7 Years

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!! Amazing how 7 years have come and gone. I look at all the things that have come and gone through the years. The friends who stuck by me through my pregnancy, birth and passing of you. Many have left our lives, never to return. Some remember out of guilt. Others forget completely. Its hard that they don't honor, love, cherish, remember you as I do. The tears may not always be visible, the heartache I have with you not here might not always show. Its hard to have those forget about you sweet baby girl. To remember the love I had for you. The fight I gave you of every moment of every passing day until your last breath. The tears I shed for you and over you. I look at all you have missed in the last 7 years. Wondering if you peek down from heaven time to time to watch. Do you know of your baby sisters and brothers? Do you watch over them and love them as if you were still with us? Your big sister Olivia loves you unconditionally and talks about you often. Telling stories that only she can. The younger kiddos now talk to you as if they have known you forever.

Seven years ago I was blessed to be a mom for the second time. 7 years ago I knew that from the moment you were born my life would never ever be the same. I knew that my heart would never heal from losing you. I was one of the few lucky ones. I was able to hold you, kiss you, love you. I was able to enjoy the few moments, days and weeks I had with you before you left us. 7 years seems so far away but yet so close. 7 years of memories we made while you were here. And so many while you were gone. 7 years.....until we see each other again my little one. I love you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2011

Halloween this year was up in the air. We usually spend it with some friends in Lincoln but planned changed this year as they decided to hang out with some local friends from school.

I decided that it was a good year to kind of break our yearly tradition of going out trick-or-treating. The kids aren't big candy eaters and it being in the house would only give me the chance to gain 5 pounds by eating it all myself. I really didn't want that.

So all week long leading up to Halloween, including Halloween day. I told the kids we weren't going to go out. I wasn't really feeling the trick-or-treating this year. We really don't have a neighborhood to trick-or-treat in. Thankfully we were invited to some friends house in Smithfield to join them if we changed our minds.

At 6pm. After telling the kids since they game home from school that we weren't going. I decided at the last minute to find whatever I could for costumes, pack the kids up and head to Jason's old neighborhood. This was for a few reasons (more on this later) and I am so glad we did. The kids had a great time. We met some wonderful people who still remembered Jason growing up there. We were in and out and finished in less then 20 minutes. We pulled into our house at 8pm and the kids were settled and in bed by 8:30pm. Talk about a pretty easy no hassle evening. The kids each took turns knocking on doors and ringing bells. In the time we were their we were offered two cats, a dog and a turtle. As much as we would have loved the extra animals in our house, we graciously turned them down. I guess when you have 5 kiddos, people just think you need a few extra pets as well. :-)

I didn't get many photos but here are a few of the small kiddos all dressed up. Olivia was a Pumpkin princess, Emma-James was a dinosaur, Owen was a dragon, Ezme was a giraffe and Oliver was a Kangaroo. Total cost in costumes this year..............$0!!!!! Love it!!!

Ezme the Giraffe (2 years old)

 

Oliver the Kanagroo (14 months old)

 

For fun I also made these "MUMMY DOGS" for the kids for lunch. There just hotdogs wrapped in dough. They loved them!!

 

Owen Turns 4!!

My little man isn't so little anymore. I cannot believe my first little guy to come into our family is already 4 years old. It amazes me everyday how much he fit right into this family. After a flurry of pinks and purples, baby dolls and tea sets. I was ready to have a boy. Being a tomboy myself, I never did think I could live up to all the frilly things girls tend to gravitate too.

