My sweet girls.

I’m afraid Ella has fallen victim to the cough and cold monster. We’ve elevated her mattress, given her a vapor bath, and sent her through the roof with the bulb syringe…and the poor thing still sounds like she needs a prescription for anti-snoring medicine.

This isn’t the half of it though, because yesterday I got the “trifecta” of baby blessings. While feeding her a bottle in the early afternoon, as I was enjoying my DVR’d “Real Housewives of Orange County” episodes, she decided she’d had a little too much and promptly spit up on me…and I’m not just talking about a little spit-up…it covered me, my clothes, and everything in the vicinity. After I recovered from the shock, I stripped off my curdled milk clothes and dunked her in a bath. I bathed and towelled her little peanut self and placed her on the changing table, and JUST at the moment I was grabbing a diaper, she peed on me. And not just a little pee, but a GEYSER of pee.

After I recovered from the shock of THAT, I promptly called Ms. Lauren to see if this kind of behavior sounded like a stomach bug (please Lord, no) and when I hung up the phone with Lauren I took her temp (which you know makes babies feel the need to…you know) AAANNNDDD you guessed it, she pooped on me. And not just a little poo, but a MOUNTAIN of poo.

You would think that after such a collection of episodes I might need a stiff drink. Lucky for me, I had a bottle of Pinot Noir just waiting to be uncorked. And so I did. Needless to say, little E gave me a run for my money. And no, these things don’t get any easier…seasoned Mom? Ha! How about “Seasoned Purveyor of Infant Bodily Functions”?

* A phrase so hilariously coined by Auntie Em, who has seen it all…

I was just talking to Mimi today about closet space. It’s no secret we have way more clothes than closets here in the Bischoff house…and a big, beautiful walk-in closet is my biggest must-have in a future house. When we first had Charlie I kept her bins of clothes pretty well organized…labeled by age, etc…but over the past year infant odds and ends have been mixed in with my spring/summer stuff and now it’s all just a big mess of rubbermaids down there. Whenever we do end up moving, it’s going to take me DAYS, maybe WEEKS to get it all sorted out.

All of that to say, I’m sure I’ve forgotten about the surplus of smocked dresses I have hanging at the very top of my (and Charlie’s) closet (which is so high up I have to use a ladder to reach anything). I’m quite certain that there are many options for Easter. I’m definite that most of it will still fit Charlie this summer.

But then I ran across this sweet thang and it just has to come home to me:

This little ditty was a hand-me-down from Charlie’s cousin, Dali, and I’m ashamed to say this is the first time we’ve tried it on. Appropriate for football season, no??

Sunday afternoon we had our good friends the Speelman’s over for brunch. Vann made scrambled eggs with goat cheese and these AMAZING bacon and chocolate chip pancakes. Yep, I bought the mix at Whole Foods and had to try it out…totally worth it!!

Charlie had a ball with Georgia and we loved the adult conversation and laughs about our shared parent woes. It’s been awhile since we’ve entertained and it felt really good having all that fellowship around our dining room table. Definitely “food” for the heart!!Speaking of hearts, Valentine’s Day is coming up soon and you know I couldn’t let it go by without a few seasonal goodies. This little tunic and leggings set came from my favorite place, Target. On Saturday I had a few hours out of the house by myself and got completely lost there. I wandered the aisles, smelling candles and picking out fun things for a V-Day goodie bag for Charlie. Vann says that V-Day is a “Hallmark holiday”, but I think it’s just another excuse to celebrate and love on the people closest to you. I dropped a hint to Cupid that I might like the Season 1 DVD set of my newest addiction, “Glee”. How can you not feel great watching a show like that?? I’ve already downloaded both volumes of music on my ipod, now I just need the DVD’s to pop in when I’m feeling like I need a little Mr. Schuester fix!

Charlie started off her day in some vintage Oilily. The dress and top are both from eBay, and the tights were a hand-me-down from her cousin Dali. Considering that Oilily as we know it is no longer (bankruptcy, what a crying shame!), I am always scouring for good finds from lines past. This is from the “Winter Bouquet” line, which I believe was from 2003. Love the bubble hem!!

I’m afraid our little point and shoot hasn’t gotten much action since the Nikon D40 came along. These pictures never made it on the blog at the time, so I apologize for the mish-mash. They were all taken before Christmas, and the one at the bottom I especially love because Charlie is wearing Hartstrings. I bought this outfit at the outlets in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee…I just adore Hartstrings!!

I say it all the time, but God really hit it out of the ballpark by blessing us with such amazing neighbors! Earlier this week Ms. Jill offered to lend a hand with the girls while Vann went on a business trip, so I took her up on it and left Ella in her capable hands tonight while I got Charlie down.

I was in major need of some company, so I asked her if we could come early and hang out for a little bit…and we had the best time! Ms. Jill takes care of her little granddaughter during the week and has tons of toys that Charlie was all too happy to play with. I got to sit and drink some coffee while Ms. Jill held Ella. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

After Charlie went to bed, I actually got to sit and have a beer.

*Sigh*

This Product Red Babygap sweatsuit was one I picked up from a consignment sale last year. I actually wanted this when Charlie was Ella’s age, but never ended up getting it. It says Ado(red) on the back of the pants. Cute, huh? This is probably the closest Charlie will ever come to Juicy Couture sweats…

We’ve spent a lot of time indoors this week, due to my being sick. Needless to say, I’ve had to be creative to keep Charlie’s attention. I knew it would be a good idea to stockpile some of her Christmas gifts and break them out at a later date! Let’s just say we got a lot of use out of her Crayola “Color Wonder” markers and a Target brand cupcake set with a mixing bowl and chocolate and vanilla “cupcake mix”…