This too shall pass....

I once taught Kindergarten....literally once. Wasn't for me. But I remember having a student that was going through some really hard times. His very religious grandmother conferenced with me and her last line to me was, "This too shall pass". I hated being 'preached to'. But funny thing is that I find myself saying this mantra over and over and over. The past few days have been a kind of torture. The kids are a mess. Skyler WHINES and CRIES all day long when he's not asking me to wipe his nose. And the thing is that I get it that he doesn't feel well and feel so badly for him. But I'm at my wits end. Sadie doesn't help with her insane screeching and crying for nothing in particular....all.day.long. I honestly feel pain. And I feel for the kids because they are obviously not happy or feeling good. But I'm going insane....so, This too shall pass......hopefully:)

Some fun times too!

This past week wasn't all about sickness. We had some fun times and I captured some of them. I haven't had time to photoshop any of them (as it is, right now I have a 3 year old next to me talking non stop and I'm pushing it by posting this now). One thing I don't want to forget is this...my sweet and sensitive boy was watching a movie. There was a commercial about children in third world countries looking for donations. I turned to him and he was crying because it made him so sad. Already empathetic at such a young age...I hope this stays with him as he grows. (and yes, I realize he watches too much tv!) My concentration is shot right now due to my little buddy next to me but you'll get the idea with the pics!

They played together for about 20 minutes. I love having two!

Sadie had a 'love' moment and insisted on being attached to Skyler. She grabbed his hand and led him all over the house. It was sweet:) Mostly because it's rare they aren't getting annoyed with each other.

I love this pic because of the way he's sitting. He looks so young here and made me smile. Sometimes I forget he's only 3.

This is what it looks like when we go out on an errand...CHAOS!! Too bad I didn't film it:)

I love Madison's face in this one....

See Sadie's new dress? Thought I'd mix her look up a bit with a Rolling Stones dress I found in H&M. She always looks so girlie.

We love you Madison!!!!!!

Child #2 .... sick:(

Well, the inevitable happened and poor Sadie was whomped with the dreaded sickness:( Poor thing was so not feeling well. Couldn't sleep, tried to play but everything made her cry. The good thing? She is already on the mend, whereas Skyler has kicked his fever but is still not feeling great a week later. Hopefully everyone will feel better soon!

Sweet Sadie feeling crummy:(

This Week...

Ahhh, peace and quiet. Well, maybe not quiet since they are on the other side of this door, but definitely peace:) Michael has so fabulously taken the children for an hour while I get some ME time. Much needed. He has been very busy this week and staying late at work moving his clinic into the new building, an INSANE undertaking. The amount of stuff being moved is crazy. But the building is beautiful and once they are all settled, it will be a great change. SO, I'm catching up with my blog and pretending to do important stuff on the computer, but really, I'm just breathing and regrouping. This start to winter is a bit painful. LOTS of inside time and the kids and I have gone stir crazy. What else can we do? Shop? We have actually run out of stuff to buy and the errand thing gets old quickly. So, we have been playing inside a lot, which has actually been kind of fun. Yesterday I bundled up the kiddos and went for a walk. It felt great to get some fresh air. Sadie loved walking around the block and stepping in the snow. Skyler put on his snow boots and tromped through the snow that was left and had a great time....until he fell and his hands landed in the snow. (yes, I forgot the gloves...oops) You would have thought he landed in acid, but I'll cut the kid a break because he has been so sick the past few days. Fever, cold, and just plain lousiness. Very little sleep since he can't breathe and is all achy. It's so sad. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he feels better tomorrow since he has been miserable since Wednesday. I know Sadie is next and since she is a thumb sucker, colds don't do well with her. Have I mentioned how much I love winter????!!!! So here are some pics from the week....

Sadie and the pups checking out the snow.

These two were having a great time with this cool book...Thanks Uncle Matt and Aunt Maya!

The beginning of our first snow storm...I think it was a total of 1 1/2 inches which pretty much shut down the DC area for a while. Pathetic.

This poor boy:( Day 4 of the sickness.

Pictures from Florida are FINALLY posted!

The pictures from Florida are FINALLY posted. There were a ton and I had to pick just a few out. It takes forever to load them up to the blog, but I think these seem to capture a little of the trip. They aren't edited but I love 'em anyway:)

Hannukah:)

Stroller pic of Sadie...I have a feeling this is the last one I'll get of her now that she's all over!

