My last baby

Here we are.

Another month has gone by without a blog post. I swear I am jumping back into this. I miss it like crazy. Writing is who I am. But as usual, life is crazy.

We are in a constant state of packing - unpacking - and packing. Settled in again, but looking ahead to the next. (More on that later.) The boys had their very first trip to Disney. And we have been on the go ever since.

Sometimes I get caught up in the chaos that is our day to day routine. A little voice this morning made me slow down. This guy came downstairs before his brothers got up to tell us his front tooth came out. Last week he lost the first front tooth and I knew it was just a matter of time. It took me a few moments ... but then it hit me. My last baby to lose his front teeth.

Again, I want time to stop.

He crawled under the covers and told me how excited he was to see the tooth fairy again. And that pretty soon he was going to be 8. I told him he still had almost a year to go and how about we just be 7 for now. Or maybe Mommy would have to find Dr. Doofenshmirtz and shrink him back to say ... age 3 or 4. He gave me the biggest smile (oh my gosh no front teeth!) and told me Mommy that's just an animated cartoon.

Ouch.

I need ET.



Or Dr. Doofenshmirtz's shrinkinator.

Why I'd be a Tommee Tippee convert

While it's been a few years since I needed baby products for my own little ones, I jumped at the chance to attend the Tommee Tippee event with some blogging friends a few weeks ago. You see, I sort of have baby fever. It doesn't matter that the twins are now 6 and my oldest is 7. My niece turned one this week and hanging out with a little girl from time to time ... makes me want to have another sometimes. I always saw myself having 4 children. Having the first three in the span of just 18 months sort of threw off that plan.

Tommee Tippee was not in the US yet (just the UK) when I was having my boys, so I was looking forward to seeing what they offered and what has changed over the last few years.

The bottles are BPA-free and have been designed with breastfeeding experts to encourage your baby's natural feeding action. I really liked that. In the beginning when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to breastfeed, I remember stressing over whether or not the bottle would create confusion. It would have been nice to have the peace of mind that these bottles would have provided. It also has an anti-colic valve! After one colicky baby (never mind three), you will see how important that feature is.

The product in the center of the photo blew me away. It's called the Perfect Prep Machine.

It even has a safety feature to ensure the bottle will not be too hot for the baby. I can not tell y'all how handy this would have come in for the twins' feedings. I was exhausted all the time. Sometimes the simplest tasks were hard to concentrate on. This would have been a life saver at the time.

And finally, we were introduced to the 360 Sealer Diaper Disposal System.
 breastfeeding experts to encourage your baby’s natural feeding ac

It is the ONLY diaper pail on the market that seals each dirty diaper all the way around in antimicrobial film. How exciting is that? Trust me ... so exciting! I had one of those diaper pails made by another company when the boys were smaller and in no time at all ... oh my gosh did it smell. I was always changing the bags, it didn't matter. Once the stink was in there, it seemed nothing I tried could get it out.

Not the case with this. Just drop the diaper in the top and twist the dial to seal. No need to push your hand into the diaper pail, it drops right into the receptacle. Hygienic and no mess! The pail even holds up to 30 sealed diapers at a time! (I don't even think my old one made by that other company we won't talk about even held 10.)

The refills seal up to 100 diapers and there is also a color indicator in the film to let you know when you are running low. My other favorite part of the 360 sealer? An EasiSlide drawer for emptying. No having to take the entire top off and pull out the bag!

In fact, I fell in love with their products so much I tweeted:

And then they tweeted this:

Not so sure my husband would agree, but I was loving it!

After spending some time checking out the products, the girls and I all sat down in the next room to make our very own perfumes! It was so much fun getting to learn about what scents go together, and mixing up our own.

Disclosure: While I was not paid for this post, Tommee Tippee was kind enough to send me off with this bag of goodies. They are also sending me a 360 Sealer Diaper Disposal system for my sister in law to try out. Opinions are, as always, all my own.

And my niece? Loves her new Truly Spill Proof Straw Cups!

October ups and downs

This last week has been so ... emotional. I have hated this week of October for more years than I care to count now. While the boys and I always look forward to the feast on the hill and the Columbus Day Parade, it still gets mixed up in the loss I can't help but associate that weekend with.

I felt a mess all week, but it took me a few days to figure out why. I felt - and still feel - so much guilt for not going to the cemetery this year. Why did I not go.

There were just so many ups and downs this week. The house showing that (again) didn't pan out was a definite down, as were some issues with school. I didn't work out at all - no runs, no fit squad. It seemed like each time I made a plan to do something, something else came up and I had no control.

But mixed in everywhere with all the things that made me sad or went wrong, were so many good things as well. Like getting to spend a few days watching my sweet little friend Belle.

The trailer coming out. Jumping up and down outside of gymnastics practice as Al and I watched on the iPad. The Bunny Bee. That line. Oh my gosh, that line. The boys getting to see it.

Watching Twitter explode.

