Miss Independent

My non-rule conforming toddler will no longer let me feed her anything that involves utensils. This is completely my own fault. One night while attempting to cook dinner while she was still awake, I handed her an applesauce and a spoon and let her go to town. It was a huge mess but it bought me 25 minutes of cooking time! I was onto something here! Well that backfired because now she sees anything that involves a spoon and expects to feed herself with it. I am talking screaming, pointing at the spoon, pushing it away if I try to feed her, etc. She is determined! There is really no issue about it right? She is growing up and mastering a skill. However, its a giant mess. She is guaranteed a bath on these nights!

Here she is so proud of herself! You can also see her chipped tooth in all its glory!

Meal Plans week of June 26th

Some meals were carried over from last week. Brooke's surgery threw us for a loop!

Sunday: Chicken veggie fettuccine
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Tacos with Spanish Rice
Wednesday: Date night
Thursday: Three Cheese pasta bakeFriday: Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
Saturday: Grilled pork chops, corn the cob, rice

The Patient

Brooke had to have surgery yesterday to repair her umbilical hernia. It had been there since birth and became noticeable around 6 months old. We waited to see if it would close on its own. It did improve, but the doctors decided it would not fully close on its own.

We decided to not tell her fully what was going to happen. She is a worrier and a deep thinker. We told her that the doctor was going to fix her belly button and make it flat and that after she was done she got lots of prizes. I stuck with that story since it made her the happiest.

Brooke could not eat after midnight. The usual deal with surgeries. I warned her ahead of time so she knew she could not have breakfast in the morning. I could have woken her at 6am to give her some juice but decided to let her sleep in (THIS decision would haunt me the entire day). Instead she woke up at 7:30 and immediately asked for breakfast. We were leaving soon so I turned on a show and it distracted her enough.

My aunt and cousin watched Madeline for us. THANK YOU! The day ended up being so long that I cannot imagine what we would have done if she was with us.

We got to the hospital at 8:45 for a 9am check in. Brooke was in good spirits and found some cool computers in the waiting room. By 10:15 I was getting a little worried as to why we were not in preop since her surgery was supposed to be at 10 am!?? The nurse manager came out and all she would tell me is that they were backed up and she could not tell me when the surgery would be. WHAT???? I was livid. She told me they would come and get us by 11 am. Okay fine.

We walked Brooke around outside and back, gave her a new leapster game. Honestly she was such a trooper. A volunteer gave her some crayons and paper which kept her busy too!


After this period of time, Brooke started asking for drinks. She started fake coughing and telling me she needed water. This broke my heart. It had now been around 18 hours since she had last had anything to eat or drink. I decided by 11:30 to ask AGAIN what was going on. The nurse manager came out again and told me flat out "The Doctor isn't here. You also have one surgery ahead of you so once he gets here it will probably be around 1pm". I burst into tears. Not my finest moment but as a mother I was so frustrated and sad for Brooke. I told the nurse I was so mad that my child is having to go through this. She just looked stunned. She then brought the anesthesiologist out to tell me Brooke could not have anything to drink or they would cancel her surgery. I contemplated leaving but we decided to wait it out.

We got called back into pre-op finally around 1pm. 4.5 hours after arriving. At least this was progress in my eyes. We got checked in and Brooke got changed. She was getting antsy but they had a TV for her.
The doc then made his appearance in our room. He told us he was called into a surgery for a 2 month old in cardiac arrest. Obviously that takes precedence over our surgery, but I just wished I was informed instead of having to ask every time for information as to why we were in the waiting room for so long! Then it was time to go. Curtis and Brooke headed off to the operating room (I cannot do those drop offs. That's daddy's job.).

She was in for about an hour and then they came and got us. Brooke did not come out of surgery well. She was screaming for her puppy (for course not even mom or dad LOL). She was crying and kept saying "get me out of here! I don't want to be here anymore!". The nurses got a kick out of that considering how long we had been there.

We waited until 4pm and were discharged from the hospital and headed home. We were gone 9 hours for an outpatient procedure. Exhausting! I also learned that when needed, my child can go 23 hours without food or water. I hope we never have to experiment with that again.

