My Purse AKA Survival Kit

This morning, it was time to conquer that dreaded once-a-month task:  Cleaning out my purse!  The receipts were taking over!



While I was at it, I figured I would share what I keep in my survival kit.  My purse is always with me, and while my husband may make fun of me for the amount of stuff inside, I am ALWAYS prepared!

Our family is really busy, so I like to be ready for anything.  We spend a lot of time with family and friends, and on several occasions, we have had impromptu sleepovers, due to crappy weather.  Plus, with 3 (almost 4...whoa!) kids to keep busy and clean, I never know what I'll need!



Top Row Left to Right:  

Travel Wipes and Diaper for Lily
Travel Pack of Wet Ones  (kids are messy!)
Travel Pack of Clorox Wipes  (for those disgusting restaurant tables or public toilets)
Tissues
Medicine bottle of Zofran, Tylenol, and Tums (my pregnancy survival kit!)
Travel sized bottle of Bath & Body Works lotion
Travel sized Bath & Body Works Spray
Contact Solution, Contact Case, and an extra pair of contacts (Trust me, you never know when you'll lose one!)
Travel toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss

Middle Row Left to Right: 

Planner and pen (a necessity considering how much we have going on!)
Wallet
Checkbook containing some checks to be cashed
Coupons that I'm going to need soon
A baggie of colorforms and snacks for the kids (I usually have lollipops for Lily, but ran out!)
A First Aid Kit
Tide To Go pen (I have used this MANY times!)
Hand Sanitizer

Bottom Row Left to Right:

Cell Phone
iPod
Gum
Sunglasses
Lip balm, Aquaphor, and Lip Glosses (I'm slightly addicted)
Lucky Penny, Guardian Angel Necklace, and phone charger
Keys
Pack of disposable nail files
Hair Ties/Clips
Makeup bag containing mascara, eyeliner, concealer, blush, and lipstick

This may seem like a lot, but I keep it all organized in individual travel bags, so it's easy to reach in and find what I need!



Now, my purse is cleaned out and ready to be filled up with receipts and gum wrappers!

So tell me...what do you keep in your purse?

Life Lately

*Fall has arrived in Pittsburgh.  On Friday, we were wearing summer clothes.  On Saturday, it dropped to the 50's.  Last night, the lowest temp dipped just under 30.  BRRR!  I finally caved and turned our heat on today!

*Speaking of Fall, I  started decorating.  I finally admitted the fact that summer was over.  Our front porch has been decorated for 2 weeks, but I've been working on the inside.  I started late, so I'm slowly sneaking in some Halloween decor with the Fall decor.



*I do love Fall!  I just hate when it gets really cold and I hate the long winter that follows.  Anything below 60 is too cold for me!  I do, however, love the Fall activities, the gorgeous colors of the trees, the comfort of Fall, the foods, the smells, boots and sweaters, and the adorable Halloween outfits!

*Lily has been teething again.  She's working on teeth #13-16.  Teething is a joy. She's actually not bad, but when you have an easy-going baby, they seem so much worse when they're sick or teething!

*I have been a picture-taking fool.  No complaints here, though. I love it!  I took senior pictures, followed by a fun set of 13 months pictures, followed by black and white portraits at Lexie's school.

*Speaking of pictures, the kids got their school pictures back already.  They're cute, but...mine are better.  Enough said. 

*Grant's car still isn't fixed.  He and I switched cars.  He got a Traverse as his rental, and he doesn't like driving a huge SUV with nobody else in it.  It happens to be the car I want next, so I'm happy I got a chance to test drive it.  The kids and I love it!  It's going to be so difficult to give it back!

*I have a super awesome giveaway coming up from my absolute favorite online shop.  I can't wait to share it with you!  Hint?  All those adorable outfits and accessories Lily wears?  You might get a chance to win some of your own!

*It's incredibly difficult watching somebody you love decline so rapidly.  I was putting together a photo album for Grant's dad today, and I bawled my way through it.

*Looking through years worth of happy memories made me so thankful for my babies, my family, and my friends.  You know who you are...just know how much you mean to me!

*My phone kicked the bucket over the weekend.  Well, the phone still works, but the screen shattered.  I was due for an upgrade, but I still paid a ton of money to replace it.  I absolutely love my new phone.  My only complaint about my old one was the battery life, but they fixed that problem with my new phone!

*I keep waiting for life to slow down a bit, but it hasn't.  A typical day for me: wake up at 7, run around like a maniac until 10:00 PM, sit down for an hour, then go to bed.  Repeat.  I keep reminding myself that these are the days I'm going to miss not too long from now.  That makes it worthwhile!

