Silly Kids!

Trying to do a little catching up here…………

Just a fun post to show how silly Hannah and Nicholas are!

Hannah has always thought it was fun to wear the Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head glasses. I’m not sure if Nicholas saw her do it or if he figured it on his own that it was fun too. Anyway, here they are modeling their Potato Head look (they should have swapped glasses!)

And Nicholas has also found that sitting in the fridge is evidently a good seat! It’s cute, but when it’s time to close it, usually we have a bit of a fit!

Here was the fun they discovered together one Sunday morning with the ads from the newspaper. It was definitely giving me ulcers seeing the mess, but we played a game out of the clean up too when it was over, so fun for all!

And lastly, wrestling on the floor with Daddy is becoming the thing to do at our house. Nicholas does the full on tackle to anyone laying on the floor.

They’re crazy!

Catching Up

So the good news about summer being here is that we’re busy and spending a lot of time doing things outside and out and about. The bad news about that is finding the time to update the old blog about all the fun (and not so fun) happenings of our life.

So this requires it’s own post, which I’ll do as soon as I have more time to go through finding some good pictures, but I’m sad to report that on May 21st, we said good-bye to our beloved Cody. Cody was a rescue dog when he was around a year old. Tony got him in some time in 2001 and he was pretty skinny and had been abused. He never liked the smell of beer, so we’re assuming the jerk that didn’t take care of him was a drinker. When I met Tony in 2002, Cody was still pretty rough around the edges. He had to be crated a lot of the time and peed on EVERYTHING! When we moved into this house 7 years ago, something totally changed for him. He no longer peed on things in the house (just EVERYTHING outside) and chilled out for the most part, not needing the crate any longer. He was Roman’s buddy even though often times, Cody stayed downstairs and Roman stayed upstairs. He was always so big and was a block head – literally and figuratively (not the brightest bulb and we joked that he couldn’t even catch a cold let alone a ball or a treat!) But he was a real sweetie of a dog too. Even though he was clumsy and excitable, he was always the dog that was gentle around our babies when they came home from the hospital. He was so good with Nicholas as he climbed all over him and ran all his toys into him! All Cody wanted was to make us happy and get a little lovin’. The past couple years, his health was slowly declining. He was getting lumps and bumps all over the place. He refused to get his nails cut and because of that, he often would break them off and then get an infected toe. But mostly, he probably had a cancer in his stomach. He threw up after every meal and toward the end he was throwing up throughout the day and night. He lost a lot of weight and just wasn’t his old self anymore. The Thursday before we put him down, he was up sick all night long and that’s what made us decide it was time for him to go be with Roman. Going through the process with him was clearly very painful, but of course he made it even harder that day because he acted all perky and happy in the car and during the visit. We knew that it was either that day or a day in the near future and since we had worked up the courage to go, there really wasn’t much to reconsider once we were there. Having Hannah say goodbye before we left was very sad. Nicholas didn’t really know what was going on, but he hugged Cody and we all cried together as a family as we said goodbye. Like I mentioned before, I’ll do a special post soon for him to capture a few good memories of him.

So needless to say, that night and the next day (our 7th wedding anniversary) was very sad as was the following week, but we’re getting back to normal for the most part now and have had some awesome days since then.

So now on to the more happy happenings since then…….

Since we missed out on a celebration for our 7th wedding anniversary on the actual day, Tony and I had an awesome splurge weekend the following weekend. The kids went to my moms for the weekend and we spent all day Saturday and Sunday together. We went to the mall Saturday to get a few new clothes and then packed a bag and went downtown. It’s a shame we don’t take advantage of what Cleveland has to offer more often – we really have some great stuff! Anyway, we spent the night at the Hyatt, which is at the Arcade – such an awesome beautiful building!

We ended up getting a room without a view though, which turned out just fine, but we had some good laughs about it anyway! It was off in the corner and had a lovely view of a parking garage!

We got stuck in the elevator a few times – that was before we realized we needed to use our keycard to go up!! Oh, and be careful not to bump your head!!! (I love you Tony!)

Anyway, we walked around for a little while and then got dressed up and got ready and headed out.

