A Very Happy Day at the Park

We took advantage of the last days of nice weather and headed to the park today. When I was able to wrangle Madeleine off of the slide and the "big slide" (oh my was that scary, watching her climb), we headed to the swings for something baby could participate in too!


After a while Madeleine got board of swinging and wanted to "help swing Ju". Since she is Juliette's hero, this was a major success. Madeleine was pleased that she was able to help her baby and make her laugh and Juliette was overjoyed at all the attention her sister was showering on her. Madeleine would push the baby and say, "Weeeeeee!!!" as the swing took off and Juliette would laugh hysterically.


As you can tell by this picture, it was pure joy.

Matching pajamas and a big new couch

This has been a super fun day for my girls. We got a new couch this morning and so we've been snuggling on it all day long. They are wearing their matching "Daddy's girl" pajamas and they could not be cuter!

My mom sent me this email months ago... I still LOL when I read it

Men Teaching Classes for Women at
THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
By Sun, May 29, 2011

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM .

Class 1
Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM..

Class 2
Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down,
or Bitching About It for 3 Hours?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?
--Group Debate.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between a Purse and a Suitcase--
Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
Curling Irons--Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Bathroom Cabinet?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning
At 7:00 PM

Class 6
How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos?
Open Forum ..
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch--They Make Medicine for PMS - USE IT!
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10
How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim.
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes
Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield.
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12
How to Shop by Yourself.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Warning... I'm writing about poop

To celebrate my new fancy template (yay minor computer skills) I uploaded a picture from facebook and figured out how to put it on this blog. I'm calling it a major win.

This picture was taken before the great poop debaucle of 2011. I guess I could have used all those wipes she destroyed. Somehow I managed to go through over two years of motherhood without getting poop all over my hands. I thought I was the most skilled diaper changer in the history of diaper changers. Then, yesterday, my record was broken in a huge way.

First Juliette's poop fell out of her diaper without my knowledge while I was changing her and she rolled over it. I went to pick her up and I touched it. OMG did I touch it. It was everywhere. ALL OVER MY HANDS. So I had one of those moments like in the actions movies when the hero is about to be attacked by about 20 different guys and the frame freezes while he figures out what to do... and then the action begins.

I yelled, "Madeleine! Wipes! Diaper!" and Madeleine ran off to find the wipes and a new diaper screaming, "Nanine! Wipes! Diaaaaper!" as she went. She found the wipes and I managed to get most of it off my hands. I wiped down Juliette's little body, ripped the fresh, clean new Bumgenius off her stinky butt and Madeleine handed me a new one. I put her on the floor, did the snaps, and sent her off crawling. I then grapped the Resolve and sprayed the crap out of the couch. (No pun intended). After all was cleaned up I promptly went and boiled my hands in bleach.

I was so proud of how well I handled it. That wasn't so bad. I am the master of baby poop. I was upgraded a level in the game of motherhood. Then, later that night, my new skills were put to the test in a big way.

Madeleine was standing next to me on her princess chair and I was feeding her sister. All of a sudden... I smelled something. At the same moment Madeleine handed me my cell phone. "Mommy. Phone poop." Now, I know phones don't poop but OMG did it smell. And, low and behold, my phone was covered in poop. Along with the phone, the princess chair, and my poor (apparently sick) two year old.

I yelled for Kyle to come out to the living room and put him on cleanup duty (or should I say, clean up doody). I held Madeleine at arms length and carried her to the bathroom and dumped her in the shower. I ripped off her Bumgenius, dumped it in the toilet, and hosed her down with the shower head. Madeleine thought the whole thing was absolutely hysterical and I could hear Kyle yelling from the other room, "OH MY GOSH WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE?!" It was like a crime scene. I poop crime scene.

And that was my day in poop.

So far today has been much better. Juliette cut her first tooth and boy are we relieved! She was a beast yesterday and with good reason. I can't imagine that teething is very much fun at all. Now that the tooth is through, however, she is one happy little girl! We celebrated by putting the girls in matching outfits (pictures to follow if I can find my camera charger) and taking them out to get matching winter pajamas. They were in desperate need. I bought her some of those puffs for babies that are designed to pretty much melt in a kid's mouth because she has teeth now and I'm sure she is going to want to use them

Tomorrow the new couch is coming and my sister Carly will be here this weekend. Then, Kyle's staycation/vacation starts Monday and we will have him home for NINE WHOLE DAYS! In that time we'll be visiting Franciscan so get ready Frannies! We be coming for y'all.

Check out my new tabs at the top of my page. They are much fun to be had.

For the love of Kyle

My husband is currently doing the dishes and he agreed to go shopping for winter clothes for the girls tomorrow. What a man!

On quiet nights

It's been a long time since I mourned the loss of my first pregnancy. For some reason, tonight I am mourning. I wouldn't let myself since I have two beautiful babies now. I wouldn't have Madeleine if things didn't go the way they did. But my heart aches when I think of the baby we lost.

