Easter-what a super fun holiday with kids...and I forgot to load the charged battery back in the camera?!

I always loved Easter as a kid. Who doesn't love a day to get dressed up, have an egg hunt at home, get a basket full of fun stuff and play with other kids? Duh heaven as a young girl. Now I remember when we were kids my parents hid eggs all over our yard and we were lucky if the squirrels did not eat a lot of them. Yes, they would chew right through plastic eggs to get to the treat inside. Good thing we live in Las Vegas and we do not have any squirrels in the area I live in.


spotted his basket!



following the trail....



Frank and I kept going back and forth trying to decide what to do for Riley. I wanted to get her a scooter since she always steals Devin's but Frank was thinking that she could just use Devin's while he played with something else. He saw first hand this Saturday how much she loves his and I picked one up last minute last night at Target since they were on sale for $24. We went there the other day to check them out and Riley just LOVED the Buzz Light year one. Buzz is her boyfriend, but Frank said we cannot get Buzz since Dev's is Toy Story 3. So I picked up a Disney Princess one. I am definitely not going to promote the princess crap, but it was WAY better than the other girl option of Barbie. Plus, it has streamers-which really was the selling point. Devin has a matching Toy Story bike helmet and of course since I am matchy matchy with everything I checked to see if they sold a princess helmet. Yes they did, but it was GOD awful and tacky so Riley is now sporting a purple glitter Abby Cadabby helmet.

Devin heard at school that the Easter Bunny brings chocolate bunnies for good kids to their baskets. So, I of course had to get him a chocolate Lindt bunny. Besides a few M & Ms that is the only candy they got in their baskets. They also both received an Easter book and a toy. Devin got an Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar games and Riley got a Fisher Price Little People Easter toy that I bought post Easter last year on clearance. I totally forgot I had it until last week when I looked in the Rubbermaid tote full of backup presents.

We have a trail for each kid that leads to their special present. Devin's lead into the the kitchen to his new Bruder front end loader and dump truck set and Riley's to the foyer where new new scooter was. This makes it more fun to search for them instead of them just being out for show. Frank likes natural sunlight to shine in our room in the am, when I like it like a bat cave. He won last night but low and behold, I was up before he was because of the stupid sun. UGH. Since it was only 6:15, I went and hid all the eggs then before the kids were awake.



dropped all trail pieces when she found it!



chowing on a mouthful of M & Ms



taken with Franks Iphone



We then got ready quickly and left to go to our 9:00 reservation at the JW Marriott in Summerlin for brunch. As we walk down the corridor, we saw Mickey Mouse, Tigger, Aurora, the Easter bunny and Elmo. Frank went to take pictures and SHIT, I totally forgot to reload the battery in the SLR. F! I noticed the battery was low after the egg hunt so I clipped the battery right onto the charger to get a lil more juice in that puppy. Frank took a pic with his phone...boo I am such a numb nut. Oh well-breakfast was absolutely delicious and worth every penny. We received lots and lots of compliments about how cute the kids looked. I know they are not my dollies, but it sure is fun to dress them all up and looking cute. Easter is definitely one holiday to dress up! The kids received little sling backpacks filled with Sponge Bob crap that I will give to our little neighborhood kids if they want it.  They also hosted an egg hunt after breakfast on the lawn out back. If we are living in Las Vegas next Easter, we will definitely be back again for brunch. Total success!

tuesdays may be worse than Mondays

Sundays typically are my days to clean the house. i do laundry all week since it is never ending and i can do a load or two a few days a week instead of 7 or 8 at once on a Sunday.This past Sunday I did nothing but a stack of dishes in the sink and wipe down the counters after I made our babysitters dinner since I was SO hungover. Apparently I thought I was 20 again on Sat night and that did not fare too well with my 29 year old body. That said yesterday was my day to clean. I spent 5ish hours doing the playroom, both kids rooms, their bathroom, the living room kitchen and even windexed the windows in back of the house. Frank had a crappy day at work too, but did he even mention anything about the house? Nope....I don't need a pat on the back everyday or a 'way to go honey' but it would be nice to be acknowledged.