We used Tony’s sense of direction to walk to our dinner at Mortons, which means we took the long way! But it was a nice evening and fun to walk around downtown. So our dinner at Morton's was super, extra fabulous! It was definitely first class from the moment we walked in and they greeted us with "Happy Anniversary Mr & Mrs Carrossellia". We sat down and we were waited on with total first class. It was awesome! How about customized menus just for us! (notice the greeting on top)

We enjoyed a lovely bottle of wine, Tony had some oysters, we both had salads (later realized we should have shared a salad) and then had the juiciest, most tender, flavorful steaks we've ever had! We also shared a baked potato and asparagus. We realized too, we could have done without the asparagus, but the lady that came to butter and sour cream our potato was just awesome - again, we felt so pampered and special that night.

We had a "celebrity sighting" if you can call it that. Tim Misney walked in with people that I assume was his family. I wanted so, so badly to walk up to him and say "I know what you do"!!! Anyone that doesn't know what I'm talking about, he's the lawyer with the commercials that say "I'm Tim Misney and I'll make them pay or I'm Tim Misney and you know what I do".

And we finished off our dinner with a chocolate lava cake that I’m sure was so good, but we were so stuffed to really enjoy it (however, we did manage to eat most of it). And the coffee was fantastic – oh and they gave us our dessert on the house. I can’t say enough about how nice it was there. We truly had a memorable dinner. And I even managed not to freak out when the bill came….it was big, especially for a dinner, but it was so worth it, especially as we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel (took the shorter direct route this time) and changed our clothes. We stopped in a Lola for a drink. It was really nice in there and we hope to have another evening out soon for dinner there. Then we went to Hilarities for a comedy show. The second guy we saw was super funny. The headliner was OK, but not our type of humor for a majority of the show….it was good though. And then after the show, we went over to the House of Blues for a few more drinks. It was so great to walk around downtown and really get a feel for the nightlife down there and share this night with Tony. We had such a great time!

We got up the next morning and checked out of the hotel, stopped for breakfast and then stopped home for a little while. We ended up going to look at new cars for the heck of it. The Chrysler dealership was closed, so we stopped by the Kia dealership to look at the Optima. It was really nice, but they couldn’t do much with the numbers without our buyoff on the Jeep, so it didn’t really go anywhere. We went to my moms to pick up the kids and stayed for dinner and then came home.

Monday was Memorial Day. It was HOT! We went to the store for a while and then made an impromptu decision to go over to Dawn & Jack’s so we could go swimming in their pool…..and visit them too of course! Nicholas took a little while to get used to being in the pool, but ended up liking it for the most part. Hannah of course was a total fish the entire day and turned into a prune! We need to go over more often this summer so she can get better at actually swimming, she’s getting there!

Nicholas ate some serious picnic food….he actually liked ribs and steak

And totally ate an entire ear of corn – held it just right and went to town!!! (Love it Aunt Susan – don’t know what you’re missing!)

And there you have the update through the end of May…I’ll try to return soon to do a Cody post and fill you in on how June is starting

15 month update

Nicholas turned 15 months last week on Wednesday. He seems older than that at times, but then again, it's hard to believe he can be that old already!

He's rotten - pure rotten, but so stinkin' cute too! When people comment about how cute he is, I say, it's just a facade - just give him a minute and you'll see!

He had his well check up on Friday. He's growing and developing very well. He's 25 pounds, 1 ounce (75%), 31-3/4 inches (75-90%) and his head measures 19 inches (75%). He had has been to the doctor too often lately to be poked and prodded at, so unfortunately, he does not enjoy these visits. When they called his name to go in, he sort of planted his feet down and froze, not wanting to follow the nurse. He freaked out at every little thing - being weighed, measured and having his ears & chest looked at. Getting his two shots this time was especially fun! He's gone through the previous rounds of shots pretty easily, but since he's a bit soured by the whole doctor experience and wising up on what's in store, I had to restrain him on my lap.

The good news was he's growing well. The bad news was that he still had some fluid in his ears and is wheezing still a little. I do think it's finally starting to go away, but he suggested giving him some Triaminic a few times a day for a week or so to see if we can clear it up once and for all. I think it's working! I'll be so glad to be over this round of sickness finally after 3 months!

My one concern about him is his temper and anger. I can't understand what this 15 month old can be so seemingly angry about sometimes. He's not being raised in a hostile environment and we don't yell, but this kid can throw a fit like I've never seen, and when he does, he's MAD - like seriously p'd off!!!! I know it's an extreme thought, but I told the doctor I was concerned that he could grow up to be the kid that sets the neighbor's house on fire or something!!! He reassured me that boys are a bit more aggressive and that it might just be part of his makeup (thanks for that gene Tony!), but that he will learn to cope and control it as we teach him how. He said the best thing is to ignore his trantrums and remove him from situations when he's having an outburst. For now, I'll trust that we'll still be able to raise him to be a good kid and hope this is a phase!!! He can be silly and sweet too, so it's not like this is his only demeanor, but when it happens, it seems like he's got issues!

