Where have you been?

Well...it's been awhile...

My unrealistic goal was to blog everyday. My realistic goal was to blog once a week. I began blogging about once a month. And here I am....my last blog was in October!!!! Life is just crazy, busy and there is never enough time in the day.

Updates: Let's see....I'm over the whole "spectrum" thing. Number one, I realized that my feelings for my baby, whether he is or isn't on the spectrum, will never ever change. I feel like I should be real about things and never candy coat, but that I shouldn't ruin Colin's entire 2nd year of life worrying myself sick. That being said, we did have him screened for autism and he is not at risk for it. Phew! Again....it wouldn't have changed how I felt toward my baby boy, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't enormously relieved. Bottom line - he has a speech delay...and that's OKAY. he's talking so much more now and we rarely have trouble deciphering what he is trying to say. Some phrases we love hearing him say:

"tip tip tooray!" (hip hip hooray)

"love you mommy" (or daddy, or jojo, or whoever)

"it's snowing!! Merry chwistmas!" (no matter the time of year)

"what happened mommy?"

"no Joey! Let go!"

"mommyyyyyyyy where aaaaaaaare youuuuuuuu?"

"I want Tom and Jerry!"

"mommy! I missed you!"

And those are just a few. My mom jokes that sometimes she wants to take him to "unspeech" to get him to shut the hell up! ;) so...speech is working.

Colin is now 41lbs. We had to move him up to the next size carseat because his big ol' butt wouldn't fit in the previous carseat. (Joey is now in Colin's old one....sniff sniff). He is becoming a little pickier with what he eats (like...no veggies..we have to sneak them in). He's not fat at all though...he's so TALL! He looks like some of the kindergarteners at my school.

He's definitely giving meaning to "terrible twos." I dont think that the winter months are helping him - the kid needs to RUN! He spends some time in Time Out. It's only for two minutes but it feels like FOREVER! He usually cries and makes up that he is hurt' "IM CWYING MOMMY! OH! I HAVE A BOO BOO!" I only fell for it once, but he's really hoping that a boo boo will get him out of that Time Out chair.

Each and every time it snows he says, "I need boots, hat, gloves, coat, outside!" and we oblige. :). He has become a whiz at puzzles and he knows all of his letters. We are attempting the potty training thing (slow goin'....but it's said that boys take longer...it's just that he's in the biggest size diapers!!! What's next? Depends?????) and just tonight Brian and I bought him a big boy bed. It's time...he was looking a little ridiculous in a crib and, well, he escaped the other day! He must have planned it out strategically because neither my mother nor I heard a sound. All of a sudden Colin was strolling down the stairs. Ay yai yai!!!

On to my Joseph....he's 11 months old. ELEVEN!!!! I can't believe it! I can distinctly remember what it felt like having him in my belly as I waddled around, and now I'm planning his FIRST BIRTHDAY?!?!?!?! It's absolutely insane! He has 7 teeth now which he proudly shows off every time he flashes that beautiful smile. He's starting to TALK!!! His first word was "tee tee" (our word for pacifier) and now he says mama, dada, bye bye, up, cheese, all done, and Blues Clues ("coos coos"). He LOVES to dance. I'm convinced he will be a music lover for the rest of his life....can't wait for those teenage years!!

Joey literally eats EVERYTHING! Occasionally it is something inedible but most of the time it's actually food. His favorite foods are fruit and anything that someone else is eating. :) today he was mooching off of Allison's plate of salt and vinegar chips and he has been known to "throw down" with his brother over a bowl of popcorn. He's strong too and often wins!! He also has QUITE the temper. I often tell brian, "he's BITCHING at us!" thankfully he has turned into the BEST sleeper though he's been having a ton of bloody noses at night. Poor guy! It's scary walking in his room and seeing blood smeared all over his face and his crib sheets. We have a humidifier in there 24/7 but it's not seeming to help. I had bad bloody noses when I was a kid too....but any suggestions? Before he goes to bed at night we put some Ayr Gel in his nostrils (mom's suggestion) and it seems to work.... But do I have to use it every night until winter is over??

