3 months...Blogtember day 2

Today's prompt for Blogtember is:  If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? 

I really really wish I had a neat answer, but this was a tough one. At the moment I'm pumping so my daughter can have a bottle those times I'm away from her...so my first instinct is to say I'd pump for 3 months to help babies in need. But then I thought that answer was rather boring.  (Though definite kudos to Medela for making a great pump.)  Anyway...let's get to the fun stuff. If I had 3 months on my own, I'd go back to Hawaii & see and do the things we missed while we lived there. I'd also pack in some scrapbooking with the BFF who lives in Hawaii still. 

Google search of Molokai

The top thing on my list to see would be the island of Molokai. This is the island where the lepers were forced to live after they were kicked out of living on the other islands, because of their disease. This is also where Father Damian did his work & where his reason for sainthood occurred. I've read several books about what happened there and I desperately want to see the island and the old leprosy colony.

3 months of course would never be enough though. I miss Hawaii very much. It was such a unique place to live.

Bon Voyage....if only....

Blogtember: Day 1

Over 300 people in the blogosphere of the good ol' internet are participating in this lovely event. I figured since I keep saying I want to blog more, I may as well do something that prompts me to get my booty in blogging gear.  You can do it too: http://storyofmylifetheblog.blogspot.com/

The first day of blogtemper's prompt is to describe where or what you came from.
I feel like this is kind of a tough one, because I didn't live in the same place my entire life. So to start: I was born in Hoffman Estates, IL and lived there until I was about 8 years old. My parents and I lived in a very small townhouse, until they had a bigger home built & we moved to the Northern suburbs of Chicago to a place called Crystal Lake. And there I stayed until my parents divorce and Mom & I moved to the next town over, a place called Lake in the Hills. Yes, there really is a lake in the middle of a bunch of hills. I used to look down on LITH until we actually moved there....I'm not sure why anymore. Anyway....I suppose I consider Lake in the Hills to be my home town. At least that's what I claim in Facebook land.  It's a nice, smallish suburb with plenty of good people.

I ended up attending the Catholic high school that was 30 mins from home. When I first got to that high school, as a transfer student my Sophomore year, I was embarrassed to admit that I chose to go there. Unlike what I said to a few seniors....it was not a punishment. My parents asked if I wanted to go there and I said yes.  I really credit a lot of my success later on to this high school. Unlike some people there who were miserable...I pretty much loved it. I had a lot of friends and enjoyed many activities. I seriously could be a walking billboard for my high school.  I think I love it so much, because I finally felt like I belonged somewhere there and it really is where I felt like God came into my life so strongly. That high school and one of the priests there in particular was how I made my way to the Catholic church. Just 3 months after I graduated high school, I became a full fledged Catholic.

After high school, like most people do I went to college and left the area and with the exception of a few visits, haven't really been back there. Neither of my parents live up there anymore, so in reality I think the entire state of Illinois is my hometown. When I was growing up we frequently went to southern IL to visit my Mom's parents and then when she settled there 7 years ago, it just made sense. Southern IL is familiar territory for me.  

That's my little piece of background. Hope you enjoyed it.

It's that time again....

It's that time again...no, no not back to school (my kiddos obviously aren't at that stage yet), it's time for me to have a birthday again. [Though I should add that I can't wait for the neighborhood kids to go back to school. Me thinks some of them have been a little bored this summer due to our mailboxes getting messed with and toys left in my yard.]

I'm turning the big 2-8 this year. Yeah I know...it's not really that old or big. Our priest once said in a homily that 35 is the prime of your life, so I'm clearly not there yet. Looking back on this year of life....well it's been another fast moving one.  Last year on my birthday I suspected I was pregnant, but didn't know for sure and refused to test for another week or so.  This year I am definitely not pregnant and plan to just take it easy & be lazy with the cutest kids ever. Oh and definitely try some of the blackberry wine at a local festival this year!

Reflecting on this past year of life...nothing extraordinary stands out for me I hate to say.  Sure I got through a second successful pregnancy and had my second child, but I don't feel I did anything significant. (Except maybe how to care for 2 young kids at the same time.)  I guess the biggest thing was working on being comfortable in my own skin (which really is a work in progress) and being at peace with getting rid of the negative. I have a lot more confidence in my abilities now. I know I'm good at what I do as a wife, mom and health & human service professional.

Here's to me!

And if someone could put my name on the flowers to go sign...I'd be a happy woman (hint hint hubby!)

19 months and 3 months!

Okay, so I'm a little behind on this post.  Last week, Little Miss turned 3 months old and Little Dude hit 19 months old.  I can't believe how fast is passing for my baby girl.  It seems even faster then with Little Dude.

3 months old and wearing a tutu!

Julia's Stats for this month:
Height/length: Unknown, but she seems "tall"
Weight: 11.4 pounds
Clothes: A few NB dresses and 0-3 months in everything else, though she drowns in some of the brands.
Diaper: Size 1 (again some of the brands are still big on her, but we're using them anyway.)

She smiles & laughs frequently. She also must have a high pain tolerance due to her brother bopping her on the head. She loves to sit in her bumbo seat and look at the world. Sleeping very well at night. Bless her little heart for that one.  Nursing very well and taking the bottle when I can't be with her. Has discovered how to stick out her tongue, which is hilarious!  She's still our little peanut and is such a fun little baby.