Brooke came home very sore last night and emotional. She felt a little sick after having some applesauce so she never had dinner before crashing at 7pm. She ended up having a midnight picnic with mom and dad in her bed with goldfish crackers and water. Poor thing was so hungry! By tonight she was in much better condition. She is learning that if she moves herself it hurts less than when we help her. She also was very into all of her gifts/prizes so that helped distract her too. Hopefully tomorrow we can do a spongebath to keep her from getting too stinky.

Here she was today modeling her new nightgown from grandma. Of course its a big hit!

I think by mid week she should be back to her old self. We go for a post op check on Tuesday. Let's hope this is the last of surgeries for us. Two in one year (one for Madeline) is too much!

A Day at the Races

On Father's day we went to the Belmont Race track with our extended family. It was actually very fun! The kids LOVED it! We got a nice shady spot and camped out for the day to watch the races and hang out with family.

Madeline spent most of her time trying to run away.

Trying to get them both to smile for the camera is impossible. Sadly, this is the best I got.

Happy Father's Day to our awesome Daddy! (No one thought to actually have them stand up to get the beautiful race track in the picture. I guess a chain link fence will do. Oh well....)

Meal plans week of June 19th

Sunday: Pasta with Marinara sauce and salad
Monday: Grilled Steak, Risotto Cakes, Veggies
Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Fettuccine
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Hot dogs in Crescent Rolls, green beans, fruit salad
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Tacos with rice and beans

Madeline is 14 months!

Madeline is 14 months. We don't take monthly pics anymore, but I wanted to do a quick summary of her life right now.

Besides getting limbs stuck in crib slats, she loves to climb. She spends a lot of days standing on top of chairs and giving me a heart attack.

Her current words (not said clearly obviously):
all done
dada
fish
cheese
balloon
ball
bear
bottle
mama (when prompted)
bye bye
dog
Elmo

She loves to play peek a boo and to play outside. The baby pool is a big hit as well as the slide out back.

This girl also loves to dance! Brooke has been practicing her tap routine non stop and Madeline has picked up on some of the moves. It's adorable!

She has 8 teeth and is currently cutting her top molars.

Madeline loves books and is always bringing me one to read to her.

Her favorite foods are cheese, yogurt, pizza, pasta, any type of fruit, and bread. She is still on the bottle but is now sort of drinking out of cups more. I hope we are off bottles by the end of the summer!

First Day of Summer Break.....

Yesterday was the first day of summer break. No more school for Brooke and time for me to run errands with just one child (which is so shockingly easy compared to taking both somewhere!).

I had high hopes (as I usually do for such days). I had a plan. We would get up, have breakfast, then head to the grocery store by 9am. I love shopping early with just me and the senior citizens. It's very relaxing and no one yells at me. After that we would come home and unpack. Then we would head out to the pool to buy our passes and play at the park next door until lunch.

Well this was not meant to be. Madeline woke up with a cold and was literally tearing my living room apart by 8am. I don't even know how many times I had to say "NO" in a one hour period. Needless to say I wanted the day to be over and it had barely started. Brooke was whining because she wanted to play "dress up" and I was telling her to get real clothes on to go to the store. So the grocery store got pushed back!

We finally made it there around 11 am. The girls were actually the most well behaved of the day there! (Side note: I found a new grocery store. It's so beautiful it almost brought a tear to my eye. Yes, my life has come to this.).

Came home for lunch and naps. Madeline took 2 hours to fall asleep thanks to her cold. When she finally got up she was screaming. This screaming is not unusual for her. She likes the drama. She also prides herself on being a baby ninja and has already tried to climb out of the crib. Yes, she is 13 months old. Kill me.

Now here is where my day just became laughable. I had to experience something I have only seen on TV or in a movie.

I went in to Madeline's room to get her. I went to pick her up and then realized her body would not move. She was stuck. I look down to see her leg bent and her knee shoved through the slats and is all red and not moving.

I did not panic. If figured if my MacGyver skills could not help me, then I would have to call the Fire Department. I guess I didn't freak because I knew she was "okay", just needed a little help.

I propped her up with one arm and started scanning the room for things I could use to help me. I tried just using my hands but her leg wouldn't budge. I called for Brooke and told her to come to the room. I spotted a jar of vaseline! Perfect! Brooke handed it to me and I started greasing up Madeline's leg while still propping her up with my other arm. After I was done I gave her leg a gentle push and BAM! She was free!

