WHOOOO HOOOO SNOW DAY!

State College had a whopping 4 inches of snow and everything in the town shut down, including the schools. Everything. After being a stay-at-home mom for 1 day-that is 8 hours-I needed to get the hell out of Dodge but there was NO WHERE TO GO!!! Dollar Store, Barnes & Noble, Pier One...everything closed. And there was no way to sneak back in the house and creep upstairs to the bathtub without being seen. UGH!! They did see me come in and then saw my butt as I ran upstairs :) Enjoy the pictures of our delightful snow......

Pictures from Tet

Elisabeth and Ava coloring....
Elisabeth with Corrie and Clarre Porter (Vietnam) and Sarah (China). Isabella is rebelling on the floor.
Sam Porter (China) reading to Isabella.....
All the children (25 of them!) that attended the Tet Celebration :)

Lent...a little late

I just took Elisabeth out for lunch.. she is in the 5th grade and only at the same school as me for the next few months so I like to do this every now and then (she will move to the middle school in September but we can't talk about that or I will start to cry.) Anyway, she is constantly complaining about this one student in her class...we will call her Miss A. (for Annoying). For some reason, Miss A. and Miss E. get on eachother's nerves something awful. Miss. E. is always coming home yaking about something Miss A. has done...from wearing the wrong shoes, to puffing up her bra, to not paying attention. She will get in the car and state, "Miss A. had her boobs on again today!" meaning she stuffed her bathing suit top with tissues. After many months of moaning, I decided to give E. the 'LENT' talk today. I explained how Jesus went into the garden for 40 days and nights and didn't eat or drink and how it is important to honor Him during this 40 day time period (I know..I am a little late!). Then I gave her the idea of being nice to Miss A. for an entire 40 days-no snippy comments, no arguing, no fighting. She gave me a counter-offer of giving up water. I don't think so. She wondered why I was getting 'all Catholic' on her (we are Protestant, by the way), which made me laugh but didn't stop me from telling her that she needed to start behaving and give Miss. A. a break. To further cement this lesson, I told her I would do something, too, for the next 40 days. I am not sure I will have a tongue left because she told me I can no longer argue with Todd. I think I would rather stop eating or drinking :)

Tet Celebration

No, I don't have any pictures because my camera is hidden in the bottom of the dirty clothes basket. But...we did have a fantastic time at the 1st Annual Tet Celebration in Ithaca!!! It was so amazing to meet all those babies that we have heard about and read about!! I finally got to see Natalie and Jeremy, who are so adorable and so very well behaved!!!! They sat in their little high chairs for over an hour and never moved or cried or whined. And we got to spend more time with Ava Linh, whom we met a few weeks ago for the first time....Isabella is in love with Ava's daddy-whenever we couldn't find her, she was usually sitting on his lap.

I think there were about 20 families with 25 kids!! Thank you, Donna Ramil, for organizing everything!! The food was delicious and the company was even better :) I will post pictures as soon as I dig out my camera!!!

Bella NOT Talking

Here is my lame attempt at showing off Isabella's advanced language skills. Unfortunately, it doesn't speak too highly for my ability as a Speech Therapist :)

Sleep is on the horizon....

We have been having a horrible time getting Isabella to sleep at night and then keeping her asleep until morning. Todd, out of total love, likes to give her a bottle full of milk at bed time. This is the only sure way of getting her to sleep by herself. This is NOT a good idea for her teeth (or lack there of) or for her ability to fall asleep on her own. I, on the other hand, put her to bed screaming and crying, leave her for 30 minutes while plugging my ears and turning up the tv to the maximum level, get her up and bring her to bed with me, put her back in her own bed, let her scream for another 30 minutes, get her up again....and then finally use the Todd method. UGH. Once this is all said and done, she will most likely sleep for a full 3 HOURS before she starts crying again. Back in I go (Todd has now taken off his hearing aids/implant and is completely oblivious) and bring her in with us. At that point, she kicks her little feet, ON MY BACK, like she is running a frickin' marathon and the rubberized pattern on the bottom of her sleeper doesn't help. To say I have had it...it an understatement.

