I need toothpicks again!

Oh how I love Aislinn and she is treated like the youngest should be treated. Coddled and pampered, especially with all her food issues. However enough is enough!

She still does not sleep through the night. So with Mike gone I decided that it was time to break this. 

She woke at 3 am on Sunday night and I was so tired I still gave her the middle of the night bottle. 

Well last night Teagan woke up from a nightmare and woke Aislinn up. I would have been worried if Aislinn didn't wake up considering Teagan was screaming "Mommy" at the top of her lungs. How the boys didn't wake up is beyond me. This was at midnight.

I kicked Teagan out of her room and sent her to my bed, and laid Aislinn back down who was very upset at this point. Tough love, it will be better for her in the long run I keep telling myself. 

Got Teagan and I all situated in bed and Teagan says, "I want to go back to my bed." No way Jose! Aislinn still wasn't asleep yet, so I tell her to just wait and we will go in when she falls asleep. Thankfully Teagan falls asleep waiting. After 40 mins Aislinn finally falls asleep, but not for long.

All night long she'd wake up, cry for 10 mins and go back to sleep. It seemed about 5 times she did this. Then when I finally look at the clock it's 5:15. I put the pillow over my head at by 6:15 she is hysterical and even Caden comes to get me, who has been up since 5 according to him along with Riordan! Ever since our trip back home they all get up before 6!! And how this happened with keeping them on AZ time is beyond me!

I struggle to get out of bed to begin our day. Of course the minute I leave the bed Teagan is freaking out that I'm not there anymore. She has been wearing me out since Mike left. Just whiny, crying, screeching, demanding all the time. Sigh......

I'm supposed to run my sprints today. Oh and on top of it all I thought I had myself scheduled for training tonite with Joe since Mike was still out of town, and went to check last night, at 8:30 pm,  at my week with him hoping to fit in another session somewhere and noticed it was for 7 am! So I missed the 12 hour window and ate appointment, cuz we have 12 or more hours to cancel.

Okay now that I'm here on a irk path. Can someone please find out WHY they cancelled the Backyardigans show for Phoenix?! We had tickets for the Friday after Thanksgiving and I don't have the heart to tell the children it's not going to happen. They were doing back flips when we told them we were taking them! So now I think I'm going to look into us getting a cabin for the mountains that weekend. I hear we aren't doing Turkey day at the Peoria Malloy's and going to Amy's wonderful extended family is just not in the cards for us. I'm hoping my brother Johnny may be up for some mountain time and can meet us! If it all works out!

Tomorrow is a good day! We are getting our new carpet installed. Yep, that's right I haven't said anything until now, but the family room carpet is atrocious and after countless cleanings it's gotten quite embarrassing. I had gone to Lowe's a few weeks ago, picked out a lovely shade of chocolate brown and it's the Lowe's brand and it's finally in! They called today and can come out tomorrow! Also, my girl Kelly's hubby Kris came out again yesterday to work on our 'white trash' issues on our home. 

Did I tell you at the beginning of monsoon season that back screen door didn't get shut all the way and a storm came through so fast that it threw the door against the wall which began the 3 month long journey of it falling eventually off the frame? Yes fell off the frame last week. Hysterical now that it's fixed! Thank God for Kris  and his tool belt! He fixed the sconces out side, installed a door  thingy way up high so we stopped knocking a hole in the front door wall, reinstalled the shelf that mysteriously fell off the wall after a playdate (I'm certain at this point a child hung from it since those have been secure since day one and the one that should have given way due to 100 games on it is still in place), reinstalled tp holder, towel holder and before that he patched holes!! He's going to come back to do more work, and we are so grateful and thankful! Mike has no idea the door is back on or the shelf is back up. We will just see if he notices ;-)

Oh and my official announcement isssssss (NO I'M NOT PREGNANT!)

I'm going to run a half marathon in January! I know crazy huh?! I told you I was addicted after the 5 k! I have a 9k next month and in December now I will do a 10k or is it 10 miles? LOL! Sleep deprivation is getting the best of me for sure today! After a good thorough talk with Joe on Saturday we agreed it was achievable to train for and excel at! He gave me a great training layout that should be pretty easy to do considering I'm already doing it, just adding more distance to one of my runs each week.

I started my Bootcamp for Babes last night, which will usually be mornings. Andrea is a firecracker and so motivating! I was impressed with her knowledge and how she encouraged all to speak up when doing something that hurts. My limitation right now, there's always something!, is my right shoulder and tendinitis. I have range limitations, but it's easy to work around. We did a lot of cardio/strength training in an hour and stretching which is a must for me. My flexibility is awful. I'm going to immensely enjoy this class and can't wait for tomorrow morning. Anyone who wants to try it out is welcome to for free one time! So let me know if you want to go! I'll even go at night with you so you can go if mornings aren't good for you!