Matthew 19 months old and enjoying a cookie

I haven't done an update like this for Matthew since 12 months. He's changed a lot since then.
Matthew's current stats:
Height: Over 33 inches
Weight: 23 pounds (we're finally back on track with growth for him!)
Teeth: All but the 2 year molars have broken through. They aren't all descended all the way though/
Clothes: 12 months and 12-18 months. We've tried 18 month clothes and some fit him, but most are too big.
Shoe size: toddler 5 (though he can still wear the size 4's, but he's got wide feet!)
Diapers: Size 3 still

Matthew is a busy, busy boy! He hardly ever slows down. He loves books and today I caught him sitting in his rocking chair reading a book to himself. I wish I'd had a camera, it was the cutest thing. He takes a book to bed too. He's clearly my son!  He walks very well and only stumbles when he's trying to move too fast for his feet. He has a wide set of words and impressed the pediatrician with all he can say. He started saying 2 word sentences a month ago. I'm so proud of him.

Accidental SAHM?

The title of this post is how I've been feeling lately. I never really meant to become or was supposed to be a SAHM (stay at home mom), it just sort of happened.  As those who've been reading along for the past few years know, I was supposed to finish my degree and get a job. Instead we all know I got pregnant with our Little Miss within 2 weeks of finishing said degree.  Despite the pregnancy, it was still always in my mind that I'd be going back to work as soon as possible and thus I avoided getting involved in any type of activities that I deemed were for SAHMs.   I recently decided I just need to embrace this life change.  I've taken on some bigger volunteering opportunities that will look lovely on the resume once I do go back to the career gig.  It's nice to feel a little more content with where I'm at.

So there you have it....Liz: the accidental SAHM. :-)

In other news:

-My 2 super gorgeous babies were baptized on Sunday.  I was really nervous, but they did really well and neither of them cried and the Priest was pretty generous with the amount of water he poured on their heads. Little Miss wore the baptismal gown that I wore as a baby. It was big on my peanut, but she worked it. ;-) Matthew just wore a white polo shirt and dress pants. I nixed having him wear one of those all white sateen suits they sell. It just seemed silly for him.  Interesting tidbit: Matthew was the oldest of the 5 kids who were baptized and Julia was the youngest.

Well back to the grind. My Little Miss doesn't want to nap unless Momma is holding her. Which I'm pretty okay with since I want to savor every moment.

Little Miss is 2 Months Old!

Julia at 2 months

I can't believe it's been 2 months already!! Our Little Miss is just a joy. I absolutely adore her! She's definitely still a peanut in terms of size. I did her laundry this week and swore she had to be out of newborn clothes. Nope, she's not! I've put her in 0-3 month stuff just to have some variety and she just drowns in it.  She is, however, growing out of some of her NB sized sleepers. She's just too long for them. We tried her in size 1 diapers and those were also a no go for now. Everyone says she's taking after me. I sure hope so. Though I must admit when I see her give an expression that looks like mine...it startles me. Little Dude is a carbon copy of his Dad, so I never experienced having a little person look like myself. I like it though.
She's a champion nurser! I also pump and she's able to take a bottle when I'm not able to bring her with me. This is about the age with Matthew where my milk supply just started to drop off, so I've been super vigilant about pumping. I figure it's best to be pro-active this time around.

Tomorrow both kids go to the pediatrician for well baby appointments. Julia for 2 months and Matthew for his 18 month.
They are both being baptized on August 11th. Julia is wearing the baptismal gown that I wore as a baby, which I think it pretty neat! Matthew will wear a nice white shirt and blue pants. The white suits for baptism look silly to put on a toddler, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to their journey into the Catholic church beginning. It seems fitting that they'll be baptized around what is the 10 year mark from when I was received into the Catholic church. :-)

5 on Friday- Linking up!

1.  Bad luck with babysitters! Yeah, that's me. If anyone could have bad luck finding, keeping and not being lied to by baby sitters...it's me. The stories I can tell about this topic are just comical now. My latest favorite was the one who told me her Grandfather passed away and she was going home, 7 hours before she was supposed to show up, only for me to see her posting locally & asking questions about local things on the Navy Wives page. I didn't want to believe that she could possibly have had told such a crazy lie so I stalked looked at her FB profile, which guess what? She keeps public! And guess again...no death in the family, just feeling ill. Such a strange lie to tell. Needless to say, she will not be allowed near my kids.
Thankfully after that fiasco, I ended up finding a great sitter. I paid her very well, b/c in the words of my friend D, "you need to keep a good babysitter for once!"

2. No Technology Day.  My husband came up with the idea to make Sunday's no technology day in our house. This means no cell phones, tv or computer unless it's an emergency.  Last week was our first time doing it. It turned out well. It seemed so quiet, but I can tell where we definitely need to put down the cell phones! We're doing it again this weekend.

3. Maui. Yeah my cousin and his new wife just moved there. I'm jealous. Can the Navy move us back to Hawaii? 

4. My Pretty Princess. Isn't she adorable??

5. Back to School. It's that time in the stores. They have all the school supplies for sale. I love buying school supplies. The smell of the aisle in the store...the whole experience has always been something I enjoy. Nowadays since I'm not in school and my kids aren't in school yet, I just buy to donate to our church. I took Matthew with and tried to instill the fun into it. He doesn't get it yet, but he will if I have my way! :-)