A relaxing, family weekend...

...that went entirely too fast!

Weekends always go by too fast! I hate it. This weekend was nice, we didn't do anything. We are all recovering from colds, and it was nice to just enjoy each other. Friday night, we ordered Chinese. Lilah had had a fever all day, and was definitely not herself. She was asleep by 730pm. When we woke up on Saturday, Lilah was back to her spunky self. I hate when the girls are sick. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often, and when it does, it's usually just a minor cold. We've been SO lucky. Wait, I should knock on wood.

Since Lilah was better, we decided to take them swimming. They are doing so great! Mairead is wild. She has gained so much confidence in the last month. She jumps in, goes underwater, and is just doing great. She is also really into swimming without her belt. She can definitely stay afloat for a few strokes. I love watching her improve, she gets so excited! You have to be careful with Mairead though. I don't want her to have a bad experience because she tends to regress easily, and I don't want her to think she can swim...but overall, she is doing amazing in the pool.

Lilah is doing great, too! This kid has NO fear. It's kind of scary. The teacher really wants to get her out of the baby/parent class and get her into a structured class. She is swimming with a belt, and is almost at Mairead's level. This summer should be interesting!

Saturday night we had dinner in, and another quiet night. Kevin and I played some Wii. Our exciting Saturday nights are not what they used to be! I know they'll be more exciting soon enough. Sunday was nice, too. I made some more homemade donuts, and then my parents came for a visit. My dad helped Kevin put up the crown molding in the kitchen, and my mom helped with the girls. We went to Target, and the girls got to pick out a new toy. Lucky them! I made a nice dinner - roast chicken, stuffing, potatoes and veggies. Yum! Looks like I'll be making homemade chicken soup later this week.

The BEST homemade Mac N' Cheese recipe! Ever.

 If you're looking for a healthy Mac N' Cheese recipe, stop here. This one is ridiculously YUMMY and cheesy...

My cousin Brooke's mother makes the best macaroni and cheese from scratch! I had to get the recipe as I had been on the hunt for one that tasted yummy and real without any weird stuff put into it!

For all of you mac n' cheese lovers here is the recipe! I used skim milk instead of the whole milk it calls for, and it was still great. The new amounts on the left of the ingredient is to double the original recipe (original makes 4 servings, the new amounts make 8).

You can click on the image below and it should make it bigger to read.

Enjoy!

Glamour with a little crunch!

A lot of people would look at me and not realize I may swing to the crunch side of the spectrum on a regular basis....well, Ill be honest, on a daily basis. The "glam" side of me loves to shop, loves to spend a few hours at the salon getting my hair highlighted and cut, loves to sip (or chug) a yummy glass of Pinot Noir, loves pedicures and all that fun girly stuff! The "crunchy" side of me is a firm believer in natural childbirth, cloth diapering and tandem nursing. I guess the first two may not come as a surprise for those who know me, but the third may as I don't openly talk about it to just anyone. Yes, that's right, I have and am currently nursing two girls at the same time - I have been nursing consecutively for almost 4 years- no need to gasp! See, I do it, and I appear fairly normal, don't I??? Wait, don't answer that.

I think the word "crunchy" has become much more accepted in the last few years. Now with the whole "Save the Earth" campaign, people have now accepted that it is okay to be crunchy. I guess you could say I have "evolved" into somewhat of a crunchy person. Actually, I think crunchy has an entirely new meaning nowadays.

I had always been extremely interested in midwifery and natural childbirth. When I started working as a labor & delivery nurse, those who went through their labor unmedicated always interested me the most. I loved working with them to help achieve their goal, it was true nursing to me. Even though I had never gone through childbirth myself, I still believed in it, and did my very best to be supportive in any way I could with my patients. When it was time to give birth to my first, Mairead, I wanted to attempt natural childbirth because I knew it was best for mom and baby. The hospital I gave birth and worked at wasn't super "pro natural childbirth", but thankfully I had a nurse who was, and she was amazing. I successfully gave birth to Mairead in 4.5 hours without a single pain medication. I did the same with Lilah in 2 hours, and again with Clara in about an hour. I felt like I could fly after each delivery. It was so invigorating to me. Seriously, it gave me a natural high, something I never realized until I did it myself.

The cloth diapering is fairly new to me. I didn't cloth diaper Mairead, and started Lilah when she was about 18 months old. It was something I had considered with Lilah, but was too afraid to try. I seriously did some research before Clara, and before I knew it, I bought my first stash. Now, Clara is 4 months old, and I am cloth diapering her and Lilah. I really like it. It makes me feel good in all sorts of ways.  It saves our family money. It drastically limits the amount of trash. Instead of emptying our diaper pail each and every week, we empty just every few months. This is an entire other topic for another day!

The third thing about me you may be surprised about is I am an huge advocate of breastfeeding and tandem nursing, which means I am nursing more than one child. If you had asked me if I would ever consider nursing more than one child (one being a toddler!) at the same time, I am pretty sure I would have either laughed, looked at you funny or both! Hell NO, I would have said. When I became pregnant with Lilah, Mairead was just 12 months old. There was no way I could just stop her as she clearly was not ready to wean. It wasn't her decision for me to get pregnant, so I was going to let her wean on her own. I thought for sure she would wean during pregnancy as 60% of infants will wean during a pregnancy, but Mairead didn't. I then found myself nursing both Mairead AND Lilah together. It actually worked out great. I think it cut down on the jealousy Mairead had of her sister, and it was something the girls could share immediately. It was special. Mairead self weaned just shy of 2.5, no tears, no fuss...it was great. Now, I am nursing Lilah and Clara together. Lilah still nurses about 1-2 times a day if that, and I can see the end in the near future. She's becoming less interested in it, so I am guessing it will be in the next several months. It's been such an amazing experience for me, and I am glad I have followed the cues of my children. They are so happy and well adjusted, and if nursing helps with that, I am more than willing to provide that for them until they're ready to wean.

