So I have switched over to 1st and 2nd shift. Last week was my first week. The kids go to my inlaws 3 days and to daycare 2 days. Catherine loves it. Christian...the verdict is still coming in on that one LOL. Tuesday he got dropped off by Jason, cried a little, slept only in the daycare teachers arms and was fine the rest of the day they said. Thursday I dropped him off and he had a major meltdown, tried escaping and finally after all that only slept for about 20 minutes at naptime but then had a fine rest of the day according to them.

My Baby Boy is 2

And the favorite present was the Home Depot Tool Box! Really are we surprised? His cake was Mickey Mouse theme (his newest addiction) and it was small with just Grandparents and Godparents (and the spouses and kids of the Godparents of course) for pizza and cake.

Halloween Costumes

So this is the first year I let Catherine pick whatever she wanted to be. In the past she has worn costumes that will be passed down to her brother (unisex ones). This year she chose Thumblelina...she is addicted to Barbie stuff and this was one of Barbie's most recent movie. Christian chose Thomas the Train...however after seeing the total of the two I may return his and see if Catherine's monkey fits or if her bumblebee fits. Will keep you posted!

Christian hard at work

First day of Kindergarten! Taken 8/31/09

Zoo trip (pictures take 8/09)

So maybe it is all my trips to Animal Kingdom because quite frankly when you see take pictures of those animals visit after visit (yes I am spoiled thanks to having "family" down at Disney) all I like to take pictures of the zoo are my own animals and well here a few extra thanks to Keri, Ava, Gavin, and my nieces joining us:

I can do it too! (photos taken 7/09)

After Christian got a sight of Catherine brushing her teeth in the bathroom with water and all that is exactly how he wanted to do it from that point forward...boy can he make a mess!

Catherine's new bike (photos taken 7/09)

Here is Catherine's first 2 wheeler experience:

The "new" sandbox (photos taken 7/09)

Jason's parents found this sandbox for Catherine the year we moved into the house...that was 2005! This summer was the first summer we put it to use:

I will post pictures soon...I promise

The first day of getting on the bus went so smoothly! Even better I do not have to worry about rushing at least on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings because I get out at 7:00 no problem and the bus comes to our driveway instead of at the bus stop because she is in Kindergarten and not even until 8:10! She will get off at our driveway around 11:50! I still have to talk to my boss about getting out at 7:00 on Thursday and Fridays. Fingers crossed again!

First day jitters

So tomorrow is Catherine's first day of Kindergarten. She is nervous and excited. I am very excited but mostly nervous but it has nothing to do with her and her day. It has to do with the bus and if I will make it home on time to get to see her getting onto the bus for the first time ever and off to her first day of Kindergarten. So please send a few prayers our way that everyone gets into work tomorrow morning when they are supposed to and earlier would be great so I can get on the road right at 7:00 and hopefully have a smooth ride back home and hopefully be back at home no later than 7:45!

Peace and Quiet

Christian is sitting in his highchair eating a banana and Catherine is sitting at the table eating a peach! Mommy is typing at the computer! Wish we could stay like this all day. But as I hear the bowl from his banana drop on the floor I know it is done. Oh well, my guess is I would run out of things to type and read anyway.

What happens when I leave the diaper cream in Christian's reach you ask?

Well even though you might not have asked here is the story anyway. I regret not grabbing the camera before cleanup.
While organizing Catherine's school clothes, the kids were in the living room alone. No big deal except I left Christian's diaper cream (triple paste = very thick white cream) in his reach. Next thing I know I have Catherine screaming to me that he has the cream all over him. I run to the living room to find Christian's leg and hands covered in cream. Also the couch has a few new white spots on it.
I am proud of myself. I did not yell at him, after all it was my fault for leaving it there, I just simply laughed and said OH MAN the whole time I cleaned him and the couch up, which were not easy tasks!

Kindergarten Orientation

Tonight at 5:00! Maybe I will get the insight of why they insist on such a short day for these kids. I really wish I lived in a town that did full day or could afford to do catholic school for the first year.
Oh well.

Christian finally better?

So after the 2 puking incidents he had many many diapers of diarrhea. However that seems to be over and he may be sleeping everything off now. Let's hope Catherine does not get this and if she does let's have her be done with it before her first day of school please!

Warning this will be gross, especially to banana haters!

