Around Here

It's been awhile since my last post, and our blog has just been neglected. Not only has our blog been neglected, but I have not had the time to sit and read all of my blogland friends' blogs. Boo hiss. That is just how it's been around here the past month. I've got many posts in my drafts that need to finished, edited, and pictured in order to be published. Since it's been almost a month since my last post, I figured I would give a little update.

Madeline is in preschool full swing! Madeline loves preschool, and preschool loves her! But, to be honest, going to preschool everyday is kicking my fanny. It's a production to get Madeline to preschool everyday simply because our preschool is about 25 minutes away. That means, we leave here at 8:30 every morning, and from 9-12 everyday, Amelia and I are "living" across town. Most days it works out fine since I go to the gym and run errands until it's time to pick Madeline up at noon. However, Amelia is not exactly the best "on-the-go" napper, so you can only imagine just how p-oed Amelia is by noon. Yea, she's awful. I have a hard time justifying driving back and forth multiple times five days a week to the tune of $3/gallon in my gas guzzling Nissan Armada. It stresses me out, but it'll work out eventually. By the time we arrive back home at 12:30, I'm frazzled & trying to determine which house chores I want to tackle during naps. Usually Amelia is having a nervous breakdown because she's so tired, and Madeline needs some down time after being at school all morning. Not to mention, I'm packing bottles, baby food, baby snacks, diapers, wipes, etc. just to survive the morning. I think I prefer the M-W-F schedule, but like I said, Madeline loves preschool! In the end, it's worth it to have her in a place where she's learning & making friends, and Eric and I love the preschool. As Amelia adjusts to our new routine, gets off the bottles and baby food, and learns to catnap (HA! Wishful thinking!), things will be better. I'm also having to figure out my new routine too. I'm such a "clean house on this day, laundry on that day, grocery shop here, errands there" kind of gal, that being gone all morning everyday has gotten my OCD-Type A self all worked up about getting my duties done. Our routine is a work in progress, and I'll figure it out. Hopefully sooner than later. One thing is for sure, I make it to the gym like clockwork everyday since that is the first stop after preschool drop off. No excuses for that chore!

Madeline is taking ballet/tap, and SHE.LOVES.IT! Every Tuesday, she looks forward to her dance class, and every Tuesday, I have to pry her dance shoes off her feet!

Aside from adjusting to being the second child that must go here there and everywhere with me, Amelia is doing so well. Her 9 month post is unfinished in my drafts, and at this point, I'm thinking I will combine her 9 & 10 month-days into one ginormous post. She's healthy, chubby, going on two whole months of no ear infections, and is becoming more and more mobile by the second it seems. Our little Amelia Bedelia is waving, clapping, eating us out of house and home, and cutting two more teeth. She's a doll baby!

I was in a car accident very recently because some yahoo wasn't paying any attention and slammed into the car behind me which caused her to come into my rear bumper messing up our bumper region & the function of our rear lift door. My left arm went immediately numb, and since I've had two neck surgeries, I was freaking out. Both of the girls were with me, so I was freaking out. I'm pretty sure some very ugly choice words flew out of my mouth in the middle of the intersection, and now I'm dealing with the insurance/getting the car fixed aftermath. I was taken from the scene on a backboard to the ER for x-rays since I have had previous neck issues, and THANK GOD the girls checked out fine. In fact, Madeline said to me with a wide eyed look right after it happened, "Mommy! Who bounced our car like that? Who bounced me and Amelia?"

We spent a long weekend on Hilton Head for a last summer hurrah, and it was fabulous. We have beach babies there is no question about that.

Eric is working hard (what else is new?), loving his less overnight travel job, and enjoying his fall hobbies: football and deer hunting.

My Disney marathon training is about to crank up full speed ahead, and I'm excited about it. I've schedule about 11-12 weeks of training where I slowly work up my miles with my longest run being 20 miles. Those middle weeks are going to be tough since I'll be averaging about 35-40 miles over the course of four runs. I've scheduled two cross train days, and one rest day. I am especially looking forward to my long runs where I can enjoy the fresh air, listen to music, work out my thoughts, and feel the adrenaline rush of completing a long run in my training program.