So, are you surprised? Some of my friends have asked me how long I have nursed my kids, and when I tell them the truth, or tell them I cloth diaper, they chuckle or don't believe me - yeah, I don't look like that type! I guess I am! I think you certainly can be a little glam and a little crunch all at the same time! 

Three year old moments...are tough to handle.

I don't know about you, but I have found 3 year olds are much, much tougher to handle than 2 year olds. With Mairead, she never went through the "terrible-two's", she was a really easy 2 year old. Very pleasant, listened well, and very rarely had a tantrum. I wish I could say the same for when she turned 3. It was like a light switch....actually like a whining switch that rarely turned off. Whining to me is like nails on a chalkboard, and I just can't tolerate it. I think the persistent whining has been the most difficult thing to tackle with Mairead.

Last night was the perfect example of a 3 year old moment, at least in our house!

On Wednesday nights, we do swimming lessons. Mairead has her lesson first, and then Lilah has the parent/child class. Mairead is able to swim around the pool during this class. During the class, Mairead was doing something against the rules. The teacher, Joe, came over to Mairead to tell her what she was doing was wrong, and that she needed to jump off the side of the pool when a parent was near her (which she wasn't doing). The teacher was very kind to her, and spoke to her in a calm voice. As Joe was speaking with her, she looked at him like he was yelling at her. I knew what was about to happen..........All of a sudden, she broke into tears, and I mean TEARS. It was right out of a scene from 'All My Children'. She flew out of the pool, not acknowledging Joe and what he told her, and came right over to me. They were just about 10ft away, so I heard and saw everything. The tears were flowing, and she said she wanted to go home. I tried to tell her that Joe was only trying to keep her safe, but she didn't want to hear it. The cries and whines got louder, it was a big scene at the pool. I was so embarrassed. Everyone was looking at us trying to figure out what happened!

I thought Mairead acted inappropriately,  and encouraged her to go over to Joe and apologize for not following the rules, and causing quite the scene. She refused. I didn't know what to do! Mairead just wanted to leave, and I wouldn't allow her to until she apologized. We tried once, and she wouldn't. By this point, class was over, and another was starting. We were still there. Ugh. I hate times like these. I felt like such a bad parent that couldn't control my daughter, why was she acting like this??? I didn't understand it. Finally after about 20 minutes of crying, and I mean sobbing, she apologized, and we left.

Kevin and I tried to guide her, and explain what happened. We told her that people other than mommy and daddy may tell her things she doesn't want to hear, especially a teacher. It's so difficult because you really don't understand how much they comprehend, though in my opinion, I think she understands quite a lot!

The 3's are definitely tough! I really hope the 4s bring less whining to this household!

Babies & Solid foods

I read this article on Baby led weaning and solid foods. It is fascinating, and I think is a great way to introduce solid foods to infants. I used this method with Mairead. I stumbled upon it when Mairead was about 6-7 months old and was refusing all pureed baby foods. I knew delaying solid foods until at least 6 months was the new recommendation from the Academy of Pediatrics, but I didn't know there were other ways to introduce baby food than the traditional cereals or bananas.

When Mairead was an infant, she was just like she is now independent and precocious. You couldn't do much for her that she could do herself, or at least want to try to do. When she turned six months, we started to introduce some solids, but she wanted NOTHING of it. She wanted to put foods into her mouth herself. I thought how in the world can that work? I found an article similar to the one above that talked about this baby led method.

I started Mairead off on homemade chicken soup! I would make a soup for me and Kevin, and a separate one for Mairead. I would use pastina (very tiny, tiny pasta), fresh, homemade broth, and diced up veggies of all sorts. I wouldn't skip out on the garlic or any seasonings. Flavor is good, and I didn't want my children to not like flavor. I'd even use the food processor for some to really get them tiny. I would shred up the chicken in very tiny pieces. I'd cook it all until everything was almost mush. She LOVED it. From that point on, she stuffed bananas in her mouth, everything. I would use a mesh feeder for fruits/veggies so she could do herself. I'd give her a whole apple, peeled, for her to suck on, and explore. Once she got the hang of it, she was eating everything we were eating. Very rarely would I make her something different, and if I did, I would thaw out some chicken soup. By 10 months, she was eating fish (salmon, mahi, haddock/cod, etc), chicken (just diced up nice and tiny), steak (same way as chicken) she LOVED it all. Now, at almost 4, she eats just about everything. She never had baby food, or even cereals. Her diet is amazing. We will go to the grocery store and she will ask for steamers (clams), and even lobster/shrimp.

Lilah was the same. At about 7 months, I introduced the mesh feeder and would put fresh bananas, avocados, etc in it. She loved it. Once she got used to the texture, we introduced the table foods, especially the soup. Like Mairead, Lilah is an amazing eater. They eat all meats, fruits, and vegetables.

Now, don't get me wrong, we may just be lucky our girls are such great eaters, but I really do attribute their love for fish, meat and fresh foods to the way we introduced food to them at an early age. I don't know about you, but I don't like food in the form of mush. Texture is good. Once kids learn to like texture, they'll start to appreciate different foods. Another thing we do is that we don't make separate meals for the kids, they eat what we eat. Period. I am not a short order cook, and having multiple kids does not mean that I am going to make multiple meals. If our kids don't eat what we eat, then they don't eat. We will make exceptions if we are eating something strange, but we're a meat/fish type family...not much strange going on here!

