Somewhere sunny and 75

We got back from Cancun on Saturday to another snowstorm and several more inches yesterday. As I was shoveling our driveway yesterday I couldn't help but think that maybe it was just a dream that 48 hours earlier I wore a bathing suit with my toes in the sand. It was an amazing trip and we spent most of it in the sun, at the pool/beach, drinks in our hands, nice dinners, you know, relaxing. Something neither one of us has had much of lately. It was awesome. We did get a little adventurous one day and went parasailing, something I've always wanted to do and Ray never wanted to do, especially since it was really windy the day we went. It was actually his idea, and I know he did it for me since he knew it is something on my bucket list. I also went in the aqua bubble, which was hilarious and really hard! My favorite part of the trip was that Ray and I got to spend it together, just the two of us.

Of course we missed the munchkins and called to talk to Kenley and check on Charlie every day. Thank-you Grandmas for taking such good care of them! I'm pretty sure Kenley had as much fun as we did. She had ballet, a valentine party at preschool, got to go to lunch with her aunt, uncle, and cousins, went shopping, and seems to have learned almost every word to the Frozen soundtrack. Charlie turned 6 months last week, and it sounds like he spent the week eating, playing, and sleeping.  Somehow, it seemed like they both aged a month in the 5 days we were gone.

We're back to our regular routine this week, but I guess that's what makes you appreciate a vacation even more. I am proud of myself that I went to the gym every day this week because I guess calories do count when your on vacation :( I am happy that I am wearing some of my old, regular jeans this week. Not my favorite skinny jeans, but at least a pair of jeans with a real zipper and button....it's about time! I'm less an 12 weeks away from my 1/2 marathon, so it's really time to kick it into high gear. I hope I can start running outside once this snow goes away for good, and I can't wait to use my double jogging stroller with the kids once it really warms up. Spring, please come soon!

Homebound

We have not had a very glamorous week, and for the most part we have been a home. Late last week I took Charlie to the doctor for what I thought was just a bad cold, but after a check up and chest x-rays we found out he had pneumonia. He started antibiotics, and then when I had to take him back to the doctor 2days later for a follow-up we were sent to the hospital. It was mostly precautionary since he is so little, and luckily it was only for 24 hours, but it wasn't fun for any of us. Poor guy had to have blood tests, an IV, more x-rays, breathing treatments, and lots of listening to his breathing, which didn't leave much time for any of us to get much sleep. Charlie was a trooper and actually pretty happy in between all of the check ups. We were happy to get him home on Sunday and have mostly just been home staying warm and getting healthy.

Between that and MORE snow, it doesn't look like we will be venturing out for at least another day or two. But, I might need to escape just to run an errand or two because I am getting cabin fever! I have tried to keep it fun staying in the house, but we have watched every cartoon on our DVR, decorated Valentines cards, read books, played with all our toys, etc... Hopefully we will be able to get out a bit this week.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I've mostly been in Pj's and sweatpants the majority of the week.

So, that's our exciting week. Hoping for a healthier, warmer week ahead!  Check out those baby blue eyes on the picture below!  Love this boy so much, even though he is still giving me a hard time, especially at night! I thought everyone said boys were easier.....Maybe that won't kick in until his teens!

 

 

Winter Wonder Hell

I think everyone in the Midwest is probably feeling the winter slump right now. I was excited for the first 2 snows, and I was happy we got enough to play in the snow, sled, and make a snowman. But, I am SO over it! I can barely see across he street of my house right now, and I'm nervous my husband has to drive in this from the city. We have had so much snow this year!  It's crazy, and I'm getting really sick of shoveling, driving on snowy and icy streets, and having to put 10 layers on myself and the kids so we don't freeze!

So, that's really it. My yearly complaint on the weather. Honestly, our vacation is coming at a perfect time. I know Spring will be here at some point, but it seems pretty far away right now. We've been doing lots of fun indoor stuff, but I am so ready to get outside! Stay safe and warm everyone!

Dance Mom

I'm freezing cold even though I just chugged some coffee and I am sitting by my space heater. This morning it took about 20 minutes just to bundle up the kids and get he car packed to get to the gym, and then Kenley slipped on a patch of ice on our way in. Days like this are making me wish for warm weather, but even though I won't be getting it here in Chicago anytime soon, I am so excited because Ray and I booked a trip to Mexico coming up in just a few short weeks! I can't wait to be in the sunshine and spend some time with my husband. We chose an all inclusive adults only resort, and I think we are both looking forward to some time alone. This will be my first trip away from Charlie, and I know I will miss him and Kenley, (I already warned Ray at there may be some tears)  but I am also ready for some uninterrupted meals, SLEEP!, and quality time with my husband.

