RIP Sweet Jake

June 1994- April 2007

Spring has sprung!

It was such a nice day today. High of 73 and sunny. Kevin was off so we took the girls outside to do some "yardwork". Ryan stayed at school for Lunch Bunch. It was Happy Meal day today and he was waaay excited to get another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to add to his collection. Yep, the boy is obsessed. Strange for our formerly all train, truck and car boy. Whatever makes him happy. :)

The girls had fun in the sun riding bikes, playing with Ryan's trucks (sshhh don't tell) and generally wearing Mommy and Daddy out.

"Com'on Kate, let's go!"
"I'm coming!"
Kate felt the need to pray before riding her trike.
"There has to be more bubbles in here!"
Mommy took some flower pictures too because they hold still for her camera!
Playing with Ryan's trucks.

Daddy trying to keep up with Long Legged Molly!

Mommy's favorite spring tree.
And up close.

I got more pictures of Kate because she's easier to keep up with. LOL

You would think after all this, they would be tired. Nope. Too busy stripping to take a nap. UGH!

Naked!

Molly and Kate that is. All.the.time. They strip off their clothes and diapers while busting out with some of the biggest giggles you ever did hear. Mommy and Daddy, not so amused.

Ryan on the other hand, he is such a big boy, he can get dressed all by himself. And he stays that way!

Life has been crazy as always but good. My weekend away was fabulous! The trip up was a bit scary due to an ice storm. I was driving and took it slow, reeeeaaaallll ssssllllloooowwww. Thankfully we made it safe and sound. The conference was tons of fun. Spending time with some of my best girlfriends was even better! I even had a couple of pints to celebrate St. Patty's. We ventured into NYC on Sunday. And what did four mommies away from home do? Why buy presents for the kids of course. FAO Schwarz IS still the best toy store ever!

Back home and back to the mommy groove. Ryan is really doing well in preschool. He is writing his name and even asking how to spell words. This week they had some baby chicks hatch from eggs. He was so cute talking about how he got to hold one of them. He recently declared he'd like to try camping. Camping??? With a tent and sleeping bags and a big fire to roast marshmellows. No idea where he came up with that one. LOL

Molly is, shall we say, very determined. When I came home Sunday night after being away, the first words out of Kevin's mouth, "Molly does NOT listen!" Um yeah. I know. She has a mind of her own that one. She is slightly obsessed with babies these days. If she seems a baby, anywhere, in a book, on TV, in real life, anywhere, she screeches at the top of her lungs, "Baaaaby! Baaaaby! Baaaaby!" Again no idea where that comes from as there will not be anymore babies in this house.

Kate until lately has been the one I secretly called, "The good one." LOL. Notice I said until lately. She has gotten quite a 'tude on her. "NO!" "Don't like that!" "Bad guy! You bad guy mommy!" All while sticking her butt out or placing her hand on her hip. It's so ornery I can't help but laugh. She is so petite it's hard to imagine where she gets this 'tude, but let me tell ya, she has it down pat.

I often remark, to whomever is pushing my buttons at any one particular minute, "It's a good thing you're cute." "Nuf said.

See why I NEEDED that weekend away.

We took the kids to a local Egg Hunt today. They made out quite well too. It was good practice for next week when the Easter Bunny visits Gam and Pop Pop's house. We are all anxiously awaiting a visit with Aunt Hil. The kids have been pretend calling her all week. "Hilwry. What doin'? Okay. Miss ewe. Seeya soon. Bye!"

Special thanks to Aunt Mimi. I am having a ball figuring out Photoshop and Lightroom! :)

Girls gone wild...

WITH MARKERS!




(Molly)

(Kate)

I had to take pictures of the girls after letting them have "real" markers. Usually I only let them have the "Color Wonder" markers. And this would be why! (In all honestly though, it did wash off easily in the tub and the girls had a BLAST coloring all over themselves.)

Oh and yes, those are binkys in their hands. I have not had the guts to take them away yet. Anyone who feels up to the task, bring it on. hee hee They usually only get them in their cribs but when we're sick, all bets are off. We keep talking about the "Binky Fairy" and that she will be visiting us soon. She takes all the binkys to give to the new babies that need them and leaves presents. So far, the Binky Fairy is steering clear of our house.

Still hacking away here. Come on spring and the end of germy season. Kevin is working all weekend so not much happening. Gamma took Ryan for the afternoon. He LOVES spending time with Gamma. What kid wouldn't eat up some spoiling and undividied attention? Thanks Gam.