Also, I'm down another 3 pounds so I have about 17 at least to go, an additional 5 will be bonus!

I have definitely been mentally overcoming, MOST days ;-), my addiction to baked goods. LOTS and LOTS of water and lots of fruits and veggies. Seems to be putting a new step in this battle journey. I have now officially cut out soda. The only carbonation I do get is from a Red Bull, but no more cokes and dr. pepper's (diet that is). And I have added back in green tea again. It's just too hot in the summer for me. I sweat just looking at it. I am  getting more clever and icing it on warm days, like today. Tastes pretty good!

We had a great playdate with the our friend's John, Mark, and Kathleen this morning! It is always so nice to spend time with them. Tomorrow is Riordan's school party and he gets to wear his costume to school. YAY! No fighting over clothes ;-) Teagan will have dance were she too gets to wear her costume, so yeah Kathleen if you are reading this, I'm remembering now and she will be in a costume ! LOL How your sleep deprivation is better this afternoon!

Riordan and I are making pumpkin cupcakes right now to take tomorrow and then tonite we have to work on Caden's Nursery Rhyme parade props. They are doing that on Friday afternoon and he will be doing "Hey Diddle Diddle". I came up with an idea of doing a popsicle handle face of a cow on one side and a cat on the other. So he can flip it around. Now just to think of other non hand props...

Okay off to ice the cupcakes! Riordan has already tested one and I think they passed.

It's the weekend!

And I'm ready for it! It has been so busy and so long this week!! I found myself in bed by 8:45 both Wed and Thurs night I was so tired.

Mike and his brother Tim are headed home right now from picking him up in Peoria! He will be here both tonite and tomorrow. It's going to be so great to spend time with him!

This past week, we had something going on almost everyday! 

I hosted playgroup in the park Monday at our local park. So fun and always great getting together with the girls! I trained that night with Joe, where I was not doing legs till I was out of my 5 day rest period. So arms, yay. Tee hee hee! Arms are good, but they don't make me sweat ;-) But I do cardio everyday now, addictively it's all a bonus at this point. I also finished "Keeping Faith" by Jodi Picoult and it was so incredible! Highly recommend it.

Tuesday morning the three of us took it easy for the most part. But come the afternoon, pick Caden up from school to rush to the Gilbert Rd Firestation to have a tour. I took the older three while Mike stayed with Aislinn. It was so fun and we got some pretty and I mean pretty firemen to look at ;-) The children all really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it for sure. After that, rush back home to eat dinner to go to football practice in the park. Then after practice I had to run out to train again with Joe. More arms, yay.

Wednesday morning I woke up very early for Joe at 6 am! We took a walk and did a jungle gym course ;-) That was totally fun. My agility has been so surprising the past couple of months, so I love the challenge and see what my body can do again! Plus he gave me the go to start running a day early. I have been itching to run! Rush home to get ready for Teagan to go to dance. Julie stayed with Aislinn and I dropped R to school and T and I went to Basha's after dance. Teagan had a hard time at dance for some reason. She wouldn't go in for the first time ever and I had to go in with her. I sat on the floor and she sat with me. Finally after 10 mins she got up and started to dance. It was about 5 mins after that I could leave and go watch her from the t.v. setup. That evening we had an overdue make up playdate in the park with Caden's friend's John and Dominic from school AND from football. It was such a great time! Barb, Heather (who are sister in laws, so cute!), and I never had a dull moment and talked the entire time. They were so helpful near the end with the three youngers with swinging and holding Aislinn's attention and holding her ;-) I can't wait to get together with them soon and we are planning a girls night out soon! Way over due for that too, since Heather and I have known each other since Spring!

Thursday we took it easy again and then Mike came home early so I could take Caden to swim class and on a date. He has a new teacher who is fabulous! She really got in there with him and pushed him just far enough. We did have tears, but he impressed himself so much! He was proud of himself! She had him doing the backstroke! That is what freaked him out, but she let him sit out of the pool to gather himself and then get back in again to do it again, and he did it this time without tears!! So awesome!  I was going to try and make book club with my MOPS friends, but we didn't get home until 6:45 and I was no where near ready to leave again and we were meeting at Chandler Mall. I had told them I couldn't make it and was hoping to surprise them. By the time I would have gotten ready and left it would have been 8 before I got there. I would have missed the book discussion, they are so prompt like that ;-) I also could have gone to Red White and Brew to meet up with my girls for a bite to eat. But I really was so pooped at that point, and went to bed early!

