Ross's birthday

Ross's birthday was on Thursday. We didn't plan anything big and I didn't get him any gifts because, as you may already have heard, he is being laid off at the end of the month. We've been living on an extremely tight budget for what seems like forever, and with the economy putting a real hurting on my business, we have been holding onto every penny in anticipation of having to go a couple of months living off our savings until Ross got another job. Well.... he got the best birthday gift ever.... a job! Horray, no lapse in income!

There were two different positions that he had been interviewing for and he got the one that he wanted. The other one was a slightly different job than he is currently doing, slightly less desireable but would have been more money. However, this one is basically doing the same thing as his current job, which he loves, but repping a different beer and a little better pay than his current salary. Yay!

So starting March 1st, you all have to start drinking Magners CiderNot nearly as cool as the peace of mind about being gainfully employed, but Lily and I made Ross a cake. Last week I asked Lily to run and ask Ross what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. Either she messed up and left out the word "cake" when she asked, or Ross misunderstood what she was asking because she came running back to me screaming "he wants steak"

So.... even though I knew he wasn't really asking for a steak-cake, he got one anyway.

Eric's faux-hawk

The cool thing about doing Eric's his hair funny is that it stays that way! At night I put lotion all over him (including his head) and whatever way I comb his hair, that is the way it is the entire next day.

Lily can't be left out of anything and she insisted on getting in the photo too. I'm getting pretty strong because Lily wants to be carried almost as much as Eric.

Eric likes to imitate. If you make noises, he makes noises. If you blow on him, he blows back. If you squeal, he squeals. It is so much fun.

Toys, siblings, movies, tea parties and the value of money

Eric loves to watch Lily. He is so entertained just sitting and watching her trying his best to get his hands on her toys. He is in a Bumbo seat in this picture but he is also starting to be able to sit up on his own. He can do it for awhile but can't be trusted to sit alone because he loses focus and falls back on his head.
Lily likes to have him play with her but she gets frustrated that he doesn't play right. Notice how she has the potato heads lined up? Well, she is very particular about what goes where and Eric tends not to be able to do that. Not long after I took the picture, Lily took Eric's potato head away from him because he didn't have the right accessories on it.

But, as you can see by the shoes on the head, she isn't always that much of a stickler for normalcy.

After that cold snap ended the weather is back to being the South Florida weather that makes us put up with the high cost of living and the snowbirds' driving habits. Lily is really great at riding her bike but gets bored/tired after about half a mile.
Before Christmas I told Lily that during the holidays when there were other people in town that we would sneak off and go see the Princess and the Frog. Well, you know how hectic things get, and we never got around to it so weekend before last, we had a girls day and I took her to the movies. We had so so much fun. It was perfect. The weather was raining and freezing but since she had gotten a new raincoat for Christmas we were set. It gave me an indication that I'm raising a typical Floridian when, after walking through the parking lot and the long stretch of outdoor shops before getting inside the mall, she says to me "Mommy, my toes feel funny". The poor child had never had her toes go numb before!

We had a stack of clothes that Santa had delivered (via my dad) that didn't fit and needed to be exchanged at Gymboree so Lily got all sorts of new clothes along with her morning at the movies. I couldn't be left out and since I still had some birthday money left over, I bought myself a new sweater too.

Well, because Lily and I had a girls day, Ross invited Lily to have a tea party with him this past Saturday and there were no mommies and Erics allowed. Apparently, you must be dressed funny to attend. Unless you are a unicorn, of course.

Ross and I got Lily a Bugbsy for Christmas. It is a little computer wand thingy that reads stories when you run it accross the page. It is awesome and Lily loves it so much.

