Emskyrooney

Back in May I posted a picture of the front of our house, along with a mockup of what we're hoping to do with it over the next few years...  I also mentioned that someone was coming by to check out the place and give us a quote on painting the exterior.   And then, like all of the other things I forget about, I forgot to follow up and tell you what's happened since!   The house has been painted!!!  It's no longer an ugly peachy pink color- yay! Here's a reminder of what the house looked like before: Here's our mockup version of the house: And here's how it looks now (photos taken by my in-laws): So what do you think?  Any suggestions on colors to paint the doors?  We're going to paint the picket fence white and the front stairs will be painted in a slate color along with the landing pad in front of the stairs and the bricks we used to edge the path.  We have more gardening work to do including trimming back the huge bushes and planting underneath them but w...

**disclaimer: this post is all about breastfeeding... So guys, you may not want to read this. Ladies, you may want to skip it too!  It's up to you, but don't say I didn't warn you!** Since we found out that LP hadn't gained enough weight at his 6-month checkup we've been feeding him formula during the day and I've been breastfeeding him only in the mornings when he wakes up between 5 and 6.  Over the past couple of weeks however I've decided that it's time to make the break and stop nursing him completely. I have a few reasons for this change in dining plans for LP.  First of all, my most selfish reason is that I'm ready to have my body back to myself.  Between 9 months of pregnancy and 7 months of breastfeeding I've now had a baby quite literally attached to me for sixteen months.  Enough is enough.  I need "me" back.  I need to wear a bra that doesn't have cups that unhook.  I need to be able to get dressed in the morning without ...

I am "working from home" as my boss is in Bosnia (!!) on vacation this week.  I have a longer post planned for later today but saw this "meme" type post on a few other blogs I read ( Chez Larsson and Ali Edwards who came across The Simple Woman's Daybook through Apple Likes Orange )  and thought it would be a good way to inspire me to get writing and be creative today....   Am going to try to remember to revisit this post every once in a while.... For today, June 25, 2009... Outside my window... Grey skies and grass that desperately needs a haircut... but with rain 22 out of June's 25 days it's hard to get to it... I am thinking... about all of the busy weeks ahead of us for the next two months... I am thankful for... my family (and my Keurig coffee pot) From the kitchen...  leftover homemade pepperoni and anchovie pizza for lunch I am wearing...  yoga pants and a t-shirt in hopes it will inspire me to pop in an excercise video I am creating... l...

One of the first things I noticed when I first met our niece was that she has the same eyebrows as my husband.  They arch in the same place and move the same way when she smiles or laughs or frowns. Our son has also inherited this trait and it's one of the (many) things about him that I think is just adorable....   Credits: Background Paper: Jackie Eckles, Breathe; Floral Overlay: Melgen Design; Stamp Cluster: Lindsay Jane Designs; Flowers with Stitching: Kim Christensen at Scrap Artist; Staples: Shabby Miss Jenn Designs; Font: CKAli's Writing

This weeks I ♥ Faces contest is "Let's Hear it for the Boys!" So, of course, I'm entering a photo of each of my boys.  For the Kids entry here's one I love of Little Paul: And for the adults entry here's one of (big) Paul playing ball in the pool at my parents house- don't tell him I posted a picture of him in his bathing suit here!!! Be sure to go to I ♥ Faces to check out the other entries!

Happy 32nd Anniversary Mom and Dad! In 32 years you've gone from being Dog-Parents: To People-Parents: To Grandparents.... ! And you've been great in all of your roles... (at least that's what Vuter* always said....) We love you!! Love, Emily (Big) Paul  and Little Paul *Vuter is the dachshund in the first photo for any readers who might not be familiar with the family dog history....

Popping on to say that LP gained 2 lbs in the past 3 weeks!  If I was any good at math at all I'd tell you what percentage of his body weight that is... Let's just say that I'm super glad that I don't gain weight that quickly (although I'd be THRILLED to be able to lose it at that rate!)....  He was almost 13 lbs at his 6 month checkup and is now just under 15 lbs.  He's still barely in the 5th percentile for height and weight (meaning that he's smaller than 95% of the other kids his age out there) but c'est la vie! Snapped a few pics (me??  with a camera in my hands???  shocking!) of him playing with Gabby in the backyard...   Enjoy! "mmmm... You taste like sweet potato!" "yeah, that's the spot- scratch my ear right there!" "Here Gabby, I'll stretch those jowls out even more for you!" "Babies are boooooring...."

Is it just me or are the days just flying by??  Our summer is so jam-packed full of events that I'm not sure we'll even have time to breathe! Here's what our upcoming weekends look like:  June 21- Father's Day June 27- two First Birthday parties and one adult Birthday party to attend July 3-4- Visit from little brother and his girlfriend July 4- Fourth of July July 7-8- Hopeful visit from college friend July 9-12 or thereabouts- LP and I go to PA to visit my parents. July 18- baby shower to attend July 20- Paul's birthday August 3-11- My summer Seminar at work, means 12 hour days with just Sunday off for me.. ick. August 8- Brother's birthday August 14-17 or thereabouts- Trip to Cooperstown, NY with my family... Throw in our regular work days and some Friday playgroups and we are all booked up!  Craziness!  You can expect lots of photos but maybe not a lot of actual blogging- we'll see! Not too much else is going on.  LP is seven months (!!...

