One of my new favorite pictures.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Lovely Lignos Family
We are big fans of the Lignos family. Sierra and Abby are only two weeks apart and are the best of friends no matter how long the stretch in seeing each other. We tried timing the boys to be born at the same time too but it took me about 11 months longer than Liz. I would pay good money to get them to move back to Connecticut. But I'm thinking that money will have to be put towards plane tickets to California in the future. We had a wonderful weekend earlier this month with them.
One of my new favorite pictures.
One of my new favorite pictures.
More Christmas Pictures with Jason's Family
Ben and all the girls.
Ben's First Christmas.
Organized Chaos.
Ben's First Christmas.
Organized Chaos.
Pictures with Jenn's Family at Christmas
We had a great time with Jenn's mom coming for a visit at Christmas. (Mom, you were a huge help...especially on Abby's random "I'm going to throw up all day" day. You're a trooper). And we got an extra treat with Jay and Candie coming down on Christmas Eve. We had quite the fun Christmas Eve together. Staying up way too late learning about handguns, playing Phase 10, and watching Jay and Jason get plastered on a bottle of whiskey. Good times! :)
Jay and Abby are two peas in a pod. They have a pretty special bond between the two of them. I always say she is the female version of him when he was little. Abby now claims: "I have two brudders...baby Ben and Unca Jay." No matter how much I try to explain the whole "He's mommy's brother; he's your uncle," I get told "No, No, No" (like I'm stupid) and the cycle repeats itself. I gave up.
We all got a kick out of the pushups (Jay's idea of fun)...which quickly converted to a tea party (Abby's idea of fun).
Jay and Abby are two peas in a pod. They have a pretty special bond between the two of them. I always say she is the female version of him when he was little. Abby now claims: "I have two brudders...baby Ben and Unca Jay." No matter how much I try to explain the whole "He's mommy's brother; he's your uncle," I get told "No, No, No" (like I'm stupid) and the cycle repeats itself. I gave up.
We all got a kick out of the pushups (Jay's idea of fun)...which quickly converted to a tea party (Abby's idea of fun).
Our Visit to Ft. Drum
My brother Jay was deployed to Afganistan last week. He and his wife, Candie, were stationed up at Ft. Drum in New York for the last year. Even though it felt so close...it was still a solid 6 hour drive between the two of us. We enjoyed having them visit in July, and in December we drove up for a visit before Christmas. Here's a few pictures from when we were there. (Abby loves to wear her "ear mittens" at random times as you will see below).
Understanding Christmas
On a normal day at home in early December, I was washing dishes and this was our conversation:
Abby: "Mama, what's Christmas?"
Me: "Well, Christmas is Jesus' birthday. We celebrate it every year by putting up a Christmas tree; we give gifts to those we love; we sing lots of Christmas songs..."
I hear a gasp and Abby runs off to her toys. I later hear a drawer open and close. About five minutes go by and I go and check on her. She is sitting in the floor of the living room with a brand new roll of tape and her little basketball. There is tons of tape everywhere...most of it wrapped haphazardly around the basketball.
Me: "Abby! What's going on in here?!?"
Abby: "Mama...I was wrapping my present to give Jesus for his birthday!"
Precious. My precious girl. Best waste of tape ever.
Abby: "Mama, what's Christmas?"
Me: "Well, Christmas is Jesus' birthday. We celebrate it every year by putting up a Christmas tree; we give gifts to those we love; we sing lots of Christmas songs..."
I hear a gasp and Abby runs off to her toys. I later hear a drawer open and close. About five minutes go by and I go and check on her. She is sitting in the floor of the living room with a brand new roll of tape and her little basketball. There is tons of tape everywhere...most of it wrapped haphazardly around the basketball.
Me: "Abby! What's going on in here?!?"
Abby: "Mama...I was wrapping my present to give Jesus for his birthday!"
Precious. My precious girl. Best waste of tape ever.
