Ready or Not

Claire has decided that she doesn't want any of her stuff to go to the new house, if I suggest that it is gone because it is packed to go to the new house, she tries to find it and unpack it. (she's very good at this scarily enough). I think she hasn't connected that we are going to the new house and no longer going to be at the old house, So why would she want her stuff at the new house where we never go?? Good processing. :) Alas, we are moving, ready or not, here we come.

Looks like we might be able to move in after all. You can even see some of my kitchen cabinets. Appliances come tomorrow!

Booger

Claire has been really good today, not a lot of whining, and we made it out today to the management offices and the park, as well as the dry cleaners. But tonight we are sitting around winding down and Claire goes upstairs to go 'potty'. 5 or 6 minuets later she reappears at the top of the stairs and announces that she had to 'blow her nose'. Then she puts the entire roll of toilet paper over her face and blows a raspberry. SO ADORABLE!

How can you even get angry at such a cutie?

Stupid People

I am officially out of signs.
Please go away from me.

Is It Naptime Yet?

We ventured out today, our little threesome. Where did we take our first outing? To the Dr. for little Nick :( He started coughing last night and we wanted to get him checked out. He had some blood work done and he has a cold virus, wonder who gave that to him? It started off great, the road, the only road we know will take us to the Dr. was closed. So we wandered around with our GPS for a while trying to find an alternate route... That conquered we had to figure out how to get Nick, his carseat, Claire and the diaper bag all into mommy's arms so she could carry them to the elevator. (which thankfully was working) Claire, who is sick AND cutting a new tooth, decided her legs didn't work at all today so I had to either carry her (payback?), or walk slowly with her shuffling along crying like I stole her pupppy and put it in a box, then put that box in another box and.. you get the picture. We escaped, 80 min. later with bad news about Nick having the cold virus and Claire having gained 5 extra pounds from the nursing staff trying to appease her with gummy bears. We made up our own way home (road still closed), which did include dropping off 4 bags of clothes for donation (that made me feel accomplished) :) Now home again for lunch and amazingly enough it isn't even nap time yet, as Claire so lovingly pointed out, 'she's awake'. please pray for Nick if you think of us, if his temp gets higher we may be headed back to the hospital :(

And wait... we move starting Monday. look at my bathroom:

it now has grout and a toilet and a sink so they tell me, but these are pics from the last time I saw it. not that long ago.

Things Workmen Say

Do you still have a lake?
response: ABI!

There's gonna be a boom.
response: WHAT!

Both were accent related. I love New York.

Don't Worry GB

My mother left today, it seems like she left yesterday or the day before but it was today. She flew like a champ and even jumped out of my car at the airport. I think it was nerves causing her to be jumpy but the fact that it has been crazy here and she just wants to get out of here as soon as possible crossed my mind too. I thought about her visit as I was feeding Nick and putting Claire to bed at the same time. From the outside our little family looks like it is in a lot of trouble. A husband who is in his own world sometimes, A wife overwhelmed with life and living in denial about what her life really is, A two year old who is just starting to rebel, A newborn who is precious but needs attention. But don't worry GB everything will turn out alright. (sing that last bit).
Things are alright now: There is a man singing in Spanish in my living room (fixing the hole finally!), My husband is at work, working overtime to ensure he is still gainfully employed at the end of this, Both my babies are asleep and I packed the hall closet and the coat closet today :) And I know how much you love me so baby nothing could go wrong with me.