Here I go again, entering another I ♥ Faces contest!  (and no, I didn't win any of the other contests I've entered but that's ok- I love seeing everyone's entries and practicing my photography....) This week's contest is for sepia pictures of adults and kids so I'm entering pictures of two out of the three Paul's in my life (husband and son, no photo of my father-in-law this time!). Here's the photo of Little Paul taken just the other day in our back yard- Check out those furrowed eyebrows- he totally got them from his daddy! And here's a photo of (big) Paul.... Yes, he has an ugly cigar in his mouth, and yes, he's working on quitting that nasty nasty habit!  Be sure to go to I ♥ Faces to check out the other entries!

Once and a while I get the urge (and the time!) to do some scrapbook pages.. This week I've managed to do 3 so here they are! Credits: Journaling box: MJV, Liftaflap; Vellum Tag: Miss Mint, Kindergarten Crafts; Tag: Katie Pertiet, Simple Spots No 1; Staples: Flergs, Troublemaker; Felt Border: Mira Designs; Star Template: Unknown Credits: Background: Lori Barnhurst; Quiet Moment Wordart and Font: Ali Edwards; Stamped Words and Date: Amanda Clegg Journaling Reads: You were so tiny when you were born.  You were three weeks early, weighed just five pounds and twelve ounces and you were only eighteen inches long.  None of the clothing we had bought fit and even at the hospital they bundled you up in t-shirts sized for a much larger baby.  You lost a little weight at first, as most babies do, and were even tinier when we brought you home.  The first night out of the hospital your daddy layed you down on the couch and you looked so little lying there next to him.  It's hard to imagine...

This weekend Paul and I were invited to a little dinner party with some friends.  I was asked to bring chocolate cookies that are made by mixing a can of pumpkin with a box of cake mix.  And while they're tasty little treats (and non-fat to boot!) I just am not the type of person who can show up at someone's house with something that only took me 5 minutes to make.   Several months ago I came across an Elvis Fluffernutter cake on Cookie Baker Lynn's blog.  I bookmarked it immediately and since then have read through the recipe several times just waiting for the perfect occasion to make the cake.  The dinner party was the perfect excuse and I even had all of the ingredients on hand (mostly because I am a HUGE fluffernutter fan and our house is never without a jar or two or three of peanut butter or marshmallow fluff- YUM!). This cake was fairly easy to make and didn't take too long either which is always good when there's a baby in the house!  It's a banana cake...

Just days after tooth number one poked up along came tooth number two!  I'm guessing a top tooth will show up next! This past weekend my mother, grandmother and aunt came to visit.  We spent most of the visit playing with LP, of course, and also made a trip to Plimoth Plantation.  It was his very first time being a tourist and he was so good the whole time we were there- he sat quietly through the orientation video, enjoyed looking at the goats and all the school kids, and took a nice little nap in his stroller.  It was a great weekend! With My Great Aunt Cindi With G.G. (Great Grandma!) Checking out the goats with Nana

Paul and I talk a lot about how different childhood is from when we were kids.  How we (gasp!) had bumpers in our cribs as babies, sat in the front seat of the minivan, were left sitting in the car when our moms had to run a quick errand, were allowed to run through the woods behind our house, ride our bikes around town, or hang out at the mall with our friends.  And we survived. Our parents always jump in with the fact that when they were kids there were no car seats, or even seat belts, and about how they'd leave their house in the morning and not come home until it got dark out and that was okay, and even encouraged.  Today most people wouldn't allow their children to do these things out of fear that their child could be abducted or hurt.  Today I read an interesting article on babble.com : Parenting Without Fear. Our kids are safer than ever. So why are we still afraid? By "Free Range Kids" author Lenore Skenazy for Babble.com. In the article Skenazy writes about ...

Little Paul is six and a half months old now and I can't believe how much he's changed and learned in the past few weeks! Last week we went for his six-month checkup at the pediatrician.  He's grown 2 inches but has only gained a half pound since his four-month checkup and so the doctor was a little concerned.  He thinks that most likely my breast milk is no longer caloric enough for him and suggested that we start giving him formula most of the time and come back in 2 weeks for a weight check.  So we've dropped all nursing except the early morning one and are giving him formula the rest of the time.   Fortunately he's doing great otherwise- developmentally he's right on track!  We'll see what happens at the weigh-in! Here are the things to remember this month and some pictures from his six-month photo shoot! 1.  At six months Little Paul is 26 inches tall and weighs just under 13 pounds.  He's a little peanut but I still think he's desti...