My life as Lexy & Ellie's Mommy

Spotlight of the week

2012-02-10T19:46:00.001-05:00

So I was supposed to do this on Tuesday, but I was making valentine holders for my daughers class, which tied up 9 hours of my day, and needless to say, I had no desire to write after that. And then I forgot/ procrastinated the rest of the week! But finally here it is...

This week the person I am writing about is my mother in law, Laurie Doyle. You know how you usually cant stand your mil, like on everybody loves raymond? Well thats totally not the case here. She is one of the most amazing women I have ever met, and am totally thrilled that I have the honor of being her daughter in law. She has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I have ever met. She goes totally out of her way for everyone in her life that she loves, me and my daughters included. Everysingle day at 330 her (or Shay) come over to watch the baby so they she dosent have to come outside with me when I get Alexis off the bus, cause its so cold., That just shows the type of person she is. Any time, and place, any occasion, If me and or Alexis need a a ride to something, Laurie is always ready and willing to help out. If me and Sam ever need a babysitter, Shes always right there. She spoils my daughters rotten (But thats what grandmas are supposed to do!) And the relationship she has with my daughters (especailly Alexis, because shes not her biological grandchild) just amazes me. She loves every little thing they do, shes at every school function with me, soccer games, etc. She loves taking Ellie places with her and showing her off, as such a proud grandma :) And seriously, the way that she has just taken Alexis in as her own grandchild from day one, litterally has made me cry on occasion, theres nothing better then having someone treat your child with such love. She is a wonderful mother of 4 children, 2 of them being twins! She has been with her husband for 22 years, but if anyone knows the situation, you know that she basically raised them on her own, while working usualy two jobs. Shes a serious super mom. All four of them were in sports at the same time growing up, and on too many occasions to count on your hands she would spend upwards of 6 hours on game days at the feild, watching each childs team play, I'm sorry but I know I couldnt do that! Thats too much. (I always got antsy sitting through just Lexys soccer games, haha)The things she has done for her children, just blows my mind. I know that she is always going to be there if Me and Sam or the girls need anything. Several timse when Ellie was a newborn and us being paranoid parents, would call her up at 10, 11, sometimes 12 at night (and she gets up at 4 am for work) and she would come rushing over, even when she knew we were probably just being paranoid. She is always there for the people she loves, no question about it. Besides my mother, Laurie is certainly my best friend. We go shopping, to the movies, events around town, the library, just hang out and watch tv, have dinners together, go out to eat, and talk about everything and anything under the sun. And when I say anything I really mean it, you should hearrrr some of our conversations! haha! Okay, but I have to finish this up because Alexis has gymnastics in the morning (which, guess who is bringin us, Laurie) :) and I hear her in her room talking to her stuffed animals instead of sleeping, So I need to go put a stop to that!

Laurie, I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mother in law. I seriously couldnt ask for a better one. And I love the fact that you treat me like a daughter, minus the in-law. These days, I don't know what I would do if you did not live 500 feet from my house, I probably would have lost my mind a long time ago! I love you without end. As do Alexis and Ellie. Thank you for always being here for us for everything, it means more than words can say! :)

with love,

ps readers: I will be posting my next spotlight next tuesday at some point, If I dont procrastinate it again, If so, It will be posted sometime during the week! But as always, I wont reveal who it is about until its posted, make sure you check back incase its you! :) happy reading !

Baby Sign Language

2012-02-03T00:11:00.003-05:00

When Alexis was a baby she had a baby einstien sign language movie that she watched everyday before naps, then one day I decided to watch it with her and she knew all of the signs.
I always thought the little stinker fell asleep during it, but turns out she would stay up and watch it. Remembering this a few days ago I decided I was going to take a shot at teaching Ellie some signs. If you know me, you know I absolutly HATE the communication barrier between mommy and baby. (Probably why alexis was speaking in full sentences before she was two) I was very eager to understand her wants and needs, and whining and pointing is out of the question! So anyways, back to Ellie, we are starting with a few signs and going to do them over and over and over for like a week, if shes getitng it we will add more for the next week, if not we are going to continue till she gets this. She has very good control over her hands and arms these days, so I figured she is probably ready. She is VERY interested it in when I sign to her, she just stares at my hands and if i'm done and put my hands down, she follows my hands with her eyes to my lap and just stares and waits till I do another sign. Shes too cute. Heres a few we are working on first:

Mommy

All Done

Daddy

Good

Milk

And thats all. Hopefully she learns it quick. I'm so excited. Theres nothing better then teaching babys stuff, and knowing everythign they know, is because YOU taught it to them. Its such a good feeling. :) Well wish us luck! I will give you an update soon and let you know how its working out for us! If you are reading and have a baby, learn together along with us. Comment and let us know how its going for you and your little ones!

with love,

"I'll Need a Pinky Swear"

2012-01-31T23:37:00.000-05:00

Tripp Roth- R.I.P

This is certainly worth sharing. This is a poem Tripp's mommy, Courtney, wrote just after he turned two. He died when he was 2 years and 8 months old. (about a week and a half ago) He was diagnosed with EB when he was born and spent every single second of his amazing little life in pain, and she spent every second, trying to make it better. rip little Tripp. You can read her blog here

"I'll Need A Pinky Swear"

As he lies in my lap

And together we sway

I rock him to sleep

And meanwhile I pray:

"Dear God, I know you can see us

And you're watching from above

Filled with sadness for him, as we are,

And equally in love.

I've never once asked You "why?"

Nor questioned if You were near.

But I do have one request tonight,

I pray that you will hear.

When it's time for

You to call him home,

And my hope turns into despair,

I will need more than a promise from You,

I'll need a pinky-swear...

That you will hold him close to Your chest,

And say "I love you" all day long.

That you will rock him 'til your knees get sore,

And sing his favorite songs.

Tell me that You'll keep him safe,

So I will not be distressed.

Tell me that he'll will get his wings

And tell me he'll be blessed.

Let me know he made it safely,

Without a single blister or bleed,

Let me know that you will do MY job,

To fulfill his every need.

I have to know that you will love him,

Just as much, or more, than I do.

And when he finally speaks a word,

That You'll record it so I can hear, too.

My buddy is going to need Your help,

With so much yet to learn.

Like using a spoon, writing his name,

And having to wait his turn.

God, please be patient when he tries,

For he's such a sweet and loving boy

. Please give him every thing he wants,

But make sure he shares his toys.

These are things I'll miss out on,

Like no Mommy should have to do.

So don't let one milestone go unnoticed,

Please, I'm begging You.

He likes Elmo's ducks,

The Three little Pigs,

Shoo Fly and Counting to Four.

Big Green Tractor, Rise and Shine.

And when they stop, he'll tell you "more."

He holds certain toys in certain hands,

And says yes with a big smile.

Please spend some extra special time,

And talk with him awhile.

It breaks my heart to have to think

That he won't graduate from school.

Or go to prom, or have kids of his own,

Or even break a single rule.

Tell him for me- please don't forget,

That I wanted him to stay.

That I tried and tried to ease his pain,

But it was only YOU who knew the way.

I know you have a choir of angels,

Who play music while they fly.

And if they need a drummer boy-

Well, my Tripp, he's their guy!

You've probably seen it for yourself,

That he's one brave kid, indeed.

But he'll be scared if You have to leave,

So stay with him, I plead.

If he has to go to Heaven first,

I'll make one promise back to You-

I'll miss him every second he's gone,

And spend the rest of my life trying to get there, too.

I hope that's not too much to ask,

And I trust You'll do your best.

To fill my spot, just temporary,

And answer my requests.

Thank in advance, Dear God.

Because I know You're a busy man.

I trust in You and in Your Will

And know You have a plan.

Words just simply can't express

To my only son who just turned two-

How very much my heart will ache

If that rocking chair is without you.

So dear sweet angel baby of mine,

If we ever have to say goodbye...

I'll rock you in my heart forever,

Until we meet again in the sky.