Well....I certainly don't have enough written here to cover all that has happened the past 4 months because 4 months in "kid time" is forever! So much happens and changes! I've been extra busy at work because I helped plan a Wellness Fair. I'm hoping that I will have more time to do the things I love, like this blog, now that things at work have slowed down. We'll see....I'm at least hoping it isn't another four months!!!

Last but not least I have to reflect on my marriage. Marriage is hard enough, but throwing in two kids who are twenty months apart....that's really hard. Brian and I don't always have the time that we would like with each other. Many night after work it's "survival mode": dinner, baths, get the kids down, laundry, pick up the house, choose outfits for the next day....and then we're usually too tired to talk or watch TV. We always give each other a big hug and a big smooch before bed and we always, always tell each other how much we love the other. When we miss each other, we make a date (thank goodness for our babysitters). Usually it's a day date during nap time because neither of us like to be away from the babies for too long....it's a little easier to be away when we know that they're sleeping.

I am SO lucky that I am married to a man who loves me, takes care of me, takes care of his babies and, best of all, takes care of himself. I m so lucky that he communicates with me and that our discussions are productive, lively, funny, serious....... He is reflective and he always takes a minute to put himself in someone else's shoes. And gosh....he loves his kids. And they love him back...especially our Joseph. When he sees Brian he lights up, crawls quickly to him, begs to be picked up and then kisses him and kisses him and kisses him......

We don't always have the time we want with each other, but we will take what we can get and make the most of it.

Our wedding song was "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds.....and it still holds true....

What's My Name Again?

Seriously, I feel like I can't remember my own name these days....I'm still majorly struggling to balance everything. As you can see, I'm on the "once a month" blog schedule....so much for once a week! It's been so long that I actually forgot how to begin a new blog for a couple frustrating minutes.

Both babies are in bed after a full three-day weekend. I thank you, Columbus, for giving me the day off...not sure if you did anything else worth celebrating, but to me, a day off is glorious.

Joey is sleeping much better these days. Well...I should say, the past, eh...5 days?? He still ends up in bed with us at around 4am but at least he doesn't scream bloody murder every night as we try to get him down. Bedtime is peaceful now. We tried something new and it worked....bathtime BEFORE crankiness (we try at least), then straight to his bedroom, pajamas, bottle and rocking. He usually goes right down. Thank GOD!! Last week we slept straight through from 7:00 until 4:30. I say "we" but let's be honest...I woke up and looked at the monitor about 80 times between 7 and 4:30. I think he's starting to like sleep...

Oh, and...OF COURSE...my little Colin has decided that he would like to protest his nap and whine and cry before bedtime. One of these days it'll get easier around here.

Joey now has 2 sweet little teeth. You can see them perfectly when he smiles (or cries). He still crawls around everywhere...bumping his head, taking nose dives...the usual. He desperately wants to be doing everything Colin does, including eating everything Colin does. Colin is actually very patient and gentle with him. They've only duked it out twice (and that Joey is a scrapper!!!) Joey's new thing? STANDING UP!!! While holding on, of course but WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!? He's only 6 months old! Who does he think he is!?!?

