Catching Up on Monday

I've been posting lately, but I don't feel like I've talked about what's really been going on around my life.  So here is a quick little update to catch you up on my life lately.

Friday night Pat took the boys to a hockey game at the college where he works.  The boys loved it!!!!  I was a little worried because before the game Ryan kept talking about how he was going to play, and I kept explaining that he was only going to watch.  They enjoyed seeing all the people and watching the game though.  They definitely want to go again.

While the boys were out, I enjoyed some quiet time with Leah.  After her dinner she knocked out for a long nap.  This did lead to a late night once the boys got home, but the quiet cuddles were so worth it.

Speaking of Leah, remember this photo with her two little bottom teeth?  This girl is quickly going from two teeth to six!!!  She's cutting all four of her top front teeth at once.  Two have broken the skin and the other two are starting to make the holes in her gums.  She's been so good about it.  Once in a while she has a bad night but tylenol helps.

While I've been lucky that teething hasn't interrupted her sleep too much something else has.  Leah has begun to Army crawl.  She's been rolling all over the place for a while, and now she's able to drag her self around.  This has interrupted her sleep because instead of napping/sleeping she'd rather get up on all fours on my bed and rock back and forth in the craziest and cutest way.  She's so excited about this new found mobility.  Here is a short video we took of her Army crawl.  It isn't the most beautiful way to move about, but it is functional.

I woke up this morning to a fresh dusting of snow.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but my back yard looks so pretty when the trees have the white dusting on them.  It really looks like a winter wonderland.  I'm kind of happy to be back in an area that gets snow.  I'm also hoping for one last snow storm before spring.

Sean starts speech today.  I'm really happy that we got him evaluated.  It's getting to the point where we aren't able to easily understand much of what he says.  I'm hoping he has fun with it so it is something he looks forward to.  Ryan goes back to school today after a week off for February vacation.  So we're getting back into the swing of our normal schedule this week.  

That's what is up with us.  What have you been up to?

Loss of Innocence

Last week many children had their innocence stolen away from them.  20 innocent children lost their lives.  I cannot imagine what would cause someone to be so evil.  I will never understand how he could do what he did.  I cannot imagine what the families of Sandy Hook Elementary are going through.  I do not know how you move on after such a tragedy, and I never want to personally know that.  My heart is so heavy for each of them, and my prayers are being said.  

I am in shock that this would happen especially in an elementary school.  I am being honest when I say that I am afraid to send my son to school today.  If I have fears, I feel so sorry for so many children that must be afraid to go to school too.  School was supposed to be a safe learning place filled with friends and teachers.  I do not want that to change.  I am hoping that my children never hear about Friday.  If there is anything I can do to help them maintain the innocence of childhood without knowledge of this evil, I will do it.  

I am sure my words are so similar to what everyone is saying/writing.  The horror of last week has rocked this country and probably this world to it's core.  (There was also an attack in China at a school.  We are not alone battling the violence)  As news broke, I feel confident to say that everyone held their children a little tighter.  It was a horrible reminder of something we often take for granted--that our children are blessings and each moment with them is special.  

Friday night as we were hanging around after dinner, I captured a moment on my cell phone.  You cannot see the whole scene and the video isn't the best, so let me tell you what was going on.  Ryan was wearing his spiderman costume and running around.  Sean was chasing him.  Every time they passed by Leah she began to laugh.  Seeing the innocent joy of my children was the light in a dark day.  It was a moment that I want to remember and cherish.  So during so much sadness, let me share a little laughter in the video down below.  

Sickness and Sweetness.

I didn't think I needed any extra challenges while trying to live and raise my family in my parents home, right?

Well, the stomach flu didn't see it the same way.  I either ate something contaminated or caught a virus.  One thing I seem to know for sure is the recovery is going to be slow.  This all started Friday night and I'm still struggling with it.  I can now eat a little bit and am back to drinking, but my stomach just isn't right.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of the hardest things I've done is to parent when ill.  When you feel like you want to curl up in a ball under a rock and sleep for a week, it is so hard to try to focus any energy on reprimanding or redirecting little kids.  I'll even admit that nursing when I'm not taking any fluids in myself has even been taxing.

My parents have been able to help me out with the boys a bit.  A big surprise to me though was how great Leah did when I was at my worst.  Either I got lucky or she could sense that things were not right with me and I was in pain.  Whatever it was, she could not have been more easy going for me when I really needed it.

