What We've Been Up To...In Pictures

We've had a lot going on this summer, and I haven't blogged as often as I would have liked to. So here's another picture post to sum up what we've been doing lately.  Enjoy!

Bailey had her first dance recital, and it was awesome!

The girls with Miss Holly

And with Miss Bianca

The Dansarts Crew

Bailey and Madison

We also celebrated her 3rd birthday...

 

 Scott and I took Bailey to Hershey Park as our birthday present to her.  A day full of rides, food and fun...what more could a girl ask for?

Fun in the Waterpark (Hershey)

On the Chocolate World ride

 

Bailey and Gerry had some good times together...

Funny faces in the car

G discovered that solid food isn't so bad

So Bailey shared some water ice with him

Sibling love

Both kids were adorable, as always....

Scott re-did our backyard...

The Before

During

And After...the grass finally grew in where the dirt used to be!

Scott posed with both kids while we were out to eat one day...

And we all took a surrey ride on vacation...

Luckily, we still have a few more weeks of summer left...which means more time for more photo ops.  So check back for more!

Vacation 2013

*sad sigh*  Well, another beach vacation has come and gone.  I spent all day yesterday in a depressive funk because I was so sad to be back to reality.  I look forward to vacation every year -- all of my family in one place, together, for a whole week.  At times, it can be a nightmare (all of our craziness, conflicting personalities, and toss in 4 kids prone to tantrums at any given moment) but it's something that I love, love, love to do.  It's, by far, the best 7 days of my year and I thoroughly enjoy my time away.  This year was the same as every other year (awesome, always), except that I had back surgery less than a week before vacation.  It didn't dampen my happy mood, but it definitely wasn't fun to "sit on the sidelines", so to speak, as often as I had to.  I couldn't play beach volleyball with everyone or take Bailey on any rides, and I rode on the boardwalk in a wheel chair.  But I did get to soak up the sun on the beach a few times, watched Bailey have a blast on the rides, ate funnel cake, Johnson's popcorn, and Kessel's ice cream sundaes almost every night, and soaked up every drop of family fun and togetherness that we could pack into 7 days.

I'm still nursing a bit of depression over being back home right now, so I leave you with these pictures from our vacation...not as many as I should have taken, but hey.  At least I took something.

The first day was spent sleeping in...

Gerry spent his vacation smiling and sleeping...

Bath time after a long morning at the beach

Bailey exercised, went on rides just about every night, bought a hermit crab (note the hands-on-her-lips excitement), and got her hair wrapped (while making funny faces in the mirror)...

She was also a TOTAL beach babe this year -- a far cry from the little girl who cried if she set so much as a toe in the sand last year...

The obligatory "climb in this hole and let Pop Pop bury you" shot

Disclaimer:  the pretty girl in this picture (you know...the one with the cute bikini body)?  That's not me.  It's my cousin, Amanda.  

This was the girls "surfing"

It was hard to say goodbye...

Blogging With a Purpose: If I Were To Win the Lottery...

I'm linking up again with Becky over at From Mrs. To Mama this week, and posting this while on vacation.  On vacation.  Now, if that's not dedication, I don't know what is. Actually, it's boredom if you can believe that.  For once, everyone in the house is sleeping with the exception of Gerry and my mom, and they're both hanging out on the deck at the moment.  I literally have nothing else to do right now.  No kids wanting or needing something, nothing to clean, nothing to plan.  Just this.  To be honest, I'm glad for the break.  So, on to this week's blogging with a purpose topic:  If I Were To Win the Lottery, 5 Things I'd Buy.

I tweaked this topic a bit to suit my situation.  Instead of writing about things I'd buy, I'm going to write about things I'd do.  Because, yeah, I could buy a ton of stuff.  And there's no doubt that I would.  But I'd also do some things, too, and that's what I want to write about.  This is assuming I won millions...

I would NOT quit my job.  At this point in my life, with two little ones at home and hopefully more to come, having a home daycare is perfect for me.  I may not always love it, but I'm home with my kids and I have the ability to close if needed or to tweak my hours to suit my needs.  I'm my own boss and I'm there for my kids 24/7.  I would, however, lessen my workload by taking on fewer kids and being pickier about what kids I do take.  I would urge Scott to quit his job and stay home with us.  Or at least to find something more part-time.  He'd probably go nuts surrounded by kids all day, but at least he'd have the option of not having to work so hard all the time.  And our family would be together all the time.

I would buy a bigger house.  Right now, we live in a twin.  Which means we share a wall with our neighbors.  Which means that we can hear every single they do throughout the day and night.  And they can probably hear us at times, too, though I guarantee that even with young kids we're much quieter than they are.  We have 3 bedrooms now, which is just fine for us at the moment.  But I'd like a house that isn't attached to someone else's.  Something with at least 4 bedrooms (preferably 5), a big backyard, a playroom for the kids, and a finished basement.  In a good school district.  In the interest of my daycare, I'd also like something with a more open floor plan than we have right now. 