Ben's 4th & 5th Month Pictures
Yes, yes. I'm a wee bit behind in posting pictures. Here's my little man on his monthly birthdays. We did two sets of 4 month pictures...he was not a happy person on the first go around.
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Shack
It's 10:45 p.m. on a Friday night. I'm sitting here at work trying to wish the clock to be midnight so I can go home and get in my comfy pj's and go to bed. Oh. so. tired. But, I thought I would jot down a few thoughts while the clock ticks away. Don't expect anything mind-blowing, analytical, or thought-provoking. The brain is mostly on auto pilot right now. Let me start by saying that: 1. I highly recommend this book. 2. You don't have to agree with me. I'm okay with that. I'm not asking you to.
I just finished the book, The Shack. I have to say....I think this book has made a permanent indentation on my life. I borrowed it from a friend to read for an upcoming book club discussion. But I'll be purchasing it for my own collection as soon as possible. The book is a work of fiction written in a way to make you think it is a recounting of a true story. The story grabs you from the beginning. A wonderful family out on a camping vacation when a parent's worse nightmare happens. A mystery, 'can't put the book down' kind of story. I started off reading it very skeptically. I figured it would be a "Da Vinci Code" kind of thing...intriguing but so off base from the real truth. And after finishing it, I can acknowledge that it is not the Word of God, and therefore, not an infallible work. But, boy...did I walk away with a profound sense that my perception of a lot of things in life...God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, love, relationships, forgiveness, trust, expectations, and life in general....need some work.
For example, a small part of the book talks about "expectation" versus "expectancy." The word expectancy in relation to a friendship conjures up thoughts of two people being together, talking, laughing, sharing, enjoying. A unique bond for each relationship in our life. However, when the word expectancy is replaced with the word expectation...it becomes about rules, requirements, performance, responsibilites...which can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or judgment.
That little profound nugget made me sit back and think of how often I feel the responsibility to fulfill all the expectations I put on myself and even what I feel others have of me. Many different hats to wear every day: wife, mother, daughter, friend, sister, daughter-in-law, nurse, coworker, child of God. It flat out becomes a burden trying to perform to the best of my ability in each of these roles. And I'm usually walking around feeling like I dropped the ball way too many times.
But if I take away that expectation, and replace it with expectancy...it changes everything. What if I just took each and every role I have and went into it with the expectancy of enjoying that unique relationship for what it is. And learn, grow, develop, interact, love, enjoy. What a burden to have lifted! How refreshing to replace that burden with excitement. Looking forward to each interaction we have with others and what develops beyond that. Putting a true 100% focus into each conversation...to really listen, interact, go deeper than we normally find ourselves doing. And, most importantly, doing all of this with our relationship with God. What a neat way of understanding an inkling of how God looks at His relationship with us....no expectations, just expectancy. Him craving us to be with him in a deeper and more open and trusting sense. Yes...I have more pondering to do.
Okay. Those are my thoughts. It's 11:30...time to get ready for those pjs.
-Jenn
I just finished the book, The Shack. I have to say....I think this book has made a permanent indentation on my life. I borrowed it from a friend to read for an upcoming book club discussion. But I'll be purchasing it for my own collection as soon as possible. The book is a work of fiction written in a way to make you think it is a recounting of a true story. The story grabs you from the beginning. A wonderful family out on a camping vacation when a parent's worse nightmare happens. A mystery, 'can't put the book down' kind of story. I started off reading it very skeptically. I figured it would be a "Da Vinci Code" kind of thing...intriguing but so off base from the real truth. And after finishing it, I can acknowledge that it is not the Word of God, and therefore, not an infallible work. But, boy...did I walk away with a profound sense that my perception of a lot of things in life...God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, love, relationships, forgiveness, trust, expectations, and life in general....need some work.
For example, a small part of the book talks about "expectation" versus "expectancy." The word expectancy in relation to a friendship conjures up thoughts of two people being together, talking, laughing, sharing, enjoying. A unique bond for each relationship in our life. However, when the word expectancy is replaced with the word expectation...it becomes about rules, requirements, performance, responsibilites...which can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or judgment.