Happy boy on the playground at Jupiter Inlet Park.

I love her face in this pic:)

Here birdie birdie

I can't get enough of his eyes...

She loved this doggie that was a Hanukkah gift.

Swimming:)

I had a glimpse of him in the future....he had such a teenage expression on in this pic. Too cool already.

Sadie walked all over the Oceanagraphic paths. She was so tired after that!

Kids loved being entertained by Papa and his Ipad.

These two had their hair cut together at a 'man's haircut place'. :)

Swimming in the pool for the first time! She loved it.

Promises Promises

I realize that I promised pictures....but the time thing is still an issue. Skyler is sick, demanding lots of attention, and Sadie is following right behind him. So, pictures? Not on the top of my list, although somewhere along the line they will get posted. Maybe in a week after this nasty virus has passed through:) Gotta love kids!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...

So it's snowing here. Our first official snow of the season since we were away for the other snow day. I really really am not liking the winter when it comes to dressing two small kids. It's a disaster! We had to run a quick errand. Sadie was bundled...but so bundled she had a hard time moving. She would walk over, grab me, and fall. That of course was when she wasn't trying to get Skyler's shoes on her feet....and falling, grabbing me on the way down. All situations ended with her crying. This was when I was trying to get Skyler dressed. He was in a silly mood and making it difficult. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry....did a bit of both, and some deep breathing. When I finished, I had a screaming toddler, a boot clad Skyler already out the door, and me with my hair literally sticking out in all directions. 20 minutes to get dressed for a 20 minute errand. At least it's pretty outside:)

Past Few Weeks....

It's been crazy the past few weeks. First, the craziness was due to getting ready for Florida. Then, the craziness was being in Florida. And now, the craziness is getting settled after our trip to Florida. But I have a moment and at least want to journal about everything and will maybe have time tonight to get some pics uploaded. Florida was great, chilly, but it was nice being away. The kids were fabulous on the plane. Skyler was happy to watch a movie the whole time (thank you technology!) and Sadie slept almost the entire flight both ways. People saw us coming and I swear you could hear them groaning as we toted two kids onto the plane. But they were grateful the kiddos were not the screamers they thought they would be:) The painful part was all of our STUFF! Where does it all come from? And the scary part is we had a ton of stuff already in Florida. I think I knocked out a few people trying to get to our seats. No plane trips for us any time soon!

Skyler loved the pool, on his own terms of course. We couldn't ask him if he wanted to swim, because the answer would be no. He had to decide himself when it was a good time to swim. So young and so complicated already:) He played in the pool the two warm days we had. The funny thing is that he loves to swim naked, hates the feeling of wet clothes on his body. I persuaded him to wear underwear one day, but the other day he was in his birthday suit! I'm hoping this changes when he gets older and it's not 'cute' anymore! The other days were filled with little field trips, the beach(dressed very warmly!) and hanging out. It was a good trip.

Sadie is officially a walker....goes all over the place. She literally toddles. She has recently mastered being able to walk with her hands down, but actually places them on her tush and does a little swagger. She is definitely a girly girl.

It's freezing here. Skyler was so cold that he couldn't bend his legs. If he did, then his cold pants hit his legs and it was painful for him. Poor guy. Went out and bought him pants with a warm lining. And I had to splurge on some cute clothes for Sadie. Her shirts have started to show her belly button. How does that happen so fast? I feel like I just bought those clothes two months ago.... Our other issue was getting Sadie to keep her socks and shoes on outside. It's literally in the teens and there she is happy as she can be with bare feet. Meanwhile, my fingers are literally frozen. I finally bought her a pair of crib booties that she can't get off. Ha, I WIN! At least until she figures out how to get those off....

Will post pics of the trip soon:)

She's Walking!!!! Almost 15 months....

I totally should be packing since I haven't even started and we leave in less than 24 hours, not including those hours I'm hoping to sleep. But I had to post this!!!! It's amazing how they work up to this whole walking thing. It feels like we have been working with Sadie forever and it's finally paying off. Skyler and Sadie were playing a game and she just started walking so confidently. They were both very cute together. And she does a funky thing with her hands. The video is a little long but I was able to capture some of this time with the kids, priceless. And keep in mind this was after a long time of already doing this game. I love love love these moments....

