My Doodle

Shortly after Lucy was born,  I started calling her Doodle. And many derivatives of that. Lucy doodle. Baby doodle. Yankee Doodle.  When we sing Yankee Doodle, We change the words to Lucy Doodle.  In fact, Lucy probably thinks she was named after that song instead of "Lucy in the sky with diamonds".
When Lucy wakes up from her nap, Maggie tells me "your doodle is awake".
I think she looks just like my husband and his mother. She has my hair although the red could come from either side. In my opinion,  her eyes are the shape of Devon's and the color of my mom's. A dark blue that are almost purple.
Every now and then, I will catch a glimpse of her where she looks just like my grandma (my dad's mom). Every now and then I catch a glimpse of her where she looks like me. 
It's funny because I posted this picture on Facebook last week and a few of my cousins commented on how much Lucy and I both look like my grandma.  (I never thought I looked like her). After two years of feeling like this little girl got nothing from me but her stubbornness,  I finally feel like I had something to do with this little girl.  

Work life

A little over four years ago,  I graduated from nursing school.  The whole time that I was in school,  I was convinced that I wanted to work in labor and delivery.  However, a few weeks before I graduated,  I found out I was pregnant with Maggie which meant that I had to stay at the hospital I had been working at in order to qualify for any sort of maternity leave.
My hospital didn't have any positions open in labor and delivery and I wasn't up for trying new departments while pregnant so I stayed on my med/surg/oncology floor where I had worked as a student. 
I didn't love it,  at times I hated it,  but I got along with my coworkers and I was comfortable. 
In April,  a labor and delivery position opened up and the recruiter called to ask if I was interested.  After a few interviews,  I got the position.  It meant working night shift for the first time ever, but it was what I wanted.
It's now been about two months and I really like it.  In three weeks,  I will be switching back to day shift which will be easier on the girls and on my husband's schedule for work.
It's just really hard to start over, especially after being so comfortable in my old unit. I like the people on this unit, but I don't know them in the same way.  I definitely don't have the same comfort level in my skills that I had before.  I've gone from being the resource person to needing a resource person.  I know it will get easier but I am far from it right now. 
Here's a cute Lucy picture to cheer up this depressing post.

Getting strong

As I've mentioned before,  my girls are only nineteen months apart.  I lost most of my baby weight with Maggie but then I got pregnant with Lucy right away so it didn't matter.
Lucy is currently 25 months old.  I am not pregnant (although I hope to be pregnant soon) and I need to get rid of this baby weight before she starts preschool.
A few months ago,  we bought a treadmill and stuck it in our bedroom.  I bought a couch to 5k app on my phone and started running.  I was running five days a week but then I sprained my ankle and took three weeks off. I have five more runs until I finish my program.  I think my belly is a little flatter but mostly I love how good I feel after I run.
As the mother of two young girls,  I worry about how my body image will rub off on them. Instead of focusing on the fact that I'm running to lose weight,  I tell the girls that I am running to get stronger. This is not untrue but I think it's important to focus on strength over weight.  My girls are young and they would probably not pay a lot of attention if I said I hated my stomach or that I'd love to lose 20 pounds.  But eventually they would hear and parrot those things and I never want them to feel too fat or not pretty.
Today when I was finished running,  Maggie asked to walk on the treadmill.  I turned it on the slowest speed and encouraged her to go at it.  She kept telling me how strong she felt and I was so happy.  I want to bottle this feeling for her for when she's fifteen and feels inadequate.
I want to raise strong, smart, caring women and I'm starting with strong,  smart,  caring girls.

Kfest

Every year during the last weekend in August,  my parents' church hosts an epic party called  Kirchenfest, which supposedly means church fest in German. In the 25 years that my parents have lived in their town, I've missed it only twice.  The girls have gone every year since they were born. 
The whole town gets together to eat, drink, dance and get together.  There are games for the kids, a raffle,  and an auction.  It's huge!
Every year,  my mom has shirts made for the girls and my nephews that say "Kirchenfest Kutie" or "my first Kirchenfest" for the newest babies.  Lucy turned one month old at her first Kirchenfest.
The highlights this year were meeting "Mickey", "Minnie" & "Cinderella". Maggie was finally old enough to enjoy playing the games and won a fabulous inflatable horse that she named Thomas.  Lucy played some games too but only liked the ones where she got to throw things.
It's so fun to watch the girls enjoy something that was loved so much as a kid and I love watching my friends' kids run around together just like we did at that age.

