It is official

I have decided to start my own business!  It is small, but it is doing something I love, Accounting/Bookkeeping.  I had a job offer from a local Bookkeeping company and when I was telling my parents about it my mom simply said, "why don't you just start you own and charge what you know you are worth", pretty simple mom and a great idea, why had the thought never really crossed my mind?  Well I will tell you why, because there is no guarantee, that is why.  I don't wan to put forth the money and really the time if I don't know that anything will come of it, I need a safety net.  Que Andrew (my love, my partner, my encourage r), for him it was simple, if you build it they will come.  "Don't worry about the money, don't worry about the time".   I can honestly say it was never a pride thing (mostly because if I did "fail" then I still had the hardware and software to use as I wanted).  For me it really comes down to the money, I wanted a return on my investment (can you blame me?).  I guess that is pretty good thing coming from a small accounting/bookkeeping start up, right?   Hardware, check.  Software, check.  Now we just have to put together some advertising verbiage and get that baby in the DCR. We are going to start there for a few reasons, it is pretty inexpensive and there is no contact for listings.  I hope to have this done by mid November at the latest that way it allows for any small businesses to finish up 2011 with their current provider and possible switch to me in 2012.  I will keep you all posted as to how it is going, lets pray for at least 4 clients by 2012 (I already have 1 that I have been doing for about 3 years), so if you know of anybody in the market for an out of house accountant let me know.

Time to catch up

I know I have been a bit behind so let me catch you up on what has been going on around here.  Life seems like there is not a lot going on, but then when I sit down to do something it feel like there has been so much going on that I just want to minute to sit still.  Lets see, Wednesday I spent out that evening with a dear friend Elizabeth. We chatted over beer at my brothers bar (if you have never been there it is a must on your next Denver visit).  Andrew and I decided it would be good for me to take all Wednesdays off and away from home in the PM.  I typically go to my Marian group every other and stay home the other ones.  The plan, though it has not worked out yet, is to go to the church and spend some time in deep personal prayer.  But you know what end up happening, I feel bad about leaving and then I stay later than I should and I never actually make it out the door.  I know control issues right, it is not as if Andrew can't take care of the kids, I just don't want it to feel like a burden to him (that is a whole other blog entry for another day).  For the record Andrew tries to push me out the door, it is my issue not his.  It was good to get out, I know I have said it before, but a night out is really good for me as a mother, it helps me appreciate my kids so much more the next day.  Gosh that sounds really bad saying it out loud, but I am sure many of you moms can relate; you know the saying absence make the heart grow fonder.  So so true!

Thursday we spent the morning at a pumpkin patch with the girls for MOPS, this really made it feel like a real fall day (even though it hit almost 75 that day).  Hannah had so much fun going thru the corn maze, though it was a bit difficult at times, she ended up finding her way out.  She LOVED the corn box (it was a sand box that had dried corn in it instead of sand).  A lot of kids were being buried in corn and just tossing it around and rolling it, I personally love this because there is no sand in the shoes when we get home, or in their hair for that matter.  It was so good to see some friend that both of us had not seen in a while.  Hannah slept exceptionally well that afternoon if you can imagine.  Felicity on the other hand has not been napping well in the morning at all!  We are trying a new approach that a friend Christy recommended called pick up put down.  We will see how that next three days go, but I can tell you last night from 12:30 to 2 she was up just screaming, and every time she stood up I was in there putting her right back down.  I finally caved after 2 hours and rocked her to sleep (well Andrew did at least).  I tried to say the rosary as I stood in there going back and forth with her, but there is just something that does not seem right about saying the rosary when I am so irritated.  I hope I am getting at least something out of it.  As for Felicity we will see how tonight goes, say a prayer for us and that this madness ends soon!  Truth be told I know that if I could just surrender this time, I mean truly surrender it, I would not be so obsessed with having this time pass.  Maybe pray for that instead, that good Lord had got to have a plan for all of this right?

