Audrey got her ears pierced!

Last October I started thinking about getting Audrey's ears pierced. She was going to be the flower girl in my friend Jill's wedding...and she still had her baby hair (I am still waiting for thicker hair to grow) so in attempt to make her look more feminine I thought a pair of pearl earring would be perfect. But Audrey saw an episode of Jon + Kate plus 8 where one of their daughters got their ears pierced and she was too scared to get them done. So I kept at it, bribing her with all sorts of things and about 2 months ago I found something that worked. Chuck E Cheese's. Then it was just a matter of finding two employees at Piercing Pagoda at the same time (usually only on weekends). We went about 4 different times to get her ears pierced but each time there was only one employee. Finally, last night there were two. Audrey wasn't too excited to get them done (OK, she was clinging to me and crying her eyes out) but she did pick out some earrings (purple hearts...the one pair that I was hoping she would NOT pick out) and the lady was really good about getting Audrey to calm down. She sat in my lap, I could some how feel her ears being pierced and she started screaming. Then we showed her how she looked in the mirror, she got 2 blue lollipops, and she was as happy as can be. Part of the bribing was that she could ride some of the quarter rides, play at the playground, and get ice cream (we are going to Chuck E Cheese's tomorrow). All in all, it was soo much better than I thought it would be. I am so proud of my little peanut, and she LOVES her earrings.

OBX Days 2 + 3

Our 2nd Day at the Outer Banks did not have a great start...Travis broke the number 1 rule...NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING RACHEL (for no reason). I got over it, then we went down to the beach. The weather was perfect, and the kids loved it. The water was a little chilly for my liking.

Look at my little man sitting all by himself! (he was way to stiff for the first 9 months of his life to bend enough to sit)

I took Phoenix back up to the room so that he could take a much needed nap, and Travis and Audrey played at the beach and then the pool for a few hours (Audrey said that this was her favorite part about our little vacation). Audrey took a nap and when both kids woke up we went the the Wright Brothers Memorial Museum. Interesting stuff. Audrey was on her worst behavior, so we cut it a little short. Travis wasn't feeling too great, so we called it a night and after a nice walk on the beach we vegged out back at the hotel.

The next day I took Audrey for a walk on the beach (in case you haven't noticed, we like walks on the beach) and then we packed up. Before we left the Outer Banks we made a side trip to the campground that me and my family used to stay at when we would come every summer. Camping at the Outer Banks is one of the high lights of my childhood, my Dad made it a lot of fun. It is nice to live a little more simply for a week (but not when you have two young kids...maybe next year we will camp).

OBX Day 1

Some of you may that on me and my hunny celebrated 5 years of marriage last weekend. We had originally planned to do a romantic weekend away (meaning away from the kids) at Disney World but a few months ago (when Phoenix was not being the easiest baby) we decided against that idea. So we came up with the plan to go to the Outer Banks, a mere 3 hour drive, and take the kids (at least it would eliminate the stress of trying to find someone to watch them). We left last Friday and the drive was quite enjoyable. Both of the kids were really good in the car (surprisingly!). We got a hotel that was literally right on the beach, we got a 2 bedroom place (which turned out to be an awesome idea) and we were about 50 yards from the ocean. I feel like we were so spoiled, it will be hard to go back to the usual (aka parking far away). So we obviously went down to the beach right away when we got there.

Then we went out to eat at a local steakhouse/seafood place.

(the waitress brought Audrey a bowl of cucumber slices...which Audrey LOVED!)

We told our waitress that it was our anniversary and that Audrey had a birthday a few days earlier, so at the end of the dinner she brought us 3 balloons (I would have preferred a dessert...but the balloons were a nice thought). Audrey immediately released them...

and they got caught around a birds neck (don't worry though, I am 95% positive that the bird was fake).

We were exhausted by the end of the night!

to be continued...