Kfest

Every year during the last weekend in August,  my parents' church hosts an epic party called  Kirchenfest, which supposedly means church fest in German. In the 25 years that my parents have lived in their town, I've missed it only twice.  The girls have gone every year since they were born. 
The whole town gets together to eat, drink, dance and get together.  There are games for the kids, a raffle,  and an auction.  It's huge!
Every year,  my mom has shirts made for the girls and my nephews that say "Kirchenfest Kutie" or "my first Kirchenfest" for the newest babies.  Lucy turned one month old at her first Kirchenfest.
The highlights this year were meeting "Mickey", "Minnie" & "Cinderella". Maggie was finally old enough to enjoy playing the games and won a fabulous inflatable horse that she named Thomas.  Lucy played some games too but only liked the ones where she got to throw things.
It's so fun to watch the girls enjoy something that was loved so much as a kid and I love watching my friends' kids run around together just like we did at that age.

School days

Maggie had her first day of school this past week.  She's going to a three morning a week program and could not be more delighted. 
As I expected,  she was shy around the other kids but she never cried so I'll call it a win.  I can't wait for her to make friends and have play dates (even though I'll have to clean the house more often). I'm also excited to make friends with the other parents in the class, especially since we don't have a lot of friends with kids.
Monday is the first day where we drop her off. 
I hope this class brings her out of her shell a bit and helps her to blossom. 

Back when I wrote on this little blog...

I haven't written anything on here forever,  obviously.  So much is happening in our lives and it's so hard to find time for anything extra.
But I miss having a record to look back on of the changes our little family goes through on a daily basis.
Today the girls and I met up with a good friend and her son at the park.  The kids ran around for three solid hours (and I was so busy visiting that I didn't take any pictures! )
The girls had a great time and passed out on the couch during our "sleepover" movie so it was a great day for everyone!
Before Lucy fell asleep,  she decided to sit in her princess chair to have a better view of Merida.

Nine years

I moved to Chicago a little over nine  years ago with my best friend from college. Within a month of moving here, my college boyfriend dumped me. I was 22 and convinced I would be single forever.
My roommate and I lived in a family/residential neighborhood that was nice but not a lot of fun for two young girls. We usually spent our weekends younger,  hipper neighborhoods like Lakeview or Lincoln Park.
On the weekends that we were short on cash,  we would go to the neighborhood bar down the street - the drinks were cheaper and we didn't have to pay for cabs. Of course, we were less likely to meet new friends/a new boyfriend for me.
One weekend in March (9 years ago today), we decided to hang around the neighborhood. We had thought we had seen some cute new guys moving into our building that afternoon so we made a toast on a shot of Malibu that we would meet our new neighbors (we were watching a lot of Friends at the time and we were looking for our Joey & Chandler). On a whim, we also made a toast that I would meet the love of my life that night.
We sat at the bar and after a little while two guys started talking to us.  It turned out that they actually lived downstairs from us. (The cute guys we thought we saw moving in were never seen again but these guys were really funny and were always willing to lend us their laundry room key when we lost ours.)
We laughed about how we had talked about meeting our neighbors and probably would have left it at that but then two more guys walked in and started talking to us. One of the guys told me had just moved back from Florida. We started talking and then it was closing time. I wrote my number on a piece of paper and told him to call twice because I probably wouldn't answer the first time.  He called me the next day and we've been together ever since. 

Exhausted

I put the girls to bed tonight at about 9:30 tonight (which is pretty much their regular bedtime). Then I sat there and tried to figure out why I felt so exhausted.
Let's see...
Maggie and Lucy woke up at 7:30 this morning. After breakfast, we went to the Chicago History Museum where the girls ran around and fell asleep (for five minutes) on the way home.
I tried to get them to nap while we watched Cinderella this afternoon but they stayed up and watched the whole movie instead.
Then we went out and played out in the snow while I attempted to shovel the sidewalk.
After dinner, the girls painted while I cleaned up the kitchen. Then we had baths and I made cookies.
Never mind,  I remember why I'm tired.

Seriously, the giant hot dog at the museum gets me every time.