Today we again have taken it easy. I did my cardio on the elliptical while Aisie took a nap and Teagan played with her babies.  Tonite we have Caden's 80's themed party at school, should be a lot of fun! Uncle Tim hopefully will have fun as well! I am due to work for 30 mins at a game or craft at 6 pm.  They have gotten a lot of HS students to help with a lot but need an adult to oversee it and created 30 min time slots. Ingenious! 

Tomorrow is flag football and I have training at 7 am. Also the middles have swim class at 11. Then who knows what the rest of the day will hold. Mike leaves Sunday for LAS VEGAS. What Ever. ;-) So I think tonite I will meet Michelle out with her friends at a local sports bar, before I become single mom for a moment!

It's the weekend!

Skinny

I was actually called that today!

Seriously it took my breath away... it something like this..

I was commenting on a friends hair, saying how beautiful and shiny it was and I was telling her I had always loved her hair and she was saying she was thinking it was so frizzy today and couldn't believe she was leaving the house looking like she was. I said that I didn't see it and wish I had her sheen, she really has gorgeous hair. Really she's a classic beauty all around.

She goes to me, well you just amaze me with your four children and your so skinny! 

SKINNY! This has been a very long journey for me with all my injury's and I still have half my battle to go and she called me skinny! I wanted to kiss her feet!

In fact a lot of people have been commenting on my physique and it's funny, I don't see it! 

But I do FEEL lighter. I feel agile. But definitely not skinny compared to the frame I have known all of my life before children.

But instead of saying all these things, I said Thank You and actually believed what she saw for a moment! She made my day! 

I'm so hooked on races after my first one this past weekend. I'm so looking forward to training for my 9k for Maggie's Place. I also found out, that I got injured because I was running too much. So now I'm cutting it to 3-4 times a week instead of almost everyday. Doing my speed work one day, then interval, and then distance. Really 3 days should do it.

I'm also going to do a really cool race called Mad Mud Run. It's a 5 mile course with an obstacle/bootcamp like course of monkey bars, wall climb, tires, MUD PIT, you think it they probably have it! SO right up my alley! I think I have a couple of girls interested, but Joe is totally into get a Fitwell team together too. You can do teams in 2 or 5, or by yourself. So so so cool!

Right now, I'm taking 5 days off from running, but still doing other cardio and training with Joe. This is my second day. I walked to the park for PG today for the girls and I wanted to break into a sprint. I had to hold myself back! Reminding myself that when you push yourself hard in a race atmosphere you have to take as many days off as many K's that you run because your body is still healing and you can cause injury. Racing is not like training. So amazing how the body works.

All of these training days and races gives me something. Something all about me and only me. I can only inspire me, force me, encourage me, and impress me with the work and results. The only thing standing in my way is me. So YAY me ;-) Keep it up! It's nice to be Heather again, along with Mike's wife and The Zoo's Mommy.

My first 5k

I did it! And I felt like crap, sore throat, tight chest, and tired. BUT I wasn't calling in sick! 

I did it by myself, totally cool, I do things a lot by myself. 

But as I was running and I saw people's families cheering them on, I felt a little lonely and wished that Mike would show up as a surprise.. But we all know I have to ask for what I want, and next time they will be there!

It was a tough run for me, but I still finished 3.1 miles in 33 minutes and 8 seconds! And my number was 383! Funny huh?! Thankfully it wasn't in the 400's ;-)

My trainer had told me to pick someone out that was running faster/better than me and use them to drive me harder. Guess what, with 1 mile left, I passed her. Thankfully I had 3 more back up plans LOL. So I passed pink shirt, pink shorts, then black shorts, who had all zoomed by me at the half way mark, but I could not catch red hat. Next time baby, next time!

I definitely pushed myself and normally run a 10 1/2 min mile, which is what it pretty much calculates out to, so next time I hope to improve on my time and hopefully I won't be ill. Not sure if I'm getting the cold the girls have or if I have strep again. 

After the race, I drove over to Caden's game where Mike was with the zoo. Our friend Heather had picked Caden up early for pictures and so Mike didn't have to be there the whole time without an extra hand. So nice and thank you! We all stayed for the game and it was a great game! These boys are good and love it so much! Caden pulled 2 flags! YAY because last game he did nothing and beat himself up for it.. hmmm wonder where he gets that? Not from Daddy that's for sure.