Daylight Savings Time tonight. I surely hope it doesn't totally mess up my children's clocks. Pretty please!

I going to add Flower Show pictures to my flickr account. Too many to put here. I will add more once I have a chance to photoshop them.

Counting down the days until my big weekend away!!!!!

Almost forgot!

I did not win big (or even little) at Bingo! What a hoot to see all the old ladies there with their trolls all lined up and their dotters of many colors. It was fun. Nice to get out with my girlies and have a few laughs.

For real this time, nighty night.

Now it's my turn...

to be sick that is. My throat is scratchy, my head is pounding and I sound like a frog with a nasty smokers cough. But alas, the work of a mom must go on. The kiddos seem to be on the mend. Only mild fussing now instead of full on screaming. I did upload pics tonight but I am too tired to put them here. I promise I will add them in the next day or so.

Sweet dreams!

Pooped!

That's how I'm feeling today. Pooped. My kids always get a kick out of it when Mommy says she is "pooped". Poop! Poop! Can you just hear it chanted giddily by Ryan, Molly and Kate?

And the reason I am pooped.... Kate was up screaming ALL night and Molly felt the need to join her. Double screaming=no sleep! All three have had junky coughs, runny noses and have been miserable. Kate was running a fever this morning so I decided to take them all in to see Dr. O. PopPop came along to help out as taking all three to the Ped on my own is definitely a nightmare. Turns out Ryan and Molly have sinus infections. Antiobotics for them. And the reason for Kate's screaming...a ruptured eardrum! Poor baby! Mommy and Daddy are taking it hard. Here we were grumbling about missing sleep and her eardrum ruptured! So it's antibiotics all around. She has to be seen by the Ped again in three weeks to make sure she's healing. If not, ENT bound she will be. Fingers crossed.

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday and the kids needed some fresh air so we took them to the park to run around. Got some pictures I need to upload. Will do in a bit.

On Sunday, my mom and I went to The Philadelphia Flower Show. Talk about AMAZING! I was in hog heaven trying out my camera with still subjects. (Again, I need to upload. I took almost 300 pictures!) The theme was Ireland and it was definitely worth seeing. I did something to my neck on Sunday. Was okay heading up to the flower show, coming home it got worse. Ended up not being able to move it at all. Thank goodness Kevin could help with the kids. Took some muscle relaxers, iced it and got some good healing sleep. A quick trip to the Chiro on Monday and by Monday afternoon I was feeling much better. :)

Last night we had dinner at Friendly's for a MOMS Club Fundraiser. There is a little girl in our club who is not quite two that was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in October. Ten percent of the restaurant's proceeds from last night will come back to our club for a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in her honor. I am anxious to see how much we'll be able to contribute! The kids had fun getting ice cream and hot fudge all over them. I shoulda brought my camera as it was quite the sight.

Kevin is visiting his dad tonight (he had his second knee replacement yesterday which went well) so Momma is all alone with three sick kids. I will be needing MNO tomorrow night. Cash bingo. Wish me luck!

Puppy Love?!

Isn't he too young for puppy love? Ryan has been talking about a little girl from school a lot lately. He told me the other day that A.J. was wearing a "beeeeautiful red shirt". He wants her to come for a playdate. Then he asked if another little girl who happens to be our neighbor could come play. We've lived next to each other for 5 years and now he wants a playdate? So today, Layla came over. They played. Nicely. Layla even wore some lipstick for the occasion. Oh I am SO not ready for this.

The girls have full blown colds. Drippy noses and nasty coughs. They are still eating and playing though. I always get worried whenever a cold comes along because of all their lung issues in the past.

I've been taking pictures but my trial of Photoshop ran out. Anxiously awaiting the full version from Aunt Mimi.

MOMS Club went well yesterday. We are holding a fundraiser on Monday for the daughter of one of our member's. She is 21 months old and was recently diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. If anyone is in the area and wants to come, dinner is at Friendly's. We are hoping to make a nice donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Not too much exciting to report. Just wanted to stick with it. :)

I'm Trying

Trying to keep blogging that is. I can do it, I know I can. I also got my very first comment! Knowing someone may be reading this has inspired me. So if you've got a comment, I'm all ears. hee hee

Today was a pretty average day. Ryan was back to school. Still coughing some but better. His rash is all gone so he no longer looks like the Ewwww! kid. Now the girls have started coughing and with them a cough can lead to trouble, but hopefully not.