Audrey's Birthday

For the last two weeks I have been occupied with Audrey's Birthday party. I am glad to say that it is over, and it seemed like all of the kids had a good time at the party (especially Audrey). I put a lot of time and effort into it, but Audrey was involved in pretty much everything, and I know that she appreciated it all (she kept saying "thank you!"). She told me everyone that she wanted to invite, I picked the theme (or color scheme rather...I couldn't come up with a good theme). She chose chocolate cake with white frosting and a strawberry filling (I once made a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and I think that is where she got the idea from). I had to make up my own "recipe" for the filling because all of the recipes I found online tasted like strawberry jam, and I wanted a fresh strawberry taste. The cake turned out OK, I really prefer white cake though. I made Audrey a special birthday skirt, and the flower barrettes in her hair, they turned out almost exactly as how I had wanted them to, so I was pleased with that. For a gift I made her a fleece "coat of many colors" based off of the one that Donny Osmond sports in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor dream coat. It was literally the fastest and easiest sewing project, it took less than half an hour. Before she would make me tie her most colorful blanket around her when she watched the movie.

I could not find some cute pink paper for the life of me, so I had to use the plain pink...but it turned out OK. I got this new thing that laminates, makes things into stickers, or magnets. So, I took advantage of the magnet maker and made a business card size reminder for each invite. I also used my trusty cricut for a few things.

Audrey was VERY involved with the cake making process...

Audrey had been wanting to go to Chili's for at least a month so we took her there the night before her birthday (the waitress said "Is it your birthday little man?"...I guess the pony tail, the pink shirt, and the pink jacket weren't strong enough indications of Audrey's gender).

I stayed up quite late (or early depending on how you look at it) getting the decorations assembled and up. Audrey was so happy when she came downstairs on her birthday.

Instead of playing pin-the-tail on the donkey I did a spin off and we played pin the bee on the flowers. I think it turned out absolutely adorable and the kids loved it. Hopefully by next year I will have enough cake decorating skills to do a more elaborate (and accurate) cake.

Here is the birthday girl with a few of her presents...

I know that Audrey had a great birthday, and I am already planning her party next year (a daisy themed non-tea tea party).

Audrey's Pictures

This morning Audrey wanted to hold Phoenix, so she got ready (which is her sitting against a wall) and held the little guy. "Take a picture of us!" she said. After I took a few shots of them, she wanted to take some pictures of me and Phoenix, so I let her. I think she did a great job.

One of the many items on her birthday list is a pink camera (what is she going to ask for when she is a teenager?!?). Before today she had never taken a picture, but this makes me want to get a camera for her (obviously a kid proof one). But she already wants a Tinkerbell car, sparkly pink crocs, a Jonas Brothers book (I am still scratching my head over that one), a Hannah Montana book, and a bunch of little gadgets. So the camera might have to wait for next year.

Naughty land

When my baby sister, Joanna, was a young toddler I would give her baths when my parents were out of town (I am 8 years older than her). She loved baths, and it was really hard to get her out (I of course did everything I could to keep her from crying). So a solution I thought up was to turn the vent on and pretend it was a monster. It worked like a charm. She was scared enough to get out of the water quickly, but she still had fun with it. I am pretty sure that she has not lasting damage from it either (I could be wrong...only time will tell).

I am the type of Mom that bribes, or threatens. I usually do a combo if I want fast results. Lately I have been trying to get Audrey to do chores (pick up the diapers scattered EVERYWHERE in our house, help me with the dishwasher, and keep her room clean). She gets a quarter every Saturday if she does a pretty good job throughout the week (I obviously am taking advantage of the fact that she thinks its a lot of money). She picks up the diapers really well, and she is pretty good about unloading her dishes out of the dishwasher (as long as I remind her to do it), but she is really bad about keeping her room clean, in fact I swear it has gotten messier. She will cry and cry and beg me to help her and when I do she lays on the ground and watches me clean. She is always "too bored" or "too tired" to clean. So in the hopes of getting her to help me clean her room I invented a song called "Naughty land" (I have the very useful talent of being able to make up with songs on the spot, Audrey LOVES my songs...Travis hates them). I sung the song in a raspy shouty rocker voice and tried to make Naughty land sound like a scary place (think Pinocchio), I told her that if she was naughty they would come pick her up in a bus and take her to naughty land. She loved the idea of riding in a bus (a big oops on my part) and she totally was fascinated by it. Despite my efforts, she did not clean up her room, and she wants to go to Naughty land. Talk about major backfire.

