Cupcake's Trip to the Emergency Room

Everyone tells you it's going to happen at some point, but I was definitely not ready when it did. My little Cupcake fell on Friday the 13th, no less, and split her cute little forehead open. She was walking across our dining room and just wiped out and hit her head flat on the floor. Brett and I didn't see her fall but as soon as we heard the thump, we knew it was bad! I got to her first and there was so much blood coming from her head. It took my breath away seeing her in so much pain. We immediately applied a cold washcloth to her head but knew we were going to have to bring her to the Hospital. The blood slowed down enough that we were able to put a bandaid on for the ride to the hospital. Our awesome neighbors took care of Sweetie Pie for us so we could give Cupcake all our attention at the hospital. Cupcake was such a trooper and only cried when they had to clean the cut. Thankfully they didn't have to use stitches, they actually were able to glue it. The glue lasts about a week which should be long enough to close it up completely. It just broke my heart to see her have to go through that and I would have traded places with her in a heartbeat if I could. Although, I will say I think she handled it much better than I would! I am amazed by my girls everyday and am madly in love with them! I am so blessed to have such a loving, supportive husband and two healthy, beautiful daughters.

What would you do?

Recently, an acquaintance of ours told us he found $1000 cash in an envelope in the parking lot of the grocery store where he works. Here's how the conversation went:

Brett: You're going to turn it in, aren't you?
Money Finder: No, why would I?
Brett: Because somebody lost that money and they are probably freaking out. They will probably give you a reward.
Money Finder: Why would I need a reward, I have all the money now.
Brett: Whatever, Dude, just do the right thing

So Brett got home and told me about the conversation. I sent a text to the money finder telling him that the right thing to do is turn in the money and how would he feel if his mom lost that money and nobody turned it in. He said that I would do the same thing if I was young like him. WRONG! It would never even occur to me to keep the money. I know how I would feel if I lost that kind of money, I would be sick to stomach and beside myself and I wouldn't want anyone to feel that way. I keep picturing a little old lady getting to the register to pay for her groceries and discovering she had lost her money. How sad! So my question to those that are seeing this, what would you do?

Scrambled Eggs and Chardonnay

Since the girls have started table food, I probably spend hours each week planning and selecting the healthiest ingredients possible for their meals. I focus on a healthy balance of fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and fiber. Around 75% of their meals are organic. Why is it that I move heaven and earth to make sure my children don't miss a meal and are developing good eating habits and I skip meals on a regular basis (don't worry, I am not exactly fading away)? For instance, tonight I skipped dinner so I could get to Whole Foods to buy food for the girls only to come home and eat a scrambled egg sandwich and a glass of chardonnay for dinner! Brett ate a Jimmy John's sandwich and an Eggnog Latte from Starbucks. It's ridiculous!

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby

I know it has been forever and I promise I will get better but here's a good one...Every night before Brett and I go to bed, we go into the girls' room and check them. We fix their blanket and feel their backs (you know you do it). Tonight, Brett goes in and Sweetie Pie's blanket was under her. He attempts the "old tablecloth trick" and tries to slide it out from under her without disturbing her. He gets the blanket and as he lays it on her, her eyes spring open! What does Brett do, you ask? Instead of hitting the deck and army crawling out of the room like I would have done, he covers his face! Yes, he covers his face! Now I haven't been doing this parenting thing for very long but I do know that when you cover your face in front of a baby, they think you are playing Peek A Boo! I am so relieved to know that my husband, my rock, can handle high pressure situations! Love you, Babe!

Grandma strikes again!

