Baby News

So yes we are expecting our third baby...August 27th.  We are excited, but the kids have been constantly talking about the little miracle in my belly, especially Gabe!  I have showed them ultrasounds on YouTube each week, so they can see how the baby is growing.  Every time I am on the computer they think I am looking at babies and then ask to see them.  A few times I have let Gabe hold the computer and choose the babies he wants to see.  The last time I did that, I left the room for a short time and when I came back I was just in time to see Gabe click on a birthing video.  Come on people...that is not helpful!  You should not publish your cho cha with a giant baby coming out of it!  Whatever happened to privacy!?  That is supposed to be a private moment between you and the few people you choose to be in the room, not the entire world! Anyway, that brings me to the conversation that Gabe later started with me...

Gabe: Is the baby going to come out of your crotch?

Me: Well, yes.  That is the plan.

Gabe: Where else would the baby come out?

Me: Well, sometimes the Dr. has to take the baby out of some mommy's tummies.  

Gabe: Do daddies and big boy brothers get to see?

Me: No, just daddies get to see the baby come out.  That is the rule at the hospital.

Gabe: Well are you going to have the baby at your hospital?

Me: Yes

Gabe: Well I want you to have him somewhere else.

Me: Why?

Gabe: Because I want to watch mommy!

Yikes!

That kid cracks me up!  He has been so funny lately. The other day I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.  He said a firefighter. Then he said on the days he wasn't fighting fires he wanted to be a monster truck driver.  Then he said that the days he wasn't driving a monster truck or fighting fires, he wanted to be a dirt bike racer.  Then he said on the days that he wasn't doing any of those things, he wanted to be a nurse like me.  I reminded him that he will have to go to college before he does any of those things because school is really important.  Then he asked me if I could come with him to college.  Of course I said sure and told him that we could have bunk beds.  He chose the top.  I told him that while he was at school I would do his laundry and make him dinner.  He said that would be great and then offered to do my laundry and cook me dinner while I was at work.  So cute.  He told me that he couldn't wait until he was done with school and we could work together.  I really should have gotten that  on video.  Just so I could remember my little boy that is growing up so fast and wiped my kiss from his cheek for the first time when I dropped him off at school (while in front of his friends).  On the up side, he still loves to snuggle!

My little Claire has been so concerned that I have not been feeling well (still). She always says, 'you not feeling good mommy?' and sometimes she will lay down next to me and say,  'I'll snuggle you.  That will make you feel better.' Her little voice is so cute.  She talks nonstop- wonder where she got that!? 

Every night before she goes to bed she needs to give her babies a kiss and a hug.  She has three baby beds in her room and once she has kissed and hugged all of her babies, they all get covered up and then she sings to them.  She is such a little mommy.  

Both of the kids still kiss and hug my belly before they go to bed.

As for Logan and I, we just got back from a wonderful visit to Colorado Springs.  We met my parents, aunt and uncle, and Grandma and Grandpa out there to watch my brother and his fellow falcons take on Mercyhurst.  Killed them the first game 8-0 and lost Saturdays game 3-2.  Tonight is the last game in regular season, but they have at least clenched a spot in the playoffs.  So excited for my little bro!  

Til next time...

New Years Resolution

So after talking with several of my coworkers and friends, I have decided that at least once a month I need to spend some time recording some moments with my kids.  Gabe is now 5 and Claire is almost 2 1/2.  Wow how time flies! I started writing some special moments down in a notebook-which I have since lost, and I can't really lose a web page, so here goes...

Gabe

-The first story, that makes me laugh every time, is not so flattering of my parenting skills, but it's too funny not to share.  I was sitting in our basement, pregnant with Claire, and Gabe (2 1/2) was lining up his cars, minding his own business.  So, I decided to catch up on some shows recorded on the DVR.  I was about 15min into the show and I notice Gabe watching the TV with me.  I instantly turned the channel and he says, "Hey! Turn that back, I want to see that girl take her clothes off!"

