Running on E

There are couple meanings to that title.  First reason - I am literally so exhausted that at any given moment I could probably fall asleep.  Second reason - Ella is what keeps me motivated....her smile, her laugh, and that sweet little voice.

It has been a week since Mark's back surgery and he is doing totally awesome!  He is up and moving around (limited still) and of course still knows how to get me busting a gut laughing with his jokes.  Although he is getting around, he is still not able to drive, bend, twist, lift or even sit for longer than 15 minutes straight.  Needless to say...things have been CRAZY busy for me! 

Mark had made the comment joking around, "See...I actually did things around here to help out!"  And you know what...he really is such a HUGE help with Ella and the house.  It's sad that his injury a few months back is what opened my eyes even more.  I always knew he was amazing  and did more than the average guy would do, but man...this is hard!  Mad respect for single mothers and fathers.  : )  

We have had a lot of offers from family and friends to help out and we appreciate it so much!  The funny thing is, I wouldn't know what people could do to help.  Haha!  It's the cleaning, cooking, errands, grocery shopping, work, daycare preparation and more.  Yes, I am the mom who prepares and portions out my child's food for the whole day.  Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are prepared for her to take to daycare the night before. This may not seem like a lot, but when your the sole person doing it?!  Nuts!

One of the hardest things is explaining to Ella that daddy cannot pick her up when she stretches her arms up and says "Uppy Uppy".  I know it breaks Mark's heart, but I keep reassuring him that it is only temporary and that before he knows it...Ella will be chassing him around trying to keep up with him. 

Mark goes to his post surgery follow up on the 19th and hopefully we get some great news.  I am just hoping for a safe and healthy recovery for him.  Ella and I pray for his recovery everynight!  He will also find out what his rehab schedule will be like.  That's maybe an opportunity that we can accept some help from family and friends. Oh and best believe when Mark is feeling better...we are going out!  Maybe a free babysitter would be a nice way to assist us.  Haha....wishful thinking!

Everyone loves the Classics!

This morning Ella wanted me to follow her and she led me straight to the bathroom.  The seat was up so I quickly put it down so that curious hands do not end up in the bowl.  When I did that...I got yelled at.  Ella said, "NO, Pee Pee".  So, I hurriedly pulled down her pj's and held her over the toilet.  She wiggled and wanted down, so I grabbed her potty and sat her on that.  That wasn't exactly what she wanted.  She got up and ran bare-bottom into her bedroom and came back with a book.  Disney Classics was her book of choice and it was pretty heavy.  Ella grabbed my hand and sat her dupa on her potty with her big book on her lap.

I propped the book up with the Listerine bottle to access the camera.  : )  And I love the one sock on, one sock off.  She sat here for a couple minutes, but did not go.  Still....step in the right direction.

Happy Birthday ODB!

March is crazy ridiculous with Birthday's in our family.  We have cousins, my mom, myself, brother-in-law, nephew, a brand spankin' new niece, and the main topic of this blog...my husband!

Today my OLD man turns 30.  He is 5 days younger than me, and for those 5 days...he busts me about being old to the point of no return.  This year he has called me "Oldie Hawn", "Oldilocks" and much more...Haha.  This morning I made sure to wish "Todd Oldman" a Happy Birthday.

I always try to make sure his day is special and rememberable.  Last night, I had to start preparing his birthday dinner.  As most know, I do not fair well with meat but the husband is a Chef and I have to make him something special.  I picked him up 2 Filet Mignon (pronounced Mig-nin).  I had to start the marination process last night, so unfortunately I had to let him in on the surprise.  He asked me how I was going to prepare it.  Lol.  Hint:  If a Chef asks you how you will prepare and cook something...just ask them how they would do it, cause that is really what they are getting at.  So, the Mignons are marinated to Mark's liking and I am sure he will be watching over me while I cook them.  Which is absolutely fine with me!

After he fell asleep, I decorated the house with balloons and signs and finished up this morning by placing out his presents.   I love celebrating his birthday more than my own.  Without a doubt, it is better to give than it is to receive.  After a relaxing dinner and special sweet dessert, this old couple will be retiring for some much needed sleep! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARKY!  We love you so much!

and Ella

Splish, Splash, Ella is taking Baths!!!

This is a HUGE thing for us!  Since she has been able to stand, she has refused to sit down during bathtime.  Even if I tried to sit her down, she would scream bloody murder until she was standing again.  So showering it was...I even went out to get a detachable shower head so it was easier for all.

We had to go about this in small steps.  For a while, Ella didn't like the wide space in the tub, so we had to put her inflatable ducky tub inside the big tub to take showers.  A couple weeks ago, I got rid of the ducky and she was showering in the big girl tub.  I started gradually introducing the concept of sitting so that she can play a whole lot easier.  Finally, on Tuesday she sat the majority of the time and had a blast.  We splashed each other, she gave kisses to all her bath toys and even had fun with her squirty toys.  Until it happened...she tooted and scared herself.  Haha, right as it happened she started saying "Uppy Uppy".

The next night we tried again and she has been hooked ever since!!  Now when I ask her if she is ready for tubby time, she makes a b-line for the bathroom while yelling "Tubby. Tubby, Tubby Time".  It is truly awesome!