She had one book for it and wanted another. In trying to teach her about money and earning things, I made her save up her own money. I know, it may sound mean to do this to a 3.5 year old, but I was pretty generous with what I gave her money for doing and it was more an exercise in teaching her to quit asking for M&Ms every time we are in line somewhere. It was awesome to hear her say one day in line "I'm not gonna buy a treat today because I need that dollar for my bugsby book". Oh, if I didn't mention it before, I make her buy her own treats too. She has her own wallet and if she leaves it at home, no treat. (at Joann's she even uses a coupon! ... I'm so proud)
So, day before yesterday, she traded me 20 quarters out of her purse that Grandad gave her (are you kidding me? I got ONE quarter in purses I got from my grandparents!) for a $5.00 bill and yesterday I took her to Target to get her book. She makes me so proud. She had already picked out the exact one that she wanted during the last trip to the store so she lead the way through the store and right to it. She put her book up on the conveyor belt and counted out $11.00 from her wad of money. She even knew that the one with the 5 on it counts as 5! Explaining the tax to her was difficult though. In hindsight, I should have thought of that in advance and told her that the book was $11 instead of $10. She was a little confused why she had to hand over more of her money than she had planned.

I love her so much.

New Years Eve - Florida family style

Ross and I both being retired bartenders really have no desire to spend new years eve out amongst the crazies so we celebrated by going to our favorite place... the beach.
Crazy Ross went swimming but being a true native, it is just too cold for me to swim this time of year. Lily is crazy like her dad and swam too. Eric and I chilled out in the shade.

New bikini from Santa

Eric trying to eat the camera

Crazy thing I found

I was looking to see where my eBay listings would fall in the search of items being sold for earthquake relief in Haiti and ran across a listing for Zimbabwe money. I just thought it was funny and figured I'd share. This is for 10 - 500,000,000 dollar notes. What the hell is someone thinking when they give the approval to print a 500 million dollar note? Can the concept of how large that number really is even make sense?
And you see what the bidding is going for right? so sad, so so sad.

Christmas pics to come

Daddy bought me a new computer for Christmas and I love it so much that I haven't really been on the laptop much. But, all the Christmas photos are on the laptop because I loaned my photo software to Michael and haven't had a chance to get it back to load on the new computer. So, Christmas pics will have to wait. Sorry.
Christmas rocked though! Lily must have been very good because Santa brought her some really nice things. We opened the gifts from one another on Christmas eve and Lily was so funny because every gift that she opened she screamed "this is just what I always wanted!" and if there were more than one thing in a gift bag together she would scream "this is ALSO just what I always wanted!"
Sweetest thing in the world!
These pics were taken with my phone at the mall a few days before Christmas when we went to go have our pictures taken with Santa. You'll have to wait on the Santa pic because I haven't figured out how to get my scanner to work in windows 7 yet.
Eric was really cute because he didn't scream when we put him on Santa's lap. We really figured he would. He must know that he has to be nice to that guy so he can get some good loot next year.

This bear is mechanical and rocks back and forth. It was sweet because Lily walked up and put her arms up for a hug and waited for him to lean down to her. She usually hugs the characters that have people inside so I'm not sure whether or not she thought this one was one of those. She kept hugging him over and over so I think she may have thought he was real.

Meeting Grandad

Eric first meeting his Grandad

He didn't cry which is suprising because he has begun doing this thing where he cries if anyone other than me holds him.

Christmas..... yay!

I am so happy for Christmas. I've been so over-worked lately with trying to juggle two kids, two jobs and doing craft shows too. The last two weekends in a row I had shows and after they ended and I finished up the last of my custom sewing projects I'm finally able to relax.
Well, sort of, I still have to work but after as busy as I've been the past month, work seems easy!
Plus, Eric has gotten SOOOOOO much easier. He still doesn't enjoy sleeping and is still getting up in the night, sometimes twice. But, during the day he is so fun to be around. He laughs and plays and just watches Lily in awe. Below is his interested face....
I get lots of pictures of the interested face because my phone has a zebra print cover on it so if I hold it up to take a picture of him, that is the face he makes. Funny huh?

David & Sherah are here, another reason I feel so relaxed. Sherah just jumps in and helps with Eric and Lily follows David around like she is his shadow. They are such fantastic house guests.
We went to the park yesterday to make ourselves dizzy on the spinny disks...

and climb trees....

Everyone was pooped afterward.....

Daddy should be arriving any minute now with his girlfriend Janet and Richard flys in tonight just after midnight.