-OK, now for a parenting triumph!  Gabe was just over 2 and I made him a sandwich for lunch and he could have some whoppers for dessert.  He pushed his sandwich away and pulled the whoppers close because he wanted to eat them first.  I told him that he needed to eat his lunch first and then he could eat the whoppers.  He was mad about that and looked at me and pulled a whopper out of the bowl and it was on its way to his mouth when I threatened a timeout in his room (the worst kind).  He held the whopper in his little hand for about 10seconds while he thought about what I had said.  Finally, he conceded and put the whopper down and pushed the bowl away and grabbed his lunch and started eating.  Fireworks were going off inside of me-because I was so joyful, not because I felt like I was being burned from the inside out.  Consistency DOES pay off!

-I also wanted to document that Gabe wanted to marry me when he was 3 and 4.  So sweet.  Now that he is 5, he realizes that I am already married and he has moved on to his best friend's sister, Averie. We were over at their house for dinner and when we got home, her mom text me and told me that Averie and Gabe had kissed.  Averie admitted it and her brother Austin corroborated the story.  So I asked Gabe about it and he immediately looked away and down at the floor and said, "I don't remember.  I just don't remember mom." I told him he wasn't in trouble, but he still wouldn't come clean.  He is the most stubborn kid I know!

-One more about my sweet little boy and then to my precious little girl. Now, Mister Gabe is VERY picky when it comes to his food choices.  I got a call one day from his school and they were reporting that he threw up during snack time.  I was immediately ready to come and get him, but his teacher said she didn't think I needed to.  She said he ate a tater tot and his face got all red and he tried to swallow it, but instead his lunch came up.  He rarely tries anything new, but when he does we make a big deal about it.  He recently decided to try pepperoni pizza and surprise...he liked it!  We practically started a party in celebration!  So anyway, if you offer him a tater tot, he will say, "no, I am allergic to them.  I will throw up and that means I am allergic."

Claire
-My little sweetie has been having conversations with us since she was 18months old.  She has always been very verbal and sounds so grown up.  Some of her word choices make me giggle because they come out of such a tiny person.
         - I will ask her how she slept and she will say, "I had a great nap."
         -When I come home from work she will tell me, "I missed you so much.
         -She asked me for a snack and I offered fruit snacks and she said, "that'd be great." Then about           3seconds later she said, "actually...(as she takes her finger and taps it on her cheek like she is thinking    really hard about the snack choice) I'll have some apple sauce."
         -After several kisses before bedtime, she held up her hand (like talk to the hand) and said, "Awright mom, that's enough.  Now wet me get some sweep."

-She is always singing.  Every night before bed, she needs me to sing both versions of row row row your boat and twinkle twinkle (my favorite line she sings is, up a ba ba world so high).  Anytime she is sitting on the toilet doing her big job, she sings.  Last night she mashed spiderman, santa clause is coming to town and up on the house top.  "Spiderman, is coming to town and up on the house top." She sounds like the little girl from Monsters Inc. when she is in the bathroom singing.  So cute!  Gotta get that on video!

-Our little Claire is such a mommy.  I packed her rolling backpack to go somewhere and I stuffed her baby doll in the top and when she dragged it over a bump the baby cried.  She set everything down, unzipped her backpack, grabbed her baby and slowly rocked it back and forth while whispering that it was ok and shushing.  This particular baby also laughs and giggles...kind of an every other deal.  So when it laughs, she scowls and presses the button again to make it cry, then she rocks and shushes.

-One habit she has recently overcome was covering her babies up with wet washcloths.  I think this started when she saw that the washcloths I used to clean her up after dinner were the perfect size to cover her baby.  After I washed her, she would say, "this is for my baby."  I would say I had to wash it off first, so I did and then gave it to her.  From then on, she always wanted her baby covered up with a wet washcloth.  Every night before she went to sleep and even if she woke up in the middle of the night.  She was concerned that her baby's blanket wasn't washed.  So, we would 'wash' it and she would lay it over the baby's face.  So, if you came to our house you might see a bunch off dollies that looked as if they were on their way to the morgue.  She could spend hours playing with her babies, putting them to bed, rocking them and singing.

