Just TOO funny!

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Stuff, stuff and more stuff

I have been neglecting my blog lately. We have ALL been sick for 3 weeks now. Eliana brought it home from school. I have had it the worst. I guess better me than one of the kids but this is just down right miserable! I cant kick this cough and post nasal drip. Fun times in the Damato household.

So, I bought a new desk off of craigslist. I was nervous about the purchase because I had to borrow a trailer and drive an hour away to Statesboro. I thought I was SO prepared and brought blankets and ratchet straps. I guess I should have made sure I knew how to use the ratchet straps before I left the house. I felt like an idiot! I had 3 heavy duty straps and couldn't use them. Thankfully this guy had some thin rope I could use. He wasn't much help at all. Not what you would call a handyman. You should have seen me back the trailer up his long driveway. Lets just say it took me several attempts to get it right. At least I didn't run into anything. It took a whole hour for me to get out of there and back on the road. Over all I think it turned out great! I love our new desk and I got it for $250.

That night a good friend offered to come over and watch the kids so I could escape. It was awesome to be able to go out and know the kids were in good hands. The girls and I had a great time laughin' it up at dinner and then watched the Dark Knight. (AWESOME MOVIE!!) I got home around 10:45 and I wasn't very tired. It is amazing how tired I get from my nightly routine with the kids from 5-bedtime. I could feel a huge difference just by going out one night. I should have just gone to bed but I decided to put this desk together and tackle the computer. I was a little intimidated about taking the whole computer apart and then hoping to get it all back in working order. The next morning I was patting myself on the back until I realized that I didn't have Internet. What did I do wrong. The next day I was on the phone with comcast hoping they would enlighten me of my mishap and sure enough after his first question I knew what I did wrong. I had taken the splitter off and didn't have the modem connected. Simple fix and now everything is up and running.

When a woman is without a man she has to step up and tackle the manly jobs in hopes that she doesn't screw up! Yes that would be me. Thankfully the percentage of screw ups is relatively low:)

Well, I am off to watch Prison Break.

Volunteering in Eli's classroom

Today was my first day as a volunteer mom...ever! I was probably more excited than Eliana was. I was there during Center time, which is like free time to explore the classroom. When I got there Eliana was painting on a big easel. She painted her name on top then painted clouds and flowers. I was very impressed. Eliana introduced me to her friends as they came to see me. They were all so sweet. We read books, played in the kitchen and put stickers on each other. Then I was able to go outside with them while they played on the playground for a bit. I loved being able to watch Eliana interact with other kids and see how she socializes. Mrs. Drescher says Eliana is a little shy but very obedient, sweet and bright. It helps that she is one of the older kids in the classroom so she is at an advantage. I look forward to volunteering as often as I can. I have to thank my best friend Kayleen for always being willing to help out with my little ones. Her kids Zach, Jacob and McKenzie are great friends with my two.

I look forward to many years as a volunteer mom.

Scrunchy Faces!

It is wild how Barrett can go from looking like a perfect angel to a crazy baby within seconds. When he gets really excited he smiles with his whole body. He starts to wiggle and his face scrunches up. It is hilarious to me. Soren opens his mouth wide and puckers in his lips like an old man with no teeth. I couldn't get a good picture of it but these are just as silly. My boys...one minute they are cute and cuddly adorable little creatures then they turn into wild, crazy faced babies. Gotta love them for it. They make me smile all day long.

Finally Soren has his first tooth!

Soren is now 8 1/2 months old and finally has his first bottom left tooth. IT really caught be off guard. I guess it's because he never lets me look in his mouth. I am guessing his other 3 teeth will come in fast now. They are all a little swollen. I was wondering what was wrong with him because he has been waking up more in the night just crying. I thought he might be getting this sickness that I have but I am much happier that it was just teething. Barrett still has that Eruption cyst on the bottom. IT has been about 6 weeks. We are just waiting it out. I am busy busy busy...gotta run.

Books from Dad

Have I mentioned that our dad is the BEST?! The kids got a package from him filled with books and a DVD of him reading to the kids. What a treat! We all loved seeing dad on the big screen and interacting with the kids. Eliana turned through all the pages as her daddy read to her. Tristan tried to keep up with where daddy was reading but had a harder time. I am going to play him every day to the babies so they will know his voice and his face when he comes home.



The USO has all these donated new/used books and the program is called United Through Reading. Chris picks the books, reads them to us then sends them our way. In turn I send him pictures and video of the kids watching and reading with dad. This is just one more way the kids can stay connected with their daddy.

What a STINK!

