stressors is another thing. Having a house on the market is the biggest sigh in the morning. Waking up, changing diapers, getting 3 people dressed, doing breakfast, doing laundry, feeding the dog, letting the dog out, exercising.....NO BIGGIE! BUT.....having your house perfect is a completely different story. That is what brings me to tears at times. The unknown is very scary. When we'll sell, if we'll sell, where we'll move, when we'll move everything is up in the air. But what gets me through the stress and pain of the unknown is my two little babies. They are the absolute highlight to my day. I don't know what my life was like without them. They make want to skip. And according to my dad.....when someone skips through life then you know they are truly happy.

Keeper of the camera can be overwhelming at times

The world of digital can be overwhelming at times. Are you that person in the family that always has your camera? Do people look to you to take pictures and distribute them? Do people assume you can take photos, videos, organize them AND email/mail them out? Well, something eventually has to go. Blogs, facebook, scrapbooks, home videos, the list goes on and on. I refuse to say to Peanut, "well Mommy was too busy to make a scrapbook for you, only Pickle has one." I'm lucky enough that both of my kids were born in the digital days. No negatives for these babies. But.....I have a fear of loosing my photos. I have decided in case of tornado, hurricane, flood, fire or any other natural catastrophe I will put all my photos on an external hard drive and mail it to my in-laws in case something were to happen. I was going to give the hard drive to a friend on the block but what if our whole street is hit by the abominable (?) snowman or something. I'm a little bit of a freak like that. I would DIE if I lost my photos.

So, I'm starting a new thing called digital scrap booking. An amazing company by the name of Heritage Makers has perfected digital photo albums. It's a company that backs up every album you order so if anything happens to the album you can reorder another album. Anything including tears, rips, pooped on, peed on, puked on, or anything else for that matter. So why Heritage Makers vs. the other companies? Well, it's like a scrap booking store, they have every chochsky imaginable. Their albums are tied at the binding as well. It's defiantly more pricey but worth every penny for my kids. But if you are my family please please please be happy when you get the less expensive version from shutterfly or snapfish. Or simply make your own :). Oh, and if you are interested in Heritage Makers the website is www.scrapmystories.com

People Please

It's funny to me how people assume the worst. They think just because we have two kids under two that our life has turned upside down. I constantly hear things like "Oh, you must be exhausted" " Was it planned?" "You can be done now"........can I just say FOR THE LOVE. Some people just don't know when to shut their mouths. Paaaleeezzzzzzz, mind your own business or just think before you open your trap.

I think they look more alike than we realize

Pickle on the Left--Peanut on the Right

Mom's side of the family come to see Peanut

Tracey, Evan and Grandma Gunga giving Peanut love.

Dad's side of the family comes to visit Peanut

Do they look the same?????

The first two photos are Peanut and the second two are Pickle. I thought Pickle looked like D at birth but now she looks exactly like I did as a baby/toddler. It's hard to tell with Peanut, I don't think he looks like D or me. He's just his own little creation.

Just when you think you can't love as much as you already do, your heart grows bigger.

I lack the words to explain my love for our new addition, Peanut. He has ripped my heart straight out of my chest and is holding it in his hands. I can't get enough of him. When it's your first baby (Pickle) you don't comprehend how fast they really grow. You are constantly waiting for the next baby milestone. You wait for them to smile, then roll over, then sitting up, then scooting, then crawling, then walking, then their first words and then it's their first birthday. Then all of a sudden they are their own little people. And you realize what your parents always told you. My dad told me time and time again that I grew up in the blink of an eye. I see exactly what he was talking about.

As first time parents you push your little one to do everything, you encourage them to hit all of their milestones. You work with them to do them faster. With the first baby you have outside pressure to do everything right. Getting them to sleep through the night, nursing them the correct way, making your own baby food, pacifier or thumb sucking, blah blah blah.

The second baby is different. I know that they grow fast. I stop and I just sink into the moment. I take a deep breath and I give myself the opportunity to just be.

Baby Bliss!

Announcing little brother Peanut born on February 23, 2009 by C-Section at 12:14pm. Peanut was 7lbs 6 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. He was a little smaller than his big sister Pickle. He also came into the world 3 weeks earlier. I will write and post more photos when I'm feeling a little better. We are still on cloud 9 baby bliss.

Hmmm.......