I still worry terribly about my little Colin. His speech therapy continues to go really well. He has learned so much in just a short amount of time. Today the speech therapist talked with us about him possibly being on "the spectrum." Yikes....two words no parent ever wants to hear. My stomach has been in knots. Our speech therapist is WONDERFUL and she is just trying to keep our minds open. Her exact words: "Is he showing some signs of possible PDD? Yes. Does this mean that he is definitely on the spectrum? No. Could they be signs of just two-year old quirky behavior? Absolutely." But, the teacher in me is fearing the worst...Granted, the therapist only sees him for 30 minutes twice a week. And she never sees him interact with other children (other than his baby brother). When the neighborhood kids are out he runs up to them, greets them, plays with them. Just yesterday he was chasing/being chased by two little girls in our neighborhood. He squealed with delight when they came after him and "ROOOOARED" at them when he was chasing them. So sweet. And when the little 2 year old from across the street comes over to play, he runs down the driveway, says "Hi Dom!" and the two run back to the garage to see what they can roll down the driveway. He makes EXCELLENT eye contact and responds well to, "Now it's Dom's turn." The therapist is concerned that he becomes fixated on certain toys (especially his trains) but she says that typically, kids "on the spectrum" wouldn't let you interrupt that fixation but Colin does. She says that he gives great eye contact now but she'd like to see better. She said that his tantrums have gotten much better (in other words, when he tantrums he recovers quickly). I don't know...I'm kind of a wreck about it. I know that there is worse things but I have two little boys in my class who just break my heart. Maybe my job isn't the best for me right now. My mom says that when she worked on the cancer floor she was always convinced that she had cancer. Maybe that's how this is....except that it's someone else saying it...

I'm so glad that Brian was there for the conversation because we heard it in two totally different ways. I guess I listened with a negative ear (seeing as I was the one who initiated the conversastion) and everything she said, I heard, "He IS on the spectrum." Brian says that she was basically saying that it's difficult to tell with a 2 year old because a lot of typical 2 year old behavior is the same as autism indicators. It's only when they get older, and these behaviors don't change, that you should become concerned. I mean, the therapist didn't recommend getting him evaluated further.

I was hesitant to write this all out, but this is what my blog is for. Sometimes I feel like when I write things down that they are more "real." I cannot believe how much these little boys make me worry. It really makes me wonder whether having another baby in the future is a smart idea...

I guess this story it To Be Continued...

The Small Stuff:

AH! So many! :)

We took the boys apple picking a few weekends ago. It was Joey's first time. He loves being outside so he was perfectly content the entire time. Colin rode in the wagon (and pushed it) and kept saying, "Come on, come on, come on!" He ate an entire apple like a champ too! We even let Joey suck on an apple too. :)

Brian and I took the boys to get their flu shots today. Both of them were so brave (though today was Daddy's first time being present for shots...no fun, huh Daddy?) Afterwards we took them to get an ice cream (yes...Joey had some ice cream on his tee tee. I don't care if I'm the worst mother ever in anyone's eyes because of this...he deserved it!) Then we took them to the playground.

Colin has found out what "Time Out" is. He will actually sit there for 2 minutes! I never in a million years thought that he would. He was naughty for Grandma the other day. He threw a fit when they were outside and quite a ways from the house. She dragged him in and sat him in the chair. A while later, he took her hand and brought her to the front door. He was babbling a "story" and pointed down the street. Then he took her into the dining room and pointed at the Time Out Chair. Ha ha...he was reliving what had happened and telling Grandma all about it! the other day Brian and I had him in the chair and, with about ten seconds left, he FLEW off the chair and you could hear the pitter patter of his little feet as he ran away from the chair. Took everything in us not to crack up laughing (in front of him)....

I almost killed my husband over a sneeze last night. Joey woke up at 4:15. I was feeding him a bottle in bed and my husband sneezed out of nowhere. You see...he is the LOUDEST sneezer and, the worst part is, there is NO warning. No "Ah Ah Ah" before the "CHOO." Scares the living daylight out of me. Last night, it made Joey's sleepy eyes POP right open. He began smiling and cooing (damn smiles and coos :) Joey thought it was time to start the day. I glared at Brian and he said he was sorry...for sneezing. Ha ha! Man, oh man....sleepy Annette is no fun at all...

Today Colin was refusing to nap (AGAIN). I went in there for the MILLIONTH time and I tried to put my "mean face" on. As I got closer to his crib, he layed on his back, pointed his little finger at me, wagged his finger and said, "No no no no no no no!" WITH A HUGE GRIN ON HIS FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha ha...too funny!

I need to document how Colin counts:

One, Two, Free, Fo, Bive, Six, Seckie, Nine, Ten!! (ha ha ha!)