Being bipolar bites you in the booty

2012-01-31T23:17:00.001-05:00

I usually am a very OCD clean freak, but as I go through random bouts of depression I lack on the cleaning and my house becomes chaotic and then the stress and anxiety build up as I feel like i'm getting buried in things to do and get very overwhelmed and fall further and further into a bad depressed state.
but thennnnn because I have this lovely thing called bipolar disorder, it can all change, as I go from one extreme on to the next- I feel better finally and go on these extreme cleaning binges. which happend for a good 6 hours today. (thank you manic state of mind....?) yea I'm going to go ahead and enjoy this state of mind for now because at least im not sad and down and out. I cried last night, about stupidness, that I deal with all the time and never cry about. Whichhhhh means, I was like bottoming out (if thats a word..) so I wasnt too concerned about crying because I knew that today would be better. Which it always is the day after the worst-day-of-your-life (I have alot of those) and when you wake up from a very long month of feeling like blahhhh and not wanting to get out of bed or move or live. Not that I wanted to die. I jsut didnt want to do any of the daily tasks that go along with living. I wanted to just 'be' and I couldnt. I have two kids. So no matter how crappy I feel and no matter how bad I dont want to get out of bed or function, I have to. So yea, I've been letting my dishes sloowwllyy pile up in my sink, doing only a few at a time every now and again, never finishing them, but tonight I took 2 and a half hours and finished ALL of them, and dried and put them ALL away. I am very proud of this, it has been one of the main things causing all of my anxiety. And also, since tomorow is the 1st of Februaury, I decided it was probably about time to undecorate my house from christmas. Yea, its been that bad here in my mind, I couldnt even bring myself to do that. But its done, and I feel alot better because of it. Sam has to take the tree out tomorrow and then I will have a whole lot of vaccumming to do. And then I will be moving either my computer , or my sewing and craft stuff, to the room where the tree is. Which I'm not really sure why i'm going to bother with all that, seens we are moving soon. Our lease is up....either March 11th (thats 1 year from when we moved in) or March 31st. I dont know how that works, should probably figure that one out huh? And what else we need to figure out is where the heck we are moving to! Dont even get me started on that subject! okay, I've rambled on and on enough. I'm watching tv untill my lovely little Ellie Bellie decides shes going to get back up to hang with mommy.

with love,

Whos reading?

2012-01-31T17:19:00.002-05:00

So I was wondering. I have 200 page views just today. and its only 5pm. Who the heck is reading this? I was thinking maybe like my mom and sister and a few other people would read, but 200 views today? Someone in Alaska, Austria and the Ukraine?
Really. Okay well, I want to hear from you! If your reading this leave a comment, or dont, but please do!

So anyways, my life is lame, and I didnt do much today. but one thing I diddddd do, was make a pair of skinny jeans! I know, people like my mom are thinkign to them selves right now, "what ARE skinny jeans?" and some of you think you know what they are but are confused, the do not MAKE you skinny. (I wish some people would stop making this mistake) they are just jeans that are really skinny all the way down from your thigh to your ankle. and I've been on this kick since they became popular that I hated them. I never wore them, I just refused to. Buuuut, I decided to switch it up a bit, and i took an old pair of jeans i didnt wear anymore, put them on, pinned them tight, carefffulllyy slipped them off, (got poked like 5 times, ouch) turned them inside out, cut the excess fabric and then sewed a straight stitch down the seam, then finished up with a zig zag on the edge (to help keep the seam from fraying) and ta-da! skinny jeans. :) and dont tell anyone, but..... they are actually really comfy. But yea, making skinny jeans was the highlight of my day. That, and snuggeling up with little miss Ellie for a nice long nap, and getting along with Sam all day (?!?! i know right! i was shocked too) but lexy got home from school like an hour ago, and shes making me crazy with cartoons. And I should start dinner soon, but I'm procrastinating, as long as Lexy doesnt complain shes hungary, I will procrastinate. :)

with love,

Kid fest

2012-01-31T01:54:00.003-05:00

you can get free tickets to kidfest at all wayne, ontario and monroe county marks pizza locations starting feb 4th. the event is on feb 18th (saturday) from 10 until 4.

curious george and clifford will be there among so many other fun things to do with your kiddos, rock wall, glass blowing demonstrations, crafts, inflatables, obstacle course, rochesters sports teams etc! :) there will also be live music all day.

read all about it here .

but dont forget you will be charged at the door to get in. ($7 for age 11& up, 5$ for between ages 5-10, and free under 5 with paid adult). so get ur tickets at marks before they run out! (get tickets at marks starting saturday 2/4!) if they do run out you can get tickets before hand for a little bit cheaper then door price at rochester area wegmans.

kid fest is at:

Unity Health System's Total Sports Experience

880 Elmgrove Road, Rochester, NY 14624

you can get directions here

its going to be lots of fun, maybe me and the minnies will see you there! :)

with love,

My first spotlight

2012-01-31T01:34:00.003-05:00

So as you know, I am going to write a weekly blog to someone letting them know how much they mean to me and this is the first one I'm writing. The special someone who is lucky number one is......