Tonite is the night of the big LLS walk and we had to come to a hard decision of not attending. Aislinn's 1 year shots are definitely making for a very cranky baby and Teagan came down with a very runny nose and head congestion this morning. AND I do not feel well. I can barely keep my eyes open today I'm so fatigued from lack of sleep Thursday, this thing in my system and the run. Plus I had to run up to Scottsdale today for my second Lasering which I will comment on in a moment. SOooo I think I might have also scored some big points with Mike because it's the 6th out of better be 7 games series with the Sox and Tampa Bay... Who knew that would have such an incredible game on Thursday and still be in the series when most were sure it was done! Hopefully Rena and Amy got my message I sent earlier today.

So lasering. I just have to say, what a huge fan I am of it! I was so apprehensive about it in the beginning first of all pain and then I wasn't sure if my hair would respond! But holy smokes I had it done 5 weeks ago and the hair was barely there for the second treatment today! So we pushed it out to 8 weeks for the 3rd of 6 treatments. The hair that did grow in is so super fine, I have no more 5 o'clock shadows and waxing is 1,000,000,000 times more painful, in fact I don't think lasering is painful at all! I asked if I could have another party, because I know there are friends out there that would so benefit from this and now that I have had it done, I hope to encourage others to the finer side of life with lasering! WHY didn't I do this earlier, again ! like Lasik?!! SO you girls know who you are! Let me know if your interested! It's a killer deal if you go through a party and they are extremely reputable and NP's do the work! Even though they closed the Chandler location, the Scottsdale location is in the Steven Paul salon, so chic, and they have a bistro in there as well! It's nice to run up for the day and easy too since it's a Saturday that I go !!

Okay, so I'm off to order some pizza's, cook some wings, and crash on the couch, I hope! ;-)

Aislinn

Had her one year well check today. She is such a solid baby!

She weighed in at 25.4 pounds, 30 1/4 inches long and her head is 18 3/4 inches around!

She's in 92% for weight and 75% for height, oh and the Malloy noggin  97%!

She also got her many shots and she was of course not happy. Teagan rubbed her head while I held her arms and the nurse held down her legs. Oh the torture! But once I picked her up she stopped crying. 

She has a very snooky nose and I'm trying to figure out if my very sore throat may be related to that or am I coming down with strep again! UGH! I had a late but very fun night out with the girls last night and I'm so tired from the lack of sleep and hope that's the only reason too that I'm so so so sooooo tired. 

I was supposed to go to my friend Rena's 1 year stem cell party tonite, but I just can't muster the energy, and besides we don't have a sitter and I have not seen Mike all week due to the fact that his boss was in town and I was out last night. I have my first 5k in the morning and pray that I can go! If I truly have strep, I will be in bed with a fever most likely. Ugh Ugh! And tomorrow night is the LLS walk! Not cool!

So we are watching the much awaited released to DVD new Indiana Jones, I'm trying to keep my eyes open for it so that I can enjoy it with Caden. 

Welcome baby Mayer

My friend Angela posted it so beautifully that I'm posting her link instead for the wonderful news!

Check out this beautiful girl here!

Adjusting

To being back home and AZ time zone. Everyone is getting up so early even though we kept them on AZ time. Yesterday I could barely keep my eyes open. Today is a lot better.

Everyone went back to schedules today. Caden and Riordan to school and Teagan to dance and me to Training with Joe. I even got 30 mins on the elliptical and I went hardcore to make up for the fact I wasn't doing an hour. Time crunch. Everyone did great getting back to the same ole same ole!

This Saturday I'm doing my first ever 5k with my friend Susie for CUSD Families in Crisis. I'm completely healed from tendinitis and very excited. At the same time Mr. Mom, aka Mike, will have the zoo for Caden's flag football morning. Thankfully my friend Heather will take Caden at 7:30 in the morning for pictures! YIKES! Thank you thank you! That way Mike doesn't have to wake anyone up. Aislinn woke up today with a runny nose and a low fever. I hope it's molar teething. She's had her fingers in her mouth for 2 weeks now. She's still taking about 10 steps and is a pro at walking and holding just one hand. New word is Mama! And in context! Makes my heart melt ;-)

In just 1 1/2 weeks me and my friend Tracy will begin a month of bootcamp 3x a week! I can't wait! It's at 6 am and it has been in the mid 50's then at that time. Nice to get dressed warmly and then when I get hot the cool weather is going to feel great! I'm also ready for a new challenge and something fun to do with a group. I love training with Joe,  I love running, but I find myself wanting more! Weird! And Tracy is going to surprise herself at how great she's going to do! I promise! I was just there in February!! ;-)