Oh...and ask him what his name is....he says, "CaCa"...hope that doesn't last!

An extra thought: I knew that by giving birth to boys that I was only helping the house get stinkier. I keep trying to make my house smell pretty but the boys sabotage it! ESPECIALLY my youngest....Joey is the gassiest little guy ever. In fact, if you closed your eyes and listened, you would think that a large man was in my living room rather than a 20 pound baby. Can't wait to share this with him someday....

Videos (not of gassy Joey....but that would be somethin')

Head Above Water

Well...it's been awhile since my last blog. I used my last days of maternity leave/summer vacation to soak up every little minute I had with my two babies. Starting back to work wasn't easy - didn't think it would be. The first day back was hell, but it was without kids (students). And honestly, I don't like anything about the adult part of my job. I'm a teacher because I like kids. The second day was MUCH better...22 excited and nervous kids just like their (somewhat) excited and nervous teacher. It was actually a great day. I brought 3 beautiful pictures of my babies to keep on my desk and I kept going back to stare at them throughout the day. They got me through. After all, they are the reason I work in the first place. And that is precisely why I will blow my first paychecks on them entirely (well...mortgage too....guess that's indirectly for them though).

Joey doesn't just scoot around anymore. He full out crawls everywhere. He's a little speedster and will follow his big brother anywhere. I absolutely love the way Joey's little face lights up whenever Colin moves, speaks or glances in his direction. Colin is getting to really like the little guy too. He talks to him, "No no JoJo!" or "Ni-Night JoJo!" Colin will hug him and tickle him.Watching them interact actually makes me prouder and full of joy than the days they were born. They will always have each other and I'm going to make sure of it.

Joey got his first tooth...FINALLY!!! He drools more than any baby or dog that I have ever known (even more than Espn, my sister's dog). The poor thing needed to pop that thing through. Now that his first one came through, he is ready to get a few more in. He's going to go from baby food to steak and potatoes in no time. Unfortunately, because I have gone back to work, my milk supply has gone down. I've desperately been trying to save/increase it but without luck. Tonight I caved and began making him a bottle (of straight formula). Brian took over as I started to cry. You should have seen Joey's face when he saw that bottle....little tongue moving, legs pumping....he was excited (my mom has been giving him bottles of breastmilk all this time so he knew what it was). Brian took him upstairs and fed him.....tonight was the first time in a really long time that Joey fell asleep without a fuss. Guess Mommy needs to get over it. A full tummy on formula is better than a half-full tummy on breastmilk.

On to Colin.....he's been talking so much more lately. His speech therapy has been going so well and he absolutely adores his therapist. His new favorite phrase is, "Help me!" which he uses ALL of the time to get what he wants.....and he knows exactly when to use it.....like, when he wants chocolate pudding for lunch. :-) How can you possibly say no to big brown eyes and "Help me!" Well....we HAVE to say no or we're going to have Maury Povich baby....100 pounds at 3 years old? No thanks.

He can sing most of the alphabet song and can count to 14. He calls so many people by name now. I am so proud of him. I worry so much that either of my children will struggle with learning. I guess it's a fear that comes from being a teacher. I know that, no matter what issue either of my boys have, we can get through it. But I'd just love for them to have things easy.

Brian and I talk a lot about that with our parenting....it breaks our heart to think about the kids struggling at all in their lives, but we know how important it is for them to encounter struggles and learn how to cope through them. Otherwise you get spoiled brats who only turn into delusional adults -- those types of adults who think that they can control other people to prevent their own struggles. We want to raise good boys. And we will make sure that they have good hearts.


My older sister had a beautiful baby boy on the 27th of August. She did a great job and I absolutely love that little boy already. I hope that our kids are as close as we were growing up.



The small stuff:

Last weekend I went to the store with my sister and JoJo. When we returned, I pulled into the driveway and noticed that Brian and Colin were in the backyard of our neighbor's across the street. Brian must have told Colin that I was back. When I got out of the car, Colin was running toward me (leaving his friends and the swingset behind). He held his arms out wide and yelled, "MOMMYYYYY!" No prompting....all on his own. Best feeling in the whole world.

