Last weekend, last week, and this weekend!

So I will start by saying it has felt like a whirlwind the last week. Last week Friday was my last day of my last vacation for the year and Rich and Jolie were also off because of Conference Day. So we scheduled a conference with Jolie's teachers, which went very well. We received her test scores for the first VPK testing period and she is in the top 1% of all VPK kids in the state, only missing 3 questions on the whole test. Her teachers are pleased with her progress, as are we. She is starting to read and does double digit addition in math. She is constantly spelling words, she also ask what things are in Spanish and is doing great with that. After the conference we went to Walmart for a new booster seat for her and then the drive thru at Wendy's to pick up lunch. We took both the girls and lunch to the park for a little picnic and playtime. The weather was amazing and the girls had a great time. We had a quite rest of the day and all was great.

Saturday, oh Saturday....Jolie and I had just hit the interstate to go to Ikea to get the shelve I had been talking about all week when my phone rang, it was my Aunt in Chicago. She informed me that my Grandma had fallen in her house and asked me to go check on her. I jump off the interstate and head right over. Grandma answers the door and I immediately tell her we are going to the hospital....I get her ready and we head to the ER. She looked like she had gone 9 rounds with Mike Tyson, bumps and the worst black eye I had ever seen. Rich met me at the hospital and retrieved Jolie and I cared for Grandma. Of course my Mom was still out of town so I was solely in charge. They did all the scans and what not and the good news was there was no internal injuries. As time went on she developed two black eyes and basically an entire face in bruises. I stayed with her Saturday night and Sunday morning until my Mom arrived home. My poor Mom has been staying everyday and night with her since then so this week has just been a zoo.

This past week was just full of busy, crazy times. I have so much going on and feel as though there is no time for me to breathe. Jolie has been sick all this week and Rich took off to help with her, she did a pediatrician appointment and ended up on steroids to help her breathing which has made her hyperactive which has been a challenge. She is also on breathing treatments (which is fairly common for us) as well as a puffer inhaler. So that has been busy and stressful. Then there is just the everyday going on and that is at times overwhelming.

This weekend, yesterday was pretty much devoted to a depressing day of Gator football. We recorded our 4th straight loss and I think now will be struggling to even be bowl eliagable. So it was pretty much a PJ day and we all just rested. Last night Jolie stayed with Poppy for a sleepover, she loved that because it was just the two of them and she got to do everything she wanted to do.

Today we did a little Halloween Party at my Mom and Dad's house for the girls. Jolie got to carve a pumpkin, which she loved doing. We had pizza and wings, the girls put on their costume and got to collect their treats from the family, Jolie loved that part, of course! It was nice to see everyone and we had a great time. After the party we came home, took naps, and then Jolie and I did a trip to the grocery store. She even helped cut coupons before we left and helped check things off the list at the store. It is amazing how grown up she is, it makes you wonder where the years have gone! Overall, we had a great weekend and we look forward to another busy week! Tomorrow starts at 8:30 am with Flu Shot appointments for both the girls.....as I wrote this Rich has already asked me if it was Friday yet? Ha ha!!!!

Thankful for a weekend.....

So this week I have to say I am so thankful for the weekend. It has just been so busy, we had the AC issue Sunday into Monday, Rich went back to work, I had crazy happenings at work, and it was just so overall busy! Then this next week Jolie starts VPK on Tuesday and I am sure it will be very busy as Rich starts actually teaching and my job is busy right now.

In order to recover from last week and prepare for next week I am just so glad to have today and tomorrow to relax and hang out with my family. Today, Rich is playing golf this morning and I am playing with the girls. Right now as I type Avery is playing in her step and play piano and Jolie is making a picture out of stamps. They are both quiet and happy which is awesome as I just feel like I need 5 minutes of sitting and having peace. This afternoon after Rich gets home we are taking the girls swimming in the pool, so that too will be fun. Then Rich and I are going to do takeout for dinner and we will probably watch Jersey Shore on DVR after the girls go to bed. I am going to start picking up the house in a little bit this morning but I will do the bulk of the heavy cleaning tomorrow along with a grocery store run tomorrow. Then Rich is going to grill out some ribs for dinner, yum! Then it is prepare clothes and stuff for the week and that will be the end of our weekend.

I was thinking about it the other day....I really want to know who decided that the work week should be 5 days and the weekend only 2 days? I think it should be 4 days for working and 3 days for playing, that would make things so much more equal and balanced. Every time I get a 3 day weekend it makes me feel so much better, rested and more productive because then it is easy to have a nothing/rest day and you still have 2 other days to get things done like cooking and cleaning. It is just a thought but I think everyone would be happier and more productive!

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Let me first start off by saying how grateful Rich and I as well as our girls are for all the men and women who have given their lives in defense of the freedom we enjoy. I think sometimes I go about living my life and the hustle and bussle of everyday life that I forget about all the families who have sacrificed so much for me to enjoy my everyday life. I am truly grateful for all that has been done around the world and here on our own soil to ensure I have the right to speak and live freely. Just wanted to be sure that we remember what this weekend is truly about.

Now on to how we are celebrating this weekend....yesterday I did the normal Saturday stuff, some errands, some grocery shopping, some cleaning, and some cooking. After all that was done I took Jolie over to my friend Lori's house for a cookout Birthday Party for Lori. We had a great time as Lori had 17 kids there and hired a babysitter to watch all of them as they played in the pool and in the backyard and then even went over to the neighborhood park. It was nice as I got to visit with Lori, her husband Scott and a whole crew of their friends. Jolie had a blast playing with all the kids, especially Lori's daughter Jodi. Rich stayed home with Avery as the crowd was probably too much for both of them.

Today it is more of the same weekend stuff of cleaning and what not and then we are having my parents and mother-in-law over for a little family cookout. We are going to be doing the traditional grill out of BBQ ribs and corn, I am making a little salad and it should be a great time with family. I have the girls dressed up super cute red/white/blue so that is always fun, I promise to take pictures.....

Tomorrow is going to be about family time and relaxation and I am totally okay with that!!! I think we will do some swimming in the pool and that will be as exciting as it gets, which sounds GREAT!!!! I wish every week included a three day weekend!

Hope you and your family have a very happy Memorial Day Weekend and that no matter what you are doing to celebrate that you take a minute to remember what this weekend is really about!

Our Weekend Away....

So now that we are back I will share that we went away for the weekend.  I don't like saying we are going anywhere until we are back because you never know who is reading and watching what we are doing but we went to the beach this weekend for the first time as a family of four, plus we took my mother in law with us as well.  So Rich, my MIL, and the kids went down Friday afternoon because I had to work Friday night, I went down after my tasting.  Friday night Rich sent me the below picture in an e-mail from his blackberry as they were gathering shells on the beach, she really liked that and we have a whole Ziploc bag to show for it.

Then Saturday morning we got all the beach gear packed up and Rich and I braved taking 2 children to the beach alone, I have to say we did an amazing job!  Although it felt as though we had to pack half of our house to go to the beach and half of what we took to the condo to be able to go to the beach, that part was exhausting for both Rich and I.  Here is a picture of Avery's first beach trip and then below that is a picture of both girls.

The pictures below are of Jolie and Rich playing at the Beach on Saturday morning, they both had a great time building sand castles and digging in the sand.  I have to say that the weather for the weekend was amazing, it was even a little cool in the mornings and evenings and wasn't super hot in the middle of the day.

After a morning spent at the beach with both the girls we came back to the condo, got some Chic-fil-a lunch, ate and then we ALL took a nap!  Even Avery who normally isn't a very good nap taker, took an almost 2 hour nap, it was AMAZING because Mommy actually got a nap too, that was awesome!  After great naps we all went out to the pool for a while, below are some of the pictures of Avery's first trip to the pool.

