July-December

So, its been FOREVER since my last entry. There have been so many times where I wanted to post, but then somehow got distracted. I guess having 3 kids under 4 does that to you. Its 5am on Sunday morning. I couldn't sleep due to a horrible headache and some shoulder pain. I gave in, and took some Tylenol. I tried lying back in bed, but the meds didn't kick in fast enough, so I decided to get a hot shower to try to loosen my shoulder muscles. Obviously, I haven't been able to fall back asleep. Good news is I finally have some free time to catch up on my blog. :)

Lets see, what has happened since my last post...... We have encountered a mold issue in our home. We noticed it in our garage when I went to get some things out of storage. I had to throw away some of our things because they were completely covered in mold. Our strollers were covered and a pain to clean. My picnic basket was furry (YUCK) and Abigail's bike was no loner pink. We turned on the heat in mid October and about that same time we noticed the girls got sick. They have not been able to get rid of a cough which is worse at night. I spoke with the daycare and they said no one is sick other than some runny noses. We think it may be mold in the vents, but when we asked our landlord to test for mold, they gave us the run around. We found a do it yourself mold test and placed it in the nursery by Taylor's crib....the test said to leave it open for an hour then put the lid on and let it sit for 48 hours.... little by little we began to see the mold. We sent in the sample to see exactly what type of mold it is and if it comes back harmful, I'm planning on moving. Ian wants to see what the landlord will do, but with the way they give us the run around, Id rather just find someplace else. We should get the result in about a week.

The office is doing great. I got everything organized, which makes things so much easier. Ian is amazed at how the office runs so much more smoothly. I found a HUGE mistake with insurance entries and had to delete then re-enter EVERYTHING. Glad that's over with! It took me over 2 months to get it all straighted out. We have changed a lot of things in the office, implementing an office tour and fine-tuning scripts. Its amazing how things have changed since June. It really was our fresh start.

The girls are doing great as well. Getting big!! Joanna turned 2 in August and has been amazing me everyday. Her vocabulary has increased drastically and she is so well mannered. Everything is "yes, please", "No, thank you", "yes, ma'am mommy". Taylor, celebrated her 1st birthday in September. My baby is no longer a baby. She is walking around as through crawling never existed, and is such a happy girl, ALWAYS smiling. Abigail is getting so big. I cant believe she is going to be turning 4. Its amazing how much they know and understand at such a young age.

I am still going in occasionally for Vax-D treatments for my back. I'm going about once every 3-4 weeks now and not sure how things will turn out. Its nearing the one year mark of when the pain all started. The Vax-D has helped drastically with the pain, but there are still those bad days where I am reminded of the excruciating pain. It makes me wonder if the Vax-D is in fact fixing the problem, or just pro-longing surgery. Lately, I have been having pain when I try to stand. It is almost as though things are reversing and I am going back to having more pain, more often. I try to watch what I do, but between taking care of the house, the kids and working at the office, it leaves little time to stop and relax. The other day we were all sick, and you would have thought a bomb went off in our house. I had the entire house SPOTLESS the day before, then WHAM, it looked like a battle zone. I told Ian I am in need of a vacation. I just want to get away for a few weeks so I can relax and take time for myself. I know this will never happen but where would we be without dreams? I guess I just have to accept things the way they are hope they get better.

Well, I am beginning to hear the sounds of the kids waking up. Time to start another day!

5 years

Yesterday was our 5 year anniversary. Cant believe it has been 5 years already. In a way, it feels like yesterday that we were walking down the isle, but then when you actually sit down and think of all that has happened since then, you would think you were married longer. :) The morning was spent at the office and then I had to pick the girls up from pre-school and daycare. I went home, packed an overnight bag for the girls, then took them over to Grandma and Papa's house. I then went back to the office to get Ian for our night out on the town. We went to the Waterfront and had dinner at Dave and Busters, played a few games then headed across the street to Sing Sing, a dueling piano bar. It was great. When we left the bar around 12:30, we headed downtown to the Omni William Penn hotel. It was a mini getaway. I'm glad we spent the night out. If we went home, I think we would have gotten up at our usual time of 6:30am, but because we didn't have the kids, and were not home, we got to sleep in until 9:30am. I told Ian we were going to have to do that more often. Unfortunately, I don't think we will find babysitters as often as we would like. :)

Taylor will be starting daycare on Monday. I'm glad she is going, but sad in a way as well. I liked having her at the office, smiling at the patients as they came in the door, but I know having her at daycare is better, and I'm sure Joanna will love having her there to play with. She is getting so big. She turns 10 months tomorrow. She started pulling herself up to stand in her crib....looks like it is time to lower it. Joanna will be turning 2 next month. She is talking so much more now. She is always asking, "whats that?" and when I tell her, she will try to repeat it. Its so cute. Abigail, is at the age where she is testing whether or not she can get away with things. I'm having a hard time staying in control because most of the time she does something wrong, I'm in the middle of dealing with Joanna or Taylor, and cant necessarily stop what I am doing to correct her. I recommend not having 3 kids within 3 years. It is very challenging at times.....but very rewarding as well. Like right now, Abigail and Joanna are upstairs taking their naps, and Taylor is crawling around on the floor putting everything she comes in contact with, in her mouth....including my toe. OUCH! Every now and again, she looks up at me, and grins so big, I can see all four teeth. Its adorable!!! I cant imagine life without my kids, but there are times, when I wish I could just send them away for a few years and then get them back when they are grown....But then I think, "How fun would that be"?

