knitwitty chit-chat

Princess Jack?

2008-07-15T12:14:00.001-04:00

What little brothers will let big sisters do to them just to be able to play with them.......

Tracy and Randy's trip to the beach house

2008-07-15T12:10:00.003-04:00

Just a cute picture of a cute family. It is now tacked to bulletin board of fame at the beach house!!

May 2008 Jacks Graduation from Preschool

2008-07-15T11:52:00.005-04:00

This is a picture from Jack's little graduation celebration from preschool. No words can describe how proud we were of our sons progress! (he's the one siting on the ground on the far left!)

This is a parent participation dance that TJ had to do with Schaefer instead of Jack (as Jack wouldn't come out from behind the tree!!)

what have i done?

2008-04-29T08:13:00.002-04:00

did i seriously think that i was punishing THEM when i said no tv for two whole days-two whole rainy,inside days??????? there are only so many things to do inside the house for two days. play-doh,colors,books,books,more books, hide and seek, playing in the basement full of toys for 30 seconds. did i mention that the pool is being opened in 2 days?

some things little ones say!!

2008-04-11T20:58:00.003-04:00

So, some of the things that the little ones say just never make any sense to us.Other things they say somehow make perfect sense. I was standing in the bathroom of all places today with Schaefer .He has now caught on to going pee-pee while standing like his big brother does so I decided to let him give it a try. Right in mid-stream, he looked up at me with the biggest grin and said "yook at me mommy, I am standing on my pee-pee toes to go potty"...........
It took me a split second to realize what he was saying but when I did, I just couldn't help but smile with him. It makes perfect sense that they are pee-pee toes and not tippy-toes as long as you are standing on them when you are going potty like a big boy!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-04-03T09:11:00.001-04:00

has it been 3 months?

2008-04-01T10:18:00.008-04:00

I must not have that much to talk about in life that might be of interest to anyone! It seems that the days through winter are all very much of the same around here. I think that we are all ready for spring and sunshine and playing outside everyday...

We just got back from our annual Easter Break trip to West Palm Beach and Islamorada in the Keys. The weather was better than here, but when Easter comes early, it is not quite as nice as it is later. We were outside a lot and the kids went swimming everyday (which helped our nights) and wore themselves out!!! Our trip to the keys was, as always, the best part of the trip. We went fishing and the kids caught lots of grouper and snapper and had so much fun out on the boat in the Gulf of Mexico. We ate fresh fish for dinner and fresh fruit all day long. What a life!!

We were glad to be home sleeping in our own beds and getting on with days as usual. Meghan is getting closer to her dance recital and has her yearly standardized testing next week! (no homework for a week!!!)

Jack and Schaefer are busy torturing each other one minute and loving each other the next. BROTHERS....

Nothing else new here.

The stress of preschools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-15T07:43:00.000-05:00

So, I have been stressing the last few months about what I would do with Schaefer next fall for preschool. He will turn 3 on September the 3rd and so misses the Baltimore County birthdate cut-off of September 1st by 2 days. I just want to get the kid into some kind of organized setting socializing with other kids before he turns 4. So, my thought has been that I would like to keep him at Immaculate where my others have been and we love the teacher etc. Not such a simple thought. The principle has been adament about the cut-off date and not making any exceptions. NONE. So, I decided to try one last time to actually speak with the principle personally to try and explain to her what I want to do. She finally called back last night and I was able to tell her that I want to get him socialized in the fall, but I want to do 3's, 4's, then pre-k and then kindergarten so he will not be starting kindergarten before he is supposed to. I would rather him be the oldest in his class than the youngest when he gets to big school, I don't want him to struggle because he is the youngest. Well, the principle finally heard what I was saying because she agreed that as long as he does 3 years in the preschool she is okay with him starting the 3's in the fall. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! All 3 kids in school at the same school.... I am going up to school this morning to get him registered and I am so happy that she finally heard what I was trying to say... Now, just so you know how crazy I am. I found a terrific preschool that was also willing to put him in the 3's and it is 3 days instead of 2 and they have the option for "my afternoon out" where the kids can stay on any of those days until 3pm if you so choose. I would have at least the option for some real time to myself. So why not go there? I am not sure what I am thinking but I love the teachers at Immaculate and they have had the other 2 kids and it is convenient having them all at the same place starting at the same time and I really love that they come home at three saying the prayers that our family says and that they will have to know at the big school. Call me crazy, but I think I am going to stay at ICS and have some quality time next fall with little Schaefer as he will only go 2 short mornings a week!!

