Growing Times

We had a pretty good weekend, and it's not over yet! Friday we had a photographer come to our house to take Chance's pictures and some family shots. It was a lot of work to get everything together (i.e. outfits, props, hair/makeup between feedings!) and to make sure I had happy people to be in the photographs (i.e. a fed husband and infant, daughter who was bribed to take good pictures in exchange for a slurpee after! :)). But needless to say my hard work and extra effort paid off and I was rewarded with some SUPER cute snapshots! We haven't gotten to see the finished product yet but the pictures pre-edited were really cute! After pictures we rushed to Mady's friday dance class and then Derek had his weekly basketball game. It was a pretty productive Friday!

I have started to get my energy back which had disappeared when I had to find a way to add work back into my already packed routine! Since getting my energy back I have had an itch (a good itch I must say!) to organize my house and get back to decorating!! So Saturday I cleaned up and began organizing during the day and have begun to put together different visual ideas of how I want to decorate certain areas of the house. We have an extra room that is suppose to be our "office/guest room" but in reality it has turned into an unorganized room with all the stuff that I couldn't find a place for in another area of the house! lol SO my newest project is to organize the heck out of that room in the coming month and as a reward, when I finish we are getting a new bed and moving our bed to the spare room! Hopefully in time for my sister's visit in late March! AND I want to finally complete decorating Chance's room since I expect that he will be sleeping there by mid April! I have a lot to do but thank goodness for this energy and urge to do it! :) Maybe I will have a party when it's all complete?! Hahaha!

In other news Madyson has her first loose tooth and it should be falling out any day now! The new tooth has already begun to grow in behind it, which by the way totally freaked me out! But it appears that the small tooth just needs to come out so the big tooth can move right into place! Just one more reminder that my baby is growing up, I love those reminders! ;(

We were discussing the tooth fairy and I asked, "so what does the tooth fairy bring?" and Madyson said, "Well, (she paused in her grown up explaining something to someone way) she can bring money or small gifts or jewelry. She can bring whatever she wants. She just wants kids to know that they're special." I replied, "Oh because all kids are special huh?" and she said, "Yeah Mom, everyone is special in their own way, even adults!" :) I just gave her a big smooch on the cheek! She is so sweet and genuine and I LOVE that about her! We have had some trying times lately as she struggles to share all the love and attention with her little brother. And although it's been tough as she tries my patience and tests the limits, one thing I can say I am thankful for is that she never gets mad at Chance. She still adores him and babies him and loves him. She tests me to see how much I love her and how much I can handle her tough behaviors (which are hardly tough in comparison!). I love my sweet little girl even through the tough times. In reality the tough times are short lived and in hindsight hardly as tough as I see them at the moment. :) I wish my beautiful babies could stay little forever, but since they refuse to I will cherish every day with them, even the tough ones!

Well it's almost time for Real Housewives of Atlanta Reunion Part Two! LOL And I have no shame in admitting that it is one of the highlights of my week so I am going to go cuddle with the hubby and enjoy my show! :)

Doesn't get any better than this!

What am I doing up right now? All I know is I will regret it in the morning...but oh well! ;) This past weekend was one of the best weekends I have had in a loooonnnggg time! I was spoiled by my ever so awesome husband who cooked me a steak and lobster dinner TWO nights!!! Took me on a shoe shopping spree!!!! Loved me up with cuddling and kisses!!!! AND bought me a new phone since my Blackberry was failing me, I got the new Droid X! It really isn't about the things he bought me, although I always welcome gifts(!!!), but it was about how special he made me feel! Our time together is minimal since we have had to return to work and the little time we have together is often packed with busy time! It felt so good to focus on each other and to just enjoy one another. It just reminds me of why we are so perfect together and why I fell so deeply in love with this wonderful man I call my husband. I am so lucky to have him and I can't wait for these next few hectic months to be over!

I was spoiled with gifts this Valentines Day which really is a bit unusual. I love the holiday but we don't usually take it all that seriously! But hey I am not going to complain about a holiday that reminds you to appreciate the one you love. :)

Derek surprised me with these beautiful flowers!! :) I am a floral fanatic!!

Madyson and Tiff right before they headed off to Disneyland for the day!

Mady brought home this stylish ring for me for Valentine's Day. So sweet of her to think of her Mom while at Disneyland surrounded by thousands of goods that I know her little heart craved for herself! :)

Madyson worked hard on her personalized Vday cards! Too bad a lot of kids in her class have crazy names that I wouldn't dare try to spell!

And Little Chunk (LC) enjoyed watching his sister write out her cards while drooling and chomping on his fists! Can that first tooth come already?!