Last night, we started something new out of utter desperation....Elisabeth and I took her to Fun Unleashed (an indoor play place) after school and let her climb and slide for an hour. Then we went home and ate a great dinner (cooked at the local Chinese restaurant), played some more, and then got ready for bed. I put her in double layers so she wouldn't be cold, brushed her 4 little teeth, read her 5 stories, turned on her humidifier for a little white noise, and shut the door. Oh, before the last step, I did put her in her crib and kiss her:) She looked up at me and said, "Milk, Mommy!!" and while I was muttering something about her father being a stupid idiot, I told her "Milk all gone!" and quickly escaped. May I say, that little monster slept ALL night-not a peep from her-AND.......SHE WAS DRY!!!! WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I think I could write a book on motherhood now:)

Funny things kids say; not-so-funny things kids do

Here was the most recent remark at the dinner table.... we are sitting eating dinner when Isabella decides to take off her bib (she HATES bibs).

Todd: "Bella, you have to leave your bib on."
Bella pull her bib off.
Todd helps her.
Elisabeth: "What is this?? Opposite day???"

Then, as I am walking leisurely around the mall, pretending to be at an evening meeting, I get a phone call from Elisabeth:

E: "Mom, you need to listen to what I have to say and not get upset."
Okay...I am now upset but keep my mouth shut.
E: "It is kind of hard to explain what I did but I will do my best..."
Oh great...just tell me Isabella is still alive.
E: "Well...Bella and I were at the top of the stairs and I had a good, strong hold on her hands and I thought it would be fun to swing her out over the top of the stairs and back...twice. But the second time, Daddy caught me doing it and now I am in trouble. I know what I did was wrong but it was lots of fun. Now he won't stop yacking about it."
That's good, Elisabeth - blame your father for something you did :) She learns from the best!

Hermit in the house

Nothing much has been happening around the CK household. We had a snow day on Friday-WHOOOO HOOOOOOO-although it means tacking yet another day on to the end of the year. I really could care less, though. The nasty coating of ice didn't stop us from trekking it to the mall...luckily we only live about a 1 mile away. Gymboree has an amazing sale rack-$4.99 and under!! I got some cute outfits for a friend who is having a baby and my cousin who is adopting from Vietnam.

On Saturday, Elisabeth went to a basketball clinic with the PSU Lady Lions. I don't think the kid has ever shot a basketball in her life and was not happy about going. She did a super job and had a great attitude and was only attached by the ball 10 times. Instead of holding out her hands for the ball, she would turn and run away from it. She did take the time to run up to me and say, "I would rather be home being a hermit in my pajamas!" I gave her the old "you need to do more things" talk on Friday. The kid would honestly not ever leave home if she had the chance...she HATES sports, hates going out to eat (this alone makes me wonder if she is actually my child), HATES spending the night at her friends' houses, and HATES any kind of musical instrument lesson. I will say she can entertain herself for hours on end and doesn't need to have friends over in order to have a good time. If her extracurricular activities have anything to do with getting into a good college, I fear she will be working a McDonald's (NOT that that is a bad job) for the rest of her life.

I also made her go to that Hannah Montana 3D movie with friends. I THOUGHT the parents would also be attending this movie and found out that this was not the case when I went to drop her off. "Oh no, we aren't going to this movie. We are going shopping! The girls are going alone!" They are 10 years old and not mature enough to go sit in a theater by themselves!! Against my good judgment, I left her with her 2 friends and her cell phone and explicit instructions to NOT leave her seat for any reason AT ALL. Then I went home and freaked out for the 1.5 hours that the movie was running. I did call her to make sure she was okay. Our conversation when like this...

ME: Elisabeth, do not move from your seat for any reason.
E: MOMMY...I WILL BE FINE.
ME: Leave your phone on vibrate in case I have to get in contact with you.
E: I can't!! The screen says I can't have my cell phone on at all!!
ME: LEAVE THE DAMN PHONE ON!!!
E: But I will get in trouble!
ME: WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY ARE GOING TO DO??? MAKE YOU PULL OUT YOUR PHONE SO THEY CAN CHECK IT??? LEAVE IT ON!!!
E: Fine!! But don't call me unless it is an emergency!
ME: I WILL CALL YOU WHEN I WANT TO CALL YOU!!

