Almost ONE!

Well, M is doing GREAT potty training at home- she nearly never has accidents here, but away from here she doesn't do so good. That's fine with me since I wasn't expecting it to happen right now anyway! Here she is in her panties saying "Cheese!"G is really starting to love his blankie. It's really cute. He giggles when he sees it and buries his face in it.I took G's One YEAR pictures for his invitation today. They were ok...I didn't have one that stood out though....Almost EVERY picture is like this- chewing on the stupid movie case. I had to use his Baby Lamb movie because it kept him interested in it. These last 2 are probably my fav.

Potty Trained?

So, I guess we're potty training. The weird thing about it is that it had absolutely NOTHING to do with me! The other day we had taken a shower and she was naked and she started telling me she needed to poop so I went and got her little potty and she pooped in it! I was like, "WHAT?!" So I figured it was a fluke since she pooped in her diaper twice that afternoon. Then I worked Tuesday. So today she did it again. I was on the phone a little while later and I see her at the toilet with her little potty and I asked her what she was doing. She stated matter-of-factly that, "I'm emptying my potty- I went peepee." OH! I see! So strange. So then we went to Kindermusik and she wore a diaper. She was dry after class so I tried to make her sit on the potty but she, "didn't have to go" and then peed in her diaper during nap. After nap I let her run around naked and she sure didn't have one single accident all evening- pooped once and peed twice in her potty. Well, I guess we're potty training! It seems that if she has a diaper on she's going to use it, so I guess we're just going to have to be naked for a week or so! Weird. It's also clear that she doesn't understand how to "try" if she doesn't feel like she has to go, but I assume it'll come pretty soon.

She does play with her baby occasionally. She likes to put babies in G's carseat and push them in the stroller. She also gives them drinks a lot and lays them down for naps. I thought this a cute one of her little face. G- obsessed with some Baby E movie or another...
See how the toys are all piled on the wood? Well, that's what we do when I vacuum, except I wasn't vacuuming (even if I should have been). She gets her play vacuum out and starts dragging everything over to the wood to clean. It's really quite annoying. Then she stares at me sitting on the couch and says, "GET UP, Hillary- GET YOUR VACUUM!" She calls me Hillary or honey when she wants to make an impression. Pretty hilarious.

Password?

So B is on me to password the blog. I REALLY don't want to, but what do you do? I know he wants to protect the kids and such. So- you may have to fess up to me if you read the blog so I can send you the password....sorry. I'll let you know when it may happen. You can email at hillaryfsmith@gmail.com if you wish to continue reading. :)

background

I know, I have been hating the background lately too. Sorry! I don't especially LOVE this one, but since I do become obsessed with candy hearts around Valentine's Day (eating 4 bags myself last year) I thought it appropriate.

Sorry!

Cousin Marian- sorry for the lack of pictures and updates. Hopefully these will make you feel better :)She thinks she's pretty hot stuff in her scarf. We've ALL had the pukes now. After M, G got it on Friday, I got it Friday night, B got it Saturday night, and my Sister who was here visiting got it Tuesday morning! AH! It has marched itself through us all. At least it's short lived. My sister was here from Saturday until yesterday and it was an awesome visit despite the sickies. We shopped and ate out, hung out with the kids. Nothing too exciting but I had a good time and I know M did too. She woke up this morning and said, "Aunt Molly upstairs?" Nope. Too bad.

So now we're all better and things can return to normal. I've actually done a fairly good job of keeping up on the cleaning and laundry this week even with all that's going on. I had a big "to do" list last night I wanted to get done after I put M to bed but I fell asleep and didn't wake up until after 10pm. Bummer. We'll see when I can get around to it. I need to catch up on all my DVR shows too! It's so hard! It's always feast or famine- there's nothing to watch or too much.
Anyway- off to do some stuff!

sick again

I found G playing in the basket of clean diapers. He thought it was hilarious. Of course, M had to get in on the photo op.
He has figured out that he has to swing his leg over things to get up- not looking good for keeping him in his crib for long :(
Sneaking one of M's crackers. M has been sick...threw up all night the night before last- ran a fever yesterday and today. She got a new pillow and blanket for her bed. She was chillin' with them.
I'd better go save the kids before B has a breakdown....

