Trick or Treating

Here's a few pictures (delayed) from our Trick or Treating adventures. Since I forced the kids to be lobsters for the parade, they were allowed to be whatever they wanted for trick or treating and Charlotte's school parade.

Getting ready to go to Char's school for her parade

Stop, Drop and Roll!

Halloween Cuties!

Such a cute witch!

Nate switched it up for trick or treating

Getting their goodies!

Anytime someone would say what a cute witch she was, she would reply, "I'm not a REAL witch, I'm just a girl pretending to be a witch."

I know...I know...

Bad Blogger! Bad Blogger!!! I have so many posts to catch up on...Halloween, Nate's Birthday, the big party!!! I have a parent teacher conference for Charlotte this afternoon, both kids are coughing incessantly, we have a playdate tomorrow and Kevin is leaving for Minneapolis this afternoon..yikes!! I promise to sit down tonight and get at least one post up :) Such an overwhelming few weeks..thanks for your patience!!!

The Nugget turns Two!

Our little baby, Nathan Phillip, is 2 years old today! He is such a blessing and completes our family in a way we never knew possible. He is an amazing little boy, so full of love and energy!

November 3rd, 2009 was one of the best days of our lives...and also one of the scariest. After Nathan was born, we were in the recovery room...basking in the glow of our new, perfect baby. I was making a mental list of all of the things I was going to eat, since I had been fed through an IV for the past three months. It was all over..Nathan was here and we were thrilled! Since I had a scheduled c-section, I was still numb from the chest down. Kevin was holding Nathan across the room and we were both texting and facebooking away. I had actually just posted a picture of Kevin holding Nate to Facebook...making the name official. All of the sudden, a nurse came in and said that she was noticing my blood pressure dropping and asked if I felt alright. Of course I felt alright!! My anesthesia actually worked this time (as opposed to Charlotte's birth) and I was staring at my newborn son! She said, "Okay, I'm just going to check you really quickly." She pulled back the sheet from my bed and all I noticed was the look on her face and the look on Kevin's face. Then, I realized that the entire bed was covered in blood...I was hemorrhaging, but couldn't feel it because I was still numb. She reached across my head and pressed a button and I will never forget the words she said, "We have a hemorrhage in room 8." In a matter of seconds, the head of my bed was thrown back and my room was filled with doctors and nurses. It was terrifying. They were flooding me with fluids, constantly "log rolling" my numb body to change out the pads from under me..they were weighing them on the baby scale to keep track of my rapidly increasing blood loss. They were pounding on my abdomen (my freshly stapled incision) to try and get my uterus to contract down again. Kevin was totally calm...on the outside. He was putting up a good front for me. He knew if I saw him panic, I would panic. But, he had a front row seat. He was holding his minutes old son and watching his wife losing blood uncontrollably. I remember bring constantly injected with oxytocin and other things to try to control the bleeding and keep me from going into shock. The room was chaotic with everyone talking over each other..one was ordering blood from the blood bank, the other was calling back to the OR to have the room prepped again. My OB was trying to keep me calm, but I was scared. I was screaming from the pain of them pressing on me.

Then....they asked Kevin to take Nathan and go into the next room. That's when my panic reached it's peak. I said to myself, "Oh my God, they don't want him to see me die." Kevin said later that he felt like he was watching a scene from a Lifetime movie.. But, he never let on that he was scared or that he thought any of this was a big deal. He was calm, cool and collected. I guess that's what makes him an amazing at sales..no one could tell what he was really feeling or thinking, not even me. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, they got everything under control. They let Kevin come back into the room, but his arms were empty. They had taken Nathan up to the post-partum floor nursery. After both my doctor and I assured him that I was going to be okay, I made him go to the nursery to be with Nathan. My sister-in-law, Colleen, went up to the nursery as well. Kevin had forced her to wait in the lobby until the crisis was over..he never let on to her that anything was wrong.

I was FINALLY allowed to go up to the floor around 11:00 pm. They needed to monitor me, and also the pain killers I so desperately needed after the pounding my abdomen took were only readily available in recovery since anesthesia was right there. Once I moved up to the floor..I wouldn't get them as needed...I would only get what every other mom was getting (and it wouldn't have been enough). They brought Nathan in to see me, and it was like seeing him again for the first time. I had only seen him a little bit before everything happened. He looked so much like Kevin from the minute he was born. It felt so good to hold him after everything that had just happened. It was like I could finally take a deep breath and enjoy my son. Kevin left after we were settled. He needed to go home and take care of Charlotte...and he also needed to decompress. After being in a room filled with chaos and panic..it was so peaceful to be in my room, holding Nathan. The only sounds were his little coos and the sounds of him breathing....and it was perfect.