Dear little ones, thank you for helping me rely more on the Lord and less on myself (especially at 2am),

Love Mom

A Walk in the Park

Today that is what we literally did, we went for a walk in the park, well at least Hannah and I did.  Andrew was able to come home early today, like 2pm early (Yippy skippy, I love having my husband home!).  Felicity was down for a third nap, she was not a good napper today (due to a 2 hour walk with morning with a friend, she missed her morning nap at home, it was all my doing).  I typically take a push car or a stroller to the park, but today Hannah said she wanted to walk, why not right.  I figured it would tire her out more for this evening, and hopefully make her pretty hungry (for the record it did both, she was asleep shortly after 8 and ate a whole hamburger, a banana, applesauce and some crackers).  When we got the park she played for a bit on the slides but then told me she wanted to walk to the tunnel that is about a quarter of a mile away if not further.  I was pretty impressed she did walk the whole way there and almost the whole way back to the park (after walking thru the tunnel and over some pretty big hills).  By the time we had to head home because the sun was going down she was pretty tired and kept telling me that her legs were tired and she needed holds :)  I did carry her for about 20 feet, I realized how hard it is to carry an extra 30 pounds after getting use to carrying the lighter Felicity at only 14 pounds.  Along our walk Hannah did pick up a few treasurers that she was able to share with daddy, the novelty of those quickly faded once she found the chalk that Andrew had brought home for work was in fact kids sidewalk chalk.  All in all it was a really fun afternoon just the two of us.

I got a chance to do a nice long walk with my girlfriend Sarah today, I love long morning walks and this weather makes it that much better, nice and cool in the beginning but once the sun really hits you your jacket comes off and you could almost swear it was summer (except for all those changing trees around you).  We spent a lot of time talking about our vocations and how to be better wives and mothers and how we love having such solid catholic friends (both wives and husbands/families) to keep us grounded and help hold us accountable.  It is so nice to have someone of like mind and personality to bounce some of the craziness that goes on in ones own mind to help you realize that you are not in fact that crazy and many moms (especially of toddlers) are feeling a lot of the same things.  It is so nice to have someone that we can relate to on a personal level but also on a faith level, someone that you know you can go to with question or thoughts and know that they are in a similar boat but a different boat and able to give you perspective on your thoughts.  I guess what I am getting at is that I simply love having the Catholic friends we have and not only that but I love being a catholic woman (mother and wife).  I love what I know about my faith now and where I am with it, but I am also excited about all the things to come, the new information, and the new understanding; and it all simply makes me HAPPY!

Having Family Close By

This will be a shorter post just because today was a pretty relax day and nothing to exciting happened.  I did laundry literally all day (at this point I am still not done, I should be by 9pm).  Allison called to see if she could come up for the day  (they are remodeling their kitchen) and she just needed some time away from the mess.  Hannah and I decided to make some brownies for auntie Allison and Uncle Nate.  Something you must know, Hannah loves these two, I mean loves, she talks about them all the time, wants to call them frequently and prays for them EVERY night (including baby Timothy).  You could say they are the cats meow in her mind.  She was so excited to make these brownies and from the moment they popped out of the oven she kept saying, "Auntie Allison and Uncle Nate are going to love these, Oh I love brownies, I can't wait for them to have them, they are going to be so happy we made them."  Yup we are pretty luck to have family that we are so close to, live so close to us.  We try and see them once a week, they come here more often than we go down there, probably because we have two kids and it is harder to go anywhere, but we should try and make it more even one of these days.  Allison came up in the early afternoon and stayed till after dinner and sure enough before she was able to get out the door Hannah had to (loudly) make sure Allison did not forget those brownies.  I told you her love language was service and taking care of other :)

Felicity and Timothy are very curious of each other, they basically go for each others faces when they have the chances.  It has always amazed me at how even at 6 months old they know that there is someone of similar size and quite possible age near by.  Maybe it is the similar or familiar sounds that little ones make.  It is as if they are drawn to each other.  Felicity can be getting attention for multiple adults but as soon as Hannah enter the room all eyes go to her.  It is so special to see how those sisters interact with each other, I hope that even with time they continue to be silly together and care for each other as they do now.


