More Bunny News

We still have our furry little friend. I spoke to a woman from a 4-H group who is interested in the bunny, but is leaving for vacation on Saturday and is not sure that she can get him before she leaves. Supposedly she and her daughter are coming to see it today. Hopefully they will fall so in love with him that they will take him right on the spot. She also advised me that bunnies should not eat a lot of carrots and lettuce because it could make them sick. Go figure. We have been feeding him an obscene amount of carrots. Oops! We noticed on Monday that he wasn't pooping. Worry no longer.....There was about 4 days worth of poop in the pen in our laundry room this morning. Taylor and Shea are at their Dad's for the rest of the week, so guess who had to clean it up? I feel like I clean up poop all day anyway with Isabella and Nicholas, so what's one more creature!!

It Won't Be Long Now!

Nicholas can already get on his hands and knees and lunge forward. He is going to be crawling very soon. I am not ready to chase two kids around! I guess that's one way to get back into shape, though!

Shea and my Mom were hard at work Monday and Tuesday painting my Dad's old dressers for Shea's room. She chose to paint them two different shades of purple. She is so excited that she got to choose the colors and paint them herself. Maybe once they are in her room and it is decorated nicely, she will have more incentive to keep her room clean!

The Bunny Saga Continues.......

I am starting to freak out. The Rescue Village turned us away. Can they do that? I thought the idea of a Humane Society was to take in abandoned animals. How can they pick and choose which abandoned animals they are going to rescue? I called several 4-H leaders and am waiting to hear back from some of them. The others told me - no thanks. The pet store said they couldn't take him for liability reasons, and suggested that we let him go in the wild. The 4-H person told me not to let him out in the wild because he would die. Good advice Mr. Pet Shop Manager!

I am waiting to hear from the Rabbit Rescue League (Yes they actually have their own rescue league) and the Cleveland APL. I am hoping that one of them will take it. I may be driving all the way to Cuyahoga Falls tomorrow, which is where the rescue league is located, but if that's what I have to do, them so be it.

That's What You Think!

I have recently posted a board in our kitchen and every week, I list the jobs that need to get done around the house. This is what I found this morning when I woke up. Very funny girls.....

We Have Become an Animal Shelter

Saturday afternoon we went to my parents house for swimming and dinner. As we were all relaxing on the deck watching the kids swim, my Dad's eagle eye noticed a Bunny hopping in the backyard. It was not a wild bunny, but a cute little floppy eared speckled bunny. Taylor, the future Veterinarian/APL President jumped out of the pool and was on the bunny's trail armed with a towel while Paige and Chloe ran with crates shortly behind her. Me, my Mom, my Dad and my sister all chasing after them yelling..."Grab him from behind! Throw the towel over him! Catch him! Run, Taylor!" Taylor finally caught him in the next door neighbor's yard and carried him back to my parents with a grin on her face like she just won the Boston Marathon.

All the kids decided to go from door to door, with the help of my brother in law, to detemine whom he belonged to. The third house was the winner. To the kids horror, the owner said, they didn't want him and that the kids could keep him. Who in their right mind would let a bunny go simply because they didn't want him? What is wrong with people?

Here comes the dilema. Dum, Dum, Dum.......Who takes him? Sucker Nick and Sucker Sandy will take him. They can handle it. Their kid is the one who caught it. It's only right. Nick's response was "There is no way that bunny is coming home with us." One hour later and many arguments and tears later, we drove down the driveway with a bunny in the back of the car.

He spent the night in our laundry room with the expectation that he would be taken to the animal shelter at noon today. This morning, Nick suggested that we let him run around on the deck so that he wasn't confined to his soggy cardboard box. Sheriff Nick then decided that we should keep him for one day and put him in a pen in the yard and take him to the shelter on Monday. So we borrowed a metal pen from the kid's father and put him under a shady tree for the entire day. This rabbit thinks he won the lottery since he has been petted and hand-fed carrots all day long. He is spending the night in our laundry room again, with clean sheets and towels for his comfort and enough carrots and lettuce to feed 10 rabbits. Tomorrow his vacation will come to an end and he will be traveling to Rescue Village. Sorry bunny rabbit, but 4 kids is enough for me. I don't have the time or energy to clean up your poop or make sure you have food and fresh water every day. And no matter what Taylor and Shea tell me to the contrary, I am always the one that has to take care of the animals.

Happy Anniversary, Nick

Thank you for being such an incredible husband and father. It seems like six years have gone by so fast, but when I look at pictures of the kids on our wedding day, they look like babies. I am looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together and watching our children grow.