I have changed up swimming for the zoo again. As much as we liked switching back to Joel, he just wasn't teaching, just making it playtime, in fact Riordan has completely relapsed to crying in the pool, Caden stopped trusting, and Teagan wasn't swimming anymore. We had a make up with Kristen yesterday, who was the one to get Riordan to stop crying and Caden to trust and swim for the first time, and Teagan to swim! I switched R and T to semi private with her on Saturday's at 11. That means Mike is on his own with Caden for football. Hopefully we will get to see the first half of the game and then cut out. Thursday's at 4:30 Caden will be in a Manatee's class with a 3 year old girl. He could care less of the age, and is super excited that he's not in class with his siblings anymore and it's all about him. It's with Kristina, who I have seen teach and I really like her style. So I made sure they conveyed that it wasn't personal, but that this just isn't playtime for us, we really want to be swimmers and be able to use our pools in Chandler and go on vacation and not have heart attacks all the time.

Also, effective yesterday I answered a plea to our MOMS Club for AVP. I know I know what was I thinking. Well I was thinking that 2 years ago I stepped down as President and wanted to give back more now that I'm not nursing or pregnant. Now to find someone to take over Helping Hands, that I've been doing for my 2nd year now. I have to say life is easier with four. I'm really honored they would accept me, this wonderful board we have, and looking forward to seeing Moms on a more regular basis within club activities.

This is a busy week for me socially! I have a birthday dinner for two dear friends Thursday night, Rena's 1 year stem cell transplant party on Friday, my 5k on Saturday morning, lasering appointment in the afternoon and then the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk that night with the family. Sunday I have an appointment for my roots too, besides church that morning! I'm tired already just thinking about it! What doesn't break me will make me right?! Bring it on! ;-)

WE ARE HOME!

What a great trip we had! I am so impressed with our zoo at how well they transitioned from point A to point B, multiple times!

First we did have to deal with Teagan not quite understanding the security lane at Phoenix and her backpack going through screening. She threw a very loud tantrum. And she was very upset her shoes were a part of the procedure. She also had a hard time with staying in her seat and would want me or daddy, but never when we were in the same row with her. She fell asleep as we were landing in Atlanta and it took me a good 10 minutes to wake her up, but we waited to be the last getting off, so it worked out. The DVD player stayed charged and Teagan kept it the whole time while the boys played on there DS's. Aislinn slept about 30 mins and they all did terrific for a 3 1/2 hour flight that was delayed about a half hour. We did land late, an hour late to be exact.

Had a interesting delay with our rental, which was totally unrelated to us being late because for some reason I had put a 2pm pick up instead of 1 pm when we'd get it, interesting on that huh? Seems that they didn't have our car, but still had a reservation and couldn't figure out why and after 45 mins of Mike and Caden waiting for a mini-van, they finally gave him a Tahoe. Thankfully, my parents not only came down to bring three carseats for us so we only had to travel with Aislinn's, but they had room in their car for most of our luggage being that the Tahoe is like our truck for cargo room! And it was less space in the 'cargo' area with the 3rd row up if that is at all possible! 

So really those were the only glitches to what was an amazing trip. The weather was gorgeous, we got to spend such wonderful time with my family. My dad has lost so much weight that I almost don't recognize him! He says he feels great, and to me he's a skeleton ;-) I asked did he feel great enough to fly to Phoenix? HA HA! He's the same size he was when he entered the military in his teens!

I got to run at the river, one of Mike and I's favorite spots when we lived in our condo for 3 years. They have a river bank restoration project going on so where you once could sit on the bank and let you dogs run around, is completely fenced off and lush with all kinds of plants. That seemed to be the only change that was very apparent to me. The run was so nice too, and a good challenge for me because the back half of the 5 k loop is little hills and I'm so used to running flat ground. It was so beautiful, to be covered in lush landscape with fallen leaves already that have begun to turn. I forgot the Army trains down there as well, so as I started they seemed to be just finishing up and they were looking beat up! I ran the entire loop under a cloudy sky with a very humid yet slightly cool breeze. I miss it! But to back up!

The night we came in I took the zoo to my sister Susan's home to stretch out and catch up, while Mike had a small boys night at his old favorite, Padriacs. The boys got to hold turtles while the girls played with Susan and I. Teagan really loved Isabels playroom that is a corner of the house under the roof. Just small and big enough for little girls! They had so much fun! When it was time to go, it was 9 pm, our AZ dinner time so I stopped for a treat for them at McDonald's. Riordan bit his tongue, hard, eating his french fries, cried so hard and then passed out. Then Teagan passed out and Caden. Aislinn was the only one keeping me company! 