Madyson loved her Valentine's gifts from her two favorite friends from school! :)

Since returning to work I have found that I have far less time to write on here and I don't like that! I think I am just still adjusting to being a working mother of two young children while also keeping my husband happy! It's a tough job but nothing this wonder woman can't handle! ;) I will sign off with some cute photos of my sweet little valentines! :)

Cool guy pose! lol

My beautiful Rose!

This is his everyday face! He can brighten anyone's day with that little smile!

Positive Thoughts Create Positive Outcomes!

This morning was MUCH tougher than I had imagined it to be. For starters I slept horribly and woke up super tired, even though I was in bed by 8:30 pm! I never sleep really well when Derek is gone and of course I wasn't going to sleep super well knowing I was returning to work the next day. I had tried my best to prepare things for today the night before, but when I woke up at 6 am I felt like I had a million things to do before leaving at 8:15! After running around like a chicken with my head cut off, my sister arrived at my house and the dreaded time had come to say goodbye to my smiley faced little guy. It hit me hard when I started walking out the door and, needless to say, I cried walking out the door and I cried myself halfway to work!! When I dropped Madyson off at school she felt so bad that I was upset about leaving her and the baby, she was so sweet and tried to console me and insisted on making me a card. She is such a sweetie and I love that she knows how to comfort me! :)

After letting myself cry it out and endure my sadness, I knew it was time to gain a different perspective--if not for the sake of having a good day then at least for the sake of my MAKE UP that I took a good 20 minutes to do! ;) LOL No but really! I took one good look in my rear view mirror and said to myself (yes, I said it out loud!) "You're going to be fine and Chance is going to be fine!" And with that I was insistent that things would change, and so they did!

I threw in my Rhianna cd, you know the one that my sisters swear is annoying?! Well, I find that cd to be quite a good pump-you-up cd and I knew it would do the trick of changing my mood and mindset. So I cruised the remainder of the 91 freeway blasting Rhianna and singing at the top of my lungs! From there on my day only got better. When I got to work a nice guy approached me and offered to wash my huge SUV for $20 at my office, what a deal!!! You know I couldn't resist that especially since my car hadn't been washed since before Chance was born! Then I got to have supervision with some wonderfully amazing people and talk about intellectual things, well somewhat intellectual things, and that felt really good! And my caseload is super light, 8 cases in 2 homes. I can't complain! When I picked up Mady and Chance they were both so happy to see me and Chance wouldn't stop smiling! I felt so loved!! So all in all, today started worse than expected but ended better than I could have asked for! ;) Only further proof that life is what we make of it, but I already knew that!

Now I am off to practice my dance moves in the mirror, tomorrow we're going to the Ellen Show and who knows if I will be on TV or if she will try to boogie with me?! Hahaha! Can't wait!!!!

Here is Chance in his newest "toy"! He loves it, and so do I!

To Blog or Not to Blog...

Well I have started a blog and deleted it numerous times over this past week! I just feel like sometimes I don't have anything "blogworthy" to report. There is only so much going on with my little family at any given time! :) So from here on out my blog may change slightly from the "Schindler Shenanigans" to "Hannah's Happenings!" LOL But for this entry we're keeping it about the Schindler Family.

This last week Madyson started ballet class for the first time. She was so excited to start learning a new form of dance and I was excited to see her grow!

But I wasn't too excited about trying to get her super silky fine hair into a bun when it hardly holds in a pony tail!! Now for some people who aren't mom's or don't have to deal with a daughter who has this type of hair you may be thinking "how hard could it be?!" But let me tell you it took a good 30 minutes to get this finished product!!! Thank goodness for a cute bun covering thingy or it would have looked MUCH worse!!



And here is a special sneak peak of Mady doing some of her dance moves! haha! I forgot what this one is called but she was so pumped about heading to her new class! She did great and loved the new teacher, I can't wait to see her in the recital this summer!

We celebrated my sister Sarah's birthday this week and we had a great time! Sarah really knows how to throw a party! When we arrived everyone was enjoying the "dance party" and the kids had some super cute dance moves to show off, wish I had a video to share! :)



My sister Sarah and I go way back, I mean like waaayyy baacckkk!! We grew up being best friends and even today she is one of the people I trust most in life. She turned 30 this year which means one thing, I am SUPER close to 30 too! ahahha! Not good, not good! But back to Sarah, she is a super sweet person whom I hold many good memories with. She recently moved back down to California from Portland and I am so glad we will get to raise our kids together and actually see each other on a regular basis! There is nothing like having a good sister to call and hang with, I am so lucky to have more than one in my life! :)

This week something incredibly rare occurred, I was able to go out with my girlfriends and was absolutely childless!!! Yep, you read that right! I got to spend a night with my girls and didn't have to worry about anything but myself for a couple of hours, it was really nice! Hanging out with my girls made me realize how far we had come since beginning grad school. We're all at such a different place in life and I am so proud of each of us. :) We have all grown so much and I hope the growing never ends. I truly treasure my friendship with these girls, I can be completely real and myself without ever feeling judged. It's one of the best things life has to offer -- girlfriends! I hope one day we can all work together or at least have more time together on a regular basis, someday!