Kenley had her first ballet class this week, and it was one of those moments I always wished for with having a girl. She was happy to see one of her preschool friends was in her class, and they held hands and went right into class together. I wasn't able to see anything that happens in class, but she showed me some of her moves when she got home, and she has a recital in May. I also feel that I am becoming part of the "stay at home moms club" since I knew 3 other moms there and stayed and chatted while the girls were in class. It is also nice that we all have young babies around the same age too, and 2 out of the 3 are boys so Charlie will be making some friends while Kenley is in ballet. I forgot to mention my friend, Joan, had her baby boy, Jackson, about 2 weeks ago. He is adorable, and I know him and  Charlie will have fun playing together in the future! I'm also excited that I recently found out 2 of my other very close friends are expecting babies in the summer.

I am also SO happy Kenley is officially potty trained!  It helped a few weeks ago during the extreme cold that we were kind of stuck in the house, so I used those days to obsessively remind her to use the bathroom. I also finally found something that worked as an incentive, which was to give her quarters to use in our gumball machine each time she was successful. For some reason, she really liked that and it motivated her those first few days. We made a huge deal about her transition out of diapers and took her out for ice cream this weekend to celebrate.Charlie turned 5 months old and it really seems to agree with him. He has been sleeping much better, and has been much "easier" these past few weeks. We have even been getting through most car rides without crying, which is great! I think it has helped that he also started getting food, and he seems to love it. Kenley has been very excited to help feed him, and it's fun to watch them together. She really entertains him and he loves laughing with his big sister.

2014!

We celebrated our New Year with our friends Jim and Melissa and their 2 boys. This was our 4th New Year with them, and each year it has grown a little bigger with each of our families growing.  We had a good time and even managed to get all 4 kids asleep by about 10:30, and we enjoyed the rest of the night just hanging out and with a toast at midnight. We also started off 2014 with freezing cold and a lot of snow! Temperatures were so cold for a few days we didn't even leave the house. Luckily, before it got extremely cold we were able to take Kenley and my niece sledding. It was really fun even though Kayla was not a fan of the snow. I'm hoping to take Kenley again this week once it warms up a bit.

2013 was a great year for our family. The obvious highlight was welcoming Charlie into our family. My number one memory from the year was when Kenley got to meet and hold Charlie at the hospital.  I know I will never forget that moment, and I will reminisce about it for years to come.  I can't wait to see what this year has ahead for us as we continue watching the kids grow. I know we have lots of fun to come!

I finally got down our Christmas decorations, and I was half happy half sad to see them go. We had a great holiday season, but I also kind of feel a sense of order back in the house with everything down and the majority of the new toys have found a spot. I'm also ready to get a bit of a head start on some spring cleaning, which isn't quite as overwhelming this year since I have been able to stay much more organized since I'm not working. But, of course, I have a few closets to tackle and drawers to declutter. After all this cold weather, I'm ready for an early Spring, but I won't hold my breath.

Did I mention that I signed up for a half marathon in May? I guess this is the first time I'm going public with it so it's official!  I'm really excited and nervous about it, but it's kind of a "bucket list" thing, and I figured I might as well go for it since I am working out regularly, and so I can have a goal to help me lose the rest of the weight I gained during my pregnancy.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy Holidays

We had a fantastic week celebrating Christmas. We went to Klaus restaurant on Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family for dinner. Santa even made an appearance right before dinner! It was fun, and most of the family got a picture with him, even though most of the kids cried when it was there turn to sit on his lap. It took Kenley a few minutes to warm up, but she finally did  and managed to get in one last request for what she wanted. (A white race car)

Christmas morning we were home, just the 4 of us, and opened our stockings and gifts. It was fun, and Kenley got what she asked Santa for and a lot more! Charlie got a few baby basics and a few small toys too. I got Ray a laser finder for golf, a travel bag, and a few little things. He got me a beautiful diamond infinity ring, perfume, and new work out clothes. Then we headed over to my parents house for brunch with my dad's side of the family. We had a great dinner at Ray's mom's house, and by the time we left there, we had a truck full of gifts. We were all very spoiled by our family members, and the kids go SO much. I spent a few hours the following day just going through everything and tying to find places for everything. Kenley had so much fun playing with all of her new toys all weekend long.  And, I'm sure Charlie will be enjoying his really soon too. He is just starting to reach for things, and he also got his first tooth this weekend!

