Li'l Grippers

What we've been up to

2011-10-24T15:40:00.000-06:00

We've had a couple of busy months, and I wanted to catch up before things get more crazy (because I KNOW they will).

Addie had a birthday! My little princess turned 6 in August. She is such a joy, and such a challenge. With every ounce of sweet comes an equal ounce of sass. This includes stomping (literally) off and rolling eyes and TONE! But she's also the best helper I could ask for, she watches out for her brothers, and she is easily the most excited to have a baby sister come into our family. This may be because I promised she could have a bunk bed only if she had a sister to share it with. I keep reminding her that this is easily 5 years away, but she's confident that she's getting the coveted double decker :) I love this girl and am grateful for being her mom.

Addie also started 1st grade this year. We are soooo lucky to live one house away from the school walkway, and we get to walk to school nearly every day with great friends. Here she is with Emily on the first day of school. Herding little boys and excited girls to school was not the most conducive to picture taking, so I failed a little on the first day pics. Oh, well.

Not the best pic (goofy look) but Addie's lost her two bottom teeth. Her first was the night before her dentist appt, and she was a total trooper! I was determined that the dentist would not be involved in that milestone, so we worked hard all week to make sure that didn't happen. Turns out that tying floss around the tooth and giving it a good yank up works great! We're two for two.

And Max also started school. He doesn't look too enthusiastic, but he truly loves going to school. My little man that refuses to acknowledge me teaching him anything can now write his name and is starting to identify letter sounds in words, so I am totally loving preschool.

Poor Hudson wants to do EVERYTHING Max does. Including carrying a backpack and going to school. Don't worry, I've since upgraded his backpack to a cool Buzz Lightyear backpack instead of a pink hand-me-down from his sister.

And Max had a birthday, too! He's now a big 4 year old, and he takes this responsibility very seriously. I love this sweet little man, and he is easily my most cuddly and loving child. That means he's also the most tender-hearted, so he has his fair share of crying. He tolerates Hudson so well, the taking things away and the beating up and the tantrums. In turn, Hudson thinks the world of Max. Good thing :)

One of the things that have kept us very busy is the work we've been doing/having done on our house. The biggest and best thus far is changing our backyard from a trashy dump to a great place to be.

We started out with this...

and this...

and went thru this...

and this...

to this...

and this...

and finally THIS...

and THIS!!

Sorry for all the patio pics, but it's something long desired. Even in Milwaukee, we dreamed of extending our patio into something great to hang out on but never did anything about it. If you need concrete work done, I know the man to use!!

I know I'm a little early, but we had Trunk or Treat last weekend so I'll put up pics of that so I'm current for the next time I decide to catch up my blog.

Man, did we luck out! All three kiddos were good with costumes we already had, so I just had to supplement them a little and we were good!

Captain America was a hit, and all I had to do was buy the shield.

With a Scooby-doo costume in his hand at WalMart, Hudson decided to be the dinosaur we had at home. I promised a little face painting, and we were golden!

You should've seen the costume list this girl came up with, most that needed to be purchased. She ended up deciding on a witch, again because of the face paint! Left over wig from Daphne, tights and a broom and she was set!

And then Sunday was the Primary Program so I had to capture these cuties before church.

Better pic, but Hudson still had his mouth open showing the googly-eye he was chewing on. Stinker! They did so well in the program, Addie singing her heart out and Max walking confidently to the microphone to recite his parts. It was great! I forgot how easy church could be when I only had one child crawling onto my disappearing lap and Corey sitting next to me again. Sigh!

Speaking of disappearing laps, I am down to 5 weeks left and can hardly wait! I don't have a belly pic for you, but will probably get around to taking one before she makes her appearance -- right around Thanksgiving! Hooray!

Summer Fun

2011-08-26T21:23:00.000-06:00

We have had quite the summer, and I hardly know where to begin. I guess if I blogged more often, I wouldn't have to think this hard. Oh, well, here's to lofty goals.

I feel like we've had a crazy summer, but that may just be because I'm always on the go even if it's just to the grocery store. Life with three busy kids is leaving me a little breathless.

Our first trip of the summer took us to Kansas City, MO. No real reason except a baseball game, and church history sites. We had such a good time, even though it was H-O-T!!! We had awesome seats for the game, about 8 rows up on the 3rd baseline. We were able to stand about 1/2 an inning before beating it for the shade. 100* plus major humidity nearly did us in. Good thing there was a splash park for kids, and shade in the very, very top of the stadium. We spent most of the game wandering around and spending a fortune on cold drinks and slushies, all in the name of baseball.

I painted up the kids, Corey rounded up all his Twins hats, and we were blessed with a ball from batting practice (mainly because Addie turned on the Twins charm for the visiting team). Corey was elated!

Did I mention the heat? Poor Max is a head sweater, and we were all dying.

Even though he was sick on this trip (his temp after the game was 102* poor kid) he was a total trooper.

Just to prove I was there, supporting the visiting team!

Corey was in his element, loving the game and loving traveling.

We also visited Liberty Jail and Adam-ondi-ahman. The jail was interesting, but I can't describe the spirit we felt walking on hallowed grounds at the gathering spot, knowing that Christ will walk where I was standing. And we almost skipped it knowing there wasn't much there, not even a visitor's center. If you have the chance, GO THERE!

All the fam, in front of the jail replica.

Doesn't look like much, but Adam-ondi-ahmen was amazing!

Here we are visiting the Renaissance Fair. We had a good time trying new things, and people watching was great fun with that group.

Yes, that is Kathy riding an elephant! Max was with her, and I was also riding with Hudson. Those things are BIG!!

Addie on the javelin horse.

And, of course, the shows! Love the jousting knights, but the theatrics were a bit much. That's okay, I was munching on a turkey leg so I didn't mind.

We visited family in Minnesota, and had a wonderful time. Possibly the best family visit we've had! No one got sick, was too crabby, or misbehaved (too much). I loved it!

We actually had a little alone time with Hudson before heading out, because Kathy was going to MN the week before us and asked if she could take Addie and Max with her for an early visit. It was strange only having one child again, but by the end of the week we all -- including Hudson -- were ready to be one big family again.

Here's Max at Grandma Mickey's house. She has the best toys for the grandkids!

Cousin Sully is a major baseball player, even made the allstar team for MN! Look at that form!

Hudson taking in all the baseball fun.

Corey and his Grandma Mickey, with Rhonda loving on Addie.

Addie with one of her all time favorite people!! Auntie Ra-Ra was so fun to be with!

One of the many friends of the Wood girls, Tanner was a major hit with all three kiddos!

Look at a couple of my men! I just love them!!

Corey took Sully to a Twins game while we were there, they had soooo much fun!

Sully is the youngest, with two older sisters, so he loved stepping in as the 'older brother' for the kids. And he treats them sooo well, tolerating their constant need for attention and wrestling!

But he showed them a thing or two, and wasn't taken advantage of too much. We love you, Sully!

One of our major highlights was hanging out with our good friends at their neighborhood pool... about twice a week the whole summer long! And when I say hanging out, I mean from 10:00-4:00, snacking, potty runs, nap time, impromptu swimming lessons, sunscreen sunscreen sunscreen, and more sunscreen!! Every once in a while I would hear comments from Corey like, "I wish I could hang out at the pool all day long!" Any of you that have multiple children know that going to the pool with six kids ages six yrs to six months spread between only two mothers is anything but a relaxing day at the pool, but we had a great summer, thanks Desi!

Here's Addie, contemplating jumping off the diving board into the arms of the swim instructor that was playing with the kids in her off time (what a sweetie!)

And she had to be helped the whole way down, holding on for dear life to Desi's fingers while I held the baby and took pics.

Hudson double-fisting the tootsie pops. Did I mention that Desi is the snack queen?

Our summer trip to Utah was cancelled, so we took our own little Colorado stay-cation and had a ball. Corey got in a couple rounds of golf, we went to a baseball game, hit up Water World, then went camping with the Rogers for a couple days. Most relaxing vacation (aside from the work of camping) we've ever taken!

Hud and Dad hanging at the baseball park. Love the playground they've set up for the young ones! Note Corey's lack of facial hair? He's back in the Bishopric. Oh, well. They've released me from YW Pres, so I'm awaiting my next calling (prob in Primary, I assume).

Kiddos staying out of trouble (kind of). Mordecai, Emily, and Hudson wondering what Addie and Max were up to in the tent.

Soooo sweet! Actually caught the boys being nice to each other a couple times for pictures :)

Even these two! Max and Mordecai showing the love.

Mike and Emily reviewing their fun pics!

Dad and Addie having a little father/daughter chat.

These two love each other!!

So do these two!! Not the best picture of Ruby, especially since she was a total trooper on this trip (as far as a six month old goes). She's such a beauty, must come from her mama!

Tough man guarding the peach cobbler, shooing off the millions of flies we shared our campsite with.

Me in all my prego glory! Not my best presentation, but this was after a sleepless night listening to a skunk munch on peanuts half the night, not three feet from our tent door.

I can't tell you how FILTHY this kid got!! You should've seen the bathwater when we got home, Oi!

And Emily was one of the clean ones!

Last but not least, this has been a summer of accomplishments! Addie and Max have shed their training wheels, Addie lost two teeth in one month (the second was tonight), we found out we are having a baby GIRL, and Hudson is potty trained!! Maybe trained is a bit strong, but this is day three and his two accidents were due to being left in a pull up. He's waking up dry and even accomplished #2 without my prompting him to remember! Wish us luck, I could use a few months diaper-free before starting over again.

A couple vids of the kids, then I'm signing off. I may only blog once in awhile, but I make up for it in loooonnnnnnggggggggggggggg posts!!

"This is for you, Jerry!" Addie loves our neighbors, and Jerry wanted to see her riding her bike like a big girl. Hud is the best scooter-er (is that a word?) we've had. Good thing we have a tolerant daddy that likes taking all three on walks/rides in the park behind our house. They get lots of practice!

We have since upgraded Max's bike, as this was just too small. Poor kid had to pedal twice as fast as Addie just to stay upright. Now he's cruising on a Spider-man 16 incher.

No Excuses

2011-06-14T20:45:00.000-06:00

I have no excuses, I have quit blogging because it's too hard. Too hard to take the time, too hard to put scrambled thoughts into interesting stories. Mostly, it's too hard getting alone time at the computer that isn't at the end of an exhausting day where I can barely pull myself off the couch to accomplish the many things I didn't get to that day that need to get done. And, let's face it, the more time I let go by the easier it is to decide it's not important.

I hardly know where to begin. Life is great in Colorado. We had a wonderfully mild winter, enough snow that the kids were able to enjoy it, but nowhere near the amount that would keep us homebound for weeks at a time. Corey is enjoying his job, and Kathy (Corey's mom who is living with us) has finished school and found a job that she enjoys as well. Addie just finished kindergarten, and she absolutely LOVED IT!!! She's been done for two weeks, and is already crying to have the summer over so she can start 1st grade. She is a proficient reader, something in her nature for certain because we did not do anything amazing to get her to where she is. She also loves math, and is in the top of her class in testing. For being one of the youngest in class, she has done amazingly well. We are so proud!

Max took a preschool class this year, and did better than I expected. He is a totally different kid than Addie. Where Addie loves to please, Max loves to do the things he chooses and will totally shut off if he suspects you are trying to teach him something he doesn't really want to learn. He is more physically capable than his sister, and kicks her butt on bike rides! He is a terror on the dirt hills, and has NO fear. One of the things he surprised me with is his total love of puzzles! It's a great quiet time activity for him, because nothing else will hold his attention like a puzzle. He is by far my most loving child, and is soft hearted and thoughtful. I love this kiddo so much and wish I had more alone time devoted to him. I sort of feel like he was ripped off having such a short time being the youngest.