Mike then let me get him with three sleeping children at almost 10, how was I going to get them all into our hotel?!. He was hanging out with Adam and Brian and it was so nice to see them both! Wow they look exactly the same and again, homesickness came over me. I was pretty hungry at this point since I did not get a Mickey D's dinner, so I picked up my a favorite meal from Soho, my spinach salad and a filet with horseradish mashed potatoes. It was just as succulent as the last time I ate it 3 years or so ago! It was my choice of last meals for my girls night out going away dinner so long ago.

Friday morning, Susan came to meet Caden and I for breakfast. Then we headed up to my parents house where we hung out for a bit and then took the zoo and cousin Garrett and my sister Jen to Swift Cantrell park. They got to run around for a good bit of time. Back to my parents to pick up laundry that we already had and we headed back to the hotel for a small nap before we met friends down in our lobby.

We got to see our friends Sascha, Allen, and their new son Beck, Susie, Curtis, and their daughter Addison, and my good good friend fondly called Aunt Natalie. DS's and DVD players in full effect for all the children and we got in some good time with everyone. Homesick for sure at this point especially since I ran the river that morning. We did miss my girl Diana, Mark, and Camden. Diana was not feeling well and I so missed seeing her. But completely understand. Hopefully when I'm back in December I can get a quick visit in with her ;-)

Saturday morning my wonderful parents and sister Susan came down for breakfast, which by the way is just killer at the Embassy Suites. Omelets, any eggs actually cooked to order, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, waffles, french toast, hashbrowns, you name it  I bet they had it, and not to forget all the danishes, fruit, oatmeal, breads, cereals, and yogurt they also had. My eating habits definitely got side swiped this weekend! 

Susan got her dog, Sam, and took us to a part of the river that I had totally forgotten about so the children could throw rocks and try to skip them too ;-) It was such a nice morning, the sun was shining and we actually got hot! We also walked to a platform and threw more rocks. Who knew it would be so tiring for them because walking back, both Teagan and Riordan wanted to be held. Mike had stayed back with Aislinn so she could take a good nap. Mom came with us too, but headed back at the first rock throwing. We had completely worn her out at this point with all the waiting and helping she had done with us since the beginning of the trip at the airport. Such a trooper she was!

So as we headed back, Jen called and said she was coming down with Garrett! YAY! Just in time to ride with us to get lunch, because as the story goes in our family, some one is always hungry! Susan headed home to host a bible study in her home and we headed to the hotel to pick them up to pick up lunch at none other than Chick Fila AND McDonald's again, since Riordan, Teagan, and Caden did not eat theirs the night before because they fell asleep! We hung around the hotel for a bit before heading up to my parents house and to go to Folk Tales from the Rails in Kennesaw. 

There I got to meet up with my dear friend Meredith from High School, although she attended a different one it was as if she was there because I saw her practically everyday for my senior year. She and I worked together at Gadzook's and hung out quite a bit with another friend, Kristen, who now lives in Connecticut. We got to meet her son Kaine, who is absolutely beautiful and looks just like her! He was such a great help with the zoo and wanting to push the stroller, get balloons, jump in the bouncers with and so much more! While she and I were catching up another friend from HS walked up! Joey! He has three girls and we got to meet his two youngest. So beautiful! It was so neat to see them both and so surreal! Kaine took a picture of us, so I'm waiting for it to show up on FB so I can share it ;-) What a hoot!

We had such a great time, but soon enough it was time to move on to our next venture. Garrett's baseball game which he plays where Jen and I did growing up, Kenworth Park! Teagan and Aislinn fell asleep in the car. So Mike, again, stayed in the car with the girls. Riordan was so tired and hungry and just crabby. I switched with Mike so he could watch some of the game. Riordan played on the playground and then the girls both woke up. So I took all three back to the game and Riordan and Teagan were screaming and crying. We had to call it a night sadly. Susan was there with Isabel and said she would bring Caden back to the hotel and he was so happy about that. He and Isabel are 6 months apart and quite funny together. Miss them getting the chance to grow up together.

Sunday was a day of rest for us. We slept in, all of us! Mom and Dad came down to have breakfast with us again. So sweet! When they were leaving, Jen and Garrett came down and we hit Cumberland Mall. WOW! I was so impressed with the mall. It was quite run down when we left three years ago and now it had a beautiful facelift and some great additions of stores! I ate so badly! Had a cookie slice from the cookie counter and then nachos from Taco Bell! I was ready to become bulimic at that point! LOL Mike stayed back, again, to get Aislinn to take a nap. She did not! I laid down with her and she woke up after 30 mins! YIKES! We were to be at Nicolas's roller hockey game, then Susan's for diner, and she had no rest. 