Thank you little ones for your caring hearts,

Love Mom

I don't want to poop my brains out

Ok so I know what your thinking, what kind of post is that!  Well as I am sure you know kids say the darnedest things, especially in response to a lot of things we adults say.  Yesterday Hannah was on a fruit kick, he had dried fruit with breakfast, apple for a snack, some pare with lunch and wanted more with dinner.  When she asked for it I told her that she could not because "If you eat to much more fruit you will poop your brains out", she looked at me with confusion and asked why, then Andrew proceeded to tell her why she needed her brain, it makes you do all the silly things you do, it makes you walk and talk,"so you don't want to poop your brain out, then you won't have a brain."  Hannah looked very concerned and said in a somewhat upset tone "I don't want to poop my brains out, then I won't have anything in my head."  After Andrew and I stopped laughing we had to try and explain to her that it is just an expression and you will most defiantly not poop your brains out, but still no you man not have anymore fruit.  Gosh I love the mind of a child.

 On a lighter note we had such a great day today spending it with the 4 or us, we went to Target just to get out of the house.  Hannah love to just be able to run around and see all the fun new toys and pick out a special $1 "surprise" as she calls it.  Today it was a jack-o-lantern trick or treating bucket.  We got a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks (wonderful way to kick off this true fall weather) and then came home ate and spent the next hour just playing and talking.  Below are a few pictures from the evening of hanging out with the kids.  This is pretty typical for us, we do dinner around 5:30 and spend from 6 to 7 up stairs finishing up random chores and playing with the kidos.  Tonight was a rare night where they both kept their clothes on, thus the opportunity to take and post some pics.

Felicity has been extra hard to put down, I may have stated this before in other posting, but OH MY GOSH!  I was pretty excited when she started crawling at 5 months and pulling herself up at 6, but this whole thing where she pulls herself up in her crib is for the birds.  Oh did I forget to mention it is such a huge annoyance because she cannot get herself down, so sleep is not really in the cards for a standing child.  I read some other blogs and got some information as to how other parents handled the same problem.  All of them said to let her cry it out, eventually she will fall over and not stand back up (from exhaustion I am sure).  This seemed like a good idea, not that I had many other options, so I told myself that this is how it would go down.  I would put her down after nursing (she is usually asleep) and if she pops right back up I simply say goodnight and walk out.  Man is that so much easier said than done.  She popped right back up and simply creams (at the top of her lungs so it seems).  And if any of you have ever done this CIO method before you know that 5 min of this crying feels like an hour.  After going in a dozen times and laying her back down giving her something to cuddle with, signing to her, and hugging her, I CAVED!  I was an hour in and I could not take it anymore, I nursed her and she did pass right out (who wouldn't after an hour of screaming and rolling around and standing up over and over again).  I guess I should pat myself on the shoulder and say better luck tomorrow?  I will also be teaching her during the day to try and sit herself down, so that we can move past this wonderful, amazing, frustrating milestone.  Lord give me the patience and the grace :)

Thank you little ones for the laughter and the tears you bring to my life,

Your mom

First Day of Fall

Fall has officially hit (well at least in my opinion), we had our first "snow" fall today, at least above 6000 feet did.  We got a bit of wet snow, but nothing stuck.  Hannah was so excited to see the "rain" coming down and she so badly wanted to go out and play in it, naked by the way.  That girl and her naked time :)  I love the changes of the seasons, it makes me so giddy and excited for the endless possible baking and cooking options. I don't tend to use the oven a lot in the summer time, as it heats up the house.  But fall and winter, I could bake every night of the week.  That is if I knew it would not wake the children directly above the kitchen.  Luckily Hannah enjoys being in the kitchen with me, so when Felicity is taking a morning nap, we get our baking fix (usually something she can taste right after it comes out of the oven).  Today however we made our first batch of homemade lentil soup, Hannah kept saying that she was so excited and loved lentils, she did not eat one single bite tonight though.  I guess we will have to see if she likes it tomorrow.

The weather today made me want to go thru my closet and put away all the summer attire and put the warm fall   clothes in their place, I got so excited for a whole "new" wardrobe, but alas the little ones needed me more, maybe I will be able to get to that tomorrow.  I had both girls by myself for most of the day today and it was hard.  I know what you must be saying, "you have them both everyday", and yes that is true, but I really do look forward to the weekends with Andrew and for the girls to spend time with him.   He was so gracious and went and helped my brother Nathan with his kitchen remodel (Nate has helped us out a lot, so I know we owed him).  I tend to get worked up over the weekends in hopes that we can get all the projects done that I was piling up over the week and as the time ticks by, I find myself annoyed and overwhelmed that we did not get anything done.  Lord give me the patience to be still, to cherish this time, this free time I have with my husband and kids.  I am tired so I think I will head to bed, Oh how I hope Felicity sleeps better tonight (I told myself that I would give her till Monday and if she was not sleeping better then we would try a different approach).  She is just much further along that where Hannah was at 6 months, this one literally stand, that is right pulls herself up and stand, in her crib and yells until we come in the room.  Oh how I yearn for the day she can learn to sit back down on her own.