Leah is a little sweetie pie and her personality is coming out more and more each day.  However, if you aren't her mother you may have a bit of a hard time getting to see it.  She will hardly let anyone else hold her.  Sometimes she'll even cry if you just look at or talk to her.  She is definitely a Momma's girl.  She was the same way with Pat too.  Since it is rare for people to see that sweet, happy, and fun side of her, I taped a little clip of what my baby girl is really like.  

Here's my little girl in all her sweetness.  Now excuse me while I curl myself up with a blanket . (oh and sorry the clip is narrow in the screen, apparently I held the iphone wrong, stupid me)

Stop And Smell The Roses

Today I went ahead and did something I never thought I'd have the courage to do on this blog.  I did a vlog.  I really wanted to link up with Mandy at House of Rose.  She hosts a bi-weekly vlog meme where you share something that makes you happy or you are thankful for.  I've loved watching the other ladies share on their blogs, so I took a leap and did it too.







Go check out all the videos and link one up yourself ;)

Overtired Children and Sleeping Dogs

This post may be a bit random, but try to go with it ;)

Yesterday was a day where I was looking forward to bedtime. The kids have both been overtired for a few days. Originally I thought going back to school was taking a toll on Ryan, but I think Sean crying for long periods of time in the wee hours of the morning may also have something to do with it. I'm still working on weaning Sean. I try rocking him when he wakes, but he much prefers nursing. This morning at 5 a.m. I gave in (pretty quickly too) because he was so upset about not nursing, and I just didn't want him crying for the rest of the morning and waking Ryan up. I think it will be a slow process, but I'm working on it.

So yesterday included overtired, cranky kids. One of them (Ryan) flooded the bathroom at bath time. I lost my temper, and I hate when that happens. I think I'm the one that needs a swift kick to my butt.

I put the kids to bed a little early and settled in to watch some new Thursday TV. We got rid of some furniture when Pat was home, so I was sitting in a chair. The (heavy) ottoman was across the room and I was too lazy to go get it. I didn't want to move to the couch because I like to have the TV volume on really low and the couch is pretty far away from the TV for that. So I was making do and finding all sorts of awkward positions to try to get comfortable.

Then my pug, Sammy, came over and wanted to snuggle on my lap. That was just what I needed--a warm, cuddly, snoring dog to snuggle with. It made me feel warm and cozy and despite the awkward sitting, I was happy to be sharing my night with my little cuddle pug.

However, I'm positive that whoever started the saying, "let sleeping dogs lie", did not let those sleeping dogs lie in their bed. We have 3 dogs. They sleep in our bed and pretty much always have. Thankfully some years ago we upgraded to a king size bed. You would think that would give me plenty of room with a deployed husband, but for some reason I end up on the edge of the bed not being able to move anywhere. This morning right before Sean woke up, I was holding myself on the edge trying not to topple over the side. My cute little cuddle pug that I mentioned above, likes to sleep really closely and often right under the covers with me. Yet that little 30 lb-er is capable of using his weight to slowly push you out of the bed. I think Pat and I have some changes to be made in regards to the dogs' sleeping arrangements when he returns.

And since we are talking about my cute dogs and specifically my pug, I thought I'd post a video of Sammy watching a news story this morning about his distant cousins--big pigs.

Sean Walks!!!!

Pat was deployed when Ryan took his first steps. I was so lucky to catch his first time walking on film. You can see that blog post HERE.

Pat is once again deployed as you know, and the pressure was on that I catch Sean's first steps on film too. Sean has been getting close lately, taking a couple steps here and there. Today he finally walked for the first time, and I caught it on film for his Daddy to see. (I won't say I was lucky this time because I've been following Sean around with the camera for days now!) I am so proud of my little boy, and his big brother loved being a part of the moment too.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In the past few days I've been hit by the realization that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

While Pat is deployed, I've been taking videos of the boys with my cell phone. The quality isn't very good, but it's something for him to see. The most recent one was while the boys and I were sitting at the table eating lunch. Ryan and I started hiccuping, and Sean thought it was hilarious. You can see that video HERE. It immediately brought back memories because during Pat's previous deployment I have a very similar video of Ryan laughing at the same thing. See that video HERE. After filming the video of Sean, I went back and watched the video of Ryan. I was absolutely amazed watching it because I realized that Ryan's laugh is exactly the same today as it was way back then. So now I'm trying to picture Sean's laugh that I have on video on him when he's older. I cannot picture it, but it is so cool to realize that this is the laugh he'll have even when Pat returns home.