Today I have done 4 loads of laundry and I still have one more to go. Where does it all come from. Riley is a pro at peeing on the potty and will go on her own, but poo-ing is a whole other story. She tells me after she goes in her pants, on the floor, out back...I have told her over and over to go on the potty, even had her watch Devin (gross I know but I was desperate yesterday) and she still wont do it. When she wore diapers, she pooped once a day and always in the am after breakfast. Now that she is in panties, she is pooping 2 to 3 times a day and never at the same time. I am beyond frustrated with her. I know she is just a month over 2, but come on....I don't want to clean up anymore mushy poop.

The dogs are the other thing that drive me nuts. They are not doing anything wrong besides being dogs....but the combination of not being a 'dog person' and being a stay at home mom is too much. They steal the kids food, always have to sit on/next to me when i sit down and forget it when we have friends over. The first 15 minutes the dogs jump, lick, bark and roo roo at the guests. Again, it's all normal dog stuff....but I am over having it around 24/7. I want to sleep and not get woken up by a dog stealing my pillow space.

On top of being home for Easter break, both kids have allergies and the winds have been so bad that we have been stuck inside. Devin is worse than Riley, but both had to go on the nebulizer this morning because their breathing is labored. They thankfully are not snotty, but since Devin still has labored breathing, we cannot go to the park today as planned.

I am slowly getting Meghan's room ready for her arrival in 3 weeks. It is going to be so surreal to have live in help. I know it's temporary, but it will be amazing. All that cleaning I did yesterday is barely visible today...vacuum marks are gone, sliders are all smudged up, crumbs are all over the tile along with something sticky and there are toys everywhere in the playroom again...Having a non paying, thankless job really does suck sometimes especially when all your hard work is no longer visible 24 hours after you finished. It is a fact that it took me 5ish hours of solid cleaning yesterday to make the house look nice, but for them only an hour or so to destroy it again.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am thankful I have two happy/usually healthy kids...but today sucks. Come on Wednesday, bring me sunshine and warm weather....oh wait-we are forcasted to get high winds again all day. Super...

Easter Break with zero school/swimming and NO family visiting

This weekend really kicked off the great weather for the season. We had high 80's Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a warm breeze which is just perfect for playing outside. The kids had a blast playing in their wading pool and with the water table. I really need go to Walmart or Target and see if I can find a good sprinkler. We have an Elmo one but it sucks and does not spray very far. I am hoping they still make those metal crescent shaped ones that rotate side to side like we had 25 years ago. Anyone know if they still make those?  I did pick up a new pool for this year today at Target. We had a left over one from last year that had two little sectioned areas with a slide built into one of the two sections. That was just way too small/shallow for the kids not to mention there was a leak somewhere in it. The one I got today is 12 by 6 and 2 ft deep. Its a blow up kind so you loose a good 8-10 inches around for the walls...but I would say that is a decent size for our postage stamp backyard.


walking to the egg hunt



Devin is off from school this week and from swimming lessons as well. I am really sad that we do not get to visit with any family over this week since we have so much free time. Majority of my mommy friends have family in town or are leaving sometime this week if they have not already to go and visit family. I really hope we only have another year (or two) left of this long distance BS. I am really over having no family out here and being so far from anyone. I do not have to be in NJ/PA but somewhere maybe only an hour or two plane ride would be really nice. We have been here for over 4 years now and I am over it. We do have some plans this week to get together with friends and hang out, but it is not the same.

We went to an Easter Egg hunt down at our local park on Saturday. It was not a real hunt where the eggs were hidden....they really were just scattered on an open plot of grass and they were empty so you collected a few and handed them in for a treat bag. Kids loved it even though it was not challenging. Devin got a set of fake bunny teeth in his treat bag that has a built in kazoo which is hysterical. 

Easter Sunday we will do a hunt here at the house in the backyard and then we have brunch reservations at the JW Marriott in Summerlin. They have a hunt out on the grass too after brunch and the bunny will be there to take pictures with. I am excited for the kids to do that and I am assuming Riley will be afraid of the Easter bunny on Sunday since she was this past weekend. It is odd because she was not afraid of Santa or other characters that we have seen at Story time at Town Square. Who knows.

Did Riley really potty train that fast? Who doesn't love a night out from the kids? This girl does!