And today, when I got home from school, I knelt down on the carpet. Jojo hadn't noticed that I had come back yet. I called his name and he whipped his little body around, smiled a HUGE smile at me and crawled quickly to me. I know he was thinking, "MOMMYYYYY!" too! :-)



A good friend of mine relapsed with leukemia this week. The news hit me hard and it's something else I've been carrying with me this week. It's been a tough one...but not as tough as it was on her. I can't stop thinking about her and pray that she will get through it again...she deserves it....

Horror on the Carousel

Alli and I took the boys to the mall yesterday. Colin was saying "horsies" the whole ride there. It's amazing how well he knows directions...he usually can tell where we're going without me telling him. We got the boys in the double stroller, said goodbye to the car (what? you dont say goodbye to your car? "Ba Bye cah!") and headed to the carousel. I had another great idea....I'm FULL of them lately! I thought it would be a good idea for Joey to go on his very first carousel ride. We unstrapped them both and I gave Colin a dollar. So cute - he knows exactly what to do with it. He walks right up to the counter, hands the man his dollar, and waits for his token. I paid for Joey's token and we got in line to wait:

Colin put his token in the slot all by himself and then we let him pick a horse. That is...he USUALLY picks a horse. This time he decided he wanted to sit on the carriage. Perfect! I thought. That is where I was going to sit with JoJo anyway. We did get one picture of JoJo on a horse though:
We were the only ones on the carousel. Kinda cool. They started it up and Allison and I agreed it was one of the best moments of the whole summer. The two boys sitting next to each other were just so sweet. They were really enjoying themselves and really enjoying each other's company.

Precious, you think, right? Oh yes...Alli and I thought so too....until something happened. You see, I started to feel a little dizzy. I told Al and she said that she felt a little dizzy too. Then she said she was feeling sweaty. I told her I was too. And then I really, truly felt like I was going to throw up all over the place. Like...REALLY. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't put my head down or close my eyes or anything because I had to support Joey. We tried to see the humor in it...especially since we realized that they were giving us an extra long ride because we were the only ones on. It took every SINGLE cell in my body to prevent spewing all over those stupid horses. Oh boy...I've never been more relieved that nothing actually came up.

We went and got a "zetzel" afterwards as we usually do. Colin loves pretzels and lemonade. :)

Let's see...Joey didn't sleep again last night. Woke up another 6 times. GOD, he's just so CUTE though! I almost, ALMOST don't mind seeing his precious face in the middle of the night. Maybe I would enjoy it MORE if I went through the whole night without seeing it...wouldn't know what that's like though...I'd like to say that he redeems himself during the day but this morning he was extra cranky and he puked right down my shirt after I showered. :) Brian had coffee made though so that helped. And both of my babies' smiles make every day worth it.

It's the Little Things:

Today Colin ran out the front door in his PJs and no shoes on. He thought it was the coolest thing. You could tell by the look on his face that he knew he was being naughty. So sweet. And ask him what a monkey says, "OOH OOH AH AH!" :)

And Joey sort of hugs now....he grabs your face and pulls you close. Sometimes he'll try to suck on your nose or your chin but usually he just wants to be close. I think that's why he wakes up in the middle of the night too...he doesn't like being alone. Poor guy. Tonight we're going to try a CD player in his room with lullabies....maybe hearing a voice will make him think that he's not alone.

ER Trip #1 and Other Fun Stuff

Ohhhhhh boy....the day I've been dreading but realistically anticipating has finally arrived. Our first trip to the ER. Since Colin has been born I have asked my mom a million times where I should take him if something were to happen. Colin is a climber and a clumsy runner - I knew it was inevitable that some sort of serious "boo boo" would occur during non-doctor's office hours and that I would have to take him to the ER or something. But we have 4 hospitals in the area plus a new children's hospital!! Where do I go? Well...my mom told me back when I asked her but I still had to call 4 people to figure out where to go.

