on my mind

i've cleared off my desk from the paper clutter that has piled there for months.  i've lit a scented soy candle.  i have my coffee, lots of creamer.  my ipod is plugged in and humming off some of my favorite tunes.  my little one is napping.  my bigger little one is outside shoveling snow with daddy, because we finally got more than a dusting for maybe the second time this winter.  my mind is racing with what i am going to post.  because all this quiet and open time that i currently possess in my hands could change in a matter of 7 minutes.

i have so many memories and pictures to catch up on, and there will be more posts to come, but for this morning, i'm being random.  i've missed blogging.  i haven't been back here regularly in a while, since school started basically, because time is just not there.  well, it's there, but it's filled with so much.  between michael finishing up his final year of his mba and a recent promotion on top of it, he's highly inaccessible during the work day and 2 nights a week.  it's tough on us, those weeknights that he's gone til 10, but i manage to surprise myself with the calm that i present to the girls.  the knowledge that i am one, i am here, and i need to keep it together til bedtime.  then i can lose it, and sometimes i do.  other times i just crash in exhaustion in bed.

on top of that, more responsibilities have been added to my plate at work, which makes me constantly thinking about work when i'm not there.  and i hate that.  i am really working on being present with my girls when i'm with them, instead of answering work and personal e-mails on my phone, scouring pinterest for the latest clever craft or yummy recipe, facebooking because i am secretly have a huge interest in what other people are doing and talking about, typing out my grocery or to-do list, and my latest addiction, instagram, which gives me a visual inside to what other people are doing and talking about at the present moment.

being more present and spontaneous, such as a quick game of hide and seek...












































(i digress for a moment, because those 7 minutes of alone time i talked about earlier have passed.  harper is back inside, for it's mighty chilly out and she's ready for her hot chocolate with mallows.  but i continue...)

we then have harper's swimming one night a week, and our efforts to schedule and maintain play dates with friends that we often don't get to see much during the school year.  by the time we leave school (packing up 2 girls from daycare takes way longer than just one), and head somewhere or even home, it's only a brief period of time before dinner needs to be made, eaten, baths are run, girls are pajammied up, books are read, snuggles and kisses are poured on, and eyes begin to rest.  then the night begins, and it's a crapshoot how often and frequently crosby will be up.  and the whole process begins again.

oh yeah, and michael and i have started going to the chiropractor, both for neck misalignments that radiate out to the rest of our bodies.  i thought for a while it was a waste of my time, but lately, i can tell when i need an adjustment.  so that's once to twice weekly that we schlep to the office, sometimes kids in tow, sometimes not.

so amidst all of those goings on, we try to be a normal, happy family, enjoying little bits of time together and looking forward to plans.

like superbowl sunday last week, when i whipped up some homemade guacamole, we ordered pizza (with gluten!) and battened down the hatches with five kids.  yup, five.  while katie spent the evening tutoring, her three little ones joined us.  it was fun, but it was busy.  managing five mouths to feed, then putting three to bed all within a matter of an hour, it kept us on our toes.  but we'd do it again.

    

i'm working on keeping the love alive in my relationship with my husband.  with so much focus on the girls, it's easy to get sidetracked and lose sight of your spouse.  thanks to my friend, maria, for encouraging this and giving great suggestions.  like this easy and free one.  printed off the template, found a frame in the basement and use a dry erase marker to write little love notes to each other every so often.



we're painting more and trying to be more crafty together.  i love crafts, but trying to get harper to want to help with all of them (and letting go of my inner perfectionist and allowing her to be expressive in her own way, even if it doesn't match my idea) doesn't always work out.  i have these grand ideas, and then they last all of 8 minutes.  but it's ok.



and funny thing she picked those three colors- yellow, purple, green- to paint with last weekend, because we have had mardi gras on our minds.  we're heading to a mardi gras party tonight, and we've been pulling together our costumes piece by piece for over a week.  i'm excited.  the girls will be spending the night with nana and papa, and michael and i will enjoy some adult time (all while in costume, surrounded by more adults in black tie and costume).  can you guess what michael and i are going as?



we also have birthday on the brain, because in just over a month, we'll be celebrating our little crosby turning one.  holy guacamole, where did this year go?!



it makes me happy to join our friends and family together to celebrate her, but it makes me weepy that she's growing up way too fast.