Lessons in Parenting

This post was originally written as a guest post for The Mommyhood Chronicles last month.  After another lesson learned today, I decided I'd share it on my blog, too!

Today's lesson?  If your child is silent and Vaseline is nearby there is going to be a mess. A huge mess.  As in, smeared on the floor, smeared on a baby wipes container, and painted on their clothes.  This can all happen in 90 seconds. Lesson learned.  Note to self:  Get rid of Vaseline.

I've been a mom for almost 8 years, so I've learned a few important lessons along the way.  I'd love to share some of them with you!

* Always expect the unexpected.  When you have kids, anything can happen.  Nothing surprises me anymore!

* Let them get messy.  It's going to happen anyway.



* They will fall asleep in the strangest positions.



* Your kids will have completely different personalities.  Never expect your second born to be just like your first!

* Always, ALWAYS, take a change of clothes for each kid!

 

* Children can destroy a room in 30 seconds.  We call this a toynado.



* Toys will end up in every room of your house.  Lots of them.

* If you have a boy, gross things will end up in the house.



* They will give you a heart attack on a daily basis.



* If you think they're going to roll off the couch/climb out of the crib soon, they're going to roll off the couch/climb out of the crib NOW.

* If they are very quiet for a long period of time, it's bad.  Really bad.

* Always leave the bathroom door shut.

 

* If your kids are hurt, you will hurt more.

* You will get peed on, pooped on, and puked on.

* A diaper blowout will happen at some point.  Imagine the grossest thing you've ever had to deal with and multiply it by 100.

* If you have a girl, always check in the layers of their dresses for the bloomers/diaper covers.  If you don't, you just may send them off to their first day of school with bloomers  pinned inside their dress.  And this may happen many, many more times.  And you won't be the only one who does this, because some of your close friends will confirm that it happens to them, too!

* When they start school, a sport, or an activity, your life will become much busier.

* When you have multiple children and one (or TWO) is gone for the night, your life will seem SO easy.

*  Bumps and bruises happen almost everyday.  Especially once they start walking.  Shrug it off!

* They will make you so proud. Often.

* They will drive you crazy.  Often.

* They will make you laugh. Often.

* Your kid will get hurt in the strangest ways.  Case in point?  Head meets flat wall.

 

* Head wounds/mouth wounds bleed.  A lot.

* The amount of toys and stuffed animals multiply overnight.  Really.

*If your kid has a lovie, it will become a vital part of your life.

 

* You will do ridiculous things in order to get a cute picture.



* Anything goes with the third baby.



* They hardly ever get sick, but when they do, it will be at the worst possible time.



* You will love them fiercely.  So much, that it feels like your heart will burst out of your chest.

* Let go of the to-do list once in a while, and just have fun! This was my most recent lesson learned. Would you rather clean your house or spend an afternoon with friends, visiting a museum and getting ice cream?  I want my kids to remember doing fun things with me, instead of remembering my frantic cleaning habits (yes, that's me.)

* They grow up too fast. Before you know it, your first baby will be headed to 2nd grade, your middle baby will be going to Kindergarten, and your newest baby's first year will go by in what feels like a few weeks.



* Savor every moment while they're young..  Chores can wait. Someday, much sooner than you can imagine, your house will be empty and you're going to be wishing back all the noise, clutter, and chaos. Childhood is fleeting. Hold them tight, and be thankful for the amazing blessing that you have!

Just Words

Life lately...

* Dylan and Lexie are almost finished with week 3 of school.  Just another example of how time is flying.  They are both doing really well.  Dylan reads way above level and has been acing his tests.  Lexie loves her teacher, and loves school once she gets there, but hates the bus ride.  Because of this, she's miserable most mornings.  We live just 6 short minutes from the school, but their bus picks them up 1 hour and 15 minutes before school starts.  That's just beyond ridiculous.  They end up riding the bus for over 45 minutes.  Dylan never complained about the bus ride, but Lexie dreads it.  I drove them to school this morning, and it was wonderful.  We got to sleep in an hour, and leave an hour after the bus arrives.  This morning went perfectly, and Lexie was excited to go to school!  That being said, I don't want to drive them every single day.

*I forgot what it was like to have a toddler.  Selective memory perhaps?!?  Little Miss Liliana is into EVERYTHING!  I spend most of my time chasing her around.  She runs from me, cracking up as she goes, climbs up onto everything, is a walking tornado (TOYNADO!), and is so mischievous!  She can scale the climbing wall to our playset and go down the slide in less than 30 seconds.  She both amazes me and terrifies me!