Owen has been a true blessing to our family. He is easy to please, easy going, laid back kind of boy. Much like his daddy. We always call him the "old man of the family" Owen is not afraid to speak his mind. Especially to his very loud, very opinionated big sisters (and little sister too). He will clearly tell them "I want my peace and quiet!!" while we are in the car or at the house doing things. He is set in his ways. Supper at 6pm. Bedtime at 7pm. He is almost always the first dressed, teeth brushed, and ready in bed waiting for his "kissy and huggy" before falling asleep. We finally found trough trial and error that my little man had some sleep apnea going on. Despite him going to bed fairly early and sleeping through the night, he was still waking up grouchy and tired. After one night of going in to check up on him, I noticed he stopped breathing for a good 30 seconds, would sit up, cough uncontrollably and then fall back asleep. He did this for weeks on end. I finally made an appointment to see our doctor. And I am really glad we did. We discovered he had large adenoids and tonsils and was put on nasal spray. I swear, the first night we used it was the best nights sleep he had gotten in over a year. I didn't want to believe it would work that fast. So we continued using it. And within a month he was a whole entirely new kid. We decided to take a month off, and it was the worse thing we could have done. We wanted to see if his change in behavior was really the medicine or just a change in life. Within a week, it was clear to us that it was the medicine (or lack of). We had to put him back on it. And I am so glad we did. He is breathing better. No more coughing or choking at night. No more periods of not breathing. I can sleep better knowing he is ok.

We went for a follow-up and 4 year well check at our doctors office and I was amazed to see that my little guy grew not only 4 inches but gained over 6 pounds in just 4 months!!!!! Talk about a major growth spurt. We also figured out a lot of his behavior was due to a major change in his body and lack of quality sleep. Owen has accomplished a few big milestones. The biggest being him potty training himself!! Even at night too! Owen can also:

*Pump to swing
*Ride a bike
*recognizes almost all his letters
*Can write his name
*draws most shapes (circle, square, triangle)
*draws a self portrait with 7 recognizable body parts (including a belly button)

I am just amazed how how much my little man has changed over the last 4 years. Here is a look back to my little boy growing up.

Owen just minutes old

 

Daddy holding Owen for the first time. My handsome men!!

 

Mommy holding her first little guy for the first time. I was really excited to finally have a little boy. It was getting kind of dreary with all the pink

 

Owen at the Roger Williams Zoo hanging out with the other kiddos for Spooky Weekend

 

Owen 1 month old

 

Owen 3 months old

 

Owen 6 months old and crawling. He started moving at 5 months old. I think it was because he wanted to keep up with his big sisters

 

Owen's 1st Birthday

 

Owen 18 months old. Enjoying the 4th of July Parade at my parents house. He had to bring "baby" with him to watch too

 

Owen 2 years old

 

Handsome little man Owen at 2 1/2 hanging out watching the "BIG TRUCKS" dig a whole in front of our house. He had the best seat around. On top of my washer/dryer

 

Owen 3 years old. And still such a handsome little man.

 

Owen 3 1/2 with his favorite friend Ducky

 

Owen 4 years old. Such a handsome man!

 

HOUSE PICTURES

House Pictures Part 1

House Pictures Part 2

House Pictures Part 3

Our bathroom and master bedroom is missing along with a front picture of my home and a backyard picture. Maybe I will try to get those on sometime this week. Enjoy!

Today's Weigh In

Its been a week since I started back on my "Healthy Living" Diet and weight loss. I have to say, I rocked this week!!! My agenda was to get myself on a good schedule and I think I did pretty good. I didn't' get a chance to walk everyday, but I made sure if I wasn't able to walk, that I was doing some sort of physical activity that would get me moving. Raking leaves, working on the backyard cleaning up for the winter. Trust me, I managed to work up a good sweat!!

Stats so Far:


August 23rd-194.8

September 26th-185.8

October 10th-182.4

Goal Weight by October 31st(HALLOWEEN)-175

In one weeks time I lost 3.4 pounds and an inch on my waist. I currently have a size 10 pair of pants that fit me but I ended up shrinking to a size 8. Which wasn't fun because I loved these particular pair of pants. So my goal right now is to fit into them by Halloween.

The biggest changes that I had to make again was "Stress Eating" "Snacking at night" and "MILK" all three of those things were pretty hard.

Currently I am taking my stress out on my sewing. Which keeps my fingers busy and tired by the end of the day. Since I am too tired at night to "snack" I just end up going to bed at a reasonable time. Usually between 9pm and 10pm. My job helps with that too since I have to get up early and walk before the kiddos come in the morning. Last is Milk. I gave up my 2% for Skim milk. Which helps too with how much milk we drink in the house. Which is A LOT. Currently I am drinking 8oz at breakfast and 8oz before bed. Milk is usually my liquid of choice so I am trying harder to drink water the rest of the day.

