Off to see the Wizard..

Aubrey has been talking about nothing but The Wizard of Oz since our sleepover with Rachel & Mackenzie. Hearing her play out scenarios with her figurines is so adorable.

She kept asking for the movie, so off we went to Walmart to pick up the 75th Anniversary copy! Crazy to think that she is in love with a movie that came out 70 year before she was thought of ;)

We found a Wizard of Oz app on my Kindle and she is LOVING IT. 

I know it's only a matter of time before she's obsessed with something else (or maybe not, her My Little Pony obsession has been going strong for 2 years!), but I am definitely going to enjoy this one while it lasts!

2014 Bucket List: a 1/3rd year update!

Wowza, can you believe the year is already 1/3 of the way over? Where the heck is 2014 going and why is it in such a rush?!

I thought it would be fun to do a bucket list update to see what we have accomplished so far, and what we need to work on the other 2/3rds of the year!

1. Lose 30+ pounds. Can we just... not talk about this? I have lost some, and not gained, so that's a plus. Still a long way to go, though. After seeing candids of me from Addie's party, I know something needs to be done.

2. Start saving for our DISNEY TRIP! Look, guys! We slapped a Mickey Money sticker on an UTZ pretzel rod jar and started saving! Woohoo! I'm pretty sure the amount we have in there will only buy us a couple rounds of Dole Whips, but it's a start!

{you can customize your own Mickey Money sticker for your upcoming Disney trip in this Etsy shop}

3. Learn to coupon. Why is it so hard to remember to get the Sunday paper? I also need a printer. 

4. Make my marriage wonderful. A work in progress. We have discussed our wants and needs and we are both putting in effort to make our marriage kick ass. :)

5. Blog more. I'm coming up with some kind of schedule/routine (one that doesn't include back-blogging 10 entries in a weekend. Ooooops) 

6. Declutter/Get 100% ORGANIZED. We got some totes and baskets to organize our hall closet. I have gone through the girls' dresser and removed things that don't fit. We can now see the floor in the master bedroom closet. It's coming along!

7. Fill picture frames and DECORATE. Uh yeah, haven't even touched this one yet.

8. Go on more day trips. We actually have a pretty full few weeks coming up! Boston Children's Museum on Saturday.  I took the girls on an impromptu trip to an indoor playground yesterday on our way to go grocery shopping. We'll be hitting up another one next week. A fun "farmland" in a few weeks when they open. If only the weather would warm up a bit!

9. Make family photo albums. Again, haven't really touched any pictures.

10. Run my first 5k. Oy. With Addison being a stage 5 clinger and getting awful separation anxiety when I get up to pee, I can't even bring her to the gym's daycare. Hoping she grows out of this stage... and fast!


Well.. it's a start. Ha.

BFF Sleepover!

I live for these weekends. Great friends, lots of laughs, and late night girl talks after the littles are asleep.

For some reason unbeknownst to me, we had not taken advantage of our condo's indoor pool. We have lived here for over a year, guys. Just sad. The girls were so excited to get some new floats! Can you tell?

Welcome to New England! Snow on the ground and no jackets. We aren't crappy parents who don't clothe their kids correctly. It was really just *that* nice out.

The girls had a blast! Addie wasn't too sure of her pool float at first, but she came to love it!

{that face, honestly}

After dinner, Rach & I snuck out for some mom time in the pool and sauna, and then came back and got the girls ready for bed.

Mornings come way too fast when there are 3 little girls involved. But it was a relaxing morning, spent watching The Wizard of Oz. It was my first time watching it (I know, I know!) but Aubrey fell in love with it. She dug out all of her McDonald's Wizard of Oz toys and has been roleplaying with them nonstop. It's adorable.

I love that Rachel & I have been best friends for 17 years and have two girls that are literally a month apart and are so close. I sense a lot of mommy/daughter sleepovers in our future :)

Sickle B. Pickle

*Back dated post. One of these days I'll keep on top of things and I won't need to do this.. one day...*

This winter has been brutal for the Sawtelles. Addison got sick not too long ago, and then it was Aubrey's turn. We went to the emergency room on Sunday night because Aubrey was just not holding anything down. She got sick about 20 times over the night. No joke. 

There was a lot of people waiting to be seen at the ER, so we set up camp on a bench. 

When we finally got in, they pumped her full of fluids to try to hydrate her. Luckily, they had lots of stickers so we could decorate!

We were discharged late that night with instructions to follow up with her doctor in the morning, who sent us right back to the hospital because she was very dehydrated, due to not being able to hold anything down. We ended up getting admitted to the pediatrics wing where we spent the night.

Keith couldn't leave work so I had both Aubrey and Addison for pretty much the whole day. Which was an adventure, because I was not about to let Addie crawl around the hospital floor so she was 20 forms of pissed off because she couldn't explore. We took a walk to the gift shop to get her big sissy some coloring books and a couple small dinosaurs to cheer her up. I think it worked!

 They had a family room with a ton of movies and board games, so when Addison and Daddy left, we spent the night playing games and eating sorbet with a tv that swivels. Because we are fancy like that.

Once the kiddo was in bed, I snuck out to the freezer, grabbed an Italian Ice, and watched The Final Rose Ceremony and commented to myself on how much of a jackass Juan Pablo is. Where did they find this clown? I bet Des was so relieved she sent him packin'!

We were discharged around 10:00 on Tuesday morning and Aubrey was finally acting like her normal self.  I, on the other hand, was dying because I think it's every hospital's mission to find the most uncomfortable pull out bed known to man for parents to sleep on in the pediatrics wing. 

KRJ: 2 years

It has been two years since I heard those awful words. "Your baby is coming, there is nothing we can do. You need to push." A part of me died right there with him that day.

I know there are people who don't agree with how I chose/choose to grieve and remember, but they weren't the ones holding him and staring at his perfect, tiny little body. I made him a promise as I said goodbye that I would never forget him, and that promise still holds true. Every year on this day, I will get balloons and release them with the girls. They will know that they have an angel watching over them in heaven.

I love you, baby boy. I know your Grampa Willy is taking care of you up there.