Posted by amandape at 4:01 PM 1 comments
Happy Birthday to my little girl. We are proud of her. She is entertaining and loving. Her heart is big.
Posted by amandape at 7:43 PM 2 comments
Posted by amandape at 6:35 PM 1 comments
Okay Everyone, It takes over five days to write a blog.
Christmas with our kids was nice. Two days before the holiday we watched christmas cartoons with the kids. My friend Rebecca and her kids came over too. Christma eve Eric and I enjoyed dinner with our kids .Then he and I watched "It's a Wonderful Life." One of my favorite movies. I get caught up in a lot of negative thoughts and watching this just reminds me that I have it so good.
Domenic an P loved opening presents. This is the first year Domenic has enjoyed it. It was Mario's first .
Eric baked a ham. It was perfect. My sister came over too. Later in the evening we went to Eric's brothers house . It was nice to see everyone there. We exchanged gifts . My night was terrible . about an hour after showing up to their house I nursed Mario on a couch in the corner. This must be where the cats hang out. All of sudden my eyes started burinng, my nose started clogging and my head was starting to pound. UGH! Cats make me go nuts. I use to be able to be around them , but not anymore. It took close to three days to feel normal again. Other than the cat reaction, it was a beauitful day.
It is almost a New year. The kids are ending the year with High fevers and sore throats. The baby has a stuffy nose . The last two days have been a bit stressful. I have been up and out of bed since 5 am. Eric took the mid night shift and watch the two oldest. What would I ever do without him? He helps out with everything and works a full time job. He is amazing!
Domenic is a computer junkie. He plays on Nick Jr. everyday . As soon as he wakes up he runs to the computer to play. He took over my computer b/c it is connected to the internet. He will need his own computer soon . Penelope will play on hers . It is crazy how well they know how to use it. Domenic clicks on the Blue E button to pop up his Nick Jr site. From there he goes to the game he wants to play. We have it locked to that site only. NO need to worry.
My goals this year are to get organized. Is it possible to do with two toddlers and a baby? Penelope will start school this coming fall. I need to prepare her and I for all of this. I know she is ready. We have to get a good bed time routine and work on writing her name better.
Mario will be keeping me busy. Soon he will be crawling . My goals are to nurse him for a whole year and stay clear of formula. It is too expensive. I want to save money. He tried cereal on the 21st. He does good. A little more practice and in a month or so we will start other foods.
I failed at having Domenic potty trained. I would love to have him out of diapers more than anyone. Hopefully after his third birthday he will want to join the Big boy club and go. Or perhaps I will just train Dom and Mario at the same time. Who knows?. He does not start school for another two years so we have time. I will try to get him more interested. I need to let my old approach be forgotten and start all over again. Something went wrong. He was trying and then he decided it was the worst thing ever. The word potty makes him scream. I should try using a new word. He hates the word "bath". We say " lets wash our dirty feet?" It goes over much better and he is in the tub. He use to take medicine with no hassle. Now we have to tackle him to get him to take it. Other than those few obstacles, Domenic is an easy toddler. He likes he own space and to do things at his own pace. Nothing wrong with that.
This year I would like to come up with a solution to make the most of the space in our house. We do not use Domenic's bedroom anymore b/c it is freezing cold. If I could knock the room out-- I would.
Eric and I ferberized our two oldest the week of Christmas. After Christmas the kids had fevers and a cold. We have been busy again getting our kids back to health. The Ferber method worked again for us and our kids went to bed with no complaints New Years eve. It was wonderful. Eric & I were able to enjoy a bottle of wine together , watch a movie and ring in the New year together. What more could I ask for? My family was here safe at home .
New years day we went to my brothers house. Every year we do this and I look forward to it. My nephew Mavrick is celebrating his 17th birthday today. Mavrick make me happy . He is a good person and I am proud to have him as a nephew. I wanted to keep hugging him. It feels like yesterday he was born and just a baby.
Pictures will come later. Domenic is on my computer and I am forced to use a lap top that has seen better days.
Posted by amandape at 8:45 PM 1 comments
The kids are doing good. Penelope , Domenic and I have been playing Candy Land a lot lately. It is P's favorite game. Domenic is growing up quickly now that Mario is here. He is funny! The other day I caught him in the Play Pen. I have caught him in the baby swing , the bouncing seat and tonight Eric found him in the baby crib. The bouncing seat broke. I can't get mad at him b/c it has been through three kids and it was time for a new one or for us to get rid of it all together. Mario likes to pull himself into a sitting position , so the bouncing seat was pretty close to being out anyways. Mario is now in the exersaucer. He loves it! He has great control of his head and upper body that I was not worried to let him try it out. He only has a week and half until he is four months old. FOUR MONTHS OLD! I thought the Pregnancy went quick. He is no longer a newborn. This truly makes me sad. His new thing is that he will blow raspberries at us when we do it. Penelope loves playing that game with him. He is a pleasant baby and I can not get enough of him.
Eric and I had an evening out and Mario had his first over night at the grandparents house. we played cards and I took 1st place in our monthly poker tournament. We had a nice evening and the next day we met my parents and kids at Undo's for dinner. Afterwards we took the kids to a skating party. It was a fun weekend.
Posted by amandape at 8:09 PM 1 comments
Posted by amandape at 11:20 AM 1 comments
She did great! She loves her long hair , but it was really becoming a mess. We struggled everyday to get it brushed. She was all for it and loved every moment of the salon experience. Posted by amandape at 10:40 AM 1 comments
Posted by amandape at 11:38 AM 1 comments
Mario is getting big! He is now nine weeks old. He loves to smile and coo. We love it too. 
Luna~ My brothers fouth child. I really need to frame this for him and get him a wallet size print too. It was suppose to be his daughters dog, but he fell in love .Posted by amandape at 12:31 PM 1 comments