Personal

Things here are even crazier; as my husband 'found out' last night for the 'first time' that we are in fact moving this coming Friday (31st). He had somehow calculated another week into July; wouldnt that be nice? So we are scrambling because the floors are being done Thur. and Fri of this week and then we can't be on them till Mon. and he works every day this week... you get the picture. After that was 'solved' by him taking off Friday (31st) to move we found out the appliances we ordered two weeks ago are discontinued and we can't get them; like ever. So the kitchen that is being installed that was designed around those appliance measurement... well... we ordered new appliances and hopefully they will work. My mom and Ami have been wonderful this last week helping to pack and love on babies while I pack. But there are still things to be packed and moved. It is crazy here! There was talk of shipping off my oldest to one of my Aunts for the week, there was talk of shipping her to WY or PA. She will be staying here for the time being. I have to call in help for the unpacking, maybe she will take a short vacation during that time. anyone want a two year old sweetie? She prefers wide open spaces and warm climates, long walks on the beach are a plus. :)

Crazy Thankful

Life here i crazy... sick husband, sick daughter, sick son, sick self... that's a lot of sick. :( and my mom leaves tomorrow! Don't go Miss Brenda!!
I had a great visit with my sister who was a great help while she was here. holding babies and washing dishes. (plus much more) Thanks Ami!

Nick Takes a Bath

So we have been home for about, what now?, three weeks and I have to admit that my son has only bathed twice. I feel like that isn't enough. My mom thinks so too. She is too tactful to say it out loud but she told me the other day. And Nick will need a bath tonight. So we gave him his first submerged bath.
Photographing boys poses some new problems. Like what angle is best for not capturing his 'man parts'. How to make him look all cute and baby without making him look like a girl. and can you post pictures that include his 'man parts'?
I guess we will learn as we go. Here are some pictures of Nick taking a bath.

In The Bronx

Abi's Mom is guest blogging here.

After spending several days in Queens, Amanda and I have perfected our New York accents (Cawl a cab, and we'll go for cawfee.) enough to venture out, so today we went to the Bronx. The Bronx Zoo to be precise.
For being in New York City, there were quite a few trees. As a New Wyomingite, my first reaction was that it made it hard to see anything. But we did manage to see a few animals.
We saw some lemurs in the Madagascar exhibit, but they were not singing I like to move it, move it...But if you ask Claire what a lemur says she says ,"move it, move it."







Here are just a few pics of my favorite parts of the day.











Before I leave the city I plan to venture all the way to Brooklyn. I think there may be a tree or two growing there as well.

Good Help

My mom has come, to help me out; that means holding the baby and playing in the pool out back.

My sister came to help too; that means playing at the park and holding the baby of course.


They keep saying they will start to help me tomorrow, but they are all the help they need to be just being here to play with my sweetheart and hold my baby.

Crazy

What's Under the Hat?

There was some discussion about the 'ethnicity' of our baby. Some say he is 'More Italian' than the other, some say 'exactly the same' and still some think there may be some alien influence. Decide for yourself.

Taco Babies

Nick has been subject to our crazy life for about a week now. We have not destroyed anything else that wasn't in the plans : (like my new tub?)

Claire likes him ok. She likes to hold him and loves to eat him up when we make him into a 'taco'. He likes her too. Hopefully this like-ing trend will continue.

We went to the Dr. today, Nick has a rash which will bring us back in two weeks... 'nothing to worry about' the dr. says.

Nothing else of note here. So I'll just post some cute baby pictures for those of you who are only reading for the visual stimulation. :)

When it Rains It Pours!

Welcome Nicholas James Iovino home from the hospital.

Born: 7-1-2009
Weight: 8 lb. 1 oz.
Length: 20 in.
Disposition: Pleasant

check him out at: nicholasjamesi.shutterfly.com

Please pray for our little family. Jim has been sick and unable to really help hands-on with Nick because we can't risk Nick catching what Jim has. Claire's pink eye has reemerged in the three days I was in the hospital so we are back on the hated eye drops, and tonight Claire started throwing up. Not sure if it is an isolated incident or not yet but here's hoping and praying. I am thankfully not sick yet, and trying to remain that way to care for this little sick family. Please pray that Nick escapes all the illness floating around our house. For now, Jim is sleeping in the guest room and hand sanitizer is flowing like the river Jordan (is that a lot cause we have a lot of hand sanitizer). Also, the hole in the ceiling lives on, continuing to surprise us as now it leaks into the living room every time you shower. When will it all slow down? I want off.