Privacy

I'm planning to make this blog private in the near future.  In order to do that, I need to invite specific people to be able to access the blog.  If you are a frequent visitor, and would like access, please leave me a comment here with your email and I will send you an invite.  You will get notice through your email and will use your email address to sign in.  I will not post for a while on here to give people time give me their email addresses.  I hate to do this but it seems necessary due to some people's lack of respect!  Sucks huh!  Anyway, I will be having surgery soon and in a few weeks, once I'm recovered, I'll privatize this blog and post some updates!

This past weekend while staying at my parents' house, the boys slept in the same bed together. I had to get a picture as it was one of the cutest things I had ever seen!

I love being a mom

On mother's day, I spent all day with my kids and my family. It was perfect and wonderful and everything I had hoped for!
I got special cards from everyone, and tickets to see Keith Urban in July! thank you Alex!

We had brunch in Lancaster with my sister and her family and with my mom and dad.

We then came home in the afternoon, got into some comfy picnic clothes and had a picnic in Rittenhouse Square. We played soccer and ate sandwiches and it was fantastic!

Then we walked to Rita's and got some water-ice. Perfect end to a perfect day!

My sister's kids

I love it when my sister asks me to take nice pictures of her kiddos!
Not only are they two of my favorite kids,

but they are really adorable too!

Bode listens very nicely,

and he kept saying "cheeeburger hamburger"...to cute!

I love her little nose!

A beautiful family!

Mothers Day

I had to share this card I got for my mom. It is the MOST PERFECT card I've ever found and it says everything I feel for my mom. Here goes:

"Mom, from you I have learned that fearlessness isn't about being unafraid,

it's about doing what needs to be done in spite of the fear.

Today I celebrate your bravery.

From you I have learned that being strong isn't about being unbreakable,

it's about picking up the pieces qand creating something better

and more beautiful than what was there in the beginning.

Today I celebrate your strength.

Today I celebrate everything I've learned from you, my courageous and beautiful mom!"

~Amy Kolz

Buh-Bye crib!

So my boys are both sleeping in big boy beds!
Charlie has been in a realy bed since before Aaron was here (almost 3 years old)...btu we had thought we'd keep Aaron in a crib until he was 5...(just kidding but not really!)

but, the last few weeks, he has not been sleeping so well in the crib...he stays up late talking, hasn't napped well, etc. We joked about maybe he was ready for the bed but weren't planning to do it. The thought of Aaron possibly on the loose late at night was terribly scary!

One night I came home from a meeting at work and it was 10pm and he was still up there talking. So I put him in the bed and he was asleep in seconds. Total fluke I'm sure! The next two night were a bit rocky. Found him asleep in the hallway, etc...but it's been ok so far. I know even with Charlie who was the easiest kid with everything, it took several weeks till bedtime was smoothe and easy. It's a work in progress, especially with Aaron! i'm taking the crib apart tomorrow! Bittersweet, but mostly sweet!

My future's so bright...

Easter Antics

Passover blues

Our passover this year was not as fun as it normally is...Aaron had pneumonia caused by Croup that he had a few weeks prior, and a double ear infection. Poor Kailani (my niece) had the freakin chicken pox...poor baby! I offered to take Kailani for two days since Christy couldn't send her to daycare and she needed to work. So I stayed home with the sick babies and sent Charlie and Alex to the Seder both the first and second nights of Passover. Above Charlie is showing me his "ready stance" for martial arts...

and here, he is showing off how handsome he is! I got this shirt/tie for him thinking it would be adorable and I was right! The first night of Passover is a big family "reunion" of sorts. Everyone is there who we usually only see once a year. This year, Charlie said the four questions in English and it was great (from what I hear). I didn't have much time to work on it with him. I planned on needing weeks and with Aaron being sick for over 3 weeks with Croup and now pneumonia, and with my various injuries/accidents...I just didn't get to it until a few days before the Seder. That's all I needed anyway. Oh my, this kid has a brain like a sponge. He remembers things so easily and retains the information over so many days! He stood up on a chair and grabbed the microphone and recited them from memory in front of a large crowd. Althought I wasn't there, I was so proud!

He did it again the second night, a Seder held at my brother-in-laws house. Aaron and I were not there again as he was still sick and Kailani was still with us. I wish I had seen it in person but hearing about how great he was is fun too! So proud of my little man who seems completely unfazed by things that would make other kids, and adults alike, nervous wrecks!

The animals

Poor Sidney puppy. James the bunny is very interested in mating with her. He doesn't seem to care that she is fixed, or that she's a dog. He wants to mate and he tries quite often!
He's a fun rabbit, and very sweet...but come on James! Charlie is constantly remarking, "mommy, James is on Sidney's back"...I dont want to have to explain sex to my kids because of the damn rabbit!

I need to talk to the vet next time we do and see what he thinks...

we might have to neuter him!

Big boy room

I recently painted the boys' room. I took down the cute safari border and covered up all the pale green nursery color.
I took down the valences and painted the room to be fit for two big boys! It was nice making the change after 5+ years! I feel like we are moving past having babies and gearing up to have two big boys! Kind of sad, kind of cool!