I am happy so far with how things are going. This month is turning out to be a stressful one, so if you have a moment, keep my encouragement up. Its going to be tough not to hit the chocolate on the hard days.

Selling our home Part 3

Did some number crunching. And as far as I can see I don't know how my husband who makes the amount he does with my current income and the only thing we can afford housing wise is anything that is below $70,000. HOW??? I wish I could look at our monthly bills and say "oh, we don't need that gym membership anymore" or "the kids can take a year off from swimming lessons" Basically, all of our current bills are non negotiable. WHICH SUCKS! I am frustrated that no matter how hard we try, we wont be leaving this home.

My only option and I am seriously thinking of this, is to put an offer on the house, with the stipulation it would be "rent to own" this would get us into the house we want without worrying right away about how we can come up with the money. I doubt the homeowners will go for this. But seeing how they are just moving into there parents home, it might be worth to try.

Feeling stuck is just not a fun thing.

Selling our home Part 2

We are currently looking for a private home inspector and appraiser. We don't want to get caught of guard by anything when and if we put the house on the market. It might be out of pocket expenses that we cannot really afford right now, but if it means a quick sale and things that we could fix now before a buyer comes along, its worth the money. Plus, with a appraiser we can find out what our home is really worth and see if its even possible to sell right now.

If you know of anyone in the Rhode Island area, please let me know.

Advice on Selling Your Home

Have you recently sold a house in the last year? Do you have some great advice on Do's and Don'ts of selling your home. You have come to the right place. I am all ears.

We would like to make a decision within the next week weather or not to put our house on the market now, or wait until spring. If we were to put our house on the market now, it will require a little extra work on our part to get the house ready for showings. Nothing major as I did most of it this summer. Just the cellar and odds and ends would need to be taken care of right away.

So if you have some great advice. Send it this way!!

CRAZY. LONG. WEEKEND!

This weekend is a busy one. Not only do I have my normal stuff to do. Dishes, Laundry, vacuuming. I need to make a trip to the Apple Store in Providence to see if I can get my ipod to work again. If not, then I guess I will be purchasing a new one instead of saving to get an ipad. I need something right away to keep track of day to day stuff, so its not something I can sit and wait on.

Jason and I also want to make an "Open House" in Cumberland. A house near his job is for sale. And when I say near, its about a 2 minute drive in a very desirable neighborhood. Can we afford it? Probably not. But this house was our first choice the first time it went up for sale six years ago, so we want to check it out again. Doesn't hurt too look.

I also have some major sewing to get done as well. My first Venders show is a week from today and I have NOTHING ready. Its horrible. I am feeling a little worried that I am going to have very little made and ready to go. Jason made a fantastic suggestion to bring some swatches of fabric with me and take orders on the spot. So I am feeling a little less stressed knowing I can do this.

Lots to do. Crazy weekend. Thank heavens for Monday off. Going to be a long week, but I think a great one too.

What are your plans for the upcoming long weekend?

DECEMBER 2012

The family is saving up for a pretty BIG adventure that will happen next Christmas!!

*Scroll down to see!*

 

We are all pretty excited. Emma-James is over the moon to finally meet MICKEY MOUSE. Though she technically already met him when she was 6 weeks old. This time though, she will actually remember him!! Though Jason isn't a big "DISNEY WORLD" kind of guy, he does enjoy seeing the kids have so much fun. The last time we went was when Olivia was 3 years old and Emma-James was just 6 weeks old. So its been a LONG time. Give or take 5 years and three new babies later.

Next year will be a great time to go. The kids will all be a year older. With Ezme a little over 3 and Oliver a little over 2. Owen will just have turned 5 in October and still not yet in school. Plus the girls will be turning 7 and 10 in January and Jason and I will be turning 32 and 33. What more could you ask for! Christmas and Birthdays in Disney World. Ummm, yes please.

