Friday, April 29, 2011

The Royal Wedding....

So I am currently sitting in my bed with both of my daughters watching the Royal Wedding. I wish I could sit here the rest of the morning and finish watching all the coverage and love on my girls but with today being the last selling day of the month that won't be happening. Jolie came in my room about 20 minutes ago and I told her a princess was getting married and she has been glued to it ever since. Although she did tell me she wants to be a princess too. I guess we all kind of doing....however, I just hope she grows up feeling as special as a princess everyday and that wil be enough for me.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Is it a full moon????

Just wondering if there is a full moon going on...such weird things have happened to me over the last few days....here is my list of recent craziness and just all around funny stories!!!

1. This morning I got up, got dressed, I picked up Avery, her boppy pillow, my pump bag and started down the stairs in my super cute kelly green shirt and white skirt. About half way down the stairs I hear Avery have a blowout in her diaper, I don't thing much about it, this happens all the time, she is a 4 month old infant. I get to the bottom of the stairs, I put down the pillow and other things and look down to realize there is poopy on her leg, outside of her diaper, I still don't think too much of this, I grab her extra outfit, put her on her changing table and begin to change her diaper when I realize that not only is poopy on her leg, it is on my green shirt and ALL over my white skirt. So obviously Mommy had to come back upstairs and rework the outfit for the day. I then had to wash out/rinse my clothes and start laundry, not a good start to my morning!

2. Tonight, Rich and I had just finished eating dinner when I noticed our two cats were messing with something on the floor by the dining room table. I walk over there and they take off to half way up the stairs, one of them has something in his month. They get half way up the stairs and stop and play with something. I look...only to realize it is a real large half dead/half alive lizard. I of course immediately insist Rich take care of this situation. Rich gets it way from the cats and throws it out the front door...who knows where that ended up.

So after I re-read my short list of oddball occurrences I have just realized maybe it isn't a full moon....it must be some sort of black hole on my staircase, about half way up.

In other news....Rich is surveying his week of Daddy Daycare with the girls although with the exception of Monday he has only ended up having one girl most the day, I will however give him all the credit in the world though because he is handling it all like a champ. The girls are having a great time. Jolie got to spend yesterday with some Daddy time at the playground in the mall plus some arcade time and a little food court lunch while my mother-in-law watched Avery. Then last night Jolie spent the night at my Mom and Dad's house and then this morning Poppy took her to the Aquarium and for a Trolley ride from downtown to Ybor City and back and some lunch and then a nap at Mimi and Poppy's house, she had a great time. Tomorrow the girls will be with Rich all day but I thing the plan is to stick around the house and play. Rich has recently taught Jolie to play Mario Kart on the Wii so I think there maybe some racing in store for them tomorrow. I on the other hand have 2 long, hard, important days ahead of me at work, it is the end of the month, the end of our goal cycle and 1/3 through the final quarter for two of our largest suppliers, needless to say the pressure is on!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

For Easter Lunch at my Mom and Dad's I need to make an appetizer so like any girl in a hurry I googled "easy spinach and artichoke dip recipe" from the grocery store because i almost forgot about it and the first option on the list was a recipe from www.allrecipes.com....so since I was in the grocery store and the ingredient list was fairly simple I went for it but did make one change. So here is the recipe as I made it....

Easy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 envelope vegetable soup mix (I picked the dried peas out because I hate peas)
1 (14 ounce)can artichoke hearts, drained
1 package frozen spinach leafs, thawed and drained
1 cup Italian Blend Shredded Cheese (6 cheese)

Directions:
1. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and soup mix in a large bowl, mix well.
2. Stir in artichoke, spinach, and 1/2 cup of cheese.
3. Cover and heat in microwave for 3-4 minutes. Then sprinkle remaining cheese on top and place in toaster oven on broil until the cheese on top is melted and slightly browed. Serve with yellow and blue tortilla chips.

Enjoy!!! I have to say it was a hit, our family totally loved it. I will also say I doubled the recipe and we have tons left over but I don't mind because I really loved it!

1 Year Blog Anniversary

In the craziness that has been our month of April, it has just been so busy,I forgot to make mention that on April 21st our little family blog turned 1 year old. We started our blog just a mere 5 days after we found out we were expected little Avery (it was long before we even knew she was a girl or had picked her name)as a way to chronicle our lives as we made the at times not easy transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4. We were so excited then to be expecting her and now we are just thrilled to have little Avery in our lives, she truly completes us. And then there is the fact that Jolie was just 2 years old then and now a year later we are about to celebrate her turning 4 and that alone is just so hard to believe.