What are your opinions on introducing foods to infants? Do you think this method is crazy, or do you think there is some truth to it? It's fascinating!

Haiti: What's your opinion on this Facebook Post?

A guy I went to college with has this posted as his status:

America: a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations.

What is your honest opinion on this post? Do you agree with it? Disagree? 

 I am not going to beat around the bush on this topic. When I saw this posted this morning, I wanted to agree with him. Kevin and I had a similar conversation last week about this. While I DO think people should contribute to Haiti, and want to help others, I also think Americans should be contributing to our own issues. When I hear how much money the government is sending to Haiti, I gasped. Why can't they pour money into our school systems? Or help those who are struggling each and every day to make ends meet? Like the post above stated, there are those without shelter, without food, just like those in Haiti right here in our own country. I also think it is none of my business to tell others where to put their money, and sending $10 to Haiti is a wonderful thing!However, the government needs to put the money into our own country. Charity begins at home and until there are children who are not starving here in the United States, focus needs to stay on us first, and everyone else second.

On the other hand, I think it is was amazing to hear just how much money was raised for the people of Haiti in one night. Americans surely can be generous, and it is an indication of how great our country is. Instead of having the telethon, and asking Americans who are struggling to contribute, why couldn't all these millionaires, put more of their money on the line? While they may have given money out, I do not think they gave enough.

I hope those reading this don't have a different opinion of me. My opinions are just that. Opinions. Americans should give to charity more often. The telethon showed just how much good people can do, a little from a lot of people can go a long way. Let's be that motivated to help our own people.

Rainy Mondays & Cookie Making!

I am not a fan of the rain, especially in the dead of winter. We're supposed to get SEVERAL inches of rain with high winds. Kevin came home and took Mairead to dance. He had been promising her to go and watch. Clara slept, and Lilah and I had some down time together watching the Wizard of Oz. One of her favorites. I don't get much one-on-one time with Lilah, so it was really nice snuggling with her on the couch! Once Mairead got home and daddy went back to work, we started a project - cookie making!

If you don't know already, I am so not a fan of arts & crafts. Instead of Arts & Crafts, I usually throw the option of cookies out there, and it usually works! Today, we made Chocolate chip cookies. I have been on the hunt for a really GOOD recipe, so I tried this one from Bakerella.

Here's Mairead getting all her ingredients ready to bake! She is so anxious to start measuring and mixing all of the ingredients together.Not only is she anxious to start baking, but she's anxious to start trying! It's not easy keeping her little fingers out of the bowl! I feel like I wash the girls hands a million times...

Here is Lilah mixing everything together! She was so proud of herself. Of course, she had to be dressed in a princess costume :)

Here are the cookies getting ready to go into the oven. Of course, we all had to taste the batter to make sure they tasted yummy!









Here is Lilah trying to sneak in a taste before they go in! Nothing like cookie making in the nude :)















 Here is Clara sitting in her bumbo watching us cook! Her eyes keep getting more and more blue! So beautiful...

Here is the final product - just out of the oven. Don't they look yummy!?

Vomit.

I hate vomit. Everything about it. I hate to vomit. I hate the smell of vomit. I hate watching someone vomit. I hate hearing someone vomit. Like I said, everything. I can handle a lot of nasty things, even poop doesn't bother me like vomit does.

When I was working as a labor & delivery nurse and my patients would start to vomit, I would jump back. I always felt guilty, but I couldn't take the chance of getting vomit on my clothes! Thankfully, that didn't happen much :)

So last night, while we were spending the night at my parents, Lilah was coughing, but we put her to bed as usual, she was acting fine. Of course, she was making a game out of going to bed, so Kevin shut the door. She eventually fell asleep, and all was good. When I went upstairs to kiss her goodnight, I walked into the bedroom, and what did I smell? Vomit. I said "Kevin, I smell vomit." "No, really?" he said. I turned the lights on, and sure enough, Lilah had vomited all over herself. Not sure if she did it in her sleep or what, but she did it. IT. WAS. EVERYWHERE. All over her hair, her PJs, the bed, her Loo (lovey), everything. We stared at her for a minute sleeping, a moment of mommy and daddy guilt lay over us. We felt horrible.

She was sound asleep. How? The smell was horrid! I could barely touch her without wanting to vomit myself. My mom and Kevin undressed her, and I brought her into the bathroom. I had to dunk her head under the sink. There was NO way I could possibly put her back to bed without cleaning her hair. She cried, and cried. Half asleep and not knowing what I was doing to her. I washed her face, and put a new shirt on her.

I held her tightly, told her I was sorry and if that ever happened again, she needs to cry or tell mommy or daddy. It was sad, but she crawled right back into bed, and went right to sleep. Thankfully that was the only drama for the rest of the night.

Putting away baby clothes...

...always is bittersweet. In some instances, it makes me sad. I love when my babies are teeny tiny. They're so tender and sweet. All they want is you, and to feel their warm body on your chest as you hold them is amazing. The little noises they make. Their existence is so simple. I love it. Putting away the girls preemie clothes and newborn clothes is the hardest for me. It makes me come to terms they are NOT newborns anymore. Most pieces I have all have special meaning to me. Some pieces are specific to each girl, their first outfit after birth, who wore them first, the most, etc. I am hoping to someday make a quilt for each girl with their "special" items on that quilt. Kevin thinks I am crazy when I tell him how it makes me feel sad putting away clothes, he doesn't get it. I don't expect him to, men just don't understand those strong maternal feelings.

Now, don't get me wrong, it doesn't just make me sad, it also makes me thankful and happy. I am thankful because I have given birth to healthy baby girls who have been able to wear these clothes. I am thankful because we are able to give our girls such beautiful clothes, and many pieces have SO many memories attached to them. When I was pregnant with Lilah, I was so nervous we wouldn't be bringing a healthy baby home at one point, but thankfully, she was/is perfect.