So can my kid tell the future or what?
Here is what took place less than 10 minutes ago.
Christian was laying on the floor in here while I was online chatting with a friend. I asked him if he wanted to go to bed or for a walk. He chose walk. I get him up and I go to say to Catherine shut the tv off because we are going for a walk. She replies with What? Christian threw up? I said NO WE ARE GOING FOR A WALK.
Fast forward 3 seconds later while I am putting my shoes on to go for said walk and Christian starts throwing up his breakfast of bananas and yogurt. Needless to say, walk postponed and Christian is in bed!

No Daycare For the Kids

So after much discussion (ok really yelling but shhh) it has been decided that since I do not have a first shift job we will not put the kids in daycare. It would be costing us 352.00 a week and well I take home a bit less some weeks and a just a teeny bit more other weeks. I have decided that if I do get an offer for an interview I will have to decline at this point because if I am at home Catherine is in morning kindergarten and if she is at daycare she is in afternoon kindergarten and I do not want to switch her up halfway through. So another 9 months at least home continues.

Once again I ask how do I not have a drinking problem?

Today at Stop and Shop with Catherine and Christian. Help me Lord Jesus, I am trying hard not to pull them out of the car carriage and smack them both! It would not be nearly as bad except the folks commenting either directly to me or even worse the ones that cannot face me and snidely say something to someone else like "that is why people should not bring kids to the grocery store". Well to that stupid BITCH...hire me a babysitter I can trust and you can pay the 15.00 an hour she gets and I will leave the kids at home.

The girl is definately a hunter

So I am sure I have shared in the past the love for animals Catherine has...I am not talking cats and dogs, I am talking deer and pigs...I am not talking Bambi and Babe I am talking lunch and dinner. Well it was once again proven today she will be hunting with her father soon enough. Jason called us all upstairs this morning to watch a doe eat the food he had laid out. Well all was silent and Catherine and Jason exchange these words:
Catherine: daddy what are you waiting for...get your gun and shoot her
Jason: it is not hunting season yet honey
Catherine: that's ok we won't tell, she will probably be gone by hunting season so you better get her now
Jason: no, i need to wait
Catherine: oh ok then.

Summer is winding down

Camp is all over, time to relax.
A trip to the zoo with Keri, Julie and all the kids on Monday!
Daycare starts for both kids on the 31st
Catherine's big day at school is the 1st!
Really so first shift job I am ready for you to fall out of the sky and into my lap!

Attention any grandmas that may read this (not sure if there is any but just in case):
Please note there is a difference between spoiling the grand kids and just going against what mom has told them! I will accept after dinner when it is close to bedtime and you give them oreos after I have told them no...however when I say no to junk food before dinner (10 minutes before dinner) and you ignore me and then dinner is not eaten that really ticks me off!
That is all. Thank you for listening to my vent.

So I spank Christian because he is once again screeching and well I am hoping a good smack will get him to realize that it is not OK to do that indoors and what does Catherine do, she hugs him and takes the boo boo away. Funniest part less than 24 hours ago she was wishing him away because she did not love him.

Why does my 5 year old talk like a valley girl?

The end of swimming

So yesterday, after the lifeguard and I had to save the poor girl because she hit a dip in the sand out in the water, Catherine had an amazing swim lesson! I was so proud of her. Well today was a 40/60 flop. She did well for some but not most.
Next week is back to one final week of camp.

Swimming week 1

So I did not realize I did not post about the rest of her swimming. Well besides learning to blow bubbles it really was not anything productive. Yes she learned to kick in the water but without the kick board she could not do it and whenever the teacher looked away from her she walked instead. That was day 2. Day 3 because of work :( I was later for her lesson. So she went to the later one instead. Well that was very unproductive. Instead of swimming out to the dock like everyone else she got a ride on the life guards board and I am pretty sure she only jumped into the water from the dock once into the teachers arms and none by herself.
Let's see what week 2 brings starting tomorrow.
What can you really expect for $20 a week. Maybe I will look into something more real this winter at a Y!

Daycare

It has been decided that I will be putting them in daycare starting on the 31st of this month. Mainly because I am trying very hard to find a 1st shift job at work. I just cannot do this 3rd shift with little sleep anymore. I have yet to tell Catherine. I think (well hope) she will be excited. Christian is going to have a huge problem however I am hoping it does not last long.
This leads to my very picky eaters. Last time Catherine was in daycare she was young enough for the Gerber Graduates so lunch was easy. Now not so much and well she will not be as hard but still difficult as Christian. Him, not sure what I will send for lunch besides chicken nuggets every day. We shall see.

