March

We had a lot of fun last month. We took a trip to the Oakland Zoo and Madison had a ton of fun seeing all the animals and riding the rides.





We've been going for walks with our new stroller, going to Fairlytale Town and hanging out with Sidney. She's already 10 pounds and last week she laughed and rolled over for the first time. I think Madison was more excited than anyone else. She jumped up and started screaming "She rolled all by herself!"





We've also been moving all my craft supplies out of Sidney's room and into the front room. You just don't realize how much crap accumulates until you have to move it all. Hopefully she'll be sleeping in her own room in a couple weeks.

During all the fun I have managed to do some scrapbooking.













I am starting A Week In the Life next week and I'm really excited about it. It's going to be a lot of work but I'm hoping I can have it all put together the week after.

My New Bob

We have had a very busy week. Last week I was back at work. It was super busy and I loved it. Since I'm only working 15 hours a week for now, the days flew by.

I was planning on hiring a personal trainer after Sidney was born, but now that I'm already back at work, I don't want to take any more time away from the girls. So I decided to use the money I had saved to buy a Bob Revolution stroller instead. It is crazy expensive but I love it! I never thought I could love a sroller so much but I do. We've been going for long walks and Madison loves it.



Mike's mom is in town for the next few weeks so Madison has been getting to spend time with Grandma. She always comes with tons of presents. Madison now has a new summer wardrobe. Here are some of the new outfits:







Madison and Sidney have been getting along great. Madison still loves to hold and sing and play with Sidney and Sidney is starting to smile and make cute little baby noises.



And just because I like this picture:

5 Weeks

I can't believe Sidney is already 5 weeks old! She is sleeping at night and is starting to stay awake for good chunks of time during the day. We've been having lots of fun going for walks, playing dress up and taking lots of pictures. Here are a few from this past weekend:







And I have finally found some time to do a little crafting.







Next week I will be going back to work part time. I wasn't planning on going back at all until the middle of April, but apparently, the temp wasn't doing a good job and I was offered a nice big bonus to come back a little early. I'm only working a few hours three days a week, so I couldn't pass it up. I'm already sad to have to leave Sidney at daycare, but excited to get dressed up again and be around adults.

We've had lots of sleepless nights here, but this morning everything felt like it was getting back to normal. I would never have guessed the emotional roller coaster that would come with having two children. Every time I leave one of them, I feel guilty like they're being ignored. Combine that with hormones that are still out of control, rainy weather and no sleep and it's not good. The tears just don't stop.

Last night Madison had a stuffed up nose and couldn't stop crying because she couldn't breathe. All I wanted to do was take care of her but I had a baby to feed and I didn't want to get sick and pass it along to Sidney. So Mike stayed with her all night and of course, I was crying, again.

Luckily, Sidney went to sleep at 10:00, got up once to eat and then was up at 7:30 this morning. Everything felt normal again, probably because I wasn't sleep deprived. I just don't do well without a routine.

Yesterday we had just a couple hours of sun before the rain started again. Madison and I took our babies for a walk. This is what she wore to go walking:



And Sidney all bundled up:



Hopefully, Sidney will sleep well again tonight and I can start scrapbooking again. I miss it. With all the midnight feedings, I've been online looking at different scrapbook blogs and have lots of inspiration!

Sidney Mickel

She's finally here. Sidney was born on January 14 at 12:53 p.m. We came home from the hospital and we had one day before Mike left for New Orleans. It has been a rough few days. I forgot just how cranky and emotional I get when I don't sleep for days on end.

And to top it all off, Mike called Monday night and told me his ATM card was stolen. I checked our account online and someone wiped out our checking account. It was not a good night. I called the bank and they couldn't do anything for me over the phone. I had to go into the bank branch the next morning, taking both girls out in the stormy weather, and straighten everything out. It took forever. We finally got everything fixed but it will take a few weeks to get our money back.

Mike finally comes home today and I can't wait to go to sleep!