I feel SOOOO guilty. I have been wondering why my boys have had upset tummies and why their spit up has smelled absolutely horrid. I thought they may have had a reaction to the bull frog sun screen i loaded on them yesterday or that they might be sick. I gave them two baths yesterday because the smell was unbearable! I finally figured it out when I was sucking on the nipple to get the milk to come up from the bottle straw and got a taste of their milk. I wanted to gag right then. The formula was rotten!! I opened the can and took a whiff and almost barfed again. The smell was THAT bad. Why hadn't I figured it out 2 days ago when I opened that can of formula? I thought there reluctance to eating was from the new bottle. Then they just tolerated it all day today without a peep. I can't imagine drinking one tiny sip of what I have been feeding my babies. I use Parents Choice Sensitive from walmart. The use by date is May of 2011. I called walmart to make sure I could take it back and get a new one and to tell them they need to find out if there have been any other complaints about that lot of formula. They need to find all the formula from that lot and check a few cans to see if it is all bad. Anyway...I feel dumb that I didn't figure this out sooner. Even after two feedings of good formula their tummies are still churning. I hope they feel better soon.

Eliana threw a fit this morning when I woke her up for school. As soon as I woke her the first words she uttered were "Umf...I never get to go FIRST!" She must have said it 100 times in 30 minutes. I tried to convince her of all the things she gets to do first but I had no success. I offered to say a quick prayer with her so she will feel happy today an not worry about who is first in life. She folded her arms and listened patiently then said "I don't feel better yet!" I said that it takes a little time for moods to change. I also told her that going first isn't always the best. That doing something for the first time can be scary and it is easier to watch others do things first. AND if she always insisted on going first that she would have a hard time keeping friends because her friends would never have a chance to go first and that would make them sad. IT took about 5 minutes for her to forget about her little rant. THANKFULLY! She was driving me nutty!

Podee bottle straw

These are the best things ever! Now when I need to feed two hungry babies I can just give them the bottle straw and post on my blog like I am doing right now:) I can't wait to see how they will help my life while I am out shopping or running around. YEA!!

quibbling twins

The boys are starting to interact a little more with each other. Soren is a thief! He will reach over into Barrett's lap and take all of his toys. Because Barrett is so laid back he sits until he gets bored then flops onto his tummy for a different adventure. So today I got a little story line going with some pics.

Give me that book!


No way man...that's MY book!


Let's ditch the book and play together.

Dude! I didn't say bite me!


Lets just chill out and watch some Baby Einstein bro.

A wet nap!

We had a play date with Kayleen's kids at the pool today. Unfortunatly it was during the babies nap time. Barrett had his bottle while floating in his ladybug and crashed out. He was dragged around the pool and had screaming kids right next to him for a full hour. That baby can sleep through anything! Soren wanted nothing to do with sleep. He never wants to miss out on any fun to be had. When we got home I started dinner, bathed the babies and put them in their highchairs for sweet potatoes and turkey. (yummy baby food:)) Soren cried the entire time from exhaustion. I put him to bed at 6:45. I really hope he stays asleep through the night.

Barrett's eruption cyst

My poor little Barrett has been teething like crazy. 4 weeks ago he cut his first bottom tooth. The one just next to it looked like it would break through as well but it hasn't. In fact, it has gotten swollen and turned a purplish blue color. My good friend Kayleen's hubby is a dentist and I sent him some pictures of Barrett's mouth. He said it looked like an eruption cyst. So I immediately look it up online and sure enough all the symptoms fit. They say it is fairly common and should resolve on its own. But it has been 3 weeks now. I might call my dentist to see what he has to say.

Online definition:
Eruption cyst/eruption hematoma is a fluctuant, fluid cyst which may appear 2-3 weeks prior to the eruption of a tooth. As the tooth emerges, the cyst may be blood filled and appear blue to purple in color (eruption hematoma). Eruption cysts and eruption hematomas are usually asymptomatic and resolve with eruption of the tooth. The lesions should not be incised as this may increase the potential for infection.

So little guy also has his two top teeth coming in. His top right was a little bloody as I could see the gum breaking for the tooth. The other top tooth will appear any day too. It is not like my twins to cry very much unless something is bothering them. Barrett will be sitting happily then in an instant start to ball his head off. I just feel bad for him. Teething can't be fun at all!

I found this idea on Ashtons web page. I hope this works! :)

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. C'mon now, anything funny, strange, cool, embarrassing, or awful you remember about me?? This could be interesting...

Ok, I have lost a little accuracy while typing. I am fast but I have lots of typos. That is why I LOVE spell check.

42 words

Speed test

A swinging good time

It was an interesting week at our house. Without going into all the details Eli and Tristan were sick with fever and Barrett is going through a phase of fighting sleep. So after being cooped up for a while we all needed to escape the house. We went to J.F. Gregory park to feed the ducks and turtles and play at the park. It was the first time I put the babies in swings. They LOVED it! They must have swung for 40 mins while the kids were playing. It was a good time for all of us and a much needed escape.

"Do you know why?"