Well, I am going to use this time to crawl around on the floor with my almost 10 month old baby girl, so UNTIL NEXT TIME.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

So, I'm finally able to sit down at the computer for more than 5 minutes without just checking my e-mails. We are moved in and enjoying our new home. We have a few more boxes to unpack, but all the necessities are unpacked and some decorations are on the wall, so I'm happy. Only boxes left to unpack are some of the girls room decor and all our home office stuff. I have a drawer dedicated to bills in the meantime. Ill probably take some pictures once everything is unpacked and then post them online. We want to plan a cookout one weekend, but we want to get the office organized and up to date first. Ive been working in Ian's office for about 3 weeks now, and I LOVE IT. It gets me out of the house and I get to have ADULT conversations. Abigail is now going to pre-school and Joanna to daycare. It is at the same facility, so its convenient to be able to drop them off and pick them up at the same place. Today, when I went to pick them up, Joanna was playing in a sandbox and did not want to come home. In a way, I'm glad she is enjoying herself, but then I feel saddened that she is having so much fun that she doesn't want to come back home with me. Taylor has been spending time with me at the office. I enjoy her being there, but there are times where she needs me, but I am in the middle of dealing with a patient, that I leave her crying for a few minutes longer. I glad she is happy to see me when I finally go get her.
Ive been having the VAX-D treatments for a little over a week now. The pain is no longer constant, but it has increased in amount. I was told this was normal due to the disc being moved. I guess its a good thing. Still refusing to take pain meds. It gets bad at times, but it was worse before and I didn't have the meds, so I know I can get through it, plus if I feel I need them, then I have them. I have about another week or two of treatments (4 a week) so we will see what happens. In the meantime, Ian is going to show me some core strengthening exercises. He showed me some the other night, but I wasn't able to do most due to pain. I guess we are just going to have to take things slowly. I hate it because I'm finally motivated to exercise and now I cant. Go figure, huh?
Well, I'm off to make dinner, so as usual....Until Next Time.

Tomorrow is Moving Day!!!!

Wow, has it really been 10 days since my last post? So much has happened, and so much has YET to happen. As stated in the title, tomorrow is moving day. The past week, we have been packing boxes almost every night. We finally came to a point where we were unable to pack anything else because it was all things we still needed. Call me crazy, but I even created a menu for the week, figured out what pots and pans I needed to make the items, then packed everything else. So literally, we only have what we are using to pack tomorrow....moving starts early, around 8am and I am super excited to me moving. Not only because I hate having our neighbors cigarette smoke come into our open windows, but also because it adds to our "WEEK OF THINGS NEW" New house, and a new job for me, and things are finally finalized with the office. The "Week of things new" will represent a new beginning and hopefully less stress. CANT WAIT!!!

I am now starting to work with Ian in the office as his new Office Manager. Today, was a sad day to see Kristen, Ian's 1st Office Manager leave. She has done a GREAT JOB since she started working there. Ive trained with her the past week, and now feel pretty confident about everything. I just hope I don't get to overwhelmed when I go to do it all on my own.

The girls are feeling better. It was nice to see Taylor smiling and moving around again. Her teeth have yet to break through her gums, but they don't seem to be bothering her as much anymore. Oh, and Joanna has two coming in as well.... next thing I know, Abigail's will probably start falling out. :) Then we will just have teeth everywhere.

Well, I'm sure Ive probably put off getting ready to move long enough, so UNTIL NEXT TIME!

Lots happening.

Well, my apt with the neurosurgeon did not go as I thought... it seemed as though the doctor just wanted to get me out of the office as quickly as possible. But, Good news is that I don't need surgery yet and he says that getting the Vax-D and staying under Upper Cervical care should help out. He prescribed 4 different meds to take for the pain and inflammation to take everyday, but I think I'm only going to take them on bad days (I made it this long without meds, why start now?)

Ive been a little stressed lately because the Ellwood City house did not work for out for us, and when we called the Lyndora house to say we would take it, the landlord decided he didn't want to rent from us, because he assumed we were going to take it and then when we told him we were still looking, he got mad. But, it was actually good, because now I am going to be working with Ian in his office and having a place closer would be so much better than having a 30 minute drive to work each day....especially when we will be bringing the girls with us. The past few days, Ive been searching online for houses, town homes, and even apt for rent within a 20min drive to the office. This weekend, Ian and I went to SO many of them to check them out. I was very disappointed in what we were seeing, and was ready to give up. We had one more place to go see, and it was one that we did a drive by last month, but it looked run down, so I didn't want to check it out...well, we went inside and I fell in LOVE... its one of those houses that are built into the ground to save on heat and a/c, so it doesn't look so great on the outside..there is a garden so it has potential if I can clean it up....the inside is great! when you first walk in there is a Kitchen, dining room and family room all in one big area. When you walk up about 6 steps, there is another family room with a large porch. There is also a bathroom and small bedroom or office off the room. When you walk up another 6 steps, there is 2 bedrooms connected with a small balcony and then down the hall, there is a very nice laundry room, large bathroom with double sinks, and the master bedroom. Since the house was built into the ground, there are no windows except on one side of the house, but there are skylights in almost every room. I really wished we would have checked it out last month, that way i wouldn't have been so stressed lately. Now its time to pack everything and get ready to move in 2 weeks...

Our garage sale went well. We made about $75. I'm super happy because we were just going to get rid of everything, so making $75 is GREAT. We closed the garage a little early on Saturday so that we could go around and check out everyone else's sales...we got a grill for $15 and a few other things for the girls.

Everyone is still sick. It seems as though we just cant get rid of this cold. Poor Taylor seems to have it the worst. She still has a bad cough and to top everything off, she is getting FOUR more teeth. She seems so miserable, but still cracks a smile here and there. she is such a little trooper.

Well, I have a ton to do today, so as always, UNTIL NEXT TIME.

Slacking

So I have been slacking a little on blogging...sorry. Things have just been so crazy here the past few weeks. The community garage sale is this weekend, and I am still not ready for it. I have all the items I want to sell IN the garage, but they are not displayed or priced... then Ive started packing...little by little out house is looking emptier. We still have two weeks before we need to be out of here, but if I don't start packing now, I don't think Ill be done in time. Ian is spending more time at the office, and at screenings so he can only help in the evenings after the girls go to bed, but that only leaves about an hour....not much time... And as of tomorrow, Ill be going to the office to train because Ian's office manager is leaving. Looks like the girls will be spending some time at the office....Not sure how all that will work out, but we gotta do what we gotta do, right?!?! And the day we received the lease from the Lyndora house, Ian saw another in Ellwood City, that was cheaper and closer to the office...we checked it out, and grabbed an application. Unfortunately, the Lyndora house re posted an ad in the paper on Monday, so there is a possibility that while we are waiting to hear back from the Ellwood city house, that we could lose the Lyndora house... Personally, I like the Lyndora house a little better, but if we can get the Ellwood City one, Ian would be home sooner and we would be saving more money....its only for another year or so....I can handle it.....Don't get me wrong, they are both nice, but I just like one a tiny bit better than the other, that's all....