I am happy to report she came home safe and sound. Anyone who still calls their mother "mommy" at 10 is not ready for an independent outing (and I LOVE the fact that she calls me that, don't get me wrong). They apparently had a licorice fight from their seats while applying their lip gloss while wearing the 3D glasses upside down. This just confirmed that she is NOT ready to attempt the movie theater without me.

We also went out with girlfriends to see "27 Dresses"...how cute!! I absolutely loved that movie :) I came home to the baby in bed, the house vacuumed and tidied up, and the laundry almost done. AMAZING!! What a guy :)

Now it is Sunday morning and Isabella is up with me-what a surprise! She slept into 8:30 only because she was up at 3 am playing with my hair, kissing my face, and rubbing my stomach. How can you get upset with that????

Happy Happenings

Aren't they cute when they are getting along?? It has been happening more frequently, thank goodness!! I bought them matching leotards with skirts and they like to put them on and dance to the song "Bubbly". Elisabeth has turned out to be an incredible babysitter-so much so that I got the entire kitchen cleaned (including wiping down the cupboards AND scrubbing the floorboards-impressed??) yesterday. They came downstairs, though, covered in Halloween face paint. Word to the wise-when you don't hear anything going on after 20 minutes, check on the kids :)

Pictures...at last

These were taken at a local restaurant that we love. The bottom one depicts a very stressful 18 month old....I think she is saying, "If only I had more than 4 teeth, I could chew this damn thing!" Don't you love their outfits?? I realize, with a 9 year age difference, I am not going to get them in the same clothes but matching colors is pretty close. I don't think I will be able to pull it off much longer :(

Happy Friday!!

Last week at this time, I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home with the kids and shopping at Gymboree and Baby Gap. That dream ended up in the toilet - so to speak :) I'll lower my expectations for this Friday in hopes that tomorrow and Sunday will be a tad bit better than last weekend. On top of me feeling better, Isabella's 3 week diarrhea episode has finally ended. I have NEVER, EVER smelled anything as rotten or horrible as that stuff! WHEW!!! It was terrible!! Poop never makes me sick but this stuff made me hurl-even before I had the flu. Night after night she would wake up and have it stuck to her entire body AND all over her crib. Did I say how awful it smelled?? Anyway, after 3 weeks of it, we took her to the doctors and she apparently had some sort of bacterial infection-most likely from bad milk or meat. Because she is now turning the corner and pooping normally, she does not need to be on an antibiotic-which would cause more diarrhea. NO THANK YOU!! I will say she was a champ at drinking Pedialyte. That kid could down 2 liters just looking at her. Now, however, that is all she wants to drink. If I hand her some yummy grape juice, she just gives it back as if to say, "That doesn't look like my orange drink so take it away, Woman!" And that is the look she gives me. Being sick has spoiled her somewhat in that she got what she wanted when she wanted it. Rude awakening, Chickee. Her little butt was on the time-out bench last night because she refused to get dressed. She would kick and scream and fight me so I put her on the bench where she would scream and cry (but she stayed put)!! Then we would try it again and back to the bench she would go. Finally, I whispered into her ear about the kitties on her socks and like a 1 year old, she didn't realize I had tricked her into getting dress. 1 for MOMMY!!! I must say, though, that I get a good laugh when she is angry. I know it is mean but she is so frickin' funny! I told her she couldn't pump the baby soap into her bath last night which made her mad. She hit the faucet, the side of the tub, splashed the water all the while yelling NO at me. I just want to pick her little body up and kiss her. My mother would tell me to pick her little body up and spank her backside. I guess that is why my mother raised 5 well behaved children and I am raising 2 hellions that don't listen:)

Sick blogger :(

I have been a very bad blogger...but I have had a good excuse! I have had the flu...and not the sneezy, sniffly kind...the kind that allows you to loose 8 pounds in 5 days without even trying. That is the only good thing about being sick! I thought I was all better on Monday and then WHAM! I was sick AGAIN! UGH! I am home today, feeling better, but taking it easy. There are beds to make, laundry to do, dogs to feed, dishes to clean up....and guess what?? I DON'T CARE!!! it can all sit there until my darling comes home and does it :)

Pictures from our weekend....

