Cowboy Day

It's amazing how different things can be in 24 hours... tonight - Nora went to bed with no complaining - was great throughout the day, no potty accidents, no cutting hair... just went to school, played, etc. Emily got out the door ok - no crying, ready to head to school, she had a great day at school, and everything. Rose slept a little better last night but was still up and for the first time decided that 1:30-3:30 was awake play time!

But the exciting news today was "IT's Cowboy Day"... Nora couldn't wait! She's been waiting for this ever since they mentioned it at school.
She wore her cowboy, excuse me, cow girl hat (she kept correcting me all day!)... wore her horse shirt and horse pants.
And here comes the posse... ready to take their rides on the horses.
Nora was so so excited!!
They got to pet the horses...
And then it was her turn...
She even got complimented on her "riding style". :o)
You've got to click on the following picture to make it larger- her expression is great!
During lunch I noticed this lovely guy/girl - not sure... outside the window - not sure what it was catching... seems the hummers are all gone though.
Rose was on the move a lot today - she only took two naps - both in the morning and around noon. She finally fell asleep now (8:00) so we'll see how she does tonight. She's a little stuffy and I'm trying to keep it cleaned out as best as I can in anticipation of our flight to NY on Friday..

Hard Being Mommy

Talk about needing a refresh - I wish a "refresh" was as easy on the computer - click a button and boom.. you're all refreshed and ready for a new run! I am honestly so tired... so tired physically (the past few nights Rose has been up almost every hour from 11 on) and so tired emotionally. I have been the worst mommy lately - probably due to lack of sleep. I feel like I'm back to the newborn stage of just going through the motions because you're so tired. Going through the motions of daily life but not really getting things done, going through the motions of dealing with the girls but not really following through on any of it. Our whole day seems to be one of crying fits and fussy times. If it's not one, it's another...Nora ran me through the ringer this morning - starting with a wet bed, cutting her hair (thankfully just a little!), poking Rose in the eye when she was trying to nap (she's done this before when she was smaller - saying that she's like her baby dolls)... in between that was cries of Rose trying to take naps (she only managed one today) and then tonight Emily's late nights and rough mornings finally caught up with her and she's only now settling in after an early lights out because of a fit this morning... hate that ... we try so hard to have a good start in the morning but it's so hard when at every turn she finds something wrong and just fusses and fusses... anyway - I'll stop ranting and hopefully just get to bed.. hopefully with no crying and hopefully with Rose sleeping all night... here are a few pictures of the girls this afternoon.. a happier moment for sure! If only our whole day could be like this!

To Another Year

This morning started out early with two little ones presenting their homemade pictures to me for my birthday. We hung out some before getting ready to head out the door for religious ed. I was curling my bangs and both Nora and Emily wanted me to curl their hair too - so a quick whip of the curling iron and we were good to go.
My friend Tracy surprised me with some mums and a birthday cake..
and Facebook was filling up with birthday wishes - so fun!
We had brownies and my friend Celeste had a card that all the brownies signed and had cupcakes for us. So they sung me happy birthday and then we all shared some yummy cupcakes!
Then on the way home, Morgan pulled in the driveway right after us from getting back from the airport.. we gathered things up, dropped Meg our babysitter off at home and hten to Olive Garden for my birthday dinner.
But before leaving for brownies - we got the sad news that Babci had passed away. Not totally unexpected but so sad that she is gone but I know she is in a better place. A little tribute to yet another wonderful grandmother. One that I am so thankful that my girls will remember and have their own memories to cherish of her! She was certainly a wonderful grandmother, great grandmother ...
Babci always amazed me - everything she touched turned out perfect.. her gardening... her sewing... her cooking... I remember as a little girl staying with her and we made a doll... I remember going to the food store with her as she meticulously picked out every green bean singly to make sure she only got the best ones... she had little tidbits about everything and always called on birthdays, anniversaries or if she heard any weather related incident whereever we lived.
I remember the joy in her voice when I told her we were expecting - this would be her 1st great grandchild.. she now has 5! She was there for all our big events, graduation, baptisms, recitals.. it was always so special that she would travel for these despite our distance apart.
She always tried new things - I thought it so neat that Babci had a video camera, a VCR, a cell phone... a digital camera... she loved playing with Emily or making things with her...
Even though the last time Nora saw her she was little.. even they have their adventures together... Babci's first experience with disposable diaper... amazingly enough she made the tightest fit of a diaper put on backwards that I had ever seen! She was so embarrassed... :o)
She got such joy out of the girls.. it was so fun to see..
But most of all I'll miss her chats on the phone, her cooking (cookies, kielbasa, everything), her crafts, her smile, the way she greeted you - big hug, grab your cheeks and give you a kiss, her stories of her childhood in Poland, stories of coming to America, I'll even miss the smell of moth balls that seemed to come with everything that was ever shipped from her house.... so much more...
So here's to you Babci - na zdrowie....
You will be missed... may you rest in peace!