This is the phrase I hear about 30 times a day from Eliana. She will make a statement about something and then ask the infamous question. "I had a good day at school. Do you know why?" "My favorite color is yellow. Do you know why?" etc. etc...It is great to watch my kids go through these phases of learned and communicating. At times I think "could you please stop saying the same thing over and over again!" Then I have to remind myself that she will only be 4 years old for another 2 months. Then she will be 5 then 6 and then before I know it she will be a teenager. So I have to treasure every moment I get to observe my children growing and hope that I can always contribute in a helpful, loving and positive way.

I love my children. Many times when I am out in public with all 4 of my kids people will make comments like "Oh, I feel sorry for you" or " I wouldn't want to be you." That isn't as common as "whew, you have your hands full." I simply say "It is great being me." I have been blessed with beautiful children who are precious, loving, fun, smart and always entertaining. My babies are always so happy. They rarely cry and I keep waiting for the day they will act out in public or give me a hard time while driving around. They are little angels, sweet as could be. So YES, I love being a mother of 4.

I wonder what Eli or Tristan will start saying next? Whatever it is, I am sure they will make me smile.

One step closer to ITALY!!

I just LOVE our AMX sky miles card. Thanks to all our everyday spending we have two first class tickets to Italy for 3 weeks next May. YEAH!!!! This will probably be our one and only get away without the kids for a romantic adventure. I am looking forward to Chris being my tour guide as he takes me to the places he served on his mission and meet the families he still keeps in touch with. In Rome we have a beautiful place to stay thanks to his friend Monica. I have always been enchanted with Italy since I was a little girl. I lived there from age 2-6 but I only remember the little neighborhood we lived in and the lemon tree we used to climb. I have other memories of our travels as a family. I have an amazing husband that will steal my heart all over again in the most romantic country. Every girls dream!

Can't plead innocent now can you!!!

Our new dog Bella is wonderful and is a great addition to our home. However, she came with some bad habits. She has a passion for chewing up everything and digging in the dirt. She is VERY smart and aware of her misdeeds. As soon as they come to my attention she cowers. So I show her the evidence, put her nose in it and scold her. After the MANY many times I have done this she still persists to misbehave. I am going to have to do some research online to find some good advice. I need to buy her a good chew bone to crave her fixation. I have let her stay out of her kennel a few times at night and just when I think she has finally learned the rules around here she poops or pees in the house while we are sleeping and I inevitably step in it while I am wondering in the dark taking care of babies in the night. So she is restricted to her kennel at night. She used to sneak into the kids room and sleep with Tristan but I had to stop that when she chewed up some stuff in their room.

SO Bella is guilty as charged and needs to shape up. Any dog trainers out there willing to give my advice?

Why I dont read many books

OK, I really do love to read but I can't do it and have my normal life function at the same time. I put off and procrastinate most everything until my book is done. The kids always demand a lot out of me so they dont get thwarted the way the household chores do. I finished Breaking Dawn in the Twilight series. Good read for me. It is low key, easy to read and has a good story line. I also enjoy the characters. So today I have lots on my agenda to play "catch-up" so I must go.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Since we are saving money for our Italy Trip Chris didn't want me to send him any thing that he would have to carry home with him. So I sent him the normal package of magazines, beef jerky and stuff from the kids. I still wanted to do something a little special for him. So the kids and I decided to throw him a party. Eli and Tristan helped mix the cake and swirl in the chocolate. After it cooled I frosted it and they decorated it with sprinkles, M&Ms, colored frosting and candles. We also made a banner and colored it to show him how much we care. I video taped our little party for dad and sent it to him on his b-day along with lots of pictures. Thankfully he loved it! I am extremely grateful for modern technology that allows us to communicate half way across the world with those we love. Chris treated himself to a rootbeer and a small ice cream. He hadn't had either one since he's been in Iraq. Then he got to fly. So a fairly good day for a soldier on his birthday in Iraq.

Our daddy's the BEST!

Barrett
Eliana
Soren
Tristan

It is times like this morning that crushes my heart. My sweet little boy Tristan woke up and said "good morning mommy. I miss my Daddy!" " I know baby. He is going to call this morning and you can talk to him." "I want to see his body" "Me too, me too. We just have to remember all the fun times we shared with daddy while he was here with us and before you know it he will be back home, holding you in his arms and wrestling with you on the floor. Be brave, keep remembering and loving him." "OK mommy, I will be brave!"

He makes a comment about missing his dad daily. It is difficult for him to understand why dad is away and can't come home to him. It is so sad and unfortunate that Chris has to be away from his family. To miss out on so many milestones and creating memories. However it is a time to teach our children about daddy's job and how important it is that he serves our country with honor. Despite any political views people may have, my husband is a patriot. He loves and serves our nation without complaint and does the best he can. He is our hero and we love him. So we will trek forward in our lives and face the hurtles while he is away.

We miss you Chris, DADDY! We will be strong and brave until you come home. We hope you can feel our hugs all the way across the world.
LOVE, Damato family