As I put each piece of clothing back into storage, and bring the next stage of clothing out, I am happy. My baby girl is growing and thriving, and up until this point, it is all because of me. It's amazing to think Clara has only had breast milk, and she is growing...fast. The human body is amazing, it knows exactly what to do, and I trust that. I also ask myself if these clothes will ever have another memory attached to them again? or will this be the last time any of my children wear these clothes. It's bittersweet for sure.

I look forward to the next stage. I hope when it is time to put this stage of clothing away for the next, I will be just as sad, thankful and happy as I am now.

Who needs a doll....

When you have a little sister???

Lilah in the doll's "pack n' play" playing house with Mairead.

Never a dull moment!

Yesterday afternoon, I let Phoebe and Emmie outside for some playtime, like I usually do. Well, I had been wrestling with Clara trying to get her to have a good nap, then my mom called, and I spoke with her for a while. After getting off the phone with her, I started to clean up a bit, then the phone rang again. It was a name I didn't recognize, but I answered anyways...

"Hi, this is so-and-so from Animal Control, I have your two dogs"

ME: (confused, and then it hit me) Oh, Shit, I thought. "Hi, ummm, really? where?"

AC: "Yeah, two yellows. One big, and one small. They're here off of gravel road and black point. I have them both with me. If I can get them both into my truck, I'll drop them off for you, if I can't, you'll have to come get them"

They always romp around in the woods behind our house, especially in the winter. This is when they chase animals, or eat deer poop. They must have been chasing something to get out as far as they did.

The guy was super nice. I was praying he was able to get them into his truck. I had two sleeping babes! The dogs love the car, so I didn't think he'd have a problem, and he didn't.

When he arrived to our house, the dogs jumped out of the truck cheerfully with leashes strapped to them. The scene out of "Annie" with Sandy and Annie trying to escape Animal Control came into my mind! I started laughing inside. I thanked the guy for bringing my dogs home safely, and asked what the dogs were doing.

"Oh, they were in someones garage rumaging through their trash."

Geez, it's not like we don't feed them! Never a dull moment here in the Ferrie household. If it isn't the kids, it's the dogs! Of course, I had to post on facebook that "two of my girls were brought home my animal control" - I never specified WHICH two girls! Everyone thought it was Mairead & Lilah :)

Happy 4 months, Clara!

Today marks Clara's 4 month birthday! For some reason, this milestone has hit me the hardest so far! It really does not feel like it has been four months since Clara was born. I'm sure it is because she is our third, and life gets busy!

Clara is such a little sweetheart! I think she has changed so much in the last month. She has gone from a little infant that just sweet talks with you, to an infant who talks and talks, uses her voice to get attention, and loving to play with toys! It really is amazing. She watches every little thing Mairead & Lilah do, and even the girls are really into Clara now that she is so interactive with everyone. The one thing that has changed in the last month is her daytime sleeping habits! She went from sleeping the majority of the day, to not being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. This does NOT make for a happy Clara belle! Thankfully, her nighttime sleeping habits haven't changed very much. She is nursing for the last time between 10-11pm, and then she'll sleep until around 4-5am, which isn't bad! In the last week, she was waking a few times at 230am, but going right back to sleep. During the day, she nurses every 2-3 hours. Though, in the evening, it isn't uncommon for her to want to nurse off and on for a few hours :) - hey! whatever helps her sleep at night, right?

I am hoping these changes in her sleeping habits are just due to a growth spurt, and all the changes she is making! Both Mairead & Lilah had some changes in sleeping habits around this age. I am really hoping Clara is not developing bad napping habits like Mairead. As an infant, Mairead protested naps. She would take 30-60 minute cat naps about 4-5 times a day. It was horrid. Even as a toddler, she refused to nap more than an hour. Mairead never caught up on her sleep, and by the evening, she had troubles going to bed. Even at 3.5, Mairead does not nap, and hasn't done so in a long, long, long time.

With Clara being the 3rd, I don't have the time to spend with Clara putting her to sleep multiple times a day like I did with Mairead. She is going to have to learn to sleep. We learned with Lilah, a well-rested baby is a happy and content one. Clara surely has her own personality, but I also see so much of the girls in her, too!

I am so excited for the next few months with Clara! She is really going to come into herself, and it's just going to be great!



We love you, Clara!

When did she get so big?

Last night, I walked upstairs to go to bed. Mairead and Lilah were fast asleep in their rooms. When I walked into Mairead's room to kiss her goodnight, she was uncovered, with her legs spread out wide. She looked so big laying there; I almost didn't recognize my little girl...When did my little girl get so big? When did she leave the toddler stage, and enter the next? It all happens so fast. She has grown so much since we moved here to Maine just about 20 months ago. Mairead had just turned two, Lilah's age, when we moved. Now look at her! She is independent in so many things, and such a big helper to her mommy.

It truly amazes me how fast these little princesses grow up. It seems it was just yesterday she was an infant, even a toddler. I surely try not to wish my days away, I love when they are little like my girls are. Sure, it can be tough some days, but overall, it is the best, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Do you ever feel like you walk into a room, see your child(ren), and are amazed at how big they are? How much they've changed since a certain event? It almost seems like they can change overnight...

The newest SCREAMER in the house!

Boy! I think we are in trouble! Clara has officially found her voice, and not just the cute little baby babble, but the high-pitched screams! It is so funny to hear her get so excited over her voice. I am thinking she is learning that if she wants to be heard over her two sisters, she has gotta be able to be just as loud if not louder than they are! Not only does she use her new found screams to show her excitement, she also has started using them to start letting us know she is getting upset....bored....or lacking attention! UH OH! Watch out for our little Clara belle, I am thinking she is really coming into herself! Here is a video of her this morning playing under her play mat, which is her absolute favorite thing to do, especially in the morning after she wakes up.

