I've got issues!

Every week, it never fails. The week is just jam packed with things that need to get done. As if our weeks were not busy enough, there is always the added things that need to be dealt with. I was just checking over my "To Do List" and I have no idea how I will ever get it all done! There are a gazillion phone calls to make, a gazillion appointments to be made, not to mention the ones we already have. Just when I think I'm going to have a day to just get some of my "me stuff" done, I realize that we have some random appointment. How do I not just make an appointment for myself to do nothing? It seems like I try to spread the appointments around, but somehow they always end up one right after the other. Oy! Oh well, enough venting for now.........I just gotta get the stuff done.

10 Months!

I can't believe that Princess J is 10 months already! I know I say that every month, but it is so true. One thing I am trying to enjoy and savor is when she first falls asleep and sleeps with Mommy for a little while before going to her crib. It is so amazing watching her all day, just testing the waters and trying new things, and exerting all that energy. She is seriously a little explorer. She is everywhere and into everything. She's faster than a bullet train. She gets so tired, and you can see in her eyes that she is about to fall over from sleep, but she fights it kicking and screaming. One minute she'll be kicking, crying and arching her back, and the next she is peacefully asleep. It's amazing, that everytime I look at her, I almost can't remember life without her. It seems like she's been here forever, yet it's only been 10 short months. I say short months, because they seem to fly by faster than I can blink.

Princess J and Little J are interacting together so much now. They both are trying to steal eachothers binkies and whatever toy one has, the other wants. They are seriously like two peas in a pod right now. I love how they watch eachother trying new things. I love how Little J pays attention to Princess J when she's babbling. I love how they smile when they see eachother in the morning. They are both so stinkin' cute! I know I'm a little biased, but I am totally in love.

January brings...

Good and bad. We're only 26 days in to the new year and so far, January has brought:
Lots of rain
A major home expense
Little J's breakthrough seizures
Little J's anxiety about school for the first week back after spring break.
Little J's first cold brought home from school.
Princess J's first cold (thanks to big brother!)
Daddy's first cold of the new year
Mommy's first illness of the new year.
A new schedule for Little J. (school and therapy)
The Little Gym for Princess J!
New milestones for Princess J (clapping hands, pulling up to stand, cruising and Princess attitude)
A need for purging and cleaning.
A new scrap space for Mommy!
A need for some new furniture pieces.
Renewed relationships with my sorority sisters! (So thankful!)
A "to do" list 10 miles long for February!!!

Little Artiste!

Little J is officially a little artiste! He came home from school today with paint all over his hands and face (and they had cleaned him up) and this beautiful painting for our refrigerator.

Loving Bubbles!

I had to share this photo also! Princess J loves bubbles!

Little Gym Fun!

About 3 weeks ago, Princess J joined the Little Gym. Now that big brother is in school, we are trying to find fun things for Princess J to do. We started with the Little Gym. She loves it so much! Right now, she is the youngest one in her class, because it's the end of the fall semester. Most of the little ones are between 16 and 19 months. Although she is only 9 months old, we figured that she was close enough to 10 months to join the birds group. The new semester starts next week, so I'm sure there will be more little ones closer to her age. These extra 3 weeks has given her a chance to explore the environment and get comfortable. She loves it so much! Everytime it is time to leave she throws a complete temper tantrum including screaming and arching her back to try and wiggle herself out of your grasp. Thursdays we have to run a tight ship to get Little J to school and Princess J to her gym class, but it is so worth it to see how much fun she is having. She loves to check out the other kiddos in the class too. I'm sure she will be making lots of friends next semester! :D

SNOT!

As we swim our way out of the water, we've come to make a new friend around here. SNOT! Ugh! So, Little J brought home his first cold from school last week. We thought we were going to get lucky and that Princess J would get to skip this round. Unfortunately, she was not so lucky. Little J was just getting to the end of it, when late Saturday night, poor Princess J's nose was all stuffed up and running. She was completely miserable. Poor little thing could not sleep or get comfortable. Thank goodness for On Demand television. The only thing that calmed her down was Yo! Gabba Gabba! I think she has watched the sleep episode at least 100 times. Whatever keeps her happy though. Now mommy and daddy have the cold too. I have a lot of things on my "to do" list, but none of it seems to be getting done. I was prepared today to get a few things done, but poor Little J had a slight relapse and I had to go pick him up at school. They thought he was vomiting, but when I took him to the pediatrician, she said more than likely it was his sinuses draining out, and that made it look like he was vomiting. He doesn't have any ear infections, or red throat, or bronchitis, so it's just a virus that we have to ride out. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some progress in the "to do" department and in the kiddos getting back to their healthy happy selves. As long as they are healthy and happy, this cold won't stop me!

How Much is Too Much?

Things have been crazy since the beginning of the year. We've definately been put to the test of staying calm, cool and collected around here. Weve come through pretty well, but there are a few scratches that need to heal. In all the craziness around here, it became necessary to move my scrapbook area. OH MY HECK!!!! I have way to much freakin' stuff! In moving my scrapbook stuff, I am finding out just how much I have. I started out this year with the resolution to give up soda. It was either soda or Starbucks...and well, I just love my Starbucks too much. Anyway, after working on my scraproom and working on organizing everything, I have decided that I need to resolve to scrap more and use up this stuff. I can tell you that right now...I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF! Is there a Scrappers Anonymous somewhere? I need to go to a meeting 7 days a week! I am shocked and overwhelmed by the magnitude of my stuff! So, here is my plan...as soon as my room is done and my house is put back in order, I am going to start working on using up this crazy stash. My first plan is to pull out all the stuff I know I am not going to use and sell it either on Craigslist or at our Garage Girl garage Sale the first weekend in February. I will post the date and time in a later post. The exact details of this event escape me at the moment. Then, I need to come up with a plan on my layout and project goals for the year and what exactly I am going to allow myself to buy. I should probably not buy anything except for cardstock and adhesive, but I know that will be impossible for me. So, if your interested stay tuned for more on that front. Oh and by the way, if you know me, then don't give me a hard time about my stash either.....(you know who you are!)

In other news, Little J is back in school and readjusting to his schedule and work. His therapies are all in place and he is doing well overall. We had a few breakthrough seizures, but medication seems to have controlled them quickly. Princess J started her first week of classes at The Little Gym. It's the end of the current semester, so she's definately the youngest in the class, but in two weeks we start a new semester and I'm sure there will be more kids at her level. Since it's been awhile since I posted, here are some of the things Princess J has accomplished in the last few months.

She's been crawling for awhile now.
Using her walker, she loves to walk around the house and explore and she runs with abandon!
She pulls up to her knees.
She pulls up to a stand.
She cruises along furniture!!!! (this is a new skill this week!)
She gives kisses to mommy and daddy.
She comes to you when you call her. (If she feels like it!)
She claps! (She clapped for the first time today!)
She says mama, dada, and HI!
She waves!
She's got mommy wrapped around her little finger.

Her 9 month checkup was just last week, and she is growing healthy and strong!