I forgot

The first week of the project and I forgot my sunday update...woops. Things are going well. I did clip my coupons last night even though I was tired. I've been attending my swim class with no problems and I really like it. Walking is happening too!! I am feeling good again. I

bought M a toddler bible and I've been reading to her from it. We got some Bible story cards too and she gets to pick one out each day and learn a new story. She seems to love to pray at night too. It's really cute.

One other thing I was planning to do but didn't list was to cloth diaper again. I have been really lazy about it the last few months. Today BOTH kids were in cloth ALL DAY. I did a lot better with it last week too. There's absolutely no reason for me not to do it.

Walking

I love this kid in overalls... G took 9 steps in a row last night. Tonight only 7...My mom told me that's walking, but I refuse to admit it...
Played outside today in the unseasonable weather. It was great. G walked around everywhere with his walkers. Crawled too, obviously...Saying "cheese" for the camera. Cute, eh?
We did NOT have a good day together. She was endlessly testing me and I would end up telling her that if she did it "one more time" then I'd do "this." EVERY time she made me follow through. So exhausting...
I made it through a week of my water class!! WOOHOO!! I've dropped off the weight that I "gained" over the holidays. If you've ever had weight issues you know that you can "gain" weight that isn't "real" weight unless it sticks around for awhile. It comes on fast and can come off fast too if you're quick enough. Luckily I hadn't wasted too much time that it stuck! If you've never had weight issues- that probably doesn't make any sense to you at all. I know my sister in law said, "You gained 5 lbs in one week?" Yep- totally possible.

Updates

A relatively decent sibling picture!
M was cheesy this morning.
Cute
Yeah, that's all 16 lbs 9 oz of him.EATING a graham cracker. YAY!So G is doing much better eating. Still not as much as most babies his age, but we're getting him to eat about 1/2 a jar of #2 foods now at a sitting!! WOOHOO!! He's drinking almost 30 oz of formula every day. He's GOT to grow now.

M is doing well- still not sleeping the best at night and I nearly always end up in there with her. I'm about ready to beat her this morning as she won't leave the water off. Thanks Grandpa for making that step stool. It's great... She's quite obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba on Noggin. It's annoying but necessary for my sanity.

My swim class is good. Each morning when I get up for it I think, "What the hell have I signed up for?!" But then I get there and it's fine. It's a fun way to get some exercise. I'm the youngest one there. Nearly everyone is over 60 except 2 ladies either in their 30's or 40's and one weighs at least 300 lbs. The instructor has to be a good 250. It's good though. Doesn't matter how huge you are when you're swimming. Turns out I didn't gain as much over the holidays as I had thought originally. Still a good couple of pounds, but since I'm back on my diet this week the excess water weight has come back off. I didn't have to size up clothes this time!! I'm feeling pretty good. Tired as usual, but good. I took today off because we weren't busy. I figure this is going to be the last time I'll be able to do it now that RSV and Flu are coming in full force. I'll take it when I can get it.

Project 365- 2009: The Layout

So I saw it stated this way- and this is how I feel about it. I have a few things I want to get accomplished in 2009- some specific, some non-specific. With the dawning of a new year I am excited! I know there won't be any new children and my children are getting to the ages where I have a TINY bit of time to myself. I thought about not posting my plans because, "What if I fail?" But then, if no one knows about them- how are you accountable? Lord knows I'm not accountable to myself! So I'm hoping that periodically you'll ask me how the project is progressing and it'll help bring me back if I have strayed. I'll try to update you on my progress!
These are the goals I can measure success/failure on:

1. Read the word.
I don't go to church- that's no secret. I work weekends. I have searched in vain for a service not on the weekend and I can't find one that's feasible for me to attend. I have looked (not very hard) for a bible study, but with no one to keep me accountable, it's not happening. Therefore, I want to just read the word. I have read the bible twice I believe from cover to cover. I usually do it before bed, but I abandoned it last march with G's birth. I know that reading before bed isn't something that is going to happen so I've got to fit it in elsewhere. I have the One Year Bible which gives a reading each day but not from front to back, just different scriptures (one new testament, one old, one proverb and one psalm) for each day. I've decided that sometime during the course of the day I will turn off the tv/radio and read it aloud to the kids as they play. They won't care to listen, but I do believe that they will hear it. I want M to know how much I love the Lord, but so far I am not succeeding. Thank goodness my mom is taking her to church for me. Some day I'll quit working weekends, but until then, I'll settle for this.