Back to the blog....it has been a monumentous year in our lives and I think the little blog has been there every step of the way to document, it hadn't always been pretty but it has been real and it is my life and I am loving it! So Haapy Birthday The Perillo 4 Blog, cheers and here's to many more years of journaling our lives!

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone else had as great of a day as The Perillo's did! Rich and I even commented this afternoon that this may have been one of the best holidays in recent memory. We had a great lunch at my Mom and Dad's house and a little Easter Egg hunt for Jolie. It was real nice and Dad got some great pictures on his camera so I don't have one to leave you with but I will add one soon, promise. But let me say both girls looked so cute in their Eater dresses and hair bows, I loved it!

Happy Easter!!!!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Daddy's Afternoon Off

So since Rich was on Daddy duty with Avery all day yesterday and has both kids all next week for Spring Break I thought it only fair that he get out of the house for the afternoon today.  So he choose to go down to the Horse Track to watch a few races and have a couple of beers with a buddy.  He has texted me a few times for some numbers for races so I am kind of there in spirit.  Avery is currently sleeping and I am about to start with house cleaning, my least favorite weekend project, I keep saying I am going to get a cleaning lady so I don't have to spend my weekend cleaning but I still haven't done anything towards that, oh well, I digress.  But below is the picture he sent me from the ticket line at the track with the following message.

Can I get a 2, 4 exacta box please?  WTF?

So apparently even the Easter Bunny likes to wager on the horses?  Guess it is a good thing the Bunny isn't at the Dog Track....ha ha.  Happy Holy Saturday, maybe not the best activity for the day but nonetheless at least my husband is having a nice afternoon off.

A Picture Message from Mimi....

This morning when Jolie and I went to the grocery store we ran into Mimi and Poppy at the store and of course they are way more fun than Mommy and Daddy so she wanted to go home with them and they were all about it so she did.  Just a few minutes ago I received this picture in a text message from Mimi.

It is Jolie eating her lunch in a paper flower hat that my Mom had made over 25 years ago for me, I can't believe she saves all this stuff but it sure was sweet to see her in it.  We are all going over there later to color Easter Eggs so that will be really fun and means more pictures to come.

Friday, April 22, 2011

TGIF!!!!!!

It has been a reLly long time since I have been this glad to have a weekend roll around but this is the week that I was longing for Friday after 5pm! Work was tough this week, it was full of issues and problems far beyond my control but that affected me nonetheless. I worked long days and later nights, my dinner plan for most nights got trumped due to time, the kids (well mainly Jolie) were wild and the week just seemed to stand still, I really felt like there were 7 days in my work week instead of the normal 5. Although our weekend is busy too it still seems better than working. Tomorrow we are baking Easter Cookies and coloring Easter Eggs, plus I have to do all our grocery shopping and house cleaning tomorrow with Sunday being a holiday, so it is going to be busy. Sunday it will be open Easter Baskets, church, over to my parent's house for Easter Egg Hunt and then Easter Lunch and then finally home to hopefully get a little rest although a friend and I had twittered back and forth about when Mommy gets rest and we have officially decided it won't happen until the girl's go to college. With that being said I am looking at 18 more years of dark circles under my eyes and dreams of the next Friday to hurry and get here. Although I by no means want to rush the seasons of our lives...it has been so special being chosen to raise these precious little girls. I want to keep writing their stories along with them, I want to keep watching them learn and discover and see the aww in their eyes when they learn something new. I love these little girls and I can't wait to spend a great Easter Weekend with them and my wonderful husband who started his role as Mr. Mom today and even had the kids out and gave me an hour or so of quiet time at home by myself at the end of the day and for that I am totally grateful.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Random Pictures from my Blackberry and Camera

So I haven't uploaded pictures from my phone in awhile and I decided to do so this morning and I know I haven't posted many pictures lately because I have been on the I-Pad and to be honest pictures is one of the things I haven't mastered on the I-Pad yet, so for your viewing pleasure random pictures with a few random stories....

The above picture was taken on March 21st by my husband Rich while I was working as a little pick me and make me smile, it did that well, she is just so darn cute!!

The above picture was taken on March 19th right after I came home from the mall and discovered my new obsession, babies in big hair bows, I just love it!  I think she is so cute anyways but add in a giant bow that makes her look like a little gift and I could just eat her up!!

The above picture was taken on March 20th because I wanted to capture how super cute my little baby was on that day and any other day for that matter, it was just the Mom thing to do!!

This picture was taken at my parents house the day of the CRAZY storm that including a tornado that hit my warehouse/office where I work.  That was on March 31st, I even sent it to the local news channel and they used it on TV and their website, by the way where all that water is there is normally my parent's street!!

Again just a random picture because like any Mom I think my baby is the cutest!!


This is the worst, most unflattering picture of me but I am sharing it because it was a Monday that Jolie was helping me in the kitchen, she really loves that as you can see from the big smile on her face.  I was actually teaching her to use a knife and I have to say she did amazingly well, it is just amazing how fast she is growing up!

I took this picture last Sunday as the girls were laying in our bed in our master bedroom in their PJ's.  They had such a good time just playing in there.  For anyone that knows me well you know that I love my bed and thing that it is literally headquarters for my house.  I do so much from there including work, phone calls, play with my kids and then of course the normal bed stuff as well but it is for sure my favorite place to be!!

I took this picture of the sky as I drove to see my friend Sarah on Sunday morning.  The writing is upside down and hard to read but it says "Jesus Loves U" and I just thought on a day that beautiful and heaven sent it was such a fitting message and I wanted to share.

This was taken Monday night as Avery got her first taste of rice cereal that she absolutely loved!!

Now that was the end of the phone pics and then I got motivated and decided to include a few from the camera as well, here are those.
This picture was from our no kids allowed date day in March.  We didn't get to squeeze one into the month of April but we have one planned for Derby Day in May, I still have to go shop and get a dress and hat for Derby Day but I am really excited about that one, thanks to my parents monthly date days are possible and it is great for Rich and I to spend some alone time doing fun stuff.

This picture is from my Grandfather's 90th Birthday party that we threw at the end of March, this is a picture with his grand kids and of course his oldest Great Granddaughter.

Again from the 90th Birthday Party my Grandfather with his 3 children.

Poppy and his granddaughters, he loves them and they just adore him!!

This is from Avery's Christening at the end of March.

This is Avery with her God Parents, Parents, and Big Sister.

Me and Avery blowing out the candles on my 31st Birthday cake!

My Grandmother from last weekend when we celebrated her 87th Birthday!  Her actual birthday is on Easter Sunday.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Just thoughts as I am thinking them.....

So today's post is just going to be full of the random thoughts in my head for today.....

1. I have one of the worst headaches ever today, like seriously pounding! I even stopped at a 7-11 for BC powder, it is slightly better. Although I credit part of the better to the slur-pee I also picked up at 7-11.

2. Rich has officially coined a new baby related term, although not one you should say around your pre-schooler. It is "shit belt". This refers to what happens when your baby has such a big poop that it comes up the diaper and oozes out around their waist, thus creating a "shit belt". I know those of you reading this that have kids know what I am talking about and those that don't have children yet are horrified. Honestly, we should all be horrified at this scenario but it is apart of life and at least one that we can laugh at to make it a little better. By the way Avery has had 2 "shit belt" inncidents, one involved Rich who was home alone with the kids cutting her outfit off with scissors....got to laugh!

3. 4 year old birthday parties are a lot of drama....we are currently planning Jolie's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, thank goodness they serve beer that will be my saving grace. But onto the drama, everyday this week Jolie has come home from school telling Rich and I who is and is not coming to her birthday party...it changes daily based on playground dramas, too funny. In case you are wondering, the whole class is invited, although deep down I hope they don't all show up as we have to pay for the party based on the number of children that show up! I think that might be the worst bad-Mommy thing I have said all week but it's true!

4. Making an Easter basket for a 4 month old is difficult, there isn't much good stuff in the Target Dollar Spot for a baby but there is a ton there for an almost 4 year little girl. So I had to break down this morning and figure this out so we didn't have one child with nothing from The Bunny. So I opted for things we needed for her like teething rings and spoons for baby food, not exciting but practical, hopefully this doesn't scar her for life. Jolie on the other hand has a ton of fun stuff, even a really cute bunny egg toss thing that has Velcro bunny mitts with a plush egg thing...too cute plus some bubbles, coloring books and fun little stacking crayons. I know she will love it! I also got her a Bearenstien Bear's DVD about Spring.

5. I worked a 12 hour day yesterday and I feel it today, besides the headache I just feel sluggish....not fun. Leaving the house before 7 am just messes with me and for that matter so does returning from work after 7 pm. Thank goodness today was a lighter day then yesterday!

6. Rich's back is hurting him really bad this week and I feel so bad for him as he just looks like he is dying....I even had to put the leash on the dog for him this morning so he didn't have to bend unnecessarily. He is at the chiropractor's office this afternoon, hope it helps as next week is Spring Break and he is on Mr. Mom duty for the week with both girls, I think he will be ready to go back to work after a week of that!

I think that is all I have floating in my head this afternoon....will keep you posted of additional thoughts later.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Avery at 4 months

Avery turned 4 months yesterday but had her 4 month doctor's appointment today so I held off writing this post until today so I had all the information on her size to share.  Anyone that ask I tell them she is a big baby, I am constently trying to remember if Jolie was this big at this age and if it is normal to have a child this size, she really is that big and it was proven at the doctor's office this morning, she is nearly off the charts for her age.  I always remind people that only know me or don't know Rich well that my husband is 6 feet, 5 inches tall because both of the girls have his height as well all know they did not get that from me, although I do remind Rich that I did an amazing job "cooking" them in the oven.  So without further ado here are the stats on our "little" girl
height: 25.75 inches, 94th percentile
weight: 16lbs. 8 oz, 96th percentile
head circumference:17.13 inches, 96th percentile

WOW, she is getting so big so fast, part of me wanted her to stay smaller longer knowing she is our last baby but as you can see that dream is gone.  She wears 6 month clothes but they are getting small and I haveeven taken out some 6-9 month clothes and those barely fit as well.  This weekend we bought her a bathing suit and had to buy a 12 months size.  The way she is growing she will be catching up to Jolie before we know it!  Dr. Anton says she is doing great and progressing at a normal pace with her milestones.  He also cleared her to eat solid foods so tonight I will be making her some rice cearl and starting her on that.  I am hoping with the addition of some solids it will help her stretch out her bottles a little bit as I feel like all we do is feed her and that she is always hungery.  After the cearl goes well for a week or two then it is on to veggies, starting with the orange and yellows first and then the greens and after that fruits.  I can't believe my little tiny baby is going to be eating food already.

Avery's likes at 4 months are:
-being held in a sitting position and her bumbo
-chewing on anything, her hands, her toys, her burp cloth, blanket, anything
-bath time
-her big sister, she loves her so much and smiles when Jolie talks and sings to her, which Jolie really likes too so that is awesome!
-sitting in her bouncy seat watching Mommy make dinner

Avery's dislikes at 4 months are:
-getting dressed and undressed
-the sun in her eyes when she is outside
-not being able to see Mommy
-being on her tummy, she is not a fan of tummy time, which is funny because Jolie loved tummy time
-the 30 minutes to an hour before she goes bed, that is for sure her fussy time



I feel so blessed to have both of my girls, I was just commenting to Rich the other night how complete our family feels and how it already seems as though Avery has been a part of our family forever even though she is only 4 months old.  I am really excited about dressing the girls up on Sunday in their Easter dresses, I know they are just going to be so darn cute!  We have plans with my Mom and Dad to color Easter eggs on Friday night so I know that will be a lot of fun with Jolie and then in just a couple of weeks Jolie will be 4 years old, that just seems so crazy!  It makes me feel so old!!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

A little of this, a little of that....

So here it is a Saturday night at 10 pm and while most people, probably even a lot with kids are out on dat nights this is what our family looks like....
Jolie is in bed, Rich read her a story that ended about 30 minutes ago and she is watching a little TV and is either on her way to being passed out or already is.

Rich is downstairs laying on the couch watching some sort of sporting event, I would imagine either hockey or baseball if I had to guess.

Avery is asleep after a long, tummy filling bottle about 15 minutes ago. My goodness is that child an eater!!! She goes for her 4 month doctors appointment on Monday morning and I sure hope he gives us the green light to feed this child real food because she needs that to try to satisfy her appetite!

And then there is me who is sitting in bed, watching Lockup Raw on TV typing this blog post. Wow,this is where I am in life...I use to always have great weekend plans and do all sorts of really fun stuff but unfortunately life has officially happened to me! And to be honest I love it!!! I had a great afternoon/evening with the kids and that is what makes it all worth it! The girls and I were at my Mom's for dinner to celebrate my Grandma's 87th Birthday and it was just fun, both of the girls behaved well and it was enjoyable. I also got to have a great lunch of just "the girls" which was my Grandma, my Mom, my Aunt, and myself. It was so nice to hang with them and tell stories and laugh and have secrets come out and the whole 9 yards, it was such an enjoyable day.

My Aunt has been in town a lot lately but leaves mid day tomorrow, it is going to be odd not having her here for awhile, hopefully she is able to come back and visit again over the summer. Although we are starting to work on the possibility of a big, family get together up in NC at Mom and Dad's cabin for 4th of July next year, that will be GREAT!!!

I am on thei-pad again so excuse any typos...still getting use to this thing and I am starting to feel like my eyes are shutting on their own so I think it is time forme to sign off for the evening.

In closing, I will say my heart goes out to all the tornado victims around the central US and in the South, you are in my thoughts and prayers.... Please stay safe as you begin your clean up effort and know that God will lead you through the rough and muddy waters you now face. May you and your family be together, that is the important part, the rest can always be rebuilt. God Bless and Night, Night!!!!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Late Night/Early Morning Rants

So after re-reading my last few post written on my I-Pad in the wee hours of the day I have decided that might not be the best time for me to be writing....1. I have tons of errors in grammar and spelling, particly because of the I-Pad and then the rest I blame on the time of day and lack of sleep, while my spelling is marginal at best it is better than it appears in those post. And 2. I go on and on and on and just rant constantly, this I blame entirely on the lack of sleep and thus lack of ability to actually communicate.

So tonight I am writing this post before 9 pm, although it might not be much better as I am whipped and keep wondering why it isn't Friday yet because it feels as though it should be. I have just had an emotionally draining week. As Rich and I ate dinner tonight we discussed those 2-3 hours of Jolie's hands being really bad yesterday felt like an entire day, having a sick child is awful. I think I was having flashbacks of when Jolie was in the hospital for a week when she was 15 months old. The good news is the medicine she is on is working like a charm and her hands are so much better. She stayed home with my parents today just in case but she was fine and even got sent to time out for taking a book that was my Mom's and when Mom asked for it she ran off, around the house and my Mom chased her to retrieve it. As I envision that in my head it makes me chuggle but she did need a time out.

Work was busy today and I had a ride with but it was much less crazy than yesterday so that made things better....thank goodness!

Since I am so tired and Jolie is in bed already and Avery looks tired I think I had better take this opportunity to quit writing and get things done and to bed before someone wakes up and needs me in the middle of the night. Nite, nite!!!!

The crazy things I've seen lately....

I think I might start a regular post called the crazy things I've seen lately as it seems as though the crazy's have been out in full force lately....here is what I saw just yesterday.

1. People on a street corner during rush hour traffic with signs and a megaphone protesting the red light cameras that send out tickets if you run red lights. The signs said things like "one nation under closed circuit television" and they were saying things like "the government wants you to feel safer with red light camaras, do you feel safer because you paid a $300 ticket". Well the ticket isn't $300 and people are better drivers where those camaras are...oh, I digress I forgot to mention in addition to the above mentioned dumbness the was also TV crews out there from every local TV station doing live, on the scene shots, it was ridiculous, by the time all those people were added in the mix there were more TV people than protestors and somehow this made the 5 and 6 o'clock news yesterday....wow, must have been a really slow new day!

2. In the worst fashion statement I have seen in a really long time....I was driving through the Publix Parking Lot after picking up Jolie's medicine and I am driving past a laundry mat in the shopping center and walking out the door and across the street is a rather pregnant youg girl wearing a half shirt. I am not lying it was for sure half of a t-shirt (made that way not cut to be that way. So the shirt came to the top of her big, pregnant belly and then there was belly and then the lovely waistband of maternity jeans. I have been pregnant twice, one time rather recently and I would have never thought about wearing a half shirt, I wouldn't even think of it now....craziness!!!!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Can you really handle all that you are given?

So I have always said "God only gives you what you can handle". I am beginning to wonder if someone lost track of all I have been given or if anyone is paying attention to all that is on my plate. This week has been a total zoo, it feels as though it should be Friday, however, news flash it is merely Tuesday and I still have three full, very busy work days left to the week. So let's recap on the crazy I have going on up in here, I know one day I will look back on this blog and be like wow, did I really complain that much?, was I really always that stressed?, did I really think it was that hard. Who knows what the answers will be but for this season in life I am going to just document the crazy and hope that one day I look back and laugh. So since Friday here is the quick recap.....

Friday:
Take day off, do work in the a.m., anyways, run around, do errands, go to the worst place in America the Child Readiness Office to get VPK Certificate for Jolie, the place smells of poop and has a ton of women with their children that don't really look like they should be Moms. Grandma has surgery, we worry, she does well, spend all day at hospital.

Saturday:
Rich plays golf and goes to friend's house to watch Master's. I stay with kids all day, I think to self..."self would you be considered a bad person if you tell your nearly 4 year old child you have changed your name and it is no longer Mommy?". This occurs after the 1378th time it is said in the day, I do however decide that might make me a bad person and decide not to tell her that but I sure thought it. Grandma goes home, is doing okay, sore but okay.