My mother, Claudia Helen Seehoffer. She is the most wonderful, loving, strong, intelligent woman I know. You know when someone says "you sound just like your mother" or when you grow up and realise you are turning into her, or do things just as she always did? Yep, that happends, and It makes me so happy when someone says that to me, and when I realise I'm acting like her. She is a great person to grow up to be like :) She is a mother to 4 children, for quite a while she was a single mother and she did everything and anything to make sure we never went without and to make sure we always had a hot meal on the table and a roof over our heads. There was alot of thigns that she did when I was growing up that I didnt understand then, but since haveing two little girls of my own, I completely understand now some of the choices she made. I never realised how much my mother loved me until I had my first child, now its just like oh- duh! Today my relationship is better with my mother then it ever has been, and I am SO thankful for that. I can honestly say my mom is my best friend and I hope it stays that way forever. Shes a great best friend to have. When I was growing up I was always to scared to go to my mom and talk to her about anything, not really sure why, but I was, but now I can talk to my mom about anything and everythign under the sun. If I ever need help, advice, someone to whine or rant to, I immediatly call her up! shes a great listener and gives great advice. I dont know what I would do without my mother. Honestly, like do NOT know. I will quite possibly fall apart when I no longer have her, dont want to think about that. okay good thoughtssss..... My life would be no where near where it is today if I did not have all the love and support my mother gives me. She is my rock and without her I would likely crumble. Oh, did I mention she is the best Grammy in the whole world. She certainly knows how to spoil a little girl rotten, and really gets the "mommys rules dont apply at grammys house" thing. Chocolate ice cream for breakfast ring a bell? But its okay. grandmas arnt supposed to say no, especially to such sweet little girls like lexy and ellie, its hard to say no.

Picking who to write about for my first spotlight really was a no brainer, I really didnt have to think about it. Trying to figure out who to write about for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on is whats going to be tricky, but picking my mommy to write about first, was just like, duh! I am seriously like the most blessed girl in the whole world to have the most amazing mother in the whole world. I wouldnt trade you for anyone (and hope you wouldnt trade me either!) I love you more than words can say mommy, you are who I look up to and strive to be like. I catch my self thinking alot "what would my mom do" or "what would my mom say" and thats how I make alot of decisions these days, and whenever I use such logic, things always work out to my advantage, I'm not really surprised. She has been telling me thigns for years that I never listened to until recently and again, another "duh!" moment when I finally listen and realise why she has been saying it! Shes so darn smart. :) Well I am going to finish this up. I love you to the moon and starzies and back, forever and ever, no matter what. Your the most amazign mother in the world and all of your sleepless nights and countless hours of cooking, cleaning, shopping, planning, driving, and all the other many tasks that go along with being a mother of 4 will never go unappriciated. Everythign you ever did for me growing up I now have a much deeper appriciation for now that i have two children of my own and see how hard it really is. Your the strongest woman I know, and I love you, Mommy!

with love,

ps readers: I will be posting my next spotlight next tuesday (2/7/12) at some point. I wont reveal who it is about until its posted, make sure you check back incase its you! :) happy reading

Person of the week

2012-01-30T18:05:00.001-05:00

I was thinking, and I have so many wonderful people in my life and I want a chance to let them all know how I feel about them. I decided that once a week I am going to spotlight a very special person in my life. I'm not sure what day of the week I will do this, probably start tomorrow. I will never reveal who the next spotlighted person will be, so make sure you keep checking back, incase its you! :)

with love,

A little about me!

2012-01-30T12:27:00.001-05:00

I am a 23 year old stay at home mother of two little beauties. My oldest daughter is 5 1/2 Alexis Nicole "Lexy" and my little baby Mariabella Teriana "Ellie" is just about 8 months. They are my whole world. I love to sew, paint, write, and basically any craft you can imagine, I like to do.
I am not a typical 23 year old. I dont go to bars, I dont go out with friends, if it doesnt involve my minnies, generally I do not do it. I love picnics at the park in the summer, bringing the girls to the beach, family festivals, and disney movies at the "movie thater" (in Lexys words, she never has been able to pronounce that!) I live in upstate New York, and dislike every minute of it. I would much prefer to live somewhere nice and warm, but thats not going to happen in my future, at this point anyways. I have a published book called "baby b things" that you can find here. and my daughter has a published book called "animals and plants " that you can find here. They are really cute, if I do say so myself.

This blog is most likely going to consist of me rambling on about everyday boring stuff, fun craft ideas, maybe a tutorial here and there, parenting advice- giving and getting!- im no pro. beauty tips and tricks, and probably alot about my little beauties, they are my whole world, ya know.

okay well thats enough about all that, and Ellie is getting antsy sitting in her bouncer activity thingy, so mommy duties call! :)