So, having said all that, I promise more interesting posts are coming with more pictures than words, and I'll leave you with a preschool funny:

This was told to me by Madeline's teacher at pick up recently: During circle time, Madeline apparently wanted to sit on the orange mat next to her friend, but I am sure her teacher wasn't excited about the two chatterboxes sitting next to one another. Her teacher asked her to sit on a red mat away from her friend. Madeline decided to make one last argument, "Mrs. Molnar, can I pleeeaaaase sit on the orange mat because it matches my outfit better?" Her teacher also demonstrated some sort of hand motions rubbing up and down her leg. (For the record, her outfit was hot pink & lime green, so the orange mat would coordinate!) As much as her teacher laughed at the sales pitch, politeness, and cuteness, Madeline had to sit on the other mat. Madeline definitely has her Daddy's sales skills and her Mama's fashionista instincts.

Thankful...


Last week was a rough one, and this one is shaping up to be a tad challenging as well. However, while both of my little ladies are napping, I need to set my mind straight and remember my blessings.


So, in this moment, I am extremely thankful for:

• my hard working husband who is home from his business trip for this week & has no current plans for business trips next week
• my two girls even if schedules and attitudes are wanky
• my workout at the gym this morning
• having the opportunity to be a stay at home mom
• a few minutes to myself to do this post and gather myself
• upcoming weekends of "Anne & Eric" time
• a "big sister" package in the mail for Madeline from my Aunt Maureen --- more books! yay!

Life with Two (and More)


How has a month gone by, & I have not posted? I've got lots of things to share about the girls, and I'm not quite ready to hit publish yet for their posts ~ still missing pictures and a couple of stories on Madeline ~ those are coming soon.


Life has resumed to normal. I am out of the no sleep "baby fog" & "baby high" stages of bringing home a newborn even though I still feel sleep deprived. Being tired all the time feels normal now. Eric's insane travel has commenced leaving me to hold down the fort. I've returned to my normal, non-pregnant-girl gym routine ~ woo hoo!!! Madeline is back at school regularly barring any future inclement weather conditions. Oh, and I've taken both girls to the grocery store & Target all by myself as if I'd been doing this Mommy thing my whole life. Like I said, life has resumed to normal. And, did I mention, life is great?!


Life with our two girls has settled in rather nicely. We've had to get used to Eric's traveling again, and I'd say that's been the biggest adjustment as far as Madeline is concerned. She got very used to Eric's travel pre-Amelia, and then she got very used to Eric being home after Amelia was born. I think she forgot that "Daddy's working" = Daddy doesn't get to come home every night thus leaving Mommy in charge. Yes, there have been some hairy moments when one child was probably not having her needs met in the most timely manner, but we survived. I have since been able to iron out most of the kinks in order to prevent a tremendous amount of melting down at high demand times like lunch/dinner, baths, bedtime, etc. Madeline has had to re-acquaint herself with the phrase, "Daddy's working.", so that always brings her terrible two behavior out more often. I guess that's her way of expressing her displeasure regarding Daddy's need to work. However, our nightly prayers now include, "We thank God for Daddy's job, & Daddy's ability to take care of us, so Mommy can stay home." This simple sentence seems to make sense to Madeline, and it seems to remind her that her world is okay even when "Daddy's working."


We are in the process of getting our one year warranty things fixed around the house, and it's a mess! There must've been a billion nail pops to fix, and it's going to be a cleaning nightmare for me. The Spackle and dust is EVERYWHERE. Not to mention, our builder doesn't do the touch up painting part, so we have to go back and do that part ourselves. YUCK! I foresee myself burning the midnight oil doing some serious cleaning in the next few weeks while Eric is traveling. I do my best work while he's traveling and late at night with no little girl interruptions. I'm just crazy like that, I guess. However, we are not looking forward to re-painting our ceilings, walls, trim, etc.