Well, that's it for now.  I'm sure I'll have tons of stories to come.  Our kids are so amazing and I can't wait to share all the quirky, silly, funny, crazy things they do.

My first photo upload...

I was just fooling around last Saturday at work and got a few ultrasound photos printed off. When I took the pictures I was just over 15weeks, so now I am just over 16weeks. The baby is fully formed and has all of his/her parts. The rest of the baby's journey consists of growing and maturing all of those organs so they will function when he/she is born. And we are still sticking with our previous decision and are waiting to find out the sex of the baby until he/she is here.

Sometimes it is hard to decipher ultrasound photos, but these are fairly clear. The first one is a profile shot- I hope I don't get yelled at when he/she is born for that- profiles are the worst right?! And the second one is looking down on the baby's head- the thing between it's legs is a hand- just to clarify that it is not a penis. Maybe we will have a little Michael Jackson dancer! Have a great day!

An EX-trordonary Wedding

I just wanted to let you all know how last weekends wedding went. A little recap...Logan was in a wedding last week and his ex-girlfriend is the groom's sister, so of course she was in the wedding party as well. I also want you to remember that I am just pregnant enough to make people wonder if I am just fat. However, I did go shopping and found a few outfits that made it blatantly clear that I was pregnant and not just fat. That made me feel better about the whole weekend because I thought I looked rather cute. So, that said I will share the evenings happenings.
It was a rainy Friday night...We went to the church and I met the groom's father and then ran off tp the restroom, as my bladder was being severely squished and I hadn't been to the bathroom in nearly an hour. Guess who is chatting it up with my husband when I return? You probably guessed it- the ex. No big deal- they haven't seen each other in awhile and were just saying hello. So the rehearsal goes well and we are off to the rehearsal dinner on a boat around Lake Minnetonka. What a fun idea except I couldn't get off the boat if I wanted to. This is a nice boat with two floors and about 10-12 tables. It comes time for dinner and guess who decides to plop her inappropriate ass at our table? You guessed it again. The entire rest of the night she was focused on having a conversation with Logan and continued to bring up events that they shared together as a couple. Making it abundantly clear that they had a relationship. Any time he got up to go get a beverage, she followed. The wedding party went up to get their gifts, and she had to stand next to Logan. How disrespectful!!! I don't know if she thought she would be a threat to me or what, but clearly he chose me to marry and have babies with. The bride and groom were upset with her when they saw that she decided to sit at our table- it wasn't just for dinner either- it was for the entire night! Someone must have said something to her later that night because the next day she avoided us like the plague.
I really thought I would feel more jealousy, but instead I felt disrespected and hurt because I thought we graduated high school and I couldn't believe that someone would go out of her way to make me feel uncomfortable. She was acting extremely juvenile and inappropriate. I was already a little uncomfortable because I didn't know anyone except Logan and the Bride and Groom. Well- hopefully I won't have to deal with her again. Even if I had a shitty time, Logan had fun with some of his college buddies and was happy to support a friend at his wedding.

Hello again!

