There goes my pride and ego too.

Add to my trashed self esteem my bruised pride and ego.

The temperature overnight here hovered around the freezing mark - add to that a driveway that is slightly sloped to one side to allow for water run-off and it's a slippery combination!

As I was leaving for work this morning, I went trucking out to the garage carrying my pump and lunch bag. I hit the sloped part of the driveway where snow melt had been running over it all night and, you guessed it - my feet went up and my backside went down. HARD.

Of couse - you NEVER want the neighbors to see that happen to you...so you scramble up as fast as you can without making sure you didn't break a hip...and you continue on your merry way as if nothing happened.

I'm pretty sure they saw it though. If they didn't, the limp probably gave it away.

So, my self esteem is gone thanks to the three year old.
My pride and ego are bruised.
I'm pretty sure my backside, leg and knee will be bruised too.
That makes for one helluva week...and its only Wednesday.

So much for my self esteem

Madison loves to do our hair and put on makeup. It must be a girl thing! This morning, I was putting on a bit of makeup and Madison was playing with one of my brushes and watching me. This is how the conversation went:

Madison: (after covering her face with pretend makeup) Do I look beautiful, Mommy?

Mommy: Yes you do, but you don't need makeup to look beautiful.

Madison: Can I put makeup on you, Mommy?

Mommy: Sure

Madison proceeds to cover my face in enough pretend makeup to make Tammy Faye Baker cry black rivers of mascara.

Mommy: Do I look beautiful?

Madison: Not yet.

As if that wasn't bad enough...A little while later, Cameron was sleeping on my chest. He was all curled up and had his little butt sticking out.

Madison: Teehee, I see his butt

Mommy: He has a cute little baby tushie, doesn't he?

Madison: Yea, but I don't have baby tushie. I have a big tushie just like you, Mommy.

Apparently I need to stop eating and start wearing a paper bag over my head.

The House of Bounce

Madison, Cameron and I had an exciting Saturday night! Daddy had to work at the Ice Hawks game and though we normally go watch the Ice Hawks games, we decided to do something to burn up a little Cabin Fever.

We met our friends Riley (4) and Ranen (3) at the House of Bounce. The House of Bounce is an indoor playground filled to the rafters (literally) with inflatable bounce toys. It was open bounce night and PACKED. Madison had a blast bouncing in the Little Mermaid bounce house, the toddler bounce area, and sliding down a giant slide that had to be thirty feet tall. There was even a motarized train that ran on tracks for the kids to drive. I think that was Madison's favorite.

The kids ran from one bounce toy to the next so fast that we could hardly keep up. They were having so much fun that we stayed long past bedtime to let them burn all that pent up energy that results from being stuck indoors during winter.

We had a lot of fun and Madison can't wait to go again!

Perfectly Perfect

This is post number three for today. I'm just trying to get ahead, as my posts will probably be limited until I adjust to my new schedule!

Cameron's two month well child visit was last Friday and he is perfect.

He is up to 12 pounds, 2 ounces and is 22.5 inches long. I've noticed that he has seemed a lot taller lately! The 0-3 months sleepers are starting to feel a little short on him.

He is holding his head up better than is to be expected - which is amazing since he HATES tummy time.

AND - we are not feeding him at night anymore. He was waking up 1-2 times each night for a little snack. So, the pediatrician said to stop feeding him and he should stop waking up after 5-7 nights. We just completed night 2 - and it is getting better already.

Here's hoping for a good night's sleep!

Cameron is experiencing a little baby eczema and a little yeast too. So - we have prescriptions for that. Between the hydrocortizone and the aquaphor - this kid is about as slippery as a bar of soap!

The past two months have gone by in the blink of an eye! I can't believe that we already had his two month well child visit - complete with lots of shots!

Mom, I talk a lot

Before Cameron was born, Madison would often tell me that she talks a lot. She would just randomly say it in the car.

Of course, I always noticed that she would chatter non-stop after I picked her up from daycare. I just thought she was excited to tell me about her day. Then, Cam was born and I had Madison home a lot while daycare was closed around the Holidays. I learned something about Madison while she was home with me.

This child talks from the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep at night. NON-STOP. She carries on a continuous color commentary about what is going on in her world. Don't you dare try to tune her out. no-siree bob. She will make you pay.

Don't bother asking for five minutes of quiet. She is not capable of it.

I'm in so much trouble when she asks for her first cell phone.

Mixed feelings

I'm trying to figure out how to stop time. I need to prevent 8am Monday morning from happening!

Alas, my nine weeks of maternity leave have simply flown by. It feels like just yesterday that I was waking Mike up and telling him to clear his schedule because Cameron was ready to be born. I will be back at work tomorrow and Cameron will be joining Madison at daycare. Madison is so excited to show off and protect her baby brother from all germy three and four year olds!

I have mixed feelings about going back to work.

I look forward to the routine.

I dread trying to get it all done while working 40 hours each week.

I look forward to some quiet time at work.

I dread not cuddling Cameron and Madison each morning.

I look forward to seeing my co-workers.

I dread only seeing Cameron and Madison for three hours each day.

I look forward to getting a paycheck that did not come entirely from my accumulated PTO.

I dread paying my mortgage sized daycare bill.

Winter Wonderland

We travelled to Uncle Trevor's in Grand Rapids over the weekend to celebrate Evan's first birthday. I always love going to Grand Rapids - I love the snow covered pine trees in neat rows, the massive snow piles, and the peaceful quiet of the north woods. I love how dark it gets at night and how bright the stars are because there aren't city lights to interfere.

On Saturday, we took the kids ice skating. All of them are getting really good at skating! Madison is still holding on to a chair but it won't be long and she'll be brave enough to let go and skate on her own! By the time we left, Mason was doing really well on his own. The weather was so nice, even Cameron got to enjoy the ice rink. He sat in his infant car seat along the boards while we helped the kids skate.

Once back at the house, we decided to have a winter campfire. The kids bundled up and roasted a few marshmallows around the fire and then decided to slide off the deck in their sleds. They also played on the swingset - Uncle Trevor kept icing down the slide with snow to make it really fast!

Cameron hung out with Grandma in the house. Isn't he cute?

On Sunday, the bigger kids went for a snowmobile ride. The weather was absolutely perfect and the trails were nice. We stopped a couple of times at shelters along the trail and enjoyed the campfires that are lit by the local trail riders club. Madison had a great time on her first trail ride. At one point on a very smooth and straight stretch of the trail, we were able to pick up the speed to about 35 MPH, Madison held her arms out to the side like she was flying.

We had a great time over the weekend and can't wait to do it again!

The Elusive Smile and I Love Jesus but I drink a little

Cameron has been smiling for about a week now - it is so darn cute! I have been trying to capture it with my D80, but I'm not quite coordinated enough to cause him to smile and snap a picture at the same time. This is the best I got!

This clip from Ellen is making me smile and giggle today! It's dedicated to you folks in Austin, TX - It's a little long, but a good laugh. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg