Last Post from NC

This will be my last post from NC. Matt is packing up the computer today. The movers will be here early Thursday morning, so I only have today and tomorrow to finsih getting this house completly packed! Wish us luck and I will post as soon as we are at our new home!!!!!!

One week!!!

As I sit here, I realize that in one week, we will be sitting here waiting for our moving truck to be picked up. We will then be going to close on this house. Then...Matt will be headed to Florida to start setting up our new house there!! WOW!

I can't beleive it is so close. Packing is finally coming along and I can see there will be an end to it. My wonderful Mother kept Banastre Wednesday and Thursday night so we could knock out most of our packing and cleaning. This has been hard for me. It is the first time he has slept away from me. We were also scared of how he would react, but he has been an angel!! Now I know that we can actually let both kids sleep away and Matt and I have an adult night. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

Sorry that there are still no pictures. I have lots of great ones stored on my camera. I also have some great videos from Elizabeth and My dance recital. Luckily, the new house will have both computers and the laptop on a wireless connection, so as soon as I get them up and running I will overload blogger with all of the pics of the last month!!

Enough rambling for now, I must continue to pack!

STRESS

The stress is really starting to set in. We have to have everything packed and ready to be moved in less than two weeks. We aren't even half way done yet. Every time we get a good start, Banastre tries something new to distract us. His new trick: Temper Tantrums. Boy is he good at those too!! He lies in the floor crying and screaming while kicking and pushing away anything near him. I can't definitely forsee him as being a handful!!!!

This weekend is Elizabeth and my dance recital. If you are interesting in coming, please email me or add a coment here for more details. We are both very excited. Although, this does take up most of our weekend. We have dress rehearsal Friday and Recital on Saturday. We are both in both shows of the recital and it will take most of our Saturday. Saturday morning we have a birthday party to go to before we can even start getting ready for the recital! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

I am going to be in need of some babysitters next week, so I can get all of this packing finished! If you are interested, please let me know!!!:)

(I would add a picture from my dances, but I realized how much weight I still have to loose, and think I will wait until I have an "after" pic to put with. )

Happy Mother's Day

WHAT RULES THE WORLD

They say that man is mighty;
He governs the land and sea,
He wields a mighty scepter
O'er lesser powers that be.
But a mightier power and stronger
Man from his throne has hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world."

~~ William Ross Wallace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in
their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry
Kool-Aid saying,"It's alright honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who
can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair
and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween
costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the
mothers who took those babies and gave them homes. And for the mothers who
lost their baby in that precious 9 months that they will never get to watch
grow on earth but one day will be reunited with in Heaven!

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on
their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football
or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that
when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I
wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and
swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream
before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize
how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained
all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to! , but
just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat. For
all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And
then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their
shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for
Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their
daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice
calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at
home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach
aches assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get
calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them
up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the
words to reach them.

This is for all the step-mothers who raised another woman's child or
children, and gave their time, attention, and love... sometimes totally
unappreciated!

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their
14-year-olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the
mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their
TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and
now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you
watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school
alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread,
from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to
hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the
need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of
a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young
mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And mature
mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all.

For all of us.

Hang in there.

In the end we can only do the best we can.

Tell them every day that we love them.

And pray.

"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."

Elizabeth's Spring Pic

This is Elizabeth's spring pic from school. I think it turned out absolutely beautiful. I am a little biased though....


PS. I still got a pic on here Honey!! :)

Banastre's 15 month Checkup

Yesterday was Banastre's 15 month checkup. Here's his stats:

Weight: 22.2 pounds (25%)
Height: 31.25 inches (50%)
Head: 48 cm (95%)

Everything looked really good. The doctor was really impressed with his vocabulary and his overall "Mood". He handled everything well except the shots. When I put him to bed last night he had a slight fever, hopefully it's just from the vaccines. He is still sleeping so I guess he is doing ok.

I did realize however that my baby still has a really large head. Maybe it's just bigger to hold his extremely intelligent brain!!

Random Thoughts

Well, I sat down this morning with the camera to upload new photos and guess what? Matt has packed away my USB cable and I don't know where it is. I got fussed at the other day for taking videos for the blog while I should be packing. I guess this is my punishment.

I posted two weeks ago on how Banastre is the best toddler in the world. He proved it again Friday night. He went to bed at 9:30 and woke up Saturday at 1:30. Yes, my son slept for 16 hours. Usually he sleeps for 12, but gosh 16!! I was actually starting to get real concerned, but then we made lots of noise and he woke up. It's scary to think of how much he will sleep when he is a teenager if he is already sleeping like this!!

Last week we took our cat Salt to the vet. He was nuetered, declawed, and shaved. (Or as we called it he was deballed, declawed, and dehaired!) I really wanted to put a pic of him on here. It's amazing to see what he looks like with all of his fur gone. For those of you that have never seen Salt, he is a lomg haired Snowshoe Siamese. He wieghed in at 16.2 pounds. Without all the hair he really doesn't look so fat anymore. He is adjusting really well. He actually jumped up onto the chair several times and has finally started eating again. All should be well with him now.

Elizabeth has been getting into trouble recently at school. I am hoping it's just the end of the year jitters mixed with our upcoming move that has her being more defiant. We have had several talks with her regarding choosing the right friends and how we expect her to act. Thursday and Friday ended up being good days and I hope she will keep it up. We have never had a problem woth her actions at school before, so I am hoping this is just a fluke!

Well, I should really get back to packing....right Matthew? I will update when I can, but unless I can find the cable, we won't have any pics until we move!

Banastre Dancing

15 months old

WOW! That's all I can say. Banastre is now 15 months old and Elizabeth is almost 6 1/2!! Time really does fly. Everyone warns you about how fast they grow up. I now beleive it and warn others too!

A few things Banastre can now do:
2 word phrases:
Hey Mama
Hey Dada
Night Night
Good throw
Good dog
Scuse You (As in Excuse me, I burped)

His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds and I cannot keep up with all the new words he can say!
He's practically running every where now and cannot stand to be held, or put in his car seat and stroller. He can even dance and I have been trying to catch it on video. The video posted is the best I have been able to do! Enjoy!

New House Link

Here's the link to a virtual tour of our new home. A few of you have been asking. This is the easiset way:

Florida Home:
http://www.obeo.com/Public/Viewer/Unbranded.aspx?ID=329730&refurl=webapps2.planetrealtor.com

Make sure you click on Panaromas, for some great 360 shots. There are also some pics of the communtiy under Photos. Let me know what you think.

Matt and I were down last week for the home inspection and everything went well, I have other pics, but this really gives you the overall. I love the pool!!!! I can't wait to spend my days in it!!!