21 Dozen Ears of Corn + 7 hrs = 36 Bags Fresh Corn

Yesterday, Mom calls me to say she ordered the corn, for us to do today.  This year she decided to up it, 5 more dozen than last year for a grand total of 20.  To top it off they gave us a free dozen (which was enjoyed for dinner) 4 hours and 252 ears of corn later...

Shot of the corn: pre-husked.


Next up, we had two BIG soup pots at a rolling boil, a dozen in each pot cooking for 6 mins.  Put it on a tray, cut off the cob, repeat process. 

The ears all lined up on the counter ready for the pots.

Bagged up and ready for the freezer.

The end result = these lovely 36 bags of corn all ready for the freezer.  7 long hours went into these , my left fingers are hurting from the steaming burning hot cobs and I injured my right thumb nail in the process, but how worth it will be this winter when we're enjoying some yummy fresh corn.

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday Avalynn Grace!

Baby Girl -

How is it that a 1/2 year has passed already?  I'm loving this age you are in - so much, I know I keep saying this each month, but each new thing you do is more fun then the previous.  Unfortunately, for me you haven't slept through the night since our beach vacation a month ago.  Needless to say in the sleep department I'm dragging some of these days.  I keep hoping each night that we'll get back to those 3-4 nights a week of you sleeping all night.

Your are eating solids like a champ.  You absolutely love anything with sweet potatoes in it & all of the orange mixed veggies.  Your Daddy loves the way you eat, you'll take a bite, look around and then turn back towards us with your mouth open until we put another spoonful in.  It's so cute.

As for becoming more mobile - what else can I say but you definitely are never where we lay you down now.  You roll and spin your body all over the place.  You definitely find ways to get yourself into cramped spaces, so far I've found you on the end of the couch and under the tv console a couple times.  In the past week you've started to get up on your hands and knees and rock your body back and forth but you end up just moving backwards.  There's no doubt that you'll be crawling very soon I'm sure.  You are now officially able to sit by yourself for longer periods of time.

You still love putting anything and every toy or whoever is holding you their hand/fingers in your mouth to chomp on.  Your "bite" is definitely getting stronger.  Today, I was checking our your gums and it looks like you'll be getting your bottom two teeth soon, they are looking white and I can see the bumps on your inner gums.  You love blowing razberries like there's no tomorrow, when sitting there, or your fingers in your mouth and you even do it towards the end of your nursing sessions sometimes, it's funny. And you're starting to play with your toys, trying to put balls down the ball slides, taking your animals out of the ark and of course you have to taste each one.  Last week, you finally started to put your feet up in your mouth, it's amazing how much you can bend yourself.

We are loving the wonderful addition you've been to our little family.  You and Emma crack each other up and the other day you were "talking" back to her in a conversation, Lord help us when you do start talking, we already have a non stop talker - never again will there be quiet I'm afraid.

Love you,
Mommy

Sitting up and playing, giving me some smiles this a.m.

You look like such a big girl here. 

Zonked out for nap holding your Sophie.

In bed for the night - sweet dreams baby girl! 

New things in the "R" Household

Last Monday, our prayers got answered and the Hubs got a phone call from the union about a job, to report and start Wednesday.

Pros - A job finally after being laid off for 8 months.  It's supposed to last 4-6 months and by the time, hopefully one of the other couple BIG jobs the union says is coming will be started and he can just transition straight to one of them.

Cons -  3 hour round trip commute.  That is no fun.


But I have the best Hubby and he's sucking it up and doing it for his family.

So, the beginning of the week was spent enjoying our last 2 full days with the Hubs.  We did random house stuff and ran errands that needed done, as we are a one vehicle family, needed to make sure I have what we need here since he'll have the car.

Tuesday we got Miss E's hair cut.  She was way overdue for a good trim, plus we've entered a stage where she's starting to chew on her hair?!  I don't know - but we had enough of that, so got it cut up to her shoulders.

The girls' morning of the Miss E's hair cut.

Before Shot.

After shot.

The end of the week went well, was able to give attention to both girls', get my cleaning schedule back on track and have a cooked meal on the table for when the Hubs came home.  It was nice getting back into a routine.  

Finally back...

Our beach vacation was wonderful!!!  We decided to drive home during the night because of the girls' sleeping and then we were hit with a weekend of 4th of July festivities and this past week just be re-couperating.  Seriously, who'd have thunk you need a vacation after vacation.  I know that in my mind I was looking forward to some relaxing time at the beach, but then once there, there was just SO MUCH I wanted to cram into the week that we were running non-stop from early morning to late at night.  The girls' were amazing, even though their sleep schedules were thrown off including many missed naps.  I can't wait to go back again.