Thank you for understanding when you walk in the door after a long day at work, and I practically throw the kids at you. You never complain when I tell you that I just can't make one more bottle or play blocks one more minute of the day. You jump right in and take over. It means so much to me, and I know I don't tell you that enough.

I love you Nick. You are an amazing man.

Cinderella

Not only does she have to clean the house, but she has to do it with a baby strapped to her front.

I Hate Trix Yogurt

I literally left the room for 60 seconds to go to the bathroom, and Isabella had time to do all this!

Does she look devilish or what?

What Do Girls Like More?

A trip to the salon to get beautified, or rocking out to the Jonas Brothers?

Um, Excuse Me Little Girl.....

I believe it is no longer appropriate to keep a dish filled with M & M's on the table.

Taylor's attempt at gardening is not working out so well. She decided to plant some bird seed and see what would grow. The squirrels have other plans.

Nick and I Decided to Crack the Cash and Buy a Pool for the Backyard

We just can't all swim at the same time.......

My Complaint for Today

I always grocery shop at the Giant Eagle in Chardon. They always have what I need and I know my way around the store really well now. The only thing I hate about that store is they only have one big cart with the seats in the front for little kids, and I can almost never find it. So, what I have to do is put Nicholas' car seat in the front seat of the regular cart and Isabella inside the back of the cart. Then I have to pull an empty cart behind me for all my food. As you can imagine, it is the biggest pain in the butt. Today, a quarter of the way through my shopping, Isabella started screaming to get out of the cart and kept trying to stand up, and Nicholas decided that if he didn't have a bottle immediately, he was going to die. I took Isabella out so that she didn't fall out and told her she had to walk. She proceeded to pull everything off the shelves. If she wasn't taking things off the shelves, she was running in the opposite direction from me. I had to keep pausing to feed Nicholas to either put the stuff back on the shelf or chase after Isabella, which made Nicholas start screaming. Grocery shopping should not be this difficult. Is it a stretch for the store to think that there might be more than one woman with small children shopping at a time???

I Am Feeling Well Rested

Nicholas has slept well for the last two nights. Hurray! I had originally said that I was going to let him cry it out, but after reading my book by Dr. Ferber, I decided against it. He said that a baby is not ready for that until about 6 months. I will use any excuse I can to not have to do it. I hate letting babies cry! So, we have been suffering through it. Nick noticed that when I am at my breaking point and am cursing everyone in my sight at 4:00AM, we usually have a good night the following day. Well, that's exactly what happened. Nicholas went to bed on Saturday at 9:30 and woke up at 2:30. I fed him a bottle and he went back to sleep until 8:15. Last night, he went to bed at 10:30, woke up at 3:30, then went back to sleep until 7:30. For parents who have children sleeping 10 hours a night without waking at all, you are probably thinking that this is horrible. But for those of us who are used to getting up 2 or 3 times a night, this is HEAVEN!

Now that I have commented on how great this is, Nicholas will probably be up every hour tonight!

Nicholas, I am sorry that you come from a family of girls and all you have to play with are little cottages and pink and purple bikes. I promise you will have some of your own toys soon.

Early Reading

Isabella read to her doll, who she named "Nine", then threw her on the floor and yelled, NAP!! I will have to teach her a more gentle technique before she starts babysitting!

A True Water Baby

My Little Helper

Seven Springs, PA

This weekend we all went to Penny and Dave's condo in Seven Springs with my parents to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We had so much fun. We have gone twice since they purchased it a couple of years ago, but it has been in the winter so everyone could ski. This was a completely different experience in the summer. There is as much to do in the summer as there is in the winter. We all rode the Alpine Slides, which is a track down the mountain. Even Isabella rode the 15 minute ski lift up the mountain and rode down the slide with either me or Nick. I took her first and was very nervous about putting her on the lift, but she did great. I went very slowly the first time down, but Nick took her next and they were going as fast as I was when I was by myself. I still beat them to the finish line, which killed Nick.

We had a delicious dinner on Saturday night at the condo, that we had a local restaurant prepare for us. That was followed by cake and ice cream for dessert, baked and decorated by Paige and Chloe. (The cake did not have a speck of chocolate on it, since for some reason, Miss Paige has aversion to chocolate. We can't possibly be related.) Nevertheless, it was very good!

Sunday, we hit the Alpine Slide again, rode it a few more times, had lunch at the lodge, and then had to pack up our things and drive home. Taylor and Shea can't wait to go back next summer. I am looking forward to going next winter since I will finally be able to ski. 2 years ago, there was a warm spell and we were not able to ski, and last winter I was pregnant. I will be practicing at Alpine Valley beforehand though.

I forgot to bring my camera so I will post some pictures when I get them from my mom.