UH OH - gotta run. She's awake.....for the 3rd time from her morning nap. She is currently on a nap strike, and I am hoping it ends really soon. She needs to sleep or else she is NOT happy. This is a subject for another day. Until then...Enjoy the video.

Football Vs. Family - who wins?

I love weekends. Weekends to me scream family time. Who doesn't love family time? Kevin loves weekends, too! Weekends to him in the winter scream FOOTBALL.....ugh.

Today we woke up, and had a leisurely morning. The girls swim place sometimes has open swims on the weekend, and today was one of those days, so we planned to take Mairead & Lilah swimming. Clara's naps have been on the fritz lately, so I wanted to make sure she got back into a nap routine this weekend while Kevin was home.

We had tentative plans with Dawn's family today to get together for some fun - the kids play, the adults have some good conversation and of course some yummy drinks. Dawn called this morning to tell us her little boy had the puke bug over night, so needless to say, we were postponing until tomorrow to be sure all was well. We took the girlies to swim and fun was had by all. It's amazing how much progress both girls have made since the summer. Mairead is swimming with just the help of a bubble on her back, and this is HUGE. Just a few weeks ago, she wouldn't let go of the barbel nor get her face wet without coaxing! Lilah is just crazy. She swims with just a bubble, too, practically drowning. She jumps in, and will sink to the bottom, swim up with a big smile on her face. It's awesome. Here are a few videos:






When we returned home, we had no power. Seems like this happens quite often here. It was only off for about 1-2 hours. Not too bad. We had plans to run errands after naps, Kevin was all worried about the 430pm football game. What? We can't go out unless there is a football game on??? I mean, hell, there is another game on tonight, and TWO on tomorrow. What more could he ask for? Can you tell I am not a huge football fan? It bugs me. It consumes almost an entire weekend day! Not to mention if your hubby likes college football, it could possibly consume two entire weekend days, a Monday night and NOW Thursday night games?

This afternoon, family time is winning, but tonight will be a toss up. I'd like a quiet, fun night with Kevin having a few drinks and playing some Wii, but I think if I said, he could watch the game, and I'll surf the net, he would happily oblige. I love you, baby!

...it's not always bad!

It's usually almost always more GOOD than bad. There is almost always more LOVE than hate. Tonight, they reclaimed themselves and played happily ever after. It melts my heart...These are the times when I don't think we should stop at 3 :)!

Kevin is working late tonight, so it's just the girls...literally....me, Mairead, Lilah, Clara, Phoebe and Emmie. I am cooking up some sauce and pasta, and the girls are playing magnet dolls happily together at the table here in the kitchen. I love when they play like this together. It surely puts a smile on my face!

THE Lid.

I'm sure you're wondering why I am posting a photo of a lid. This lid goes to one of the girls baby doll cups. Nothing special, right? WRONG!

This morning we came downstairs, and the girls started playing, each with their own toy. Everyone was happy...for a minute. Mairead was playing with her doctor kit, and Lilah came into the kitchen where she saw this LID on the floor. She immediately picked it up. Mairead caught wind that Lilah had something of interest to her. Mairead immediately started screaming and crying at Lilah because she wanted that toy, and Lilah needed to give it to her immediately! If you didn't know what happened, you would have thought something HORRIFIC happened to Mairead in the way she was acting over this lid!

This is one of those situations where you look at your kids like they're crazy! I mean, they're fighting over a LID....to a doll's cup!?! Really? Mairead was acting as if the world was ending because Lilah didn't want to give the LID up. Of course, Lilah had no use for the lid, and was only holding it because she knew Mairead wanted it SO badly. You gotta love sibling rivalry.

I posted this "topic" on facebook, and got lots of responses from other mammas. I know for sure I am not the only one who deals with this type of sibling behavior, and since the girls are close in age, they want to play with the SAME toys. I find it funny that most kids go through the same type of behavior, as much as you want to think it isn't normal, it is - unfortunately.

My girlfriends posted about her girls fight over the TOILET! I chuckled, because my girls do the same. Lilah has been potty trained since about 20 months, so if she yells "peeee peeeeeee" while running to the bathroom, and Mairead catches on, Mairead books it to beat her to the toilet and says "I have to go..."

I guess you have to laugh at scenarios such as these. They're kids, and I guess they have to learn what exactly they can get away with, especially with each other. Today has been one of those days where if one girl has a toy, the other wants THAT toy. Lots of toy time outs today...but that's okay. Tomorrow is another day. I just look at my girls and think how simple life is for them...a LID was something to cry about.

The girls have a new cousin!

This morning I was up at 7:30am, and for those of you who know me well, that's EARLY! I'm also sure if I told you I was out of the house with my three little ladies at 915am, you wouldn't believe me either or you may ask what motivated me to do such a thing?!?

Well, if you didn't read below, you wouldn't know that my brother and his wife, Carley, had their first baby boy on Saturday! Since they live about 1hr45 minutes away from us here in Maine, I had to get up early to make a day out of it. Mairead and I were up at 7:30, and I let Lilah sleep until 8am, when I had to wake her. We got dressed, had breakfast, and ran out the door, all by 9:15! I had to pick my mom up in Exeter so she could come with me. Clara absolutely hates the car, so it was great to have a little extra help with her - thanks, Mom!