Almost pottty trained!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

We are 90% through potty training our third and final kiddo... what will life be like with no diapers? Do you know how cute little boy boxer briefs are on a 2 year old? Really darn cute! It has taken him a while to register that he does not have to be naked to use the potty. If he was naked he would use it every single time (except the occasional pee-pee in a random closet on or in a random pair of shoes) but if he had anything on his bottom he would go in his pants about 75% of the time. Well praise God, something has clicked and he will now tell me he has to go even while dressed! Uncle Randy will be happy to know that he won't have to stare at a naked 2 year old when he comes for a visit!!!!!! Did I mention how cute a 2 year old looks in boxer briefs? You would think that I would be over the cuteness after my first boy in briefs but it is still as cute as it was the first time around. Oh well, enough of that. We are just excited for a diaper free future.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-08T16:57:00.001-05:00

Wow, what a month and a half!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-01T20:19:00.000-05:00

It has been so long since I have been on here at all, let alone to blog. Right after Thanksgiving came Dad's big scare and a few unscheduled days in St. Louis. Coming home from that and getting right into the swing of getting ready for Christmas as quickly as possible (kind of!). Oh, and did I forget to mention that we kind of tore our house apart around Thanksgiving? We decided to open up the den to the kitchen and family room and living room (well, it's all just one big room now!). We did get everyting put back together in time for our Christmas houseful and our New Years guests. We had Christmas here with Tj's family and Tracy and the girls and mom and then Scott, Rochelle and Mackenzie drove halfway across the country to come for a visit. We had a great time and I don't even feel exhausted. The company was great and we are thankful that they are so good about coming here at least twice a year to visit.
Oh, and in the midst of all of the Holidays and such, my best friend moved from up the street to Harrisburg Pennsylvania. I feel like she might not have really gone because we never really officially said goodbyes or anything and I feel like I might just see her drive down the street tomorrow morning when all is back to normal. I am so bummed that she is gone, but know that we will remain close forever and we will see each other often. I am driving up to Harrisburg on Thursday for the whole day to help her unpack and visit so I am excited about that!

Nothing else too exciting. I hope to be on here more in the coming days and weeks to catch up and get back to normal.

Girly girls!!

2007-11-06T12:18:00.000-05:00

For all of you with girly girls.... Enjoy them while they are small and love to be fairies and princesses and ballerinas because...........
One day Halloween will come and there will be no more girly girl costumes!!!!!! (see below)

All of a sudden, they want to be witches and goblins and such!!!!!!!!!!

Girls Weekend

2007-11-06T10:53:00.000-05:00

We finally had our long awaited girls only weekend that we have been trying to plan for almost 2 years. We started off with grand ideas of full resort spa getaways and at last settled on going as far as D.C. and Georgetown. We had reservations at a bed and breakfast in Dupont Circle and had big shopping plans!! Then...................... One of our girls broke her foot and is on crutches and cannot bear weight for 4 months. We were booked on the third floor and they had no elevator (bummer), and shopping down there entails lots and lots of walking and very little parking, so we bagged those plans and drove to the beach house. We did a lot of relaxing, a bit of outlet shopping , ate out every night and watched chick flicks. Overall we had a great time and a quiet weekend away.

vanishing hair????

2007-10-27T08:39:00.000-04:00

Jack must be going through a very observant phase right now. He seems to be noticing everything under the sun lately. Yesterday he was talking with TJ and he asked him very matter-of-factly, "daddy, did someone take your hair"? TJ was like "what do you mean"? "Well, you don't have the same hair anymore"......I am not sure if he mentioned the color or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing like a little reality check from your 4 year old eh?

removable penis???

2007-10-24T16:40:00.000-04:00

I was in the bathroom yesterday after my shower and Jack came in the room for a visit. He was looking at me and my bum like something was not in order. He finally said with a sweet little quizzacle (is that even a word)? look on his face, " where is your penis mommy"? I said "Jack, I don't have a penis because I am a girl and only boys have them". He said, "where did it go"? I said "it didn't go anywhere, I never had one because only boys have them". "Oh", he said. Still looking very sweet, he said "mommy, I love you and I will give you my penis if you want to have it"..... "That's very sweet Jack, but how do you suppose that you would do that"? Very matter-of-factly , like duh," I would unscrew it so you could screw it onto you"! "Oh, I see". "Thank you for thinking of me sweetie, but your penis is attached and will not unscrew". "What"??? He reaches down and gives a little tug and says "well, God didn't make it very good if you can't share it"... Oh, little does he know now just how much he might one day share that poorly made thing that doesn't unscrew!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stealing is wrong, wrong, wrong!!