Tubby time is fun, but so exhausting!

Kids Don’t ALWAYS Make the Right Decisions

Life is tough and there are so many obstacles that one must overcome. Drugs, drinking, sex and so much more are being introduced at ages that surprise the heck out of anyone!

I grew up in what most people would think, myself included, a picture perfect household. Mom, Dad, sister, brother, pets. My sister and brother both followed the rules and steered clear of negative influences. Me not so much, I was always the “rebel” in my family. As my amazing Aunt Alyce always told me, “They threw the mold away when they made you!” This is something I will never forget.

Although I was the so called rebel, I was never looked down upon in my family. Mistakes and experiences are what made me who I am today.  I learned from this time in my life…and I think I turned out pretty darn good. No matter what I did, my parents always treated me with the same respect they gave my siblings and they never bring up the past to down me now. And for that I thank you mom and dad!

My parents are amazing! And I take how they raised me to heart. They taught me to respect others, to love, to learn, to be independent, to earn things and so much more.

Now I have a little one and I see so much of myself in this baby girl, I know I am in trouble. Haha! Both Mark and I were the rebels in our families…so we will take our experiences and positively use them to our advantage in raising our children.

Being a kid is hard enough without having to worry about what someone is saying about you. All kids make mistakes, but it is our job to turn it into something positive that they can learn from. I will always give my children the respect they deserve!

Language Explosion!!!

Our little smarty pants is starting to put phrases and small sentences together.  Although we knew this was going to happen, it is still such an awesome feat!  Mark and I cannot get enough of hearing her sweet, soft spoken voice.  I know, I know…I say this now!  But seriously, it feels so good when she actually directs things to us now.

We have been teaching her manners such as excuse me, please and thank you.  Can I just tell you how wonderful it is to hear your little one say “Thank you, Mommy”?  I’m sure most have experienced this, but it is new for us and just feels absolutely terrific!  She said “Thank you, Daddy” to Mark and he was floored.

Lately, when I tuck her in she gets into Stewie mode (Family Guy).  None stop saying “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy” and when I look at her and ask, “yes, baby?”  She responds by saying “Mommy Ni-Ni”.  Totally the best medicine for any kind of stress! 

She is also learning opposites.  She knows that the heater and the oven are HOT.  When we head to daycare on a chilly morning and we step outside she says “hawt”.  This cracks me up!  So I correct her and let her know that it is cold, says repeats “cole, cole”. 

Her newest challenge is UP and DOWN.  She knows down, but is saying it when she wants to get up. She will stretch her arms out and say “don, don” when she wants to be picked up.  We let her know that it is UP, she then says “uppy uppy”.  It is too cute! 

For fun...here are some random pictures and a video of Ella wearing shoes.  The video is pretty funny cause she gets upset at the end for no good reason.  I think she got annoyed cause she stepped on the one foot and couldn't move it.   Haha!

The Cruiser Chronicles #1

After tonight's bike ride, Mark had made the suggestion of writing the experiences that I have down.  I figured I need to start reporting funny things that happen to me while riding my bike.

"It's like riding a bike", is not always a true statement.  For many years, I have been kind of apprehensive about riding a bike.  It stems back to my brush with death back in '97 when I took my brother's mountain bike to get myself to dance class.  For those who are not from the Scranton area...there are not many flat surfaces anywhere. I coasted along and got to a hill (Clearview Street) that would take me down to Main Ave and next to the studio.  I was really picking up speed and truly cruising, until halfway down I realized the brakes were not working. So, I did what any other person speeding on a mountain bike with no brakes would do...I freaked right the hell out!  There was a main road directly in front me and no way of stopping...oh but wait I was wrong.  All I heard was breaks squealing and the sound of my brother's bike and my face crunching against a building on the opposite side of the busy road.  Lol...when I got up a woman came out of the building I just smacked into and told me she thought a car ran into the building.  No, no....it was just me.  A few people from the cars were there asking if I was alright. The one car missed me by a few inches. I got up, shook myself off and walked the jacked up bike across the street and went to dance class. LOL

So, now I live in Delaware where everything is flat and have decided to get back on that horse and try it again.

Wednesday was beautiful during the day, so we decided we would go for a short bike ride after dinner.  When we left the driveway, we realized it was too windy and chilly and decided to just go around the block.  As we were approaching an intersection in the neighborhood I thought Mark was going to go straight, but he then decided to make a right.  I cut the wheel and as I proceeded, I was struggling to find my pedals (totally lost my footing).  HAHA!  Mark looks back at me and asked if I was alright.  I had to confess to him that I couldn't find my pedals.  He laughed at me the rest of the way home.

and Tonight...we were getting ready to head out of our driveway and I asked which direction we were going. Mark said, "Let's make a right."  So, I did what any logical person would do...I made a left!  As Mark headed in the opposite direction, he yelled "Where ya going?  I said make a right."  I responded "We are going this way now!"  Haha...I couldn't get myself to turn the bike around.  Once I mustered up enough courage to turn my bike and head in the other direction...Mark and I passed each other because he started following me again.

What makes this funnier is that a few of my neighbors got to witness this scene.  Oh lord!  And this is why I wanted an old school bike with simplicity and NO gears!  LOL