We hosted playgroup here for the younger set. As usual, Molly and Kate are scavengers when it comes to food, seeking it out wherever they can find it like they've never been fed before. I swear for such little girls they sure can eat. Speaking of size, Molly had an appointment with the Pulmonologist yesterday. She was 28 lbs 10 oz and 35 3/4 inches! That girl is all legs. Her appointment went well.

This afternoon it was siestas all around. Momma was burning the midnight oil last night working on the MOMS Club newsletter. So now I am not only the president but the newsletter person as well. That's okay, it makes me feel important and keeps me outta trouble.

Poor Gamma has the yucks still. Barfing and the dreaded "Big D". Feel better Gam!

Tomorrow is MOMS Club social and speech therapy for Ryan. Exciting stuff I tell you!

F!

That's what I get in Blogging 101. A big fat F! I keep meaning to blog and keep updated, but time gets away from me and I forget and then I feel like I've missed so much I can't possibly talk about all that's been going on in life and I just skip it. So yeah, I get an F!

I swear I'm gonna try harder. ;)

This weekend we went to NYC to visit Aunt Hil. I loaded up the van with lots 'o stuff and off we went. I borrowed a friend's portable DVD player. SWEET! The kids watched videos, dozed off to sleep and were generally agreeable. (Might have to get one of our own.) We arrived Friday night and had some yummy take out from a place called Five Spot. Saturday we went into the city for our traditional Toys R Us stop. Ryan just loves to wander the aisles over and over looking for just the right toy. This trip he got a Batman car carrier and Iron 'Arry and Iron Bert from Thomas. Doesn't take much to make him happy. He was terrified as always of Jeffrey and the life sized dinosaur. I think it was worse because he wasn't feeling well. He has a junky cough and a mysterious rash all over his body. He didn't eat all weekend and just wasn't himself. Even vanilla ice cream with sprinkles didn't help him feel better. The girls got new babies dolls from Gamma and have been driving everyone bonkers taking the clothes off and demanding they be put back on. We celebrated Aunt Hil's birthday Saturday night with some cake from Serpe's. On Sunday we slept late, packed up and had a quick brunch before heading home. We ran into a snow storm on the way back which made the driving slow going but we made it home safe and sound. Momma loves to visit NYC but is always glad to be home. Actually in a few weeks, Momma will be back in the Big Apple. It's a Girls Weekend Away for the Annual MOMS Club Convention March 16-18! Now that'll be a vacation!

Fillow Pight!

This is one of the cute little Ryanisms I want to remember. The other day Pop Pop was here and Ryan asked him if he wanted to "Fillow Pight?" Say what??? You know, "Fillow Pight!" aka "pillow fight". Pop Pop gladly obliged.

Thanksgiving was nice. Gam and company cooked a delish dinner. Aunt Hil was home and was really helpful! I got so much accomplished while she was here. Thanks Hil!
I sorted through all the toys, got the Christmas tree mostly up, did some shopping...

Yes, Hil and I are nuts. Well, she'd tell you it's me the one who's nuts. We got up at 2AM on Black Friday and went to the mall. So did everyone else in the Tri-state area! I have never seen so many people in my life. Being we were both BF 'virgins', we had to try it. And we scored some bargains at Gymboree. Been there, done that. Next year I think I'll just stay in bed.

Molly and Kate have started some imaginative playing. Molly loves to play with the Fisher Price dollhouse they got last Christmas. She sits there for 15-20 minutes playing with it. For Molly, sitting still that long is a record. Kate LOVES stuffed animals! Loves them! She has so many in her crib there is barely room for her. Last night I was checking her before I went to bed and she was rolling around on an animal and getting agitated in her sleep. Needless to say, I removed some of the beloved animals today.

We put the tree up and the kids are fascinated by it. They especially love the $45 Hallmark ornament. Mind you we got it on sale for $11 but that's the price on the box. It plays music and they LOVE to push the button. Over and over and over and over and over.

Catching up with pictures!

TIME!

Where does it go???? Really????

I never seem to have enough of it. I know, we all say that, but really, I need 36 hours in my day. I haven't updated this for over a month and a half. Geez. Kevin and I were talking about this the other day. The fact that we are so darn busy all day long that by the time we get the kids to bed, we collapse in our respective spots. Kev in front of the TV and me in front of the computer. You'd think I would update this more often, but mostly I do mindless surfing to try and relax and stay connected with the world.