Well, she struck again! While at my mom's annual Labor Day party at the beach this time! Each family that attended got to decorate their own picnic table. I chose Da' Cubs! I bought Cubs plates that were pretty small for food but they were just too cute to pass up! Anyways, I was only able to fit my turkey burger and a couple salads on it. I ate and then went back up to try another couple salads and I hear from behind me,"Are you eating again?". Guess who! My lovely Grandmother! Again, who says that? I can usually take pretty much anything she says with a grain of salt but this is getting ridiculous! I asked her why she says such nasty things and she told me that she is a pisces, dahling, so she is allowed to say those things. Are you kidding me? Because you were born in March, it's okay to hurt people's feelings! News flash, I was born in March and I have never and will never say something like to someone! She proceeded to tell Brett about it expecting a laugh for him. Instead, my dear husband just gave her the eye blink and walked away. What is her issue?

Are you pregnant?

Everybody has embarrassing moments and if you haven't then I have had plenty for both of us. My most recent moment came courtesy of my grandmother. If you know my grandmother, this story won't completely surprise you but it should make you go, "Oh no she did not just say that!". So recently my Uncle's father, JaJa, passed away. It was very unexpected and he will be greatly missed. Brett and I went to the wake on Sunday. We were in the lobby talking to some family friends and my grandmother came up. Instead of saying,"Hello, my darling granddaughter, how are you and your lovely family doing?", she says,"Are you pregnant?". My jaw dropped as did everyone around us. Are you kidding me? I have never been an arrogant person, but I think I look pretty damn good for just having had twins 7 months ago and I certainly don't think I look pregnant. In fact, I weigh less now then I did before I had the girls. Who says that? And for that matter, who says that to their granddaughter in front of a group of strangers? I was horrified. I will never, I repeat, never wear that dress again. I am sure I don't have to tell any of you this but it is never appropriate to ask a lady if she is pregnant unless you know without a shadow of a doubt that she is in fact pregnant. It is also not appropriate to point out to someone you love (in front of others and sometimes in private) that they look like they have put on a few pounds. So I am off to do 30 minutes of cardio and 100 crunches.

My Life

I don't know how many girls actually get to live that dream but I do know that I am one of the lucky ones. I am so grateful for the life I have been given. I have always had a loving and supportive family and then I met Brett. He is truly the love of my life and he came into my life so unexpectedly. We had our first date on June 7, 1997 and haven't spent more than a few days apart since then. When we got married in 2000, he was just starting his financial advising practice and I am not going to lie, it was TOUGH! Getting used to sharing everything with another person and struggling financially lead to some very trying times but we managed.

When his practice turned for the better was when we decided to start trying to have a baby. In my heart, I always knew there was going to be a problem. I didn't know what it was but I just knew. After a couple years of trying on our own, we decided to talk to a professional. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and was told that there was a very little possibility of me ever getting pregnant on my own. So began the series of fertility treatments...pills, injectables, IUI, and finally In Vitro. It was a very overwhelming process. Several injections every day and daily ultrasounds! I don't know how we did it but each time we got a negative result, we mourned for a few days and were ready to start the next cycle with the same optimism we had the very first try. Meanwhile, everyone around me was getting pregnant. I told Brett once that I thought my fertility treatments were working on other people! I never had negative feelings towards anyone for getting pregnant but I will admit, I often asked myself, why not me? We wanted a baby so badly! After I had an ectopic pregnancy, we decided to look into adoption. We went to a local agency for an orientation. I had my little notebook and was ready to really consider it. We knew immediately this wasn't the agency for us. They strongly encouraged an open adoption and that wasn't something we were comfortable with. On the way home, we decided that we would give In Vitro one more try. We called the doctor the next day and informed her it would be our last try. Because we waited until the last minute to start the cycle, our medication wouldn't arrive in time. We almost had to cancel the cycle when another patient of the clinic got a positive pregnancy test and donated all her extra medication! We began the cycle and several weeks later we got the happiest news we could have ever received. We were pregnant!!!! We in turn donated all our extra medication to the clinic! Three weeks after that we learned we were having twins.

Cut to my life today. I am lucky enough to have the option of staying home with my beautiful little girls. My husband has two successful financial advising practices in Illinois and Indiana and is able to spend a ton of quality of time with his family. We do not take our life for granted for one minute. We know not everyone is as fortunate as us and we share our love with each other and our children every day.