Saturday night we ordered some takeout and then had a family walk up to get some ice cream, that was fun!  Then it was back to the condo and we put the kids to bed.  I have to say a vacation with 2 small children really isn't a vacation.  Sunday morning I took Jolie out to the pool for about an hour, we cleaned up the condo, packed up, and headed home in time to make it home to eat a quick lunch and for the kids to get nap time.  So currently the kids are both sleep and so is Rich!  We have started laundry and I am about to start cleaning my house and making my grocery list.  So it is back to the norm around here, this afternoon it will be clean, shop, clean, shop, and not fun shopping grocery and household supply shopping.  But at least we got a little get away in as a family.  Rich and I were able to squeeze in a beer together on the couch of the condo on Friday night so it was kind of like a date, it was just him and I in the room, does that count??

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.

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 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.

Miscellaneous Rambilings.....

So I have been busy, I know you aren't surprised seeing as though that seems to be all I talk about on my blog these days but I promise, I am through the worst of it and ready to talk other things, things like my kids. Like the fact I am plan Jolie's 4th Birthday Party or that Avery is just 3 months old yet wears 6 month clothes, needless to say she is growing like a weed. Last weekend we had my Welo's 90th Birthday Party (today is really his b-day, so Happy Birthday Welo) then Sunday we had Avery's Christening, it was such a beautiful little service at our church and a great get together party at my parent's house, however, it did make for a busy weekend. I could also talk about the adventures of being a working Mom that is constantly on the road but also still breastfeeding/pumping, not sure if my cute little family blog is ready for me to tell all about driving and pumping or about literal spilt milk...I think that might need to be a post all it's very own, later.
I could also talk about how I am going to 31 next week, can you imagine that just sounds old.....I am pretty sure I have spent most of my life thinking it was old, now I keep trying to tell myself it isn't that bad, we'll see if I can trick myself into thinking that. I will say recently I did get a compliment of sorts, this guy that works with my Dad says to him...."is that your daughter that just had a baby in December?". My dad says yes, the guy then says "she looks pretty good for just having a baby". As previously stated I am pretty sure that was a complement and at nearly 31 years of age I will take whatever I can get.
I could talk about all the pictures I have taken lately but haven't posted because I am still confused on how to get pictures on to the I-Pad and then into a post, I am just not technical like that, however next week Thursday on my birthday, better known to most of you as April 7th my very computer savvy Aunt is coming back to town so I plan on stealing her one day to fix all my computer issues, it should be great! Although the bad part is my Aunt is coming for my Grandma to have a pacemaker/defibulator put in on the 8th, it is going to make for a very low key b-day for me, which is fine by me. I really hope my Grandma does well and that after surgery she is ready to move around, travel, and just enjoy life, right now she is just getting winded too easily.
I do have a little bit of a funny story as well....tonight Rich and I were chatting and we were discussing my birthday and he says "well I am going to tell you what I was going to get you because I can't get it, there is no way and I thought you would really like it but just no can do". I of course think for a second, what could possibly be his plan? I am thinking maybe a concert ticket or maybe Jersey Boys as they are currently in town as well. He says "I was going to get you The Jersey Shore Mallard Phone but it is ancollector's item and at $189 is litterally sold out everywhere". Now as much as I love The Jersey Shore and subsequently love the sound of that duck phone it might very well be absurd to spend nearly $200 on it but I tip my hat to my husband, he is the best gift giver every, heck I am right you this post thanks to his amazing Christmas gift this very I-Pad. So I can't wait til next week to see what Plan B is.
Other than all of what I have already discussed plus work and the zoo of two children life is pretty good and calm right now. I plan to take my Mom to lunch on Saturday to thank her for all she does then Rich is going Saturday night to see the O's play the Rays and Jolie is going to Mimi and Poppy's for a sleepover and it looks as though little Avery and I will be doing some cleaning, I have a ton of kid's clothes to put away and move, they are both changing sizes...Jolie is going into 5T and Avery into 6 months so all of Jolie's stuff gets boxed and sent to Avery's closet and all of Avery's stuff gets boxed up and saved for my pregnant with baby triplets friend, Sarah, I am going to see her on the 16th so I want to have a ton of stuff for her. But I will be cleaning the house this weekend and cooking meals for my family and just overall doing the stuff I like the most! I love the chance to be a Mom and just feel as though I am doing the most important thing in life. I know my kids are in good hands any and every time I am away from them but boy I would so much rather get to be with them more...I am still playing the lotto in order to try to make that dream come true, will let you know if I get to call in rich anytime soon!