I've returned to the OB for my postpartum check-up, and I was given a clean bill of health. I had a follow-up with my hematologist for my platelet count, and they were up in the 120,000 range, so once again, I was given a clean bill of health there too. I was "cleared" for exercise ~ haha! I cleared myself for that about two weeks after Amelia came home. :)


Eric and I were able to go out on a "just us" date ~ my parents came over for a few hours, and we were able to go out to dinner without worries. Grandma is great like that! Eric and I had almost forgotten how nice it is to eat without cutting up someone else's food, burping someone else, or reading the cocktail menu like a book while we wait for our meal.


Madeline attended her first birthday party at a Kindermusik type place for a friend from school, and it was fun. Chaotic but fun. I must say, I am new to this kid birthday party thing, so it was a little overwhelming for me to have all those 2 and 3 year olds running loose doing their thing. Most of the other moms were chilling talking to one another, and I seemed to be watching Madeline like a hawk making sure she was minding her manners, sharing, and behaving. Perhaps I need to relax a little bit and trust that she will do the right thing without me hovering. I will learn to chill out eventually.


I've returned to my pre-baby workouts, and it feels awesome. My heart rate gets high, I sweat, I listen to music, and I have made my muscles work hard again. It's been so great to get back into my rhythm, and I have all the sore muscles to show for it. And, best of all, Amelia is already spoiled rotten in the kids' care by those wonderful ladies. They are smitten with her, and they love having a new baby to cuddle. It's a win-win for us all!


Madeline got her first shiner last weekend. Eric was cleaning up his truck, and she ran smack-dab into the tailgate, not once but twice. Her little face took a beating, and in her Madeline post, the pictures reveal her nice shiner. Madeline also had her first time out at school. Apparently, she was standing in the baby doll bed in the house center, and the teachers had to ask her repeatedly to stop. By the third offense, she was put into time out. As a result, at home, she was not able to have TV the whole rest of that day (which really amounts to two Dora shows --- one before nap & one before bed), but you want to talk about kicking a girl while she is down, then take away her Dora TV shows. According to her teachers, no TV for time out at school made a very lasting impression on her because she not only obeyed immediately when corrected the following day at school, but she mentioned that time out at school = no Dora TV that day. Score for Team Mommy & Daddy!

Finally, I had a girls night with my Supper Club girls, and it was so wonderful to chit chat with the ladies! I'm so blessed to call these girls my friends. It was such a refreshing evening out, and I'm so lucky to have a hubby that supports my girl time!

Call Me Silly

But how cute is the little girl in the big shoes in Madeline's new age ticker above? I was tickled to find a little figure that depicts our Madeline so well. It's the little things in life that make me smile, I guess.

My Two Loves

Whew, Where has the time gone?

I know I say this all the time, but now I understand what my parents always meant about time flying faster and faster as we get older. So, seriously, where has the time gone? I've not updated the blog in a month!! Bad Mommy. We've been busy around here, but we haven't done anything "blog-worthy", I guess? I have to admit that I've been T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. about having my camera handy to capture some Stewart fun!

However, I'll make an attempt to re-cap the last month, and certainly Madeline has been a trooper. In fact, she probably knows every furniture store's layout by now, and she could probably navigate the fabric stores pretty well too. When we are not working on the house, we're just taking advantage of Eric being home and doing "normal" family stuff since June and July are going to be filled with many weeks of Mama and Madeline alone time. So what have we been doing?

We've been working on making our house more homey and filling some spaces with some much needed new furniture and accessories --- ceiling fans, light fixtures, a couple of new chairs and tables in the den, a new kitchen table & chairs, and new dining room chairs to match the dining room furniture being passed onto me from my mom's side of the family. I finally have a game plan for some panels to capture the warmth I'm looking for in the den. Speaking of our new house, we've become acquainted with a couple of our neighbors, so we are looking forward to fostering those new friendships.

Kitchen

Den chairs

Dining room chairs

Our screened in porch construction is complete! Woo hoo! The loud noise was really disturbing to Madeline's nap which made for some LONG afternoons! Next up is to find some furniture to make it complete. Right now, we are making do with our outdoor patio furniture until we find just the right dining set & conversation set. However, the evenings are just perfect on our new porch!

Mother's Day was pretty fantastic although we did nothing terribly special. It was just nice to spend the day with my husband and Madeline. We went to church, had lunch out with another family, napped, went on a walk, and enjoyed our family time. It was simple, sweet, and perfect. I'm a lucky Mama and wife! Oh, and PS, Madeline has fantastic taste in accessories...this Mama was quite surprised to find this sitting on the kitchen table on Mother's Day morning.

Finally, Eric and I had a little business mixed with pleasure getaway to Hilton Head while sweet Madeline spent the weekend with Ms. Shannon and her daughter, Kara. Madeline loved having a "big sister" for the weekend, and of course, Ms. Shannon is a constant in Madeline's life since she works at the gym nursery. Madeline received a wonderful report even though there was some "sisterly" rivalry between Kara and Madeline. As much as these two girls love each other, I suspect they managed to push each other's buttons over the weekend. It was wonderful to get away from Mama duties for a weekend, and Eric was able to enjoy himself quite a bit even though he was "on business".

A month-in-a-post-catch-up on us...as I mentioned, not terribly "blog-worthy", but nevertheless, it's just us doing our day-to-day thing.

You Know Your Hubby Is Out of Town When...

• you have 3 medium sized UHAUL boxes worth of stuff to take to Goodwill TOMORROW (since he flies into Columbia at 6:45 PM)
• you shred SEVEN kitchen trash bags worth of old bills, old insurance statements, and old bank statements
• you have TEN overstuffed file folders of STUFF that you'd like to shred but won't JUST IN CASE stacked up waiting to be looked at and okay-ed to shred at a later date

And, you do it all while watching (ie = listening to in the background) the Texas vs. Alabama game.

[NANA, You should appreciate this post...you KNOW how Eric doesn't get rid of ANYTHING! :)]

AHHHH, I feel organized and settled!

Ready to Go!

We snapped some photos of Miss Madeline this past Sunday before we headed out to church. She loves to carry her bag on her arm like this:

She then says, "Bye bye." while heading to the door. I guess she's seen me carrying my purse like this, and when I'm carrying my purse, we're usually going 'bye-bye'!

She also loves watches, and she can clearly point out and exclaim, "Watch!" Notice she's wearing her daddy's stinky gym watch.

Cutie patootie!

This would be a cuter shot of this Mama and her sweet girl IF this Mama would've brushed her hair out of her face, and this little munchkin didn't have shiny snot under her nose.

Where does the time go?

Good gracious, is it really September 28? Have I really not blogged about anything terribly earth-shattering in the last month? Did September 17, Madeline's 13 month-day, come and go without a post? Shame on me.

September turned into a crazy month with packing, moving, closing, and getting adjusted to our new temporary living quarters. So, yes, that was a time consuming and daunting task. However, we are settled, but for some reason we cannot get our rhythm back.

Part of our issue is that everything seemed to happen at once...the move, some extra curricular activities with our church, hunting season (my sweet hubby is bound and determined to bring home a Bambi this hunting season), Eric's boss's boss spending 3 days with him, working out some kinks with the rental house, Eric making some rather large presentations that have required much of his home time to be working, and my couple of regularly scheduled evening "Mama escapes" seemed to all fall within the last few weeks. I suppose it's no wonder that the blog has taken a hit. When the three of us are home together and not completely exhausted, we are enjoying each other's company. With all this craziness, Eric and I have made it a point to have our own dinner after Madeline goes to bed in order to stay connected. Ultimately, we've let the computer remain "asleep" in the evenings.

My goal this week is to get our day-to-day rhythm back...regular grocery trips (my grocery gaming has taken a hit as well), daily gym workouts that involve more than just a run, Eric making it to the gym after work, home cooked healthy dinners, truly relaxing over the weekend, and resuming normal close to home activities (blogging, laundry, scheduling some much needed appointments, & cleaning) on a regular schedule. I hope our funk is behind us, and we can resume some normalcy instead of operating on "survival mode".