2. Weigh 150.
Ok, so that's pretty specific and I'd settle for 155, but I just want to get there and STAY there. This weekend I've been giving myself a break from the diet because tomorrow is D day. I have enrolled in a swimming class three days a week from 545-635 am! AH! I can do it. I think it will really be good. B has agreed to lay down with M on the other two weekdays so I can walk after she goes to bed. I am hoping that 5-6 days of exercise will do it with sensible eating. I am not putting restrictions on any sort of exercise or time, just a weight goal. I know I can do it.

3. Limit to 3 diet cokes a day.
I know that sounds silly, but it's a goal I'm not really even sure I can achieve.

4. Cook a meal for my family at least 3 nights a week.
That probably sounds silly too and I'd like to shoot for 5 but I hate failure, so I'm trying to make my goals attainable. I HATE cooking dinner for my family- not because I don't like cooking because I DO! It's because it's so stressful. My kids are probably crabbiest from 4-6 pm. It doesn't make for a fun cooking experience with two screaming kids.

5. Read books.
I don't have a specific list in mind, but I'd like to average about a book a month, for pleasure. Nothing outstanding, just fun and relaxation.

6. Cut coupons on SUNDAYS! I have been horrible about not cutting them and letting them pile up. Therefore, I'm not saving any money! AH! So irritating. I hate it when I come home with something and then see a coupon for it laying RIGHT THERE! Out with the laziness...

That's really about all for now. I may ammend this post at a later date. I'm sure there are more goals I have for the year: be a better wife, a better mother, etc etc etc, but these are the ones that are measurable. Wish me luck! I'm going to try and give a weekly post on Project 365 Progression on Sundays. If I forget, remind me.

Awake again...

Yep, it's 12:22 am, and yep I'm awake, and YEP I have to WORK TOMORROW. WHY?! M woke me up screaming for whatever reason and then guess what?! I started COUGHING. Ugh. I am SO SICK of this! I just took my cough medicine at 8pm! Whatever... You get to enjoy the benefits of it.
G is really climbing now- we had to move M's desk up to her room because he keeps climbing on it constantly...So talented.He's a really good basketball player too!!! 2 points!Really making sure it's IN the basket.YAY!!!Climbing on the fireplace.
Maybe no one is watching!
Dang! She caught me!I could do that again any day....
G climbed out of the bathtub tonight when B wasn't looking and right on top of his head. Joy. Maybe I'm done coughing now...Maybe not.

Annoyed

Yes, I do have some new pictures but right at this moment (2:16 am) I don't have the camera. I still can't shake this illness. Some of it has to do with not resting enough I'm sure, but I have coughing fits again and again. The only thing that is helping is the codeine I had left over from G's birth and I only have 2 pills left. Yikes. I am taking G for some immunizations tomorrow so hopefully she'll help me out. I haven't been sick like this for years! I have terrible sinus pressure and pain. :( Every night I'm up at least an hour or two coughing.

Alternately it seems that I have gained back nearly all of the weight I so diligently worked to loose :( So irritating how there's no one to blame but myself. I am hoping that I can get back on the horse tomorrow and it'll come back off fast. I really let myself loose this last week.

New years got a little crazy for B and I. We went to our friends' Mike and Theresa's like always, however, this is the first new years in 2 years that I wasn't pregnant or nursing. I took advantage... My mom took the kids home for us around 9:30 and put them to bed. Let's just say I won't be doing that again any time soon. I felt awful all day yesterday. Woops. We got home after 3 am! It was a pretty fun time though.

B has been off for 2 weeks. His last day off is tomorrow. It's been awesome having him home! It's been nice to parent together some. M's going to have quite a wake up call when she realizes I can't lay with her at nap time anymore starting Monday. That's not going to be fun.

I am darn ready for the holidays to be over. I need things to get back to normal. My house is a disaster. I haven't cleaned anything (except the bath tub) for about 3 weeks- you can imagine. My floor is littered with crumbs and my poor child is crawling all over it.

Hey! G took is first step last night!!! He was cruising around M's desk and let go. He took one little step and immediately crashed face first, but I was so proud of him for trying!! Walking may be in our near future.

I think I may be done coughing now. Back to bed!