A day at the beach....

It's been a crazy day. Of course when isn't it crazy here in the Rudolph house. :)

We packed up and headed down to Cape May with one of my good friends Amy and her family. Amy just started her own photography business, Sweet Pea Pictures, and I have been dying to get pics done at the beach so it was a match made in heaven!

We did pictures early this morning, then headed to another beach and swam for a bit, then we all headed out to lunch. What a site we were. Four adults, four kids - all of us hot and sweaty. But it was a fun lunch with great company! Can't wait to see all the great pics.....stay tuned and check out her website and support a local mom who is GREAT at her job!

My Sweet Baby Boy.....

I guess I can't say that he is such a baby anymore. Last Tuesday (July 13th) Max turned 3 years old. I think that I am still in shock. I am not sure really how 3 whole years have gone by since I gave birth to the little guy.

I am amazed every day how this little person can irritate me to my wits end and in the very next second fill me with so much joy I am almost in tears. Being a mother is such a roller coaster of emotions. It's a ride I am blessed to be on, even though it still scares me to death sometimes. :)

I originally was going to plan a big shin-dig for his Birthday but we have so much going on this summer....Max's Birthday, then Emma's Baptism in August, and then Emma's Birthday in September.....so Karl and I decided to keep the kids ACTUAL Birthday to be celebrated with just us and we would have a combined Birthday party for both Max and Emma. Since we were combining their party I wanted to do something special for him. The night before my Mom and I went into town and bought a couple of helium filled balloons. My plan was to fill his room with them once he went to sleep. I was so excited to see his response I almost couldn't sleep....

The next morning I heard Max around 5:30 am yelling "mommy, Nana, daddy....balloons, balloons!!!!". I got up and told him that everyone was still sleeping and he had to stay in his room. Of course the first thing he wanted to know was if the balloons could stay - so cute. The look on his face was purely priceless. 

Once everyone was up and about Max spent the rest of the morning running around with all of his balloons. He went from his room to the kitchen and the living room. It was hilarious. 

Since it was rainy outside we decided that we would head up to Adventure Aquarium. While there Nana treated Max to a face paining, which he LOVED. He could not stop staring in the mirror....absolutely hysterical. 

We finished off the night with one of Max's fave meals Spaghetti & Meatballs. And of course we also had to throw in some dessert  - good ole' fashioned Sprinkle topped Cupcakes. 

Such a wonderful day to remind me of the amazing gift I received 3 years ago!  

Rest in peace Trigger....

As many of you know my cat Trigger has been very sick this past week or so. Sometime last night after 1'ish he passed away. We heard him around 1 am stumbling to get our from our bed and when he made it to the hallway he collapsed and could not get back up. Karl took him out to the kitchen near the water bowl (that is all he has been taking in for the last week and half...) and when I got up at 5 am this morning my Mom let me know he had passed.

Trigger was originally my sisters cat but when she moved in with her now hubbie his dogs didn't like cats very much so I took him in. He has been with me since then. Trigger has been with me through thick and thin. Moving across country to Arizona (and back again....), through break-ups, hook-ups, and new jobs. In the last few years he has been quite annoying. He used to wake us up at all hours of the night howling like a fool. :)

But all in all he has been a great cat. He was always fantastic with the kids. He adjusted very well the Magoo. The only bad thing was that he wanted food ALLL the time.

When I realized he wassnt' eating a few weeks ago I knew something was up. Not eating was very unlike Trigger. We waited for a few days and finally made an appointment with the vet. They did some basic blood work but nothing out of the ordinary came up. They send us home with some vitamins and antibiotics. He did pretty well for the first couple of days and took his medicine. He even ate a few times so we thought maybe he would come around.

Then yesterday he wouldn't even touch it. I had crushed it up and put it in with a dab of milk so he would eat it. He totally snubbed his nose at it. I knew yesterday that he was going to have to be taken back to the vet and put to sleep. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it so I told Karl when he got home and he agreed. Then this morning...

I hope that he is in a better place and is finally at peace.

Update on Trigger....

Finally made an appointment for Trigger. Karl took him to the vet yesterday afternoon. I was a wreck the whole time. When he got home I was afraid to go out in the kitchen to see if Trigger was still with him.