We packed her up anyway and went! I was a bit grouchy at this point, but how could I be when my baby had less sleep than I at this point. The game was great. Nic is the goalie and is so impressive! Both he and Michael are so tall and lean, they look like little men to me, not the babies anymore that I once cuddled, but thankfully they still have lots of hugs for me! After the game, which was at one of the many churches on Northside, we headed to Sue's house for a homemade spaghetti and meatball dinner with an All Cousin's Birthday celebration with Susan's chocolate cake and a pinata to boot! My friend Natalie came over as well with garlic bread, and now I'm seriously considering fasting for the week after all the rich and yummy food! I couldn't stop eating! 

The kids all played outside in the backyard, jumped on the trampoline, a lot of swinging and then after cake and pinata, Susan brought our bottle rockets and sparklers! So much fun, until one of the boys decided to start a fire in a contained pine straw area. Hmmm, got put out quickly and we winded down for the night. Teagan fell off a chair and hit her head.  A combination of the whole night and being tired she threw up in the neighbors yard. Hey, it's not a party until someone pukes, right?!

The rest of our night was me packing us up in the hotel. The next morning I got up early and got everyone breakfast for the room. Mom and Dad came down to follow us to the airport, to carry luggage and get the three carseats they had brought us! WHICH by the way, one of them was a loaner from our dear friend Angela! Thank you so much Angela!! And thanks for the directions! It worked perfectly! 

We needed gas, so we stopped at the corner BP station and wouldn't you know, we ran into someone I know! My sister's friend Diane was there getting gas. I used to cut both of her boys hair as well! What a treat! We caught up quickly and then we were on our way to the airport. Airtran rocked with getting our bags at the curb, while Mike moved the carseats to mom's car. We already had our boarding passes, thanks to mom again who printed them up at home. Mike then took the car back, and Mom and Dad left with endearing hugs and goodbye's. I took the four zoo members to the security lane, which because of the holiday was not backed up one bit! Waited for Mike and we were on our way back home.

On the airplane, as we were lifting off into the air, I said, let's say good bye to Atlanta and to our family. Caden took one sad look at me and started to cry. He was already missing his GA family. It was so sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time. He cried enough tears for me too.

Riordan got sick on the airplane from drinking his coke too fast. He told me he was sick, and I said here's an airbag for you. He didn't want to at first, but when I explained we wouldn't have time to get to the bathroom, he used it. I was so impressed with him! He got it ALL in there, yelled out 'chin' at the end, so I could wipe it, and was done! Not a spot anywhere! And no need for HAZMAT! If you've ever been around some one losing their lunch on an airplane, they bring out all kinds of stuff for cleaning. It didn't even stink due to it was coke and just had gone down ;0). And all four of the zoo members had major bathroom issues, which they all did great with and no stage fright! Okay TMI but if you've ever traveled with children and gone to the bathroom it's a huge deal. It's cold, little, and loud in the bathrooms. 

We were so impressed and proud of our little guys! They put up with a lot, sleep not much, and played hard every day with their cousins. They were such great travelers and totally didn't scare us into never doing it again. It won't be anytime soon, but it won't leave a negative in our memory. Now the 3 1/2 hour to 4 hour trip was about all we could do on a plane. Batteries died on the movies and DS's, and their attention span was done at about 2 1/2 hours. We had a lot of 'when are were there' and 'I want the plane to land.' Riordan, Teagan, and Aislinn slept for a bit on the way back which helped, but they were all at different times! Would have been a nice break if it were at the same time and maybe they would have slept longer, because I'm sure they each woke each other up. All in all it was a good trip.

Here are 260 pictures for your viewing pleasure ;-) 

The week

It's only Tuesday but I feel like it's Thursday and thankfully it is not because that's when we leave for Atlanta!

Today is a packing day for us since we have a pretty busy morning tomorrow. That way we can make tomorrow afternoon and evening more about putting the house back together and have time for last minute items. We leave bright and early on Thursday! Yikes, a 7 am flight.. oh my.

Saturday for prepping for Aislinn's party, my back moved out of place again. It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that I decided instead of going in, that I would move it back. I had slept so horribly the night before, which was the biggest clue that I was 'off'. So I pushed as hard as I could on my right hip and what do you know, I moved it back! The pain was gone almost immediately!