2007-10-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

So, I am just venting as I sit here wondering how on earth I ended up giving up my once a month Bunko night. My husband could never seem to make it home from work on that one night a month in time for me to go so I quit the group. Now it seems that the wine club he is going to is on the exact same night once a month (an hour earlier) and guess who seems to be making them all?

How does this stuff happen? He stole my night, my bunko, my fun!!! Men.........

Finally complete!

2007-10-19T12:44:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of my first (completed) knitted baby blanket. I started this many months ago along with umpteen other projects, and I am glad to be finished with one of them!! This is going to my cousin Teri for her newest little boy, Liam. I hope she likes!!!!

Some pictures of our trip to Tiamo

2007-10-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

The view from our Bungalow to the beach and water...

Our self portrait at sunset...........

This was Shine (our fishing captain)!

My first feisty bonefish...

TJ's first elusive bonefish!!

Our bungalow

What you see as you approach Tiamo-you'd never know it was there!!

This is called the"crack". We had a 30 minute kayak to get to it and then had to dive under the "crack" to get to the lagoon on the other side to snorkel. It was amazing!!

The sunset at Tiamo....

Potty Training

2007-10-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

Potty Training a boy---UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RECONNECTED AND READY FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS!

2007-10-18T07:44:00.000-04:00

Have you ever dreamed of a faraway place where the mornings are lazy, the days full of adventure and the view breathtaking? Well, I have dreamt about it and now I have found a slice of paradise that I can't wait to get back to. TJ and I decided to go away for our 10th anniversary and we have found an amazing place. We flew from BWI to Fort Lauderdale (thank you Tracy and Randy) which is a quick 2 hour flight and then we caught an island hopper flight directly to the Congotown Airport on South Andros Island in the Bahamas (and it only took about 55 minutes!) We arrived and went through customs and walked outside to find Timmy, our driver, waiting to take us to the boat dock, about an 8 minute drive away. We got to the dock where Captain Moss was waiting to take us to our final destination----TIAMO!!!!!!!

We had about a ten minute boat ride in the most beautiful water imaginable and then all of a sudden we see a dock coming out from the beach with another small boat tied up. Could this be it? We couldn't see anything that looked like a resort anywhere. There were beautiful palm trees, and the closer we got we could see hammocks hanging between the trees and adirondak chairs scattered down the beach. Wow, this is amazing! You would never know that behind all the beautiful island brush you would find our haven for the next 5 days. We were met at the dock by the local staff and taken to the lodge for our intro to the ways of Tiamo. We sat at the bar and ordered our first of many delicious island drinks made by Sandy and Eulika!!

We were taken with drinks in hand to see our Bungalow (#4)!! Wow, wow, wow! The place was unreal! All wood floors, totally screened in, tied back curtains (later untied for privacy!!!!) blowing in the breeze, and a stone floored, fully private outdoor rain shower. Unbelievable and yet so minimalistic at the same time.

There are only 11 bungalows total which means that the max # of guests at any given time is 22.

We had coffee delivered to our room each morning and then at our leisure we would walk up to the lodge for banana pancakes or whatever was being served for the morning. We had the whole morning to relax and read or go for a swim or sail and get ready for the day.

There were daily guided tours by Steve and Sammy, our nature concierges for the trip, either hiking, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling the blue holes or searching the resort for the 3 resident iguanas (Chuckie, Agnes and King). HUGE IGUANAS!!!!!!!!!!!

We chartered a flats boat for the whole day on our Anniversary and went bone fishing. We had never used fly rods before so Shine (our captain) had to first try to teach us how to cast the fly rods and then we set out for the day. Fly fishing is not easy to learn but is much fun to try. We both managed to catch bone fish (me more than my husband)!! which is not an easy task,and we owe it all to Captain Shine for he was an amazing fisherman and patient teacher.

I have to tell you, there was another couple that came for their honeymoon, (real fisher people with thier own fly rods and all the fancy gear you can imagine). Well, they went bone fishing on 2 separate days, all day, and they never had a bone fish on the line!! They were 2 pissed off people, not one fish!! And we, who had never touched a fly rod caught at least a dozen fish between us.. You gotta love beginners luck!

Ok, enough about fishing.

After whatever activity we chose to do, we would head back to the lodge for lunch and drinks!!! and relax some more. Or go sailing or swimming in the beautiful warm water.