We spent the afternoon with Carley and new baby Landon. He is so cute, and so tiny! It completely blows my mind away that Clara was exactly his size just 3.5 months ago. They grow SO fast, seriously! Where does time go? It was great to hold a newborn again, thankfully, Clara is still little enough to want to be cuddled and held like a newborn. Mairead and Lilah had a great time playing with their newest cousin, and doing some arts & crafts. While the girls played, I snapped some photos of Landon. Isn't he beautiful???

The girls had a blast! Mairead is so incredibly amazing with little babies. She is a natural. I loved watching her hold and talk to her new cousin. It's so special! Lilah loved giving little Landon kisses, too. They are both so sweet!

2 Papas, 1 Mimi & 1 Nana all in ONE room...

...make for three very spoiled little girls!

Today, we all drove down to Exeter to visit my parents for the afternoon. Since my parents and Kevin's parents live so far away, it's always nice to get everyone together for a day! The girls love having their 2 papas, Mimi and Nana all together, and let me tell you, they definitely were NOT lacking in attention! A lot of kids may have all their grandparents in one area of the country where it is easier to get together on a semi-regular basis, but since our parents are on different ends of the country, it makes it a bit difficult for us!

My dad (Papa Steve) had been working on a little sledding (luge) hill for the girls. We packed all of the girls snow crap and snow tube so they could have fun! Mairead was a bit reserved as usual...she doesn't like the cold! She's just like her mamma! Lilah, of course, had a blast! She was ending up in the trees, with the brush in her face, and she didn't care at all! After the girls were done outside, we came in for some hot chocolate. The girls played with Nana's dress up jewelry upstairs, and Clara just enjoyed being in the arms of whomever! We ordered pizza, the guys watched the Patriots get torn apart, and everyone was happy!   Even the dogs had fun! Phoebe ended up having a sleepover with Bella, so we came home with only one dog. Emmie thought she was getting the raw end of the deal until we pulled up to the "Meat House" and the guy gave her a HUGE, and I mean HUGE marrow bone! She didn't miss Phoebe after that.

The girls had a blast with everyone. It sometimes makes me wish that all of our family lived close(r) together...even a few hours apart would make a big difference. It was so nice having all four grandparents together in one room; it doesn't happen nearly enough. When we lived in Virginia, it was so tough being away from both sets. We always felt like we were trying to make our visits even, or we were leaving someone out. It is definitely much easier living near one family, than living near none.

Visitors & I'm an auntie!

Since my last post, things have quieted down a bit! Kevin's parents flew in late Thursday afternoon for a long weekend visit. We've been hanging out with them, and watching the girls enjoy all the attention they could ever ask for. Mairead and Lilah have been in heaven playing with Mimi and Papa. It's been a nice break for mamma and daddy, but it's also been nice spending time with them, too. They were here last back in October when Clara was just three months old. She is a completely different baby from when they held her last.

Yesterday we just hung out here. We woke up and Emmie was limping pretty badly. We were worried, and we didn't know how she did it. I think I kicked her off our bed at some point in the early morning, and she probably tweaked her shoulder. She was miserable, so miserable we took her to the vet. They thought she just had a soft tissue injury, so we gave her some meds, and brought her home. Since she was hurting, we just ordered Thai food and had some fun moments outside with the girls.

Today, we headed off to the mall and also got word my brother's wife, Carley, was in labor! Poor girl was 3 days over due, and finally was in labor! Those little boys love their mama! I was so psyched for them. I gave Carley a few pointers, but after she saw me deliver Clara (naturally), that was the only IMPORTANT pointer I could give her - one she'd never forget! She delivered her baby boy (nameless at the moment) at 5:41pm.......and oh yeah! I guessed the date and missed the time only be 19 minutes! Not too shabby! :) Congrats, guys! I'm so psyched for you. Other than that, we made a yummy haddock dinner, and called it a night.

Kevin's parents leave on Monday, and we'll be back to a more normal routine. Too bad it's been super cold, and not too snowy! This whole baby business almost makes me want another....almost! I'll save that topic for another blog day...

When you're having one of those mornings...just stay home!

Today has been one of those days...When Mairead woke up at 730am and whined within the first few minutes of waking up, I knew it was going to be a "whiney" kind of morning. Whining to me is like nails on a chalkboard. It just goes right through me, and makes me want to scream! I tried to stay positive, but the morning kept getting worse! The girls were fighting, and Clara won't sleep for more than 45-60 minutes at a time lately. I'm trying to get out of the house to run a few errands before Kevin's parents come into town. I heard that WalMart had some really great baskets for cheap, so I decided to hit walmart since it was a two-fer --- groceries and baskets.

When I got into the car, Mairead started screaming. She wanted to take off her sweater in her car seat. She melted, and so did I. I felt horrible for snapping at her, but I had enough of her whining and crying over nothing. Clara was screaming, and I couldn't get my act together to leave. But..I did.

Off we went to Wal-Mart. The girls were great in the store, no whining, and we just had some fun. They picked out some fruit and things to eat, and we were all good. We checked out, and headed back to the car. Strapped in the girls, and everyone was happy - except for Clara. She hates the car.

I hopped in my seat, put the keys in the ignition and CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK.......nothing. Tried again, and got the same. UH OH. My car was freakin' dead....and I was stuck in walmart parking lot! I knew I shouldn't have left the house this morning! I called Kevin, not expecting him to be able to leave since he was planning on leaving early to pick his parents up, but he did. He was there in 20 minutes! Thank God for him or else I would have had to summon some strange man to help...also my girlfriend, Cassie, called to help out, but by then, Kevin was on his way.

The girls managed very well! The DVD in the car still worked, so they happily sat and watched Elmo, which was a big treat. We only let the girls watch a movie in the car on lengthy car rides, or if we are sitting in the car while I nurse Clara. They didn't say a peep....until the DVD died, too!