However, it's very tight and sore from being out of place so long, so it's about a 10 day healing time for me. Lots of icing again and stretching. And it seems that I just can't do housework and hold the baby. Darn ;-) Whatever it takes to keep me healthy I say!! I can still do my working out and running. In fact, cardio seems to help with my tightness in my back! Just a small reminder all day long that I need to take it extra easy until it's healed once again. Looks like I will have to deal with this the rest of my life, which I was told I would. I just had been doing so well without being in pain for a good 2 months, that I was hopeful and idealistic that I would never have to go through it again. Once again, life lesson learned. Always a learning process this journey of life!

For those of you who are really having a hard time sleeping here are more pics of Aislinn's week as a One Year old :

Her birthday

Her birthday party

Aislinn's 1st Party!

My second favorite moment today. The Zoo loves to lay under here, pretending it's a tent!

Aislinn's birthday cake, all hers!

Pretty girl!

My favorite moment! Her first steps!

She's so proud of herself!

Inspired Maddie with Aislinn's birthday present from her siblings. A stroller walker!

Aunt Lizzy and Uncle Johnny, so beautiful!

The two cakes, and no hers is not strawberry, it's vanilla with red food coloring ;-)

Getting ready to sing!

The cutest family!

Hmmm not bad mommy ;-)

Let's eat cake!

Yeah baby!

All in agreement!

Even treats for the doggies! Thank you Aunt Lizzy!

See what I mean, she just can't take a bad picture!

Our first Princess!

So nice to have my family nearby! Thanks for coming ALL you guys!

What a hit! My brother Johnny,my SIL Lizzy and their two dogs made it up after a 2 1/2 hour drive! And Mike's brother John, my SIL Amy, and their daughter Maddie came an hour away in Peoria! It made for a very very special event!

Especially since Aislinn decided to take her first steps for them all today! Yep that's right, she's walking up to 5 steps at a time and just totally impressing herself as well as all of us! She is so adorable!

I made her dairy, egg, nut, and now strawberry free cake and then made a double layer strawberry cake for the rest of us. It was so fun to bake in the kitchen and I especially loved using my icing spatula that hasn't gotten any work in quite some time. We also spoiled us all with lunch from Joe's Real BBQ. I have eaten so much food between last nights Potluck with my girls and Joe's today. I'm sure I have gained 5 lbs, which by the way I haven't lost anything again this week, but holding steady I hope after today ;-)

Oh how nice it was to spend time with our families today! They doggies played so well together, including Sully, and they all three should get a very good nights rest, if not a weeks rest. We got to play outside a lot today too. The weather was perfectly overcast and just a tad cool. Fall is coming!! YAY!

Hmmm

This explains our nervousness for going to Atlanta next week. Take a look at a pals blog, the picture he took of a gas line... not my idea of a fun family visit!

With everything supposedly back up and working, it's rumored it should be back to normal in a week.. we will see!

Art for the day

From my MOPS group, we had a morning that the directors from Kids Discovery, a preschool, came and spoke to us. Which by the way, their life stories were just a treat to hear!

They gave out "Go Away, Big Green Monster!" art project's. We first were introduced to the book almost 2 years ago at the Basha Library. And we had just purchased it a few weeks before I was given the project! 

So we finally got to sit down this morning to trace (well I traced!) and cut out, which Caden did the majority of! Such a good helper. Then they all glued their pieces on. The teeth are marshmallows, so we had fun eating them too ;-)

My favorite memory yesterday

Boys will be boys I guess! They thought I was going to be upset with them, but I busted out laughing and asked if I could take their picture! They were excited for me to do so.

They ran around the house for a good hour with clean, I hope, underwear on their head! 

I love most the brotherly love.

My favorite memory for today

Teagan has a little baby she got for her first Christmas from Mike and I. I mean little, like fits perfectly into the palm of our hands. She has been taking this baby everywhere for the past week or so, and now carries a bottle and a diaper bag for her as well. And I mean everywhere, dance class, car rides, grocery store, etc.

She and I went to Target before dance this morning. As we got out of the car, she held her baby's hand and asked me to hold the other one. I wish we had one more person with us to take a picture. Teagan was so serious and so nuturing to the little baby as we crossed the parking lot! And then she put her in the buggy with her bottle and bag. Did I mention the baby has to sit in a carseat buckled up too?

Aislinn

And now she's allergic to strawberries. She's had them a few times, but today she reacted to them. Ugh!

Gave her benadryl and her reaction has already cleared up. It only was on her face, thankfully. Julie was here when it happened, so she got to see first hand what her reactions look like.

I thought at first she was stained from the strawberries, but Julie said she cleaned her up really well. 

So adding one more to her now lengthening list of things she can't eat....