Another instance where it dawned on me that things are still the same even with change is watching Ryan and Sean play. Ryan and Sean really enjoy playing with our big fleece blanket together. Whenever they do this, the room is filled with laughter and I cannot help but smile. Ryan's favorite thing to do with this blanket (which sometimes drives me nuts) is putting it over his head and walking around. I didn't think about it until today, but I remember that Ryan loved doing this soon after he started walking. It was right before Pat came home that Ryan would always put the blanket over his head and pace the living room. He thought it was a complete blast, and I was always afraid that he'd hurt himself. I just get such a kick out of the fact that even now 1.5 years later, he still does the same silly thing and thinks it's a ton of fun.

This realization that things are the same has been very comforting to me recently because as I've been watching the boys grow and play, I get really sad that Pat cannot experience it. He's missing so much. Now that I see that things are the same even after Ryan has grown so much, I feel like maybe Pat will get to see these same things I'm seeing today but in a slightly different way when he comes home. I am also happy to know that the little baby Ryan from way back when is still inside my big boy Ryan. It makes me look at Sean in a slightly different way to know that the little baby I hold today will be the same personality and character only bigger in the future.

So while my kids are growing and changing so fast, I am put at ease to know that even as they grow up they'll always be my little babies.

Wiggle That Tail

Today Ryan has been coming up to me and doing a weird dance. It's cute, but I didn't know what he was doing or why. I asked him what he was doing and he said "Tail". I asked if he was wiggling his tail and he said "Yes!". I had to get it on film for others to see. I told you he is a bucket of laughs.

Video and Leftovers

I love moments like these.

I like leftovers, especially if they can be re-purposed into a new meal. Lately I've been doing that a lot. Here are a couple meals that gave us leftovers to use again:

I made a homemade meat sauce before Pat left and froze it. I planned to use it for stuffed shells.

I made stuffed shells with the sauce, and it tasted delicious.
Yum!
But after the shells were all gone I still had a bunch of the meat sauce left over. So I made up some pasta and used the sauce again. Ryan liked that dish too.

Last Friday I made some homemade pizza for me and Ryan. I am not great at making my dough into a round pizza, but it tasted really good so I didn't care.

I still had half the dough left in the fridge from Friday so I used the leftovers from BBQ pulled pork that I made this weekend to make calzones with the dough. I thought they were very tasty, but Ryan was a little confused by them.

My parents are coming into town tomorrow, so I am going to enjoy a little break from cooking while we get some takeout.

4 Months and a Video

(turn on your speakers)

Sean had his 4 month well-baby visit today. The doctor assured me I had a very healthy and strong baby on my hands, although I didn't need him to tell me that. Sean is quite a big boy too. He was 25.75" long and weighed 19 lbs 6oz. He is doing really well and is very happy.

Ryan had to get his second flu shot. They weighed him (with shoes on) and he was 30lbs. He was also 37" tall (in his shoes).

My boys are getting so big so quickly.

Dance Moves

Yesterday Ryan turned on my alarm clock radio and started to bust a move. We have no idea where he learned moves like this, but it was hilarious. (Excuse my clothes on the floor.)

Sean's Giggle

For Auntie Rie

Auntie Rie wanted to see more Ryan. I caught a little bit of his dancing with Pat's camera. I didn't know how to work the camera so well, and don't mind the dog tails in the way. He's got rhythm, huh?

Yay for Sporks!

Playing with Abbey

Make sure you turn up your speakers to hear him laughing and snorting ;P

He Walks!

Ryan is walking! I'm so lucky that I caught this on film so Pat could see his son's first steps. Yay!

Videos

I'm too tired to type any thoughts. So instead I'll give you the link to the new videos I posted.

Enjoy: VIDEOS

Army Crawl Video

I made my first youtube video to show Pat and my family Ryan doing his little Army crawl. Link

Thankfully my macbook makes it too easy to post to youtube. I think this may help me keep Pat included more often. I was sending over 2 hour DVDs of home footage, but those took forever for me to create. Yay for youtube being faster and easier.