Okay, I have a coffee in my hand, am air drying my blender boobies and Gage is snoozing in his vibrating chair! My blood pressure is almost near normal - let me explain... Last night we had Jana, Russ and Tristan over for dinner. Everything was going great - the kids were playing, the dads were drinking beer and me and Jana were catching up. All at once a toddler was crying. Naturally no one panicked as this is a common occurrence with toddlers. Brent went to see who the victim was and what the problem was.

Well, it was my first born babe and he had fallen off the Little Tykes slide in our basement - (onto carpet). Blood was shooting and no I am not exaggerating, shooting out the back of his head. His new fancy shirt - my mom gave him - cover in blood as was Brent's. I started to panic! Brent calmly said, Brandi get a wet towel fast. So, I moved into assistant mode and did as he said. To make a long story short. The cut was small and we were able to stop the bleeding but man I almost had a heart attack. I have since found out, thanks to Google, that kids at this age do bleed a lot with head injuries - naturally causing their mamas to have heart failure. We all recovered, many smarties later and had a great evening. Hudson is not one bit more cautious and I am a bag of jitters. Imagine when he's playing athletics!

In case you can't tell, I am finally almost myself again! Yahoo! I had an awesome day yesterday. I spent the morning with Mollie and Maggie and we ate and chatted and laughed for hours. It was so good for my soul. Then I packed up my babe and we went to the store for coffee! So much fun! I remember why we opened the store in the first place. I got to spend time with Kath & Crys and see all the new fabulous products, but also talk to real moms. I loved it! Afterwards I even picked Hudson up from daycare. Look out world, here I come!

For all of you who are going to Tim & Faith tonight - enjoy. I will be home drooling like a dog. This is the kind of jealousy that makes one want to peck eyes out! I, like many other women LOVE Tim and would love to be at the show tonight! My mother has told me numerous times that this is the last chance to see them ever. Which makes me drool even more!

I am off to a meeting with a lactation consultant. I am going to see if I can improve Gage's latch. I did get some good advice yesterday from one of our mom's (Gurumama) which is helping but still need to get these boobies back in shape!

Have a great day.

Brandi

Oh my God did I laugh out loud when I read Kath's blog. How sad is it that this is how we communicate - via blog? Kath, I do remember the days when we would sit down and discuss business ideas over a few wings and many pints of beer. Where have those days gone? I had Ellen on this afternoon, it was a repeat but none the less funny, she said a day off for a mom is called College! Man.

Parents of 2 year old need to stick together!

Parents of 2 years old need to stick together! The occasional glass of wine may help. I am so happy you shared with us because I was there all weekend too! It started with the block party - a great day minus the one episode where I had to discipline Harris in front of ALL the parents on my street for not sharing. That is so stressful - you know everyone is watching you to see how you handle the situation....it wasn't good and resulted in me fireman carrying him home for a time-out in privacy (Brandi - think the vaccuum cleaner fight H and Hud had:))

Of course, the day was long and there was way too much sugar so once we finally got the kids to bed we went out to enjoy a drink and firepit with the neighbors on the driveway. Is is so much to ask that we too have a life? Well, we didn't go to bed early and Evy didn't sleep thru the night, and harris woke up way too early and CRABBY! I of course, wanted to also make Father's Day great so we made French Toast with our eyes half shut and No coffee ( I ran out the day before and i can not keep up with the errands). The weather wasn't so hot so we decided to skip the Ex or bike ride to the Forks and do whatever Kirby wanted. He decided a Daly burger (to satify the crave) and a stroll down Corydon with Evy in the sling and Harris could ride his bike. Ya right. We did make it into the car but stopped to get coffee - Huge mistake....Harris wanted a donut from Tim Horton's - we are on our way to lunch. However, I too bribe my child with treats (I know it is terrible) so I got him a chocolate Timbit just to avoid a meltdown from a very grumpy boy......He no longer likes timbits only donuts and this is where he lots his marbles.....and so did we. The dumb thing is we still tried to go to the Daly burger but when we got up to ordered andhe wasn't getting a donut he collapsed face first on the filthy floor and lost his mind. Kirby packed him up, I got it to go and we ate it in the car driving home.............................

I can relate. I need advice - is the 3's really worse than the terrible 2's like so many people have told me? Is is now jealousy to Ev? Should I take all sugar out of his diet? Is he really not needing the nap in the afternoon. Help.

Brandi - come visit me.....I miss you:)

Here are a few block party pics.... H and E were soo cute in their Big Bro and Big Sis camo's (new at the store)

Happy Fathers Day! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

A few dear people in my life made mention of the fact that they thought my first blog was uneventful. Well, this entry should be anything but dull.

Firstly I woke up this morning with a real bad sleep hangover. For those of you who are wondering what the heck that is, it is when you wake up so tired you feel hung over! Brent says I am full of these odd expressions... Anyway, my babe went to bed for the night at 11:00 p.m. was up every two hours. Naturally I am exhausted and feeling sorry for myself because I look like I am four months pregnant (saggy belly) with bags under my eyes - extreme fatigue, sore boobs and the ever flattering pony tail hair do that I sport most days!