And that brings me to Hudson. Oh, Hudson! What a kid!! He has put me through more craziness than the other two times 10! I should have know he'd be a handful by the way he started out, doing things his own way (stinking breech baby!). But in all the chaos, he is such a little smartie! Pretty sure he is going to be an engineer or something. He is always trying to figure things out, understand things, or be in the middle of everything. While this includes curiosity on how to remove his diaper and streak around the house, and draw all over my freshly painted livingroom just to express his artistic side, I am sure he will end up curing cancer or ending world hunger. As long as he wants to do something, there is no stopping him! And he loves loves LOVES his brother and sister!! It's so fun to see them playing together, or sharing toys (which happens on occasion), or to hear Hudson ask over and over again where Addie or Max is if they aren't in sight. He is a crazy ball full of energy, and is happiest in the great outdoors. He could be out and about all day long, and he'd start yelling about not going home once he recognized that's where we were headed. A little tiring, but fun none the less. He's also my child that has enjoyed Children's Hospital three times in the past year for stitches (the last time didn't quite warrent stitches, but he scarred more than the first two times). He keeps me on my toes, and is a MAJOR mama's boy (which I love sometimes and can't stand other times). I love him and enjoy every new thing he learns (except how to unlock the front door and escape).

And last, but not least I'm sure, we are expecting baby number 4 right after Thanksgiving. Strangely, I was just SURE that we needed this child, but I am more nervous for this one than any of the others. I don't know if it's that I worry for the baby's health, or if I feel like our family may explode with one more responsibility, or if I just feel inadequate in my mothering skills and think I'll just be screwing up more little minds. Whatever, it's happenning. And Corey wants to be surprised again, so I may have nothing to announce till the baby is here (not that I know now, I have 3 more weeks before I find out myself). The one thing that I can say with much joy in my heart is that I only have ONE baby in there, and the possibility of twins in this family has just gone to zero since this will be our last child.

Enough jabbering, enjoy the pics.

Aren't they sweet?

Addie's last dance class

Dance recital in March

Utah trip, first time to Temple Square

Reflection Pool

Friend's birthday party, enjoying a cupcake

Check out his cool ear trick!

Cotton candy heaven

Addie with Ms. Padilla, last day of school

School buddies

Hudson LOVES the scooter

Bike ride

Cousin Sophie came for a visit

Addie got a ball at the Twins game in Kansas City

It was 100* and soooo humid. Max was a little miserable!

Even though he was sick, I got a sweet smile out of this kid

Visiting Liberty Jail

Adam-Ondi-Ahman

I'm not as pregnant as I look here, blame it on the BBQ?

Renaissance Festival, checking out the SkyChairs

Yes, we were riding elephants

As good as it gets

2010-12-19T21:49:00.037-07:00

So I have been soooo terribly busy, and have been working on our house instead of the computer lately that I have been out of touch. And I don't have much time now, so here are just a bunch of pictures from the last, er, three months! Enjoy!!

Did the pumpkin patch, riding the tractor.

Hudson loving his independence

Max loving his fruit snacks

Addie being silly, like always

Busy pushing her brothers around

Max rooting for his dad's favorite team

I just love this kid!! Even if he is three and a willful one at that!

Finally, a freshly painted house. Bye bye peeling paint!! And, yes, Colorado does have these beautiful blue skies nearly EVERY DAY!!

Hudson, stitches round two! This time he fell into the hymn book holder about 42 seconds after arriving at church. Blood everywhere!

Halloween with the kiddos. Addie was Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, for the princess challenged), Max was Captain America (for this pic at least), and Hudson was a dinosaur, but we didn't get a SINGLE picture! Thank goodness for skeleton jammies.

Was worried about the thin costume, so I made this awesome cape! It was double lined fleece with a pointed hood, just like Aurora had. Too bad Halloween was like 70 degrees and did us no good! Cute cape, though!!

Max was Spiderman for preschool. The best part of the day was the rubber spider he got in his goodie bag!

Here he is with his class, Spiderman to the right

Menacing, isn't he?

Our yard is a fraction of what we had in Milwaukee, so leaf cleanup was a breeze!

Corey is so patient!

Our one and only snow this season. Did I mention we've moved to God's country? Just sayin'...

Addie and Max enjoying the fun.

Addie's sassy new haircut. We're growing out her bangs, and losing some length to avoid some of the morning fights over combing through the snarls.

Max really doesn't like having his picture taken. Most pics of him are when he is distracted, otherwise he's running away in a blur! A rare treasure...

Sure, he looks sweet. But this kid will be the DEATH of me!! He fears nothing, doesn't learn when something hurts or causes damage. Oy!

Of course, Santa came to town. Here's Max asking for all sorts of superhero stuff!

Addie probably wanting something to do with princesses.

And convincing Santa she's been good, regardless of what Mom and Dad say!

The ONLY way Hudson would get near this guy, with Mom being the buffer.

Max and Hudson decorating cookies at Max's preschool party.

Enjoying just the frosting. We had soggy cookies at the end, because they were sucked on over and over again, until the frosting on his plate of decorations was all used up! Weird kid!

I don't care if he's weird, I love him to pieces!

This one, too! Even though he's trouble.

Good thing he's CUTE!

There you have it, the Grips for the last three months! Hopefully I'll get better, but for now this will have to do.

Birthdays

2010-09-20T21:34:00.021-06:00

We had a very busy season of birthdays, and I didn't want to blog until it was finally over. This has been an exhausting month!!! Addie's birthday is the end of August, but we were in Minnesota visiting family the week before so we celebrated with them. Then we had to do something once we got home and actually had her birthday. But her special day was also the first day of school, and I hadn't been organized enough to schedule a birthday party with friends, so we decided to wait a couple weeks and combine parties with Max as his birthday is the end of September. That was a day of total chaos and fun!! What great people we've become friends with! And, to finally fulfill a promise made months ago, tonight we graced Chuck E. Cheese's with our lofty presence.

Now, the children are sleeping peacefully, and I don't have to worry about another birthday for nearly three whole weeks!! Corey's mom is turning 49 (or so) in October, then his dad turns an unmentionable number (tee hee hee!) the first of November. We also have a nephew and uncle mixed in there, didn't talk about the few nieces' that came and went, and then comes my day of fun followed by Christmas. Whew!!

After all that, here are the pictures to prove our month of total fun!

In Minnesota, lovingly enjoying her first (of many) Polly Pocket princess

A rare show of affection to someone other than his mama, Hudson is warming up to cousin Sophie

This kid LOVES to dress up! As long as it's something cool, like a real live Space Ranger.

Or the Hulk! Here's the only real cake I made this season. Aren't my kids darling?

Back home, at the beginning of our fun party. This is a common view of Hudson. Dumping the contents of whatever is within his reach onto the table, floor, over the balcony... whatever pleases him. Good thing he's cute!

Planning a party for kids ranging from two to six years old is a little stressful, especially since that meant there would be plenty of adults to entertain as well. I thought a pinata would be a fun crowd pleaser. I was right!

She's got a great arm, but this thing outlasted 10 kids and several hits from Dad before giving up it's bounty

Even this guy got his share, the candy was everywhere!

Cupcake time, every girl's favorite time of day!

I made spiderman webbed cupcakes for Max, and I really wanted to get the right red and blue. We're still seeing the food coloring coming out of these kids.

PRESENTS!!!!

Corey had to make sure part of Max's dress ups included a cool football helmet and jersey

How could you tell this face "No!"

My tough guys

I love this picture. It is Addie to a tee! Has to be involved in everything fun, even if the ring on her finger clashes with the helmet head she sported for the rest of the day.

The very best idea we had was to meet at Chuck E. Cheese's at 4:00 on a Monday. It was quiet, still clean, the staff must have just clocked in because they were all very accommodating and pleasant... not what I had dreaded.

A typical view of Grandma, JACKPOT!

And the final present opening! Trying to replace a night time vise with a cool pillow to snuggle. I'll let you know tomorrow if it works...

And I've started sewing!! I made superhero capes for my super kids, and I'm pretty proud of them. I also made Addie a dress, but made it for next year as we have a great friend that has loads of beautiful hand-me-downs she blesses us with so there is no need for now.

How cool is this?! Halloween is taken care of, thanks WalMart!

Happy Birthday, to my lovely kiddos! I love you so very much, and hope you have a great year!

The time has come...

2010-09-08T11:57:00.006-06:00

My little boy is officially a big boy! This summer has brought much change in this kid, not the least of which is underwear!! And yesterday, he started school. Tiny tots, actually, as kindergarten is at least two years away (or three if we decide to hold him so he's not literally the youngest in the class). I was nervous, because this kid has will! If he wants to do something, nothing will stop him. And vise versa, big time! So the morning of bathing all three kids, packing backpacks, running to the doctor to get his immunization record (that I didn't realise I needed till the night before), and feeding the kiddos McD's because I have a 4 minute grace period between when I can drop Addie off and when I need to get Max to school, was a little chaotic! We had a successful potty break before dropping him off, but I found out my camera battery was dead as I was trying to take his first day of school photo! Thankfully, it doesn't really matter whether it was before or after class, so I got some cute ones at the end.

Here he is, looking like a big kid. All the kids sat quietly in their chairs waiting for parents to tap them on their heads before getting up for backpacks and hugs (I was impressed)!

Look at this big boy!! Picking his nose, I think. Isn't he sweet?

Had to run up and down the wheelchair ramp four hundred and sixty-seven times before he was ready to go. I love this little man so much, and I'm so thrilled with his excitement for this new adventure.

Two down, no tears!! I must be a heartless mom, but I love to see my kids growing up and loving the experience!

Back in business!

2010-07-29T09:51:00.032-06:00

Finally have a computer, now to get back into the routine of things. Not much has happened in our life since the last post, except we finally sold our home in Milwaukee. Also, Corey's mom has moved in with us -- giving the kids an opportunity to develop a better relationship with Grandma Kathy. She is going to school in the mornings, so she gets some breaks from the chaos. And we get along very well, so there is little to no strain. Other than that, life goes on like always.

(note the superhero undies)

What am I talking about?! The biggest change for us is that MAX IS POTTYTRAINED!!!!! What a relief!! Although there are still accidents when we are out, he is nearly perfect at home. Pullups were killing us, because he just used them like a diaper. But when we got brave and committed to only underwear, the heavens opened and we finally had success! Even better, he prefers to go by himself. Addie called me to help for at least the first YEAR, so this is a major blessing.

Addie started kindergarten (again) and is loving it. I love it, too! Her school is just behind our house, so we all walk there in less time it takes to get out the door. Max will be starting a 'tiny tots' twice a week, but that can't come soon enough for the poor boy. Dropping Addie off is heartbreaking for a little boy who wants to go to school himself. Next week big man!

Hudson is a maniac, and has the longest reach of any baby I've seen. This kid gets into EVERYTHING!!! He just had a checkup, and even though his weight is in the 40% it's dropped off from 70% so he's on a high-calorie diet! My kid, isn't that wierd? Also, he has a verified 'outie' as the doc poked around his button. He has to do everything differently!

Enough dribble, here are some pictures (since I haven't put any up in the last 4 months or so)

Addie loves picking wildflowers, and is a handful of will!

Swimming in Utah and playing at the zoo in Denver

Funny girl drawing on the back deck... and holding hands with her new friend (the boy, Hayden!)

Loving an ice cream

How can you not love this face?! Especially the drip off the chin... priceless!

Hanging out in Colorado Springs, checking out the airforce and Garden of the Gods

We love visitors, Grandpa is one of our favorites! Dad playing fort when it got too hot for hiking.

On we go, troops!!!

My funny fella, walking all over the place (usually trying to hunt me down). And enjoying his favorite nu-tritious meal (good thing he needs the calories).

This kid know what he likes!! And doesn't!

And DOES!!