Well, I'm going to put some more boxes together now, so Ill try to post again tomorrow after my appointment with the Nero-surgeon.... Until next time.

Vax-D

So the past week has been full of activity. I was cleaning house, getting ready for our family guests, been organizing items for the garage sale, getting things in order for the move, and been dealing with back pain. Oh, and I made a cake with a Marathon Theme. It didnt turn out quite how I hoped, but it still looks pretty good.

I went to the VAX-D doctor yesterday, only to learn its going to cost a TON of money, that we just cant afford at this time, and that my only remaining option is surgery. :( I have an apt with the neurosurgeon next Thursday.

I spent most of the past 12 hours in pain. Last night before going to bed, my whole left side began to hurt. Ice did nothing for the pain, and I had a terrible time trying to sleep. When I woke this morning, I couldn't put any weight on my arm, or lift myself out of bed. I felt bad, but had to call Ian to come home and help. He canceled a few patients and came home. We got the girls ready, then he took all of us back to the office so that he could see a couple patients before lunch.

Now back at home, i am trying to relax while the girls are napping, but cant help but think of everything that need to get done by months end.

Just got a phone call from Ian saying he is going to give the VAX-D doc free care in exchange for 15 VAX-d treatments as opposed to the 25 recommended.. Now we just need to find a babysitter to watch the girls while I go for the visits..

Well, I'm going to try to take a nap while I can. UNTIL NEXT TIME

Dress

So my dress I ordered from Etsy.com came in today. I absolutely LOVE IT! Its a tiny bit long, but when I walk, I don't trip over it, so I don't think I am going to hem it. Last night, I was online looking at the you tube videos of all the different ways of wearing the dress. Ian fell asleep on the couch waiting for me to go to bed....sorry Ian! I couldn't help it, Ive been waiting for this dress for a month...

We heard back from the Butler house...we can move in on the 27Th of May...I'm so excited!!! I think today, Ian and I are going to drive up there to see how traffic is when he gets off of work, this way we know how long it will take for him to travel home. Hopefully it isn't any longer than a half hour.

I know its early, but Ive been looking online for ideas for Joanna's 2ND birthday cake....I found it. Its a Dora themed cake. She was really big on Elmo, but lately she has been a big Dora fan. Cant wait to make another fondant cake... now I just need to find a theme or idea for Taylor's 1st birthday.

Been busy the past few days trying to get things together for the garage sale next month. I'm going through all closets, boxes, and storage containers trying to find things to sell that we just don't need anymore.

My sister-in-law and her family are coming to Pittsburgh for the marathon this weekend. Abigail is SOOO excited to see her cousin Cooper. Every morning during breakfast, she says...."Mommy......Cooper is coming!!!" then she smiles really big. When I ask who else is coming, she says "Unkie B.J. s coming!!" Last time Uncle Bj came, he must have made a lasting impression on her, because she was always asking where he was, when he was coming back, and she even named one of her stuffed animals after him... Look out Uncle Seth Uncle Alex and Uncle Sal, I think you have some competition for favorite Uncle.....

Garage Sale

I just read online that our community is having a garage sale mid next month. Ive been trying to sell some baby items online at craigslist, but have not had much success. A few things were sold, but I still have a ton of clothes. My last chance at selling them are at this garage sale. I'm glad it is before we move, because Id hate to have to bring everything to our new home. I'm trying to organise everything to get ready to start packing early next month.

Taylor has been sick the past day and a half. She has croup. I feel so bad for her. Last night, she was coughing and whimpering...she even got a "MA,MA" in there, but it sounded as though it were a "ma, ma, I need you" It broke my heart!! Abigail woke up this morning coughing, but I haven't heard anything since she got out of bed. Joanna is still asleep, so hopefully she doesn't have it. Unfortunately, it is contagious and I'm not sure how to keep everyone from getting it. My throat this morning is a little sore and I'm slowly losing my voice...that is all I need. My back pain is the WORST when I cough, so I'm praying I don't catch it.

Soap Opera

Wow, has it really been almost a week since my last post? Sorry, to those of you following my blog like a soap opera story. Well, lets see....been pretty busy the past few days cleaning house, looking at houses to rent, and taking care of the girls. Ive cleaned out closets and then took pictures of all the girls clothing that I no longer need. I then posted them on craigslist to see if I can make some money selling them. That took quite a bit of my free time, since I had to sort them all by size then get a nice photo of them, thus, resulting in not much Internet time.
Still searching for a house to rent. We went and saw 4 this past weekend, although, none are coming even close to the one we saw in Butler. We took an application up to Butler this weekend to at least get the ball rolling on that one. They have to do a credit check before we know if we are even capable of getting the house. I'm sure our credit is fine, since last time we checked, it high...but that was before the business....well, I guess we will find out... Until we hear back from them, we will continue our search for something maybe a little closer to the office. If not, then Butler here we come.
The past few days have had nice weather, so we took the girls to the park a few times. They LOVE going there. I love it too, because they usually go to bed without a fight. Although, Abigail is now telling me... "Mommy, its dark outside...time to take a bath, and THEN night night." I'm glad she knows... although, what will I do when it starts to get dark LATER in the day?!?!?! :) Well, my youngest is letting me know that she is hungry....I'm surprised the windows have not shattered yet with her high squeals... Until next time!