We made it safely home, gave the girls lunch, and off they went for their rest! Ahhh, days like this make me cherish the quiet afternoons!!!

Pottery Barn Kids

I am a BIG fan...I mean, who isn't? I look at the Pottery Barn catalogs and drool all over myself. If I had endless money, I think I would buy almost everything in the store, especially for my kids! The bedrooms are to die for.

Our toyroom in our house is a mess. There isn't a specific spot for everything, and it bothers me. I want everything to have it's place, especially all the little pieces. I'm tired of throwing everything into 2-3 bins, and calling it quits. Kevin agreed. We found an awesome unit in PB kids that would suit us perfectly. The Cameron Media System was on sale back in early December. We called to order it, but the lady wouldn't honor the price in the catalog and used the excuse the Espresso was backordered, but was told we could order this other one for $300 more. Yeah, right. Last week, we picked up the newest catalog for PB Kids at the mall, and the media system was on sale again. We called right when we got home, spoke with a lady who said the catalog shouldn't have been given to us, and wouldn't honor the sale price. Kevin was pissed. He wrote a letter to customer service. I called the next day to see if we would be told something else. We were. The price was miraculously in the system, but the lady couldn't honor the "no surcharge", and we'd have to call back the next day to have that money refunded to us. Fine. We did ordered it. We kept calling, and it wasn't in their system. Finally, we were told that the price would be this, and everything was taken care of. Great, we were psyched.

Today, the UPS man shows up with our furniture! YEAH! I was psyched. Looked at the invoice, and we were charged 190.00 more than we should have been. WTF! I called PB Kids, and spoke to a super nice lady named Donna. She read through all of the notes in our file and couldn't believe the shit we had been shoveled. She fixed the price, and honored the quoted price, which was $200 less than what we should have been charged. The original lady didn't charge us tax, and gave us free shipping when she shouldn't have. The nice lady fixed everything, honored the price (only had to charge us the tax), and gave us an additional $100 in merchandise credit!

So, I had been pissed at PB Kids for their crappy customer service with incorrect pricing, etc, but after today, I am feeling positive about PB Kids, and hope our negative experiences were just a fluke.

Now, Kevin and I can get the toy room organized!

Like I said...

You never know what she's going to do next...now, in her defense, I don't know which dog did this. I ran into it this afternoon upon cleaning up my house. Always an adventure...always an adventure!

To be a dog...

Doesn't she look comfy cozy? I wouldn't mind falling fast asleep on a posh dog bed and sleeping the day away! I always wondered why people use the phrase "sleep like a baby" - I think I like "sleep like a dog" much better!

Here is our pup, Emmie or "M Dawg" or "Freak Dog" enjoying a nice afternoon nap in her bed after chasing deer and eating their poop in our backyard this morning.

Each day we wake up wondering what Emmie will throw up today.....a sock? deer poop? It's always a mystery with Em Dog! She definitely makes us laugh on a daily basis...

When the man is SICK...

...there isn't anything like it! We've all been dealing with MINOR colds for the last month. Thankfully, nothing serious, but you know, even the sniffles can bring on misery in a male. Yesterday morning, we were awoken at 4am to Mairead having a coughing fit. Kevin got up with her, and brought her into our room. We all crawled back into bed, but Kevin kept hacking and clearing his throat, which is equivalent to a lion roaring at that hour! By that point in the night, Clara was snuggled up in the crook of my arm nursing, and every time Kevin cleared his throat "ROAR!", Clara's eyes popped open wide as can be, and she has wide eyes! and drifted back to sleep. I think it took awhile to finally ignore it, and fall asleep. That morning, he gave me the "bad news" -- "I think I'm getting sick!" - Nooooo I thought! Sometimes it's worse having a sick husband than having sick kids! Thankfully there hasn't been much complaining from the only male in the house! I tell Kevin, if the kids aren't fussy with the cold, then Kevin can't be either :)

This topic always reminds me of the time Kevin and I were on our honeymoon. We were in Santorini, Greece. Kevin had a cold. Bad News. We were in one of the most beautiful places ever, and Kevin was sick. It was horrible for the both of us. Kevin just wanted to go back to the boat and take a nap, and I wanted to go and explore! The next day, we were in Athens, Greece. We were exploring the ruins, and then went to The Placa (Greek Market), and Kevin stopped and said "If I were home, I wouldn't go to work today, and I'd be sleeping all day." I looked at him and laughed! We were in the middle of the mediterranean, and he wanted to sleep..."We're on our honeymoon! Let's go have fun!"

The funniest times was when we were living in Virginia. He had a pretty nasty cold, but it was just a cold. Kevin had to get up super early for work, and hopped in the shower...a hot shower. After his LONG, HOT shower, he felt HOT, so he took his temperature, and what do you know, he said he had a "fever" - so off to work he went. Went to sick call, and they gave him antibiotics...gotta love over prescribing antibiotics. He told me what he did, and I said "you took your temp AFTER you had a HOT shower?" and he responded "yes"....and I laughed. Of course his body temp would be higher after a long, hot shower!"

Overall, we have all been really lucky! It's fun to rag on the only man in the house! Everyone knows men can't handle being sick like women can, that's why we are the ones birthing these babies!

I'm a New Englander....He's a Floridian.....how did we meet???

Kevin and I have an amazing story, and I love to tell about it. Most people look back at the last 5.5 years of our time together, and get dizzy! It's been a crazy, but awesome 5.5 years, and we have accomplished so much together! I look at our amazing family, and it just shows how much love we have for each other! It definitely hasn't been easy, but nothing in life is that easy, especially when it comes to marriage and raising a family.