REWIND! Last Wednesday Brian went to Rochester for the Buffalo Bills training camp. My sister Amanda was with me for the evening so I decided to take the boys to the playground so that Colin could do some running. After all, the days are getting shorter, fall is approaching and Mommy has to go back to work very soon. Well.......worst decision EVER, Mommy!!! Colin went down the slide once.....ONCE!!! As he joyfully ran to climb back up for a second ride I lost sight of him for a second (I was waiting for him at the top) and I heard him kind of whimper. I got closer to him and he was rubbing at his eye. I could tell that he was having a serious debate with himself....my eye really hurts but I REALLY want to keep playing. I got even closer to him and forced him to let me look at his eye. I pulled his eyelid down and HELLO MR. UGLY GASH!! His eyelid had a mouth-like gash and it was talking to me, "Whatcha gonna do now, Mom? Huh?" Damn you talking gash! And with Mom in Maine and Brian in Rochester, Amanda and Allison truly saved the day! Amanda stayed with JoJo at home (baby whisperer...he was an angel for her - I mean, she whipped him into SHAPE!! :) and Alli came with me because she's a doctor (well....no. Not a doctor...but in the medical field). Off we went to Upstate with a bag full of tricks - crackers, juice, pacifier, trains, books, etc. We sat in the "Pediatric Waiting Room" where a kid proceeded to explain to me how, what I called a "door" was really a "gateway" due to the lack of an actual door, and a teeny little guy used a tissue to "blow his nose", aka making blowing-your-nose noises and repeatedly folding the tissue. SO cute! Alli and I played a fun game and we were finally called and taken..............TO ANOTHER WAITING ROOM! Then we were brought to a room smaller than my thumb and we WAITED some more! Colin was wonderful and even a little fun! His eye didn't bother him a bit. Alli and I were playing defense to make sure he didn't A) hurt the other eye or B) hurt the original eye even worse. We did a good job...the worst thing he did was use a blue crayon to color all over the sheets. Finally, Doctor Hottie Pants (aka Meredith Grey) came in and told us that he didn't think he needed stitches and Doctor Little Guy (aka Derek Shepherd) came in and told us that it did. Since it was already close to midnight and because Colin is ginormous, he decided to glue it instead. I told him to get some big guys to help hold him down. In comes Dr. Hottie Pants, Dr. Little Guy, Mr. Big Male Nurse and Mrs. Normal Female Nurse. They first tried putting him into this swaddling blanket/straight jacket type thing...but Colin was WAY too big for it. So they tied one arm down with Velcro, I took the other arm, Mr. Big Male Nurse took from his stomach to his thighs, Mrs. Normal Female Nurse took his legs, Doctor Little Guy took his big ol' noggin' and Doctor Hottie Pants had the glue. APPARENTLY the staff underestimated my little guy even though I warned them.....his right arm (Velcro'd arm) got loose and his legs came out of the nurse's grip. HA HA!And APPARENTLY they don't have doctors practice using the glue in their 8 years of medical school....because Colin ended up with a glued up gash as well as an eyelid glued to his eyebrow, glue all over the side of his face and a big glob of glue in the corner. Poor kid looked way worse than when we brought him in.

We went home after Colin calmed down and after another nurse came in and had me sign a pile of paperwork while explaining to me what to do with his stitches (uhhh....he doesn't HAVE stitches). Here's a pic before he was glued and some more of him from this night:

Like I said, JoJo was perfectly behaved for Aunt Manda. And speaking of JoJo....he is TOTALLY trying to crawl. Uh...who does he think he is!?!?!? He was JUST BORN!!!!! :) He actually turned 5 months old on the 21st. Where does the time go???? He still isn't the best sleeper. He likes to wake up screaming, act like he's starving, suck 3 times and fall asleep. Pain in the butt! But oh that smile....he warms my heart. He's looking so much like his brother lately. Here's a funny picture of JoJo:

Yes he IS wearing a Christmas bib in August!