Posted by amandape at 2:40 PM 0 comments
My neighbor and family friend Matti came up to visit the kids last week.

Domenic 2 And Penelope 3 1/2




Posted by amandape at 8:10 PM 0 comments
Last night was horrible. Penelope was running a very high fever , Domenic cried all night and kept us up until 4am. The baby needs to nurse every two hours and those sessions usually last over an hour. I can't even think straight anymore and the sounds of my kids whining and crying makes me cringe. ( this is my current feelings and I am sure once these kids go to bed or the minute I get a break from this place I will like a normal mom again.) --- This was last week.....
It all stated two weeks ago. Eric went back to work and Domenic got sick. We had to keep Domenic away from the baby. I had to wash my hands every single time Domenic would hand me a saliva soaked Popsicle stick , pacifiers, toys and when I had to wipe his nose from all the crying. Meanwhile - the baby is nursing or trying to nap and Penelope screams as loud as she can b/c she knows that will at least get me to give her some kind of attention. (even if it is not nice mommy kind) Everyone is in tears , including me. This has been happening for over a week. Then last week it was Penelope's turn to be sick and I had to keep her away from the baby. She was needing attention and I could not give it to her b/c I was tending to a newborn. This will not get me mother of the year award. thank god for the swing b/c this allows me to have at least ten minutes to get the kids lunch ready and put a movie on down stairs. Within a half hour at least one child is crying. If it is not the baby- the baby will wake up. If it is the baby the crying , the kids will fight over a toy. I was really about to pull my hair out.
It was so easy when Eric was here helping me. I was also on drugs ( from the c-section) .It was so much better on drugs!
I use to be a smoker and days like these make me want to puff a whole box of Marlboro's. Then I think about how it is no good and how far I have come as a non smoker. So today I asked Eric to pick up a six pack of beer. I have yet to have one, but I know they are there to enjoy.
My creative outlets have been put on hold. I am not even a creative mother at the moment. I am too busy trying to control two toddlers who will not listen. I am scared to leave the house with them b/c they are no longer listening to me. I know they are hating being stuck here and so am I. We did take them to the Apple Festival yesterday. It was rainy and the parade was weak.
Eric put a fence up , but it is not finished. He comes home from work and tries to get stuff done, but I need a break.
Breastfeeding- another subject that made me want to scream. Mario had tongue tie. We got that fixed. he was not latching on right b/c he was use to a bottle and we gave him a pacifier.My nipples are sore and I had a huge amount of milk b/c I was pumping . Every morning and every night my boobs were engorged. It felt like rocks under my skin and it is very painful. The baby only eats three or four ounces and I use to pump 6 -8 oz of milk from each breast. the baby was only getting fore milk and not the good fatty hind milk. So I needed to pump a little which makes more milk. It was driving me nuts!!!! This past week Mario and I worked it out. breastfeeding is going great. No more pumping and no more engorgement. Things are already looking up. Now, if I can get the two older kids to listen to me .
Within a few months all this will seem like small potatoes. I may even laugh about it. I need to get a routine. The kids getting sick made these first two weeks of being a stay at home mom of three kids (under three ) very hard! the baby can't be with out me , and I can't be with out the baby . I will flood an area with breast milk if Mario is not around.
I started this post almost a week ago. It has been rough to get things done around here.
Eric's brother is in town from Germany. We have no seen him or the kids yet. I wanted to wait until the kids are better. Penelope broke out in the rash after the fever .... She should be fine in a day or two. I will post pictures later this evening if I have time.
I got a new camera and I have not even had a chance to play with it much.
Posted by amandape at 2:23 PM 4 comments




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Posted by amandape at 3:35 PM 1 comments
Eric is so helpful! I do not want him to go back to work! I have to pump milk and he will feed Mario the bottle. He even does this in the middle of the night. My husband is wonderful and I am very fortunate to have him.
Penelope started the summer not able to swing. She is now swinging like a champ. Sometimes it scares me b/c she swings too high. But she loves it. She makes up songs and puts on shows for us while she swings.


His poor feet have been pricked a few too many times. But they are still adorable.
This last picture makes me laugh. Usually it is Penelope who smiles and Domenic not in the mood to smile.
Posted by amandape at 10:35 AM 1 comments
these are of Mario six days old.

these were taken his first day home. Monday. My neice Abby & proud sister Penelope

Posted by amandape at 7:38 PM 1 comments