Winding Down

I know that I am going to regret writing this. I know I am. Come the middle of January when I am pining for the nice summer weather, I am going to curse myself for saying this. Yet, truth be told, I am anxious for the Fall to arrive. Not even so much for some cooler weather, but for all the fun activities that the Fall brings along with it. I think the root of the matter is that we have been so very busy this summer with work, commitments and illnesses that I have found it truly difficult to enjoy the summer with the girls. Yes, there were some really great weekends and a few days mixed in there that we just adored, but this summer as a whole, has been a tough one. The horrible weather started it off in the wrong direction. With only a little over a week left in August, I know "it's over" and another summer has gone down in the memory books. It's depressing to me as I had wished I had more time to enjoy it and more time to make some great memories, so instead of being depressed, I have decided to look forward to the next season. This one, I am going to take by the reigns and soak up every last second of.

What's not to love about Autumn? I love the months of September and October because the weather is just splendidly gorgeous. Not too hot and not too cold. Just comfortable! There's football.. and lord knows I love to entertain and watch the Patriots play on Sundays! There are all the wonderful activities to do with the kids from apple picking to pumpkin picking, festivals and fairs and all the inbetweens. The cooking and baking and the Fall scented candles. I love every inch of the Fall. I truly do. The only dreadful thought I have about September coming is Hannah entering Kindergarten. To be honest, I dont dread it as much as I thought I was going to. I know when the day arrives I am going to be a wretched sobbing mess. Yet at the same time, I am proud that Hannah is as smart as she is. I am blessed that she is well and I do love that she is old enough to really communicate and have fun with. Recently we have been playing Monopoly (Bonopoly per Hannah). It's a Disney version and I really really enjoy playing with her. She does so well with the dice and counting the money. She is learning math and quite honestly has beat me many times more in the game than I have her. It's fun and the interaction is really quite refreshing. I love being able to have this relationship with her. So even though I do pine after her infancy and babyhood (is that a word?) I do love the way things are now. Truly, I do.

I am also excited to watch Layla react to our fun Fall adventures. A year older now, she is soaking everything up like a sponge. She is talking so much more and her facial expressions are a hoot. She has become quite good at reprimanding everyone as well with her first finger shaking at you and her "Stop it!" She loves to dance and still loves to be a cuddle bug. THANK GOODNESS! She adores Hannah and has a tough time when Hannah is not around to keep her entertained. The two of them together can be quite comical. Moreover, Layla is OBSESSED with SHOES! I dont even think writing this can get across how obsessed she really is with them. The second she walks into a room she is scouting out the shoe situation. Especially if you have flip flops or high heels. She prefers high heels, but flip flops will do. If you have them slipped off under your desk.. they are hers. If you take them off at the beach, she's running over and putting them on. Every morning when I open my closet door, she'll hear the noise and come running right over to my heels. She actually prefers if they dont match and she steps right in and clunks away. It is so very funny to watch! This morning while I was making breakfast, she went over to Billy's work boots. Grabbed his tube socks, but them both on and then proceeded to put on his boots. (I really should have taken a picture.. darn!) Her tiny legs in these huge socks and shoes.. I am still chuckling at the image in my head. She has the dearest of manners too! Everything is, PEASE and TANK YOU. If she accidentally bumps into me, SARRY MOMMY. Heck, there are times when I accidentally bump into her and she still says, SARRY MOMMY! LOL! If she hears someone cough or say owe, it's "K?" for are you okay. Our big Layla moment is that she has decided to just potty train herself. Not fully of course, but she is showing much interest in it. I am totally amazed at this as Hannah fought it tooth and nail at age 3. Layla actually started being interested in it at 18 months as she would follow me into the bathroom and take off her diaper and say "Pee". So we would every now and then put her on the big toilet where she would sit for a few and then say, "done!" She never actually went though. So last Friday I picked up a potty for her. She woke up from her nap and really didnt want much to do with it. An hour later I saw her rip off her diaper, sit on it and GO! Seriously!!!!???? She went a dozen more times on it that evening and throughout the weekend as well. I have decided when we are home we'll continue with it and if I can remember to bring the potty to work, we'll continue with it there as well. I am not going to force it as the kid is only 22 months but I dont want to stop her from doing it either. I am just in awe that she is even doing it at such a young age. Sigh... I guess another milestone and another sign that my youngest baby is a growing up. Sniff sniff...

This weekend the grown ups are catching a Sox/Yankees game with the Murphy side. It should prove to be a fun Saturday as most of us are Sox fans but there are a few Yankee fans mixed in there. I am excited to have some quality time with everyone as well. Sunday we are hoping to catch Aimee and the twins for a quick visit and then off to my niece, Addison's first birthday party. The girls are sure to have a blast and I promise to fire up the camera and picture taking as well!

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Finally a moment to sit and update. It seems as thought things are status quo right now and for that, I am grateful. Most importantly, HANNAH IS HOME! Hannah is home! She spent Tuesday and Wednesday with Grammy and I am thrilled to have her back. You all know how I hate sleepovers. I despise them. Something about the house being so empty without Han. I hate walking into her empty room at night and not seeing her bubbly face staring back at me. I hate the loneliness that occurs when she is not home and to be honest, Layla feels it too. She spends the time saying "Where's Nana? Nana whar are you?" (Nana=Hannah in Layla language) As much as I hate sleepovers, I do know that I have to give a little and not keep the child in my bubble., so I allow it. Plus I know she and Grammy both enjoy the time they spend together. But for the record, I still hate sleepovers! HA!

On another note, we had Layla's followup GI appointment in Boston last Friday. We discussed some of our concerns with her Dr. and he wants to get another scope done. The difficulty we are having is determining whether her issues are food allergy related or if it is a GI issue. If it does turn out to be food allergy, then I think we will be seeking another allergist to do the work up because obviously what we learned before of her allergies isn't all there is. The child still has issues on a daily basis, so if it is food allergies, then we need to figure out what besides, peanut, soy, milk and oats she is allergic too. The other issue we are having is that she is refusing food. Her doctor seems to think that this is a psychological issue because she knows that if she eats, it is going to cause her belly pain and therefore, she doesn't want to eat. We need to retrain her to eat the foods that wont hurt her belly so finding a food therapist/specialist will be in the works as well. She is still on the formula and this is where I believe she is gaining her weight from since feeding her is a daily struggle. Mind you, I don't blame the kid since most of the yummy food is off limits to her. I really need to come up with some good alternatives for her. Maybe there is a book or something I can look into? I can tell you that finding food that doesn't contain milk, or soy or even peanuts these days is a difficult task. Yet, in the scheme of everything, Layla is still sleeping much better so this is a plus!

I truly cant believe that we are on the countdown to Hannah starting kindergarten. I am so not ready for this step. So not ready. She is however, rearing and ready to go! This is such a huge milestone for her and she is ready to take it head on. I am hoping to have her ears squared away by then since she is still having issues hearing in her left ear. I am not even sure what can be done about it, but we have our appointment next week and I am really going to have to get some answers. I have tried in the past, but to no avail. She has the tubes, but that left ear is still an issue. I still swear with my whole being that it has to do with the Hemangioma wrapped around that ear tube on the inside. I wonder if I sit the doctor down scream in his face while flailing my arms above my head if he then would listen? Just a thought. Don't mess with the MOMMY! WE MOMMY's KNOW BEST! HA!

We are heading to the library after work so Hannah can play on her computers while I make puzzles with Layla. Then home to make sun catchers! Perfect craft on this gloomy Thursday! Speaking of crafts.. I really need to get my head together for my Christmas craft! It is just around the corner and I really want to get my presents done and wrapped so December is an enjoyable month!

That's all she wrote for today. I will try and get on to update more as our journey in life continues....

Standing Still in Time

This weekend surmised everything I love about Motherhood. The girls and I were finally able to sit back, relax and enjoy a summer weekend. Something I have been aching to do for quite some time! We headed down to RCB around 5:30 Friday night. The girls were excellent in the car despite the traffic and the fact that they were starving. We got in about 6:30 and opened up the house. We made some dinner and played some games. Then Hannah read us a book and we got in our pj's and snuggled in for the best night's sleep we have all had in a very long time. In all honesty, I woke up in a panic at 2:30 AM thinking something was wrong or that someone had stolen the children. Yet, upon checking in on them, they were both sound asleep and I didnt hear from them until they walked into my room and woke ME up at 7:15AM! THANK YOU OCEAN AIR! It was quite the greeting and I was so excited to spend the day on the beach with the girls. We went for our morning walk to look for seashells, or rocks, as the water at RCB tends to be quite rough and shells dont really make it to the shore. Upon our walk we met an adorable black lab whom we stopped to play ball with. I took a ton of pictures and literally soaked up every single minute of the morning.

After arriving back from our walk we hit the beach to make our sand castles and play with our beach friends. The water was amazingly rough and I couldn't wait to hit the waves which reminded me much of the North Shore Hawaii Surf Competition-The Pipeline. Seriously, the waves were 10 feet tall! My sister in law Leanne and I were able to get in and have a blast until the strength of the water took her down pretty hard. Scary moment, but thankfully she was okay. I even had a minor episode when a wave broke pretty far out and sent me plummeting down on the rocks unable to get up for a few minutes. I remember being a kid and wondering how people got hurt riding waves. I was a water baby.. still am but as I have grown older I have come to appreciate the fact that the ocean water is a force not to be reckoned with. I can now wrap my mind around how strong and forceful it can be an how easily it can truly take lives. I respect it all the same and I know my limitations these days. However, diving into the waves brought back a few moments of my childhood innocence about the water. This as well as Hannah and I doing cartwheels in the sand. Yes, I actually decided that I could step out of my Mommy comfort zone and be a kid again. We put on quite the display of acrobatics and it REALLY felt good to be a kid again. I think I may have shocked Hannah a bit. She had no idea her Mommy still had it in her.. quite frankly, I think I shocked myself!

I really am grateful for the weekend we had. Precious moments spent with my girls and family. It certainly will be one of the most memorable of the summer. Now we are heading up North for a 2 day work break to spend some time at the New Hampshire house. I am one lucky girl and I am glad for the break in work and the time I am able to spend with the family and my precious little miracles!