Riley has done VERY well with potty training. I really was not anticipating in potty training her until next week since Devin will be off from school, but she took to her trial run. Last Thursday I took her diaper off at home and she just wore panties. She did the same since then here at the house. She did have her first accident on Friday when she forgot to pull them down before she peed on the potty and then she peed at Frank's feet Sunday when they were standing at the kitchen sink. Whoops! Besides that, she has gone only on the potty.

Monday when we left the house I put her in a diaper because she had not pooed yet and that was not an accident I was willing to clean up when we were out and about. When we got to swimming lessons she had a dry diaper and she peed on the potty before then after lessons. She kept a dry diaper even after an errand and I took off the diaper when we got home. She pooed in her nap time diaper after she woke up. Tuesday was the same thing, I put her in a diaper b.c she had not gone yet before we left and I am SO glad I did. By the time I drove Devin to preschool, dropped him off then parked at the gym she had gone. Whew. She did wake up with a dry diaper during her nap Tuesday and went right away when I got her out of her crib.  Today, she went number 2 at home on the potty! YAY! We were finally able to venture out of the house in just panties. She peed before swim, after swim and then I put her on the potty right when we got home. Yay success. Then tonight we went to a quick bite out and she went before we left, when we got there, midway through dinner and then when we were leaving and again at home. Mind you that is 5 pees within 2 hours, but apparently she is WAY hydrated since she went every time.

She is so easy and I do not even have to bribe her like I did Devin. Devin would get 1 M & M with a pee and either 2 M & Ms or 1 gummy bear with number 2. Riley is so happy go lucky that she is just happy to go, but she definitely is not one to turn down candy if I do tempt her with it.

Devin's first round of swimming lessons ended today and I did sign him up for one more 4 week (twice weekly) session. He can now doggie paddle and float alone, but I would like a little more confidence in him. He 'passed' all the other requirements for level 1 swim at the community center and now they will focus on long, straight arms during strokes instead of a quick paddle. He loves it though so I am glad that he will be doing one more session. Riley will be trying out the preschool swim class next session. It is for ages 3-4 but since she is comfortable in the water and loves to kick, splash and jump in I think she may be ready for formal learning. I am not going to pay for it until after the first session just in case she freaks out once she realizes that I will not be getting in the pool with her. I really wish our community pools would be heated this summer so we could swim more often, but we had morons on the board last year who lowered assessments which in turn cut the budget and they now cannot afford the heating bill. The pool will only be around 74ish degrees and that is F-ing COLD when its 95,100,110,115 degrees out. Sigh.

We went out Sunday night for Frank's birthday dinner. He wanted lobster and we both wanted to stay out of the casino restaurant shuffle so McCormick and Schmick's came to my mind. Dinner was great and we got a little private booth which is always nice. I had some awesome Chilean sea bass in an Asian style sauce with udon noodles....SO GOOD. We ended up meeting friends of ours out who happened to be celebrating their anniversary the same night. Their dinner reservations were around the same time so we met for a drink after dinner at the new Cosmopolitan casino. I must say, they did a very good job on the small portion that I did see of it.

Other than that, not much else to report. We do have friends coming into town this weekend and we are very much looking forward to getting to go out for a few hours to hang out with them without the kids. Frank is going to golf Sunday with his buddy coming in and the weather should be absolutely perfect for them. I think the high is 89, but since their tee time is 7 am it should be between 55 and 80 when they wrap up which to me is just p.e.f.e.c.t for golf (or anything outside really.) We may just have to have some drinks at Diablo's to start the evening off when we go to the strip to meet up with them since SPRING HAS SPRUNG and Diablo's is open air upstairs and down. Have I ever told you I love the spring? There are a handful of things I do like about Las Vegas....one is a warm spring and the other is a warm fall. Time to get out the sundresses and get ready for drinks on the patio!

2t panties really are so cute, we got to sit in the bar (without the kids). AWESOME

Riley has been tinkling on the potty for a little while now but not consistently. She would only pee on command before a bath or shower. She definitely did not ever mind to have a pee pee diaper on, but did care when she had a poopy diaper. She recently started to tell me after she peed in her diaper and has wanted to take it off. I did not know if that was because she really is just a nudist at heart, or if she was uncomfortable. She still does not care if her diaper is saturated to the point of leaking, but she now takes initiative to take it off and go and get me a new one.