Dinner was at the lodge as well, unless you wanted it delivered to your room for a romatic dinner for two, which we didn't, and we all sat at one big table. Mike, the owner and his wife and 8 year old daughter ate dinner with us every night and drank at the bar with us until we were all ready for bed. They also went on most of the excursions with us as well!

After drinking and listening to the bartender on the bongo drums and Sammy singing Bob Marly and playing his guitar(quite well) we would take our wind up flashlight and head back down the beach to find the little wood stump that marked bungalow 4 . We would let the drapes down, turn on the fan and most nights listen to rain trickeling on the tin roof of our wonderful little piece of paradise that was our bungalow!!!!

Anyway, we snorkeled with stingrays and sharks and thousands of beautiful fish and coral and we will never forget it. It was, by all accounts, the best vacation either of us have ever taken.

Their website is beautifully put together and represents them quite well. It is www.tiamoresorts.com if you want to check it out.

Thanks to Tracy and mom for giving us peace of mind so we could really relax and reconnect after 10 years and 3 kids!

We hope to go back often and next time we are hoping to get a few couples to go along and see how great the place really is.

Oh, I almost forgot. The chef was a local Bahamian with no formal training, except her mother, and the food was (as our British friends at Tiamo would say)was quite extraordinary! So much so, that for the first time in my life I ate Lamb Chops and savored every single bite. Me--lamb, no way!!

One week down, many to go!

2007-09-14T20:59:00.000-04:00

So we made it through the first week with two kids getting ready and out the door by 7:30am. Jack is doing so much better in the mornings than he did in the afternoons at school. No crying yet!!!!!!!!!!!

Schaefer just walks around the house saying erhs Dack? over and over again. It is really sweet to see him wondering where his big brother is. Then we pick Jack up from school to come home and the real brotherly love begins anew. You know, screaming, hitting, kicking each other off of the sofa etc, etc. Again, so sweet!!

We are thinking that Schaefer is trying to tell us that he is wanting to start the potty training process. He absolutely will not keep his clothes or his diaper on anymore. He strips naked and is saying "poop" a lot. He so far has managed to "poop" on the floor downstairs and has made pee-pee on the hardwood floors a couple of times..Today he did make a very small amount of "poop" in the potty that is now in the family room in front of the tv. All he wanted to do was "wipe" it up himself. OH JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We tried putting pull-ups on him and those also came right off. Next, we tried real underwear. He just giggled and took them right off. So, for now, Schaefer is naked for most of the day and who knows where in my house he has "pooped" or made pee-pee! Just watch your step if you come for a visit....

2007-09-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

It is almost 9pm on Sunday night. Is it the weekend yet? Oh yeah, it just was the weekend. I must have just spent the entire weekend alone with the kids. Isn't that just like the weekdays? Except that I had one extra kid because weekends mean no school...

Oh well!

Jack is starting his first day of the 4 year old preschool class tomorrow morning,yeah!!! It will be interesting to see how smoothly the morning routine goes with getting Megs and Jack ready to leave the house by 7:30am. Say a prayer!!! He seems pretty excited to see his teachers again as they are the same as last year. We'll see how it goes.
WISH US LUCK!!!!!!!!!!

a dirty little affair!

2007-09-07T08:20:00.000-04:00

When I heard that a woman can fall in love with an appliance, I always thought that they meant a kinky little "toy" appliance. Now I realize that when they said "dirty" appliance they didn't mean that it was a "dirty" appliance so much as an appliance meant for cleaning up dirt!!! I can officially say that I am having an affair with my vacuum. We see each other three to four times every day and we try to be sneaky so that my youngest doesn't want to "cut in" on our time together!! Although I have to give him a push in the right direction, he is a great cleaner and is constantly picking up around the house. He doesn't even seem to mind the kids always stepping all over him and pushing him around. I can make him be quiet whenever I want and can even just stuff him in the closet for the day!! Now that's what I call LOVE...... Still, I would end the affair in a minute if it meant that Schaefer would end his obsession with dumping boxes of tiny food items such as cocoa krispies and cheerios! Call me crazy, but I think the vacuum's going nowhere for awhile....

My first post....here it goes

2007-09-06T14:18:00.000-04:00

My wonderful sister-in-law started blogging not too long ago and I am enjoying reading hers so much that I decided to try it out myself and see how it goes. I hope I can find enough chit-chattable stuff to blab about inbetween toddler rescues and homework woes!! Bear with me until I figure this blogging thing out. Hopefully this will give friends and family a way to keep up with the family goings-ons and pictures, etc. I will do my best to keep up....