He's pretty much finally sleeping all night most nights. Maybe only once or twice a week do we have to go in his room to settle him down, so that's definitely better. He's a great eater (obviously at 25 pounds!) He's super active, running, jumping and playing hard. He's getting more words - mama, dada, hi, bye-bye, cracker, sissy, thank you and this week, he says purple (and does it really cute - purses his lips and say in a deep voice "po-po"! He does a few signs too - please and more. He can throw a ball and his laugh is awesome to listen to! He loves taking a bath, music and dancing and playing outside. I still get the pleasure of rocking him to sleep most nights - I'm treasuring that as long as I can! He's a bit of a mama's boy right now, which is sweet and frustrating too. I love how much he loves me and how I can comfort him, but when he freaks out every time I leave or walk away, it's kind of annoying!

Here are a couple pictures of him from the other day.

yep, he's a stinker!

but very cute too!

I think he's going to need his first haircut soon!

Mother's Day 2011

I'm a little late with this post, but it is an important day so I didn't want it to go without the attention it deserves.

Mother's Day has become my most favorite day of the year. I don't get all hyped up about my birthday or really even about Christmas, but Mother's Day is the one day that I love the celebration to be about me...and all mothers really.

Last year, Tony heard me loud and clear that he should make this the one day he puts some effort into planning a nice day. We don't have to do something over the top or spend a ton of money, I would just appreciate him putting a little thought into making the day special.....and this year, he did!

We got up early for a Sunday and all went to church. It was really nice to all go even if it was the earlier service.

After church, we went to have breakfast. We just had a normal breakfast, which was perfect, but Tony did try to do a special brunch, but it ended up falling through. He called and booked our reservation, but the place called him back later and told him that they overbooked, so they cancelled us. It ended up being fine because it was really probably too expensive for a meal for us. Here's a couple pictures from breakfast.

Nicholas now likes to feed himself with forks and spoons.

And Hannah and I after we ate.

Then we went home and they gave me a couple of gifts....a nice new pair of earrings and a couple of charms for my pandora bracelette. Perfect!

There was another story about the earrings. I sent Tony a link for a pair of earrings I wanted and he ordered them over a month before Mother's Day. He kept waiting for them to arrive and kept checking his order status and the week before Mother's Day, he got a letter stating the item was on back order and they cancelled his order! Poor guy - this is what he gets for trying! So he found another item that seemed like the same thing and it came, just in time and was perfect!

Nicholas laid down for a quick nap and then we headed to my surprise destination. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Cleveland. It was a perfect weather day for sure - sunny and warm, but not hot. This is where the brunch was supposed to be by the way. Anyway, it was really great. We had a really nice time going through the gardens.

Hannah especially liked the glass house and all of the butterflies. She tried to hold one, but was a little nervous about it, so I did it for her....it was cool! There were so many different butterflies and plants - really a neat thing!

Then the outside gardens were full of tulips - giant, beautiful tulips. They're my favorite flower, so it was really nice!

We climbed and explored and it was really quite peaceful and lovely there.

We finished the day with a trip to the grocery store and making something for dinner on the grill.

This was a perfect Mother's Day - I'm so very blessed to have these two beautiful, healthy children to be a mother to and a husband that cares enough to make me feel so special. I'm more thankful for all of them each and every day.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Julia and all of my friends as well! You are all wonderful!

Ahhh, spring is finally here

It is I, the absent blogger, here again to try to do a little catching up on the happenings of our life these past few weeks.

We’re all doing great for the most part. We’re so glad the winter weather is gone and now if only it would stop raining long enough to enjoy the warmth of spring. We have tried to enjoy being outside whenever we have the chance. Nicholas has a new bike and basketball hoop courtesy of some great finds from the Children’s resale I did a few weeks ago.

That ended up being a pretty good day for me. I got rid of a lot of the kids stuff including quite a bit of their clothes and made about $300. The only things I bought were the two toys for Nicholas – I’m trying to remember they have plenty of clothes and not go overboard this season again!