Day 1

Well after Catherine's first swimming lesson it was decided by me she will go down to the first level. On the paper it sounded too easy...however my daughter is just like her beloved resting in heaven Grandma Cathy (my mom and her namesake) in hating having her head in the water...so level 1 will be better fir her. She had a good time, just think it will be more productive this way.

We are back

Well we have been back since Thursday afternoon. Christian was really not feeling great and missing mommy so we came back early. We had a great time... will have to post some pictures once I fix the scanner (did not plan on taking pictures so did not bring a camera but then bought one of those disposable ones after all LOL).
Catherine has been running a fever now since last night. It was high last night and then low grade this morning but now it is high again. The other complaints were a stomach ache last night and a head ache this morning but nothing else. We shall see.

Catherine and I saw Ice Age 3! Very good movie.
Christian definitely has pink eye (or some type of eye infection) and a fever on top of it now. He is on eye ointment and Tylenol. Poor pumpkin. Not sure if I should leave him tomorrow now. I will see how he is in the morning.

Where have we been?

All sorts of places.
Catherine has attended camp for the past few weeks.
We have been at the beach for the past few weeks.
And well in less than 48 hours Catherine and I will be going to PA for a vacation (without the boys)! We will be visiting the family I was a nanny for (who is like family so really I should just say we will be visiting family) and then heading to Sesame Place for 2 days!
Christian will be with Jason at my in laws so Jason's dad can watch him during the days for us.
Speaking of Christian...I think he is rebelling us going without him. He was stung by a bee (in his diaper area) 3x, it does not look pretty. And well now he has either developed a cold or pink eye in his eye. It is not pink as of yet however there is green mucus discharging from it. I will be bringing him to the doctor (and if I cannot get an appt for the morning to the walk in clinic) to determine exactly what it is.

4th of July

So minus fireworks at Disney (which most of the time the Catherine has been asleep or the fireworks revolve around a special presentation such as Fantasia) the kids saw there first fireworks last night. They both enjoyed it very much!

Catherine's first week of camp

Well minus me oversleeping and not picking her up on time today her first week was a success. She went Monday thru Friday 9-2:30. She swam and went to the park everyday and did arts and crafts and games. However from what she told me she did not like playing the games so she watched instead. Ok, fine with me. As long as she had fun and she did! And the best part was the rain held out each day until after I picked her up!

In honor of Ava Rose's upcoming party

Catherine's song this morning:
Rain rain go away and come back again on Father's Day!

Warning this will be gross to some...moms I am sure you have worse!

So this morning on the way home from my inlaws (that is where the kids slept and I picked them up from) Christian first gagged himself a little. I told him to stop because this is something he typically does to get my attention. Next thing projectial vomit of bananas, toast and applejuice came on out all over him, his carseat and my backseat!
Dawn I honestly do not think either one of us will eat a banana again any time soon! The smell was awful!

Are we going to jail?

So this weekend while Dawn was up for a visit/birthday celebration/wedding shower...she informed Catherine that she has to be good or a police man will come take her to jail where she will eat cold oatmeal and yucky peaches, sleep on old newspaper and watch a broken tv. Well sure enough today on the way to the doctor office I got pulled over for what he claimed was failing to stop at a stop sign and speeding...which honestly I do not know if it is true or not. Catherine's first thought and question to me was about going to jail, eating cold oatmeal and yucky peaches, sleeping on old newspaper and watching broken tv. Luckily for all of us I only got a warning.

Summer dilema

So I have yet to sign Catherine up for camp yet. Deadline is today. Her form is still here with really no money to pay for it and her physical form is sitting at the doctor office in Bristol (40 minutes away) needing to be picked up. She has not asked about camp however I feel I cannot let her down.

Little Bear Gym

 
 
 
 

Catherine's party with family and friends at Little Bear Gym

 
 
 
 

Final pictures of Catherine's big day

Couple more at kid city and her birthday cake at grandma's.
 
 
 
 

Continue once again of Catherine's big day

Lunch with Papa and visit to kid city
 
 
 
 

Continue of her big day

Manicure part 2