All I could do was laugh. Did this really just happen? Will she even remember that her trying to climb out is what caused her drama? NOPE. I caught her this morning trying to climb out again.

So let's hope the second day of summer break is more fun but a little less eventful!

Meal plans week of June 12

Sunday: Grilled Cheese with Tomato soup and noodles
Monday: Going out, pizza for the kids
Tuesday: Grilled steaks, corn on the cob, pasta salad
Wednesday: King Ranch Chicken
Thursday: Grilled burgers and fries
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday : BBQ Beef cups with green beans and salad

Picnic in NYC

Last Sunday (yes I am a week behind) we went to a picnic/fundraiser for Madeline's Dr. Dr. Waner has a foundation that raises money for his patients that cannot afford treatment. All of his former patients were invited. It was at a park right across the street from Beth Israel Hospital, where Madeline had her surgery.

It was so fun! Everything was catered perfectly to the kids and they had the best time!

First stop was the balloon animals. These guys were good. When they whipped up Brooke's balloon I almost fell over.

Brooke requested Ariel. You can't see but she even had a purple bikini top on!

Madeline got a dog and immediately tried to eat it. Safety hazard to the max!


Then Brooke got her face painted:


Madeline was obsessed with the balloons they had everywhere. She has a pretty nice obsession going on with balloons lately. She spent the entire day like this:
Here is a video of the pure joy and frustration they caused:


They also had caricature artists there and they were awesome! Here is the one of my kids and I think its really good!


By the days end we were ready to go. Brooke had won 2 fabulous rings and also got a snow cone. You can see that Madeline was not thrilled that she did not get her own snow cone. Brooke has become immune to the pinching.


It was an awesome day and we hope they raised lots of money for the foundation! If you'd like to read more about Dr. Waners Foundation, click HERE. We will definitely attend next year if we are still here!

Brooke graduates from Nursery

Today was Brooke's last day of nursery school. She loved it and was sad it was over! We are looking forward to next year's Pre-K program!

Here she is on the front porch.

Attempting to get both girls to pose for a pic together...

During her singing performance. This girl is NOT shy.

Receiving her diploma.

With her teacher.

Another failed attempt at a group shot. Notice the balloons distracting Madeline and Brooke not paying attention at all.

Dance Rehearsal

Brooke loves to dance. Loves it. Love might actually not be a strong enough word LOL. This weekend was her dress rehearsal for her recital. We cannot take pictures or video during the actual recital, so I took some during the dress rehearsal.

Here is the outfit in all its glory. It's grown on me slightly but will never be a favorite of mine.







Here is the video of the dance. I must say Brooke knows her stuff!

Meal Plans week of 6/6

Monday: Pizza
Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Wednesday: Steak with grilled veggies
Thursday: Thai Pork Stew
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Hot dogs, french fries, and fruit salad

First Beach Trip!

I am so behind on blogging but I am trying my best to catch up!

We went to the beach Memorial Day weekend. This was Madeline's first trip as a toddler. She was so much easier last year when she just laid in the baby tent. Brooke of course was in love because she could collect shells all day long! Overall we had fun and managed to stay 4 hours. We hope for many beach days this summer!

My little bee

Brooke striking a pose.

First Trip to the Dentist!

Madeline earned herself a trip to the dentist today. While we were in NC, I noticed Madeline's tooth was chipped. The sad part is we have no idea how or when it happened. Oops!

So I took her to the dentist today. We have a great pediatric Dentist here that I love. There are no pictures of this visit as I had to lay on the table with Madeline and put her in a full body restraint so they could take a look at her tooth and look at the rest of her teeth. Fun times! Of course when we were done all she wanted to do was climb back onto the chair.

The good news is the chip is only a grade 1 so its minor. Oh and we can keep the pacifier for a while too (see why I love this dentist?). WE also had her upper lip looked at since the frenulum is tight. Big sister Brooke had to have hers cut when she was Madeline's age. The doc said Madeline's can wait until she is 8 or 9. This way she won't have to be sedated! Fine by me!

She goes back in August to get her teeth cleaned. She is cutting 6 teeth right now so that way they can be cleaned when they are all in.

Flashback Friday!

One year ago tonight, Brooke made her ballet debut. Little did we know this would be one of the most hilarious moments ever!

Enjoy! I know many of you have seen it but it brings a smile to my face every time!