Let's just say that that Lily has that "Jones" personality. I'm not trying to discredit any other genes but she is a mold of me. I see her in me, me in her. I laugh sometimes because I can read her like a book. I know what she is thinking because I'm thinking the same thing. I wish got some of her Dad's easy going genes or her Gigi and Big Mama's (they are both very easy going people). I'm not going to be the mom that makes excuses for her but can I say, she knows what she wants, how she wants it and when she wants it. I'm working with my little determined one. My independent one! She is almost more independent than me. That's a hard one to understand. She is that baby that when she gets to be 4, I will have always known that she has been determined since birth. She will also be the one at age 16 that I hopefully won't have to worry about. I don't think she will be easily pressured. She is independent and not a follower by all means. She has slept through the night since 4 weeks, in her own crib. Now today, we are working with her having to do everything all by herself. She doesn't seek my assistance, she will try and try to do it alone. She is too big for a highchair, walks up and down stairs like she is 4, plays in her room without having to have me there ( I still check on her every 5 minutes), tries to dress her monkey, wants to put her own shoes and socks on, wants to drink out of a regular cup, thinks she needs to blow my coffee to cool it down. I could go on and on and on.

She isn't a big cuddler, neither am I. Neither of us are very touchy feelie girls. The sad thing is that Daddy is the biggest teddy bear. I can see him approach her and know what is coming next. She pushes him away as if to say Dad, give me some space. D can be a little overbearing at times and that is hard for girls like us who aren't big touchers. Love and cuddles has to be on our terms. She is even like that with me, I wait for her to need love from me. She isn't that baby/toddler that wants to be held. She will occasionally come up to you from behind and give you a big bear squeeze. The only other person besides us that she is affectionate with is her Doda and Uncle Eric. Other than that, you are chopped liver.

She says words like go, Daisy, momma/mimi, daddy, rye rye (riley), B (blankie), baby, Dakota (our friends barking dog), Na Na (NO), and shakes her head yes and no until you get it right. I work with her everyday. She sits in timeout at age 16months because of hitting or throwing temper tantrums. However; please be aware that timeout is only 1 minute. She has become quite the drama queen in timeout. She throws herself to the ground but always makes sure she lands safely on Daisy's bed then she bangs her head on the bed. She actually is smart enough to know how to land on safe grounds.

I love my little determined one. I won't make excuses for her behavior nor will I apologize for it. I will just continue to work with her independence and be thankful that God gave me a child that has a mind of her own.

16m going on 16

How does a 16m old know exactly where to do with makeup? Picke is obsessed with anything that I do. She wants to be just like Mommy. It's so cute to see her explore in my makeup and pick and choose what she likes best. She always manages to dig through and find my Chanel makeup brushes. She already has expensive taste when it comes to her cosmetics of choice. Forget Bonnybell for this little one, she wants the good stuff. She walks around and puts lipgloss on her lips and tries to also put it on Daddy and Daisy. They are very willing to amuse her. I'm just nervous for when her little brother comes around. Also please notice her head band. Too cute and she did it all by herself.

God's gift to me!

My babies.....

I think that there is nothing more beautiful than a pregnant belly. A pregnancy is a true gift from above and I think it's time in a women's life that should be cherished. I had maternity photos taken when I had Pickle and I wasn't going to have them done again until D demanded that we take some with the new baby too. I love these photos because I think there is a level of innocence that was captured.

So, if you are one of those old fashion people who think that a pregnant women shouldn't bare her belly than I'm sorry to have offended you and your are more than welcome to exit out of MY blog.

Everyday girls/women go around wearing bikini's, mid-drifts, half shirts exposing their muffin tops. But if a pregnant women shows her belly you better look the other direction.

A little high strung

Can I just say, it's 3:35am and I'm suffering from insomnia.  Yes, I'm about to have a baby in a matter of a month and need all the sleep I can get.  I have been up in the middle of the night for the past week.  It's so annoying to be sleeping like a baby, wake up to pee and then come back to bed to find yourself wide awake.  Today, I even went a step further and cut out all coffee.  Most of you know what that means for a coffee lover.  Nope, didn't help one bit.  I'm one of those people who have a pretty high anxiety level especially with things I can't control.  I'm a little bit of a control freak and when things are out of my hands I get really worked up.  You could say I like what I like when I like it.  I worry about everything from the most minor of things to things that are major but most of the time my worries lie around things that are pretty minor.  Oops and now I just woke up my husband.  Okay, until my next sleepless night.  Gotta go....

Take a deep breath

Ahhhhhh, sometimes in life it's important to realize when it's time to let go and learn from your mistakes.   It's hard to realize you might have acted to quickly or maybe made the wrong decision.  Lesson number one, never buy a new home without selling your old home first.  

We learned this the hard way.  About 3 years ago Donny got a new job 70 miles away from where we were living.  We were so excited for his new opportunity so, we put our house on the market and attempted to sell it.  The house never sold so we decided to rent it out and use it as an investment property.  Ha ha, mistake number one.  

At the time we were both working and found what we thought would be our dream home.  A much larger, newer, cleaner, more updated BEAUTIFUL home.  A dream come true in comparison to our older starter home.  We have lived here now for a little over 2 years and have made a good life for ourselves. We like our house, love our neighborhood and have built a support system for our family.  Lots of things that are hard to find.  

