What We've Been Up To...

Sorry for the week off! I really try to keep up on here, but sometimes other things creep up, and busyness sets in. Besides the usual meetings, work, naps, and other things, here's what we've been up to:

Playtime in the snow/ice

Reminds me of Ralphie from "The Christmas Story"....aahhh, a classic. The poor boy will love this picture when he's older. :o)

Playtime with the Bumbo seat

Hey, it's tough being cooped up in the winter, and things get a little funny around here after Baby goes to bed. Just go with it!

Hair-braiding

Peanut actually sat still long enough for me to get half of her head done. Amazing! (She cried through the other half.)

That's about it for now. I'm gearing up to do Baby's six-month pictures (I'll put them on here when I'm done) and his dedication next Sunday, so stay tuned!

A Math Riddle

Here's a little math problem for you to enjoy.

(And don't scroll down to the bottom for the answer!) ;o)

What does...

1 Driver doing about 15 mph toward a curve,

plus

1 really Icy Road in the Welsh Mountains of Lancaster County,

plus

1 Telephone Pole in said curve

equal???

Yup, you guessed it...

ONE SMASHED VEHICLE

I did a pretty bang-up job, huh? (He He) Hey, I need to get humor out of it somehow.

Thank God, though, that it was the most slow-motion accident I've ever been in and that the car did finally turn instead of hitting the pole head-on. And, even though the kiddos were with me, no one moved an inch. Could have been worse!

Baby Showers Galore!

UPDATE:
Little did I know that when I posted this, little Jack Benjamin had already arrived early Monday morning. So excited to meet him!!! :)
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I've decided to dub 2009 "The Year of the Babies". Here's why: We have not 1, not 2, not 3, but SEVEN (7!) friends having babies...in the Spring alone! Between now and June, seven new babies will be around. Kind of crazy! My friend Aimee kicks off the bunch, since she and her husband are expecting their little boy to come any day now, and Amanda, my friend since childhood, and her husband are expecting at the end of June. Fun!!!


This past Saturday was the first shower of the year, celebrating the February arrival of my friend Julie's baby. Doesn't this Mary Kay-selling lady look terrific? :o)

I can only hope that my blog serves as a guide for them of what's to come. ;o) Everyone is sure to have their own adventures!

Tag Team

Sometimes I think that my children covertly communicate with each other and are trying to take me down. This has been one of those weeks where I'm absolutely certain of it. Here are a few reasons why:

1) Sunday: Baby's nose starts the "stuffed up for a month" routine, which means lots of crying, eye boogies, nose suctioning (cringe), Tylenol, and inability to breathe. Days are kind of rough; but even though he sounds like a lung cancer patient, he still sleeps wonderfully through the night. Peanut, on the other hand, continues to take the night shift of "Wake Up Mama", something she has done on and off pretty much since birth.

2) Sunday night: Peanut woke me up at 1:00am, 2:15am, and 3:30am, each time just crying, probably from something in her dreams. Baby woke at 5:30am to nurse and refused to go back to sleep. Thus began the week of little to no sleep.

3) My children are usually great at taking a long afternoon nap at the same time. I'm talking an awesome, 3-hour stint of time for me to get grant work and lacrosse work done. (Can I get an Amen?!) That's something I started when Baby's naps started becoming more regular, and it has worked out great! Ha...Apparently the joke was on me this week. Yup, the kids would fall asleep at the same time. But Peanut took FOREVER to fall asleep and then took short naps (1-2 hours). By the time I got her asleep and then sat down in front of the computer, Baby would wake up crying. Any attempt to get him to go back to sleep was useless, and after nursing for about half an hour, Baby would tag his sister and she'd jump in the ring. That marked the end of naptime.

By Wednesday morning, I was feeling completely wiped out. I found myself craving a cup of coffee and a donut. (They go WONDERFULLY together, don't you think?) Since I'm on a quest to feed my family better and I don't usually keep donuts in the house, I knew my one request wasn't going to be fulfilled, and I probably shouldn't pack up the kids at 7:30am and go to New Holland Coffee Company when it's 20 degrees. (Wouldn't it be AWESOME if they delivered?) :o)However, I did remember something I had bought early last month and put in the basement freezer. Sweet Jesus, thank you! That cinnamon bun from Shady Maple was still there! That made the week a whole lot better. :o)

Seriously, though, even though it was somewhat of a tough week, I really tried to keep my cool with the kids. My friend Janelle's recent post was a huge reminder to me to savor every minute I have with my Peanut and my Baby, because when they're 18 I'll be wondering where the time went and will want to wish these days (the good and the bad) back. I want to enjoy it all and live this chapter of life fully...crying, no sleep, mucus, and all!

Have a happy weekend!

Dear Nana and Papa...

Dear Nana and Papa,

Hi from Danae!

I loved seeing you at Christmastime! Thank you SO much for the gifts you gave me (and Brother says "thank you", too). I really love my new art set, as shown below.

But Mommy and Daddy-O took away the scissors yesterday. I guess that would happen when you use them to cut Brother's hair instead of the paper that came with the set. I just thought it looked like a fun thing to do. Even though it was only about an inch or two, Mommy still thought that was too much and didn't think it was time for Brother's first haircut just yet. She also didn't know that safety scissors can cut hair that easily.

He now has a spike at the top of his head. I'm still his favorite, though.

I love you and hope to see you soon!

- Danae

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

We are currently in NJ, enjoying time with my family. We had a busy but fun day of presents, breakfast baked by yours truly (apple french toast and an egg casserole...yum!), and game-playing (mainly Super Smash Bros. Brawl on WII...yup, I now feel hip and with it). :o) We were able to get decent pictures of the four grandchildren all together, which was lots of fun.

Here are the four cuties: Meagan (16), Madison (9), Danae (3), and Caedon (almost 5 months old).

This was the first year we did a "white elephant" gift exchange on Christmas Eve with my family. We usually do a Secret Santa among us siblings and spouses, and this year we decided to add something new and have everyone involved. What funny items we had this year! (Christa, I need a pic of you in the blue-man suit. Yes, I will post it on here.) :o)

Miraculously, we even got a family picture on Christmas morning (minus my sleeping Caedon), and we are all smiling at the camera. Amazing!

We hope your Christmas Day was enjoyable, too! Tomorrow night will bring dinner and Christmas with Hubby's family, and I'll be sure to post pics from that! Adios!

Bambi

Meet Bambi, coming to a dinner plate near you...well, a dinner plate in our house, anyway.

For more photos from our weekend away, click on "Ulrich Family Shutterfly Pics" on the left, under the Favorite Sites listing.