*Lily went back to hematology/oncology at the end of August.  She had been getting weekly blood draws (which completely sucked) so they could analyze the results and see if there was a pattern.  The good news is that her hemoglobin (iron level) is going up.  She is still anemic, but it's minor.  She still has Neutropenia, and they don't know why.  If it had been cyclic, her numbers would have been high, then gone down, then gone back up.  Her numbers dropped every week.  Her doctor is puzzled.  However, she is very healthy, growing well, and developmentally ahead of the curve.  We are now just getting monthly blood work done, and go back to hematology/oncology in late November.  Once again, if she gets a fever over 101, we have to get her to the doctor immediately, because she can get very sick, very quickly if her counts are low.  Other than that, no precautions or worries.  I'm supposed to continue to nurse her, but that's not going to happen much longer.  She nurses only at night, for about 2 minutes, and then she's done!  I have to say, it's bittersweet!

*Storytime at the library started back up yesterday.  My friends bring their sons, too.  Summer storytime ended in late July, and Lily was still so well behaved then. Not yesterday.  Girl kept taking off out of the children's section, heading into the main library.  Gone are my relaxing visits with my awesome friends!

*Lexie loves gymnastics!  She really looks forward to it.  Today was her third class, and she has learned so much already.  I enjoy watching her!  I'm going to try to arrange for Lily to stay home while I take Lexie.  She came along twice, and I spent the entire time chasing her. She's beyond adorable, but exhausts me! The one time I went alone, I was able to watch the entire class.

*I missed the deadline for Fall baseball.  Dylan was really bummed, and I feel so bad!

*I've been meeting my friend at a local park almost every weekday morning.  They have a 1.3 mile difficult trail, and we walk that several times.  I consider it my therapy.  We spend the entire time talking, plus it's nice to spend an hour outside every morning!  The hills, though....they kick your butt!

*At the end of first grade, Dylan brought home his class project:  A pair of guppies.  On Sunday morning, he went into his room and started yelling for me.  He ran out and shouted, "There's a baby!  They had a baby!"  Well, there's never just ONE baby.  Sure enough, there were around 30 tiny flecks darting around the bowl.  I am not one to be able to kill something, so we're currently stuck with all the guppies.  Luckily a friend is taking some, and I'm sure some won't survive, but...I was half tempted to leave them outside of Dylan's 1st grade teacher's classroom door!

 *I haven't mentioned it much, but Grant's dad is very, very sick.  My husband and his family are going through a very rough time right now.  He's not going to get better, and hospice is now involved. We had to explain all this to Dylan and Lexie.  It's not something I ever wanted to do.

*Fall is coming.  The days are still very warm, but nights get cold.  Too cold for me.  I swear, I'm meant to live in the South! I'm always cold. So...I'm being dragged, kicking and screaming, into Fall.  I love Fall. I just hate the long winter that follows.  

*Speaking of Fall, I needed a new Fall centerpiece for my table.  My first mistake was taking Lexie to the store with me.  My second was actually letting her pick out the centerpiece.  She vetoed the beautiful wicker pumpkin adorned with flowers.  A "Cinderella" pumpkin now resides on my table.  It's an orange, glitter-covered wire pumpkin, and Lexie had to have it.  It is pretty, but not my first choice!

*Lexie had school pictures today, and Dylan has them tomorrow.  They are so expensive!  There's no way I'm paying $60+ for pictures that I don't even get to see first.  So I just bought a cheap ($23) basic package for each kid.  The pictures I take of them are better anyway!

*I feel like I'm constantly cleaning up messes.  Last week, it was a junk drawer that broke and spilled its contents all over my floor.  Tonight?  Somebody left the kitchen sink faucet running, with the drain plugged. I heard a splashing sound, and ran to the kitchen, only to find a wide river of water gushing through it.  Not only was the floor flooded, but the counter was as well!  The only plus to that mess is that my floor, counter, and area under my refrigerator are spotless!

A Word To Live By

Enjoy.

Such a simple, common word. A word that didn't really make me think until this morning.

This morning was rough. I climbed out of bed, exhausted and not quite ready to face the day. From the time I wake at 7 AM until Dylan climbs on his bus at 7:50 AM, I am in constant motion. The only thing that makes it easier is the fact that Lily sleeps well and usually sleeps until 9-9:30.

Not this morning. Fifteen minutes after I woke up, she began screaming. I tried everything, but ten minutes later, my unusually cranky baby was awake and in my arms. And we were running late.