Bittersweet


Eric and I closed on our little starter home this past Friday, and we made it through the first leg of our move without too many dings or scratches. We admit that we are so very excited to have sold our house for a good price in this buyer's market, but we are a little sad to leave our sweet house behind. After all, it was our first house as newlyweds. All of "our traditions" started in that house, and of course, we expanded our little family in that house. As I took the last of our things out of that house on Friday morning, I looked over my shoulder and got a little teary. It's bittersweet. Of course, when one chapter ends, a new one begins. And, for sure, a new exciting chapter has begun for us...our "forever" house being built in a larger neighborhood that seems to be busting at the seams with families like us. Our thoughts of backyard BBQs with lots of kids running around playing with one another while all the adults enjoy each other's company certainly dries up any tears we may have about leaving our sweet little house behind. Not to mention, the couple that bought our home seems just like us when we first built that house --- young newlyweds learning how to care for a yard, excited about all their new kitchen dishes and appliances they received as wedding presents, and just thrilled to have a space larger than a one bedroom apartment. I was very excited for them at the closing as I've been in those shoes not long ago.

We are getting adjusted to the rental house, and things slowly but surely seem to be getting back to a normal routine. Madeline seems to be adjusting to the new house rather well. She has more space to explore, and the stairs are her new favorite addition to her daily routine. This child loves to climb the steps --- up and down all day long --- if I'd let her. Unfortunately, a few times a day is all she gets.

All in all, we're happy the move is behind us for now, and we're really happy to have all of our stuff out of storage and under one roof again. Now, we look forward to driving by the new house to see what's happening. A new chapter in the Stewart family is certainly being scripted with each new day, and it's exciting.

What's happening with the Stewart family?!

Eric is on his annual boys' weekend...much needed and well deserved! I'm home packing and organizing sans husband input. :)

Moving into our rental house (which we have secured one not far from here) is first and foremost happening. My friend, Nancy, offered her house up for rent, but unfortunately for us (ie ERIC) the commute would be too much. I'd love to do it --- Madeline would love all the playdates! Nancy's friends/neighbors look like so much fun!!!! :) I'm not terribly excited about the rental house simply because it's temporary, so we're only unpacking (not really packing just moving (in our car) the dishes, clothes, etc. in laundry baskets and unsealed boxes) the things we really NEED for 6 months. Other than that, we'll be living amongst sealed boxes, random misplaced furniture, and clutter. Well, in my OCD world it's clutter. It's all good because we are building "the house", and we are so excited about that. It's VERY much worth the wait. It's interesting trying to pack with a one year old underfoot by the way. Our current house is set to close on September 18, and so far, inspections, etc. have gone well. We're pretty sure things will go as planned. We have our movers, rental house, etc. all set up for next weekend, so that I can do any last minute things around here if needed.

And, as I've mentioned before, Eric and I have become more involved in our church. I've said this before and will say again, we will never be "Mr. and Mrs. Church", but we want a solid, Christian foundation in which we can raise our children. We love our church although it's a bit traditional, and the majority of the congregation is significantly older than us. Our minister is youthful and inspiring! The church is making great strides to bring young families into the congregation. However, there are 3 couples (us being one of the three) that are working towards building a "young family" group/Sunday School class. The six of us clicked as if we'd been friends from way back. I say all of this to explain the following pictures. The six of us (and hopefully some of the other youngin's in the congregation because there are a few!!!) are planning to study the Love Dare bible study in Sunday School this fall. We plan to watch the Fireproof movie and follow up with the Love Dare curriculum. Our church is holding a rally on September 12 to showcase the different Sunday school classes, and our fellas created a fire truck to demonstrate our group. The boys got together (and had a BLAST) doing the "construction" while the girls will do the decor. Decor pictures to follow....the boys assured us that once we "staple" our decor to the outside of this frame that it will look like a fire truck. (As a side note, I've decided that my husband "borrowed" this four wheeler from a friend in order to test it out because it's for sale, & my honey just happens to want a four wheeler. Small coincidence...) Boys just like to build stuff.....

