Confessions of a Road Trippin' Mama

• Even 85 seems too slow with two whining kids in the backseat.
  
• If you judged me for letting my 9 month old crawl around on the filthy, disgusting McDonald's floor after spending 2.5 hours in the carseat, I just want to tell you...you can kiss it!


• No, Sophia...I really don't want to sing Bingo one more time, but I love you, so I'll let it happen. Again.


• I know you want to get out of the car, but you can't.


• No, the Bingo CD didn't really break, but c'mon, my ears were bleeding.


• If your address has an "R" in front of it, your McDonald's should really have a Play Place. Seriously...I mean what else do you have to do in this town?
  
• Poop is not a reason to stop the car. Incessant screaming? Yes, that's a good reason.


• No. We're still not there.
• Oh I sure did buy my non-sleeping 2 year old and her friend ice cream at 9 pm, you gotta problem with that?!
  

Why didn't anyone tell me that McDonald's had $0.39 kids cones before now?

germs? fecal matter? It's no worry...I brought wipes.

Sheehan and Sophia enjoying a milk at the soda counter

ah yes, more floor time. There comes a point in which your efforts become futile. Just accept and move on.

Group picture anyone?

thank heavens for the life jacket! She couldn't touch anywhere in the pool!

Eileen and Baby ?

Sorry, but I had a really terrible time telling them apart...but at least that means they are equally adorable!

Poor Leo was cordoned off into the grass...he only wanted to eat rocks on the playground

Calum and Finne

(I think!!!)

we had 2 serious golfers on our hands!

which of these things is not like the other?

They look so peaceful as they watch TV...if only that would have contained them

here they were deliriously running for the door that leads to ice cream

ah yes, this one should be submitted for mother of the year.

There is nothing like convenience store ice cream for the babies.

Did I mention it was after 9?? Yea, we rock.

Here is Sophia with Finne (I'm sure about it this time!)

She loved "helping" with the babies and ran to their aid each and every time they peeped.

Super Cute Stocco Boys!

Finne, Sheehan, and Calum

Thank goodness for Greg!

Daddies are always fun, even if it's not your own!

oh I know, I am just so cute aren't I?

:)

There was really no better picture to end our time together!

Oh, and yes...Sophia did polish off that entire plate of blueberry pancakes and bacon...by herself.

So, if you haven't figured it out yet...we went road-trippin', just the 3 of us (oh and by the way, I didn't really using my editing eye for my picture choices in this post, it was just too much fun to post them all!) In the end, it really wasn't that bad, but it sure was tiring and a bit stressful to be on my own with the two of them. Eileen, Greg and the boys were traveling to Colorado for a family vacation and since it's been almost 2 years (gasp!) since we've seen each other, we decided on an impromptu getaway to meet them in Northern Iowa for 2 days. Iowa? Really? Yes, I know, but we found a hotel with a water park and figured it was all we needed, and actually, it really was. Thank goodness Greg was there to help with my kids too because it's not like the didn't have enough of their own! The twins, Finnegan (Finne) and Calum, are just about 2.5 months and Sheehan just turned 4. We got adjoining rooms and spent almost the entire time in the pool and the hotel restaurant. It was super fun and a great way to see an old friend, however, we didn't get much time to catch up between feeding one of the three babies, and catching someone who was jumping in the pool or saving another who may have been about to go under, but at least it was something! Hopefully we can plan another reunion soon because even in just my short time I was reminded again how wonderful it is to spend time with someone who knows the real you. There are only a handful of people in my life that I feel like know the deep-down me, know my history, and can truly appreciate my sense of humor and Eileen is definitely one of them.

Nachos Libre

chewing on this is more fun than wearing it!

peek-a-boo, Sophia!

Sophia makes a very threatening wrestler indeed!

showing off her pink princess diamond!

Yay for Daddy coming home! Charlie has been in San Diego all week and came home late last night and we're all happy for the homecoming! Sophia dove into bed with him this morning to cuddle and it was just precious. Of course, as all good daddies do, he came home with business trip presents! Leo got a Mexican wrestling mask which he had more fun eating and playing with than actually wearing, but Sophia on the other hand, loved wearing it and looking tough. She declared herself Superman. She also got a giant pink diamond, her princess diamond! ;) I told her to never settle for less than a man willing to buy her diamonds...I mean at some point someone else will have to support her, right!? ;) haha!

Greatest Day EVER...

We thought this day would never come...Sophia has learned how to pump her legs on the swing...woo hooo!!! She still needs a push to get her started, but once she's going, she just keeps on going and going and going! Hallelujah! It's been an interesting progression actually, because she's sort of had an inkling on how to do it for about 6 months now, but one day she couldn't and then the next day she could...crazy! This is a nice development for her to feel more independent and an even nicer development for mommy and daddy! ;)

Good News

Walter has been given a clean bill of health...at least we think. I had a few days this week when I was really nervous about our boy...I got a call from his regular vet on Tuesday evening. She had sent his films to a specialist and that doctor seemed very worried by the looks of this x-ray. She said that most likely it was either pancreatitis or a cancer mass. LUCKILY, it was neither.