Watching the boys at wrestling practice on Friday. Look closely at that pic. In the window and the doorway? All of the parents crowded around cheering and loving every second, as we realized how far all the boys have come in just a few short months.

Discussing the upcoming tournaments.

Celebrating my niece's 1st birthday!

Right now I am trying to remember to be thankful for each and every day, no matter how overwhelming things sometimes seem. While I will never forget the angel babies our family lost no matter how many years go by - we got to celebrate this sweetheart right here.

And in another month and a half?

We will welcome her little brother.

Thankful Thursday (yes I know it's Friday)

Thankful Thursday should have been yesterday. Sadly I have not blogged in days. 

Where have I been? It started with me getting really sick the day I came home from New Orleans (which I have yet to blog about as well). Two doctors visits and another trip to the treatment center and I am finally feeling so much better. Once I was only halfway recovered we launched into the final countdown for Christmas. From the Big Guy's 7th birthday, Lasalette, Edaville Railroad, finishing shopping and attending Christmas celebrations time literally flew by and I barely had time to give my blog a look.

Posting will get regular again as I cover Disney on Ice, put up an overdue giveaway and just get back to blogging our life. It was eating at me I didn't put up a Thankful Thursday yesterday so here it is today. Hope you all don't mind.

Here is what I am thankful for...

- getting better and finally being able to function again. And a huge thanks to my husband for trying to hold everything down when I was out of commission.

- being able to go on the twins very first field trip. I wanted so badly to take a photo of their smiling little faces on their first school bus ride but once they got around their other kindergarten friends they were too cool for that sort of thing. Of course. I am still super thankful that the Doodle Bop had a great experience because he had been afraid of getting on the bus before the trip.

- my oldest baby turning 7 last Friday. That in itself deserves a blog post but for once I have no words. Look at this face. SEVEN!

- taking the trip to Lasalette as is our December tradition ... even if it was spur of the moment and the coldest night we have had by far ... prompting the kids to ask to run through the lights in under 20 minutes so they could get back in the car and go home. The oohs and aahs between the shivers were still worth it.

- hitting up Edaville Railroad (with a special shout out to Wicked Deals for the half price tickets making it all possible). I had been as a kid but had no actual memory of the place. It was cold that night too but the boys had the best time and the lights were pretty.

- celebrating Christmas with my boys. I had a bit of a hard time because it wasn't quite tradition as usual this year and some special people were missing, but I loved every moment of watching the boys get excited. 

 

 

Even the part where the Doodle Bop cried going to bed Christmas night as he realized it was 'all over'. Cuteness.

- my husband home on vacation this week. It feels nice to be able to spend the time with all four of my guys.

- getting out to the Rhody Blogger dinner last night. Love my girls.

What are you thankful for?

Inglesina Zuma GIveaway!

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Features:

• 8 Position adjustable height with a telescopic adjustment

 

• 3 Position reclining backrest for eating, playing and dozing

 

• 2 Front wheels to move it around the house and, when the product is folded, 2 small wheels come off the legs and allow for better rolling
• Compact fold flips out for easy set up

     

• Includes additional removable snack tray that is dishwasher safe

 

• 5 Point safety harness
• Easy to clean seat features removable and washable double seat pads

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 40"H x 32"L x 21"W
• High Chair Weight: 32 lbs
• Maximum Child Weight: 45 lbs

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Where we are now

It has been entirely too quiet around here lately... between the summer business trips, playing catch up and now the boys going back to school. 

I have spent the last few days barely blogging, facebooking or tweeting.  I haven't been talking to anyone really.  And I have been in a mood.  It took me a good day or so to put my finger on just what it was.  Yesterday morning it came out in a flood of tears before Al left for work.

My babies are all leaving me at once.  And it will continue to happen over the years.

I spent the last six years teetering between happy and miserable, overwhelmed with three little babies at home and like I have said before, feeling like we would never make it to school age.  Here we are and its official.  No more pre-K for anyone. The Big Guy started first grade, which means he is now gone for the day.  The twins are in Kindergarten - which means in just one year they will also be gone all day. 

I thought I would feel such relief, sort of like oh my God this is so great!  Instead I feel sort of wrecked... like I did not appreciate the time I had with them and I need to do it all over again. 

And by that I mean I need more babies at home.  Or one.  I don't know.  I just have this overwhelming feeling of this can't be it.  Maybe I wouldn't feel like this if I didn't have 3 boys in the span of 18 months... who are all pretty much doing everything at the same time, instead of one at a time. 

For now we are putting it all on hold, seeing how this year (and hopefully Finally selling our house) goes... and then we will go from there.  In the meantime I know that I need to get back to building my empire, getting CorboMedia off the ground finally, and getting my blog on. 

After all, on the way over to Kindergarten this afternoon, the Doodle Bop looked at me and said Mom?  Um ah... could you please not walk with us? He then grabbed the Bunny Bee and hopped into line. 

Why is it so hard feeling like your babies don't really need you anymore.