He was. :)

The vet did some basic blood tests to rule out anything major, i.e. kidney failure or diabetes. Nothing showed up. They are at a loss as to what is wrong. They sent Karl home with some vitamins and an antibiotic (which I think is crazy considering you don't eve know what is wrong with him) and they want to see him back in 2 weeks. You should see Karl trying to stick a pill down his throat. He tried this morning, unsuccessfully and decided that he would try later tonight.

So $300 dollars later we still don't know what is wrong with him. He is still drinking water, which is good. This morning I even saw him eat a couple of kibbles but that was the first time I have seen him eat in a week......ugh.  It's funny because I was preparing myself for the worst yesterday and then when it didn't happen I didnt' know what to feel. My animals drive me crazy but I love them at the same time.....Kind of like my kids!!!! LOL!

On a side note Magoo has been put on a diet. The last time she went in for her physical she weighed 67 lbs, now she is a whopping 74 lbs. The vet didnt' seem overly concerned but Magoo is a smaller lab so we have to cut back on her food. Now if I can just keep Max from feeding her. LOL!

Put down the toy, and just walk away....

Madness. That is what I call the TOY area in our home. We don't have a very large home but we have managed to condense most of the kids toys to one corner of our living room. Max also has a toy box in his room for the overflow ~ which often gets spread through the entire house.

Overflow is not really the best way to describe the MADNESS of how many toys we have. Let me give you a brief rundown.....we have a corner of our living room with a toy box as well as a large bookcase with two shelves STUFFED with books. Then Max of course has his toy box in his room, of course FULL of toys AND the whole top shelf loaded with books.  I don't mind all the books but the toys drive me insane!

Then downstairs in the basement we have 5, yes I said 5, totes FULL of toys. Every few months I try and switch out the toys so everything feels new again. All of this sound fine ~ except for the fact that mysteriously these toys start to multiply.  I can't say mysteriously, I know where they come from. We have grandparents and aunts and uncles that are continuously giving to the kids. It's is out of control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you see what I am talking about! The top photo is just a few of the totes that Karl hauled up from the basement. Then Max decided to help me, I guess you could call it that. The bottom one is just pure insanity.

I decided that I am having a yard sale this weekend, not only to get rid of some these toys, but to finally clean out our basement of stuff we just don't use. We still have some totes and boxes from our move out here. If I haven't unpacked them in 3 years I don't need it.

I am calling out to all you grandparents ( and aunts & uncles) to PLEASE stop buying all these toys! When you feel the urge to pick up that toy turn around, walk out of the store and open a bank account. Put the money in a college fund - by the time Max and Emma are ready for college I will have to pick up a 2nd mortgage so any bit will help. Thanks!

Mr. Trigger....a.k.a Fatty Watty.....

This is Trigger. My cat. My fat cat. My VERY fat cat. He used to be my sister's cat but when she got married her hubbies dogs didn't like cats. Actually he liked them very much but he liked to eat them. Not a good place for fatty watty. So I took him in. I have had him a little over 10 years....he is now 14. And I think his age AND weight is catching up to him.

He started getting sick a few months back but it's been very sporadic....but this last week something has been wrong with him. He is not eating. This is VERY unusual for him. Usually is meowing at all hours of the night because he wants MORE food. The last few days I have only seen him eat maybe once, and his feeder has remained full. I am worried.

I know he is old but I am scared to death to take him to the vet. I am having an internal debate. I don't want to pay hundred of dollars to find out what is wrong with him but at the same time I don't want to do nothing.....what do I do?

Soooo early....

My kids could win Olympic medals for how early and CONSISTENT they are every day. I have been getting up at 5 am for quite a few months now so I can practice my yoga or just some type of exercise and I swear they just keep getting up earlier and earlier....pretty soon I will be up so early it will be yesterday.

I try not to be frustrated but that is usually the in the early morning is the only time I have for some "me" time and to just enjoy the quiet of early morning. Oh well.....I guess tomorrow is another day! There was going to be so much more to this post but Max just came and greeted me - guess my Mommy time has started. :)