Spring cleaning

Well, its that time of year, when we dare to go through boxes that have been stored away, hoping to find something that you can get rid of... Next month, I start packing. I want to have everything in its place and get rid of all the junk...yet, when I go through items we have stored away, I cant get rid of anything. I'm hoping to find a spot for them in our new home, yet if I liked them that much, how come I haven't displayed them in this one? There is a ton of Ian's things stored away. Id really like to just put all his boxes in his closet, so that our tower of things stored doesn't look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. My goal is to go through everything, get rid of what I can and part with things I haven't used or displayed in the past year.

Abigail had spent the night at my parents house, so I used the extra time I had in the morning to clean the carpets. When she came home, she said "Mommy, my feet are ALL WET!" funny, because when Ian came home for lunch, he said the same thing. It didn't last long, because during lunch, Joanna decided to throw her spaghetti on the floor....

House search continues. We saw two more this morning on Craigslist that we are going to check out. I know Ian would like to find a place a little closer to the office, but to me, nothing is comparing to the one in Butler.

Easter was like all holidays, hectic. We woke up in the morning and scrambled to get everyone dressed, then quickly go downstairs for pictures and an Easter egg hunt, then out the door just in time for church. After church, we went to view the house in Connequenessing, but decided it was too small for our family. Then it was off to grandmas and papas. As we sat down to eat, my back started hurting. I tried to hold in my discomfort, but after about 30 minutes, I started to break. I wanted to leave the room so that no one would see me cry, but as I stood up, this sharp pain ran down into my legs. Ian helped me into the other room to lay down. Of course I couldn't fully relax because Taylor wanted to nurse. (there is always something that prevents me from having time to myself) When it was finally nap time for the girls, we headed home. My mother came over and she and I went out for a quick drive while Ian stayed with the girls and made dinner. Wish he could make dinner every night. It was nice not having to do anything for once.

Well, the girls are in bed taking a nap, so I'm going to use this free time to close my eyes a little before Taylor wakes up. Until next time.

House Hunt

Today, we had a relaxing morning. Due to the girls going to bed late last night, they slept in this morning. Not to long, but 9am is better than 7:30. Once everyone was dressed, we headed to Connequenessing to drive by the house for rent. We wanted to know where it was so that we wouldn't get lost tomorrow when we meet the owners and take a tour. We then drove to Butler to tour another...It was awesome! The outside was a little weird because it had a really tall roof, but the landscaping was beautiful. There was tons of trees and a huge yard (that we wouldn't be responsible to maintain). The inside was very nice. It has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bath. The basement is HUGE but not finished. Its a bit of a drive to the office, about 30min, but I think it is worth it. The house we are checking out tomorrow is only a 20 minute drive away. Well, I have 2 Reese's cream pies and blueberry muffins to make for tomorrow, plus I have to hide the girls Easter eggs for their hunt tomorrow morning. Ill be sure to post some pictures.....until next time!

Etsy.com

So, I've fallen in love with this website. http://www.etsy.com/ Everything is handmade. The hats I bought for the girls came from there and Ive purchased a dress for my cousins wedding as well. While I was searching for Mothers Day gift ideas, I came across this very cute flower arrangement made out of paper and buttons. Im going to give it a try and see what happens. Ian doesnt want me to go out any buy anything, so Im going to have to see what I can come up with with what I have here in the house.

This morning I thought Id be able to sleep in since Abigail was spending the night at my parents...WRONG. Usually, Ian will wake me up to give me a goodbye kiss before leaving for work, and I can usually get another hour of sleep before the girls wake up. Not today! He woke me up and wanted to talk.....I could barely keep my eyes open. If I am awake for more than 10 minutes, then my mind wakes up and all the "things to do" start running through my mind, preventing me from being able to fall back asleep.

Its funny how when Abigail is away, Joanna is a completely different person. She is such a cutie. Usually, she is fussy and very needy, and when Abigail is gone, Joanna is very happy, full of smiles, and such a pleasure to be around. Today, after breakfast, I wanted to get online and check craigslist for some house. I turned on the Disney channel and went over to the desk. Joanna calls me... "Mommy........sit" as she smacks her hand on the couch cushion. How could I resist? She snuggles next to me, placing her head on my arm.... my heart melted.

When Ian came home from work, we had dinner, then headed out to drive by some houses for rent. Nothing great. When we came home somewhat disappointed, we checked online for any replies to some e-mails we sent out... one reply, and the one Ive been waiting for. There was a house about 20 minutes away from the office that posted March 18th on Craigslist. I saw the house on there a few days ago and could only hope that it wasn't taken, so I e-mailed asking for more pictures. The house is GORGEOUS! We e-mailed them asking to come view it. I really hope this one works out, because to be honest, I was getting a little discouraged with what Ive been seeing . Well, I'm off to bed.

Weekend

This weekend I did not get much sleep. Early Saturday morning I was pleasantly surprised when Taylor said MAMA. I was shocked. She had just said DADA the day before, and now she was saying MAMA. My little girl is learning so quickly. I guess its because she has two older sisters to teach her things.

We woke up early on Saturday to get ready to go to my parents restaurant. We met my cousin and Aunt there so that Abigail could try on her flower girl dress she will be wearing for my cousins wedding this August. She is so excited to have a "white princess dress". We also went to Once Upon A Child (a gently used kids clothing store) to drop off some baby clothes....we got $50 back. Love getting money back for clothes we are not using anymore. Saturday night, I tossed and turned ALL NIGHT. I didn't end up falling asleep until around 4:30am, then was woken up at 7am. I was planning on skipping church to sleep, but Ian didn't get the girls ready in time to leave, so they ended up sticking around and kept me up. The morning was pretty rough. I was excused, my back hurt, and I got overwhelmed with everything we needed to get done. I don't know when I last cried so much. Ian and I decided we wouldn't do ANYTHING that needed to get done, and just go for a drive and see what happens...we ended up going around looking for houses for rent. We were gone ALL DAY.....On our way home, we picked up dinner and made a detour to the Cranberry Park. The girls LOVED this park. Its a wooden castle with lots of slides and passages. It took both Ian and I to keep an eye on them because it was so big and they were just running everywhere. We came home and got the girls ready for bed.