I got my bachelors of science degree in Nursing from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. At that time, Kevin was working in Tampa for the Coast Guard. We dated very casually, and since we lived 2 hours apart, it wasn't really that easy to have anything more than a casual relationship. We got together, had some fun out in Tampa, and met for dinner. One of the last times we saw each other in Florida, Kevin was working a job down in Fort Myers. I met him and his friends out down at Fort Myers beach, when I left, Kevin was yacking in a tub after drinking a weeee bit much! I said my good-byes, and didn't expect to see him again.

Fast forward a few years later.....

After graduating from FGCU, I was working as a nurse in New Hampshire and living with my parents. I was working nights, and one night we were bored. We were surfing the internet, and while working with a bunch of single ladies, we went onto match.com. Tsk...Tsk, right? :) There was a contest for "Live! With Regis & Kelly's" dream date search. We joked around, and I said I would enter as a joke. Well, I kept making it further to the next round, and before I knew it, I was in NYC with my girlfriend Molly on TV! It was crazy. I couldn't believe I actually went through with it, but I did. The guy (Casey Mears - Nascar driver) didn't choose me, but he was a dud, and I was just happy to hang with Molly in NYC. When I arrived home, there was an email from...

Kevin Ferrie

I thought "there's a blast from the past!", he was going to grad school at University of Michigan. He was apparently "milking a hangover" and stopped on "Live!  With Regis & Kelly" because there was a mention of "3 lovely ladies". Next thing, he recognized me! At that time, we were both in relationships that were in their ending stages. We kept in contact here and there. After he moved from Michigan to DC, we started talking a lot more via telephone and internet. We decided to reconnect.

In August 2004, Kevin flew to see me. We spent the weekend together. We had so much fun, it seemed too good to be true. When he left, I had that feeling. We continued to see each other, flying back and forth from Virginia. There was definitely something there. Just days before Christmas, Kevin surprised me by flying to NH to propose. He used a "Build-a-Bear" dressed like Johnny Damon with the ring attached. I couldn't believe it!

Before I knew it, I had my condo for sale, gave my notice at my job and I was moving to Northern Virginia to be with Kevin. We were married that September (2005) just one year after we met for the second time. Talk about a whirlwind! We had an amazing wedding weekend with all of our friends and family. To take things to the next level, we found out we were expecting our little honeymoon token, Mairead, just days after our arrival back home to the states...and the rest is history.

I love the story about me and Kevin. What are the chances of something like this happening? I knew there was a reason why I decided to go on the show. Everyone kept telling me "you never know what this will bring" and they were right...

To Blog...or Not to Blog...

I have been toying with the idea of starting a new blog for the past several months, but I had mixed feelings about doing so. It's been a snowy mess the last few days here in Maine, and I figured I might as well start a blog, it's a good excuse not to do laundry or clean my house. Doing this would be a fun way to keep track of the trials and tribulations of raising three small girls, who are all close in age. It's a household full of what I like to call "controlled chaos". I love it, and would not have it any other way.

Mairead, who is now 3.5 (born on 5.10.06) is my precocious, independent eldest daughter. She is the leader of the pack, or what I like to call the other mamma in the house. She loves to tend to her babies - nurse and cloth diaper (yes, I've taken a liking to cloth diapering) them and boss around her sister, Lilah. She loves to talk, and is as girly girl as they get. She definitely makes me and Kevin (my husband) laugh on a daily basis. Mairead was what we call our little honeymoon token. Yep, she was conceived sometime during our honeymoon. We're guessing sometime during our stay in Barcelona, Spain. She surely put me and Kevin's newlywed status into high gear! Nothing like getting a positive pregnancy test just days after a honeymoon. Phew!

Lilah, who is just 2 (born on 12.19.07) is what we call our "sweet little Lilah". Mairead and Lilah are 19 months apart. Lilah is as sweet as they come...usually. She loves to snuggle up, kiss and hug, but the one thing about Lilah is that she can be nasty! She may be the first to give you a hug or a kiss, but can also be the first to slap you across the face. Lilah's personality definitely snuck in on us. As an infant, she was our quiet one, slept all the time, and was just as laid back as they came. Much, MUCH different than Mairead. Once she started walking at 10 months, she was off and running, and so was her personality! I should have known after about 15 weeks of bedrest with her, that she could be full of trouble! Her personality is awesome. She loves to try and make people laugh, and if you don't laugh, she has no trouble laughing at herself.

Last, but certainly not least, is our little Clara "belle" or Kevin sometimes calls her "Clara bear". She and Lilah are 21 months apart and was born on 9.20.09. So yes, at the moment, we have three girls all under the age of 4. It's too early to talk about Clara's personality, I'm afraid to say! We were so wrong (but happily surprised) with Lilah, who knows what Clara will bring to our crazy crew. At the the moment, she seems like she has a pretty easygoing, but sometimes high maintenance personality. She has many characteristics of both Mairead and Lilah, and I think she brings the three girls together. If anything, she's been a great baby so far, and hasn't scared me away from the thought of bringing just one more to our clan - right, Kev? :)

If that's not enough for you, we have two yellow labs, and yes, you guessed it, they are both girls. Phoebe who is 6.5 and Emmie who is 18 months. It definitely brings some extra chaos to our family, but I wouldn't change it. The girls love the dogs, and the dogs love them.

Some days I feel bad for Kevin being surrounded by 6 (lovely) females in the house, but I think he handles it pretty damn well. The girls (including myself) love him to pieces, even the dogs, and while I think the constant attention drives him crazy on occasion, I also like to think he wouldn't have it any other way. You can't have too much love, right?

I'm not sure what I'll do with this blog, but I hope I can have a little bit of fun with it. Stay tuned for more...