Dana Daily

With Seth's having one illness after another this month, my plan was to keep him inside and let the girls do the trick-or-treating. However, Sal was having none of this. So, yesterday, the day before Halloween, we hit three different stories before finding a Mickey costume at Toys R Us at 75% off. This darling costumer was only $8.75, and I had a gift card. A total score. Seth met "MiMi" this past summer when we went to Disney and instantly recognized the costume. The girls costumes were purchased online weeks ago. Sarah had been talking about being a witch since last Halloween, and Emmy was sold on something with a tutu. I did not try Seth's costume on prior to trick-or-treat so he had no idea what was going on or why. He was fine with it until I put the hood one. He freaked. However, he soon got over it when he realized he was outside and going to go for a walk. This little guy walked for over 1.5 hours collecting goodies and treats from the neighbors. We di...

Seth woke up crying at 7am this past Saturday. Normally he wakes up in a good mood and never that early, not even during the week. Sal went in to check on him and then came back a few minutes later with a shrug. We let Seth fuss a little more, and then I sent in to get him out of his crib for day. Seth greeted me with a gurgling sound and I realized he was going to throw up. I turned him over, and called to Sal that he was throwing up. We still had towels in Seth's room from his random stomach bug eight days prior so I grabbed on of them to catch the worst of it. Having not eaten since dinner the night before there was very little in his tummy to expel. We got Seth cleaned up and the sheets changed, and he seemed ready to go downstairs so we let him go. In the meantime, I had thought he seemed especially congested lately and decided to make him an appointment with the pediatrician. Maybe his sinuses were causing these stomach issues. We ran him out to Natrona Heights to see D...

To celebrate Seth's 20 month birthday we planned a big photo shoot on the North Shore. Ha.  Just Kidding. We did have our Christmas picture session scheduled though. Seth was as uncooperative as I expected him to be. The girls behaved quite nicely. Our photographer has the patience of a saint.  We won't receive images for a couple weeks yet, but we had a beautiful, nearly 80 degree day, and the perfect time of day. I saw previews on our photographer's camera, and I'm sure she captured some great shots and moments. It really was Seth's 20 month birthday today though, and I'd like to highlight some of his milestones. He's a really great workout buddy. He's learning how to march in place, move up and back, and kick along with my Leslie Sansone walking dvds. He's a great eater. All three of my children are actually. He still resists yogurt, but I can usually get a couple bites into him which is progress. That's really the only ...

Today we celebrated Emmy's birthday. My parents came down as well as my sister and nephew. Rather than a cake, Emmy wanted brownies so we baked those first thing this morning. They were delicious. I didn't have any room on my phone for pictures, but my mom took a few on her iPad. That's a lot of smoke for only eight candles. We also had sloppy joes and refried bean tacos. The tacos were Emmy's last minute request, and it was a good one because my sister isn't able to eat bread or rolls with this pregnancy so she put sloppy joes on a tortilla. I had strange food issues when I was pregnant too so we don't question such things, we just roll with it :-) My mom made macaroni salad and buffalo chicken dip too. I think she enjoys that aspect of birthday parties, thankfully. Emmy said she had a great birthday so I'm glad she was happy. I can't wait to see what this new year brings for her. Exciting times ahead, no doubt.

Happy EIGHTH birthday, Emmy. Maybe it's because Emmy acts (most of the time) older than she is (although not inappropriately), but it's surprising to me that she's *only* eight. For some reason's her birthday doesn't shock me the way Sarah and Seth's seem to. Her school doesn't allow edible treats, but the kids did sing happy birthday to her. She also picked Eat N Park for her birthday dinner. Sal and I gave her a flip top water bottle that she'd been wanting as well as a "handstand t-shirt." She was a happy birthday girl. She was hoping to get Seth in this picture with her, but he wanted no parts of that. However, it's important to get a picture of the birthday girl, so here she is. She's wearing her "Burchfield Dance" shirt. She takes tumbling on Wednesday evenings, and loves it. Sometime last year she set her mind to doing gymnastics and finally had an opportunity this year. She can do a perfect handstand and hold i...

Normally our mornings run like a well-oiled machine. We have a routine and while there may be some slight variation, things stay on course. NOT. today. Oh.my.word. It was picture day for Sarah and the outfit we had chosen, but not tried on, just wasn't working for her. We dug through her closet to find an alternative. Then she wanted me to style her hair. She just doesn't understand her hair looks best when it's just left alone. It lays nicely and frames her face. We finally made it downstairs, and with no time to eat breakfast, she grabbed a package of muffins only to leave them on the counter as she ran out the door to meet her bus, which she almost missed. I hadn't made Seth's lunch the night before, a big mistake, and opened the refrigerator only to realize there was no leftover spaghetti from last night. Scrambling for a back-up plan, I sent the mac and cheese that Sarah couldn't fit into her thermos. I didn't even know if he liked it. Emmy to...

A friend of mine from our St. Ursula days invited several of us over to her house for lunch today. I don't typically leave the house when I work from home, but I made an exception for this get together. Stephanie is one of the best cooks, and let's face it, homemakers, I know. This was not an invitation to turn down. Seth and I arrived just before noon and were the first to arrive. We raided the toy room and found a few things for him to play with. Eventually the other guests arrived and we enjoyed butternut squash soup garnished with a star anise, turkey sliders, home made mac and cheese, a salad, and cookies. It was all so delicious. While I felt supremely guilty going out for lunch on a work-at-home day, it was good to see these ladies again.