That little profound nugget made me sit back and think of how often I feel the responsibility to fulfill all the expectations I put on myself and even what I feel others have of me. Many different hats to wear every day: wife, mother, daughter, friend, sister, daughter-in-law, nurse, coworker, child of God. It flat out becomes a burden trying to perform to the best of my ability in each of these roles. And I'm usually walking around feeling like I dropped the ball way too many times.
But if I take away that expectation, and replace it with expectancy...it changes everything. What if I just took each and every role I have and went into it with the expectancy of enjoying that unique relationship for what it is. And learn, grow, develop, interact, love, enjoy. What a burden to have lifted! How refreshing to replace that burden with excitement. Looking forward to each interaction we have with others and what develops beyond that. Putting a true 100% focus into each conversation...to really listen, interact, go deeper than we normally find ourselves doing. And, most importantly, doing all of this with our relationship with God. What a neat way of understanding an inkling of how God looks at His relationship with us....no expectations, just expectancy. Him craving us to be with him in a deeper and more open and trusting sense. Yes...I have more pondering to do.
Okay. Those are my thoughts. It's 11:30...time to get ready for those pjs.
-Jenn
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A New Year....Heck, A New Week!
The week of Christmas is busy enough. But we Chiodos like to throw in a few change ups to make it even crazier. Here's a glance at our Christmas week:
MONDAY (12/22): Abby woke up and had diarrhea and vomiting all day long. As a very thankful momma with kids who don't get sick very often...the sick days are rare and often at full tilt. Off to the doctor we go. Finally got some Pedialyte in her that stayed in her around 5 p.m. Must've been some 24 hour bug cause she was back to normal the next day.
THURSDAY (12/25): Christmas Day was done. The kids were tucked snug as a bug in bed. I had on the good ol' outfit of sweatpants, an old t-shirt, and was barefoot. We were watching a movie, and I heard Ben fussing around a bit so I went to check on him. Snuck the pacifier back in his mouth and went to go back downstairs to watch the movie. But I somehow overstepped the 2nd from the top step and my feet flew out from underneath me and I fell down our entire flight of stairs. Yes, I was barefoot..but sweatpants work just like a slip n' slide on those steps. As I'm falling, there's a perfectly good railing on the right..but I found myself clawing the left wall trying to grab something over there. By the time I get to the bottom, Jason has ran over and he stopped me from just rolling right into the front door. He's freaking out, I'm bawling like a baby, and there were a few laughs thrown in there for good measure. I sat there for a second thinking, "I broke something and I have to figure out what exactly I broke cause I hurt EVERYWHERE!" But alas, nothing was broken, but I looked like I had been beaten up quite well. My left arm by my elbow still has cuts and big bruises all over it. By that Saturday, I hurt so bad that just sitting still was torturous. But I'm doing much better now. So very thankful that I wasn't carrying Ben at the time. I am now a paranoid stair freak..for good reason.
FRIDAY (12/26): Abby woke up and said she didn't feel good and her ear hurt. Great. Off to the doctor we go-again. Double ear infection. Another day of my little girl not feeling well. Meaning she wants Mom to hold her while Ben wants Mom to hold him...all while I'm super sore from falling the night before. Long day.
SATURDAY (12/27): Giving the kids a bath...Ben is in his baby tub which sits inside the regular tub. Ben's on one side, Abby's in the regular tub on the other side. As I'm getting Ben out, he spits up everywhere in the baby tub. I whisk him off to get him dried off and dressed. Abby usually dumps his water into her water so we can take the baby tub out and give her the whole tub. But Jason gets this brillant idea to throw the baby 'spit up' water down the toilet. Great idea until the washcloth goes with it! Yep...it was completely stuck in the S curve inside the toilet. After many attempts to get it out via the snake and Drano, we had two options: 1. Call a plumber and pay who knows how much to get it out. 2. Buy a new toilet. We opted for #2. But, of course, the first toilet Jason bought was broken. After trip #2 to Lowe's, we finally got a new toilet installed yesterday.