Saturday we had the best family day and it could not have come at a better time! This was our last weekend before I head back to work and before we start fitting Derek's basketball schedule back into our week. Not to mention it was Chance's 3 month birthday celebration! So we headed to Disneyland for a fun filled family day! We started off the day with Madyson and me riding our favorite ride, Space Mountain! So there I am screaming my lungs out while we fly on this ride and I glance over to see my fearless five year old with her hands up and a smile on her face!!! She rode the entire ride with her hands up! Man, sometimes I look at my daughter and see how she is so much like me and other times she couldn't be any more different! I admire her strengths, especially since where she thrives I generally fail! This is us after our ride!

It was Chance's first time at Disneyland and he had a really good time, when he was awake! He flirted with the ladies in line with his adorable smiles and gnawed on his hands to no end! He got his first set of ears too!

Chance also went on his first ride, Snow White! He was actually really into the ride and stared at everything, here he is on the ride.

Madyson insisted on bringing her Baby Minnie in her carrier so that she could be just like me with Chance! :) Here is us with our babies, I love my little girl!

Here are some of the attitudes of Mady that we had the pleasure of experiencing that day:

The pouty "I can't have my way" attitude!

The "try taking my picture now Mom" attitude! :)

And finally the "I love being at Disneyland" attitude! This one is my personal favorite!

love Love LOVE my handsome husband! :)

We had such a great time at Disneyland and I cannot wait for Chance to have the opportunity to meet the characters and enjoy all of the park as much as Mady does! I think she will be the perfectly experienced big sister who can show him the best parts of Disneyland one day!

I have one last day off and then it's back to work for me! I am quite anxious about the return to work but a good friend reminded me that now I will actually get some ME time again. And you know she is so right! If there is anything good to come of me returning to work (besides supporting my family financially) its that I will get to have some grown up time and that will be good for me! And I can rest assurred my little guy will be in good hands with his Aunt, Grandma and Daddy so I am sure things will go smoothly. Here's to a smooth transition! :)

They love their Daddy!

Being a mom--life doesn't get any better than this!! :)

Our Week

Over the weekend we were able to "go out" for the first time since we had Chance, well really the first time in about a year because we didn't go out at all while I was prego. Either way, it was our first night out with friends in a loooonnnngg time! We didn't go anywhere special or too far from home but it sure was nice to hang out with our good friends while having some drinks!

This week we had an extra day off from school which was super nice! We spent the day celebrating Grandma Diana's birthday with pizza, conversation, and, of course, shopping!! Grandma Diana is an "adopted" grandma (and mother to me!) who we love dearly! She is one of my best friend's mother who has always treated me as if I were her own and I have always looked up to her like she was a second mom. It was nice to get to spend her birthday with her and my friend Tina. And go figure Madyson scored on the shopping trip with some colorful new jewelry and super cute clothes!

She was VERY excited about sporting her new jewelry to school the following day! I had to regulate on how much she could wear because you know she tried to wear all ten necklaces, rings, and bracelets! :)

In the not so good news department, the dreaded time has come for our lives to get back to reality. :( Derek started working his second very part time job again which I hate because I hate hate hate being alone as much as I am and it's horrible to see how much all the extra work wares on him. But I am very THANKFUL that I have a husband who is so willing to do whatever it takes to make sure our family is well taken care of. What a sacrafice it is for him to work this hard, I couldn't be more thankful.

I will be returning to work in a week and a half and oh am I dreading that even more! I am so fortunate to work as minimally as I do and with such flexibility, but I still hate the thought of being away from this little baby who is soooo attached to his mommy! :( Returning to work after having Madyson came so naturally, I was ready for work and even for college! But with Chance it's just such a different experience, he is so much more needy and I feel horrible leaving him even though its really only for one full day and a couple hours here and there. I just hope the transition will be smooth and that I can start with an easy and light caseload! *fingers crossed*

Here is a little more of what we are currently up to:

Madyson is currently hooked on this video game gadget called the leapster! I am not a huge fan of my child having video games but it's a learning system and has actually really helped her with spelling and reading!

