Happy Birthday Twinkletoes!

Since I've already qualified for "Mother of the Year" this year, it should come as no surprise that I'm writing the birthday blog for Twinkletoes - late. She turned six on Thursday. Today - it is Monday. I really suck!

She came in to our world unexpectedly - just a short ten and a half months after we welcomed her brother (yes, it is possible!) She was overzealous from the start, arriving a full month ahead of schedule. So, if you're sick to your stomach in your third trimester, it may be a good idea to get to the doctor to have an internal exam - you may be in labor. That being said, when we arrived at the hospital for her delivery, there was no room at the inn. See, after 9/11/01, there seemed to be a "baby boom" so the nurses were met with a very irritated woman in labor, her sick (yes, he had strep throat and an ear infection) husband and our doctor. Doc C told the ladies to clean up Room #1 because I was 4 cm at 10 am and it was now after 3 pm - he couldn't imagine that the number went down. :-) Nothing like having the doctor root for your team! After an epidural, a round of pitocin, and a refresher on the epidural which wore off - Twinkletoes came into our lives after just a few pushes. She also went into the NICU for the next five days where they worked on issues with her breathing and digestion -- but she came home without any problems and we were happy to have her.

Since then we've decided she is going to be an actress. She is a total drama queen. Nothing is taken lightly by this one. She wants to be a vet when she grows up. She understands that she won't be able to help all animals but she wants to make a difference (except in the lives of snakes). She loves going to school and is eager to start each day and is up bright and early (like her mom) and seems to be a morning person. She is a joy to her teachers and never poses a problem in her classroom. I'm sure after this next round of Rutgers Reading this summer, she'll be reading books without any help from us.

She is a helper! She loves to help out with her baby sister and even helps her brother tie his shoes and find lost objects. She also believes that being a tattle tale is helpful. Can't blame her but boy oh boy is it annoying!!!

She is in such a hurry to grow up!!! She idolizes her older cousins and now is the proud owner of an MP3 player. She asked me to download Hanna Montana, High School Musical 2 and (a girl after my own heart) Jimmy Buffett. So, while she is singing Jolly Mon or Fins out loud because she doesn't understand that even though she can't hear herself, we CAN hear her, we have to just sit back and wonder where all the time went. She is going into first grade in the fall. I wish her all the happiness her heart can hold - she's brought so much into our everyday that I cannot imagine living without her.

It really does seem like yesterday I was cursing at my mom when my epidural wore off.

Happy Sixth Birthday Twinkletoes. Never stop reaching for the stars!!

Its gonna be a hot one

It's Saturday -- the weather forecasters in our area are calling for our first "official" heat wave of the summer. Not sure if it is true in other places, but here they like to say that any three consecutive days of 90+ degree weather consitutes a heat wave. A perfect time for our next door neighbor to have his pool liner replaced!!! We may venture to the swim club this afternoon when they open. I don't want the kids to be inside all day but then, how long can I keep SweeTart outside in the heat? Ugh - decisions, decisions.

Last night we went with family to see Tom Petty play in Philly. What a show!! Steve Winwood opened for them - it was a fantastic show from start to finish. I was impressed. Thanks to D for making the call to get the limo so I wasn't stuck being the designated driver all the way from Philly (not like it is that far but when I drive the husband home after a few beers, he's not such a fantastic co-pilot -- he likes to tell me how to move around in the traffic, very loudly, might I add). From their house to home was a fine drive for me. The Jimmy Buffett concert is next weekend. I cannot wait for that!!

We had SweeTart's first "professional" photos done yesterday. What a gal! She was so cooperative and we got so many great shots, it was hard to choose which pictures to purchase. As usual, I bought too many and spent too much. But she's only this big (or small as you may see it) once and geez is she cute. Here is one of the shots. I know it says "zazzle" across it but that is who hosts the pictures for the Picture People online.

Here we are ...

Here I am. I seem to be blinking in and out as far as blogging is concerned. I don't think I ever posted a picture of SweeTart with Dr. C (the man who was not "on call" the night she was delivered but he showed up in my room bright and early the day after she was born!) Here it is:

What else has been going on? We survived our first Memorial Day holiday. Barely. We started out at the V-Town parade which was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. I guess we arrived around 9 - 9:30. SweeTart was okay, for a little bit after we arrived. Then she decided that it was time to eat. I wasn't exactly prepared to feed her there on the street, by bottle or otherwise. I had packed bottles but they were two blocks away in the truck. I was not nursing her right there. I still can't really nurse her in front of people. I don't know why - I am just too uncomfortable doing it. But we made it through the parade and I was able to feed her once we got back to the truck. Whew. A ride to the shop for a pee-stop on our way to my sister's house for her annual picnic and Beverly's parade which is now thrown in honor of my niece's birthday every year. Kind of like how the V-Town fireworks are for Jerry's birthday every year! ;-)

Karen did a great job (ok, you too Luis) with her picnic and the party. The parade usually runs itself. This is the first year in all of the years I've seen the parade from her house that my sister has actually seen the entire parade too. She's usually throwing together last minute items for the party/picnic. Kudos on a job well done. Jacqui looked fabulous too in her fancy red, white and blue dress. Here's a cute picture of her:

My kids were very good over their aunt's house - they enjoyed the parade and the party. They're already excited about next year!

Now, we're getting down to the nitty-gritty. I go back to work next Monday. While I'm looking forward to the interaction with other adults and the daily challenges my job brings, I'm not looking forward to having to pump in a nurse's office instead of just simply nursing the baby and all the fun other things that I will be missing while at work. But, I think that they need me as much as I need them right now. I've been home for almost 8 weeks, and I guess that is long enough. :-)

The kids went swimming in our neighbor's pool yesterday. Boy did they have fun!! I took pictures with my phone. Although they look good on the phone, they look horrible uploaded. So, you'll have to take my word for it! They were very cute and I'm glad that they're getting some swimming in before we leave for our annual 4th of July vacation with our family to the OBX. Twinkletoes was a little unsure of herself and it took her almost 45 mintues before she ventured into the deep end. Once DinoBoy was done whining about how "cold" the water was, he was a terrific swimmer! It was hard to get them both out of the pool and back home so that we could start dinner!! It will be a fun summer since the neighbor's said we could use the pool as often as we want. With having the baby this summer, I don't believe we'll be at the swim club as often as we were last year but we'll do our best!!