Now that we are all rested up again I'm now starting to feel like I can go back to my day-to-day routine.  We went to the beach 4 days, a whole day at a water park, boardwalk 5 nights, some good photo booth shots, games/rides, outlet shopping, mini golf, frozen custard/shaved ice, celebrated 5 year wedding anniversary, and saw an amazing sunrise on our last day.

Now for just a few pictures, I'll try not to boggle down the post with too many even though I think the girls' are so adorable!

One of the worse days in a LONG time!

Last night I had started our beach vacay re-cap and planned on finishing it early this am after Baby Girl's morning feeding, but as it would have it my body had a different plan.

I should have known today wasn't going to be a great day, as right after her morning feeding, Baby A jerked her head and my ring snagged on her earring ripping it out of her poor ear.  The back was bleeding but otherwise I didn't see a tear.  I felt so horrible, so I promptly took off my rings and put them in the jewelry box, they will have to be on a small sabatical.

Then I started having this severe pain in my left front abdomen.  It just kept getting worse between the pain then started the chills and hot sweats along with nausea and some vomiting.  I called the Dr's office around 8:30 and the soonest they could see me was 10am.  By 9 after I took a quick shower and got myself dressed I told the Hubs he needed to get the girls' ready, we were heading to the ER because I just couldn't handle it anymore.  I really wish that when you are in severe pain, they'd move a little bit faster in the ER.  I mean really - who wants to sit there for 20-30 minutes waiting.  Alls I wanted was for them to check me out and give me something for the pain.

Finally after I was taken to a room the Dr. came in and said he thought it could be a kidney stone and they wanted to do a CT Scan.  Right before I headed up for the scan my main great decreased.  They did find that it was indeed a kidney stone, I had passed it through to my bladder and got some pain meds along with the directions for what to do at home until it officially passed through.  I wouldn't wish any of that pain on anyone.  I truly hope I'm one of those people that has one - ever in their life!  Guess we'll find out what the test lab finds out and if I'm told to change my diet or watch out for certain things.  I can only think of the best.

So, needless to say the day felt like it was shot as we didn't even get home until 1pm.  Had some lunch, napped while the girls' napped and have just had a relaxing evening with the girls' and Hubby.  Now, I'm laying in bed and trying to get some blog posts done.  I have so much to share, two DIY/Craft projects, beach stuff, 4th things, day trips and some hard parenting questions that we all ask ourselves.  It feels good to be back!

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 20

Today's Prompt - Hardest thing you've ever had to deal with?

Miscarriages - 4 of them to be exact.  One before Little One and 3 after before we were blessed with Baby Girl.  Each of them affected me differently.  They were at all during the 1st trimester but some early, middle, and late part of it.  The last two put me into a deep depression.  I got some help through meds and was at a point where I was okay with Little One being our only child and I feel so very blessed that last Memorial weekend I took that pregnancy test that showed it was positive and now we have Baby Girl.  In these situations no one really knows what you are going through unless they have also.  All people mean well when they say things but many of them are hurtful and just make you angry.  Top thing that bothered me the most was "You have one already, be thankful for her".  I am, but that doesn't take away the want/need to give her a sibling, to complete our family.  For my 24th birthday I got a tattoo on the of my inside right ankle, a pair of simple black angel wings.  They are there to remember my lost babies.  I can honestly say that it really helped in my healing process.  October 15th is National Infant/Pregnancy Loss Day, 7pm you light a candle to remember, and every year I light one for each lost baby.

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe 4th of July.  Happy celebrating!!!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary

to the best Husband I could ever have.  Honey, I can't believe that we are celebrating 5 years of marriage and almost 10 years together.  It definitely hasn't been an easy road so far, we've had our ups and downs, sometimes feels like more downs than ups.  But all in all we stand beside each other and I feel that at this point we can overcome anything that life throws at us.  I love having my best friend here with me day to day and am more in love with you now than the day we got married.  Thank you for being you, the wonderful husband & friend you are to me and amazing Daddy you are to our daughters'.

Love you!
Me

On VACATION

We are leaving mid Saturday morning a few hours down south to some wonderful toasty beaches.  Can't wait to enjoy some quality family time and watch the girls' firsts' with a lot of stuff.  Will be back after the 4th of July!

Hope you have a great week!

Happy 5 Months Avalynn!