Meeting Martin

Camera found!!! Will post pictures later:) This weekend has been a busy one and it is only Saturday night! We left for Syracuse yesterday afternoon, met my parents for dinner at this neat Italian restaurant and then relaxed until this afternoon-by relax, I mean eat and shopped. Around 2, we drove to Cortland, NY where about 25 families were gathering to meet Martin, a World Child coordinator from Vietnam. We had had the great pleasure of spending many days with Martin while we were in Vietnam and it seemed like he had touched many lives by the amount of people that were there to see him!! We also got to meet Ava Linh's and Phoebe Jade!! We had spoken to their families over the phone and via the internet but had never had the chance to meet these little angels after they came home! There were many other children running/crawling/being held-all adopted from Vietnam through World Child/Family Connections...it was so wonderful to see :) So many little faces that looked just like Isabella!! We are all planning on meeting again in Ithaca on February 8th at a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year (Tet). I wish there was a holiday every month!!

18 month check up

Still no camera. Boo hoo. We had Isabella's 18 month check-up yesterday and eventhough I was a horrible mother for not asking for specifics, I do know she is in the 50th percentile for weight and height (on the American charts). I think she is about 24 pounds. She was really good until the nurse brought the shot in. She knew what was going to happen when I yanked her pants down - then they crying started! She tried covering up her leg but it didn't work too well. Two women against 1 flailing baby--we won! I did feel bad though-she was pissed!! She did get a sticker and that seemed to help :)

Tonight we brought home McDonald's thinking it would be easier than going out-Todd was at work so it was just the girls. Isabella managed to spill Elisabeth's drink, dump her hamburger WITH KETCHUP on the floor, and pitch all of her fries on the floor. Then she proceeded to help us clean it up with a baby wipe. After scrubbing the piano, wall, floor, and furniture with the same baby wipe, she used it to wipe her mouth. UGH!! Nothing is easy with a 1 year old-especially when they are not strapped into their high chair :)

Settled back in...

No pictures this time...my darling husband did the unthinkable and lost our camera. Luckily my youngest brother Aaron gave us a gift card for Best Buy...it will go towards a new digital camera:) The tree and decorations came down today. We had 4 huge boxes plus the tree. It is nice to be back to normal again. Next weekend a bunch of families from Upstate New York are meeting in Cortland to see one of the Vietnamese employees with World Child. He was such a wonderful help and support system while we were in Vietnam and he is here learning about the new procedures that are being implemented. We thought we would never get to see him again!! And...we get to meet up with all the families we have talked to over the internet and heard about!! It should be a wonderful get-together :)

Got to run and check on Isabella. She is upstairs screaming her frickin' head off. She has now decided that she doesn't have to go to bed at 8 or 9 or 10 and will scream until I finally go into her room and rescue her. UGH! I think she has my number. It is 1-800-SUCKER.

Home from the holidays.

Shane playing Elisabeth's Guitar Hero game on the Wii BEFORE she even opened it!! (Yes, Shane, I just posted a picture of you in your underwear on the internet for all to see. Tell me how to take the damn clicky noise off of Isabella's new wagon and I will delete it!!)
Isabella and her new tu-tu
Aunt Catherine and Lucy
Liam showing off his many teeth
Uncle Shane and his baby girls
3 generations
Elisabeth, Lucy, and Isabella
Elisabeth, Lucy, Isabella, and Rebekah
Our family
Aaron, Shane, and Mom


We are finally back home, unpacked, and settled in. Tomorrow we are all back to work and/or school. BOOOOO!!! Here are more pictures of our holiday. Lucy was baptized on Christmas Eve...my sister Rebekah is the one holding Isabella and standing next to Elisabeth, who is holding Lucy. The picture of my dorky brothers was taken on Christmas Eve. My mother asked them to go to church with us and they decided to shake things up and dress like Uncle Eddie (from Christmas Vacation). They went to the Salvation Army for a mere 60.00 dollars they got some nice fur hats, plaid coats, dickies, and polyester pants. They looked ridiculous but we couldn't stop laughing at them. Any yes, they marched right into church looking like this. My mom was so happy they were going, she didn't care what they looked like :)

Pictures from Christmas

Christmas in Syracuse

Santa found us at Nanny's house. And he was very good to all. Elisabeth got a new computer (the new XO kind where 1 gets sent to Africa and the buyer also gets one), a cell phone, new Heely's, a new jacket, clothes, a guitar game for her Wii, Uggs, and many other little things including a great stocking from Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Shane :) Her grandparents and aunts/uncles spoiled her silly. Isabella got a Red Flyer push wagon, Elmo toys, Little People ark, talking teddy bear, clothes, and a stocking from Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Shane. We have had a wonderful time playing with Liam and Lucy and will miss them very much when they all leave on Friday night. I will post pictures tomorrow....