Pictures from Thanksgiving Weekend

Yey! They are posted...and just in the nick of time cause the kids just got up from their nap. (Yes, I made Skyler sleep because I NEEDED this time!)

Thanksgiving:)

After a full blown tantrum in the supermarket over chocolate covered pretzels, Michael decided to have Skyler make his own...it was fun!

He had just gotten in trouble for eating the chocolate, can't you tell how upset he is?!

Sadie has finally ditched the highchair and has joined the table for meals...so exciting! We are working on the table manners...

On our way to the museum!

This was Sadie's constant pose....

He was telling us he didn't want to see the dinosaurs after all....

We finally got him to pose and roar like dinosaur at the T-Rex. The deal was we could leave that room as soon as he did it!

Oops

It's been so long since I have done an entry. There has seriously been a lack of time to sit down and load up the pictures. Busy busy getting ready to go away and just plain keeping up with the kids. I didn't even get a chance to take too many pics at Thanksgiving, which was nice and quiet...perfect. I have some pics that I will put up soon from our trip to the Museum of Natural History. Skyler had picked out a 3-D puzzle of dinosaurs and became super curious. So, off we went to the museum in DC, even though it happens to be one of my least favorite ones in DC. Last time we were there it scared him and he had nightmares. Guess what...it still scares him! But no nightmares. He ran thru the dinosaur exhibit convinced that they were going to eat him. I guess it's easier to imagine the size than to actually SEE how big they are! He liked the space exhibit the best. Oh, and pushing anything with a button. Total therapy for me and my germaphobic self! Sadie loved everything. It was amazing to me that they both had tons of energy when we got home. Michael and I were ready for bed. Oh, and I think Sadie is super close to being a walker. The other day I was folding something on the couch and felt her cruising along me. I guess I wasn't really paying attention because all of a sudden Skyler yelled, "Mom, look, Sadie is walking all by herself!". Sure enough, she was clear across the room heading for her toys. I wonder how far she would have gone if I hadn't screamed and picked her up:) I will definitely try to catch up and put some pictures up tonight...

Skyler's First School Thanksgiving Feast

Skyler had his first 'School Thankgiving' today. I was originally going to keep him home for this because it's a time where Sadie gets nutty and I didn't want to take away from Skyler. But the teachers literally begged me multiple times to bring him and Michael felt he shouldn't miss it, so we went. And Sadie did have multiple breakdowns with loud screaming and crying...for some reason the teacher missed it and told me before we left that I was crazy for thinking this sweet little angel would take away from everything. Humph, whatever, I'm sure they have me pegged as a crazy mom! Anyway, the feast was cute. The teachers had a whole table set up fancy with their art projects and handprints. They had plates loaded with food that they apparently learned how to make. Skyler had been telling me that 'I didn't make it mommy, the teachers did...I just watched." They started with a circle time where the teacher went over everything they learned about Thanksgiving. I was impressed with what some of these kids remembered! I'm guessing the teachers just went over it a zillion times and the kids with amazing memories remembered everything. They also sang some Thanksgiving songs. I think Skyler was most excited about us being there (oh and the cookies)....Michael made a surprise appearance and Skyler was thrilled:)

"Did she say we have to eat turkey??" (there was no meat, he was safe!)

The Weekend

Another weekend where we took it easy and spent a lot of time at home, in our yard, and at playgrounds. It's kind of nice not to have to get onto 270! We filled the bird feeder for the hundreds of birds that apparently depend on the food we provide for them. But boy are they greedy! We have to fill that thing every other day. The fun part is that the uneaten seeds are growing plants on our grass. I haven't pulled them because I kind of want to see what happens!

Skyler is obsessed with what he wants for Hanukkah. Every commercial and catalogue is studied at great length, and he declares whether he should get that toy, Sadie should get it, or if it's not a great one. I hope we don't disappoint:) Sadie has been making leaps and bounds. She is SOOOOO determined to walk. And she tries often. She'll be cruising and then literally keep 'walking' from the couch despite the fact she still doesn't have the balance. Sometimes she actually catapults herself! It's a little scary, but confidence is definitely not her problem. She will be a very happy camper when she can be running after her brother.

Biking at the rec center

Sadie was not thrilled that she was belted into her stroller...she really wanted to play on the playground!

"Can you photoshop some hair on me??" That was literally what he was asking me....