Nathan is my baby...he will always be my baby. He reminds me on a daily basis of how to love. He is the most loving person. Every night when I tuck him in and go to close his door, I always turn back and say, "I love you, Natey." He, without hesitation, replies, "I love you too, Mommy." Don't get me wrong, he is a boy...he is all boy. He scares me every day with his boy antics. But it's the quiet moments when he climbs in my lap and says, "Need hug, need kiss" that melt my heart.

I guess I feel like the two of us have been through so much, right from the very start. It's hard to think about the day he was born without thinking about our ordeal. But, it makes me grateful. I am grateful that we are together as a family. Life is fragile and I learned that on that day.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Nathan! You are so special to us...I never imagined how special little boys could be until you melted my heart. You're my nugget...and that's just never going to change :)

We are the Champions!!!

On Saturday, we attended the annual Lansing Halloween parade. After last year's disappointing loss as the Flintstones we really wanted to find a costume to catch the judges attention. And we did! We decided this year's theme would be a Lobster Boil...with the kids serving as the main dish and Mommy and Daddy as the chefs. We transformed a garbage can on wheels into a lobster pot...the kids rolled along in the pot for the parade route. We had a great time, the kids were waving to all of the spectators like they were the Grand Marshalls. At the end of the parade, everyone gathers in a park where they announce the category winners. They had categories for funniest, most original, scariest, best group, best baby, and overall winner. After we didn't win for most original or best group, I was disheartened...oh well, better luck next year. But, I forgot that they have a "Best Costume Overall" category, and when we heard number 557 announced, we were ecstatic!!! We had won!! We had so many compliments on our costume, people loved it. A few even asked to take pictures of us :) So, there you have it, the Clinnin Family took home the win!!! Kevin won over 30 years ago for his Raggety Ann/Raggety Andy costume with his friend, Kay. It was nice to see him win it again :) As for next year...I think this one might be hard to beat, we may have to retire while we are on top. Or....maybe I'll pull another crazy costume out of the hat, who knows!

The Lobsters and the Chefs

Daddy with the lil' lobsters

Getting ready to roll through the parade

My lobsters

Charlotte getting ready to wave to everyone

Getting her pinchers all gloved up

Nate...he was either loving it or hating it..

Enjoying a well earned treat after the parade..waiting for the winners announcements

The winners!

During the parade, one woman said to me, "I don't know how I feel about a costume that portrays parents eating their children." I (snarkily) replied, "I'm not eating them, I'm cooking them." Have a sense of humor, lady!

Here are a few more pictures we got from Aunt Kathy! Thanks for sending them!!

Accepting our award!!

Char's Pumpkin

Here is one of the pumpkins that Charlotte made at preschool this week. She painted it glittery black and then added legs and eyes. So cute!!!

Charlotte's First School Picture

Today, we received Charlotte's first "real" school picture. Despite the fact that she has a forced/terrified smile and the lighting is so crappy, she looks like she is in liver failure, it's a pretty good shot...

Springfield Trip 2011 - We survived!!!!

Wow..what a busy and GREAT weekend we had! Kevin and I took both kids to Springfield, Massachusetts to see my Grandmother and all of my aunts and uncles. My Dad grew up in Springfield before settling in Chicago after college. All of our family is still in the Massachusetts/Connecticut area so we try to make it back to see them as much as we can. Although we have seen some of them more recently, we hadn't seen my Grandma (or Nana as the kids call her) or my Aunt Marianne since we went to see them when Charlotte was just 5 months old. So, they had never met Nathan. Both Charlotte and Nate talk to Nana on the phone and exchange "letters." Nana sends them coloring pages and the kids color them and send them back.

This was really the first time on an airplane for both of them. Char flew there when she was a baby, but you can't really count that..she was so little and slept the entire time. As the weeks led up to the trip, my anxiety increased. How would I entertain them? How would we get the carseat on board? What would I do if they freaked out in flight? How would we sit? I am a planner by nature and I had to plan for an unknown number of possible scenarios. The kids did pretty well on the way there. Neither of them slept like I had hoped, Nate actually fell asleep as we were taxiing to the gate in Hartford...great timing, buddy! And, as we expected, Charlotte got upset during the descent because of her ears. A three year old just doesn't know how to blow their nose to make it better...it was awful. She just didn't understand what was happening to her and it was scaring her. But, once we landed and deplaned, she was fine.