Chance continues to be the cutest baby ever!! And yes, I am allowed to say that, he's mine! hahaha!! He is so full of smiles and I am actually able to capture them on camera now! He has been tired of being in the swing, he HATES laying on his back but screams if you leave him on "tummy time" for more than 3 minutes! So I decided to put him in one of those exersaucer type things and --- he LOVED it!!! I will have to post a picture, it's actually pretty cute! hahaha! So yes my 11 week old son is sitting in an exersaucer oogling and drooling over the little gadgets that light up and play music! Of course I support him with blankets but I cannot believe he is already wanting to sit up! Seriously he needs to slow down and take it easy! :(

That has been our week in a nutshell, a pretty good, productive week. Hopefully this weekend will be filled with lots of fun and good family time! :)

Boy or Girl?!

Saturday I had the pleasure of co-hosting a wonderful baby shower for one of my best friends Jessica. She is due in March and has decided to not find out what she is having yet, it's going to be a SURPRISE!! :) I personally cannot wait until she has the little bundle of joy, I cannot wait to see if it's a little girl or boy. Chance will either have his future girlfriend or best friend, so either way I am all smiles! :) The baby shower was a nesting theme that was mostly made up of birds, it turned out sooo cute I can't help but share!! So here are some pictures of the fabulous day.

The banner was made with the cricut and the saying we stole from someone online!

My friend Loni gave us this super cute idea that she found on another blog! We couldn't find feathers sold on their own so we purchased two boas that worked perfectly for the decoration!

The cake could not have been any cuter!!! I felt bad when we had to cut and serve it!

The super cute candle holder with birds/nests was a great decoration for the shower and goes really cute as a house decoration as well! We weren't sure what to put in the bird cages but I think the candles went great in the small cages!

The Rowe's have not been able to settle on a boy name so we had "the naming tree". Jess got cute branches from the trees around her house and we had tags for ladies to share their favorite boy name and to hang on the "tree". They got some cute ideas for the name and the tree was a really cute decoration too!

Got this incredibly unique and CUTE favor idea from my friend Caitlyn. The bottles were such cute decorations and the birds were made with the cricut and stamped with white ink.

And this is me with the *beautiful* mommy to be and soon to be BIG sister Addison!

(Madyson's little buddy!)

It was a fun day and I know none of us can wait to meet little Baby Rowe!



Ignorance Is Bliss

It has kind of been a rough week in the Schindler household, I have to admit. And maybe it's actually just been a rough week for me, but I think even if it's just rough for one of us we all feel it. It hasn't been a horrible week, just one that has truly tested my patience, tried my emotional strength, and has made me physically sick. I am so thankful that my husband is my best friend who truly gets me and knows just what to do when I need his help the most. I think this week would have been much harder if it weren't for him.

Wednesday we said goodbye to my neice Briar who is going to live up north in Portland. The kids had a good time together as they played, laughed, and rode their bikes. It was sad to say goodbye to my beautiful neice for more reason than one. Such a tough situation and my heart hurts to be completely honest but I am remaining hopeful that things are happening for the best. I think if there is anything that I have learned through my years of growing it's how "not" to push away my feelings, man I hate that sometimes! I wish I could still push them away, ignore them, or act like they weren't there when I wanted to, that saying "ignorance is bliss" comes to mind. I think of that often and wish for that ignorance so frequently!!! Hmmm... 

Here are some super cute, fun photos of the good times that were had as we said goodbye:

 

 



 

These kids have fought like siblings, but they always end up craving the company of one another no matter what!



 












(Had to throw this little cutie in there!)



On a happier note there was some good news to be celebrated on this no denying sad day...we found out my sister Sam is going to have her second child! :)  She thinks it's a girl, the Chinese calendar says it's a girl, and I hope it's a girl -- well I guess it MUST be a girl?! Can't wait to find out, so exciting! 

 And who could resist laughing or at least smiling after seeing this photo? It would brighten any gloomy day...no really!!!! :)

After having fun with her cousins, Mady went to dance class where she danced her bootay off for two hours straight! She takes Jazz, Hip Hop, and Musical Theater but not for long. After this picture was taken she informed me that she no longer wants to take Hip Hop so next week we will be changing to Ballet. She has had a blast learning how to dance and has made a lot of friends. This is Mady and her friend Julie who is in all of her classes. We can't wait for her to have Addison back in her class too! :)

I only have two weeks left before I have to return to work and the thought of leaving my babies is constantly at the back of my mind. Ahh how I am so horrible at change and adjustment! Especially when the change has anything to do with my kids! :( For now I am going to do my best to forget about going back to work and enjoy these next two weeks with these beautiful little beings! :)