Today, I struggled to get out of bed. After breakfast, the girls went into the playroom while I tried to relax a little on the couch. When Ian came home for lunch, my parents called to see if Abigail could go to the restaurant with them. I was torn. Every time Abigail goes with them, she comes back hyper and very disobedient, but I woke up a little congested and feeling like Id been hit by a car, so if she were to go, then it would be one less kid to take care of... I decided to let her go. Its been a pretty relaxing day. Joanna took a 2 hour nap the same time Taylor did, so I was able to have "ME" time. When they woke up, Joanna wanted something to eat...."NAN-NA" (banana). Within seconds, it was gone and she was requesting more. I swear, she thinks she is a monkey. The two of us enjoyed a quiet dinner together since Ian has an orientation class tonight. Cant wait for him to come home and spend some quality time with us before we put Joanna and Taylor to bed. Oh, and did I mention IT'S SNOWING!!! Got to love Pittsburgh weather! Well, I'm off to do the dishes. Until Next Time.

The Office

Ians office has been picking up. The beginning of January, he was seeing about 25 patients a week. The past few weeks, he was around 50, and this week he is ending with around 60-65. He is gone early in the morning (around 7:30) and doesnt come home everyday for lunch like he used to. One of his patients just finished a mural on the waiting room wall.... it looks AWSOME! I believe he is going to do another in Ians office of the city of Pittsburgh.

Still looking for a house to rent. Im always searching on the internet and in the papers. Not looking forward to packing, but I figure if I start at the beginning of May, and pack the things we dont use everyday, then by the end of May, I shouldnt be as stressed. We'll see.

Daddy's Girl

Every morning, Ian places Taylor in our bed while he gets ready for work. She usually nurses and then is just the happiest baby in the world. She is full of laughs and coos. Well, yesterday as she was reaching her hands out to touch daddy's face, she said "DA,DA" It was so precious! She is the only one of the girls who said "DA DA" first. Abigail and Joanna both said "ma, ma" as their first word. Taylor is getting so big. She is already in 12 month clothing, Joanna was wearing 12 month clothing 2 weeks ago...they were actually sharing clothes for a while. I couldn't believe it! I always thought Id be passing the clothes down, not having them share. Whats worse is the fact that my little girls are not so little anymore. Abigail is wanting to do EVERYTHING, "all by myself!" and Joanna is talking up a storm. I cant believe how many words she knows now. Everyone else may not be able to understand all of them, but I sure do. The other day she was trying to tell Ian she had a dirty diaper, and he had no idea what she was saying. He called me into the room to be an interpreter. Taylor is rolling over like a champ, and is now starting to lift herself up to the crawling position. I'm really going to miss this. This morning, while Taylor was nursing, she would stop because she would smile at me. I remember when Abigail and Joanna would do that. It would be annoying at first but then it would make your heart melt.

We took the girls to the park yesterday. There were 2 older girls there that took Abigail and Joanna around to all the slides and swings. I think they enjoyed playing with some other kids. They don't get to do that very often. Usually only at church on Sundays. Hopefully now that the weather is starting to get nicer, we can get them out to the park more often.

The search begins

This weekend Ian and I looked at a few houses for rent. Our lease is up at the end of May and we are planning on moving out and move into a home. We were planning on buying a home, but now we need to show 2 years of pay stubs, but Ian has only been working for 6 months.... The place we are at now is just too expensive to stay. We are starting our search now so that we don't feel rushed when May rolls around. We will have enough to do with packing... boy, I hate packing. Id like to go through everything and get rid of things we don't use and try to organize things before we begin to pack. That's the only good thing about moving, your forced to go through everything. Cant wait to have a house to call my own though. I want to paint the walls all sorts of colors, and plant a flower garden. I'm sure the girls would love to have their own play area too...but again, those dreams will have to wait another year or two.

Well, the girls are all sleeping, so I must use this time to get things done around the house...until next time.

Fun times with Family

Yesterday, my parents came by and pick the girls and myself up to take us shopping with them. What an experience. Taylor is getting too big for her carseat, so instead of leaving her in it, my dad took her out to carry her. When in the store, she was getting a little fussy, so I decided to carry her, while Abigail and Joanna were riding in the cart. When I would walk to far from the cart, Joanna let me know. She reached her arms out for me to carry her. I then strapped Taylor in the cart, and carried Joanna....not a good idea with my bad back. I put her down to walk, but that only lasted but for so long. All the girls started to get a little cranky since it was getting closer to lunch time, but my parents were nowhere near done shopping. My dad thought it would be a good idea to get them cookies....but what he didn't realize is that you cant SHOW them that until after you pay for them....the result.....more crying. I could just feel all the eyes of the other shoppers glaring at me, while my parents just laughed. I don't know why I put myself in these situations. I know its impossible to take all three girls out in public, but I thought with my parents there, that it would be OK. I was wrong. I couldn't wait to get out of there and get back home. We were right by Ians office, so I had my parents just drop us off there.Once we were back and had lunch, I felt like we were getting back on schedule. Unfortunately, the girls were still off and not very cooperative. I found myself looking at the clock every 5 minutes wishing it was 2 o'clock....nap time. Around 1pm Uncle Alex called and asked if he could come over and play with the girls... I wanted to say "no", but agreed knowing the girls would be happy to see him.... it was just what we all needed. I got a small break while they had tons of fun. (check out the video at the bottom of post) When Alex left, I put the girls down for a late nap and started to prepare dinner.

Today, I woke up to my hair being tugged on and the sounds of giggling . When Ian left for work, he had placed Taylor in the bed next to me. When I turned to see her, she gave me the biggest smile. I loved it. I have to admit, waking up before Abigail and Joanna, I felt more prepared for the day. Unfortunately, there is no way I am getting out of bed before 8am again. I'M EXHAUSTED. Ive been yawning ALL DAY. The package Ive been waiting for came in today.... A friend told me about this really cool website where you can buy and sell stuff handmade. I checked it out and found some really great items...Ive posted some photos of the girls sporting their new accessories.