Sunday:
I have to work from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm at big Bern's Wine Fest, fun but not fun...I get to hang with my friend Jenn, thank goodness. After done we walk the million mile walk to the parking garage. I go see Grandma, come home, make dinner, clean, go to bed, actually one of the best days in recent memory which might be kind of sad!

Monday:
Starts early with call from MIL saying she is really sick again, Rich has FCAT starting today, can't take day off, however, arranges to leave early to take her to dr appointment, dr says she is very sick and gives a ton of medication and shots, etc. Doesn't rule out hospital stay but says not yet. My husband gets her back home and settled, runs errands for her and gets home really late but she is better. I on the other hand spend sometime and eat dinner with my Mom, Aunt, and Grandma with my girls. That was the highlight of any otherwise stressful day.

Tuesday:
Better known as the worst day in the bunch....
Jolie is up at 4 am, so is Avery...both go back to bed til almost 7. I have to wake up Jolie, she immediately tells me her hand hurts, I look at it....appears to be a small, single line scrape on palm of left hand, I tell her she would be fine, no worries, I put on a little aquapor and send her on her way. She tells the teacher as soon as we get to school it hurts but I tell them I put a little cream on it but it is fine. My Mom picks her up about 2:30 and calls me saying she is now crying about her hand hurting and then goes on to describe something way worse than I say in the am. So I call the peditrician's office and try to describe to them....they aren't sure what it is but think I should bring her in....since I am now worried and my Mom has both children by herself I race from work to my Mom's house to get her to doctor's. My Mom is right it looks awful and Jolie is not her happy, normal self. Dr. says it is Cellulitous (not sure how to spell it) but that it is spreading, not contagious (thank God for little Avery's sake and my sanity or what is left of it). It is going up her arm because it is in her lymph nodes, gives us prescription for antibiotic, we have 24 hours for it to stop spread before we have to take her back and that is very serious, this is somewhat minor in contrast at this point. So far after a lot of whining and crying she is now happily sleep and so is Avery.....that might be a clue I should be too.... In fact I think I will and I will finish off later.....Well I left off on the post around 10 pm, now it is 2:45am and I am typing with one hand, holding a bottle with the other and pumping at the same time because after I went back to work there was no more nursing because Avery got to use to a bottle. So I put into each day the major highlights of the crazy but there was still the little things too, you know, the everyday stuff like the getting up several times a night for months on end for both children, work being busy and the pressures mounting as we prepare to hit some crazy large numbers.
It just feels as though there is too much for me to handle and it just leads me to the title of this post how do we know we can handle all we are given? Not to mention, what is the definition of handling? In my world as of late that means there will be tears involved on someone's part, possibly screaming, worry, guilt as a Mother, guilt as a wife, sleepless nights, time spent in prayer....did I handle it? I am not sure the answer but I do know I am almost full up and I sure hope someone realizes that!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Praises....

*I started this post last night but didn't finish editing it til this morning so it is a little late but still holds true this morning*

My family and I owe the Lord a lot of praises this evening....
As I sit to type this post I am sitting in the hospital next to my almost 87 year old Grandmother who had a pacemaker/defibrillator combo putting in just hours ago and she is truly doing well. It is so amazing the medical advances that we have, where they can go in and put a small, battery operated device and your heart instantly beats better, you feel better and WOW....the Lord worked miracles through not only my Grandma's doctors who successfully implanted the device but the amazing doctors that invented this little device.  We praise the Lord for the blessing that is today and the successful operation.  Thank you to all my friends that sent good wishes to me and my family today we thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Grandma should be going home late Saturday afternoon to finish recovery for the next 10 days to 2 weeks, I pray for a speedy and successful recovery.  I am thankful for all the well wishes of friends and the extra prayers for Grandma, the power of prayer is truly amazing!

Saturday I will be home with both of my girls most of the day and will be using the day to hopefully get caught up on cleaning around the house, although with two young, demanding children by myself it might not be the easiest task.  Rich is going to play golf and then to a friends house to watch the Master's and eat dinner, I am glad he is getting a break but I totally wish I was getting one too!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend, will recap our weekend Sunday or Monday.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

31 years ago today......

Where were you 31 years ago today? Not that I remember in the least but 31 years ago today I entered the world the oldest daughter of my parents. Things were different back then, no one went for 20 week ultrasounds to find out the sex of thier child, my Mom didn't get to have ultrasound pictures of me all along the way like I did with my girls, it was almost primative back then, if you weren't high risk you actually had no ultraounds, just some prenatal vitamins and doctor's appointments, you might have taken a a birthing class but many women didn't, most women didn't even breastfeed back then, they honestly believed that formula was better for babies back then. It all seems so crazy, I remember asking my Mom about pregnancy and delivery when I was pregnant with both of my girls and it was then that I realized her expeirence was so different from my expierence with my girls. Crazy to think that 31 years ago today I was a 7 lb. baby girl that was resting happily in my parent's arms for the first time. I can only imagine that much like Rich and I felt the day both of our girls were born it was a great day in my parents life, I wonder what they thought I would be like 31 years later, hopefully I have made them proud over the years.