My day today:

Woke up at 7:15ish
got the gang up and dressed and fed
took Ryan to school (the girls have been walking in with us instead of riding in the stroller)
went to the post office
walked at the mall and said hello (from afar) to Santa
fed the girls Happy Meals in the van (bad Mommy!)
picked up Ryan from school
came home
put the girls down for a nap
spent some time with Ry
cleaned the whole house while he watched Cars for the 105th time
got the girls up from nap
Daddy came home!
fixed grilled cheese and soup for dinner
cleaned up from dinner
gave Ry a bath
jammies for all
tucked the girls in
read Ry stories
and then crashed.

Whew!

I get to do it all again tomorrow.

I wouldn't change a minute of it. Really.

So much has happened since I last updated.

~Ryan turned 4 on October 13th! My little baby boy is growing up. He had a great birthday with a family party and a friends party. He got lots of Cars paraphernalia.

~Kevin cut his finger at work and passed out while getting stitches.

~Molly had her 3rd ambulance ride. Yes, 3rd. She took a fall at a friends' house and hit her head. She did the turn blue thing and had a seizure. Scared the beejeesus outta us again! They did a CT scan in the ER and all was well.

~Aunt Gina got married on October 28th. Mommy and Daddy spent the weekend in Cape May while a sick Gamma and Aunt Hil babysat. Auntie Kelly helped too.

~Halloween! Ry as Buzz Lightyear. Molly and Kate as fairy princesses! Too cute!

~More sickness. Gamma spent a few days in the hospital with pneumonia. :(

~Ryan, Molly and Kate then got Bronchitis. Kate's turned into pneumonia. :( Mommy and Daddy ended up getting sick too.

Thankfully, everyone is back to healthy now.

Thanksgiving is upon us and then we start the Christmas countdown. Like I said, TIME! Where does it go?????

I wish I could say I haven't posted because I was on vacation....

But nah, that's not it. Life is just crazy for me. Ryan's first days back at school went well. He settled in and was okay with Mommy leaving. Then he got sick. 104 fever sick. "Please, please, please don't let the germies start already!" They have. He got better in a few days and the girls didn't get it. This time.
Then I had my hernia repair surgery. All went well. Hurt like the dickens tho. Two weeks of lite duty and hopefully, I'm good to go. I see the surgeon in the morning to get the official word.
We ALL got nasty colds next. Major boogies and nasty coughs. We're still fighting it off. The girls'nebulizers have been getting a work out.

And then.... on Saturday, September 30, 2006...

MY BABIES TURNED TWO! I just cannot believe it! They are "big girls" now and yes, they tell me this often. They are trying out the potty, running all over, talking up a storm, playing dolls just like little mommies, fighting over toys, generally just being TWO! We celebrated the day with Gamma and Ryan. We went to the mall and made teddy bears at Build A Bear. We got some new clothes and had lunch. Later on we had a yummy pot roast that Pop Pop made in the crockpot. Then we had cake! The girls did NOT eat dinner, instead chanting "CAKE!" the whole meal. During the birthday song, they screeched until mommy gave them some frosting. They devoured their Princess cake with glee. Big brother Ryan was a trooper despite wishing his birthday was first! Presents followed. The new doll babies and cribs were a hit. Baths and then bed. Happy Birthday Girlies!

On Sunday we drove down to Cape May for a pre wedding celebration for Aunt Gina. It was a nice sunny day. We took a ride down to the bay in hopes of getting at least one picture of the kids on the beach this summer. Alas, scatter brained mommy forgot to put the battery back in the camera after charging it! Bummer.
The party was fun. Kate was quite the social butterfly. She danced and ate and went up to complete strangers and demanded "Uppie." Most of them obliged her, except one very cute boy who obviously has no children. He had this look of bewilderment on his face as if to say, "Why is this kid asking me to pick her up?" LOL. Ryan played Mack and Lightning while Molly cowered into Daddy's chest most of the time.

Today it was back to school for Ryan. Pop Pop came to help with the girls. :) After school we took Ryan to get a haircut. We actually let the girls walk into the salon without the stroller. Big milestone, as normally I keep them well corralled. After the haircut, we took the girls for their first "Jimmy Johns" hotdogs. This is a hole in the wall little side of the road dog place. Man, good eats! The girls scarfed up a hot dog and a half a piece. They loved checking out the electric trains with Ry. Ryan was in his glory as this is his favorite lunch spot. We finished the meal with some ice cream and called it a day. Needless to say, we all slept well for naps today, including Pop Pop I bet.

Ryan's first day back to school

Mommy was VERY excited! Ryan, not so much...








He got a little better once we got to the school....





The girls waiting for Ryan to come back....