We went to the Shedd Aquarium on Friday, which was the first time I have been there in a very long time. It was cool, and we saw the dolphin show, the Ice Age show, and walked around to see everything. The rest of the weekend, we ran a few errands, but mostly just stayed home and relaxed. I even squeezed in a few naps since Charlie's teething had me up (again) a million times a night. Luckily, Tylenol has helped the last two nights. Tomorrow, we are back to our regular schedule, and I am kind of happy because I have to get back to the gym!! I haven't worked out in2 weeks because of my dental surgery, and I have eaten way too much this last week.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas & has a Happy New Year!

Countdown to Santa!

It's Christmas Eve morning at 8:40, Charlie is already back to sleep for a nap, and Kenley is still sleeping! I'm going to let her sleep as long as possible because we have a busy 2days ahead.

Last week I had to have some dental surgery, and I figured it would be one day of sleeping and pretty much back to normal by Tuesday, but I was wrong. It turned out to be a bit more painful then I expected, and all the drugs I was taking combined with not eating much made me feel pretty crappy for a few days. If I would have known that, I would not have scheduled it the week before Christmas. I was still able to make it to Kenley's preschool party and my party with my co-workers, but wasn't really able to eat much or drink. It was hard taking care of the kids while trying to take care of myself, so I am so thankful I had my parents, sister, and mother-in-law and sister-in-law to help me while I was recovering and going to my follow up appointments. The worst part is that I have to have the other side of my mouth done at some point in the next few months, but at least now I know what to expect.

We celebrated my dad's birthday this weekend by going to dinner and ended up taking the kids to Odyssey fun world where we all ended up crawling through the tubes! We also went to breakfast with Santa at Drury Lane with Ray's family on Sunday and had a delicious brunch. We have had such a fun few weeks and we have been able to do a lot to prepare for Christmas. We have had multiple Santa visits between the mall, library, pre-school, and brunch, we played in the snow, decorated our gingerbread house, searched daily for our elf on the shelf, completed many Christmas crafts, looked at Christmas lights, shopped and wrapped our gifts etc.... I am excited for Charlie to have his first Christmas and for Kenley now that she is really into everything about Christmas.

These next few days we will spend with our families eating good food, exchanging gifts, and  enjoying our time together. I am happy that Ray has the rest of the week off after Christmas so we can really enjoy this time all together and relax a little after all the holiday fun. Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy this time with your family!

36 & 4 months

Kenley turned 3 is week! We had a "a Winter Wonderland" birthday party, and had family & friends over to celebrate. It was so fun watching her open her gifts and blow out her candles like such a big kid. She had a really fun day. Earlier in the week, Ray and I took her to see her very first movie at the theatre, Frozen, and she did great! I was expecting to have to leave before it was over, but she sat right the whole thing, happy as could be with her popcorn and candy. Sunday, her actual birthday we just stayed home because it was snowing and let her play with all her toys. We sang happy birthday at 5:44, and I got in lots of hugs and kisses and told her about the day she was born and how it snowed in the hospital just like it was snowing that day. Monday she celebrated her birthday at school, and she got her first haircut. We went to his adorable kids place, and although there was a huge fit thrown, she finally calmed down and sat in my lap to get her haircut. Afterward, she professed that getting her haircut was "cool and awesome" getting her haircut, and she can't wait to go back.

Charlie turned 4 months old this week, and also got his first haircut! Now, he looks a bit more stylish and less Donald Trumpish with the comb-over. On the positive side, he has been napping a little better, less crabby during the day, and we have even gotten through a few car rides without screaming. Unfortunately, the nights have been terrible. On average he wakes up about 8-10 times a night. Sadly, I am not exaggerating. He is not up very long, but I have to go in his room, give him a few sips of his bottle, replace his paci.  It's pretty rough having my sleep interrupted so often. I really don't know what to do, but he has his check-up next week so I will talk to the doctor. He is making lots of noises, gurgles, and really laughs now. He is also squirming around more, and he's getting close to rolling over. I just hope he starts sleeping better ASAP!

I have a lot of Christmas gifts already, but I haven't wrapped one single thing. It's kind of hard to do when Kenley is around since I have a lot of gifts for her, so I will probably try to do some one day while she is at school. I have my Girl's night Christmas party with all of my high school friends on Friday, and next week I have a party with all of my co-workers. I'm looking forward to both of them and catching up with my friends.

 

 

December Already!

I've been kind of a slacker on updating and posting pictures, but didn't want to forget to write about a few big things we've had going on,

We had Charlie's Christening over 2 weeks ago already. It went really well, and It was fun to celebrate with our family and friends. Charlie did really well at church and only had a little meltdown at the very end when we were trying to get some pictures. He looked so handsome in his outfit too. Charlie is very blessed to have 4 Godparents- his 2 aunts and 2 uncles. We had a lunches at An Italian restaurant nearby and the food was great! It was a good day, and one of many more to come celebrating with our little man.