Dear Avalynn,

I really can't believe you are already almost 1/2 a year young!!!  Your personality has really started to come through and shine in the past couple weeks.  This is definitely one of my favorite ages/stages with you!  We had your 4 month check-up when you were approx. 4 1/2 months.  Your weighing in at 17lbs 12ozs and 26 1/2 inches long, you are 95%^ for both categories.  The size of an average 7 month old, although to us you seem small with the perfect amount of baby chub and rolls.

We got the go ahead to start you on cereal, fruits and veggies.  You are doing great eating rice cereal, love sweet potatoes, bananas and applesauce.  You were not a fan of squash.  On the menu next week is to try some green beans.  Whenever we are eating our meals and you are sitting watching us, you start smacking your lips together making noises because you want what we have.  It's so cute and funny!  At dinner Thursday night we put some fresh pears in a mesh feeder and you just went to town.  Also, on Father's Day your Great-Grandma gave you a taste of cheese cake, Mommy wasn't too happy about that! The Dr also said your gums are getting thick and wouldn't be surprised if you don't have some teeth by your next appointment.

Your Dr is very impressed with you hitting all of your milestones, even some 6 month ones already!  You now roll yourself where you want to go around the floor, love standing/bouncing in your exercauser,  you like to sit against mommy or daddy, the couch or your bumbo, but can't do it by yourself yet without support.  You continue to put your hands or ours along with any/all toys in your mouth.  Your favorite toys are your Sophie, rattle soft doll, and your Nuby teether.

You are averaging 2 nights a week sleeping through the night from approximately 8-9pm to 7am.  This past week you did it 3 nights in a row but the past two nights you've woken up at 4 and 5am.  I know it's going to happen soon, at least this is what I keep telling myself! You are doing much better with napping and being put to sleep for night.

On Father's Day we went to the mall and got your ears pierced.  You did great and cried for a couple minutes afterwards, we picked out gold flowers with pink centers for you.  They make you look much more girly.  You also have had 2 playdates this month with Hallie, she's crawling and you can tell that you want to follow but have no clue how to.  And you are liking the pool more and more, getting more comfortable in your raft.  I think we might have another water baby on our hands if you are anything like your sissy then we won't be able to get either of you out of the pool.

You are quite the hair pull-er and your Big Sister is always yelling for us to help her, b/c you get quite the hold on hers.  Most times she thinks it funny.  You light up with the biggest smiles when you first see  her.  I love watching your bond grow.  She loves you so much and showers you with lots of kisses, laughs when you go to chomp on her fingers and is always showing you things, singing to you when you are crying and Mommy & Daddy can't get to you right away.

I look forward to seeing what the next month brings for you!

Love,
Mommy

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 19

Today's Prompt - What are 20 of your favorite things?

1. Cuddling - Hubs cuddles me every night before we go to sleep and love to cuddle with the girls'. 
2. Date nights.
3. Catching up with friends.
4. Spring, Summer, Fall
5. Planning parties and events.
6. The Beach.
7. Getting pedicures.
8. Getting lost in a good book.
9. Nap times, esp. when both girls' nap at the same time.
10. Blog comments.
11. Text messages.
12. Being with our families.
13. Taking pictures. 
14. Very hot showers.
15. Vacations.
16. Doing something that makes someone smile. 
17. Laughing.
18. Turkey Hill Iced Tea and their Choc Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt
19. Cooking/Baking
20. Blog Hopping

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 18

Today's Prompt - What do I collect?

I collect elephants.  Not asian or safari decor ones either.  Figurines, glass, metal, stuffed animals.  It all started back in 2003 when the Hubs and me were on our Senior Week.  There was something about an elephant in Cosmo or something and we made a stuffed elephant animal at a Build-A-Bear type place.  After that it just sort-of stuck.  I try and find one whenever we go on vacation.  Their trunk ends must be up which brings you good luck.  I do not buy and downturned ones.  And if someone buys me one it ends up being donated, although most people know by know about the trunks because I tell them.

The other thing I collect is glassware, like blown glass pieces.  Love the vibrant colors of them.  This is another item I try and buy when on vacation also.  And that pretty much sums up what I like to collect.

Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Baby Girl had a swim date this week.  The girls' kept giving each other big smiles and gabbing their baby talk, it was so cute! 

The girls' when they first got in their floating devices. 

Side by Side shot.

That was one water logged baby.