So I came up with a new plan. Stick her toys in her closet and lock them in there...until she is willing to pick them up after she is done playing with them. She didn't seem to mind, and now I don't have to clean her room.

Play time

These two kiddos have so much fun with each other. Audrey, as you can see, loves getting down to Phoenix's level to play "baby" with him.

It's Official...

Phoenix is a "Mama's Boy". Since he was born me and Travis have played a little game where we take turns holding him and the person who is not holding him tries to get Phoenix to reach out for them. Until today it has been pretty even.

This evening before Travis went upstairs to put the little guy down to bed we decided to play yet another round of "choose who you want to go to". Phoenix reached out for me every time, and cuddled into my shoulder when Travis reached for him. Then Travis came over and hugged both of us, and gave me a kiss on the lips. Phoenix pushed him out of the way, and grabbed my chin and pulled me in for the wettest kiss ever (think Dumb + Dumber). It was one of the top moments of my life.

This morning I was frustrated with Phoenix because he was exhausted but he was fighting going to sleep with all the strength he had. I am really glad that I know that he loves me. It makes those difficult moments easier.

And don't worry Trav, I know that our little guy loves you, and I know you two will be best buds. But I will enjoy this mama's boy stage while it lasts...

Frazzled

defination: to put in a state of extreme physical or nervous fatigue.

I have been using that word a lot lately. I am not really sure where I picked it up from, but it seems like such a perfect word for how I feel sometimes.

Travis works pretty much all day every day...he usually doesn't get home until late in the evening on weekday nights so once the weekend rolls around I am more than ready for a break from the kiddos (no offence to them of course) and I am more than ready to spend some time with my sweetie.

On Saturday we had worked on a few things around the house and decided that we needed to go to Home Depot (I swear I go there every other day now!). It really was a one man (or woman) job, but we decided to go together. I know I didn't want to stay home by myself with the little ones, and I am pretty sure Travis didn't either.

To make a long and boring story short, Audrey was constantly whining the whole time, and Phoenix was crying full blast in the car for a solid 20-25 minutes. No amount of loud music can drown it out. (He no longer takes naps in the car) It is moments like those, especially at the end of a long week when I just want to relax, that I feel frazzled.

I saw on Jon & Kate Plus 8 (may it rest in peace) that Jon and Kate would wear ear plugs for road trips. Inspired. Maybe I will join a gym to...

Travy-D turns 2-9

Yesterday we celebrated my sweetie's 29th birthday. All day I thought about how lucky I am to have Travis in my life. He stayed busy throughout the day, and then we went out to eat at TGI Fridays where we both ate way too much.

He said that his best birthday present was having us (me and the kids) in his life.

Happy Birthday Travis!

Another Week in Review

So...we had another decently busy week...hence this recap post...

Janae and her family stayed with us for a few days before leaving to AZ and then settling in PA. It is sad that they will be further away, but we are excited for them (and at least they are still in driving distance).

(Audrey cuddling with Tallulah)

Audrey finally found some accessories for Phoenix's hair ...

(I am surprised she even got them to stay on!)



We got attacked by pollen...

and we discovered that Phoenix can feed himself...

A Week In Review

We had a very fun, and a very busy week. My sisters, Jessie and Leah came to visit and both of their hunnies came out to!

Of course me and my sisters hit the mall (they are the best shopping buddies!). I didn't take any pictures of that though.

We took a little walk around Lake Johnson...



We went to the Zoo...

and of course we hit up the beach!

I am pretty sure that everyone was exhausted by the end of the week. I know I am! It is always awesome when my family comes for a visit, and it is always so sad when they leave.