WEDNESDAY (1/1): Ben was seeming to catch Abby's cold from earlier. Led to lots of yellow gunk coming out of his eyes. Conjunctivitis. Off to the doctor we go-again. Thankfully, no ear infection for Ben. The antibiotic eye drops cleared it up so fast-I was amazed. He is still congested but getting better.
Needless to say, my kid medicine box went from being outdated and out of use to getting quite a bit of attention this week. And the pediatrician's office, which is used to seeing up for the occasional well checkups, now know us a bit better. We are definitely ready for a new and healthy week and year!
MONDAY (12/22): Abby woke up and had diarrhea and vomiting all day long. As a very thankful momma with kids who don't get sick very often...the sick days are rare and often at full tilt. Off to the doctor we go. Finally got some Pedialyte in her that stayed in her around 5 p.m. Must've been some 24 hour bug cause she was back to normal the next day.
THURSDAY (12/25): Christmas Day was done. The kids were tucked snug as a bug in bed. I had on the good ol' outfit of sweatpants, an old t-shirt, and was barefoot. We were watching a movie, and I heard Ben fussing around a bit so I went to check on him. Snuck the pacifier back in his mouth and went to go back downstairs to watch the movie. But I somehow overstepped the 2nd from the top step and my feet flew out from underneath me and I fell down our entire flight of stairs. Yes, I was barefoot..but sweatpants work just like a slip n' slide on those steps. As I'm falling, there's a perfectly good railing on the right..but I found myself clawing the left wall trying to grab something over there. By the time I get to the bottom, Jason has ran over and he stopped me from just rolling right into the front door. He's freaking out, I'm bawling like a baby, and there were a few laughs thrown in there for good measure. I sat there for a second thinking, "I broke something and I have to figure out what exactly I broke cause I hurt EVERYWHERE!" But alas, nothing was broken, but I looked like I had been beaten up quite well. My left arm by my elbow still has cuts and big bruises all over it. By that Saturday, I hurt so bad that just sitting still was torturous. But I'm doing much better now. So very thankful that I wasn't carrying Ben at the time. I am now a paranoid stair freak..for good reason.
FRIDAY (12/26): Abby woke up and said she didn't feel good and her ear hurt. Great. Off to the doctor we go-again. Double ear infection. Another day of my little girl not feeling well. Meaning she wants Mom to hold her while Ben wants Mom to hold him...all while I'm super sore from falling the night before. Long day.
SATURDAY (12/27): Giving the kids a bath...Ben is in his baby tub which sits inside the regular tub. Ben's on one side, Abby's in the regular tub on the other side. As I'm getting Ben out, he spits up everywhere in the baby tub. I whisk him off to get him dried off and dressed. Abby usually dumps his water into her water so we can take the baby tub out and give her the whole tub. But Jason gets this brillant idea to throw the baby 'spit up' water down the toilet. Great idea until the washcloth goes with it! Yep...it was completely stuck in the S curve inside the toilet. After many attempts to get it out via the snake and Drano, we had two options: 1. Call a plumber and pay who knows how much to get it out. 2. Buy a new toilet. We opted for #2. But, of course, the first toilet Jason bought was broken. After trip #2 to Lowe's, we finally got a new toilet installed yesterday.
WEDNESDAY (1/1): Ben was seeming to catch Abby's cold from earlier. Led to lots of yellow gunk coming out of his eyes. Conjunctivitis. Off to the doctor we go-again. Thankfully, no ear infection for Ben. The antibiotic eye drops cleared it up so fast-I was amazed. He is still congested but getting better.
Needless to say, my kid medicine box went from being outdated and out of use to getting quite a bit of attention this week. And the pediatrician's office, which is used to seeing up for the occasional well checkups, now know us a bit better. We are definitely ready for a new and healthy week and year!
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