I would take my family on a wonderful vacation.  My whole family -- my parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws...the whole gang.  For at least two weeks.  A fantastic get-away that we'll never forget.  We'd stay on a private villa (or 5 considering there would be more than 30 people going) on the beach in the Caribbean or in Italy, and we'd spend 14 glorious days just spending time together.  Enjoying good food, new sites, no stress and just being together.

I would buy a house at the beach.   Every year my family stays a week in Ocean City, New Jersey.  And every year we all talk about buying a house there.  And every year nothing comes of it.  Scott says all the time that he wants to buy a house and retire on the beach.  So why not make it happen?  If I won the lottery, I'd buy a house like we've all been talking about for so long, and we could all use it any time we wanted.

I would pay off all my debts and give some money to my family.  They've been so good to me my whole life, and I'd love to be able to take some stress from them, financial or otherwise.  It would be nice to be able to give them all enough to retire and live the rest of their lives happily.

I'd invest in my own business.  I would LOVE to own a coffee shop/book store, trite as it sounds.  Sort of like a Barnes & Noble ( a bookstore with a cafe inside) but much smaller and more inviting.  More personable.  I think it would be cool to "run" the business with Scott.  To be our own bosses, to control what goes in and what comes out.  And there's nothing I love more than coffee and books. 


I could think of a million and one things I'd do if I won the lottery.  Seriously.  But these are my top five.  A girl can hope, right?

Next week's topic:  If I Could Turn Back Time (And Do Something Over)


Also, check back in the next few days for a recap of our vacation!

Blogging With a Purpose: My Biggest Weakness

I could blog all day about my weaknesses: coffee, chocolate, my lack of desire to clean anything these days, books, my laptop, coffee, my kids, lip gloss, coffee, Facebook, coffee.  And did I mention coffee?  But these are all superficial weaknesses.  The purpose of this 52 Week's series is to look inside yourself, not just to spout the first things you can think of.  That being said, I know my biggest weakness.  By far. 

My perception of myself.  And how my children see me. 

In college, and even the few years beyond, I struggled with body image issues.  I still do. I grew up being able to eat whatever I wanted and not having to worry about watching myself because I always just burned off the calories playing sports.  As I got older, though, and stopped playing sports the pounds just packed themselves on.  I started looking in the mirror more often and hating what I saw.  I referred to myself as "short and chubby".  I dreaded clothes shopping because of how horrible everything looked on my body.  I yo-yo dieted for a few years.  I pointed out all of my flaws (chubby thighs, crooked nose, hairy arms, ...) before anyone else could exploit them.  I basically spent my twenties in a cycle of "I hate myself"-diet-find all my flaws and obsess over them-repeat.  All those wasted years...

When I got pregnant in 2010 it was the very first time that I had ever truly appreciated my body and what it could do.  At 9+ months pregnant and weighing more than I ever had in my life, I'd finally...finally come to love myself.  I felt my daughter rolling and kicking inside of me and felt such pride that my body, the very thing I had come to hate and feel ashamed of, had grown, carried and sustained this little person for so long.

That lasted about a month after she was born.

Then it was back to "I hate myself"-diet-obsess over flaws-repeat.  I was horrified at what my body had become...the loose belly, the stretch marks all over,  the extra weight just clinging to my belly, butt and thighs, the cellulite where there used to be smooth skin before.  I stopped respecting my body for all that it had done and started hating it again.

Fast forward 2 years and I'm pregnant again.  I brought my daughter with me to one of my prenatal appointments.  It just so happened to be my 38 week appointment, so I'm plopped on the table getting ready for my internal and Bailey shouts to the doctor:  "Watch out for mommy's big butt!"

Not my kid, but this is a pretty accurate picture of what my face looked like

At the time, I thought it was hilarious and the doctor and I had a nice little chuckle over it.  But then I started to think about it more.  Is that how she sees me?  As having a big butt?  Doesn't she realize that my butt is this big partly because of her?  Couldn't she have commented on how cute my pedicure looked instead?

And then I realized...she said that because it's how I talk about myself.  I thought over the past 2.5 years of her life and I realized that Bailey has never heard me talk positively about my body.  She's curious and I'm pretty adamant about her not being ashamed or made to feel awkward about her body, so I don't rush her out of the room while I'm drying off after a shower and, let's face it, I haven't gone to to the bathroom alone in about 2 years...so, yeah.  She's seen the human body.  But when she points and asks, I always say "That's mommy's big, ole butt" or "That's mommy's flabby belly".  So that's all she knows --  that mommy has a flabby belly and a big butt.  And, unless and until I start being more positive about myself, that's all she'll ever know. 

Since realizing this a few days ago, I've tried really hard to un-do the damage I've already done.  I no longer refer to myself as chubby, fat, or flabby.  I don't stare at myself in the mirror and proclaim out loud how disappointed I am with the stretch marks that just won't go away or the weight I'm still trying to lose.  I don't moan and groan about how I'll never wear a bikini again or how much I'm dreading bathing suit shopping.  I just don't.