Let the overindulgence of food, sweets and alcohol begin!

Rolling over, Solid food & Santa

Saturday Eric officially rolled over from his back to his tummy and now he is a rolling machine. I lay out a blanket on the floor and lay him down in the center and he loves to just roll around. He can't roll from his belly to back yet, so he just does a 3/4 roll then back then 3/4 roll to the other side, then back. It is entertaining to watch.
I think I'd mentioned before that we had been introducing solids, but that is still going ok. He understands what is happening now and really gets excited when we sit down to eat. Also, I've stopped breastfeeding and I'm loving not being the only one who can feed him!
Lily is so caught up with Christmas right now and writes a letter to Santa every day. Tonight we had a meltdown because I wouldn't let her have another envelope. She would use 20 a day if I let her! It is really sweet though.
Ross and I have been taking her down the toy aisles to try and feel out what would be a good gift for her because right now she just seems content playing with her babies and crayons and we certainly don't need any more of either of those things. We've picked out a toy that is an interactive book reader thingy and so for those of you who have asked what you can get her, you can get a book to go with it. I'm certainly not asking anyone to buy anything! We aren't going to be buying anything for anyone and don't expect anything, but... some of you can't be stopped so if you insist.... here is what I'm talking about, it is called Bugsby and the books are about $12-$14 I put a widget that links to Amazon on this blog over there ------->
and they have them at Target too.

Random pictures and thoughts

Eric loves to try to eat my face. He just started doing this a few days ago. I'm hoping it is just a coincidence that we are also working on switching him from breastfeeding to formula this week. I hope we haven't thoroughly confused this little boy.

This giant hot dog is at a farmers market that hasn't opened yet. We were checking out the space in hopes of me vending there in the future when they open. We just thought that we needed a picture with a giant hot dog.

Brandi reading a story to both babies. Eric isn't interested in the book. He just watches Lily.

Ross has cancer. Well, I guess I should say Ross HAD cancer. He had it cut out and he refused stitches because he didn't want to go back to have them removed! I guess I'll have to get used to looking at him with a hole in his neck. Good thing is, they were able to get it all out and Ross and I both went to the Dermatologist to have full body cancer checks and we both have a clean bill of skin health now. We've hit our deductible for the year and since we have no idea what the job situation (thus the health insurance situation) will be after the first of the year, we are making sure to get all the check up stuff done before the year is over. Teeth cleaning and eye exams next.
This year is going to be so special with Lily at Christmas. She is at the age where she remembers things from last year and understands what is happening (as well as a 3 1/3 year old can understand) and is so excited.I'm excited too.Tonight at Target Lily said we should buy a treat and had her own little wallet with her own money and everything. We bought something for Ross and I reminded her that she isn't supposed to say anything to him about it. As soon as we got home she went running into the sewing room looking for wrapping paper. I was tickled because I never said anything about wrapping it up.She is growing up so fast and is so smart. I am so proud of her.

Makin' Stuff, Doin' Stuff

Lily made a birdfeeder. She is very proud of it. No birds have ever eaten from it, but we keep watching anyway. Notice her green on green outfit? Being the independent spirit that she is, she picks out her own clothes and is very particular about what matches and what does not. I told her that this one didn't match and she said "yes it does! Green, green. See... I'm monochromatic!"

I'm so proud that Ross did some handy dandy work for me and replaced our bathroom sink. I know what you are thinking... "why on earth would anyone want to get rid of a pink sink?"

He did an awesome job but I forgot to take an AFTER pic... it really is complete, I promise.

These are Lily's monsters. She loves drawing monsters and will draw monster after monster all day long. She would go through a pack of paper if I would let her. These 8 were completed before 9AM. Notice how she writes her name on them? I'm so proud of her. 3 and a third and can write her name! (well... we have to work on the Y a little, but I still think it is awesome)
Eric is such a chunky butt that we had to move him from the infant bath to the next stage bathtub. He is really too young for this one because he doesn't really sit up on his own yet but he seems to still like it.
Lily using a stencil and markers. She is no longer allowed to use markers.