On a Madeline note, she IS walking 100% although if she's looking to get somewhere ASAP, she does her crazy crab crawl. However, her preferred mode of movement seems to be walking because she does walk more than crawl these days. She's cutting two molars and another bottom tooth just popped through, so her attitude has been a bit snarky lately....so much so that I baked fresh-that-morning-with-steam-in-the-Tupperware-container chocolate chip banana bread and pecan pie muffins for the ladies at the gym that keep Madeline because her attitude has been MUCH less than sweet as of late. But, they assure me that she's still their favorite! :)

And, WOW! Does this child have a mind of her own?! Madeline can't crawl INTO the dishwasher and play with dirty dishes or pull out clean knives for that matter, or Madeline can't play with the remote controls or touch the TV screen, or Madeline can't dig out the dirt in Mommy's houseplants and eat it!? Seriously, she has all these GREAT toys and touchy-feely books that she loves, and these are the things she wants to do lately?! So, needless to say, this Mama is doing A LOT of "No, Ma'am" and swat the hand...I guess that's why so many children are allowed to do whatever they want b/c this is time consuming and draining when you have a toddler living in your house. (I've gained a new appreciation for well behaved children and their parents. I hope to join those ranks!) Oh, and she KNOWS what not to play with because she looks at me and puts her pudgy finger NEXT to it...sneaky little devil. Unfortunately, the temptation is too great, and she touches, and Mommy has to scold. Crying ensues. It's all good...she'll figure out that this Mama is VERY consistent and isn't mean but means what she says! I do pick my battles...how many times have I refolded the laundry into the basket or put the clothes back into the drawer?!

My parents are enjoying Australia right now, and I'm happy for them. My dad just recently "retired" (I use that term loosely as he still keeps his hand in the working world.), and my mom has always traveled with her lady friends. Well, since my dad has claimed retirement, he's decided that traveling and seeing the world is not so bad. So he's jumped on my mom's bandwagon to see the world. My mom has been everywhere from Thailand eating crunchy bugs to Greece's feta cheese to New Zealand's alpacas. Needless to say with three grown children, now is their time to enjoy life for themselves and their grandchildren. They're "young", in good health, in good financial status, and willing to see the world. Unfortunately, in true McCarthy fashion, they didn't share much of their travel itinerary with us because no news is good news, right?! Well, my mom's dad passed away this morning very unexpectedly (he was 94 years old and in good shape considering), so I've had to spend much of my day tracking down my parents in Australia! Luckily, I know enough of their friends and neighbors that I could piece together enough information to figure out the travel agency they used to call the customer service line that let me know how to get in touch with them in Australia. So my brother and his wife were able to get in touch with my mom and dad to deliver the not-so-good news.

In a nutshell, we're busier than normal, but we're good.

Sigh...

Every house has a buyer --- that's my mantra lately. Our house has been on the market since the end of May, and the only offers we've had were just insulting. Come on people, we know it's a buyer's market, but we have our house priced to sell not priced to get rich & retire off the sale of this house. We've had lots of visitors, some have even come by 3 or more times, but nothing. All of our feedback has been nothing but glowing remarks --- clean, neat, well taken care of, love the paint colors, great upgrades, lovely curb appeal, gorgeous backyard, blah, blah, blah --- so what's the problem? One couple didn't buy our house because our backyard was "too nice and their dogs would wreck it". What??!!! So they bought a house around the corner with less inside upgrades for a crappier front & backyard for THEIR DOG? Seriously. We've de-cluttered and de-personalized so much that we have a storage unit, and I find myself cleaning and straightening everyday with hopes that the special couple will look at our house while we're out. Luckily our new house is not going to be done until the end of the year, but it's nerve wrecking. My husband is Mr. Positive and things always find a way of working out for him, so I keep my mind set on that. He has the best karma ever! But, this whole process makes me more anxious than normal. Two house payments is a scary thought...

If you're so inclined, say a prayer that our house has a buyer sooner than later.