Guess we're in hail country, praying for a new roof!!!

Proof that I actually exist (usually behind the camera, this lovely shot thanks to Addie). This must be where Hudson gets his forked tongue!

All in all, we're doing well. Corey continues to enjoy his job, I continue to lose my mind, and the kids continue to surprise and delight us!! What more could we ask for?!

Missing computer

2010-06-20T23:13:00.002-06:00

As my life settles down, my computer dies. Posting from my iPod is more difficult than I've wanted to bother with. But too much time has passed since my last post and I'm ashamed.

Life has been crazy, but I'm learning that this is the definition of life. Where to start...? Just got back from an impromptu trip to Utah with just the kids. I hate road trips. I especially can't enjoy them while juggling 3 little ones for 9 hours each way. Good thing the kids were wonderful. Addie is SOoooo ready for kindergarten! I can't keep up with her inquisitive nature, and she need exposure to kids her age in the neighborhood. Plus, I need some alone(ish) time with Max. He is so sweet, and his speech is getting better so his temper is getting better, too. Our year has been so full of change that I haven't been able to tackle pottytraining yet, but hope to hit it hard this week. My mom is coming to visit, but we just got back from visiting her last week so I won't feel bad about not entertaining while camping out in the bathroom. I have a week and a half before our next road trip (back to Utah) so wish us luck on going down to one child in diapers!! And that leaves Hudson. What a character! He started walking (kind of) on his birthday, but mastered it while Corey's mom was in town. What a treat! The worst part of living far from family is that milestones are never witnessed by those that really matter. Hudson is also starting to talk, way earlier than even Addie. He is also my naughty boy, knowingly looking at me from over his shoulder while doing something I'm yelling at him "no!" for. But he's smart. And I love him to pieces! Corey loves his job, and I love our house, and I'm running out of batteries so I'll sign off.

So lame

2010-03-16T23:03:00.005-06:00

Spent the evening catching up on blogs that I haven't looked at in weeks!! That's the ticket, wait awhile, then there's a plethera (sp?) to indulge in.

Sort of gave me the fever, so I'm at it again

Here's our little update...

We're buying a house!!

After two long months of looking, we found just (about) what we're looking for. We traded in the big yard on Vogel for a small lot with tons of inside square footage (our only concession). And we close next Thursday, so we are very excited.

Very excited to get our things from Milwaukee, very excited to sleep on our nice king-sized mattress (hate hate hate the flimsy queen we're sleeping on here at the rental, plus the springs are pretty much shot on my side so I'll say hasta la vista, baby to stiff body in the mornings), very excited to have the kids' bikes to play in the lovely weather we've been blessed with here, and very excited to have my kitchen things back, especially my knives! Is that dumb? I don't think so....

Here's a couple pics, but will surely be adding more when we move in. Did I mention this place has a hot tub?! Hope it's not a clunker!

From the outside, sorry I didn't feel like running across the street for a better picture

How am I going to paint these second story walls?? Better buy a bigger ladder, I guess, cause beige doesn't cut it in my world!

Kinda dumb, but I'm really excited about this garage. It's 2 1/2 car, so there's room on the side for storage. Plus, the cabinets were redone inside, so the old ones were repurposed as storage in the garage (and in the unfinished basement) instead of being trashed!! Here's Max, looking for treasures!

I can't wait!

The Kids

2010-02-12T21:55:00.007-07:00

Here's a little update on our little grippers

Addie is forever and always into dressing up. She has always loved clothes, whether they are for her or someone else. I can even get away with giving her clothes for Christmas that I bought on clearance for the next season because she loves them so much.

She misses school SOOOO much (almost as much as her mama does). Because of this, our days are long and full of drama. We are getting better at making it to the playgroup in our new ward, and making new friends. And this helps. But, since she's a 4 year old girl, she's always on the cusp of another crying jag. Limbo is a terrible place for her, because I don't want to commit to any classes (dance, gymnastics, music... whatever) until we know where we will be living. We pray every day for a sense of permanence.

Max. Oh, Max. Mad Max. It's so hard to remember that he's still, in a sense, a baby. I know I thought Addie was a baby at 2 1/2. But with a little brother that is progressing so quickly, and a body the size of a 4 year old, we expect so much of him. He is such a sweet little man, and loves to give kisses and hugs. But his speech is still behind (but progressing), so his temper flares when we don't understand or give in to his demands. He is a funny little guy, and he LOVES his baby brother. If he notices that Hudson isn't around, he starts calling, "Baby! Baby!!!" until I tell him where he is. Usually he's napping, and I have to make sure Max doesn't run into his room to wake him up to kiss and love him. Hudson loves him too, as Max will let him crawl all over him and drool on his face and pull on his ears or nose. With "Baby," Max has patience to spare. That kid! He loves to copy Addie, too. Good when Addie is good, but BAD when she's not acting her best. This is a pic of what I found right after breakfast one morning. See the problem?

I love this kid, even though he's a handful, armful, and full body workout!! He's strong!

Hudman standing on his own after a late-night bender. Trying to find the toilet to take a leak.
(Nice, Dad!)

Hudson and his dad took this latest Vikings loss very hard. In fact, his face stayed like this for three days after Favre's interception. (Kinda hard to tell, but he's yelling, not happy) His dad nearly punched a hole in the bedroom ceiling of the rental house, if it wasn't for that darn deposit money. Anger management classes may be on the horizon, family discount perhaps?

He is getting SOOO big!! He loves to play games with Mama, and thinks I'm the best comic around. He started crawling right when we moved, and he's very curious. Often, I have to go find him when I realise he's not anywhere close. He pulls himself up constantly, and has started standing unassisted for a couple seconds before falling. Of course, he couldn't roll over until a couple days ago. So funny to watch, he'd just flop his feet on the floor as loudly as possible so that I'd come and rescue him. What is it with my kids and their funny development?!

Here are my sweet boys loving each other's company...

Red Rocks

2010-01-24T16:46:00.020-07:00

Okay, this is mainly for you Mike (Corey's dad). I guess if Grandpa is complaining about lack of pictures, I need to get back on it.

Yesterday we had a great day. I went out in the morning with our realtor to look at more houses, then came home to find a house full of people ready to go exploring. I had read online about a place called Dinasour Ridge, not far from here. Seemed to be a good place to take the kids on a nice day (51* yesterday), so we headed out. CLOSED!! There were tears, and drama, but we were right next to Red Rocks, a concert ampitheater that I had visited years ago (the only other time I'd spent time in Colorado). They keep it open for visitors, so we went exploring.

Here's what we found...

See the building built right into the rock? COOL!! Corey doing Daddy duty, it was a steep hill!

People practicing a hula-hoop (I'm not joking) routine, while others were doing laps up and down the bleechers.

a little out of order, heading up the hill. Outside the ampitheater

and up, and up, and up....

A view from the road

Max loving being on stage!!

Imagine sitting between these HUGE rocks for an awesome concert!!!

Corey and Addie went to to very top, Max wasn't interested

A view from the top. My sweet kids

Boy howdy, Grandpa, if this doesn't make you want to come visit I don't know what would. See you soon!!!

Aren't I lucky?!

2010-01-12T09:14:00.003-07:00

Mommy's little helper...

I made it nearly all day without having to feed Hudson, until he rejected his dinner and made it hard for Addie to keep feeding him. I can't believe how much time I had on my hands. Not only was she making him happy, but she was too busy to be asking me for something to eat, do, watch, or talk about. Man, she's exhausting!

Here's another of Hudson's new tricks...

He has started wandering into the kids' room where all the toys are, and he'll play forever!! Or at least 20 minutes before he starts whining for me. It's great!!

And this is the only footage I could get of Max.

Corey's really enjoying his new job, but I don't have any footage of that for you. We're busy looking for a new home, and getting to know our new city. Life is interesting, with the kids getting used to the new changes, and with everyone finally getting healthy again (Hudson's got the last of the boogers). Hopefully we're on the upswing.

In case you didn't know....

2010-01-03T20:57:00.002-07:00

WOW!! Has this been a crazy year! I have precious little time for the computer lately, so I will just do a quick post to get rolling again.

Where to start... many of you know this, but I will just lay out the timeline of our VERY interesting year (2009).

March- Corey and I planned our Hawaii trip right before finding out we were expecting, so I enjoyed the trip while 35 weeks pregnant. While in Hawaii, we each received messages that requested an appointment with our Stake President as soon as we were back in town. So, the day after we came home, we were sitting in the Stake President's office for the third time in 5 years.

April- Two weeks later, Corey was sustained as the Bishop of our newly split ward. YIKES! Oh, yeah, we'd just found out Hudson was breech and I'd have to have a C-section (bummer).

The following week, Corey was laid off from his job. Pretty crummy, except that meant he'd be home the whole time I was recovering. Thankfully, he was blessed with a good severance package, so we had some time. Good news for our kids!! And for me. I was able to adjust to his Bishop time requirements easily because I had him around all day.

June- We enjoyed a nice spring and beginning of summer with our daddy, and about the time I was getting sick of having him around 24/7, he took a contract job at a local bank while still looking for something permanent.

November- After having a rough time with our kids while traveling last Christmas, we declared that we wouldn't be traveling for Christmas this year. Because of this, we planned a week over Thanksgiving to be in Minnesota. The day we left for our trip, Corey received an offer for a great job in Colorado. Thank goodness!!

December- Corey's job is to start January 4th, so he was going to hit the road on the 1st and I'd stay back to get the house sold. Not ideal. So, when Corey found a furnished house to rent... month to month... 4 miles from his work, we jumped on it! Christmas was wonderful, I loved being in our own home -- for the first time in our marriage -- and I loved ripping Christmas down as soon as the kids were in bed so we could get our house ready for showings. I'm sure our neighbors thought we were a couple of scrooges, as our Christmas tree was on the curb the morning after Christmas!

Ha ha, good times. Now we were on a countdown. We decided to take off New Year's Eve, so we'd have 3 days travel if needed. We had our carpet replaced on Tuesday, and were trying to wrap up all the packing on Wednesday so we could take off Thursday before noon so we could make it to Omaha (8 hrs away) Thursday night. Side note, this is tithing settlement time, so much of Corey's time is dedicated to this. This Wednesday was the last chance ward members would have to meet with Corey, so I was left to fend for myself. The kids were not cooperating, and I was just trying to make it to bedtime so I could get things done after tucking them away. After yelling at Max for the third time for getting out of bed, I was at my wits end when Addie came out crying. I found her covered in vomit and shaking. Max was standing next to her, and started choking. Remembering the new carpet, I whirled him into the bathroom and make it just in time for him to hurl all over the floor. I spent the rest of the night running in to catch Addie continually throwing up into her little bucket, and if Max was awake while she was doing this, he happily joined in... in his own bucket. Did I mention that I've NEVER had vomiting kids?!? Boy, was I nervous for our drive. Fortunately, we arrived in Omaha shortly before 11pm without incident.

Too bad our luck didn't hold. The next day, while driving through Nebraska, we stopped for gas and I needed to feed Hudson his cereal. The gas station had a Subway attached, so we bought a couple chocolate milks for the kids so I wouldn't feel too guilty sitting at their table with kids running around like crazy. I took Addie to the bathroom, then mixed Hudson's cereal. As I started feeding him, Corey noticed that Max was leaking out of his diaper. Aargh!! Of course, this station didn't have a diaper changing table, so I took him out to my car. We were packed to the rim, so my seat behind the wheel was the only open spot. I laid Max down, and realised the wet stain on the outside of his pants was oozing a yellow substance. This can't be good. Poor boy had major diarrhea. Seven or eight wipes later, during which Max discovered my stash of licorice bites and going to town on them, I escort him back into Subway so I can go wash my hands. The SECOND I walked back into Subway to get packed up, Max starts puking again... right into my hands!! Those poor saps that were stuck working New Year's Day got more than they bargained for. We cleaned up the best we could, I went into that stinky bathroom for a third time to wash up again, and we hit the road. Fortunately, he didn't have any other trouble, and we were driving through Denver around 7pm!! We've had the whole weekend to get settled in, and since both Corey and I got a taste of the same bug (without the puke), we didn't make it to church so we haven't met a single person since we got here.