She wrote on the couch AND the carpet in her bedroom.

Today we were talking about Christmas and Santa and I asked her if she has been a good girl this year and she said "no. I wrote on the carpet and the couch with markers. We better get that cleaned up before Christmas"

Its Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Eric is 4 months old this week! So, in celebration of his 4 month birthday, we gave him Banana. This is his first food other than breastmilk. He is funny because he really doesn't get it. Lily started cereal at 3 months and took to it fine. Eric, his mouth doesn't seem to want to keep it inside. It is pretty funny. He loves it, but I'm not sure if he is loving the attention or the new taste. Because it is more for a novelty than anything else, I started to give him his banana at dinner. We have a sit down meal for dinner every night as part of our routine so I figured that Eric would enjoy being a part of it too..

This picture is Lily playing with Eric during "Tummy Time" which he HATES

Lily decided that she wanted to have lunch in front of the TV. I told her 'no' because I didn't want her to get food on our new rug. So, being the brainiac that she is, she set herself up with a table and chair not on the rug (but really close to the TV)
This is what ROCKS about working from home. Ross hates that I've taken over the pool table, but it is so nice for me to be able to spread out my stuff on the table to work and have my babies "work" with me.
Lily is playing with Eric.... sweeeeet!

Halloween

Things leading up to Halloween were hectic so we didn't get around to carving our pumpkins. Ross has been doing all sorts of promotions at nights and weekends that just add to his regular workload (but unfortunately, not his paycheck! another story, another day) and of course, I bit off more than I can chew with sewing projects so we waited until Sunday Nov. 1st to do our jack-o-lanterns.
I spent hours and hours making Lily a Princess Aurora (sleeping beauty) costume but two days before Halloween realized that she fit into my brothers' Naval Aviator flight suit costume. So, we dressed her in that one to go to the Boo Bash (Child's party downtown) the night before Halloween then wore the Princess costume for Trick-or-treating on Saturday.
Lily woke up Halloween morning feeling very sick so that is why she looks so sad in these pictures. Because she is. A little girl she befriended in line for the bounce house at the boo bash coughed one of those wet nasty coughs right in her face and I'm just sure that is where she got it. She was miserable, but would cry and cry if I suggested that we skip trick-or-treating. It broke my heart. We went to just a handful of neighbors' houses and she started to cry and asked to change clothes. So, we went back and put on the flight suit. We drove to the rich neighborhood and trick-or-treated a little there. We definitely over-did it because when we got home Lily started running a high fever and both kids were a screaming mess. Ross was working so he missed all of it. Thankfully Brandi was here so she could run to the store for Children's Tylenol and juice.

I was Flo, the progressive spokes girl. This picture isn't really good but I'll have to post another one once I download my phone pics or Brandi's camera. Ross and I went to an adult Halloween party on Friday night and he was the Geico Caveman so it was really cute. We won the costume contest! A whopping $27.00! It was more than we spent on our costumes so we still came out ahead. If only Lily had won a contest, I spent close to $60 on the fabric for hers!

Don't worry.... she DID wear shoes. These Aviator pics were from the days BEFORE Halloween when we were just playing dressup.

Pumpkin Patch

Mid October - David & Sherah's visit

Needless to say, I'm behind on my blog. I'm still having trouble balancing everything that I need to do with two kids, two jobs and a household to run. I'm getting better though. I've finally organized myself into a planner that is divided into sections for each segment of my life. It is helping me stay focused even if I can only work for 10 to 20 minutes at a time.
The part on my to-do list for today was to upload Halloween pictures but I realized that I never did pics from David & Sherah's visit mid month. So, here are these first... Halloween next.
The Hollywood Beach Clambake. We left Eric home with Brandi because I really don't feel comfortable having him out in the sun. A cold front had come in that weekend and although we still weren't able to turn off the AC, it was very comfortable on the beach. (notice my long sleeves?)

Eric LOVES this toy that is in his bed.

This wig is a pumpkin wig and she is hiding under the pool table along with all the rest of our junk.