This old house

Our house is 94 years old.  The people who lived here before us bought the house in 1942 for $7000. They kept the house up beautifully but they did little to update it throughout the years. Although the vintage-ness of it is a big part of what drew us to the house, it also means we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

Last spring we renovated the kitchen. It was a huge project but it is so much better than it was! We now have counters, and a dishwasher, and a refrigerator that's taller than five feet.
This year the big project is our main bathroom. The sink and toilet are probably 50 years old each!

I've also been thinking of repainting the dining room. We painted the whole house in the first two days after we moved in. I picked all the colors out quickly before we even moved in and I didn't really think out the way they would flow.

I'm still deciding which color will look best although I'm leaning towards gray. One thing is for sure, it looks like the girls agree with me. 

School night

Tomorrow we are going to visit preschool. The preschool I hope to send both girls (and any future babies) to. I have been stalking preschools for a while and this seems to have what we want.
Maggie is so excited. I am too. I loved school and I want her experience to be amazing. I want her to make friends and have fun and maybe learn a little too.

OMG. How is my baby almost old enough for preschool?!?! (In six months.) (And it's totally ok if she doesn't go because not everyone goes to three year old preschool)  I think she's ready.

P.S. I love you.

Maggie was almost two months old for her first Valentine's Day. As the first child/first grandchild/first great-grandchild she had her fair share of Valentine's outfits and dolls.  So of course, I took tons of pictures and sent them out to close friends and family in Valentine's cards. And thus a tradition was born.
Maggie and I went shopping this weekend for their shirts.
Today I attempted to take their pictures. Thank God for digital cameras because I took more than 100 pictures and I'm still not totally in love with what I got.
Oh well. They're really funny if not model perfect.
My little loves. 

Snow day

I worked today but my husband got to take Maggie in the backyard.
They built a snowman.
It's days like this that I hate working. I wish I could be home with the girls building snowmen and drinking hot cocoa.
But now I have three days off so I'll have to fill them with fun!

Winter Warm-up

Last week it snowed. Today it is sixty degrees. The girls and I took advantage of the weather and went to the park this afternoon. They had a great time running around and playing in the puddles. They got really muddy too but luckily oxi clean was on sale last week.
Unfortunately, just as Maggie was starting to really hit it off with another little girl Lucy started falling asleep and we needed to get home to lunch and naps.
I can't wait for her to start making her own little friends. Next Friday we have a tour at the preschool I hope to send her to in the fall.

Weekend wrap-up

I have been off work for the past four days and it has been awesome. The best part was that my husband was also off Friday and Sunday so we were really able to get some family time in.
Friday night we went to the Lincoln Park zoo to see the Christmas lights.  It was cold but the girls really enjoyed it. It was kind of fun to see all the animals already sleeping and the zoo looked beautiful.
The girls and I spent Saturday with my aunt and grandma. I am so glad the girls get to spend time with their great grandma and I hope they grow up with great memories of her.
Today we spent most of the day around the house. I took down the Christmas decorations and the tree.  It's always bittersweet for me to put the decorations away but it's time for a fresh start in 2013.
Most importantly, we started painting our kitchen today. We finished the first coat and it looks awesome. I'm so excited for this kitchen project to be over!
Here's a cute shot of the girls coloring while my husband was busy sanding.

Giving thanks

Between Christmas and Maggie's third birthday we have been inundated with toys and gifts these past few weeks.
I am so grateful that our girls are blessed with so many people who love them. Now it's time to write the thank you notes. Writing thank you notes was ingrained in me as a small girl and I think it's so important.
This year I thought it would be cute to take some pictures of the girls playing with their presents to send with the thank yous.  Since they got a lot of things we have a lot of pictures to take but I think people will appreciate it. Now I just have to remember what Maggie got for her birthday and what she got for Christmas.
Here are a few pictures of the girls with some of their presents.

Resolutions

I go back and forth about blogging. It seems like fun and I enjoy reading other blogs.  But free time is at a premium for me and I do worry about privacy.
I think I will try to write more and see how out goes.
Wow! How boring!
Devon applied for a bunch of new jobs yesterday.  I can't wait for him to start working enough so that I can quit my part-time job. I also can't wait to get a new job myself.
I am really excited about this new year.  I hope this is the year we really get our shit together.
So, no official resolutions from me this year. Just the plan that this year will be better than last year. And hopefully I will remember to document it here!
Also, how cute are these girls drinking jello water out of shot glasses.  (Don't ask, just enjoy the cute)