After lunch, the girls and I found our Easter decorations. We strung the plastic eggs and headed to decorate the little tree outside our front door. It was raining, but I promised them we would go outside, so I grabbed the umbrella before going out. They had so much fun. I thought for sure they would fight, or not like the fact that it was raining, but to my amazement, they didn't. They were smiling and giggling the whole time... Who would have thought a small activity like that would be so much fun. When Ian came home from work, we packed everyone in the van and headed to Walmart to buy their Easter baskets and some things for the house. It actually went better than I thought. Both Abigail and Joanna walked around the store, and for the most part, listened to Ian and I. It wasn't until we neared the end of our list that they started getting cranky.....hunger was setting in. I feel bad when we don't get a chance to take the girls out of the house often, but then when we are out, and they start to get cranky, I wonder why I put myself through the stress. Is there ever going to be a time when we can take them out without them fussing or making a scene? And why is it that when Abigail turned 3 she no longer just cries when she doesn't get what she wants, but now has tantrums. She throwing herself to the floor kicking and screaming. Joanna LOVES the word "NO". Everything you ask her, she replies with a "NO" and then she looks at you like "what are you going to do about it?" They know just when to act up. Most of the time, its when I cant do anything, like when I'm nursing Taylor, or my back is bothering me. Cant wait until Taylor joins in on the fun. She usually falls asleep during the car ride. I need to start enforcing the rules, and not let the girls get away with so much. Maybe then I can take them out in public, and not have to worry about tantrums....Well, I can hear both Abigail and Joanna upstairs crying, so Ive got to go....a mothers job never ends..

(Waterfalls with Uncle Alex)

Meet me at the park

Yesterday when the girls woke up from their nap, they wanted to go for a walk. I told them I had to do a few things around the house, then we would go before daddy got home. I bundled them up loaded the stroller. The park that is here in our plan doesn't have baby swings and is quite small. Even smaller now that they are building more townhouses next to it. I decided to take them to the community park that was a little farther away, but worth it. Abigail held onto the stroller while I pushed Taylor and Joanna. While we crossed the street, Abigail said "MOMMY, WE GOT TO HURRY, LOOK, A CAR" the car was about half a mile away. Better safe than sorry, so we ran the rest of the way across the street. We called daddy to let him know we were going to the park, because he was leaving the office to come home very soon. Abigail called him on the phone and said "Daddy, meet me at the park, with the baby swings" this way he knew which park we were talking about. As we neared the park, Abigail saw it and got all excited, and even though Joanna had no idea what Abigail was excited about, she got excited too. When she finally saw the park, she wanted out of the stroller right away. She ran straight for the slide. It was cute watching her run to the steps, slide down the slide, and then repeat multiple times. Abigail enjoyed swinging on the baby swing to keep Taylor company. She wanted to go "higher" and "higher". Taylor enjoyed the swing as well. She would giggle every time she swung closer to me. She had all the other mothers at the park giggling with her high squeals of happiness. It started to get a little chilly, so I decided to pack them up and head back home. Abigail wanted to hold my hand, so I had a difficult time maneuvering the stroller. As we headed down the hill, Abigail saw daddy coming to meet us, and she took off running after him. Daddy outreached his arms and caught her. He lifted her up, and they twirled in circles in the middle of the street. Joanna wanted to dance too, as she reached for Ian to pick her us as well. They are all daddy's little girls. We walked back home to enjoy dinner, give baths, then bedtime. The evening went so smoothly, I almost didn't want it to end.

Shaddow Chasing

I just transferred photos from our camera to the computer and forgot to mention in my last post about shadow chasing. Thursday Emily came by the house to see the girls, so we decided to take them to the park. The girls had so much fun. We went down the slide and swung on the swings. Emily held onto Joanna so she could swing too. On our way back to the house, Abigail yelled "I SEE MY SHADOW", "I SEE EMILY'S SHADOW" and then the shadow chasing began. Emily stepped on Abigail's shadow then said "CAN YOU STEP ON MINE?" When Abigail ran to step on it, Emily began to run. Abigail quickly picked up speed to catch the shadow. They giggled all the way up the street, stepping on each others shadows. It was a site to see.

Emily came over again on Friday to help out with the girls because my back was acting up. I woke up in the morning with NO FEELING in my right leg. I couldn't move it. Ian canceled his patients for the morning and stayed home with me. After lunch, Emily came by to give me a hand. Luckily, by that time, I regained some feeling, and was only wobbling around. Again, I don't know what I would do without family.

Catch Up

So, its been a few days. I have rearranged the house. Moving furniture from one room to the other and having Ian move things from upstairs, downstairs. I'm sure he is glad we are done. I don't know if my need for change every few months is due to the fact that I'm ALWAYS HOME.. I have no car, so I'm at home 24/7. We moved the girls playroom up into the loft, and our bedroom is now in the master bedroom. Yeah, its finally ours... and less steps to do at night. The girls seem to like the change as well. I'm sure they are a little tired of being cooped up in the house as well.

Sal and Katie came over yesterday. I was having a bad day, so they decided to stop by and see how I was doing. They ended up taking me to Giant Eagle to get dinner. It was nice to get out of the house, even if it was only for an hour. No girls, no stress.. I have to do that more often. Sal made Chicken Marsala over noodles....yummy!! Then I made some strawberry shortcakes.

Weather is changing. Cant wait to be able to leave the windows open at night. The girls are wanting to go outside more and more, but I have a hard time juggling all three. Ive been trying to get them out after lunch, since Ian is around, but depending on time, we don't always get out. The other day, we took the girls outside to play. We brought out the sidewalk chalk and Abigail even got to ride her "Bike-a-sole" I love seeing Ian play with the girls. I don't know what is is about seeing a father play with his kids, but it makes me fall in love with him all over again. Sal came over as we were outside and decided to take us to Cold Stone to get some ice-cream. Joanna's mouth dropped as she saw all the choices...flavors, candy...she was in Heaven. Abigail knew what she wanted. (cotton-candy with m&ms) But as always, they told us EXACTLY when it was time to leave. 7:30pm they started to fuss letting us know it was past bedtime, and time to go.