2 More Days

The countdown in on. I am so ready to have this baby. I can barely stand up on my own, it take me forever just to roll over when I'm sleeping, and I am huge! I keep thinking about all the things I can't wait to do when I have this baby:

Run
Ride my bike
Have a glass of wine (or tequila)
Sit without feeling the bottom of my stomach on the tops of my legs (such a gross feeling)
Walk in a straight line, not side to side
Sleep on my stomach
Stand up from a chair in less than 20 seconds (that really is a long time)
Eat a Caesar salad from Jacks
Not have to pee every 20 minutes

Last week I watched the movie Julie and Julia and I loved it. I have not stopped cooking since I saw it. I got out my favorite cookbook, and marked a ton of stuff. I've made enchiladas, bruschetta, chicken pot pie, creme brule (so good), key lime pie, cookies, biscuits and a few things that were not very tasty so they are not worth mentioning. Now I've got to start marking those "healthy" meals I'll be eating for the next few months. I've got to get back into my regular clothes by the time I start work.

Here is one more scrapbook page I did this weekend:

4 More Days

I can't believe in 4 days (or less, maybe) I will have another baby. Yikes! We'll be starting all over again with diapers, and midnight feedings. Just when things were calming down with Madison, we will start again. I am excited, though, even if it doesn't sound like it.

Last week Mike's brother and his family came to visit and brought Maidson a birthday present. All I can say is, Uncle Johnny will forever be her favorite uncle. She is still asking when she gets to see Uncle Johnny again. Take a look at what she got:



Just look at that monster! She got a little scared when she first sat down and pressed the gas pedal. Once we disconnected the battery and she could sit on it without being afraid, we couldn't get her off. She likes to sit backwards and stand on the seat like she's doing tricks. She can't get enough of it.

Lately, Madison has been posing for all her pictures with her eyes closed. I keep having to remind her to smile with her eyes open. That's when we end up with pictures that look this this (I can't stop laughing every time I look at this picture):



And finally, a few more scrapbook pages:

What I Love About Maternity Leave

Lots of free time! Well, today anyway. I spent the morning working on a scarf, got my hair done, came home and did some scrapbooking and now I'm going to do some cleaning and start cooking dinner. I love not having to be somewhere I don't want to be, or do all my errands on a Saturday morning because that's the only time I have available. It's nice to just relax and do things when I feel like it.

It has been so long since I've done any scrapbooking. Our extra room has been a junk room since we moved in and I finally cleaned it out and had Mike paint it. I bought a new desk and hung my pictures on the wall. I love this room. I've got a few months now to get Madison's scrapbook up to date and start on Sidney's. Here are the pages I did today.

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. Madison got so much fun stuff, she didn't even know what to play with first. We stayed at home this year instead of heading out to the Bay Area. My mom and Lisa and the kids all stayed at our house. It was a crazy few days.

Madison riding her new tricycle and collecting leaves.



Madison holding Heidi, getting in some practice before Sidney arrives.



Madison and Jackson. Don't they look like boyfriend and girlfriend?



Heidi wearing her new "Auntie Sandi" hat.



My favorite picture. Getting ready to take a walk and look at all the Christmas lights. Did I mention it was crazy at my house?



Saturday morning at the train museum.



Next week will be just as crazy. Three more birthdays, New Years Eve and lots of appointments.

I am also officially on maternity leave and I can't believe I already miss work. It is really weird knowing some stranger is sitting at my desk doing my work. I don't know if I'll last for four months.

Weekend Before Christmas

We have had a great weekend. Most of my Christmas shopping was done weeks ago, so I haven't had to go to any of the crazy stores. Last night we went to a Christmas party and Madison was running around like crazy, eating every cookie she could get her hands on and then passed out on the way home.



This morning we hung out at home and Madison wanted to take pictures with Santa.



Then I did some grocery shopping at Safeway, got into an argument with the cashier, and got all this stuff for...



22 cents! That cashier kept insisting she missed some of the items because she couldn't believe the total. Most of it was from ecoupons. Ever used them? They are great. You just load them onto your club card and they automatically come off. You can get them here, here and here.

Happy Birthday Madison

I can't believe that it's been three years since Madison was born! Time flies. We took her to Chevy's for her birthday dinner and she was so excited when they sang happy birthday to her. She kept telling everyone she was a cowboy with the hat on.

Halloween

Madison had so much fun trick-or-treating, she didn't want to stop. Even though she was a ballerina this year, she kept calling herself a princess.





Sunday we went to see Disney Princess on Ice with Oma. She was waving and clapping the entire time.

Pumpkin Patch

I've totally been slacking on my blogging lately. I've been completely consumed with my coupon deals and knitting for my annual holiday boutique in a few weeks. I'm also really slowing down these days. I can't believe I'm almost 7 months pregnant. Baby can come any time now. Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. Madison had so much fun she wanted to go back every day for a week.