Savings Update

Several posts back, I talked about the grocery game and my excitement to save money. Well, I am happy to report that YES! I am saving money at the grocery store. I've not had a savings like some other serious grocery gamers have had (getting 50 bucks worth of groceries for like $2), but I am doing well. I've cut our grocery bill down by half at least, and I am stockpiling which makes meal planning so much easier. For example, last week I got $36 worth of groceries for $13.06. I'm pleased with that amount of savings. I did get a bottle of Kraft BBQ sauce for TEN CENTS! YAY me! My thrifty mom was so proud. :)

I've made some rookie grocery game mistakes, but I've learned from them. I definitely recommend printing off the grocery game list to have that as a reference in the store while shopping. I invested in a little coupon organizer thing (it's pink!), and that has made a big difference in keeping up with my coupons both for planning and keeping them straight in the store while shopping and dealing with Madeline lunging at everyone and everything.

I have found that our biggest reasons for not saving money in the grocery store is twofold -- Eric and I are faithful coffee drinkers, but we are also creamer snobs. We don't do regular milk, powdered creamer, or regular 'ol store brand half-n-half. Unfortunately, we love the flavored coffee creamers that don't go on sale nor have coupons very much. Eric and I are also beer drinkers, and we are definitely beer snobs! Beer jacks up the grocery bill anyways, so the fact that we buy the $7 or $8 per six pack beer doesn't help our savings. Oh well...some splurges are okay. ;)

But, all in all, I am saving us money on all other things, have a great stockpile, and have been so much better about planning our meals in advance so as to not make those "quickie grocery stops" that really increase the grocery bill. We'll know for sure how well I have done when we look at the monthly bills on the spreadsheet that my sweet, thrifty husband uses to keep track of our monthly budget and spending. Hopefully, I'll be back reporting a hefty savings!

We're Here...

I have a few posts to update --- our trip to the beach (Madeline's FIRST!), my grocery game update (I'm saving money!), and upcoming Fourth of July festivities. However, our laptop with all the great pictures is a little under the weather along with everyone else in our household. Eric has a sinus infection of some sorts, Madeline is cutting at least 4 teeth right now, and I have the beginnings of some sort of head cold thing that I just don't have time to deal with at the moment.

Poor Madeline. She has her two front, top teeth, a canine, and a back tooth coming in all at once, and her teething symptoms are pretty awful right now. The amount of drool she is producing makes me feel like she might become dehydrated at any given moment, and her appetite is not good. The runny nose (thank goodness it's clear) is draining down her throat so badly when she sleeps she coughs off and on all night or through the nap. She coughed so much last night that she gagged and barfed at 4:30 AM -- thank goodness for the crib sheet saver thingy! However, she got into to it big time, so she required a bath and a hair washing. It was pretty stinky and nasty. Her diaper explosions are just out of control -- the night before I was doing laundry and bathing my sweet girl at 4:00 AM. Again, terribly stinky and nasty. Her diaper situation has cleared up but has left her with a raging diaper rash that takes her breath away & practically makes her levitate off the changing table when I wipe her. I think/hope this is all teething related because she has no temp (I took it the "official way" -- ick.), and when all these awful things are not happening, she's my happy, sweet girl drooling and gnawing away on her icy sticks and frozen washcloths in between pulling up on EVERYTHING. Certainly if she were "sick", her disposition would be completely off in some fashion. I hope.

So, we ARE here, and I hope to report that the household (laptop included) is feeling better and rested very soon! :)

Mama's Monday Musings...

• Madeline and I were enjoying some morning playtime on the back deck this morning, and I decided to refill my coffee. Back door was locked. Instant panic for a fleeting second. Thank goodness we have a garage door with an outdoor keypad. Whoops, that's never happened before.
• Madeline went down for her morning nap at 8:45, went to sleep almost instantly, and slept for over an hour. That's unheard of these days...that time alone allowed me to clip & organize my coupons and study my grocery game lists to prepare for this week's shopping.
• We had an open house yesterday for our house. Only ONE couple in two hours, but this was a repeat visit, AND they spent 45 minutes on the visit. Could they be our buyer?? Praying we get a reasonable offer this week.
• Eric leaves EARLY, like 5:30 AM early, on Tuesday for his National Sales Meeting in New Mexico and won't get back until late afternoon on Saturday. UGH. We will miss Daddy, but I am proud of him for being asked to be one of "the speakers" as an "expert" in growing military accounts. My husband is one talented, hard working man, and I've been bragging on him an awful lot these days! I can't help but be proud of him! Hopefully, I'll get some of my famous "Anne mini projects" knocked off the to do list while he's gone, and catch up on my reading.
• I have several entries on my mind for this week --- Madeline's 10 month, our 5 year anniversary, & Father's Day --- maybe it's a good week for Eric to be out of town afterall.