However; times have changed.  Almost 2 kids later, I'm no longer working full time and D's job has restructured his commission (like most companies are doing during this economic crisis).  With all those things in consideration we have decided to downsize.  It's time to be honest and admit we are living beyond our means and as Suzie Orman (my favorite financial planner) would say that is the first step to financial recovery.  Being honest!  A hard one to swallow.  This will be news to a lot of you but we had to make the decision based off the shoes we are standing in.  We made the decision this past weekend after debating it for months.  Just meeting with the realtor felt like a big relief.  It feels like a big weight has been lifted off our shoulders even bigger once is sells.  The timing isn't the best with the housing market and a little one on the way but we figure there is no better time then now.  I figure it's just a house, we were still in the process of making it our home, we don't have kids in schools yet and we can always buy our dream home when the timing is right.  We still have the things that matter most to us and that is each other!

So, if you know of anyone house shopping send them our way.  I've got a beauty I'm trying to get off our hands.

Going Green

In the past year our family has had to make some drastic cuts. Cuts like I never imagined. I proudly went from working full-time to being a stay at home mom. We both agreed that it was very important to us for me to stay at home with Pickle. We didn't want to drop her off at daycare for 10+hours a day. Thankfully, we were in a position to live our dream and have me stay at home with our kids. Trust me, I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to stay at home. I know there are a lot of mom's who would rather be at home with their kids but don't have the means to quit their jobs. I truly feel bad for them. I also know some mom's would rather work full time and I don't judge that either. It's a personal choice. Staying at home isn't for everyone and there will be a day when I look forward to going back to work full time. For me personally, I feel like babies and children grow up so fast. I feel like this is my opportunity to enjoy every second. Next thing I know, I'm going to wake up and my kids will be leaving home. This time in their lives is irreplaceable and I will never get this time back.

We have learned to make daily sacrifices in order for me to stay at home. I constantly turn off lights, keep the heat low, wash clothes on cold, hang dry some items, clip coupons, eat ramen noodles more then once a week, use daytime diapers that cost .14 cents and conserve the .29 cent diapers for night use when you need more absorbency, we sadly left our pimp daddy gym and joined the YMCA, and we are still living happily! I call it going GREEN. I used to take pride in not wearing the same outfit twice in one month, and staying up to date in the latest trends. If In style magazine said I needed to let go of my hobo bag and replace it with a clutch I would in a second! I had the financial means to look good and stay up to date; that was my mission! The tables have now turned. My idea of looking good is by grabbing my dress velour sweats, throwing on some shiny lip gloss and maybe wearing my hair down. I have discovered a new means of shopping. A way to get my shopping fix and staying within our household budget. Going GREEN, it's such a high. It's called shopping on Craig's List, garage sales and thrift stores. Can I say, OH MY GOD! It's the best high in the world. Deals like you couldn't imagine. 2nd hand designer clothing for Pickle for 10% of the cost. GAP clothing for 1.49-2.99 and on some days 50% off the ticket price. Now that is an extra good day! Practically brand new baby items for a fraction of the cost. 2nd hand toys that can be bleached down and are like brand new. I feel a different sense of pride by providing for my daughter differently. It feels good to reuse, buy 2nd hand, and most importantly get a bargain! And when people compliment Pickle's wardrobe I take pride in saying, thank you, I got it at the ARC.

New Years Resolutions.....

I'm a girl with many words, there aren't many times in life that I'm caught speechless. Unless it comes to our blog. I sit and sit and try to find the words to explain what is going on in our lives. I can't find the words so instead I post photos. I have a friend and she has words. She has so many words that her blog is almost all journaling. Very few photos and all words. It's her Dear Abby, her way to express herself. She always has something to say. She also has a huge following to her blog, even strangers read it. It's quite entertaining. She should actualy have her own column. My sister reads her blog and hasn't even met her yet. That is how entertaining she is. I envy her. I want to be more like her. Which leads me to my New Years resolution...........FIND THE WORDS AND EXPRESS MYSELF. I often find myself trying to censor what I post, I think about who is reading it and who it could offend. Not anymore, I'm just going to unleash and write. WORDS, WORDS and MORE WORDS! I will try to write about what I'm feeling, write about what goes through my brain, write about anything. So, prepare yourself and get ready to read.
And yes, I will still post our adorable photos.

Coffee time

Lily is absolutely in love with her new table and chairs. So much that she wants to eat every meal at it. She is especially fond of coffee time. We call it coffee time because she wants to do everything like her Mommy. She acts exactly like Mommy with her afternoon coffee. She even dips her pretend cookies into her cup. It's so cute!

Peek a boo

Christmas snapshots