Just when I thought the crying had stopped....

So I thought we were going to be in the clear with the screaming but I think jinxed myself with the last post because last night we were up until about 2:30 am, now I will say she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs but it was more of a whine so at least it wasn't ear piercing. I am going to continue on with the gripe water and just keep adjusting her schedule til we get it right, will continue to keep posting.

In other news, I am off to the sorority house bright and early tomorrow morning and Daddy is on Avery duty!!! Will have a post about all that early next week. Avery is up from her nap, got to run!

Weekend Recap

So this weekend was pretty quiet in The Perillo House....Saturday we hung out I did a little cleaning, that chore seems to never end, I feel like there is never a time when everything in my house is clean, I try though! Anyways, I have become such a clean freak, it is scary. Well, Saturday night several of our friends stopped by to see the kids and hang out, we ordered pizza and watched football, there was no drinking involved and it was pretty quiet other than the noises from our kids and our friend's son and Rich and I considered it a really fun party, so funny how things change as your family grows.  But it was a great time and our amazing friends brought the kids some really great gifts.  One friend brought Avery a Redskins outfit back from their recent trip to Maryland so that was pretty cool as we have a hard time finding Redskins attire here and most the time have to order it online, so that was amazing and then our other friends brought Jolie and Avery, Thing 1 and Thing 2 outfits, they are so CUTE!!!

On Sunday morning bright and early we had a photographer come to the house for professional photos of Avery for her birth announcements we also got some super cute photos of both the girls together as well as a great family photo.  It was really nice and I can't wait to get the CD from her so I can start making prints and also get the birth announcements out.  Avery has had some difficulty sleeping at night as of recent so that has made for some really long nights, the funny part is she sleeps perfectly during the day, I think we have a little day/night confusion so we are currently working on that, hopefully we correct that quickly!!  Although I will say last night was a thousand times better, I got her asleep about 9:30 after a little fussing and she slept til about 1:30 when she was stirring a little, I got up, changed her diaper she did about a half of a feeding and then went back to sleep and slept until she woke up about 4:20 at which time she ate a full feeding and then was up til about 4:30 and then slept again til almost 8 when she feed again, I have to say that felt amazing in comparison to how things have been going.  In other news I am on to yet another bladder infection and a second round of antibiotics, will be going to OB again this week to figure it all out.  With Avery's lack of sleep and my not feeling well I missed my dear friend's baby shower but I will see her this week sometime to pass off her gift and finish planning our other friend's shower.that is in just a couple of weeks.  Sorry dear friend Lora that I missed your fay but I was a hot mess on Saturday until later in the day when the medicine started to kick in, thank goodness for pain relievers.

Today is going to be a productive day, I swear to it!  This morning my Mom is already at my house watching Avery so I can take Jolie to school and then hit the grocery store, so that is done for the week.  My Mom is currently at the Club Store getting diapers for me and a few things for herself and when she gets back we are busting into the kitchen cabinet re-organization.  So I am totally excited for this, I am just plan tired of my Tupperware cabinet exploding on me every time I open it!  So I am off to the cabinet project, pictures to come in another post later this week.