Normalcy, Phew!

I think we are FINALLY back to normal around here after a most disappointing return from a great adults only weekend. When I went into Madeline's room this morning to get her, she was all smiles, the Madeline that we are used to seeing each morning! What a great way to start our weekend! It only took 4 days, many tears, some choice words, and LOTS of patience. Our typically happy-go-lucky household was just not fun, and that just isn't good for anyone.

Eric and I were/are just disappointed -- hence the rant. For us, I guess it's the larger picture that's impacted, and this one specific event is just one boundary overstepped. In our minds, it's just not acceptable to change routines, schedules, or house rules when nothing particularly special was happening. It seemed to just be a normal, low key weekend. We realize special occasions call for bending routines, changed schedules, etc. because those specific times are indeed special. Eric and I always try to do what is in the best interest of our daughter, and if that means she has to cry it out at naptime, then so be it. In the long run, she benefits from the nap (we all do actually)! As she gets older, she will experience more tough love from us, and it's called tough love for a reason...we love her dearly and only want what is best for her well-being. Not everyone believes in tough love & that is fine, but our household happens to believe that a little tough love never hurt anyone. Therefore, we expect her caretakers in our absence to abide by our guidelines and/or rules whether the belief systems are the same or not. We certainly don't expect anyone to do anything extreme or to do exactly as we do, but we expect certain things to be consistent. We were just irritated to return to such an unhappy, sleepy baby after such a nice getaway that we in turn had to spend the week "making her right again".

I hate ranting and being such a downer on the blog. I've been "venting" to my husband for the last 4 days as I've tried to get our household back to normalcy, so for his sake & sanity, I "vented" on the blog. We have some fun family stuff planned, and I, for one, cannot wait to enjoy our family time whether it be just us or with our friends! The blog has been a little wordy over the last few days, so I hope to post some "good times" pictures soon!

McCarthy Grandparents Booked. Check. Proud Wife. Check.

I am so very proud of my husband! He works hard to provide for our family. He's in sales, and therefore, it's completely up to him to meet his numbers, budget, etc. There is no 'Big Brother' really staring over him on a daily basis. Eric is very motivated to do well, and he wants nothing but the best for his girls. Eric received notice that he was in the top sales in the entire company, so he received a trip to Los Cabos in November! What a great reward for all of his hard work!

I'm the lucky lady that gets to accompany him, and Madeline is one lucky little girl that gets to vacay with my parents for a week! We are already looking forward to some relaxation and sunshine before the hustle and bustle of the '09 holiday season, and I know Madeline will enjoy her one-on-one time with her grandparents! We'll all be refreshed and rested for the holiday rush!

Now I Understand Why Mommies Have Such Big Purses!

Inside this Mommy's purse on the way to grill out with some friends: baby toys, baby paci, salad croutons for my salad to share, bottle of wine, and somewhere buried in the bottom are my essentials: wallet with driver's license, sunglasses, and lip gloss! At least I was smart enough to remove my keys before packing it full. My, how times have changed.

YES!!!

We have a new camera! It was decided that the cost of the new camera with a 4 GB memory card & 10.2 megapix vs. the cost to fix the old one with a much lesser GB card & less megapix was a no brainer. We tested it out during bathtime this evening, and we've decided we LOVE the new camera! Bathtime post to follow!

I love being a Mom!

How can you resist this adorable face? I'm just so thankful to be Madeline's Mommy!