When they were born, I swore to myself and to them that Bailey and Gerry would always know that they were perfect (because, to me, they are).  And I've spent every day since they were born telling them how beautiful and handsome they are, how smart they are, and how much I love them.  I've worked hard to instill a good sense of self-esteem in them and now I need to do that for myself (or at the very least to stop hating on myself so much).  As they grow up, I want my children to know that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.  I want them to know that their morals and values and how they treat other people is much more important than how they look.  I want them to know that their worth is not wrapped up in a tiny, size 2 body and that neither is anyone else's.  I want them to grow up thinking (knowing) that their mother was and is beautiful because she is a good person, an empathetic person, a person of value.  Not because she was skinny or a particular size. 

I'm working on my biggest weakness, I really am.  And I'll continue to do so, if not for myself, then for my kids.  I'm taking steps to fix it now.  Baby steps, but steps in the right direction nonetheless.

Next Week's Topic:  If I Were To Win the Lottery...

Gerry: 6 Months Old

How in the world is Gerry already 6 months old?!  Seriously...how did this happen?

Scott and I still can't believe how lucky we are that he's such a happy and easy-going baby.  Since I'm going to be doing one of these every month for a bit, I figured I'll make it easier on all of us and make it kind of like a list instead if crazy long paragraphs.  So, here goes:

Personality:  Calm and happy; only cries when he's overtired or super hungry.

Nickname: "Little Man", "Handsome Man", "Chunk"

Likes:  Mommy and Daddy; Bailey; sweet potatoes; his exersaucer and jumperoo; his bottle; being tickled, playing peek-a-boo; kicking his feet like a crazy person; toy phones; bath time; kissy faces; singing

Dislikes:  Most other foods we've tried so far (peas, green beans, carrots, rice cereal); poopy diapers; waiting too long for his bottle; being on his back for too long without something to do

Skills:  Can roll from back to belly and from belly to back (but chooses not to); can sit unassisted for a few seconds before throwing himself backwards; can stand with support for a few minutes; can pick things up and put them in his mouth; transfers objects from hand to hand; holds his own bottle; makes consonant sounds (ma, da, ba)

Sleeps: A solid 9-11 hours per night

Gerry is just an amazing little guy.  So pleasant to be around and, oh my, his smile just lights up a room.  He's taken to staring at Scott or me until we pay attention and, as soon as we meet his eyes, he gives us the most gigantic and adorable smile ever.  Bailey is pretty much his favorite person ever and he will always stop what he's doing to start babbling and smiling when he sees her.  He's wonderful!  We just adore him.

Blogging With a Purpose: 5 Years From Now

Linking up with Becky over at From Mrs. To Mama again this week.

I love, love, love this week's blog topic.  I often fantasize about what the future will be like, and where I'd like to be in x-amount of years, so this one was easy-peasy for me to write about.

In 5 years....


...I hope to be living in my dream home.  The house we're in now is just fine...for now.  It's a good size for us, in a good school district, close to just about anywhere I could possibly want to go.  But some of my neighbors suck, the neighborhood itself isn't as good as it was when I was a kid, and we're going to need a bigger house as our family grows.

... I hope to have at least one more child.  Bailey and Gerry are fantastic and wonderful, and I would love to give them another sibling.  I enjoy pregnancy (although, you wouldn't know it to read some of the posts from my pregnancy with Gerry), and I love kids.  If fate decides that two kids is all I need, then I'll be more than happy with the two miracles I've got.  But I just don't feel like we're "done" quite yet.

...I hope to be more financially sound.  Scott and I are well on our way to paying off our debt, and the raise he'll get from completing his Master's will be a big help.  The plan is to put that raise to good use and start paying some stuff down.  I don't think we'll ever be completely debt-free thanks to the crap economy, but we can be close.

...I hope to be a great mother.  In 5 years, I'll have an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old (eek!) and I hope that I'm the best mother I can be to them.  I want my kids to be proud to call me their mom and I hope that we have the kind of relationship where they feel comfortable, happy, and well-loved.

...I hope to have embraced my body, flaws and all.  I've spent the majority of my twenties worrying about how I look, my weight, this scar and that mole.  I'm slowly starting to accept myself for who I am, and I hope that in 5 years I'll have the courage and confidence to see myself the way my husband sees me and to not feel like I have to change a thing about myself in order to be "worthy" of others.

...I hope to be a great wife.  I like to think that Scott would say that I'm a good wife.  Truth is, he probably would say that because he's too nice not to.  But I want to be certain myself that I'm a good wife.  That I put the time into my marriage that it deserves and that I remember to nurture it and do my best not to let the busy-ness of our everyday lives overshadow the importance of our marriage.

...I hope to be happy.  Does anyone ever not hope for happiness in their life?  I'm happy now, for sure.  And I'm pretty certain that I'll be happy 5 years from now, too.  But I feel like if I don't put it in writing I'll be jinxing myself.

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Next Week:  My Biggest Weakness