I am in a bit of a mood as well because I tend to pump up events like Fathers Day in my mind so much that reality often has trouble living up to these plans. My husband, Brent is an amazing dad and spouse. So, I wanted yesterday to be the best day for him. It started out good but spiraled into a two children disaster by night's end - let me refresh your memory - 11:00!! On our way to family brunch Gage bawled hysterically. On our way home, Hudson bawled hysterically. And somewhere in between Brent went from bribing our two year old with ice cream if he would come off the play structure to carrying him over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Because Hudson is two, the whole event was catastrophic in his mind. He screamed and hit and embarrassed us beyond belief.

I am thankful that each day is a new start. Now that we are "experienced parents" no one gives us newborn advice. But now the joys are that everyone gives us psychological advice on why Hudson is crying hysterically. It is his way of adjusting to the baby. In my mind, he is just two and a little person with big plans. As for me, well I hope one day to do my hair again and hey if I am going to be a real optimist - have boobs that don't feel like they have been put in a blender.

How's that for real?

Brandi

What a Great Day!!!

What a beautiful day! The sun is shining, I have had my coffee, and am enjoying a great morning at the store!!! We are happy to announce one of our favorite part-timers has returned to help us out - Welcome back Shani! Can you beleive that Nicolas is already 6 months old????

We are currently having our Mid-Summer sale and everything is 15% -75% off this week only so be sure to check it out. There is a ton of great stuff for both the mom and kids:)

I am so happy to have Brandi up on the blog. I miss her like crazy so it is a nice way to keep up with her without calling everyday like a stalker. I know she told me this when I was off but I really miss her here at the store - we have our own little marriage going on. Speaking of marriage - my rbother in law - Tyler is gettting married next week - hurrah!!!! If I have more typo's than normal (after all who has time for proofing) forgive me - I am growing my nails:)

Today, is our blockparty so Harris is waiting at the window for it ot start....a Superman slide and a fire truck - could life be anybetter for an lamost 3 year old???? He is going to wear his "Sharing is overrated" T from the store just to forewarn the rest of the kids, that YES, he is not into sharing anymore.......

Tommorrow, is Father's Day and we have big plans but I can not post yet or I will ruin the surprise.....Happy Saturday to my friends....I am happy to be back blogging soooooo liberating.

Kathryn

Ps. Thanks so much to everyone that supported my Weekend to End Cancer walk - our team of 6 raised over $16, 000 - I have inlcuded a few pic and 1 of my new niece (Me, My Sis, My Momma, and Lillian)

Hi Everyone,

This is my first official post as a mom of two! That sounds so great to say. We are all doing really well - the babes better than the parents of course! Brent and I are sleep deprived and over worked but that's the life of young parents right?

I want to thank everyone who has sent us their congrats and good wishes. I miss the store but feel like I still have my hand in the pot! I am getting updated on all of the great things that are happening and will be there for coffee real soon.

Our newest member is a total gem - touch wood. So far and I know this probably will change, but Gage is an awesome baby. He eats and sleeps and occasionally is awake looking as his new surroundings! We are very thankful for a smooth start. As well, Hudson - has taken his role as a big brother very seriously. He is a wonderful helper and full of love for his little bro! It is completely different this time around. I haven't a spare minute to educate myself on all of what I should be doing. So, I am winging it and it is working out just fine!

Today we had our pictures taken with the amazing Jodi of Gingersnaps. It felt quite chaotic so I am not sure how the pictures will turn out. I told Brent I was nervous that we didn't get too many good ones. Brent said knowing Jodi they'll all be awesome and he's probably right!

Well it's 9:30 and that means that I need to get in some sleep before my big babe is ready for his first night feeding - breastfeeding, a blog unto itself - so I better get my butt to bed. I hope that you guys will be interactive and send me any tips you have to make life easier! I would love to hear how any moms out there are combating night wakings in toddlers!

Good night and I hope that you all have a great Fathers Day weekend!

Brandi

PS - Good luck to any marathoners out there!

June 15, 2007

(Gage August Parnell - Born May 31, 2007)

IIIIIIIIIIII'MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM BACK!!!

Hi Everyone,

After a month hiatus - I am back. Our website is almost re-done and so you will be able to check us out again thru it. Where have i been - everywhere!!! Celebrating the birth of Brandi's baby - Gage, visiting my new neice Lillian, and walking in the Weekend to End Cancer are a few of the past month's highlights!!! On top of that, I have been working, running the Gompf household, playing with my 2 wonderful kids and gettingready for my brother in laws wedding - what a busy life.

The great news is Brandi too - is hopping onto this blog so there will be two of us......so keep on reading - it is bound to have all the makings of a good - minus the steamy sex scenes -ha - we are parents of 2 now and both are little....so sorry to dissapoint but the steam is few and far between but enjoy!!!!