Our goal is to pitch in as much as we can each week. I am hoping to contribute $25 dollars of my paycheck a week and I am hoping Jason will match that. The kids plan on doing chores around the house and pitching in some of their allowance money. Jason said he would put a few extra dollars in the jar anytime he had a side job and I said I would do the same for anything I sell at Anabelle's Attic. As of right now, we need to save up for the following:

*Gas to go down
*Gas to come home
*Hotel stay for two nights we are driving down
*Half of the rental price of the house we are renting with my parents
*Gas while we are in Florida
*Food (we plan on renting a house so we can cook more and eat out less)
*Park Hop Tickets for 4 kids (Oliver is free) and 2 adults
*Restaurant and take-out money for when we drive down and come home
*Sitter or Boarding Place for the Dog and Cats
*Extras

As of today, my budget is $5,000 dollars for the entire time we are down there. The tickets currently for us for Disney World are $2,100 so that right there takes up a HUGE chunk of our budget. I have joined Triple AAA hoping to get some good deals. I will be shopping around for deals on gas cards, hotel stays, and park tickets. Plus I am hoping we can get our neighbor to watch the cats and only have to worry about Chloe while we are gone. Its a pretty big project, but I am up to the challenge. Not to mention I have more then a year to plan and save. I am pretty excited. I know the kids are too!! Next time you come into our house, add a few pennies to our jar. Even a few cents will go a long way *Smiles*

At 2 Ezme Can....

 

Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Ezme is now 2. The last 2 years with her have flown by. She went from being a newborn to a big girl faster then all the others before her. I am so proud of her. She is a bright, affectionate, loving little girl that will put a smile on the saddest of faces. I am proud of the things she is doing right now and wanted to share. At two years old, Ezme is able to:

*Sings her ABC's
*Counts from 1-12
*Knows the shapes Circle, Square, Triangle, Heart
*Knows the colors purple, yellow and blue
*Loves to tell knock knock jokes
*Loves to sing "I'm a little teapot" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" with hand motions
*Can put on her own socks and shoes
*Can put on and pull down her own pants
*Loves to try the potty. Despite her desire, I am not quiet their yet
*If you ask her name she can tell you "Ezme"
*If you ask how old she is she will tell you 2
*Figured out that if she moves the step stool to the fridge, she could get all her favorite foods out
*Washes her hands ALL THE TIME. Obsessed with water
*Speaks in full sentences. My favorite to date is a conversation she had with Emma

Ezme-Emma, Emma
Emma-What Ezme?
Ezme-You go to bed now. Mommy says so
Emma-Mommy said I could stay up
Ezme-No she not. Mommy says bedtime.
Emma-Nope, I am staying up forever.
Ezme-Mommy, Emma not going night night. She being naughty. I time out her now?

LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!!

Progress

Despite not being able to make it to Target the last two days to get some better walking/running shoes. I still forced my butt to get out of the house and walk the past two days! And let me tell you, ITS COLD OUTSIDE!!!! I don't think I am going to be able to keep this outdoor walking up much longer. Especially since the morning temperatures are usually in the 40's and windy. I don't really care much for the cold. In fact, my body temperature is already about 2-3 degrees cooler then the average 98.6. So add walking in 40 degree weather, I am freezing by the time I come home! The other night it took two hot showers and jumping in my tub just to get warm up. Looks like I will be looking into getting myself a treadmill to get me through the winter. Or maybe a membership to a gym. If only I lived closer to one :-(

I am proud to say I have lost a pound since Monday. I think a few things have factored into not seeing results sooner. My friend "IRMA" will be making a visit soon. So I am sure that is adding to the extra 1-2 pounds. Plus extra fluid in general. So I am not completely discouraged yet. I would love to see myself at my goal weight of 155-160 by my 32nd Birthday. That is 25 pounds from now until January 2nd. Sometimes its hard not to have a "buddy" to keep me motivated, so I am relaying on my blogging friends to keep me going.

I think I might even put together a weight loss Blog that we can all join and keep everyone motivated through the winter. Anyone with me? I can just attach it to this blog and we can just let each other know what we are doing for exercise. Our goals, recipes we can share. Etc. Might be fun!!