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 17

Today's Prompt - My Pet Peeves

• Extremely slow drivers, except for on Sunday's. 
• People who go straight in turning lanes only. 
• People who don't use turn signals or fully stop at stop signs. 
• When a plan is set, and then people keep flip flopping back and forth on what's going on.
• When people assume I'll do something and don't really ask. 
• When other parents don't handle situations with their children when out in public, for example I don't want to hear your kid screaming/crying at the table next to me for 20 minutes while eating dinner.  Take them for a walk for a couple minutes and get them calmed down please! 

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 16

Today's Prompt - What is my worse habit?

Two things - I procrastinate like crazy on important things!  Why, I don't know, I always get them done, have been known to pull some all nighter's.  After I do one of those I tell myself that this is ridiculous, I'm not in school anymore am an adult, just do it earlier and get it done before the last minute, literally! And the other thing is I'll get one to check one thing on the computer, get distracted with other things and bam an hour has flown by!  Hate that, amazing how it just sucks you in though.

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 15

Today's Prompt - Bucket List (5 Things) *in no particular order*

1. Travel to 3 new countries, at least once with just The Hubs, and another time with the whole family, last time either or. 
2. Be completely debt free, cars and mortgages too. 
3. Start a business, been tossing around tons of things - some day, some day!
4. Go back to school and get a degree.
5. Go to a blog conference, expand my blog, networking, blog relationships.

What would be 5 things on your bucket list?

Baby Girl got her Ears Pierced!

So, I realized this weekend that she's going to be 5 months old in a week, um - where'd the time go?  I had gotten Little One's ears pierced when she was 2 months old.  So, Sunday morning I asked The Hubs if we could go get them done and he said we could.  I told him though that he'd have to be the one to hold her.  He reluctantly agreed.  It's amazing what a baby in the ear piercing chair does to people.  Three groups/families stopped to watched - it was basically annoying.  Especially since this one Dad was like that's mean to do that to a baby.  Um, she's not your kid so shut up please!  And there were quite a few "Awww's" as well.  It took a good 5 minutes it seemed to get the right pen marks on her ears, she's quite the mover so they kept getting messed up.  We picked out a pair of dainty little gold flowers with a light pink center - can I just say they are A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!!  Love them and it's like suddenly she looks all girl and more grown up to The Hubs and me.  She did cry a little longer than Little One did, but she was good after a few minutes and some cuddles from me.

Here's a couple pics:

Side view.

And I guess they are a little hard to see in this one, but she's just so adorable with that gummy double dimple smile!

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal - Day 14

Today's Prompt - Where I blog.

95% of the time I blog from our living room couch.  I like to scooch myself into a corner, spread out my legs in front, nestle the laptop on my lap and get to typing away.  The other 5% of the time - when it's nice outside, not too hot or cold, but a nice breeze, I'll sit on the front porch and blog from there.  It's been so nice having a laptop again as our previous one died beyond repair and was stuck at a desktop only for a year.

Sex and the City 2 Soundtrack *REVIEW*

End of May, One2One Network, gave me the opportunity to review Sex and the City 2 soundtrack.  I was pretty excited to pop it in my player and take a listen.  The first few songs are arabian like, the destination for the movie so they didn't really get me.  But the rest of the soundtrack was peppy and I enjoyed listening to it, it reminded me of just some good girl music.

You can check out Sex and the City 2 Facebook Page, here.



Here's a list of the tracks on the SATC2 soundtrack.

Tracklisting1. Alicia Keys “Rapture”
2. Dido “Everything to Lose”
3. Cee Lo “Language of Love”
4. Erykah Badu “Window Seat”
5. Natacha Atlas “Kidda”
6. Michael McGregor “Euphrates Dream”
7. Liza Minnelli “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
8. Ricki-Lee "Can't Touch It"
9. Alicia Keys "Emire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"
10. Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis "Love Is Your Color"
11. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim  Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon “I Am Woman”
12. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “If Ever I Would Leave You”
13. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “Sunrise, Sunset”
14. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “Till There Was You”
15.  Shayna Steele, Jordan Ballard, Kamilah Marshall “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”
16.  Liza Minnelli with Billy Stritch “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”
17.  Cyndi Lauper “True Colors”
18.  Aaron Zigman “Divas and Dunes”




This CD was give to me for free by One 2 One Network to review, the opinions expressed are mine solely, to check out my Disclosure Policy, go here.

Happy Father's Day

to The Hubs.  You are such an amazing father to our daughters.  Hands on, super helpful, playing with them a lot, having just Daddy/Daughter dates.  I love seeing you interact with the girls'.  I hope that one day the girls' will realize just how lucky they are to have a wonderful Daddy like you!

Love you honey - so happy to be on the journey of parenthood with you!