5 years of Bella

My first child.

My little Bella.

My, has time FLOWN by.

You've made me laugh.

and you've made me smile for 1,825 days.

I can't imagine my life without you in it. 

You have a spirit about you that's contagious.

You are so perfect to me. 

Your curiosity and love for learning is your greatest quality.

Happy 5th Birthday sweetheart! I love you today and forever!

Chances Are

Guys, my little son is growing so fast. He has two little teeth already and I see a little boy emerging more and more. I wish time didn't go so fast--at least not at this stage. Here's Chance at his 6 month picture, which was like 5 weeks ago. 

His smile is the perfect remedy.

He still has his irish hair, which I hope stays because it looks adorable on him.

Imagine, if you will, microwaving some putty so that it's nice and warm and squishy, well that's EXACTLY how this little guy makes me feel. I'm totally wrapped around his tiny, stubby little finger. Did I mention his thighs? Oh my goodness--his chubby little thighs are precious. If touched in a specific spot, with a specific amount of pressure it will send him CACKLING for  minutes! 

Our family is so complete with him in it. 

I love you, little man. 

Intermission

Hi friends. It's crazy round' these parts. I have just enough time to type three sentences to let you know that I will be back here soon. I have so much I want to share. Hang tight. Maybe, just maybe if I don't fall asleep while doing the dishes after I've successfully put three kids to sleep and taken care of a sick dog I will blog. Here's hoping.

During my brief intermission might I entertain you with some video of my son and his crazed little tongue

Or this picture of my darling, sweet, little angel as she shows me the boo-boo on her finger

Gratitude

So one of the perks of being married to someone in sales is the annual award trips you get to attend. For the past 5 years I've either been really pregnant, giving birth, or too post partum to attend. So when my husband won a trip to the Southern Caribbean on an island called Curacao, I didn't think twice. That's a lie. For a brief moment I didn't want to be away from Chance and then Eugene smacked the reality back into me. Thank you sweetie.

So here I sit. On the beach. With a pina colada in hand looking out at the most beautiful water I've ever seen. Reconting the conversation I just had with my kids thousands of miles away.

Mia sang Itsy Bitsy Spider and it almost brought me to tears. Chance is about to crawl. Bella wishes I was home so she could hug me.

This getaway is just what I needed. A chance to relax. A chance to have grown up fun. It's good to be Gina again. Not the mom I am 24 hours a day at home. Nope not here. As I get my buzz on at 11:45 in the morning I'm reminded of a life pre-kids. And while I never want to go back to that time, it's nice to get a little taste of it again.

Snowed-In, Part 2 Evening Edition

Exhausted is the perfect word choice to describe how I'm feeling right now. Which is weird because really, today wasn't that much different than any other Wednesday---but it's the thought of knowing that you're stuck in your home that heightens everyone's emotions. Okay, just mine.

So to pass the time we channeled our inner rock star and butterfly catcher

Bella shared some of her rock star tricks of the trade

And before I knew it Mia was j-j-j-jammin'

For two hours today, TWO WHOLE HOURS, all three kids napped. Which, btw, a three way nap is the greatest gift anyone can give to me. Let's see, I saw a random HGTV show, dozed off for about 20 minutes, and helped shovel with my dad (thanks Dad). 

After they woke, we donned our snow gear and headed outside. For a whole 15 minutes :)

And in that time I was pelted with snowballs about thirty times. 

Bella attempted a snow angel on a snow drift three feet thick

They begged, AGAIN, for me to make a snow fort. Seriously, what's up with a snow fort? They'll only last 20 minutes in it anyway. Can someone please explain that to them.

And after a cup of hot chocolate, a Dora episode, a warm dinner, and a kiss goodnight, my snow angels were fast asleep. 

Thank flippin' God.

Time to snuggle tight with Chance, good night and stay warm! 

Snowed-In Part 1, Morning Edition

I can't believe how crazy the weather was last night. 60 MPH winds, snow everywhere and lightning? What? Yes, apparently it's called snow thunder and it's crazy to witness.

I finally fell asleep about around midnight and woke up to about 2.5 feet of snow with snow banks exceeding 3-4 feet in some spots.

And there's more on the way.

So I just got in from shoveling. And literally about three minutes after I shoveled, it began snowing again. What a waste.

It's only three hours into our snow day and I'm already exhausted.

My plan of attack? Get them tired as much as possible. Who says toddlers can't jog a mile on the Wii?  Wish me luck.

Zero Calorie Desserts! All the pleasure, none of the guilt!

You guys, my kids are crazy addicted to my iphone. From the moment they wake up the fighting begins over who gets to play with it first. I couldn't tell you how much time I've wasted "looking" for my phone only to find it 15 frantic minutes later by closing my eyes and following the sound of some annoying bell to a dark corner of the dining room where one of the two girls sit, 

gripping it with their jelly covered hands.

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Lately they've been going bonkers over two applications called Cookie Doodle and Cake Doodle where they get to choose a recipe, add the ingredients, mix it up, bake it and decorate the crap out of it. The best part? Bella knows how to e-mail her creations to me. And when I actually find the time to sit at the computer and check my e-mail, I get bombarded with these that seem to always put a smile on my face.

I think this is her politically correct cake:

 I love the random peace sign here

Bella called this her exclamation cake

I can't help but get choked up when I think about her heading off to school. Kindergarten registration is this week and I'm baffled at how fast time has flown by. 

My first-born. 

My sweet and curious and creative little Bella. 

I adore watching her mind think and create and imagine every day. 

May it never stop.