I'm sick to my stomach about having to go back to work....I'll have to write more about that tomorrow but I am definitely losing sleep over it. :(

Pumping, Bath Time with Boys, The Sleep Factor, The Zoo and MENSTRUATION!!!!

I'll pick up my blog now on a somewhat day-to-day basis, though I told my husband last night that I will feel lucky to get at least one post in a week. There isn't always time and when I start work again (let's not even GO there today) it'll be even harder to find the time.

Yesterday was a good day. It started off with Curious George in bed with my two babies. Colin yells, "GEORGE!" at the screen and talks jibberish and Joey smiles and coos while Mommy gets a few extra minutes of lounging before the day begins. After the show, we headed downstairs where I set Colin up with breakfast, set Joey in the exersaucer and I sat down on the floor to pump. I pump right after Joey's morning feeding so I can save up a supply for....ya know...when I go back to....SOB!!!!!!!! Anyway, Colin always gave me a funny look when I pumped. Sort of like a, "Mom....what're you doing? That's weird," kind of look. He usually stays away though. Today, he got down from the table, walked over to me, took one of the pump pieces and held it up to his chest. Ha ha! He looked down at it like, "Okay. I'm doing it. Not sure why. But I'm doing it."

He's just so sweet! After breakfast we packed up and headed to Courtney's house for the morning. Courtney has an almost 3 year old named Owen and baby Ethan who is only 10 days older than Joey! We love hanging out with them. Courtney also teaches with me so we will both be sobbing when it comes time to........WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

I'm going to fastforward to bath time at this point. My sisters Amanda and Allison come over to help me with the kids on Tuesday nights. We have ghetto dinner (something totally unhealthy and easy to make. ie. tacos, chicken patties, hot dogs, etc.). Amanda brought her boyfriend Greg who Colin absolutely adores and having Allison here is like having another me! It's wonderful! So anyway...bath. Colin is in the bath tub on this particular night. I washed him down and he was playing. And then....he started PLAYING....if you know what I mean. I felt like I should leave the room! I felt like this was inappropriate! I felt like this was HILARIOUS!!!!! Little guy was having a grand old time and I just tried my best to look away while supervising him.....oh, and I tried very hard to distract him. BOYS! What am I supposed to do with them! I grew up around girls. We didn't have these "parts" and we didn't do these things! My sisters love to tease me and insist that I'm only adding to the smelliness of the world by continuing to bring boys into it. :) Love my stinky boys!

Colin fell asleep easily as he usually does and Joey didn't - as HE usually does. Colin has always been the PERFECT little sleeper - since the moment we took him home. Not Joey....he's Colin's polar opposite when it comes to sleeping. We swaddled both boys but Colin weaned himself off of it by 4 months. Joey is pretty addicted to being swaddled, but I can't keep doing it! First of all, he's WAY too long for it now so I'd just be swaddling his arms. Second, he can roll over onto his tummy but has a hard time rolling back to his back - even WITH his arms being free. We started putting him in his own room but he wakes up frequently. Too frequently. Last night I just about lost it. I felt physically sick from lack of sleep and, I'll admit it, I'm a HUGE baby in the middle of the night when my sleep is disrupted. I've always aspired to be one of those moms who rises with a smile because she's so excited to see her baby no matter what time of day or night it is. One of those moms who thinks, "I LOVE being able to settle my little one down and to comfort him." Okay...I mean, yeah....I like these things. BETWEEN THE HOURS OF SIX AND MIDNIGHT!!!!!!! Of course I wake up and cuddle my babies and settle them back to sleep and smooch them, but inside I'm screaming, "GO TO SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!" The funny part is, I wake up in the morning, not easily, but I wake up in the morning and I'm ok. I'm not so tired that I can't function. Don't get be wrong - coffee is no longer an option and I'd love to look into getting an IV of it. But honestly, I'm ok. So why does "nighttime me" freak out so bad?

