Why I have not been blogging...

So I know Sarah is blogging with 8 stitches and all, but here's what I've been up to:

I had 2 root canals last Thursday. I actually felt better after the root canals until Monday, and then the pain started. It woke me up in the middle of the night Monday night, and by the middle of the day Tuesday, I was in so much pain I called my dentist for some pain medication. She said it sounded like it was infected, so wrote me a prescription for Antibiotics and percoset. By the time I got home from work on Tuesday, and got the kids bundled and out the door I was near tears. It was raining, and Chris was working late, so I put the rain shield on the stroller and headed out to the Dr's office. I picked up the script, and went to Walgreens to fill it - she needed my ID to fill the percoset prescription, and I went to get it from my wallet and realized it wasn't there. Panic. The pharmacist asked if anyone was with me who could go back to the house and get it for me, and I responded (on the verge of tears) "No, just my two kids, who are starting to lose it." Because they were. She finally agreed to fill it for me if I put my address, SSN, and signature on the back of the script.

A long story short, the percoset really only helped Tuesday night. Wenesday night I took a second one at 1am, and it didn't kick in. I knew I was in trouble. I finally got ahold of my dentist again around 2 pm, and she wanted me to come back in to clear out the infection. I went in, and it turns out one of my temporary fillings had fallen out, so the nerve was exposed. I sat, mouth open, in the chair for almost 4 hours while the dentist disinfected the tooth and cleaned out more nerve.

I'm finally feeling better today - just a small ache, but manageable.

And that is why I have not blogged this week. Okay, since I have no excuse for last week, here are pictures from Dexter's baptism and our Easter brunch:

Grand-papa McFadden came for the celebration!

Frankie, Aidan, and Kira participate in the Easter Egg hunt:


I spy a purple egg...

Aidan and Kira help Frankie find eggs



Wouldn't be Easter without peeps!

On our way to the baptism




Frankie sits with Rachel and Rebecca during church

It was apparently brown velvet coat day at church

Baptized!

It's been so long since I've updated, I'm not sure where to begin! Not that anything major has happened, just lots of little things.

Chris is working like crazy, which means he hasn't been home much. But we're very proud of him, and appreciate how hard he works for our family! The work will hopefully ease up in two weeks. I am struggling to keep up with my class, the kids, my job, and the house, but we are making it through.

Dexter is getting baptized this Sunday! Sunday is also Easter, where we celebrate the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ. What a joyful day of celebration it will be!

Dexter has also had his 4th ear infection since late December this week. We're getting a referral to an ENT, which will probably result in tubes for his ears. He's also able to eat yogurt now and a milk-based lactose reduced formula without painful amounts of gas. Hurray and hurray!

Frankie and I had some major power struggles and disobedience issues starting last week (of course when Chris is out of town!). I suddenly realized it was time to actually start disciplining her, not just correcting and reminding. She's always been put in time out for things like hitting other kids, but the tantrums and the willfull disobedience were spiraling out of control. I realized I was getting angry at her and just in general didn't know what to do, which is not the position a parent should be in! So I spoke to some friends, and read Ginger Plowman's "Don't make me count to three" (Thanks, Gretchen!). This book was so, so helpful. It gave me a plan and the words to use to discipline her. And after about 24 hours of putting my foot down, she was drastically better. She got progressively more obedient over the next three days, and since we've been maintaining a relative peace. Discipline is one of those constant chores, like weeding a garden, where you can't let it go for a while or it becomes a major chore if not impossible to correct! I know I'll need to re-read this book and repurpose to discipline my children often because I am forgetful, sinful, and lazy. But I love them too much to not discipline them!

In other news, the family fish, Manny is now among the dearly departed. I had to flush him this morning. We knew he was nearing the end for a while - he got progressively slower and had this ugly-looking buldge around his eye. Frankie's going to help me pick out a new one this weekend!

Pictures!

Chris is off to the Netherlands again this week, so the women-folk are manning the fort. I'm so thankful for Rachel and Rebecca!
Silly girl

My happy boy

Frankie loves her doggies



At the museum with Rachel:


Staring at the turtles...

Dexter is crawling!

Dex started crawling last week, and he has picked up the skill in a hurry! We're having to close the gates, and put away choking hazards again. He has this hilarious monkey-crawl (a la Zach Madi) where he keeps one knee in the air and one on the floor - so he crawls with one knee and one foot, basically. He's so stinkin' happy about being able to get around - it's adorable.

