Flying Buffalos

tonights dinner at Chilli's

diaper shoot

Mommy work is so hard but wouldn't trade it for the world

Brie's latest accomplisments...
my 6mos 1 wk old is now getting on her hands & knees. Sleeping is becoming a little more difficult for her but she's still sleeping much better than her sister ever did. She has learned how to turn on her bird & butterfly mobile after I showed her. I was amazed to watch her turn it on & off as she was in her crib. Then today I heard the music coming through the monitor the other day. She had a good long dry spell today where we even caught her pees with ECing- poos still catching those. Teething- still teething no teeth in yet. She's been pre-teething since 3mos, I would have thought a couple would have broken through by now.

Alyssa & I had a big go around this evening. She's been waking really early like 5am. She wants to climb into bed with mommy. Then she's flip flopping all around. She gets outta bed at night telling me she's scared. Maybe she is a bit but really I think it's an excuse. She wants to be with mommy & that's the main reason. So I started taking one of her dolls every time she got outta bed. That was a good idea for about 2 days then she started coming down stairs & handing me a doll as she asked what ever she wanted. Tonight I took all the dolls. Then she started crying. I don't wanna hear it but told her she can cry as long as she did it behind closed doors. That lead to screaming, banging & kicking the door. Door is coming off next. I also told her today since she's been getting outta bed so early int he AM. That she can do it but it's not fair to mommy. So for every minute she gets outta bed b4 7a, she owes me in her room in the afternoon when Brie takes her nap. If we are out running in the afternoon she goes to bed that amount of time earlier. This is my plan for nights & I'm praying we can turn the corner.

She's testing me all day long & I feel like it's a constant battle. I'm feeling like she's split personality one minute she tells me she loves me & the next she tells me I'm the meanest mommy in the world.

Dinner is back to being a battle. We had about a 6mos reprieve on that one. She doesn't have to eat but she needs to try everything. Then I require her to tell me no thank you. I'm no longer making her anything else (ie cereal or a salad like I did b4). It's her choice to eat or not to eat. She must sit at the table with me & Brie. However one day this week she screamed bloody murder about the food she had before her & I put her on the steps for a time out & that's where she stayed til I finsihed eating. I'm tired of listening to her screams & whines.

Alyssa is a bright, loving, sensitive girl just very head strong. I want to bring her up right now & her not be a brat as she becomes older & we have bigger issues.

Brie is easy for me. Her needs are basic & she's a happy child. Alyssa is just in a very trying time right now.

This mommy work is very hard but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

My seeds drying for next year

My marigolds

I have lots of marigolds around. I save my seeds from the year b4. They help with my rabbit problem. Did you know that if you put marigolds around rabbits will stay away from your plants?

Remembering my little ones in Heaven on Oct 15th!

Sun behind clouds

growing cantalope

rambling for today

My sister had a big blow out for 2 of my nephews birthdays. Andre will be 7 & Matthew her baby will be 3. Kevin even got in the action & came to the party. Alyssa had a ball but it took her awhile to get used to the activity of 40 running about & she only knows her cousins.

We came home around 4p &Kevin got ready to go back out to his work's get together with Karaoke. Then he'll be home to watch his pay per view & up all night writing his wrestling blog.

Tomorrow for us is IKEA breakfast with Karon & Eric.

PTL for my neighbor!!! He fixed our lawn mower for the 3rd time this season. Kevin really broke it now & it needed a big over haul. I'm praying we can get through this season. Then next year I'm finally on board with paying a lawn service to get it done. B4 now I just hated the money shelled out for this when I have a husband that can do it. However I'm tired of the nagging & I just want it cut on a reg basis. Plus now having an infant I'm not able to get outside & trim, which Kevin refuses to do. My yard needs lots of work b/c I can't even get outside for a long period to pull weeds. It's soooo sad to see.

storms a comin'

Bubble magic

Brianna @ 6mos

Brianna's birthday 2/18/09
7lb 10ozs & 21 in long.

Today 6mos old: 8/18/09

16lbs 26 3/4in long

Time is just flying by! Where has my little newborn gone? My heart aches that I'll never have this again but also at the same time is over joyed by what God has blessed me with.