I could start by saying that it has been a long time and that I have been too busy to write, but mostly I was just too lazy to come upstairs, sit at my computer, and think of something worth while to say. It still may not be worth while, but at least I have more energy these days. The last month and a half have been somewhat like this: Go to work, come home and lay on the couch with my best friend- Mr. Barf Bucket. This past week has been much better. I have been only sick for a couple hours in the evening instead of the entire afternoon and evening. So, things are looking up. I had another appointment last Thursday and I was able to listen to the baby's heartbeat. Our first appointment we were able to see it beat, but we didn't hear it, so it was exciting! Logan was unable to make this appointment because he was in MN for some training, but I called during the appt. and recorded the heartbeat on his voicemail. Now we can hear it anytime we want! I think hearing that sound come from my belly changed my perspective at work. I think I get more excited with the parents.
We had a neighborhood garage sale this weekend with close to 15 sales. Thursday night was for the neighborhood to do some shopping and Friday and Saturday we advertised so the rest of Ankeny could shop. Logan and I scored a stroller with big wheels- the kind you run with-for $25. We also bought a pack and play ($30) for traveling with the baby. Oh- and my mother-in-law found a baby butt wipe warmer for $5. We decided we are not above consignment items. That is probably where I will be finding most of my maternity clothes too. Things like the carseat, highchair, crib, and everyday stroller we will probably get new- just because we will be using those most often and for our other kids someday. Expanding our family will cost us loads of cash if you think about all the things we are going to need.
I was grocery shopping today and just stopped to price diapers. A pack of 48 will cost us almost $17.00. In the beginning we will be lucky if we only go through 10 diapers a day. 4-8 dirty diapers/day and 8-10 wet diapers/day. Hopefully the baby will kill two birds with one stone once in a while. We will probably end up spending $40.00-$60.00/week- just on diapers. Of course as the child gets older he/she will be voiding less, but that is one reason to start potty training at 2. This brings me to the comment that I hear a lot, "When my friends started having kids- we didn't see them near as much." Well- pricing out the cost of a baby it seems as though it is not because they were too busy, but because they didn't have the money. In conclusion- you must be rich to start a family and maintain the social life you have become accustom.

Solitaire Tournament

It is not too crazy tonight, so I decide to check for solitaire on the computer. I am so lucky! There is solitaire, free cell, and minesweeper; all of the classic computer games. I started playing solitaire and changed the options so it was scoring Vegas style and flipping every third card. This triggered a fond memory. It is the one where my four college roommates and I were all supposed to be writing a paper or doing some school related task and we would interrupt each other to have solitaire tournaments. We would all play 2 games and see who had the highest score at the end. It eventually got to 5 and 6 games before we would check each other's scores because it took more time. The things we did to put off doing our homework. I bet we would have gotten much more done if we weren't such procrastinators , but then we wouldn't have stories to tell about solitaire tourneys. I hope I never forget the silly things.

Workout Wednesdays

When I was in Junior High, we had a thing called 'Workout Wednesdays.' Basically we would take a break from whatever unit we were in, be it basketball, golf, swimming, or the ever favorite square dancing, to run circles in the gym or do some other accelerate-your-heart-rate exercise. This was my school's attempt at keeping its students fit. We also had to bring a note from our parents every month saying that we participated in activity at least three times a week- including Workout Wednesdays. Pretty lame back then, but actually a pretty good idea as now I see the Chunky Kids of America is a growing club.
Anyway- what got me on this topic is my current 'Workout Wednesdays.' Wednesdays have been a day that I have been able to make it to a workout class the most often due to my crappy work schedule. The teacher is really great in a few aspects- she kicks our ass every time, she plays great music, she has a lot of spunk, and clearly gets people to come back. Other things aren't so great...
Point A: She draws attention to you if you screw up. Sometimes I work out so hard that my brain sort of shuts down a little, sometimes I don't lift my feet high enough and I may trip, sometimes I miss hear her and I do the wrong step. Calm down and keep going- she doesn't have to point it out to everyone by saying, "Oops, let's try that again, you'll get it" as she turns around and looks directly at me, or "Let's try it again, so everyone (again as she turns around and looks at me) can move on." It's not just me, but so I turned the wrong way or I lifted a knee instead of doing a kick- RELAX or I will come up there and jam that microphone down your throat!
Point B: She is one of those instructors that is in her late 30's, early 40s, has had like three children and has this perfect little body that makes you want to throw up. Plus she has so much spunk- see what I did there...her spunk is both a positive and a negative. Her being so tiny isn't really that big of a problem, but I wanted to have three complaints and the next one drives me slightly insane.
Point C: Now, most instructors wear microphones. I have always thought that they were for the simple purpose of instructing the workout pupils on the next step and maybe giving a little shout of encouragement, but my Workout Wednesday instructor uses her microphone for her own fun-time sing-along. How can I stay focused if I keep hearing her shout, 'I'm still Jenny on the block!' (Yes, she is a white girl.)
Clearly, the things I am complaining about have not kept me from going to her class, but somebody should slip her a note to let her know how fantastically horrible her karaoke skills are!