Back pain is a little better. Some days are worse than others. Ive been trying to take it easy lately, but you can only do but so much lying around when you have 3 little ones running around. There are good days and bad. I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow, so we should be able to see whats going on.

Well, I'm off to make dinner. Then maybe to the park.

Beautiful Weather, Beautiful Smiles.

A gorgeous, sunny day here today. The girls woke up full of energy! Defiantly back to feeling normal. We played in their room all morning, and I was even able to sort/fold some clothes, a task not so easy to do when Joanna is around (she likes to unfold and move them...sometimes even try them on..) When Ian came home, we all sat down for lunch...yummy perogies! We then got our shoes on and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Funny how we went out and bought a double stroller when Joanna was born, but now that both Joanna and Abigail are able to walk, we don't need it. I was pushing Taylor in it today and was thinking "why do we have this?" Last week, I was thinking now that Taylor is getting too big for her car seat, we can sell the car seat/stroller combo. But now, I'm wondering if we should? Maybe we could sell both strollers and get a single. Id hate to keep the combo when we are not using the car seat. But then again, we have held on to it this long, whats another year.....Then I think we still might need the double for when we go to the zoo or some place where there is lots of walking and someone may get tired (I wish someone would push me when I get tired) What to do, what to do....

After our walk, we quickly scrambled to the back porch to wave to daddy as he headed back to work. Then it was upstairs for afternoon naps.....got to love nap time. I especially love it when ALL three take them at the same time. Most of the time, I can get 2 out of 3 down....today, I was lucky and 3 went down. Finally, some time for myself, and what a perfect day for it too. I grabbed the laptop and headed to the back porch to sit on the swing and enjoy some fresh air. Occasionally our neighbor came out for a smoke, but I took that time to run in and check on the girls. They look so precious when they are sleeping. Who knows, maybe after dinner we can enjoy more of this great weather and play in the driveway. I'm sure the girls will be happy to see their sidewalk chalk again.

Well, I'm off to do some house cleaning, please enjoy these photos of the girls I'm attaching. They are from the other day at dinner....and as always....Until next time.

A Stress Release

It feels better getting all of this out there... I would NEVER be able to say any of that stuff in person. I would probably just smile, and say, "I'M FINE", or "I'M OK". I really don't know why I wrote it either. And its not like I'm wanting everyone to feel sorry for me, or to come up with the solution. I just really needed it to be said (or written) to get some stress release. I don't want you to think my parents don't care either... they do, they just cant help physically, they have their own things to do, and cant just stop to help me. I remember when I got into an accident a few years back. I was making a sharp bend, and an oncoming car was too far into my lane, as I turned my wheel to get out of the way, I hit a telephone poll. Now my mother didn't know any of this when I called her, but the first thing she said when I told her I was "in an accident" was "I CANT COME GET YOU" I know she didn't mean it that way, but at the time, I thought, "how heartless, you don't even know if I'm hurt" but I know that if I really needed her to, she would have. The day I found out I was going to have a c-section with Abigail, I was on the phone with her telling her it was going to be the next morning, and before I got off the phone, my parents were packing to make the 12 hour drive to Iowa.... they arrived within an hour of the surgery...they drove ALL NIGHT just to be with me. As much as I want them to help, I know they cant. All they can do, is give their advice, and they do, but unfortunately, their views are against chiropractic, they just don't understand it. As with many others. "I" don't fully understand it myself...but I know enough to at least TRY it before getting some doctor to prescribe a pain medication. Pain medication that is only going to cover up the symptoms. The problem is still there. Whats going to happen? I'm going to be on pain meds for the rest of my life.... I don't think so. Then they would prescribe me more meds for the problems Id receive from the side effects of the pain meds.. Id be a walking around like every other American out there with 20 prescription drugs in their purse. Sorry, not me.. And surgery, like I said before, its NOT an option.

OK, OK, I think that's enough from me.. I'm getting worked up over here. This was supposed to be a stress release. I think Im going to call Ian and see when he is getting home. Maybe we can get the girls outside a bit to enjoy this nice weather. I feel bad for them....with the way my back has been, they've been cooped up indoors. ...."Until Next Time"

DEAL WITH IT

So for the last 8 or 9 weeks, as many of you know from my previous posts, Ive had back pains. Some days worse than others. To many, the pain seems to be better, but to tell the truth, NO, it hasn't. Ive just been "DEALING" with the pain. Every time I feel like screaming, I don't, because I don't want to scare my children. I just get over to a couch or chair as quickly as possible and take deep breaths. I hate showing weakness...especially in front of others. Ill smile and act as though everything is fine, when really I'm screaming inside. The past few days, I couldn't hold it in any longer. In my last post, I mentioned how after my bath, the pain was so bad I couldn't move.. what I didn't mention was that I was crying so much, and in so much pain, I told Ian just to shoot me, so I wouldn't have to deal with the pain. I know he felt horrible...and helpless. He didn't know what to do, or how to help me with the pain. We haven't been able to get me into the office because now that Brett is gone, we only have one car, and when he gets home at night, its bedtime for the girls. It would be a nightmare if we took them out. Ian NEEDS to be doing everything possible to get patients in the door. We NEED the office to pick up, to cover the bills, office and personal. We only have one car which Ian takes to work with his everyday...which the transmission died last week and is going to cost money we don't have...He is trying everything to help out around the house, but with everyone sick and everything going wrong all at once, things get stressful and VERY OVERWHELMING... I couldn't let him see the pain I was feeling. Last night, I broke. We were watching television before bed, and just drained from all that's going on. My leg had been going numb from the moment I woke up, and now, it was to a point where I would hit my leg, HARD, just to get a different feeling in it. Ian went and brought the adjusting table upstairs from the garage and took a scan....pattern.. funny thing is it was EXACTLY the SAME as one taken March of LAST YEAR...only a bit warmer. So, he adjusted me. A change, but nothing to get excited over...yet. We will have to see how it looks tomorrow. We decided to call it a day and go to bed. Within minutes, I heard snoring coming from Ian....MINUTES..If I could be so lucky to fall asleep that fast...and STAY asleep for that matter. Every night, I toss and turn, trying to get comfortable. When I finally do, it only last a few minutes before shooting pains run down my leg. I cant remember when Ive slept more than an hour without waking up.. I laughed when I heard Ian snore. I hated him for being able to fall asleep so fast. This night, was one of the WORST nights in my life with the back pain. I couldn't get comfortable, the pain would be so intense at times, that I just wanted to scream, but I knew Id wake everyone in the house...maybe even the neighborhood. I just have to keep telling myself "its fine, you have to deal with the pain, there is nothing you can do, DEAL WITH IT". Ian is trying his hardest to do everything possible. I wouldn't even be able to do anything else even if I wanted to, because I don't have a car, and who would watch the girls? I really think we've used up all our "help cards" with family. I feel bad, Ian's parents have been over so much helping, that I feel like we are taking them away from other things they have to do. Every time I ask my parent to help, they are unable due to other commitments or obligations, but Ian's parents always find a way to help. Id send them away on a cruise or something if we had the money...but they've helped SO MUCH and so often, that how can I keep asking? Id have someone here EVERYDAY, ALL DAY if I could, its that bad...but I again, don't show it, because I know its impossible. People have their own lives to live, they cant be helping with mine everyday for months....My mother says I should just go to the hospital and "get another opinion" I already know what they are going to say....surgery. And I cant do that.... I don't want to do that....who would watch the kids while I'm recovering? Do you know how LONG the recovery for back surgery is... Do you know what the effects of the surgery will do later in life? We just need to let Ian try to help, We've never really given him a chance. We would go to the office, get checked, but then not go again until a week or two later. We just cant find the time to get me there with everything that is going on. Now that he brought the table and scanner home, we can start checking me every night, and see how that goes. For now, I just need to deal with the pain, and see if this works. There is really NOTHING else we can do...