Brie's eyes are changing from the blue they were to a ocean water green. Who knows if they will stay this form of hazel or go completely brown like mine. Alyssa's are blue all the way. Brianna is sitting up on her own. Definately will go after what she wants. She rolls around to get where she wants to go. Still having some great success with our ECing. She's all smiles & will just brighten for anybody but mommy always has her eye.

She's started food. She's allergic to banana & had to call the pedi one night to get a Benadryl dosage to give her. I pray that she doesn't end up with severe food allergies like her sister. Her skin is very sensitive & has excema. Sleep wise she does very well & can go sometimes 11hrs a night without eating. She's still pre-teething since 3mos old & I thought atleast 1 would have broke through by now. We are still exclusively breast feeding & that is going well for us. She doesn't take a bottle very well so starting to think cup now & just skip the whole bottle thing.

My heart is just bursting with love for my little suprise miracle, Brianna Lynn.

E is for Eck

Maryland State Flower

kids- some big milestones in this house.

Lyssie has slept in her bed ALL night long for the past 3 nights, no bribes, melatonin, nothing! Even putting her to bed was easier last night than it has been in a long time. Her mouthiness is still horrible. Trying to work dilegently on that one. She's a very head strong, sensitive gal.

Brie in the last 2 days has been attemptiong to stand. I'm trying to get a pic of it but it's a fleeting moment that she pulls her self up to a stand. How can an almost 6mos old do this??? She's sitting on her bunny potty. Next she pulls up with her arms on the handles & then locks her knees out. Thus she stands! She's really having fun with this but it only lasts a moment. In the past few days I've watched her sitting up with the weeble wobbles- engaging her stomach muscles. Now she can do it steadily for a few minutes b4 she topples over. Also since 2 days she started banging her toys. Also Brie slept through the night again. 1st time for 2 wks. Yay mommy got more than 2 hrs in a row of sleep!!!!

My fun for the day

Can you guess???? LOL!

in the windows

Taken after IKEA breakfast. One worker was watching me take a pic & walked past looking around to see if I was taking a pic of something of interest. I had to tell her no it's of the windows for my 265 blog. She had to laugh & said she heard about that on facebook.

Mock 'crab' cakes

disclaimer: I'm a Maryland native. Home of the famous Maryland crab cakes. These don't taste like crab cakes to me but they are a yummy veggie version. Really the Old Bay seasoning does the trick.

total ready time: 30mins
Serves:5

Ingredients:
2 1/2c grated zucchini
1 egg beaten
2 T butter, melted
1 C bread crumbs
1/4C minced onions
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (if you like a little spice this is good but I would use more next time)
1/4C all-purpose flour
1/2 C veg oil for frying (I used olive oil)
now the original recipe doesn't call for this but I added: 1 can of small shrimp (would do again)

Directions:
1. In large bowl, combine zucchini, egg & butter. Stir in seasoned crumbs, onion & Old Bay. Mix well.
2. Shape mixture into patties. Dredge in flour.
3. In a med skillet, heat oil over med to high heat til hot. Fry patties in oil til golden & brown on both sides.

beauty in flight

running through the Dairy Queen drive thru!!!

Thoughts on Brie & her ECing @ almost 6mos old

Brie on the potty @ 5mos

The above 2 pics are Brie on her potty @4mos.

Her stools are loosing their bm poo look & now becoming more solid since we've started solids a bit more regularly. The girl likes our ECing (elimination communication) & really chooses to poo on her little bunny potty. She may start to have a poo in her diaper but if I catch it she really will let it finish it on the potty. In the past 3mos I can count on 1 hand how many poo diapers I had to clean up! YAY!

Pee usually we have a wet diaper but if I put her on her potty she will use it for pee too.

It's amazing if you pay attention & act on it what you find your babies communicating with you! For those who find it hard to understand. Don't you watch your little ones for when they are tired? hungry? wanna play? They also have signals to let you know they have to eliminate too. Those signals change as they get older & mature. No they can't do it on their own for quite a while but they can't feed themselves in the beginning either. It's just about watching your child & choosing to act on those signals & if we have a miss communication, no big deal. I just think of ECing as saving one diaper at a time & my daughter not having pee or poo next to her sensitive bum for a long period of time.

my mock crab cakes

Made with zuccunni, onions, Old Bay & bread crumbs. I added tiny whole shrimp to it too but the recipe didn't call for it. They were VERY good. A definate do-again.