Hannah’s enrolled for kindergarten at Royal Redeemer. She has an assessment in June which I’m sure she’ll soar through. She’s doing really well with reading on her own and some basic math too. Her handwriting is getting so much better and she loves to practice it on dry erase boards. She’s signed up for safety town too this summer. I started buying her some uniform clothes as I see some good deals……I’m so very excited and sad at the same time for her to be going off to school in a couple of months. Amazing how fast the time goes and how quickly they become so big!

I missed blogging about Easter, so we’ll use this post to do the catch up on that. We colored eggs the night before. Nicholas didn’t stay interested in the activity for too long and since he put his hand in the entire cup of blue dye, we decided it might not be his thing!

Hannah however, had a blast. She loved to do the coloring and decorating of the eggs. We had quite a variety of colors and decorated eggs.

We woke up Easter morning to Hannah saying, “I saw an egg! The Easter Bunny must have been here!” We went downstairs to see their baskets on the table and then she and Nicholas were off to find all of the hidden eggs. Nicholas was of course, much more interested in the grass from his basket! Hannah took a while to find this last hidden egg!

They opened a couple of gifts after the egg hunt.

We missed going to church unfortunately since we had to get ready to meet everyone for brunch. Hannah was beautiful in her new Easter dress and Nicholas is such a handsome little boy in his outfit.

And a family picture, which are a bit tricky to take these days!

We met Dad, Julia, Susan and Will for brunch. It was good, but Nicholas wasn’t so into eating or sitting and allowing me to eat much, so it seemed a little rushed this year. We had a little mixup with the valet parking too, but it was a nice morning together anyway. We headed home to get a quick nap and then went over to Dawn & Jack’s for a little while. The kids always have a blast over there, especially since Aunt Dawn always has new toys for them!

I decided once and for all that I’m done carrying around the rest of this baby weight and need to get in gear and get back in some sort of shape, so I started to go to zumba classes. It’s amazing how uncoordinated I felt that first time! It’s been a while since I moved like that! It felt good though to start to get a little exercise in. I’m going to go at least once a week and maybe twice if we can figure out how to fit it into our schedules.

Hannah had her first sleepover on the 30th. McKenna and Allie came over Saturday afternoon and they all played so well together. We made pizzas for dinner and then they watched a movie in a tent that Tony made for them and then were pretty good about going to sleep by 10:00. They all slept in their sleeping bags in Hannah’s room. McKenna and Allie seemed to sleep just fine, but Hannah wasn’t used to sleeping on the floor or with other people, so she didn’t sleep as well, but she had a great time!

We made waffles for breakfast and they played some more and then went home around noon on Sunday. That was a fun experience! They were all so good though, so really, it was pretty easy!

Nicholas just isn’t getting better and unfortunately, last week we dealt with more lingering issues with whatever he’s got going on. He was really restless on Sunday night, like whimpering and just really uncomfortable. He started getting a real yucky nose on Monday and then by Tuesday evening, he started getting gross discharge from his eyes too. I kept him home Wednesday and called the doctor again. This time, they just called in an antibiotic for him instead of having me bring him in again (good thing - that would have been the 4th visit). We started the z-pack on Wednesday night and it seemed to start clearing up his nose and eyes by the next morning, except the poor little guy looked like he was punched right in both eyes when he woke up. They were all red and swollen.

This picture from Thursday morning really doesn't do justice to what he really looked like.

By Friday morning, he was looking much better and his eyes weren’t running anymore. He took his last dose of medicine Sunday evening and we’re supposed to give it at least another week to clear things up. I think it cleared up his infection, but then yesterday, he was running a fever. The doctor said if he’s not better this time, we’ll have to go see a specialist. Not sure what kind, maybe a respiratory or an ENT? He goes for his well visit on the 20th, so we’ll probably decide then unless he’s still experiencing fever or if the infection comes back. It’s mostly this cough that has hung on for over 3 months now…..please go away!!!!

Tony got a new lawn mower that he’s really excited about and we finally signed on our refinance, so we’re super excited about the financial plan we’re going to start working. Hopefully, we can get things in order to get into a new house within a couple years. I’m hoping it won’t be too late to build in the new development across the street from us, but if for some reason it is, we’ll find another opportunity I’m sure! Things are really going well for us all around and we’re so very grateful for everything. We just need to get Nicholas feeling better and then we can enjoy this spring and summer to its fullest!