Little trip to paradise

We had an eventful week in Florida.

Day one: We woke up at 4:00 to drive 3 hours to Kansas City to catch a 2.5 hour flight to Houston and then to 'Home Alone' run to our next 2.5 hour flight to Tampa. Talk about a sucky day of traveling! When we finally got there, we went out to eat at a Japanese Steakhouse, which was fun, but we were trying to tell the 'I barely speak English' waitress that we wanted to do Sake Bombs. She kept saying she knew what we meant, but she clearly didn't because she brought us four tall carafs of sake and four beers to pour in eight fancy beers glasses(the kind that kind of look like wine glasses). Anyway- that was a flop, but we ended up going to my old hang out, 'Raccoons' Molly and her boyfriend came with us to dinner and to the bar. It was a good start to a fabulous week.

Day two: Monday, We headed down to Cape Coral for the remainder of the week. We got ourselves organized and bought groceries for the week. We sat around in the hot tub and had a few drinks.

Day three: Tuesday, we went golfing and lost almost every ball we had. I got golf clubs for Christmas and was really excited to try them out. I think I did pretty well since I hadn't swung a club in over two years. We were planning another day of golfing, but decided to skip it. This was our night to go to the, all you can eat sushi buffet. What a truly fabulous meal!

Day four: Wednesday, we headed down to Fort Meyers Beach. Logan and I went parisailing- what a blast! We have a bunch of pictures- speaking of pictures- I am at work so I will upload some pics of this vacation later. All day in the sun made us sleepy, so we went back to the house for some, everyone's favorite college meal, mostaccoli, and a few beverages while sitting in the hot tub.

Day five: Thursday, we went fishing. We (well actually I) caught a 5 lb red fish. It was really fun to catch that crazy fish. We went home and cooked ourselves a fantastic seafood meal complete with the blue crabs we had caught in the trap throughout the week. We had nine crab, 5lbs of red fish and 4lbs of shrimp. Tasty!

Day six: Friday, it was storming, so we just sat around playing games and preparing for an afternoon of the 'century club.' Now we had been drinking the entire week to bring our alcohol tolerances up, so we were ready for such a challenge. Steph and I made the entire power hour and stuck it out until the end of the century club, but I think we missed about 10 shots or so. We all kept our beer down and still had time to sober up before we went to bed- to minimize our hangover of course. We were all acting as if we were 21 again. Such a fun game!

Day seven: Saturday was filled with game playing- because it was storming...Again- and it never rains in the winter in Florida. Anyway, so we cleaned the house and packed. Just a lazy afternoon before making the trip back to Tampa. We drove the two hours back to Brandon, where we met my sister and Cindy out for dinner. Logan, Steph and Nick all went back to my dad's house for a movie, while I hit a local bar to meet up with Molly for a post- Lightening game fest. We bowled on an arcade game- like golden tee. Anyway- it was fun and then I headed back to my dad's for a quick sleep before we had to leave for our flight.

Sunday- we flew home- well to Houston then to Kansas City and then a three hour drive home- just in time for the Super Bowl to start. Then my in-laws came over for the game and Subway. They had Gracie all week and she was so excited to see us. It was so cute- when Logan's parents were leaving, they called Gracie over to say goodbye. She looked so sad when she started toward them, but after they left, she was back to her old self because she realized she was going to get to stay home.

Well, that was my week in a large nutshell and I am really glad I wasn't working- we had 78 babies between Tuesday night and Friday night. CRAZY!!!
I think the moral to this vacation was that you are never too old to join the century club- even if you already belong!