At Midway getting ready to board

Charlotte looks very excited to be in Hartford...

Once we landed, we headed out to the rental car site to get our car (we got a Mazda 5 and I think I am in LOVE with it..it's like a minivan without being a minivan...I might just have to get one when that time comes) A quick 20 minutes later and we were pulling up in front of Nana's house! I was worried about them being stand-offish. Wow...they both walked right into that house like they had been there 1000 times. They didn't even need time to "warm up." I mean, Charlotte has only met Nana once when she was a baby and has only talked to her on the phone, but from the minute we got there, she was best friends with Nana. If she was sad, needed anything, wanted a hug...she didn't come to me, she went to Nana. One night, I said, "Charlotte, it's time to get your jammies on." She snatched them right out of my hands and said, "Nana will do it." When she woke up in the hotel, her first question was, "when are we going to Nana's?" Amazing. I think kids just know who their grandparents/great grandparents are. When we first got to Nana's, Charlotte saw a "clothesline" of the pictures that she had sent to her strung up the staircase. She was so thrilled...she worked so hard on all of those pictures for Nana. She immediately said, "Mommy..look at that one, I need to fix that..and that one isn't finished and that one should have more color.." A perfectionists daughter in the flesh. They were spoiled with gifts from the minute we got there. Their Great Aunt Marianne had made them each a blanket...so adorable (I didn't get a picture, but I will post one soon, we had to ship them home along with some of the other gifts). They got dolls, cars, etc. So spoiled!! Then, later on that night, Great Uncle Tommy and Great Aunt Nancy came over and brought them each a pumpkin filled with goodies to have fun with.

Charlotte with some glasses from her pumpkin

Nate with a glass from his pumpkin that lit up...highly entertaining.

Such a silly boy!

Charlotte enjoying a treat at Nana's house

Nathan never met a cookie that he didn't like

I was really excited to take Charlotte and Nathan to La Fiorentina Italian Bakery. I have such great memories of my Grandfather taking me here when I was little. He was a police officer in Springfield and everyone knew him. I used to think he was like the mayor...everywhere we went, people would call him by name and shake his hand, everyone knew him. He used to let me pick out whatever I wanted from the bakery cases. This bakery made my Grandmother and Grandfather's wedding cake over 60 years ago! He was such a wonderful man and I have so many great memories of him...he would have LOVED Charlotte and Nathan. I really wanted to bring the kids to see the bakery too. It hasn't changed a bit! (The bakery sustained a little damage from the tornado, but were open the next day...more about that further down in the post)

Charlotte and Nathan mesmerized by the cookies!

The entire reason we go to this bakery...the cannolis. I keep searching, but haven't found a cannoli that can hold a candle to La Fiorentina. They are delicious and it's just not a trip to Springfield without getting some!

Charlotte and her Nana

Nana and Charlotte laughing

Most of the cousins

Sleeping in the hotel...such cuties! I love how they each have a hand on the other

Nate so happy to be at Nana's house!!

Nathan loved having Uncle Tommy quiz him on the colors in the stained glass windows

In June, an EF-3 tornado ripped through Springfield. Luckily, all of my family's homes were unaffected...but others were not so lucky. Before we left for the airport, we drove around to view the damage. It was incredible, homes were still uninhabited and some were literally ripped from their foundation. Cathedral High School, where my dad and his siblings all went to school was heavily affected. The building is not structurally sound and they are still determining if it can be fixed or if it has to be torn down. My cousin, Sara, is a senior there. All of the students are now going to school in a building in a neighboring town.

We couldn't get very close to the school as it was all fenced off and all of the entrances were guarded...even on a Sunday!

Charlotte with her cousin, Sara

All of us with Nana

Char getting ready for take off

Nate strapped into his car seat...just where we wanted him..

Charlotte studying up on what to do in an emergency

How Nate got through the flight...

These DVD players used to be what Liz and Emily would use during the LONG car trips to Massachusetts when they were younger (14 hours!) My Dad gave them to me last year for the kids...it's nice to see that they are getting the next generation through their trips to Massachusetts!