After the ultrasound today, the specialist did not see anything to indicate the "mass" that was apparent in the x-rays. Her best guess is that his body was twisted funny while taking the films and that made things look a little crazy on his insides. Now, truthfully, I could be a little pissed that I went through all this for an error...I mean aren't there standards on how to take x-rays? I am no technician, but it seems to me there should be/would be/probably is a procedure. Anyway, I'm trying to focus on the positive.



In the end though, there still lies the mystery of his vomiting. Hmmmm. We started feeding him 2 times/day instead of 1 and so far that has helped tremendously with the vomiting. It is possible that he has developed some acid reflux type situation and just needs to eat smaller meals and that will fix the situation. There are some other routes we could go if it looks like he might have either inflammatory bowel disease or some bacteria I don't know how to spell (both were possibilites according to the vet), but my gut tells me it's neither of those things. Since Leo has been born he has developed this naughty behavior of climbing on the counters and tabletops to eat food, and I think this could be related and could definitely cause some upset tummies!


We're going to continue to monitor him, but he has been vomit free for about 10 days now, so we'll just keep doing what works and do something else when it doesn't. We were very happy our furry friend needed no further testing! :)

Cupcakes for Everyone

You can tell these two had a successful cupcake experience!

Hey! I want cupcakes too...these green beans are for the birds!

our slightly less beautiful but still fully delicious cupcakes
(they fell off the seat and kinda got smashed! whoops!)

after soliciting as many pennies as possible from Cari and Mom, Sophia enjoyed throwing them in the fountain

The kids and I met my friend Cari in the plaza this week for a Mommy-play date and yummy cupcakes! Cari's been telling me about this place for a while now and it sure didn't disappoint! Sadly, I bought two extras to take home and Walter enjoyed them before anyone else could. :( I had the stuffed french toast and Sophia was happy with her vanilla on vanilla, no surprise there, but it was embellished with pink sprinkles so that was definitely a selling point for her! We must go back!

Pool Days

There's just something about swimsuits and the pool that makes me want to snap a 100 pictures! I think Leo especially is so cute in his suit, maybe it's all the chunk that makes me smile, but both my kids just LOVE being at the pool. Since I've been feeling better there's been no better way to beat the heat!

Up and About

Fake it til I make it...that is this week's motto.



In a wrap-up regarding my surgery I should just say that all the hype was true...getting your tonsils out as adult is the worst time of your life. I'm still in recovery mode and it's been 11 days. Prior to this surgery I would have said that I had a fairly high pain tolerance...but uh, now I'm not so sure. Yesterday was the first day that I took zero pain medication. I think that may be what made it so hard was the fact that it was in my mouth (some may argue the center of my existence) but that's sort of the focal point of my day, especially with two babies running around! My tongue, way in the back, hurt worse than my throat most days and I can only image it was because they had to crank down on it so hard to steer clear of it during surgery, but that was what caused most of my swallowing issues. In the end, I can only hope that it lives up to it's claim of keeping me more well, because it was hell, and that is no joke. Each day I wake up feeling a little bit better, today being the best by far. I hope that by early next week I'm back to my old self, and until then I'm just going to continue faking it until I make it, cuz that's what I have to do.




So here's a little of what we've been up to during my recovery days...it's a bit of a long journey, you might even say the long post to end all long posts, so read on my friends! :)

Last Monday, Jill brought the girls over for a mini play date, and to bring me some delicious ice cream, something I never turn down! It was a good way to ease back into reality. The girls had fun climbing on Sophia's bed, coloring, and playing ball. I can't believe the twins are almost 2!!! Wow!

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Everyone comes running when Bama reads a story, even Walter! ;)


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Emma celebrated her 6th birthday with an exclusive pool/ice cream party! It was a bit rainy so we played at the indoor pool and then headed back to Jodie's for make-your-own ice cream sundaes in waffle bowls...YUM! It was a super fun afternoon and a great way to wear some people out, including me!


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My friend, Julie, gave birth to beautiful baby Francesca! She is such a little doll and really is a spitting image of big brother, Massimo. Mom and baby came out of surgery very well and hopefully they will head home tomorrow!

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look at that monster jalapeno!

zucchini plants about to take over the world!

I finally was able to head out and check out our garden and it continues to amaze me how well it is thriving! We have a few jalapenos, and we're hoping that the banana and red peppers aren't far behind. There are two little tomatoes growing (by the way are 'green tomatoes' just tomatoes that aren't yet ripe? cuz I was thinking about making some friend green tomatoes but really wasn't sure!!) on the tomato plant that was a starter plant so I think the others that we grew from seed aren't far behind. The zucchini plants, as you can see, are wild and crazy! I think they killed the strawberry plants :( but are sure to produce quite a few fruits. There are a bunch of blossoms, so it's only a matter of time...send your tried and true zucchini recipes our way!

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In Walter news, he has been a bit under the weather himself lately. We're really not sure what's wrong with him actually and he's had to have a number of tests run. The latest, a round of x-rays, showed that his small intestines are actually pushed all the way back to the rear of his abdomen, which is what was probably causing his vomiting. The million dollar question, however, is why/how did it get there???? We'll probably have to take him to a specialist next week. His regular vet was out of town and hasn't yet seen the x-rays, so we're awaiting a call from her on Monday. Yes, we are those people that take our dog to a specialist, so don't judge! I'm really beginning to get a bit worried about him, so all of you dog people out there, say a little prayer for our fuzzy baby!