Devin is off from school during the week before Easter so I decided that would be a great day to take a few days in the house and training Riley. For Devin I stayed home for 3 days and stayed down stairs with him naked bottom down and he took very well to the potty. He was completely trained after those three days at the age of 2 years 4 months. I think Riley is ready now. She wants to wear undies like Devin so I washed the few pairs I bought for her. She saw a pair in the clean laundry this afternoon and wanted to put a pair of panties on. I told her she needs to go potty first so she walked to the bathroom, took off her jeans and diaper and then peed on the potty. She then came back over to me and handed me her panties. Hmm guess she is ready. That was at 5:45 pm. She then went on the potty at 6:15 and again right before bedtime at 7:10 and all this time just wearing panties in the house. May just be beginners luck....but man it would really help my budget if we did not have to buy diapers for daytime anymore!

Devin has been VERY emotional the last two days. I am not sure if he is just overly tired, or if he is going through some weird phase. I can tell you that it is beyond frustrating. The crying and whining is awful. He just breaks down with the smallest things. For example, since yesterday was Frank's birthday we made an egg free birthday cake. We did not have time to eat it last night so we had it tonight after dinner. Devin's piece laid on it's side instead of standing upright so he went into hysterics about how he wanted his piece to stand up tall and not lay down. Seriously? This is the fourth or fifth thing like this today and by this one I was so over it. He went to bed around 7:30 absolutely wiped out. He was the same yesterday and I am really hoping tomorrow he wakes up in a good mood and stays that way. I want a sensitive kid who is OK with having feelings, but this is a little much.

My friend Katy watched the kids last night for a few hours so Frank and I could grab dinner and a drink out in celebration for Frank's birthday. We were able to sit at a high top in a bar area instead of a booth in the restaurant. It is an amazing thing to be able to do that. Who would have ever thought that I would be excited to be able to sit in the bar area again. Clark County (where I live in NV) has this STUPID law that children cannot be within 20 feet of a bar. So if there is a table in a bar area open, we cannot sit at it. It really is a gaming law since most of the bars out here have video poker at the bar kids are not allowed in gaming areas. So without the kids last night, we sat quietly in the bar area and enjoyed a quiet meal by the bar! Now if only Las Vegas would jump on the band wagon and have those old machines that had the Photo Hunt. I used to LOVE to play those in NJ.

Want to know something else stupid about Clark County? Children are not allowed to enter liquor stores. I walked in one once when Devin was 2 weeks old. My mother was coming to visit and I wanted to make sure we had some vodka in the house. I walked in with my 5 lb baby asleep in his carseat and the worker told me I need to leave the store. I looked at him and asked why. He simply said, "No children allowed in the store." I looked at him, then at the baby and back at him and said, "Seriously? You are now allowing me in here because I have an infant with me?" He said yes, please leave. WTF! Now mind you I moved out here at 26 weeks pregnant and went into labor at 27 weeks and after leaving the hospital after a weeks long stay I was on strict bedrest. I had not stepped foot in a grocery store after my initial visit in one the week we got here. I completely forgot that grocery stores carried beer, wine and booze. So they can sell all that at grocery stores, gas stations etc, but lot allowed children in liquor stores? Stupid! Oh, not to mention it is completely legal to carry open containers on public roads here.....

Mind is racing-Can't sleep. How do parents deal with awful situations? Could I handle it well?

Today was a very long day. Miss Riley decided to give me a run for the money and not nap. What 24 mo old does not nap? She better not start to give them up as early as Devin did at 2.5. I NEED that time with only one child. It helps keep me sane. They both went to bed at 7pm and Frank started to snore within 3 seconds of hitting the pillow. I, on the other hand, cannot sleep. I learned some very sad news earlier this week and it was made worse today...

There is this girl I used to be good friends with when we were kids. We played soccer together from 9 to about 14. I used to ride my bike to her house through the woods behind my house into Medford and we would hang out at this place they called White Sands. God does that bring back memories. Over the years we drifted apart and lost touch. I saw a link on Facebook that a mutual friend of ours posted that was her blog. I read the blog since it is a public one (back in December). I knew she was pregnant and was due soon, but I read that her baby had a detected heart issue and they knew that when she delivered she would have to undergo emergency heart surgery. The mom and dad were prepared for this. Surgery went well and after a few weeks in recovery the baby was strong enough to go home. She had hiccups here and there and then on the 24th she had suffered a heart attack. Long story short, the heart suffered too much damage and has to be replaced via transplant. They are now on a list among other kids who need the same procedure done. Will she make it through the night, who knows. Will she get a heart in time?  It is so sad. I do not know what I would do in this situation, how I would react, if I would be strong enough.