He's crazy about knocking down blocks. And chasing balls. He can give high-fives now, and "clap" (he doesn't usually get the hands together, but will flap them up and down frantically with huge grin on his face).

A few videos of the man in action:

Dankie some dis

"Dankie some dis" is Frankie's way of asking for something she wants and doesn't know what it's called (food, Mama's lipstick, Dex's medicine). It's one of my favorite phrases of hers right now, and I wanted to make sure to remember it.

She's singing up a storm, as the following video will attest to: (wait for it: she busts out with "No-no monkies jump de bed").


Sometimes we make up our own songs:


This video also demonstrates how bossy she is about who can sing and when, and a catalog of the foods she and Dex like.

Dex is getting closer and closer to crawling. He can do the pull-through where he goes from sitting to a crawl position on his hands and knees, and then usually freaks out a little and gets comfortable again on his belly. He still refuses to roll from his belly to his back, although is quite adept at going from him back to his belly. He scoots in a 360 when he's sitting or on his belly.

The Zimmermans were in town briefly a few weeks ago, and here is the grand reunion of Sabine, Frankie, and Corrine:

MacGyver

We have been enjoying our new roommate, Rebecca, and her little dog, MacGyver. MacGyver is an adorable 5-pounds of pure cuteness ("Oh holy cuteness" were the words Dain Zimmerman used recently). MacGyver is the same age as Dex, which is fun, and he has assimilated into the family quite well. He and Maisy like to run the circuit, and Maisy likes to steal his toys and then goad him into chancing her to get them back. The pictures don't do him justice, so I will also leave you with a video of Frankie playing with MacGyver. Seriously, does it get any cuter than a 2-year old in her pajamas playing with a little puppy and a handful of balloons, giggling her head off? Watch and decide.

Birthday mania

I am rather over-due on this post, but we had a great birthday party for Frankie last weekend! To celebrate her 2nd birthday we invited our current small group, the Ashes and the Whites over for brunch and cupcakes Saturday morning. I asked guests to bring recycled or hand-made gifts, and most delivered!

I made this baked french toast recipe for the first time, and it was delicious:

CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST

Yield: 6 servings

* 1 large fresh challah
* 6 eggs
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 1/2 cups milk
* 2 tablespoons vanilla
* cinnamon
* confectioner's sugar

Cut challah into 6 thick slices. Beat the eggs and mix in the sugar, milk and vanilla. Spray a 13x9 baking pan and arrange the challah at the bottom of the pan. Pour the egg mixture over the bread evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Before baking, sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

I used Portuguese sweet bread instead of Challah because my Stop and Shop doesn't carry Challah (I live in Dorchester, people - we also can't find chilies in adobo sauce or Indian pickle at our grocery store).

In other birthday news, I seem to have passed right over the fact that I turned 30 a few weeks ago. 30! I love being 30. I didn't think it would matter, I'm not someone who usually cares about dates, anniversaries, etc, but turning 30 has given me pause to think. Mostly, I'm happy I'm not turning 20 again. Not that my 20s were miserable - far from it - but I feel settled in a way that I didn't 10 years ago. And that's a good thing. I don't quite feel old, but that might be a way to describe it. Probably just thankful that I'm more mature. And just think how much more mature I'll be at 40!

I had a wonderful 30th birthday. Sweet Sarah wanted to help me celebrate before she left for CA, so she and Heather organized a surprise party for me at Finale. Here we are at Finale:


Chris and his mom surprised me by giving me a weekend away with Chris! Suzy came up for the weekend after my birthday for 2 nights and watched the kids while Chris and I went to Woodstock, VT. It was a nice, relaxing time. We watched Slumdog Millionaires, which was great!

Here are some shots of Frankie's party, and a video of "Happy Birthday"!



Rachel and Frankie made this birthday crown

The Jack of Hearts (it was a Valentine's Day party after all!)

Accessorizin'

Thank you for coming to my party, Uncle Rahul

Stylin'

Frankie learned from last year not to touch the sticky icing with her fingers - she went face-first this year.



Happy Birthday, big sis!

Birthday Queen

Rebecca's adorable dog, MacGyver - more on him in the next post!

A pregnant Beth!


The hand-made doll from Jennifer White

(which is a perfect complement to Frankie's Steve)


Anne gifts Dex a bottle


Rachel and Heather have some fun

Mine!