I love how the colors turned out, and once the crib is gone, the room will look a whole lot bigger! I still have the ceiling to paint but I am going to do that in another year or so once they are less nap dependent and I can take the covers off the sky-lights.

I also want to get new carpeting but, one thing at a time!

Trying to be a trooper...

This is going to be a venting post, because I don't know what else to do! If you don't want to read it, don't! I won't be offended.

So I love to run. I ran alot before November 2010. I ran one marathon and was training for more. I ran the Broad Street Run every year, and running made me happy. It relived my stress, kept me fit, gave me a release when I was having a tough day, and it was something for me to do for me, by myself. Then I was told by a doctor that I shouldn't ever run again. My right foot was fractured from overuse, I had a large heel spur, and terrible arthritis. My feet looked like they belonged to an aged person on X-ray, not a 30 year old young person. If I didn't stop, I would risk permanent damage and disability sooner than later.

Scared the shit out of me so I stopped running. It was hard. It sucked. And it still sucks. I see people out running and I call them nasty names in my head. I hear about peoples' personal bests and I want to punch them...really, I do. I am so mad that I can't run. I was good at it, even though it took me a long time to get good, I was good at distance and enjoyed what it did for me. So I stop running and turn to the bike.

I bought a bike last summer to give me more cross training options, and to give me a way to get to and from work without having to drive all the time. I like the bike, I'm decent at it, I have strong legs and good stamina so it wasn't bad. I signed up for a 50 mile ride, had plans for longer rides, and then I got hit by a car riding my bike to work. I am fine, my bike is relatively fine (needs some work that will happen next week hopefully), but my spirit was a bit crushed. It was a "hit and run", it was scary, thank God I wear a helmet, and I was banged up for a week...only recently did I stop getting dizzy every day from the concussion.

I also recently (February) joined the same gym that Charlie gets his martial arts training from. I planned to learn the art of Muay Thai, while also doing kettle bell classes. This was new for me as I had NEVER done a group class before and didn't know how I would like the dynamic. It took a few weeks before I really liked it and felt confident that I would continue to improve, and the past few weeks have been amazing (aside from the week I was off after being hit by the car). I am getting stronger, have good form and am learning and remembering the moves.

Tuesday afternoon, I went to a class and felt great. At the very end of the class I was throwing a kick and my left knee (which was stationary) hyper-extended, I felt a pop, and fell to the ground. It was the creepiest sensation I've ever had and it was impossible for me to put any weight on it. I didn't have any real pain, just total instability of the leg. I wrapped my leg and hobbled home, pissed off that, once again, I was injured. I hoped it would be brief and I'd be back in class next week. Now as I am typing this, I'm not so sure. Wednesday was a rough day. The knee hurts, it is totally unstable, and my range of motion is less and less. I fear that it's a real injury and that I'm going to be off my feet for a while.

Of course it'll take forever to find out. Insurance makes you gets x-rays first before you can even make an appointment with an orthopedist. I don't want to waste that time. I don't want to sit around for two weeks waiting for the insurance to tell me I can have a test or not. I am just so damn mad that I am hurt again!

I'm not reckless. I'm not foolish. I take good care of myself. Why can't I just do what I want to do and not have injury after injury plague me? I hate being slowed down at home and work, I hate not being able to exercise and get that release that I need. I just hate it all. It really pisses me off! I was so angry today and so frustrated by my pain and discomfort. I tried really hard to focus on the good things, two adorable kids, beautiful home, supportive husband, wonderful family, blah blah blah. I just want to freakin' work out and not have my body fall apart! I've had so many damn injuries in my life it's ridiculous. My body couldn't even do pregnancy without lots of drama.

I know that things could be worse and I should just be grateful for what I have and that I'm alive, but here's where the warning at the beginning of the post comes in...I don't want to hear about that. Anyone who has some idea how to come to peace with all of this, I am all ears. I need to just be ok and deal and cope with this but right now, I'm just mad!

Sorry to be so whiny but I needed to get this out there, off my chest, and into someone else's ears!

what to do on an 80 degree spring day...

This past monday, the weather was PERFECT! The kids were home from school and full of crazy energy. It's like they knew how awesome the day was about to be!

So after Aaron's speech therapy, we headed to one of our favorite places...the Zoo!

The baby spider tortoises are getting bigger and bigger!

The boys love the Treehouse...we love that it's members only so none of the school groups can come in! There were about 50 school buses there with lots of school kids!

Charlie rode on the gator...he was sad that the snake basket was taken up...it's his favorite!

Aaron was happy to have dirt to play with while we waited to ride the train. We also rode a draft horse!

This polar bear was named "snorey lazerson" by Charlie. He/she literally didn't move the whole 1/2 hour we watched the polar bears.

This one was named "splashy splasherson" by Charlie and he/she kept us very entertained the whole time. There was alot of splashing and throwing the ball and doing flips underwater with it. So adorable!

Our favorite part of the day by far!