It really makes you think about what I have in life and that I really need to take a step back and be thankful and slow down. I am not sure why it takes things like this to happen for one to realize that they have it so great and that it could be worse, way worse. I have no idea what I would do without my two kids in my everyday life. Yes, they drive me nuts at times....but that is their job. If they were not happy and healthy they would not be able to do so. I do take it for granted what I have. It is hard not to since I know no different. I have never really suffered extreme loss. Yes, I had a miscarriage before Devin was born, but I was not emotionally attached to that baby. Yes, I had high risk pregnancies and had to have every type of medical intervention to stay pregnant as long as I did (still having two early births.) I had the fear that I would lose the baby again since I went into active labor with Devin at 27 weeks. I was able to hold out until 34 weeks and he was ok, hospitalized, but ok.  Holding and kissing and touching a baby-your baby, is something no one can ever duplicate. Losing that baby/child is something I hope that I never have to deal with. I have always heard the phrase, "No parent should ever have to bury their child," and now I understand the depth of that statement.

Other childhood friends of mine, one I have known since before I can remember and the other maybe 9 or 10 suffered an amazing loss last year.  The mom, dad and I had just reconnected at the end of the summer and then the surgery happened in early fall. I could not get over how big she had gotten and how much she looked like her mom did when we were kids.  The first baby was a surprise and they were in college-but despite all odds, they made it work. Later getting married and buying a home and welcoming a second baby girl who looked just like her daddy. I was so happy for them. They had a spunky elementary school student who had a faulty heart that needed to be fixed. She underwent surgery and it seemed successful. She came home and then everything fell apart. She never made it out of the hospital the second time. I was following the moms posts to update everyone as the emergency happened and I will never forget reading one of her last posts that said, "she is not going to make it." My heart dropped and I started to cry. I had never met this young lady, but I felt so sad for her mom, dad and everyone around them. Being a mom and feeling that love toward your child puts you in touch with other parents. We all know this feeling and can sympathize with both good and bads. I cried for what seemed like hours. I remember calling my sister and telling her and asking what I was supposed to do. She said there is nothing I could do and that was an awful feeling. There was nothing anyone could do. Now there was the family that just lost an integral part of their family, THE part that actually made them a family...and she was gone. I am truly amazed with how well they do. I know I have no idea with the internal battles the face every day, but on the day to day I am amazed. I respect them so much for the courage and fight they have just to do it. I am not sure I would have the same fight in me. I know they say that you do it for your other child, husband etc....but a loss like that-well there is no other. I think of that loss of theirs at least a few times a week. Maybe it is more than I should, but it makes me remember to take in everything happening around me.

Life is complicated and there are so many things that cannot be answered. I have always struggled with having faith. We grew up in a non religious household. I went to catholic church every now and then in high school and pretty regularly my freshman year in college. I also went to church with my aunt and uncle one summer, but I cannot count that since I usually fell asleep during the mass. I enjoy learning about religion-all religions. That said, I do not believe in God. If there was a God, why does he do such shitty things to good people? Why does he take children away from loving parents, while he leaves other kids in homes where their parents beat or molest them? If there was a God, those things would not happen. Why does he give stupid teenagers healthy babies, but not allow healthy married couples to conceive? Again, there is no God. There may be some higher power of prayer and spiritual uplifting-but a divine power of one man? I do not buy it. I am not sad about this, nor am I lonely. I think a lot of people who are religious "need" that in their lives. They need to have the feeling that there are answers when really answering, a question with "that is what God intended," is not an answer. Its a cop out for "I don't know and I will never know." Most people I know (personally) who have become overly spiritual is because they were faced extreme adversity and again "needed" to lean on something. Whether it be addiction, depression, abuse, loss of control or anything else-I know those people turned to faith because they had nothing else. I have other things. Does this make me less of a person? Does this make me bad? I have no idea....but it is who I am.

Sorry for the depressing post. But I cannot sleep and it will not leave my mind.