Sadie loves snow

Good thing too, because this was the Longest. Winter. Ever.

Birthmark

Birthmark, a photo by sjross on Flickr.

Left pic is from January. Right is from today, one week after laser treatment.

Happy 100th day of school!

100th Day
Originally uploaded by sjross

Winter

Thank you Judith...you're amazing.

Snow days...

When I was a kid, they were the MOST fun. Ever. As a mom, not so much. Not because I don't want my child @ home. That's not it at all. But Josh seems to have a higher expectation of fun than he does on a regular day at home. And I'm sad to say, we don't have neighborhood friends, and so the onus is on us to entertain. And we so totally DON'T. And as a result I'm stressed, crabby, tired...a hot mess.

So now I present to you, 3 stupid things that I did today, in no particular order:

1. Fed green beans to a baby wearing all white.
2. Took said baby's diaper off, THEN realized I didn't have a clean diaper. Ran to get a clean diaper, came back to pee on the floor. Awesome. I thought only boys did that?!
3. Gave my 2 year old a cup of milk at naptime because she BEGGED for it and I am a big old sucker. Then heard "Mommy, my bed's all wet!" and discovered she opened the cup and dumped it in her bed, hoping for a get-out-of-jail-free card. No such luck.

And now naps. For everyone of them. Even the 6 year old. Hmm...maybe even me.

Sadie is two

Oh by the way...

I forgot to mention a few rather significant things that happened in the past year or so. Sorry, what can I say...we've been busy.

September 2009 - Happy first birthday to Sadie. Oh by the way, I'm pregnant. I know we thought we were done, and I'm nursing, and have no cycle, and this is just slightly short of the immaculate conception, but there it is.

And then in June 2010 -

Talking about Daddy & Josh

Talking about Daddy & Josh
Originally uploaded by sjross

They're big...they're bad...but they're not ugly.

Josh's 5 year checkup -
47.5" tall (2 inches OFF chart - he's the size of an average 7 year old)
52 lbs. Seriously. I'm going to get a hernia if I lift him again.

Sadie's 15 month -
23 lbs (5oth %ile)
32" long (90th %ile)
And as usual, her head was off the chart. But I knew that - I had to cut the neck of an 18m shirt yesterday to get her giant melon out.

Tonight's bedtime routine

1. Put Sadie to bed.
2. Thought the dog had a mouse; let out blood-curling scream. Woke up Sadie. Repeated step 1. (Note: not a mouse - just a rawhide chew.)
3. Opened very, very, very old sippy cup of milk which exploded in my face. Promptly threw up. Cleaned mess and self.
4. Stepped in dog vomit on the way out of the bathroom. Slipped and fell. Shrieked. Woke up Sadie. Again.
5. Cleaned mess and self. Again.
6. Repeated step 1. Again.
7. Put Josh to bed. FINALLY.
8. Dangerously close to putting self to bed. What a freaking day. Except that wasn't even a day - that was like 15 very, very long minutes.

Happy birthday, Sadie

09.09.09*, Sadie turned one. How can that be? I though Josh's first year went fast, but with the two of them running around like mad people, this year just flew. So what's new and exciting with my beautiful princess?

• She has been walking for months. Seriously - almost two months. She's fast as lightening. It's scary.
• She is chock-full of attitude. She's a spicy one. But we knew that from the beginning. She's got a mind of her own and she's stubborn as hell. I don't mind so much - the apple doesn't fall far, know what I mean? I may eat those words when she's a teenager, but for now, I enjoy how feisty she is.
• She's little. Well, by normal standards, she's perfectly average. 50th percentile, average. But by Ross standards, she's teeny tiny. Except for her head, which continues to defy odds in the 97th percentile. As my sister ever-so-affectionately said, she's a lollipop.
• She still is her brother's biggest fan...the more obnoxious he is, the more she encourages him. I find that mildly annoying.
• She's happy. So happy. Cheerful, loves people, engages total strangers everywhere she goes. She works the room at church on Sunday - traveling from person to person, holding hands, making eye contact, them moving on. It's pretty impressive - one day she'll be dangerous.
• I just can't imagine life without her.
  

*Yes, dude, I know. More than two weeks ago. And as much as I scoffed at the people who said "With your second, ..." They were right. It's not because the first was more important, by any stretch of the imagination. It's just that having one can be rather dull - and my first slept all the freaking time. So I had a lot of time to blog, write baby books, make albums, whatever. This time around, not so much.

Ten Years

wedding3
Originally uploaded by sjross

Isn't it sad that our life has gotten so busy that I didn't even find 10 minutes to acknowledge that we've now been married for TEN YEARS.

Happy 10th babe - it's been amazing. I'm so very thankful for my life with you and our children. I'm so glad I get to spend the next ten, twenty, fifty, forever with you...

What a day!

Sadie turned one.

Josh started school.

and we got a dog.

I suspect that tomorrow will look rather dull by comparison.

Take a hike

A brief, and rather blurry, cell phone video...mainly for the grands that haven't seen Sadie walking yet. She still looks like Frankenstein, but she's got it about mastered.

Remembering

It's been two years. Sometimes it feels a million years away, and sometimes I feel like I just got punched in the stomach.

Isabel's death & birth have changed me forever, and I can't ever again be who I was. Sometimes I want to go back, to undo it, to skip over that part of my life. But then there'd be no Sadie. So I can't...instead I'm stuck in the middle. Isabel is there and she's not...and that's the way it will be forever.

And I'm learning to live with that, somewhat comfortably. For now, that's enough.

5 things that I have said during the course of today's nap...

...that I really, truly, never thought would come out of my mouth:

• "No, I will not smell your finger."
• "If it itches, you need to go wipe again."
• "Let go of your penis and put your head on your pillow."
• "Don't make me come in there."

and lastly...

• "Would you like some Benadryl?"
  

Captain Awesome

Captain Awesome
Originally uploaded by sjross

Round #2

Well, the deals were so good this morning that I went back for more:

• 10 Edy's ice cream singles (because, umm, hello - $0.19 ice cream!)
• 2 Diet Cherry Cokes (drank one OTW home!)
• 2 Dry Idea deodorants
  
• 2 boxes of Kashi TLC cereal bars
• 3 boxes of Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal

In total, I spent $5.04 and I got a $5 ECB reward at CVS, so that's a net cost of only $0.04!

Man, I love a bargain.

Today was a very satisfying shopping day. Between Target & CVS, I hit the motherload. I bought:

• 8 boxes of Eggo Bake Shop products
• 2 Keebler Fudge Shop cookies
• 2 boxes of Kashi waffles
  
• 2 boxes of Kashi crackers
• 2 boxes of Kashi cereal bars
• 4 boxes of Kashi cereal
• 3 boxes of Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal
  
• 2 packages of Nexcare bandages
• 2 Dry Idea deodorants
  
• 4 single-serve Edy's ice creams

I spent a total of $22.50. There are an additional $15 in rebates & ECBs, so my net cost is only $7.50! I am pretty pumped about that, especially about all the Kashi products! I just might go back tonight for more...