Wow, major rambling. Okay, so it wasn't quite a quick post, but it's gotten me current. Hopefully I'll be better at blogging, and I may include pictures next time.

Halloween (belated, as usual)

2009-11-06T12:28:00.020-07:00

So here I am, over a week later trying to get my Halloween post up. Since I have to jockey between Corey, Addie, and lately Max for computer time, I know that I have to be prepared for a late night, or angry kids if I want to blog. But since I endure both all the time now, it shouldn't matter :)

Addie, as usual, had several Halloween activities to enjoy. Thankfully, her school had a dress-up day (many are getting rid of it, so sad) so she was a 'beautiful princess'. The crown lasted about 3 minutes, even with bobby pins, but we did get the classic picture with the winter coat covering up most of the costume. I didn't get him in the pic, but Addie's standing by her 'best', Avery. I asked her if she was nice, and was informed with a shy smile that Avery is a boy. Good thing he seems to be a nice boy.

Addie's dance class also had a dress up day. The day before class, a sweet girl in our church came up to Addie and asked if she would like her old ballet costume that didn't fit anymore. Um, of course!! So she had a fun dance costume for ballet. I'm trying to figure out if Addie is just a lot younger than the other girls, or is she just that short?

Sweet little girl!

Being married to Magellan the traveler, there is always a trip in the works. This time it was going to Nauvoo for Halloween. Sounds like a weird time, but if you've lived in Milwaukee you'll understand. Halloween, or rather trick-or-treating, is done on a scheduled day and time... and rarely is that scheduled on Halloween (I don't pretend to understand it, but it is what it is). Our city usually is scheduled the Sunday before Halloween, between 4 and 7pm. Also, Addie had school off the last two days of October, so off we went.

Bad Mama, this is the only picture of Max we have in his costume. The hat was a little bent, but Max was a dinosaur. Here we are in front of the Nauvoo temple.

Here's our little monkey...

Fall in the midwest is amazingly beautiful, add a temple to the backdrop and it's just gorgeous!

See?!

What a beautiful boy

Kids needing to burn some energy outside the visitor's center

Dad and Max found a fun ball to play with abandoned in the theater of the visitor center

Dad playing referee

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to ME?!"

Joseph and Hyrum overlooking the City Beautiful

Weather was great while we were there, and made for some great pictures

Postcard beautiful

And the big cleanup at home

Aren't I lucky to have such hard workers?

Small snippets of family time

2009-10-22T19:33:00.006-06:00

Corey is so very busy the past little while, it's been a little frustrating for me and the kids. Tack on that the weather is changing so we're inside a whole lot more, then my foot making me less likely to want to do anything extra. All this and more, and the kids are going a little stir-crazy.

After we picked Addie up from school today, Max started crying when we turned down our street, as if to say, "What?! We're going back to that dump? Let's do something funnnnn!!" So I decided to do something fun. Corey picked up a couple pumpkins Monday night while stocking up on prunes for Hudson (note previous post) and we've been putting off carving so we could do it with Daddy. Mostly because I can't police two kids trying to carve pumpkins while Hudson is yelling for attention. Thankfully, the stars aligned this afternoon. Hudson took a beautiful nap right when I had an hour of nothing to do (if you don't count cooking, but I figured we had enough leftovers we were covered). Corey got home right near the end, about the time when my indulgent attitude was being smothered by my we-are-doing-this-my-way attitude.

Here are the results! We waited till it was very dark out, then lit the pumpkins. They looked sooo cool! I took the picture, then realised my flash is way too good. It was raining out, so very few pics worked before we dashed back in. I turned off the flash for the last one, pretty cool!

Fun times, trials, and accomplishments!

2009-10-20T12:39:00.004-06:00

My baby is getting so fun, I love the few chances I get alone to play with him. This Sunday Hudson was so very giggly, thankfully I thought to whip out the camera to catch it.

Our version of peek-a-boo

And then, the not so fun part of my week. A week ago Monday, I was running to Max to prevent him from throwing a tantrum next to Hudson's room while said baby was napping. In my haste (temper) I stormed after him, and crushed my toe into the door jamb. Thankfully, I was talking on the phone at the time so my vocabulary was kept in check.

The results -- my first broken bone. Poor little pinky toe, all bashed up. And it hurts!! I have a friend that has had MULTIPLE broken toes (like every single one, I think), and I don't know how she handled it. Maybe this is harder because I'm a run-around mom and can't take a break to feel better. Probably not, Amber is the toughest lady I know. I was advised by our friend, the podiatrist, that I should keep my foot up and iced 3 times a day, take ibuprofen to keep swelling down, and take it easy. Yeah, right! I haven't iced it since Wednesday, I keep forgetting to take meds, and I have to run Addie (and therefore Max and Hudson, too) to and from school each afternoon. By the end of the day, my whole body is screaming because I'm keeping my weight off one side, walking crooked on my injured foot, and my kids can't help but trip over/step on/bump into my foot 74 times a day!

Here's a picture after 7 days, I even painted my toenails so I wouldn't feel so pathetic...

Enough complaining about my woes, onto Hudson's woes! Poor kid is constipated. Sorry to anyone too sensitive to read about poop, but that's just part of the life of a mama. I've even been feeding him prunes (which he loves, so that's okay) and pumping him full of prune juice, to no avail. If there are any other ideas to clean him out, please let me know. His doctor wants to control this with diet, so I guess we wait.

Here he is, loving his prunes! Note how dirty my own hand is, he seems desperate for those spoonfuls of cereal. I must not be fast enough for his taste.

Lastly, we enjoyed another group doctor's appointment. Why didn't I learn the last time? Oh, well, we all survived.

Addie got a flu shot. No tears, just a grouchy "ouch!" barked at the nurse (yes, one nurse to administer six shots to three different children... smart). Max got a flu shot and two other shots AND had blood taken for a lead test. He just watched the lab tech draw the blood, no flinching or anything, but he did cry a little with the shots. Mainly because it was one after another instead of all at the same time. And Hudson had an oral vaccine and two shots. And he cried the worst! Good thing I'm immune to crying by this point (or at least desensitized).

Stats: Hudson weighed in at 18 lbs 12 oz which puts him in the 75th percentile. He is 28 1/2 in so that's the 95th percentile, and his head is in the 80th.

Max is a tank. He weighs 33 lbs 4 oz, which is the 90th percentile, 36 1/2 in tall also the 90th percentile, and his head is 75th percentile. While this is just SOOOO big, his doc assured me that there's nothing to worry about, as his growth is steady and he is proportional... big all around! Compare him to his sister that is twice his age, she weighs 35 lbs and is 39 in tall... soon to be surpassed by little bro!

Speaking of being desensitized, I saw this commercial and started laughing hysterically!! Aside from the sitting on her bed doing nothing, this is totally a scene out of my own life. Can any of you relate?

Too busy for naps!

2009-10-15T08:06:00.004-06:00

I have just clued in to why Hudson can get soooooo needy and whiny 'all of a sudden.' He's tired! Why don't I try putting him down for a nap more often? Because I feel like a slave to my schedule. I guess I figure that if I put him down for a nap an hour before I have to wake him up, he'll learn poor sleeping habits. But if I extend his time between naps just to try to get him to nap longer when I can, maybe he'll learn to deal without naps... and that would be tragic! I value nap time more than any other time of the day (even more than bed time, probably because I'm so pooped by this time that there's no productivity even though the kids are sleeping). Even with this realization, I've still been putting him off his needs.

See...

One of the many times that I've just ignored Hudson's fussing while trying to accomplish something (I think I was making dinner this time). He's sitting up pretty much by himself now, but I still leave the Boppy around him for those times that he turfs it. I realized he was being quiet, so I came in to check and found this scene. See all the presents on and around him? The kids can't quite tune out his neediness like I can (should I brag about or apologize for this?)

Interpretation

2009-10-13T21:47:00.003-06:00

I don't think she remembered we signed her up for ballet...

Funny girl!

Is this one really ours?

2009-10-03T21:58:00.011-06:00

When Addie was born, the hospital was having a hard time drawing blood from her heel. They tried several times, and finally decided to take her to the nursery for this (I think we were making the nurse nervous after a few failed attempts). Corey's mom didn't like this and sent Corey to monitor this activity. She instructed him to not let Addie out of his sight, for fear of a baby switch. I kind of laughed at this, but the idea was planted.

When I was recovering in the hospital with Hudson, this thought came back full force. I was marveling over my beautiful boy, when I noticed a scratch on his face. Later that day, after getting him back from his circumcision, I started wondering... He was born looking exactly like Max, but was starting to lose that look. And his scratch was gone! I'll bet I searched his face for an hour or more, looking for an expression or something that would reassure me. I blame this on postpartum hormones.

Since then, I've stopped wondering.

Look at these two!! Think there's a little family resemblance?

Here's Max at about the same age, for comparison.

There are a few more things that have thrown me for a loop. Like the fact that Hudson really doesn't prefer his binky. Isn't it just a matter of giving him the binky, like his brother and sister? They loved loved loved theirs, right from the beginning. Not Hudson, he's just as happy chewing on his fist (please don't become a thumb sucker, please please!!).

And there's the fact that he's my first baby that would go to sleep by himself, just needed to be laid down in a swaddle (another first, the others never liked swaddling) and he would put himself to sleep.

Now, he's cut his first tooth. He's only 5 months old. This is the first time his individualism is making me nervous. Addie and Max both got their first tooth right before turning one, so I just assumed that's how my kids would be. Never would I have to worry about getting nipped during nursing, since I don't make it much past 6 months. Wish me luck!

Here's my cutie in action

Bro-mancing the playdough

2009-10-03T20:28:00.008-06:00

Max has a boyfriend. Seeing as he's a two year old, I think it's okay. We love Kevin, and Kevin tolerates Max's craziness so well. We watched him this Monday so his mom could clean and check out of their old apartment and officially be homeowners. This was great to keep Max happy, and since I made a HUGE batch of edible playdough the kids had lots of fun.

Aren't they cute?

Maybe I should add salt so he'll quit eating it.

Kevin does the best 'cheese' face ever!

Edible playdough

3 1/2 cups Creamy Peanut Butter
4 cups powdered sugar
4 cups powdered milk
3 1/2 cups corn syrup

Another Birthday

2009-09-25T21:14:00.005-06:00

Oh, my, I am a bad mommy!! We've had a big birthday and I let nearly a week go by before putting this up.

That's right, Max is 2! Finally! I feel like he's been 'nearly 2' forever. Could be because he's looked like a little man since he could sit up, or maybe it's because he's not exactly petite. Either way, he's a big boy now and quite the handful.

Holy terrible twos!! Hopefully since they started early he'll pull out earlier too.

Good thing he's a cutie!

Present opening went well. He tore into each toy carefully, making sure all the paper was removed. Then he wanted to play with each present (a bunch of cars, and one buzz lightyear from Addie) before moving on to the next. I love the ease of pleasing a two year old.

We love Sunday Night Football, especially the gatorade commercials!

Raspberries

2009-09-06T21:43:00.005-06:00

For being such a good "go to sleeper", Hudson is really fighting going to sleep lately. Today he barely even napped, even after the car ride home from church he only slept 20 minutes. He did crash for about an hour this evening, but that just meant that bedtime was that much harder. I finally gave in and brought him out to visit for awhile. I was holding him and Corey was entertaining him with annoying noises and pulling funny faces, and here's what he ended up learning to do...