The cutest things kids say and do....

Say..
Elisabeth shared with me the reasons why she wanted to get married. Here they are...
1. She wants a big diamond ring.
2. She wants to wear a pretty wedding dress-no lace, though.
3. She wants someone to catch the mice in her house for her.

Do..
We now lovingly refer to Isabella as a "CCD" - Candy Cane Destroyer. Every, and I mean every, candy cane she sees-she ripes it off the tree, breaks it in half, and sucks the life out of it. She will do this in private and public, fruit flavored or peppermint.

Getting ready for Christmas

This morning we went to the Corner Room for breakfast with Santa. Isabella has seen Santa Claus at least 100 times and prefers to continue to see him from far, far, far across the room. I tricked her into sitting on my lap close to him for the picture. Today, lucky for us we got a table near him so she could stare while we ate. Unfortunately, he left at 11 so our quiet breakfast was cut short :( This evening, I got time away with a friend. WHOOOOOO HOOOOO!! Todd stayed home with the girls while I went out to eat and shopping. Walking around the mall with no stroller and no whining was heavenly. We were supposed to get hit with a whopping 2-4 inches tonight but it looks like we are only going to get a little sleet. People around here absolutely FREAK at the thought of snow. They buy their milk and bread months before the "bad" weather hits and then nothing happens. Syracuse gets a foot of snow and life goes on.

Only 10 days left until Christmas!!!

Nanny's Visit

While Todd is away in Georgia on a golf trip, Mom decided to come down to PA and have an 'all girls' week. We went to church yesterday and then to The Garden's restaurant at the Penn Stater. It is a super huge buffet (the good kind) that made us all extremely ill. Isabella found the reindeer in the lobby and decided to climb on for a little ride.

I added a photo of Isabella and Elisabeth last year....how Isabella has changed :) Elisabeth is still a beauty, if I do say so myself!

36 hours and counting.....

since the last we diaper!!! How cool is that?? I am sure she could backslide or have accidents but WOW!! She did attempt to poop today in the middle of lunch but I grabbed her and got her to the toilet on time. She also enjoys watching others, mainly me, use the potty. Today she was standing there and all of sudden she screamed "poopy" (which she uses for pee pee) and started jumping up and down and clapping for me. It has been awhile since I got applause for going to the bathroom :)

Somewhat formal photos

This is my attempt at 'at home' photos. It didn't go so well. Elisabeth was the perfect model-Isabella was the complete opposite. After a full bag of M&Ms, promises of kitties, and many threatening remarks, these are some of the good ones and funny ones!!

Christmas Photos

I got weak this weekend and bought Isabella the most adorable Christmas outfit-a red skirt with fur trim and attached panties and a matching jacket. I tried the skirt on her last night to see if it fit then took it off before bath time. She decided she would put it back on-by herself. Wrong end, Isabella.

Pee Pee on the Potty

We have attempted to start potty training Isabella...don't tell my doctor, though. She would have a cow! We also aren't obsessed with it-if she goes, she goes. She does hold it for 2 or 3 hours at time and she knows how to wipe. I took her diaper off the other day and she waddles over to the baby wipes (she had on a dress and tights), got one out, and proceeded to wipe herself. She is too funny! She points to the toilet and says 'poo poo' and then to the candy and says 'm m'. She doesn't quite get it that you have to actually PEE before you get a candy. I think we will eventually end up with owning stock in Charmin and Hershey's and still have her in diapers :)

Elisabeth is also doing well...she just got an A+ on her States test...she had to memorize 16 states, spellings, where they are, and their capitals :) She is so smart!!! She and Isabella have set up a restaurant in our living room (lucky me). Well, Elisabeth sets things up and Isabella destroys them:) Elisabeth has also started playing with her dolls again...I couldn't find Isabella this morning (yes, Mom, I had the gate shut at the top of the stairs) and she was in feeding Elisabeth's doll a bottle. I am hoping she starts loving dolls-Elisabeth has every Lee Middleton under the sun!