i have so much more i could write, but for now, i'll leave it at that.  it's funny starting out that i had no idea where these thoughts would go, but i'm thankful that they're down and written to look back on.  i can't get this time back, but i'll be happy that i know exactly what was going on during it.  i'll return soon to post about health update, our unforgettable trip to disney and my little eater.  happy weekend!

these little lights of mine

last weekend, we finally put the last of the christmas decorations away.  we wrapped up the strings of lights and boxed them up until the end of 2012 when we bring them out again.



and before we completed the task, i took the chance to catch my girls' naturalness in the dark with only the twinklers.  i am in love with these two.  and these photos.  they're not perfection, but they're my own.



a favorite...



and another...

puppy love

a post with little words.  i can't sum up in only a few letters how it feels to watch my girls explore their maximus, and how he tolerates the fur-tugging and climbing and banging on his head without any resistance.  he is, and always has been, our gentle giant.



and it gets me every time.

making the most of it

you wouldn't know it now, but merely more than a week ago, we did have snow.  maybe just a bit of it, but enough that we captured an afternoon with our friends kellie, blake and anna and had a date with the sledding hill on their property.

it was an awesomely beautiful and cold afternoon.



and while we may have only ventured outside for less than half-hour, we capitalized our time.  lots of trips down the hill, a bit of anna rolling across it, a race between the dads, and several rosy cheeks.



we called it a day and headed back to the house for a yummy dinner.



see how happy this snow makes us michiganders?  hopefully, mother nature doesn't disappoint and brings us more of the fluff.

fun with tupperware

forget the stacking blocks and musical walkers.  push aside the exersaucer and the maracas.  baby's got a new love.  keeps her entertained for a majority of dinner-making or dishes-cleaning time.



makes a mess, but easy to clean up.  gotta love tupperware.

milkman

lookie lookie what was delivered to our front porch this morning...



it was our first day of old-fashioned dairy delivery service.  yes sir, the good ole' milkman.  he brought milk and half-and-half in glass jars, cottage cheese, fresh eggs, and yogurts.  i am giddy.  i love vintage and retro.  and i love glass jars.

so much so that i heated up a cuppa the morning coffee that was leftover in the coffee maker just to try the creamer (deliciously fresh).

and enjoyed the milk in my new favorite gluten free snack- milk poured over frozen blueberries then eaten with a spoon in all its icy glory.  this treat has been enjoyed for breakfast or pre-bedtime pretty much on a daily basis.  it's addicting, and i've peer pressured harper into asking for it now, too.

i think little one agrees that this was an awesome find.  kudos to my friend, katie, for kickstarting the trend.

p.s. update on the gluten free challenge: week 3 and so far, so good.  michael and i have resisted flour crust pizza on several occasions and have traded wheat bread for brown rice bread as our morning toast.  we have lived on blue corn chips, adding them to our salads and soups; corn chex; eggs; cheese; nut thins crackers; rice pasta; power smoothies; fruit and veggies.  we haven't really noticed that we've had to drastically change our grocery items or meals from how we were eating before, but we've felt like we've eaten better (michael is eating 2-3 fruits a day!) and don't eat as much at meal times or overall through the day.  the biggest difference i've noticed is that i have not craved sweets since we began, and i don't experience that early afternoon, mid-day slump.  me likey this challenge. michael likey's that his fave cereal, fruity pebbles, are naturally gluten free, so we've treated ourselves to a box in the house recently.  our mom's group is getting together this week, and the rule is that the appetizer or dessert has to be gf.  my contribution will be fruity pebbles marshmallow squares.  looking forward to sampling.  more to share as this month's challenge winds down and then next month's begins.

sink 'em

this little one?  she's got chompers.  and they're comin' in lightening fast.
 

she is happy one minute, screaming the next, most likely from those darn painful eruptions through her gums.

she's sinking her white caps into anything and everything in sight.  metal furniture.  wooden furniture.  stuffed animals.  mommy's shoulder.  she's ravenous.  visitors beware.  your clothing or digits may be her next victim.

she's learning to fully accept tylenol or motrin without any spillage.

she is a night owl, and is vampiring with the best of 'em.

and we're exhausted.  thank goodness she's got a cuteness factor going for her.



and yes, i am still nursing.  and yes, she has surprised me with a chomp on several occasions.  last night, i think i yelped at such a high pitch that i scared her off from finishing her bedtime meal.  she fell asleep with only her thumb and her lovey.  but don't you worry.  she awoke 45 minutes later, forgetting the last experience, and happily latching on sans chewing for her nocturnal beverage of choice.