BTW, not Max. Just wearing Max's layette gift from 2 yrs ago. Curse of being the second boy, I guess...

Four months and four years

2009-08-29T21:16:00.005-06:00

So we had a big doctor appointment this week. Hudson had his 4 month appointment and Addie had her 4 year check up on the same day. I figured it would be easier that way, instead of setting up different appointments and getting sitters for the other kids. I just brought all three, thinking I was so smart. WRONG!! What a joke! And my biggest trouble was Max. He is way too curious for the small doctor's exam room. Too many fun things for him to get into.

Just a sample of Max, always getting into something that you don't think will be trouble until he gets near it. Birdseed is a form of whole grains, right?

So, the stats...

Hudson weighs 17 lbs 2 oz, and is 26 inches tall. That puts him in the 90th percentile for both. His head is at the 75th percentile, so he's BIG all around.

Addie weighs 35 lbs and is 39 inches tall. My doctor stops doing percentiles at this age and starts talking about BMI. Terrible to think about, but at least she is perfectly in the center of where she should be. She has 20/20 vision still (probably not for too many more years as Corey and I are both very nearsighted), and is very smart (thanks APL Preschool). She is also very flexible, kind of strange that Dr Dan commented on it, but good to know. He predicts a great dancing future for her.

Happy Birthday Baby

2009-08-26T20:37:00.019-06:00

Our little girl turned 4 this weekend. For some reason, I am very nostalgic this year. I'm having a hard time remembering all of her 4 years, and that bothers me because that's supposed to happen much later in my life. I constantly have people (usually little old ladies) tell/warn me that it's over much too quickly and they will soon be grown and gone. I 'yeah, yeah' them, but I'm already starting to feel it. So I'll have to be better at documenting the lives of my kids so I don't miss out on too much when my brain gives way to my years.

We decided to attempt another water-play party, since Addie's birthday is the end of August. Surely that's all we'll want to be doing outside at this peak of summer, right? Wrong again!! TWICE I've been foiled by Mother Nature! We've suffered through two cold parties when we really needed the hot sunshine to play in. Oh, well. The risks of living in Wisconsin, I guess. Can't guarantee anything when it comes to weather.

Here we are, enjoying a BBQ lunch. At least it didn't rain

Doesn't Max look like a tough guy? Don't mess with him!

Here's how Hudson spent most of the party... zzzzz!

As did Baby Julia, guess the mild weather was just too soothing (plus she sleeps for her mom all the time!)

One thing we didn't give up on (no sprinklers or pool, though). Fortunately, all the kids just wanted to throw the balloons onto the grass to pop them. Anyone realise how hard it is to fill up water balloons? Even with a hose attachment, you still have to tie them off. What a pain!!

Some got into the toss game...

Finally I wised up. Just do cupcakes and let Addie and her 8 year old cousin, Sully, decorate them however they wanted.

And they were a hit!! I did fill them (thanks Jen for the idea!) so I guess I did have a little more work than I needed, but they were tasty!

Never one to be neat, Max got cake and ice cream all over!

Gwen captured the way most everyone was eating... two fisted!

My little girl was so gracious over her gifts. She even got up after opening each one to hug her friend that brought her a present (well, about 80% of the time, after all she is a four-year-old)

Grandma Kathy brought the best present, a surprise of her and Sully showing up from Minnesota for the party!! Even Corey was in the dark, it was great seeing his confusion and delight to run into family when he came home from work :)

Max and Kevin, BFF's. Doesn't this look like trouble?

Grandma uncharacteristically waited till Addie's actual birthday on Sunday before letting her open her presents.

What a treat to have an older cousin to play with all weekend long. Thanks Sully!

How cute are my kids?!?

2009-08-14T22:32:00.013-06:00

While in Minnesota last month, we had the kids pictures taken (thanks Grandma Mickey!). I haven't put them on the blog, because I thought I had already. Oops! That was facebook. So here are some pictures of my favorite people.

My all-time favorite pic, too bad you can't see anyone's face.

What my house is like all the time, Max entertaining himself... and his brother and sister!

Fun action pose!

Sweet, sweet girl loving her sweet baby brother

Classic Max, always on the go

We had a little trouble keeping all the kids on board with the idea of a good photo

See...

She's classy, isn't she?

Love these kids!

He just melts my heart!

There isn't a prettier face out there, I'm sure

Practicing her glamour poses

Big Boy

2009-08-11T21:27:00.002-06:00

I have a big kid! He doesn't seem big to me, until he's laying next to babies nearly twice his age. Look at this picture I stole off my friend's blog (thanks Maralee!). Here he is at a baby shower this past weekend. He's 3 1/2 months, and here he is lying next to 6 month old Jackson and Jack. Notice that there is NO difference in their size.

Oh, well, I wouldn't trade what I have for anything. Even if it means getting caught jumping ahead in clothing sizes and hauling around a few extra lbs in the carseat. I love love love this big man!

On a side note, our camera is broken right now and hopefully will be back by Addie's birthday in 10 days (or, more hopefully, they'll have to replace it with a new one as we have a replacement plan on it!). Bummer, too, because tonight Max was making Hudson giggle just by smiling at him. Cutest thing! Then he was giggling when I was bathing him and washing under his chin. I love this stage!!

A Child's Prayer

2009-08-09T19:57:00.004-06:00

We were in Utah for a week, and came home to a mess -- as usual. The day after getting home we had some things scheduled, so I didn't get around to unpacking and putting my house back together till the next day. Needless to say, my poor neglected kids ended up watching endless TV and movies so I could get things back in order. That night, Addie was saying the bedtime prayer. She has her standard opening, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for the fun things we did...." and so on. When she stared praying with these exact lines, I guiltily looked up at Corey in apology, then she continued with, "... and thank you for the boring things we did today, too!" I almost choked with trying to keep my laughter inside. The best part is she seemed to really be thankful for what she was saying.

I'm a bad mom.

I'm also a bad picture taker. While in Utah, we went camping, swimming, visited with different people, Grandpa saw his newest grandbaby for the first time... and we didn't pull the camera out ONCE!!! Camping was sort of on purpose, didn't want it damaged or lost. But we were just neglectful this time, and that's pretty sad. I will say, we were dealing with sick kids (mostly Addie and Hudson, Max was sick before we left and is probably the reason the others got sick). It seemed like a repeat of last year when we went to Utah and went camping and the kids were sick the whole time. I'm not talking about sniffles here. Let's just say that I've changed my fair share of diarrhea diapers on potty-trained Addie out in the great outdoors.

I also had some major drama while camping, and had to go through it all without Corey (I hate being the grown up). We were camping up at Flaming Gorge, and our favorite activity to do there is to raft the Green River that lets out of the dam. Now, this is a very mild river, and I am not a very adventurous person (okay, I'm a pansy), so when I say I was excited to go down the river with Addie and Max, know that this is very low risk. Usually. Corey was off fly-fishing with his friend from Utah, so he missed the boat. Mostly because I didn't think I'd even go since the kids were in such poor shape, so I let him go do his thing instead. Addie was dying to go, and had been feeling better all morning. Hudson was also on the upswing, so I felt better about leaving him with my mom and sister. I decided, at the last minute, to join the second group of rafters with Addie and Max.

We started down the river, and about 10 minutes into our trip it starts raining. Mildly, at first, but then we are starting to get more lightning and thunder, and lots of rain. Cold rain. Imagine, heading down the river with only one way to get off it -- at the end (about a 2 hour trip). Addie's crying by now, because she's cold and wet, and sick! All I can think is that I'm not doing her health any favors and will be paying for this lapse in judgement come nighttime. Plus, we're in this canyon, so the thunder seems so much more intense than normal. We ended up pulling off to the side of the river to wait out the rain under an overhang of rock. Addie's crying, Max is eating mud, I'm kicking myself, and we're all worried. Finally, we see the skies starting to lighten, so we head out again.

In our raft with Addie, Max and myself was my sister Kristy and her husband Mike, 6 yr old son Brandon, and 17 yr old daughter Char. Kristy, Mike, and I had been rowing while Char entertained the kids, but I needed to love on them and try my best to keep them warm. Imagine me sitting on the side of this rubber raft with Addie between my legs, Max on my left, and Brandon to the left of him and my arms around all three of them. Yeah, I'm sure they were plenty warm. We decided to just hit it and row as fast as we can to the end, so Kristy, Mike and Char started working. With this rain came additional speed on the river, so that seemed like it was on our side until we hit the first rapid. It just came on too fast, so they couldn't steer easily and we headed straight for this big boulder. I'm still sitting on the side of the boat with my arms around the kids, so I just braced myself and held on tight. We bounced off it and got back on course, no damages. My sister commented that she'd feel better if I were sitting in the boat instead of off the side, so I sent Brandon back to her and I sat in the middle with my arms around Addie on one side and Max on the other. We only had one real rapid left to get through and it's called the Mother-in-law. Now, Char had gone on the first run, so this was her second time going down the river this day so she was telling us how much further we had to go, what to expect, etc. She said that the mother-in-law wasn't as bad as she remembered in past years, but she was a little nervous with the state of the river this time around. We saw it up ahead, and planned the best way through it. I guess this is a rougher rapid because it has boulders at the beginning of the rapids and at the end, so it's just more to navigate through. We started through it, and the speed of the river threw us directly at this monster boulder -- again! I braced myself, but the next thing I knew we were in the water, under the water, being thrown all around. I still had a hold of both kids, death grip by now, and my only thought was to push them out of the water. I was pretty sure we were dead (I wish I were kidding), but somewhere out there I heard someone say, "Keep swimming, just keep swimming! Swim this way!!" I realised it was a man in a kayak at the side of the river. At hearing this, I calmed down and knew it would be okay.

I was closest to the kayaker, and was swimming on my back with Addie balanced on my chest and Max in my left arm. I was trying to get him to stop crying (yeah, I'm sure soothing words will reassure him that the cold water we were just tossed into was nothing to cry about). This guy started yelling at me to not capsize him, and all I could think was that he didn't have to be mean about it. Of course I wouldn't risk him, couldn't he just be nice? Look what we just went through!! Looking back, I'm sure the crazy lady with two very small children that almost drowned didn't seem like the kind of person that would be rational while being rescued, so he was justified in his abruptness. He got me to shore, and I couldn't get my legs under me. I just laid on this rock, most of my body still in the river, with my babies pulled tight on top of me. My niece was next out of the water, so she took the kids from me so I could get up, and that's when I realized I didn't have any shoes on and my legs and two toes were killing me. I must have fought with that boulder to get the bruises I earned later on, but I couldn't walk well till the next day. Plus, I lost my favorite around-the-house shoes to the river! Icing, I tell you!

As soon as I was standing, someone behind me asked if I had any shoes. I turned around, and it was a ranger and his wife patrolling the river in their much-safer-looking-than-a-rubber-raft row boat. That's when I looked back on the river and saw our raft still wrapped around that killer boulder, and that's when I thought I would throw up. That's when it hit me that we were safe and we weren't going to die and we were beyond blessed regardless of our bad decisions. And that's when I started shaking and feeling sick. And that's when I remembered I had to face Corey. "He's going to kill me!" Oh, well. We were alive and that's all that mattered.

The ranger and his wife (who chatted my ear off the whole way which was weird until I realized they were trying to keep us calm and out of shock) took me and the three younger kids down to the end of the run in their boat, to our warm cars with warm towels and promises of hot chocolate back at camp. I thought that the rest of our crew was being picked up a few minutes later by a different ranger, but later found out that the kayaker retrieved the raft from the boulder and they all boarded up again and rowed to the end of the run. Let me tell you, there would have been NO WAY my kids would have gotten back in that thing. Me either!

The cool thing is, after we hit that first boulder I suggested to Addie that we should pray for help from Heavenly Father. Help to keep us warm, help to get us back faster, help to help us feel better. A very simple child's prayer that was most definitely answered.

