Thursday

it's Thursday morning

my only day off in this 7 day stretch

it begins at 6am with Lauryn crawling into bed...

I pretend I am asleep in hopes she will cuddle up and sleep more too

she showers me with cuddles and kisses and says, 'let's get up Mommy!'

she knows this is 'her' time because Jenna will sleep for a few more hours

we have our toast together on the couch and watch Dora

later Jenna wakes up and we all decide to go to the playground at the mall

I am backing out of the garage and Max disappears

Where is that damn dog I mutter to myself...or so i think

Max appears and Lauryn replys

There's that damn dog Mommy

Time to watch what I say...

Stop at a few stores at the mall, scoping out the clearance racks

Keeping my eyes open for navy blue...

Jake's hockey team is 1 game away from state-the girls may need Panther apparel to support Daddy and his team

Lauryn has a great time playing on the playground, Jenna loves watching

Lauryn very politely asks for ice cream as we pass Cold Stone

It's almost lunch time, but what the heck, i give in and she is all smiles

blue cotton candy ice cream....with sprinkles
$1.81 and she's absolutely thrilled

we continue the walk to our car...

we see a very young boy walking with a walker

'What's that Mommy?' Lauryn asks

With tears in my eyes I explain he needs help walking and that the walker is his friend

Lauryn accepts but then starts walking with her ankles turned in

I am embarrassed and reminded of my father and I doing that to be funny

it's not funny anymore and I am hope they don't see

Later that afternoon we walk to Kwik Trip

Jenna in the stroller, Lauryn's "baby" in her stroller

Lauryn is glowing because she is pushing a stroller/baby just like me

I am glowing because this is my life

I sometimes ask myself, is this for real?

I wish everyone had a 2 year old to remind them of what's important in life

it's the little things

Lauryn shrieks in delight because she can see the train coming

We get a little bit out of our driveway and i realize I need my purse

I told Lauryn we need to go home to get some money

Why she asks

Because i don't have any, I reply

she looks at me so sweetly and so innocent

I have money in my jar Mommy

My heart melts and I tell her that money is just for her

We get some money and make our way to Kwik Trip

She picks out a ring sucker and life is swell

Jake comes home much later

it's parent teacher conferences

Lauryn is still awake-she often lies in bed, awake

waiting for Daddy to come sing Pooh

She tells Daddy all about our walk to Kwik Trip with our babies

And again, I think...I am so blessed

Happy Birthday Jake!

Happy Birthday, My Love! What a lovely surprise this morning-4 hours off of work and they called just in time for me to treat Jake to breakfast in bed with Lauryn. From the look on your face, I think you were pleased with your presents (an ipod and accessories). Happy Birthday Babe, we all love you sooooooooo much!!! You are one incredible husband and an absolutely amazing Daddy!!!!
Lauryn & Jenna loved wearing special shirts for Daddy!

Lauryn's-I Love Daddy

Jenna's-If you think I'm COOL you should see my DAD


We all went to dinner at a newer place in Rochester to celebrate Jake's birthday. It was very good, in fact Lauryn's comment was, "This cake is really good!" This is clearly a step up from her typical comment, "It's not too bad!" The decor was pretty sweet-pretty modern, especially for Rochester. Lauryn commented on that too by saying, "I like that fireplace!" She makes me laugh every day! Often many times a day! Anyway, Happy Birthday Jake, I hope it was a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yes, Happy very belated Valentine's Day! My laptop was not working so I could not post this picture of the girls. Hope everyone had a nice heart day!

Did I really admit to this??

Ok, I am old. Not getting old, but I am officially old. Today I found myself listening to the soft rock station, dancing and bellaring to "I've Had the Time of My Life" with Lauryn on one hip and Jenna on the other! :) Wow, I just gave you a great visual there, didn't I?! But hey, I am having fun, and having 'the time of my life' being a Mom-why not get down to some 80's tunes once in awhile? And admit it, if this song came on your radio station in your car, you would be singing too! :)

I'M IN LOVE!!!

I am in love...seriously. I have always wanted a gym quality treadmill, but didn't want to spend the thousands of $$$ they cost. My dream came true at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center used gym equipment sale and now it is officially running. I am giving a HUGE shout out to our friend/daycare Dad, Todd, and to Jake for doing all the special wiring, etc to get this going for me. Thank you both so much!!! It's my Prozac, my alone time, my sanity, my way back to wearing cute clothes again. I love it so much I gave it a hug last night! :) Thanks you guys! :)

Back to Work..sort of

Yesterday was my first day back at work after a very nice 13 week maternity leave. Overall it went very well and I was excited to go again today. However, little Miss Lauryn is still running a 102 degree temperature. We were just going to bed Saturday night when I heard her coughing a classic croup sounding cough. I had Jake get her up right away and sure enough, she was working fairly hard at breathing and had a fever. We quickly packed up and I took her to the ER where they gave her some oral steroids and watched her for a bit. She perked up quickly so we were able to go home for the night. When I was getting her out of her carseat (at 3am Sunday morning), she said, "I love you Mom." I think that also means thank you for taking care of me Mom. I can't even explain how much I love her too! :) Now she has this residual, nagging cold that's wearing her down and causing fevers. Jake stayed home with her yesterday, so it was Mom's turn today. Thank goodness my work is understanding, I feel horrible about calling in so early into my return! But I know I would feel much worse not being here for her. Hope you all are having a happy Tuesday!

Domestic Goddess

Ok, not quite, but I felt like it when Lauryn and I presented Jake with these heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast on Sunday! I am working on Valentine's Day so we decided to do something special a little early.