PHEW! Onward.....today was beautiful and Courtney and I took our boys to the zoo. They were all so well behaved and Colin actually understood the concept a little more this time. I asked him what the tiger says and he answered, "ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR." So cute! I got a great picture of his little face in a penguin poster:

And here's my little JoJo:

After seeing all of the animals we went to our cars and started to get everything and everyone back into the cars. As I put Colin into his car seat I smelled something a little....funky. I was going to let it go until we got home but I thought better of it because I didn't want my little guy to have to sit in that the whole way home. So I got Colin OUT of the car seat and layed him down in the back of the van. All I can say is, I have never, EVER seen nor could I ever IMAGINE that I WOULD see what I saw in that diaper. I'm not kidding....the biggest poop in the entire universe. Thank God the diaper trapped it all - but that diaper worked HARD. The diaper appeared to be brown. Like....as if I BOUGHT it that way. It soaked up SO much poop. I probably used about 55 diaper wipes and Colin, being the fabulous 2 year old that he is, decided that he didn't want to lay there anymore. So he began to thrash and lift and twist his legs. I found myself struggling with this stinky poop machine, thankful that I had put down a changing pad, praying that I wouldn't get any on the car or on myself and REALLY hoping that Joey wouldn't begin crying and break my concentration. I've concentrated less on final exams....this was a toughy! I got him cleaned up and sat down in the driver's seat. I couldn't even drive right away. I had to fully comprehend what just happened. Ha ha.....poop, poop, poop.....

Oh yeah....and to top it off....I got my period today. First one since June 2010....yeah...it sucks. Only one way to fix it.................................Brian???????? :-)

The Reason

Well...there are a few reasons behind why I wanted to start this blog. First and foremost...I LOVE to write and ever since I've become a mother I haven't had the time to write (or do much of anything other than being a Mommy). Don't get me wrong...I LOVE being a Mommy, but writing is my outlet and without an outlet...well...let's just say I feel very lucky that my husband hasn't gone running for the hills.

My second reason for blogging is because of my ever-present attribute of being sentimental. I hold onto people, things, moments, etc with large amounts of passion and I am constantly feeling like I will someday forget certain things if I don't write them down. The most pressing thing is my childrens' youth. Though my sons are only 2 and 4 months, I feel like I've already forgotten so much due to the whirlwind of life. Having this blog will allow for me to document their lives in a way that I will cherish forever. I've always found mommies with reality shows to be so lucky - not because of the fame or fortune, but because they get to rewind their lives at any point and watch their kids and the amazing things they've said and done. I highly doubt that anyone would want to follow me with a camera. I would totally get mad at the cameramen for being in my way (I can't handle the DOG being in my way). So anyway, this will really help me to document some really cool moments.

Another reason I want to blog is because I think other mothers will find comfort, humor, and definitely some common ground in my words. I also think that other mothers might be able to help ME in times of need when it comes to motherhood.

Phew....well, with that out of the way I should probably introduce myself. My name is Annette. I am 30 years old and I live in New York State. My husband's name is Brian and he is the most wonderful man. He has always taken such good care of me as his wife and I don't think I give him enough credit - I am NOT easy to deal with! I am sometimes a perfectionist, sometimes not. I am sometimes Type A and sometimes Type B. I have LOTS of opinions and LOTS of moods. Sometimes I care about people's thoughts WAY too much. My biggest flaw is how critical I am of myself. Over the years I have tried to be self-reflective and I now do that to a fault. I am complicated but Brian loves me. He definitely deserves some recognition for that (even on a puny little blog forum like this). The most amazing part about Brian, though, is how good of a dad he is. I married him knowing that he would be a great father to our children, but I had no idea how great he would be. He sings to them, cuddles them, plays with them, stands up for them. Seriously...I couldn't have asked for better for them. On that note....we have two beautiful sons. Colin is 2 years and 1.5 months old. Joey is just shy of being 5 months old. This blog will mostly be about them and the hilarious, cringe-worthy, cute, mortifying, wonderful things that they do. PLEASE read, comment and ENJOY.... <3