I started my morning this morning with a 4:20 am feeding with Avery and then a 5 am wake up call from Jolie then it was a quick shower, get dressed, open cards from hubby and children, open my gift of a beautiful tennis bracelet from my hubs and kids I really love it! Then it was a mad dash to get to the office for meetings, then all morning and part of the afternoon then it was orders and what not and then finally home, then off to dinner with the family, my Grandma, Mom, Aunt, Rich, Jolie, Avery, and of course me, it was a very nice dinner and then we came back to our house for my most favorite cake and now the evening is winding day. Rich was amazing at trying to be sure my birthday was special and it was....I loved everything he did but it sure was a long day but nonetheless a great start to my 31st year....so here is to another year, hopefully full of more joy then sorrow.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Toys and Kid Stuff...........

So currently I am taking a breather on the couch, watching, well at least listening to the 6 o'clock News, and then it is off to finish up the cleaning of the downstairs of our house and then on to the kitchen to make dinner for the family.  But it is in my cleaning of the downstairs that I came up with a question.....here it goes.  I know so many of my friends, that hopefully read my blog, well hopefully someone reads it besides me, any way I digress, have small children like myself, some of my friends work in the home and some outside of it but that doesn't even matter in this question, this question just has to do with the kids.  So is it just our house or does it happen every where to everyone, in that your living room, in our case the downstairs of our house is just overwhelmed with kid's stuff, I mean there is no hiding it when you walk in the front door that children live in our home, I feel as though Babies R Us has thrown up in my main living space and for that matter every room in my house.  We have a pack n play, bumbo seat, bouncy seat, two toy bins of Jolie's stuff under the front console table, sing-a-ma-jigs galore, small children seats, you name it, it is just everywhere and I guess it is just the stage of life we are in but I so want an adult space.  Even my master bedroom and bathroom are over run with kid stuff, I have a bassinet, a bouncy seat that I use when I take a shower, clothes that have been folded but await someone with 5 minutes to put them away, a little kid's bathtub, just stuff ,then of course there is the kid's rooms which look like toy stores as neither of our kids are doing with out much, well I don't really think they are doing without anything.  Although I guess that is the American Dream, to give your children more than you had and since I wasn't missing much, my kids aren't either!  So just a quick break from cleaning rant on all the kid's stuff we have laying around....I am always reminded of this on cleaning day as I swear I could clean faster if there was less stuff!!!

Good Sunday Morning....

Avery had a small rough patch in the night around 1:30 am but she did eventually go back to bed, thank goodness I was super tired. Her and I had a great night alone last night, it just felt so easy and quiet. TheO's beat the Rays again so Rich came home happy, plus he got the free giveaway of the night which was a Longoria Baseball glove, sure Jolie will end up with it. Now I have to run, got to get ready for church and pick up Jolie on the way.

We hope you have a wonderful Sunday filled with worship, family, and friends!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Saturday Fun....

So after a rocky start to our day with a restless night of sleep our day has turned out to be wonderful!  Avery finally went down for good sleep from about 4 am until about 6:30 am, I think she might be cutting teeth and that might have been what lead us to a restless night and thus my 3 am post, hopefully my post makes sense, I might have to go back and re-read and thus edit so that it sounds normal as opposed to the sleep deprived rambling rant that I sure it is.  Anyways, enough of that and on to our really nice Saturday. 

This morning around 8am, Rich and the girls followed me to the car repair shop and I dropped my car off for an oil change, tire rotation, new windshield wiper blades, etc, the place was having a special so it actually wasn't that expensive so that was a pleasant surprise.  Then we came home and Rich went over to my Grandma's house to mow her lawn and trim a bush for her, he goes there for this almost weekly if not every other week to help her and I think it is really nice of him.  Then Rich came home and watched the girls and I was able to take my Mom out for a nice lunch, just the two of us as a little "thank you for all you do to help me" lunch, needless to say a simple lunch can't even begin to describe all I owe her for but at least she knows that I am grateful for the help and that I value her as so much more than my Mom these days.  I think my Mom has become my best friend over the years since I have become a mother myself I find myself asking for her opinion more than ever and I take her advice to heart anytime she offers it.  After a nice lunch we ran into Walmart to try and find Jolie a few school/play clothes as she is changing sizes and the weather is warming up, we weren't very successful as it appears there are tons of other children her size that beat us to the 5T clothes, oh well, a trip to the Target might be in order for tomorrow.  After that she dropped me at the car repair to pick up my car, it was ready to roll again!  Then we came home and I packed up Jolie's little "Going to Grandma's" suitcase and off she went with Mimi for a sleepover.  I packed her little bathing suit as well and she had a great time swimming at my parent's house with them so that's cool.  Jolie truly loves the time she spends with my parents, it is so nice to see as I fondly remember sleepovers at my Grandparent's house as a child as well, I love that Rich and I have decided to for go career moves to stay near family, it is honestly worth so much more than the financial rewards of a job far away from all of this.