Trying to stay faithful

2009-07-13T11:57:00.009-06:00

Corey and I have long debated the merits of facebook vs. blogging. I believe that blogging is a great way to keep family up to date when we can't see each other often. Corey thinks that facebook is much more economical when it comes to time and effort, plus you can reconnect with so many more people. I've shrugged off his multiple suggestions to join, largely because he keeps flaunting his number of 'friends' and challenging me to come close (pooper). But, because several of my friends only blog sporadically (thanks a lot girls, you know who you are :), I've started considering it.

Last week, I finally gave in. I had several email requests to become friends, so I decided to sign up. Now I'm addicted!! I check my account all day long, to see who's talking to who, who updated photos, and getting caught up in live chats with friends from 15 years ago! I love it, and I hate admitting that publicly. Mainly because Corey loves to gloat when he's proven right.

Every few days, I remember my beloved bloggers and I feel so guilty. How could I have let this happen? I do love blogging, but there's so much more effort involved. And with three young kids, it's hard to dedicate my brain to one thing for more than a few minutes at a time. I have noticed, though, that I don't get the same sort of therapy as blogging since it's mainly just one-liners and silly comments. So I need to stay faithful to blogging, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the instant gratification of Facebook too!

Just to be true to blogging, here's a few pics and videos to enjoy.

Protection for those big noggins we produce.

Can you believe that this is all it takes to entertain my kids? If I didn't have a house to take care of, we'd be out here all day, every day.

And just a sweet pic of Hudson and Daddy.

Bad mom, good wife

2009-07-07T12:16:00.006-06:00

I'm a bad mommy. Wouldn't you think that by the third baby, I'd have it down pat? Yeah, not so around here. I often prided myself on my several 'nevers' in child-rearing, such as never having to take a child to the hospital, never letting my kids be sunburned, never cutting a child while clipping nails, etc. Well, in one fell swoop I lost my status.

With Hudson being born breech, he had to have an ultrasound to check out his hips. So, off to Children's Hospital we went. I was counting my blessing as I was sitting in the waiting room, watching all the kids with all sorts of visible problems and holding my perfectly healthy baby boy (there was a sign asking that there be no eating or drinking in the room in consideration of the patients that were fasting for tests -- so sad!) So, not too bad, but I was still at the hospital with my child. Everything was normal, by the way.

The next day, we decided to hang out outside. It was a beautiful day, so we filled the kiddie pool and Dad and the kids went 'swimming' while I caught up on some housework. A few minutes into their playing, I noticed that Hudson was sitting in his swing in the shade but his toes were swinging into a little sun. So I put him further back into the shade of the tree. He slept all afternoon, and we periodically shifted him back further and further so he wouldn't get burned. Our friend, Jenny, was in town for a wedding so she and her 2 kids stopped by for a couple hours. We were outside all day long, and near the end of the afternoon, I saw that Max's shoulders were turning a little pink. I slapped some sunscreen on him, and we kept playing. After Jenny left, I left to do some grocery shopping. When I came back, I saw that ALL THREE of my kids were burned!!! What the heck?!? I understand Max and Addie because I am never diligent with the sunscreen, but Hudson?? He was in the shade all day long!! Here's a picture of my poor baby (the other two weren't too bad).

I felt especially bad when his skin started peeling, but what do you do?

Two days later, I was clipping Hudson's nails and CUT him. He bled, he cried, I failed.

On a better note, I've been trying to be a good wife. Corey started a job this week, so he was feeling like last week was his last week of freedom. His friend called and asked if he'd like to go salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, but since I'd already said he could go golfing the next day he wasn't sure what I'd say. Of course, babe, you deserve it (I love salmon, so this was an easy sacrifice). Besides, I decided that two days in a row without Corey for several hours at a time would help condition me to handling things on my own this week. And it's working out that way.

Here he is with his prize! We ate great that night, and we have several more dinners waiting in the freezer. Thanks Cody!!

Cody's bro-in-law, Cody, Corey, and Cody's Dad... all with fish! Good day.

Minnesota

2009-07-03T11:37:00.014-06:00

We recently got back from a trip to Minnesota to visit Corey's family. Since he was laid off, we've had a lot of fun Daddy time. But he's started going stir crazy, so this was the best thing for him. He was able to go golfing a few times, get away from the little crazies, and spend time with his family.

Here are a few highlights from our trip (we were there 11 days).

This was Max's favorite past time while staying at Rhonda's (Corey's sister). Anytime he was outside he would b-line straight for the rider. That is, after he's gotten his daily mouthful of mud (the kid truly likes eating the stuff, you should see his diapers).

Hudson's first Bumbo experience (a few days before we left, I just wanted to include the pic). He loved it so much, he napped in it. I actually have about 5 pics of this, starting with his eyes open and slowly progressing to sleep--all without him moving his body (or hands).

Hudson meeting Grandma Lois. He pooped out of his clothes about 25 seconds after we arrived. Of course I didn't have a change for him, he hardly ever poops out! Sorry kid.

Grandpa Don standing over the newest great-grandchild (he has 7, including kids by marriage).

Dinner isn't complete without Grandma's desserts. Here's Max loving his cake and ice cream (he probably thought it was a pile of mud so he dug in).

This truly is the country. We were sitting on the back porch when Addie noticed a turkey hanging out on the driveway. A few minutes later, I hear gunshots! Corey's uncle Mark, who works for the DNR, had shot the turkey down. Apparently, it's dangerous for domestic turkeys to mate with wild turkeys (so he said) and this was a loose domestic heading for their woods where they knew of at least 12 wild turkeys that had hatched earlier that spring and were living out there. Mark needed some pictures so he could track down who's turkey this was so they could be notified, so here's Corey posing. I told you this was the country, and not just because of the poor cell phone reception.

Corey's Aunt Becky has a cabin on one of the 10,000 lakes advertised in Minnesota, and she invited us up for the day. Here's Max checking out the dock while playing trucks with Dad.

Addie was in heaven! She knew that we were planning on going to the lake when we got to Minnesota, but it was a little cool the first few days we were there, so it kept being put off. And she didn't let us forget about it!! When we finally got to go, she talked about it the whole way there, the whole time we were there, and for a several days afterwards. Are all 3 year olds this OCD?

Happy Father's Day!!! We were able to spend this day with Corey's family, and we had a great time. See Hudson's smile? Even he had a good day!

This is at Grandma Mickey's house. This is a sample of the refereeing I have to do with my big Max. Charlie (Grandma Kathy's dog) never knows what to expect when he's around.

We had so much fun, maybe our best visit ever. I think spending enough time there that we weren't rushing around, trying to fit in visits with everyone, really helped this to be. Thanks to family for hosting our crazy family!!

2 Months

2009-06-27T22:24:00.003-06:00

I love this stage that Hudson has entered. He is much more interactive, and he starts most days cooing and smiling at whoever is around. Also, he's pulling out of needing to be held every second, so I am free to leave him on the floor as long as I keep Max from tackling him -- a real threat, as Max weighs over 30 lbs now (not sure exactly, but he was 29 1/2 three months ago).

If you get past the background dialogue, you can hear Hudson 'telling stories' about who knows what.

Boys vs. Girls

2009-06-27T21:51:00.008-06:00

It's been interesting raising both a girl and a boy. Watching Max going through the development that Addie did, and seeing how differently he does things is very eye opening. It makes me feel like a first time mom all over again. Here are a couple clips to see just how different and gender specific the kids are doing the same activity.

Max loves mud. He loves to stomp in it, throw it, and especially eat it. I think it could be a medical condition, but I'm not too worried.

Here's Addie getting dirty, her way.

Blessing Smiles

2009-06-10T17:44:00.008-06:00

This past Sunday was Hudson's blessing day, and what a day it was. The weather was great, the kids cooperated, and we arrived at church just as it was starting... which is a real task for us. With the ward splitting, we were bumped into the 11:00 schedule, but I still have to be showered by 7:30 to get there on time. Since Corey was called as bishop, I still don't have any help in the morning to get out of the house. This is 5 years of going to church by myself, but only 1 year of sitting by myself during sacrament meeting, and 7 long weeks of wrestling 3 kids by myself while trying to keep them from driving away the spirit for the rest of the ward.

But I digress...

Corey was a little nervous about blessing Hudson, since he's so high maintenance, but Hudson was wonderful! Unfortunately, Max was a bit of a handful so I wasn't able to hear everything. What I did hear was great, because a lot of it had to do with Hudson being good to me, his mother. Gotta love it!

Later, Corey and I were taking his blessing pictures, and he was SO smiley!!! Our camera died twice during the photo shoot, so we had to recharge the battery for a couple minutes, and he continued with the smiling. This is amazing, because he usually only smiles when he's lying on the hammock outside with Dad.

6 Weeks

2009-06-04T19:45:00.004-06:00

Our sweet little boy is six weeks old!

And I've survived! Barely, because three kids are HARD!!! I owe the first two weeks to Corey's mom, then another week to my mom's help. And thank goodness for Corey!! He takes care of Addie and Max when I just can't handle it.

This is the boy I love to see....

Unfortunately, this is the boy we usually have. Oh, well. We love him just the same.

"Look what I did Mommy!"

2009-05-18T21:35:00.005-06:00

I guess I should have expected it. Every child goes through this phase, but I was really trying to avoid it.

Addie greeted me getting out of the shower (no contacts in so vision was limited) by telling me she made her hair pretty for 'crazy hat and silly sock' day at preschool. She was holding something in her hand, and my stomach filled with dread. I scrambled to put on my glasses, then started crying when I saw she was holding a magazine piled high with beautiful blond hair. This was about an hour before I needed to leave with her for school, so I started to panic. I just didn't know where to start. Unfortunately, in my panic I forgot to document the event so there is no picture of her handiwork. Thankfully, she just cut her top pigtails (not her bangs), and she left several inches. But I did have to whack off around 5 inches in the back. Can't let my little girl be seen in public with a mullet (that's exactly what it looked like), but I just didn't know how to handle it. So, the next day, Addie and I went to Great Clips and she had her first professional haircut.

Let the record show, I did talk to her a few months ago about trying out short hair. Mostly because she was complaining so much about me combing through her hair. She turned me down, though. I guess she just wanted to try it on her own terms.

She went from this...

...to this

Oh, well. I think it's actually kind of cute. Just a little shaggy that needs to grow out longer before I'll even it out. When she saw how upset I was, she came up with a great idea. "Let's get it cut longer now!" Ah, the innocence of a child. What was I thinking having three kids. Too many to keep my eyes on!

My funny kids!

2009-05-02T20:05:00.005-06:00

My kids are so funny! I'm sure that's true in your own household, but I've been struck lately how funny I think our kids can be.

Addie is into storytelling. While I was at the hospital, she entertained me with her creativity. There was a step stool in my room, so the kids would climb up and pretend it was their podium. Here are a couple results. Enjoy!

Here she decided to practice giving a talk so she would be ready for her turn in primary.

Yes, I consider Corey one of the kids when it comes to playing around. Notice that Max is finally big enough to beat up on Addie if he so chooses (we warned her this day would come).

Hudson Michael Grip

2009-04-29T13:43:00.014-06:00

Yep, he's a boy!!! I'm still having a hard time saying "he" instead of "the baby" but I was able to keep this major secret right up till the end. I'm so proud of myself.

So he's a week old now, and I'm just getting around to posting... I'm sorry that this is so delayed, but I wanted to include the birth story and some good pics so here you go.

As most of you know, Hudson was breech so I was slotted for a c-section. I did try the version, but it didn't work. And it was MISERABLE!!! If you ever know of someone contemplating this procedure, tell them that it is painful! And wrong! I had often wondered if Max and Addie could harm him because he was head up, just by their accidentally jumping on my belly or using an elbow to prop themselves up and jabbing poor little baby, but the doctor's did way more stress to my belly than I ever thought possible. It was as if they were trying to rip my belly open to get the baby to turn. And I was totally sore/bruised for several days. Not fun, don't recommend it.