The Joys of being sick.

So for the past few days, Abigail and Joanna has come down with some sort of stomach virus. They have been so snugly. I feel so bad for them. They haven't been able to keep ANYTHING down. We've tried the Pedialite and only had to clean grape smelling stains from the floor. I was hoping I would not catch it, but was not so lucky. Friday night I got chilled and after getting out of the tub, I felt horrible. I ended up sleeping on the couch, because my back pain was so bad that I couldn't move, not even crawl. Ian basically had to carry me to the couch. I felt helpless. The next day (yesterday) I ended up throwing up, which only made the back pain worse. I screamed the entire time. But luckily, I'm feeling 70% better today. I'm still very hot and VERY weak. If I stand, I get very dizzy. The girls seemed to be doing better yesterday, being able to hold down water and some bread. Unfortunately, this morning, they both threw up and have been lying on the couch all morning. Depending on the weather, I want to air-out the house, because the last thing we need is for Ian to get sick. Things have been going well for the office (except that his printer/fax er broke due to a generic toner) That's about the only "good" that going on in our lives. Last week, my cell phone died, our vans transmission died which is going to cost money which we don't have, and due to everything going wrong, Ian has been extremely stressed dealing with us sick girls. I'm hoping things are better by tomorrow because Ian will be gone ALL day, and wont be able to help out. His parents came by the other day to help out a little (tons of laundry) but Id hate for them to get sick by coming over. Well, I think I'm going to close my eyes for a little.

There are good days and bad days being a mother.....today is a bad day.

Why is it that one day your kids are like little angels, and the next they are completely different. Today, the girls slept in until 10am...usually they wake around 7am. I thought that they would be well rested and play well together, but I was wrong. They must know when I am not my usual self. Today, I woke up with a lot of back pain again. It was getting better for a while. I think it was about 5 days where I was able to stand straight and get back to doing my normal duties around the house, but not today. I could barely get myself out of bed. Taylor of course exploded through her diaper, and I had to not only clean her, but also take EVERYTHING off the bed. Thank goodness for plastic mattress covers. I then had to lift Joanna out of her crib, which is not as easy as it sounds when you have extreme pain in your lower back. When I put her down, she started to SCREAM, not cry...she wanted me to carry her. I cant! I hate the feeling I had, knowing she just "wanted her mommy" and I was unable to provide that for her. I tried to sit on the floor with her, and that worked for a while, until I had to get Abigail out of her room. Joanna screamed again, as I walked away from her to get Abigail. We went downstairs for breakfast, which there really wasn't any, because we need to go MAJOR grocery shopping. So I divided up some yogurt for them to share. I left the room for maybe 3 minutes to change Taylor's diaper again, only to come back and see Joanna WEARING the yogurt. Oh, they joys of having toddlers. Once again, I had clean up duty. Crawling on the floor, scrubbing yogurt from the carpet. The past few days, I have been trying to get our house back in order. While I was out of commission, due to my back, Ian has taken up the responsibility to clean house and do laundry... I think I would have rather hired someone. I know he means well, but he doesn't realize there are reasons behind doing things the way I do them. When Brett left last Friday, we moved Joanna into his room. We are just now moving clothes from one closet to the other. Of course, the girls somehow know I have things I want to do, and they seem to always act up more when I try to get things done. I THOUGHT with them sleeping in this morning, that I would be able to get things done, and they would be little angels for me, but I was wrong. I put them upstairs for their afternoon nap EARLY! Usually they will go down around 2 or 3, but today I put them to bed at 12:45pm. I know people say "kids go to bed when the parents are tired" that's because usually the parents are tired of all the fussing and the wining. There is no need for fussing. I HATE fussing, and I wont tolerate it!!! They fuss, and they go to bed. I don't care if they go to sleep or not. Most of the time, they do, but if not, then at least they had a little time out, and so have I.

Cant believe its only 1pm, and I am already ready for this day to be over. I think I am going to lay down and try to give my back a rest....advise for all you soon-to-be-mothers I know....DON'T have more than one...and if you do, wait 5 years. Having 3 under 3 is a nightmare. I'm really hoping that when they get older things will get easier, but right now, I just want to rip my hair out (which by the way is turning white...I'm 26, I shouldn't have white hair yet.) The joys of motherhood.