Not long after Jolie left, Rich left as well to take his Mom to the Baltimore O's Baseball Game as they are in town playing the Rays, the O's won last night on opening night but for Rich's delight I sure hope the O's can win again tonight!  So that leaves Avery and I home alone for the evening.  So I feed her, made myself some dinner, we did some Avery tummy time, she sat in her Bumbo for the first time and now is taking a little snooze in her boppy on the couch next to me as I type this post to tell all you folks about our day. 

The pregame view from Rich's seats at the Baseball game, he sent it to me on the blackberry already, got to love technology.


This was Avery's first time in the boppy!

After writing all this our day doesn't sound like much but I have to tell you after the super busy weekend we had last weekend this was just what the Perillo's need, a slow paced, nice day!  Tomorrow will be a chill day as well, after going to church in the morning Jolie and I will be grocery shopping and doing a BJ's run and then it will be cleaning the house and then unfortunately that will be the end of our weekend and we will be getting ready to do another work week.  It will again be a busy week as I turn 31 on Thursday and then my Grandma has heart surgery on Friday and my Aunt flies in Thursday afternoon to be with Grandma.  So I will be taking the day off on Friday to be with her and my family so the other four days in the work week are sure to prove extremely busy. 

I also have to get a ton of pictures posted to the blog this week, it might end up being a slide show of stuff as I have so many things to share but it is a priority of mine for the week to get it done!  I did however include a few pictures of our day today just to show you Baby Avery really is getting SO big, SO quickly!  And just so you know I am serious about more pictures below are a few that were on my Blackberry, I will download from the regular camera one day this week, maybe tomorrow if I get a few minute.


In the wee hours of the night....

So it is a little after 3 am, yes that is 3 in the morning and I know, normal people are in bed fast asleep by now. Or if I was still in college or even in my early 20's I would be just coming home from the bars but tonight I am up for a very different reason, I am up because I have a very restless child, she has never really acted like this in her short 3 1/2 month life so it worries me but I think I have her better, she just ate and seems to be asleep, and asleep peacefully. She has spent the last several hours in a dull whine in her sleep along with just wiggling around, she has woken up twice in a full on cry and this is from a little girl that normally goes to bed about 10 pm and wakes just to eat about 4-5 am. It is unusual for her but of course happens on a Friday night when I am exhausted, I just hope she is okay though. Well, hopefully this is good night for the rest of the night, good night will update tomorrow, well really it is just later today.....Good Night!

Friday, April 1, 2011

It was way worse than I thought....

So yesterday I wrote a some what light hearted post about the weather and my hatred of rain on work days. When I wrote that post I had no idea what the day would be like, I didn't realize we would end up getting more than 5 inches of rain or that there would be tornados all over the place, including one that it my office/warehouse. That's right folks, my office where I sometimes work from was hit by a tornado and part of the roof was ripped off and then it proceeded to rain inside the building, the good news: no one was injured, the bad news it hit our POS department and no that doesn't stand for piece of **it, it stands for Point of Sale, which is where we house things like display racks, coupons, case cards, bar accessories, so it wasn't just cases of booze that were damaged. The crazy part was I was suppose to go there and pick up a few things my friend/supplier left for me from that very department but I decided I would wait til today to go because I didn't want to go in the rain or fight the traffic, guess God was truly looking out for me, it is amazing the danger he can keep us out of. I stayed fairly safe for the day but I will say it was not my best selling day zas so many accounts were busy dealing with their own rain/water issues. But it was certainly safety first in The Perillo House, including when my Mom went to get Jolie from school because she has an Expedition that sits high up and Rich struggled to leave work as the area he works in floods easily so that was an adventure all it's own for Rich. My parent's street flooded the worst it has in years but it worked out and we were all safe with no property damage, can't be any luckier than that. Although my heart goes out to those with damage or injuied, you will be in my prayers.