So I made an appointment for the c-section for Wednesday at 7:30 am. That meant we needed to be at the hospital at 5:30 am for prep. This should explain why I look so beautiful in all my pictures, plus I wasn't allowed to wear makeup so that just added to the beauty. All went well, and fast, and before I knew it Dr. Gariti was there getting ready to start surgery. I went into the operating room without Corey so they could do my spinal, then he was going to be brought in after I was good and numb. Too bad my spinal didn't work. I guess the only difference between a spinal and an epidural is the type of medication they use, and with a spinal they don't keep the tube in your back. Also, a spinal is totally numbing, where an epidural takes away pain, but often leaves some sensation so during surgery you can feel pressure and tugging, making it a little creepy. So I was given the spinal by the prettiest man I think I've ever seen (sorry Corey), and he stayed during the whole procedure, talking me through what was going on. I was getting a little nervous when they started scrubbing my belly and I could still feel it, but he reassured me that they would test me before starting anything. And test me they did! They use a little tool to pinch my skin, and it HURT! It felt like they were cutting into me! And I wasn't numb at all. Hmm, starting to get a little interesting. I was worried that they might have to knock me out, since the meds weren't working on me, but the anesthesiologist kept assuring me that they'd wait till things got worked out. He was a little baffled as to why the spinal wasn't working, because he kept saying that it wasn't very common, but they'd get it all figured out before they did anything. After about 20 minutes of waiting for the meds to take effect, they decided to go the epidural route. Hmmmmm, now I was getting more nervous. I had these stories running around in my head about women that had their epidural quit working halfway through labor, or only working on one side of their bodies, I even watched my sister go through the worst part of labor without meds because the epidural pulled out without them knowing it. But mine have always been good experiences so I went forth with faith. About 3 minutes after they did the epidural, I was dead numb!!! Seemed like I just had to be a little difficult. Poor Corey, he'd been waiting for them to go get him for about 40 minutes, much longer than he was told, but someone remembered him and went and explained things to him.

So they started cutting, and Corey watched as much as he could through the people crowded around me. I didn't feel anything, including any pressure or tugging, so I'm pretty sure the anesthesiologist doped me as much as he could, so that was good. Then I heard our baby. Dr Gariti held him up and asked Corey if he could see, and Corey was able to announce our boy. He got all teary, and I heard the baby cry and I started crying. I have never cried at things like that, but I worried more with this pregnancy than ever before, so it was such a relief to hear that beautiful sound.

So, on Wednesday April 22 at 8:26 am, Hudson Michael Grip was born. Weighing in at 9 lbs 1 oz, and measuring at 21 1/2 in, we have a perfect little man!

Here we are, minutes after he was born. I think I was still being stitched back together, but my epidural was working so well that I didn't feel a thing.

Again, in recovery, where I can finally hold my baby.

Proud daddy! Aren't they cute?

Max took over my hospital room, thought he owned the place. Doesn't he look big?!?

Addie is such a great big sister! Here she's showing Hudson the wonders of having a binky (I'm glad she doesn't miss hers too much).

My most faithful visitors. Addie, Grandma Kathy, and Max.

Addie and Corey came to pick us up from the hospital. She is so excited to have another brother to boss around.

Daddy, the night we came home, trying to keep things normal for the little ones. They love to wrestle their dad, because he doesn't complain too much when they kick him in the face or step too hard on his head. So now we're just one big happy family!!!

Pretty little ballerina

2009-04-02T20:18:00.009-06:00

Our pretty little girl loves to dance. She's just completed her second semester of twinkle toes ballet class, and had her spring recital this past weekend. I was a little worried, because it was being held at Whitnall High School in their auditorium. And she's three, so that equates to an unpredictable girl that may or may not cooperate. Bonus is that she gets a pretty costume, so she's more inclined to think this is cool. Most of my pics are from the dress rehearsal, the night before, as she was held backstage for the recital (another point of my anxiety, she was out of my hands for at least an hour... along with another 50 or so kids).

Here she is showing off her costume.

Something was wrong with my camera, because it took streaky pictures most of the night. Here's most of her class sitting and waiting to see what we needed to do.

Here's the actual recital, but I was zooming so far that the picture is fuzzy. But she did awesome! I never saw any bit of nerves, and she was so excited to be dancing that she was grinning from ear to ear most of the time.

Here she is with her daddy, carrying flowers that we brought to celebrate her first real dance recital (we were strongly encouraged to do so, and they even had a table outside selling flowers to the 'thoughtless' parents that didn't think to bring their own)

Addie wasn't satisfied watching the other dancers, she wanted to be moving whenever there was music. The funny thing about this song is that it's for a bunch of old ladies learning to tap dance (a little painful to watch, but they all seemed pretty proud of themselves).

Here's her dance at the dress rehearsal. She's the second from the right, but my camera zoom doesn't focus well when taking video clips. This is a little long, but I'm one proud mama so you'll just have to bear with me. I never thought I'd be one of those mothers that just has to point out to anyone that will listen how darn cute and perfect my little ballerina really is. But she is, so I guess I'll just have to be that mom and annoy my friends with my bragging. Enjoy!

Naughty baby

2009-04-01T20:09:00.003-06:00

So this pregnancy has been harder on me than either of the previous, and I thought maybe that was because Max is so young, and I have to haul him around more than I should. I've been more uncomfortable than I ever remember, and it's been pretty hard. My last appointment, I asked my OB to check the position of the baby, but she said she wasn't sure what she was feeling. So, on Monday I went in for the first of my final vaginal exams and I didn't like the look on her face. She said I was dilated to about 1 1/2 cm, but she thought she felt the baby's butt. She did an ultrasound to confirm, and sure enough, our baby's breech.

Her first comment was that she doesn't deliver breech babies. Like I want to go through that. But I don't want to go through a c-section, either. Naughty baby!!! I'm a little ticked, I must admit. After what our weekend included, don't you think we should be cut a little slack? Not that I'm cursing the heavens or anything, but I'm ashamed to say that I am a little upset with this child. Can't I get a little cooperation? Does this mean that this is just the beginning of trouble this baby will give us?

My OB said that we have two options.

1) Try an ECV (external cephalic version) where she and one of her partners literally push and prod on my belly, trying to turn the baby around. She said that the booked success rates are about 50%, but she doesn't have much success. Thanks for the confidence builder.

2) C-section. My biggest fear. I've honestly never thought that I would have to consider going through this. And definitely not with a preschooler and a 19 month old.

I can't believe this. Only about 3% of babies are breech, and I can't believe that I'm lumped into this small percentage. Great, I've always wanted to be special. So I'm scheduled at 38 weeks (in 2 weeks) to do this procedure, and if it doesn't work I'll be cut open the week after. It's kind of a catch-22, because an EVC can send me into labor, or displace the placenta, or other possible complications where they would have to deliver me, so I need to be full term. But the longer we wait, the larger our baby will be and the less likely we are to have success at the turning. I've taken to elevating my hips , hoping that maybe gravity will be my friend. I've even read that you can shine a light at the pelvis and attract the baby downward. Then there's some sort of Chinese acupuncture technique where they burn some herb near your pinky toe to make the baby turn (who came up with this, and how is this common enough to be listed on several websites).

So, I ask for your prayers. I really don't want to go through surgery, and I don't feel much hope right now. My OB told me of a patient recently that came in the day before her surgery, and her baby had turned, so it's possible. But things just don't seem to work out like that for me. I'm sure all will be well, regardless of how this turns out. But I just need to get out of the dumps about this. What I really need is a good, sunny weekend with my family. No meetings, no church, just a few hours at the park and someone else changing some of the diapers. I'll pull out of this, but I just needed to vent. If any of you are still reading this, I'll apologize for going on and on and on. Maybe the next post will be more positive.

Hawaii, our first real day

2009-03-22T21:09:00.013-06:00

Hawaii, finally getting around to blogging about it. I don't know why this was so hard, but it's taken me forever. And most of this will be boring to you, because you weren't there and can't really feel and smell the magic of Hawaii. I will make these posts mostly just photos, so hopefully you enjoy!

After traveling all day Thursday (and I mean all day, I was ready to drop by the time we landed in Maui, and we still had to endure a 2 hour layover before flying over to the big island) so our first real day was Friday. We spent a couple hours on the beach, but it was a little chilly and windy so we decided to go exploring. It turned out to be the best thing to do on a day like this, because it rained on and off all day long.

This is a temple that was built to fulfill a prophecy of unity between the Hawaiian islands. We weren't able to go up to it, because they experienced an earthquake in 2006 (I think) and it is now too unstable for visitors to climb on. Corey is displaying his chagrin at this fact.

King Kamehameha was the man that unified the islands, so he's all over the island. I had a warped desire to check out the depth of detail in this statue (ie, what's under the loincloth?)

Corey is fascinated by trees, and this was truly an amazing tree.

Pololu Lookout. This was a beautiful spot, but very treacherous to go see. I declined the hike down because it was raining, and the path was slick mud by that time. Too bad the pictures don't do this sight justice, it was incredible!

See what I mean about treacherous?

Another look

Corey loves big trees, but I love strange, exotic plants. I couldn't get over these trees with exposed roots (I'm assuming). They looked like they could just walk away at any moment.

Cool looking cemetery, did I mention the big island is covered in volcanic rock? That's what these headstones are all made of, and it was a striking sight.

Keokea park, just another good place to watch the ocean.

Keokea park

Hawaii, day 3

2009-03-22T21:07:00.021-06:00

Day three, another busy day. We went out on a catamaran snorkel tour to the Captain Cook monument (the spot he was killed by islanders, I guess that merits a monument, don't you think?). Again, it was a cool, rainy day and we had the chance to back out of our reservations but opted to go for it. Best decision! The boat wasn't very crowded, no major sunburning, and great snorkeling. We booked this trip for during whale-watching season, so you get a few little tidbit pics that don't look like much unless you know what I was trying to get.

Here's the best tail picture I have of a whale we spotted on our little excursion.

Captain Cook monument, awesome snorkeling. We even saw an octopus, and watched it slither across the coral for some time.

On our way back, we saw some spinner dolphins, but didn't get much on film. I was one of the few up on the top deck and got an incredible show of a mama humpback with her calf about 20 yards away from our boat. One of our crew told me that is only her second time seeing a whale that close, and she's lived there for 3 years.

Pulling into the marina, again I was about the only one on top, and spotted a sea turtle.

These bushes lined the highway and just about everywhere else, and Corey just loved the vibrant colors. I don't know what they are called, but they're a much better sight than dirty snowbanks alongside our roads back home.

After docking and changing, we went shopping in Kona. Kona is the tourist spot, so parking is at a premium and walking all over town a must. After a couple hours of this, I was dying! I just needed somewhere to sit down, and was grateful just to find a public bathroom so I could sit! (pretty gross, but I'm pregnant so I can always use a bathroom)

Corey scoped out a little ice cream parlor, and I never turn down ice cream and a place to rest so I was pretty pleased. Please remember that I'd been swimming and boating, then walking around in the rain so this is a pretty rough picture :)

Our view while enjoying our little treat.

Posing with the marlin while loaded down with souvenirs.

On our way back, we stopped for some lighted pictures of the temple.

We got home around 8 and crashed!!! Too much fun for heavy-laden me.

Hawaii, day 2

2009-03-22T21:07:00.020-06:00

Here's the first of our 'couple' photos we took... of ourselves. We started the day by going to the temple. A good thing, because I don't really see us making it down to Chicago once the baby comes... not for a long time.