Alas, he survived. It was a very tearful goodbye but when I picked him up he said he had fun and wanted to go another day. Don't worry buddy, you will!

Molly and Kate missed big brother. They kept saying, "Ryan? Ryan?" I reassured them that we would see him soon. Needless to say it was a very happy reunion on all parts.

As you may or may not know, I am the President of a local chapter of MOMS Club. We hosted a speaker last week that talked about "Parenting Challenges". There was a first time mom new to the club that asked a question about her twin one year old boys. She explained that when seated in their highchairs one of the boys would throw his sippy cup and then the other thinking that was neat would throw his too. Having great fun, the boys would laugh at her. Quite exacerbated, she asked how to control this behavior. The speaker went on and on about ways to deal with this. I had to chuckle. Welcome to motherhood sister!

Having three kids has definitely been an eye opening experience. I'm learning at times it's easier to be a part of the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" camp.

I know I am hugging my kids a little longer and tighter today. I cannot believe its been five years since 9/11. I can only hope my children never know the terror of that day. I am keeping all of the victims and families of victims in my prayers.

The girls are napping and Ryan needs some lovin'.

A little break....

Ryan spent the night at Gam and Pop Pop's house last night. It is SO nice to be able to put the girls to bed at 8PM and have a quiet evening.

We did a huge Costco run this morning and went to ToysRUs to get a new diaper pail. Exciting stuff. We also picked up Ryan's Halloween costume, Buzz Lightyear! He will be very happy I am sure. We took the girls to lunch at the local burger joint. They made quite a mess but had a great time.

Nothing going on for the rest of the weekend. Working on getting lots of clothes hung and tagged for the upcoming Mothers of Multiples resale. Last resale I made over $700.

I can't believe the girls will be two at the end of the month! They are starting to walk up and down the stairs, are talking up a storm and are starting to love to play with dolls.

Molly has such a raspy voice, it cracks me up. And she is SO active. She loves to jump. In fact, the other day I saw her gearing up to jump off of a chair, but then she stopped herself. I guess she realized that may not be the best thing to try. I give it a week.

It looks like Kate may be a lefty. She loves to color and the crayon is always in her left hand. Guess time will tell. Kate has a definite 'tude lately. Look at her funny or deny her what she wants, and man, look out! She can throw quite a shit fit. But she can be sweet as pie too. Her cutest new trick is singing "The Wheels on the Bus" complete with hand motions.

Oh, I found out I have to have another hernia repair. Oh joy! Apparently the repair exactly a year ago didn't stick. Sept 19th is the big day followed by a bit of a "mommy vaca" as after that I can't lift the kids for 2 weeks. Good thing Kevin has vacation time left.

Today's the day!

I have been thinking for a while now that I should keep some kind of diary or memoirs of life in the Dunne household. Today, I did it! Welcome to my ramblings and all things Dunne.

Kevin and Ryan are outside cleaning up the yard from some nasty storms yesterday, and the girls are napping. This is "mommy time". Time when I can sit down and decompress for a bit and connect to the outside world through the internet; aka feed my addiction.

Ryan is almost 4! He is 40 lbs and approximately 41 inches tall. He is ALL boy! He loves all things cars, trains, and trucks with Disney Cars being a current fave. Buzz Lightyear is also his hero. He is giving us heck with bedtime lately. He gets out of bed rather frequently saying, "I'm scared." When asked what he's afraid of we get all kinds of answers from "the cars passing the house to the blue glow of mommy's alarm clock". We are trying to eliminate naps because this definitely makes bedtime harder. Ryan is FULL of energy. He loves to rip and run. He will start Preschool on September 11th, four days a week.

Molly is about 25 lbs and maybe 34 inches tall. We'll find out for sure at her 2 year check up. Molly is our crazy one. She is into everything! She is working very hard on walking up and down the stairs all by herself. Her two top teeth are starting to re-emerge. :) She also tends to be a bit of a bully, taking whatever it is that Katie has. May be why she has sported a full set of teeth marks on occasion.

Kate is about 24 lbs but is a good two inches shorter than Molly. Kate is getting some new teeth which has made her a bit grumpy. Normally she is our ray of sunshine. She is very social and is definitely a girly girl. She loves dresses, jewelry and stuffed animals. Kate recently shocked us all with her escape from the crib! Yep, she climbed out. Rather effortlessly I might add. Needless to say the girls got new "Princess tents" aka crib tents for their cribs. So far so good.

Stay tuned for lots more adventures!