I struggled to dress a still sleeping Dylan with one hand, while urging him to please wake up. I struggled to make a one-handed breakfast for him. Then, I had to get 3 of us bundled up to wait for the bus. By the time Dylan's bus arrived, I was stressed.

As usual, he turned around before he boarded the bus, flashed his big grin and told me to tell Lexie he said hi. With a "Love ya, Mama and Lily!" he was off.

As I turned around to cross the road to our driveway, I noticed an elderly woman sitting in her car, waiting for the bus to leave, smiling at me. She rolled down her window and commented on how adorable Lily was all bundled up in her snowsuit and how it made her morning to see such a cute baby. I smiled and thanked her, and she smiled back, quiet for a few seconds. She told me, "These are the best days of your life. Enjoy."

I nodded in understanding and wished her a good day. She waved while pulling away and I continued on my way. As I climbed the steps to my house, my long to-do list ran through my head.

And then it hit me.

This woman took the time to wind down her window to talk to me, even though it was freezing outside and even though there was a car behind her. It was a simple lesson, one I already knew, but she felt compelled to remind me.

I needed to hear that.

Enjoy.

With a deep breath, I let go of all my expectations for my day. I smiled at my precious baby as I took her out of her snowsuit. I took off my coat, kicked off my shoes and changed back into my fleece pajama pants. I climbed into my bed and snuggled with my baby girl.

Instead of just checking things off of my list, I enjoyed the moment.

These moments are fleeting. How long will Lily be this small? Weeks? Days? I can't even remember what it was like when she was a scrawny newborn. Before long, I'm not going to remember what it was like when she was a chubby 5 month old. So enjoy it I will.

Yes, life as a mom can be stressful. Incredibly stressful! Those moments will not go away. But I will spend more time enjoying my children, instead of just getting things done. Because years from now, everything will be done, and I'm going to wish for my crazy, chaotic life to be back. I'm going to wish my children were still small enough to be held. I'm going to wish that my children were back home.

So we cuddled. Then Lexie came in and I cuddled with both of them. I ate breakfast with Lexie at her child-sized table. I spent more time holding Lily. I baked cookies with Lexie. I read books with Dylan.

Those are the moments I want to remember.

Enjoy.

That is the word I'm going to live by.

Me Time

I'm reading...The Help. Parenting/Parents/American Baby/Baby Talk magazines.

I'm listening to...Christmas music all the time!

I'm watching...Once Upon A Time, Dexter, Terranova, House, Glee, Raising Hope, The New Girl, Criminal Minds, American Horror Story, and Grey's Anatomy. Grant and I are also catching up on Season 4 of Mad Men, and watching Christmas movies.

I'm creating...photo collages for Lexie's class and editing my October pictures.

I'm cooking...Ham and Potato Casserole, Chili, Chicken Enchiladas, Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, Roast, and Smothered Pork Chops for this weeks dinners.

I'm shopping for...Christmas presents for my kids, my husband, and our families.

I'm staying healthy...by running 4-5 days a week and taking my vitamins!

A product I use everyday...Vaseline for my lips and under my eyes.

I'm obsessed with...taking the perfect Christmas pictures for our card!

Around the house...I'm decorating for Christmas. Most of the indoor decorations are done, but we have to decorate outside, and put up our tree after my party on Wednesday.

Today...Dylan and Lexie were off school. I picked up a ton of pictures from CVS to turn into photo collages for Lexie's preschool class. We went to the library, and I got suckered into buying books at the book fair they were having. I eased the pain by reminding myself that I was supporting our library. We ran into a girl that rides Dylan's bus, and her mom asked me if he was the "infamous Dylan from the bus." When I informed her that it was, she told me he is all her girls talk about. I took Dylan to Target to spend a birthday gift card. He chose a Lego set that Lexie liked, because he likes to make his sister happy, and some Pokemon cards. I got a holiday tutu for Lily and more clear lights for our tree (the LED ones from last year gave me a headache). I finally hung up a picture of Lily in our house. After taking a week-long break from running, I started back up, and I feel so much better! I did massive amounts of laundry thanks to Lily's blowouts.





Plans for the rest of the week...I'm babysitting tomorrow, hosting an OralB stages party on Wednesday afternoon, putting up the Christmas tree on Thursday, visiting my parents on Friday, taking the kids to a Polar Express party at the library on Saturday, taking Lily's 4 month pictures, hanging out with the inlaws on Sunday, and probably other plans will pop up, too!