Our Thanksgiving was really nice, and we managed to go to my grandma's house, Ray's aunt's house, and a final stop to my other grandparents house. It was busy, and I was exhausted by the end of the night, but I'm glad we were able to see the whole family. We had lots of delicious food, and had a nice time just hanging out.  It was Charlie's first big holiday, and he did pretty good. I tried not to get stressed the way I used to when Kenley was that little, and I think I was a bit more relaxed, which made it more fun for me too. Plus, it always helps when there are lots of people willing to hold and comfort a baby!

Even though I was so tired, I chugged some Pepsi Max and head to Kohl's around 9:30 pm Thanksgiving night. I know many people are against stores being open on Thanksgiving, but the past 2years it has been much easier to spend the whole day with family, tuck the kids in, and then meet up with my mom and sister for a little shopping. There was no trampling people, fights, or rudeness that we witnessed, and for us it has always been our little "girls" tradition to do "black Friday" shopping. In a few years, I will bring Kenley with me. It was fun, and we got a pretty good start on our Christmas shopping.

I joined a gym last week, and so far, I am loving it!! It has been such a struggle trying to work out at home even just for a half hour a day. Even though I have usually managed to sneak it in each day, sometimes it takes me half a day jut to do it. I always wait until Charlie is asleep and Kenley seems content watching a cartoon for a little while, but some days having those two things happen at the same time take forever. The gym has daycare, so I took Charlie there 2days this week while Kenley was at preschool. I felt like I was much more productive to get my workout in early in the morning  without having to worry about the kids, and then we could get on with the rest of our day. I'm planning on taking both kids with tomorrow, and I hope Kenley likes the kids area because I am hoping to go at least 4 times a week. I'm really excited about it, and I hope this helps me continue getting back into shape.

We have a busy few weeks ahead with Kenley's birthday next weekend, holiday parties, and Christmas just around the corner. We got all of our decorations up over the past 2 weeks, and I am ready to enjoy this special time of year. Exactly one year ago, I got a positive pregnancy test and found out our 2nd child was on the way. I'm so happy he is here now, and he can celebrate the holidays with us, but where did the year go? I guess I'll be getting sentimental with Kenley turning 3 too. Time, please slow down!!

Princess and the Frog!

Here I am blogging, kids asleep, husband away for the weekend, and it's finally time for me to relax. Things have gotten much better with Charlie, and he finally got some medicine and seems to have kicked his sickness. It still seems like it really jet depends on the day if Charlie is going to take a few long naps, or just cat-nap all day. The days are much easier when he takes longer stretches of naps and it gives me more time to get stuff done, spend time with Kenley, and he is easier to take out. Or, there are days like today when I have to eat lunch in 5 minutes, get off the treadmill 5 times during a 30 minute run, and let Kenley watch too many cartoons. Yesterday, I took them both to story time at the library, and it was great! I think we will be going back there really soon, and we finally got a library card.

We had a great time on Halloween, even though the weather wasn't great. I got to go to preschool with Kenley for her party. It was so cute to finally put a face to all of her friends that she talks about. We might be in trouble though because most of them seem to be boys! Hmmmmm....

Kenley had so much fun answering the door for our tick-or-treaters, and didn't seem to mind one bit that we waited around for a while since Ray got stuck in bad traffic on the way home. She had a blast going around our neighborhood, and would scream "trick-or-treat" at the top of her lungs, many times even before the person answered the door.  She got tons of candy, and I've been taking handfuls out of her bag each day and hiding it away so she won't notice. We also stopped by my sister's house and were able to get some of my favorite pictures of her & Kayla. Unfortunately, getting Charlie in too was pretty much impossible, but one of these days we will try for one of all 3 of them.

Over the weekend, we went to Greg's bodybuilding competition to cheer him on. He worked his ass off preparing for this and has had the dedication of a saint with working out and following a strict diet. Then, Ray and I went to one of his co-worker's weddings at the Knickerbocker Hotel. We had such a fun night, but definitely paid for it on Sunday. Luckily, I got myself together to go to one of my best friend's baby shower! Joan's baby boy is due in December, and I am so excited that we will have boys just a few months apart. It is so awesome that my pregnancy overlapped with all 3 of my best friend's pregnancies this year. Now we all get to experience motherhood together and can really relate to one another.

Well, it's 10pm, and I'm already ready for bed. I know Charlie will be calling for me soon, so I'm about to get as much sleep as possible!