Mom, I REALLY don't like cereal

'They' say that it takes up to 10 times for a child to taste something before they will accept a new food. Well, we are way over that now & Brie still doesn't like her cereal. Give the girl water, puffed millet or frozen fruit pops the girl will scream when you take it away & dive bomb you. But I can't get her to eat cereal. I've tried rice & oatmeal both are not a fav in her book. The closest I can get her to eat her cereal is with pear juice to thin it out. Not even breast milk which is what the above pic is with.

time for an adjustment

My chiro thought it was really funny that I was taking a pic of the table for my blog. She got a laugh but thought the 365 idea is great!

polar bear winking at us!

Today we went to the zoo. We visited the polar bear exhibit. They had the male & female bears seperated. This is the female bear. They are trying to fatten her up for the winter. I found out that polar bears have delayed implantation of their young. That's to make sure that their body is fully ready to carry an offspring. Very amazed how God designed these bears!

the bounty from my garden

From my garden- plum tomatoes, squash, zucchini & green pepper along with fresh oregano. Simmering this evening for some fresh spaghetti sauce for tomorrow's dinner. What I didn't take a pic of is the fresh bread rising next to it that will be baked tonight!

getting ready for the morning

I'm now addicted to grinding my own beans. Awww.... so much better.

newest type of hand dryer

Went to the new section of TowsonTowne Mall today. This was in the ladies rest room. Never seen this type of hand dryer b4 but it sure was powerful. Gotta be since it's a Dyson. :-)

visiting with my grandparents

Mom-Mom with Brie @ the lake.

Mommy with her girls. Lyssie is finally getting over some of her fear of water & Brie just enjoyed herself splashing in the lake. It's a spring fed natural lake outside WInchester VA in my parents mountain community. They just put down new sand each year to keep it fresh. THe water was crystal clear & very comfortable (except where the springs fed in & it was freezing).

Lys on the sand coming outta the water,. The divit behind her is the spring leading to the lake.

Brie with her Great Grandmother.

Lyssie & Brie with their Great- Grandfather. What a blessing to see all these generations under one roof.

Rats, didn't get a pic of newly thined out PopPop with his girls. Will have to do next time. Finally my dad had soem energy & really actually played with Alyssa. She loved the attention from her Pop-Pop & it was great to see the joy on his face.

Went to visit my parents for 2 days

Meet JoJo. He's very curious of what I'm doing with that shiney thing in my hand

different perspectives

tried to change the focus of the shot. I think it turned out nicely.

I'm going to Virgina to visit my parents & Grandparents for a few days so I'll still take my pics for 365 but won't be posted til Thurs @ the earliest.

messy Brie

She's finally starting to enjoy her food. Today it was carrots with cereal. The cereal was flavored with pear juice. She liked that alot! Lyssie even got into some of the action & helped feed her sissy.

365 in Dutch Wonderland PA

Sorry about the kid in the pic. Just someone walking by when i was taking a pic of my water. Needed it bad- stay hydrated on a hot day & walking all day long.

really liked this wood carving of a bear & his woodland friends.

A Dutch Wonderland Day

We finally went to Dutch Wonderland. WE had a ball. Brie even was able to go on 2 rides with us as a family. It did rain & even rained heavy but we already had our bathing suits on & trying to find a seat around the lagoon when the rain started. Brie & I found a place we could sit outta the rain & we enjoyed watching Lys run around & play in the rain & water. Brie was a very good baby & really didn't fuss much at all. Maybe b/c we were constantly on the go. I got a greta pic of Lyssie crying over not getting her seat she wanted on the Whip ride. She could have had pink but NO she wanted a princess on the back of her car. That's pic # 3 from above. I just can';t believe how much that girl can get herself worked up over something like that.

We ended up our day at a wonderful Chinese Buffet. We all enjoyed it but this was the time Brie decided to melt down but who could blame her it was 7p & her bedtime. We all got home @ 9:30p & Lys was still up @ MN. Silly girl!