I know I am doing a lot of complaining and venting, I was just telling Andrew tonight before he went to adoration, that I think if I knew these would be our only kids we would handle and address all of these thing differently  I know I personally would cherish these moments more (or at least I hope I would).  I pray that these are not our last and that we are just learning and gathering wisdom for the many more to come.


Good night sweet ones, rest well

Love Your Mom

Mastitis and slowing down

I know I am late yet again, but I am have a good excuse this time, really I do.  I ended up with mastitis yet again and felt like I was on my death bed yesterday.  So I am going to combine two days into one.  It all stared after we decided to let Felicity cry it out at night (so we can get more rest and she can get more rest and so on), this not nursing her for 6-8 hours.  I got up in the morning feeling a bit of pain in my breast and pumped over 4 ounces, which is huge for me.  I went to MOPS that morning (which by the way is such a wonderful group of mom, more on that later), I carried Felicity around in the Bjorn so she could take a nap while I at the meeting.  I was in pain most of the meeting, but it got really bad once I got home, I took some pain meds and did some hot compresses but nothing was working.  Luckily I had some meds my brother Jon prescribed from past mastitis time (I have had it a total of 6 times now with both kids).  Now if you have ever had mastitis before you know what kinds of pain I am talking about, it is like having the flu and then someone kicking you at the same time, while you feel like your breast is going to explode, not enjoyable in the least.   I thought I might be able to kick it, but boy was I wrong, while Andrew was out getting dinner with Hannah it really hit me, I had to confine Felicity and just lay on the floor in hopes that I really would not die and that Andrew would come home soon.  He is such a superstar dad and hubby, he came right in, got the girls dinner, go me all the med and fluids I needed and sent me to rest.  Now I am not a good patient, heck I usually just pretend that nothing is wrong and go along my merry way (that is until my body gives out on me and literally tells me to slow down), and that is just what was happening.  It takes a lot for me to give up all the control, but when you feel like hell, you realize it is the only thing you can do to survive.  Andrew did it all, cleaned up, took care of me, played with the girls, took care of me some more, put the kids to bed and then put me to bed.  Then in the middle of the night (while Felicity was still screaming at us), he got up to get me my meds and water.  What would I do without this man in my life, I hope to never have to find out.  I love him so!


Today has been a better day, the antibiotics finally kicked in and I feel like I can walk, talk and at least interact with the girls, I am still sore, but it is a good day.  Hannah is a child after my own heart, her love language at this point in her life seem to simulate mine.  She want to make you happy, if she sees you crying (which I did a lot of last night), she want to make you feel better, she always wants to make sure that what she is doing is making you happy, she loves kisses and to be touched and loves it when you play and spend time with her (doing things with and for her). She was so incredible the last 36 hours, making sure I was taken care of, that my boo boo felt better, and helping with Felicity where he could.  I am so glad she (both of them) are a part of my life.  I was just telling Andrew I could watch both of them smile, and laugh all day long, it bring such joy to my life.  


As I was sitting and nursing Felicity tonight, it dawned on me how important it really is to slow down, to absorb as much of this time as I possibly can, we really are here for such a short while that yes my children are more important than the dishes or the laundry or my email.  A friend at MOPS shared how her kids get up from bed or naps always a bit cranky and she tries to spend 10 min with them reading and cuddling with them.  This really made me think about how crazy it is when my kids get up and if I could just spend 10 min with them, loving on them and reading to them while we snack I bet it would make the rest of the afternoon so much easier.  So here is to trying yet another thing I would like to make into a habit.  Slow down, embrace this time, and love on those little ones as much as possible (the dishes can wait), this is your vocation after all have fun with it!


Thank you little ones for making me a mommy
Thank you Andrew for helping mend my broken body,


Love Mom