It's common, most people go through it. My mom went through it four times, all relatively late in the pregnancy. I lost my baby early on and I lost my fallopian tube too. Half of my fertility. People like to ask questions, make comments about how I can get pregnant with only one tube. They have no idea how scared I was before I had Madeleine. That I would never hold a baby of my own. I thought it would go away after I had Madeleine, that fear of not being able to get pregnant, but both times after I have given birth it comes back. What if it happens again?

It pushes me to get pregnant. It allows me to realize that our fertility is a gift and I should cherish it while I have it because I don't know what the future holds.

I am luckier than so many people. I have two beautiful daughters. Sometimes I feel guilty for wanting more, like God hasn't blessed me enough. He has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined. I want more children because they fill our house with love and laughter. They make me a better person, they bring me closer to God.

I want more children for my daughters. I want them to have siblings, best friends, people they can count on in life to always be there no matter what. I want them to learn selflessness from loving their siblings so they can be prepared for their future vocations. I want them to learn that God first and then family are the priorities. Not money or cars or stuff. They can learn that from a house full of siblings.

I want more children because they strengthen my marriage. They bring my husband and I closer to the Lord and closer to each other. They fulfill the vows we said to each other. I want more children because of what they do to my husband. Because of the man they make him.

I want more children for God. More eternal souls to worship and adore Him. More people to be a light in a dark world. More people to love the poorest of the poor.

Sometimes I feel selfish for wanting more children when God has given me more than I ever imagined so it helps to remember why I am called to be a mother. In order to be a mother you can never be selfish. The vocation demands dying to yourself on a daily basis.

I am twenty-five and I have two children. I could, possibly, have three before I even turn twenty-seven. That makes people uncomfortable, even the best Catholics seem to ask me why. Worry about it being too much. God will never give me more than I can handle. If I have another child, it is because God knows me better than I know myself and He knows I can handle it. I pray that He blesses me with many more in His perfect timing.

For now my job is to enjoy my daughters, to love and teach them and to not focus too much on what the future may hold. Tonight everyone is asleep and so I'm going to quietly allow myself to mourn for the baby we lost for the first time in a long time. Then I'll probably sneak into the room where Madeleine and Juliette sleep just to look at them and remind myself why my sorrow has been turned into dancing.

Still, I am glad we have a little saint in heaven interceding for us. I remember praying to him right when I got pregnant with Madeleine so I know he is interceding before God for me and for our family. And I'll get to meet him someday. That fills me with joy as well.

Little David Behrend, pray for us.

7 Quick Takes- Volume Two

We've had a big week here at the Behr cave so I'm not sure how quick these quick takes will be... but here it is anyway.

1. I joined a gym! Even though I've lost the baby weight from both girls I still need to gather my strength for the next time (God willing! Whenever that may be...) The personal trainer asked me my goals for my workout routine. After first joking that my goal was to have Pippa's bottom (well, half joking really) I told him that I have a two year old and a nine month old and I want to be healthy in case I get pregnant again. Poor trainer thought I was joking. That's life with NFP, always preparing for next time.

2. I went to the dentist! Okay so this may not be big news to most people but I haven't been in like three years. So my teeth are super white and I'm even flossing. Go me!

3. The biggest news of the week by far... MADELEINE WENT PEE PEE ON THE POTTY! Oh, we had a celebration that involved affirmative words, clapping, waking up daddy, calling the relatives, and COOKIES! It was so fun that Madeleine has spent much of today just sitting on the toilet with a book hoping it will happen again. I am so proud of my little girl!

4. But it wasn't all fun and games on the potty this week. While I brought in the groceries this week the girls decided to use my distraction to their advantage. After the last trip back and forth I heard giggling coming from the bathroom. The girls were standing at the toilet, elbow deep in toilet water, splashing each other. The thing is, Juliette was the bad influence there. Madeleine would never DREAM of doing such a thing on her own but her mischievous little baby sister is just the type... ohhh Juliette my pet.

5. On Wednesday night I introduced Madeleine to Barney on DVD and Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness. was she impressed. She woke up the next morning yelling, "Moooooom! Watch Barn! Watch Barn!" And when I finally put a Barney DVD on the TV later that day she ran around the room SCREAMING, "OHHH GOSH BARN!!! YAY!!! OH GOSH OH GOSH BARN!!!" On the plus side I got a lot of cleaning done during that DVD. On the negative, the songs are stuck in my head and won't get out. Prayers are appreciated

6. Juliette had her nine month check up this week. She is 19 lbs, 3.5 oz, and 29 1/2 inches of dinosaur fun. Today the little monkey learned how to climb. She scaled her princess chair and attempted to get a cheerio off of the china cabinet that I had previously taken away from her. Tricksy, tricksy baby girl.

7. And today we got a NEW COUCH! It's a very early Christmas present but it is leather, has back support, and has never been peed on. So major upgrade from what we have now. It will be delivered next week.

Well, that's all this week. I hope you enjoyed my adventures as much as I did.