Make Your Own Pizza Night

Leave it to Shea to take it over the top.

Another Playground Day

Yesterday we met Penny, Paige, Chloe and my Mom at the Independence playground. They have a Safety Town park there with streets that have stop signs and a working stop light. The kids have always liked to go there and ride their bikes. Even the big kids had fun pretending, but to my dismay, the big kids were the only ones that couldn't get along with each other. I had to break up two fights. It was a very silent ride home. I find it ironic that instead of enjoying our fun day that we had planned, it was ruined because my two oldest children couldn't get along. They will not take the next day out for granted again.

Our Day with Nonni

Yesterday, Nick's mom spent the day at our house to play with the kids and to teach me how to make her red sauce. Isabella had so much fun playing with her Nonni all day. The sauce was a success too. No more Clasico for this family! Thanks for coming Mom!

Crazy Girls!

Taylor and Shea invited their friends over today for a sleepover. I went in the basement this afternoon to tell them that I was leaving for the grocery store and this is what I found. Currently, they are making videos to send to the Jonas Brothers in the hopes that they will choose these nutty girls to come up on stage when they come the Cleveland in August. Good luck with that one girls!!

Our 4th of July Weekend

Ok, so I am a little behind in documenting our weekend, but we had something going on everyday. Taylor and Shea left on Wednesday morning for Massachusetts with their Dad for the weekend, so they were missed again. We started our 4th at the West Geauga parade on Friday morning. Isabella and Nicholas loved the Fire Engines and all the candy falling out of the sky. Later that afternoon, Nick's family came over for a cookout. Once it got dark, Nick, his brother and his dad put on the best fireworks show in our backyard! We got to sit on the deck with the kids and watch right above our heads. Thanks for the great show, guys!

On Saturday, we went to my parents house for a cookout and swimming. Isabella had a great time with Paige and Chloe. Dave made the best gourmet burgers!

On Sunday, we dropped Isabella and Nicholas off at Nick's parents house and went on a test drive for a new car for Nick. My husband is not a small man, and currently drives a Hummer H2, which suits him pretty well. Now, he is thinking of buying a Mini Cooper, which looks like a clown car. I personally think it's the ugliest car, but he really likes it. I think he is trying to be Mark Walhberg in "The Italian Job". That's okay as long as I get to be Charlize Theron! He hasn't made up his mind yet, but I think he is trying to get something that is a little better on gas. Between the Hummer and the Suburban, we are spending about $200 a week on gas. That is disgusting!

Nicholas' First Attempt at Cereal

For about 4 weeks, Nicholas went from sleeping 7 hours at night to waking up every 2-3 hours. Nick and I feel like we have a newborn again. The pediatrician thinks he is waking up hungry, and said to try giving him cereal at night to see if we could get him to last a little longer in between feedings. He really liked the cereal, and did pretty good keeping it in his mouth. Nick and I went to bed at 11:00, hoping that we would not hear from him until morning. Well, no such luck. He was up at 1:30 and 4:30. At 4:30 he would not go back to sleep in his crib, so he spent the next 4 hours in his swing.

Since the cereal did not work, we have to go to plan B. The doctor also said that Nicholas should be going to bed awake, so that he can fall asleep on his own. She said that when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he should be able to go back to sleep on his own. Therefore, we have to start putting him in his crib awake, and letting him cry for awhile until he falls asleep. Then, if he wakes up in the middle of the night, we have to let him cry for a while. This is my least favorite thing to do, and I have never done this on any of the kids this early. However, none of the other kids were getting up every 3 hours at this age either. So, we are going to try it, and I will be a stressed out ball on tension the entire time. Hopefully it will work very quickly, so that I am not tempted to cave in.

Today we went to the playground at the Jewish Community Center. It is one of the biggest playgrounds that I have ever seen. Despite all the day camps from the city, we had a great time. Isabella loved going down the slide with Taylor and Shea. Even Nicholas went down the slide for the first time. It was all fun and games until he had a huge blowout in his diaper. He always seems to choose the most inopportune moments to have a big blast. As I was sitting on a swing with him, I noticed a horrible stench. He and I both had poop on us. I changed him under a shady tree as far from people as I could find. I rifled through my diaper bag and was lucky that I had an extra outfit for him. However......Isabella must have removed the wipes from my bag prior to leaving our house. We found 2 McDonald's napkins, which Taylor saturated in the drinking fountain. I wiped him down as best I could, but napkins are not meant to be soaked with water and used as baby wipes. So, for the rest of the afternoon, I walked around with poop on my shirt, and Nicholas had shredded napkins stuck to his butt.