How Charlotte got through the flight

How mommy got through the flight

Charlotte happy to be home in Sweet Home Chicago!

We had a great trip and we are excited to realize that it is possible to travel with the kids (with a little planning). A few of the funnier things that happened.. One day at Nana's we were trying to find something for Char to watch on TV while she rested on the couch... She wanted to watch Clifford the Big Red Dog..but we just couldn't find it anywhere. So, I listed many of the things that were On Demand that she could watch and she said, "Those are all great choices, but I prefer Clifford the Big Red Dog, mommy." We also realized that Charlotte sleep talks. One night while she slept in the hotel room...Kevin and I were still up watching TV and out of nowhere, she says, "HOT DOG!" and rolls back over and goes to sleep. We were laughing hysterically!! Poor Char, she also didn't really understand how far we were from home. She couldn't understand why she couldn't sleep in her bed and then go back to Nana's in the morning. Their schedules were all off and they were so tired, she was hysterical one night because she just wanted to "go home and not go to the hotel."

Thanks to all of our family in Springfield that made it such a great trip for us!

Funny Anecdote Catch Up

I have been trying to keep track of some of the funny (or cute) things that happen with the kids..here are a few that I have been saving up for a few weeks :)

Charlotte has preschool 5 days a week. So, we drop her off at 12:30 and pick her up at 2:50 every day. Poor Nate.. Everyday, after Charlotte gets out of the car and the car door shuts, he says, "Mommy, where Charlotte go?" I say, "She went to school, honey." Then he cries and says, "Charlotte, come back! I go to school too!!! I go!" He feels so left out and is so sad that she has left. He just looks at her empty car seat and says, "Char gone" over and over :(

Most of my family has already heard me tell this story, but it's funny and something I want to document :) As I have mentioned, Charlotte LOVES school. LOVES IT. In fact, she loves it so much that when I go to pick her up from school, she cowers behind her teachers, cries and says, "I'm scared to go home!" I tried to laugh it off, "Oh Charlotte, I know you love school...you are so silly..." But she kept doing it...EVERYDAY. My laughter was growing more and more uncomfortable as each day passed. Do they think I beat her at home, do they think we put her in a cage when we get there??? What is going through their minds?? Who says that they are scared to go home! My fear reached a breaking point. I was afraid that every time the doorbell rang, that it was DCFS coming to investigate a complaint of a child who reports she is scared to go to her home. Kevin and I finally had to sit her down and say, "You can say that you love school and don't WANT to go home...but please don't say that you are SCARED to go home. I don't think that's really what you mean." So, the next day when I went to get her, she said, "Mommy, I love school and I don't want to go home!" Phew..... I was terrified that if she showed up to school with a bruise, they would say, "Well, she does say that she is scared to go home...hmmmm"

Nate is still waking up at the crack of dawn. Every morning, when I come into his room....blurry eyed and still half asleep... he looks at me, blankie in hand and says, "Hi mommy..I stuck, I want to get out.." And the "Hi Mommy" is always in this sing song sad sap voice. So hard to be mad at that! He is such a little cuddler. He just wants to lay in bed with me and watch Bubble Guppies or Dora..and gulp down 2 sippy cups of Crystal Light as if he had spent the night in the Sahara Desert. His raging thirst still makes me uncomfortable...we'll have to bring it up again at his 2 year appointment.

Charlotte - "Mommy, when I grow up, I am going to be the most famous colorer in all of the world. I'm going to color everyone a picture in the whole world!"

I was outside placing fresh mulch in the beds out front and Nate came out to "help." I said, "Nate, no...you don't have gloves on, you can't touch the mulch." He said, "OK Mommy.." and ran inside. Less than a minute later, he comes running back out with TWO baseball gloves (actual mitts), one on each hand, and says, "Mommy, I ready to help now!" So Cute!

Pumpkin Patch!

This weekend, we took our annual trip to get our pumpkins at the local pumpkin patch. The kids had a great time helping daddy find the perfect pumpkins for carving!

Nate and Char trying to pull the wagon

Nate hitching a ride

Nate (who is usually my camera cheeser) was in no mood to smile for me today

"Hey, everyone look at me and smile...." This is the closest we got

Charlotte (who is usually so difficult for pictures) was ALL smiles today!

She loves her "puffy vests" from Old Navy...she wants to wear them all the time

Nate amidst a sea of pumpkins

Charlotte hunting for a great one!

This is what happens when I ask them to hug and smile...