Kona Temple

After we got out of the temple, Corey saw a message from my brother-in-law (he called me too, but I didn't have my phone with me). His grandfather, Rex, lives in Kona for 4 months each year, and was still there while we were on vacation. He is an avid fisherman (deep sea), and was willing to take us out fishing if we were interested. Cool!!! But a little weird, because I am not related, and only met him a couple times at family parties for my sister's family so it was a little awkward calling him. But we got over that. Everything in Hawaii is expensive, and fishing would've been way out of our price range, so we wouldn't have even concidered it. Rex then invited us to his condo to discuss plans (uh, yeah, I kind of remember saying 3 words to you about 7 years ago). Once we got there, they made us feel very much at home. We visited for awhile, then he invited us to lunch at the marina so we would know where to meet on Monday. We had a great time, and were really looking forward to going out with him. Rex said he fishes 3-4 days each week. And this is deep sea fishing, hardcore. Just the day before, he caught 2 sharks and a marlin (the man is well into his eighties!), and it can take hours to pull in a fish. Hee, hee, hee! We were excited! We left them after lunch, and went exploring some more.

Corey's so artistic with the camera.

And in front of the camera

Love these guys!

So strange, sandy beaches alongside lavarock fields.

Some other building built from volcanic rock (I can't really remember)

Corey really wanted to see the green sand beaches at the southern point of the island. I started reading about it in the guidebook, and put an end to that idea. "After a 14 mile 4wd ride, you will reach the overlook that doesn't do the site justice. This beach, however, is very treacherous. Please watch the beach for 10-15 minutes before proceeding to make sure the water isn't breaking over the entire beach as there are dangerous riptides and unexpected currents that must be avoided. If the beach looks safe, start your climb down. There is no path, just 3-4 foot drops from boulder to boulder. And remember, down is easier than up, so make sure you aren't getting yourself somewhere you can't handle. Plan on 2 1/2 -3 hours for this excursion." Corey's response to my reading this aloud was, "I didn't think it sounded that bad when I first read it." I think he really didn't get my physical limitations, not that I would have attempted anything like this even if I wasn't expecting. I did let him start us on the road to see if the lookout might be worth it, but after about 1/2 mile, even Corey knew it wouldn't be worth my discomfort at bumping all over the place.

This is the start of that road.

Hawaii, day 5

2009-03-22T21:06:00.020-06:00

This was my day! Corey got up early and went golfing (1st time this trip), and I slept in and spent the morning by the pool. Corey got back around noon, and we went to the beach and snorkeled swam for a couple more hours. Corey was trying to collect a seashell for Addie while snorkeling, and a sea turtle swam right up in front of him... scared him to death! He was so excited, and I was jealous because you just don't get that kind of sighting very often. Later, we went walking, and just down the beach from our hotel is some kind of turtle beach where the turtles love to sun themselves. Common enough for this sign to be put up.

And, lo and behold, there he was! I got so close to him, but didn't want to startle him so we kept walking. Isn't he cool?!

Then, on our way back, he was still there and we spotted two more a little ways off. This was too cool, I just couldn't get over the fact that we were hanging out with sea turtles!

Hawaii, day 4

2009-03-22T21:06:00.017-06:00

This was our boating/fishing day. It was beautiful, not too hot, but sunny and dry. We were a little concerned about the time, because Rex said he leaves at 8:00 and comes back in at 4:00. Long day to be spending with a near stranger, and I was worried about getting seasick but my doc said I was fine to take some Dramamine so that was fine. Corey said I may have to pull the pregnancy card, but I felt horrible about that.

Aren't I pretty, with my swollen face and wind torn hair?

Corey in the fishing chair, waiting for the big pull. That never came. Bummer, but we had a great time. The first time I looked at the clock, it was 1:00! We napped on the upper deck (can you tell I have no idea when it comes to boating terms), talked with the deckhand, visited with Rex, and just relaxed all day long! When it comes to vacations, Corey and I have very different ideas of what we should be doing. Corey wants to be going and seeing the whole time, and I want to relax and not worry about planning anything, so we have to compromise a lot. This day was the best of both our worlds! And it helped me to recoup from the previous days of go, go, go.

Rex and Phyllis Crosland with us in front of his boat (she doesn't ever go, has terrible seasickness). What wonderful people!

Appropriate name for an expensive boat in an expensive town (just down the dock from Rex's)

Hawaii, day 6

2009-03-22T21:02:00.032-06:00

We were so sunburned!!! That day in the sun really did us in. I'm writing this on March 31st, and I'm just finishing with the peeling! We decided to check out some sights on the other side of the island, so we loaded up in the car again. One of the places we wanted to see was Waipio Valley (Valley of the Kings). Again, a pretty major 4wd only road to get down there, but the lookout was more promising than the green sands beach fiasco.

Just a taste of the island life, wouldn't it be strange to have a goat tied up at the front of your driveway?

Too bad for us, it looked beautiful down there but we didn't feel like dropping $100 to be driven down and back.

We're getting pretty good at the self taken pictures of ourselves.

Waipio Valley, so beautiful!

Another view, note the black sand beaches? Would've been cool to walk them, oh well.

We stopped at a botanical garden and there was a pretty waterfall we had to check out. Most of the following pictures are from this garden or the next. We found that the second garden was about 700 times better then the first one we stopped at, too bad we'd already spent the money for the first one. We'd have driven right past it had we known.

Animal, mineral, or vegetable? That's why I love exotic plants, they are so very foreign to what we are familiar with.

A tree with beautiful flowers growing out of it instead of branches, strange.

This reminded me of something you'd see on the ocean floor.

This tree had long needles about 6 feet up, then just stopped. I guess if it's lower trunk is defended, nothings getting up any further to harm it. Creepy.

Just trying for a little nibble...

Another tree with flowers growing out of it.

This trunk was about 8 feet long, and looked like a dragon, pretty cool we thought.

I planted hibiscus last fall, but somehow I doubt they'll look like this one.

Our first trip to Maui (4 years ago) taught us that this is a painted eucalyptus tree. Literally looks like someone painted random colors up and down the trunk.

I took this picture for Addie. If I lived in Hawaii, I'd paint my house purple too!

Beehive ginger plants. The little flowers growing out of them really look like bees coming in and out of the hive.

Chocolate Ginger plant, just a couple of the different ginger types we say.

Blue Hibiscus, isn't it beautiful?

More waterfalls

These flowers look like tiny flamingo heads

Scary guardian of the garden.

At the base of the garden, a beautiful place to watch the ocean.

Pretty rugged, waves crashing like crazy.

We wanted to see Hilo, the other major town on the island, so we pressed on. There are some hotels that were all the rage in the 30's, but now a bit rundown. But, their claim to fame is their banyan trees. There are all these trees that were planted or sponsored or something by a bunch of famous people, one of them Babe Ruth so Corey needed to see this. Walking through the park to get to Banyan Drive, as it was called, we saw this tree. I couldn't get all of the tree, and still keep Corey in focus, so you can imagine how immense this tree really is!

Here's Babe Ruth's tree.

I was pretty wiped out from all the driving and walking around without somehow to put my feet up, so I opted for not walking Banyan Drive with Corey. I waited at a park bench until I saw him swinging back around. I started walking to meet him, and glanced down at the name on this tree. I actually had to sing the Prophet song in my head to verify what I thought, because it was just so out of context for me! Pretty cool, huh?

Back at our hotel, realising that we didn't have any pictures of the grounds, or even a sunset, I got busy. We had 3 pools and 3 hot tubs to enjoy, and they were between the hotel and the beach, so we had plenty of water fun at our fingertips.

Finally, a Hawaiian sunset captured for us to enjoy on those cold winter nights when the sun sets at 3 in the afternoon, and we're too buried in our homes to even acknowledge it's passing.

Day 7, our last day :(

2009-03-22T18:04:00.006-06:00

Alas, our last day. I was really ready to get home, because I missed the kids terribly! We've never left them for any real amount of time, so this was hard on us. Our flight didn't leave till 9:00 that night, so we had the whole day. We arranged for a late checkout at the hotel, and Corey went golfing again while I sat by the pool, this time slathered in sunscreen. When he got back, we played by the pool for awhile longer, then got to the business of packing. No small feat, when you're trying to keep your dirty clothes away from the few clean things we had left, along with all our souvenirs we'd collected... all the while trying to keep our two bags under the 50 lbs mark so we weren't charged anything extra.

Here's a pic of the course Corey golfed that day.

We never really got used to the time change, because it's 5 hours earlier there (we went over the change in daylight saving, but Hawaii doesn't change, so it was that much different). That was okay, because we're not really nightlife partiers, and we were able to get up early and get started on our days without wasting any of it laying in bed, while we still were able to lay in bed. Here's a picture of the moon setting, Corey was out so early golfing.

There were some petroglyphs down the road from our hotel, so we went to check them out. Here's Corey, posing like a petroglyph on the picture from the sign.

Trouble was, it was hard to tell which were authentic and which were carved there in recent years. People dug their names into the stones, pictures of things they found appropriate, random other things. I think this is authentic, a picture of a monkey.

We spent the rest of the day shopping some more, killing time till our dinner reservation, and just saying goodbye to our vacation. It was awesome, and I have to credit Corey for all the fun things we ended up doing. Travel back to Minneapolis was much quicker and less traumatic than the way out... even though we slept on the floor of the Seattle airport for an hour or so. Corey took the worst picture of me just waking up, but I decline to include that gem on our blog. You'll just have to imagine. Corey's already starting to plan our next Hawaiian trip, to Kauai this time. We'll see how soon that ends up happening. I don't see anyone jumping up and volunteering to watch 3 kids for a week so we can go off gallivanting again anytime soon.

Just in case

2009-03-10T00:04:00.003-06:00

For all of you that expressed concern with me traveling while being this pregnant (33 weeks and HUGE!) not to worry.....

I have a contingency plan! Doesn't this look clean and state-of-the-art? Like I said, it's all under control. This picture is only cropping out about 10 feet of building on either side, and I didn't zoom in to get the directions to the ER (the doorway on the left, not to be confused with the doorway on the right for the general admittance)

Finally, in Paradise

2009-03-07T00:28:00.006-07:00

Just a quick little post to let you know that we're enjoying life on the Big Island.

Got in last night at around 10pm (that's 2am in Wisconsin), long freaking day of travel that started at 9:30am. Or the day before, since we actually drove into Minneapolis the day before to pass the kids on to Corey's mom. Needless to say, all we did was pay too much for dinner then hit the sack.

This morning we walked around, drove into town for groceries (breakfast items, water, snacks) then sat on the beach for a few hours. It is WINDY here!!! And it's never windy on this island (we were told several times). Just our luck, but still great to be here.

After we snorkled a bit and soaked in the hot (but not too hot!) tub for awhile, we got cleaned up again and went exploring. Here are some of our fun pics.

Pololu beach lookout (it was raining by this time, so the path was too slippery for me to want to risk). Beautiful black sand beach, but around 42 hazard signs posted about the danger of swimming.

One of my most favorite things about visiting foreign places is seeing all the different plant life. Don't these trees remind you of Lord of the Rings, where the trees uproot themselves and go walking around?

Just one of those sights that are everywhere if you keep your eyes peeled. Isn't Hawaii great?!

And this was only day one. Hopefully all our days here will be as wonderful and fulfilling as this one was. Plus, I have my husband all to myself, no distractions... yet! (he hasn't ditched me to go golfing yet, but by the time he does I'll probably be kind of sick of him and ready for a little alone time)

Valentine Fun

2009-02-14T20:55:00.008-07:00

We had a very fun Valentine's weekend. On Friday, Addie enjoyed her first Valentine's Day party at preschool. They had a chocolate fountain that they were able to dip marshmallows, cherries, and other things that Addie couldn't remember to tell me. They had hearts painted on their faces, and I think they all LOVED giving out valentines!

Here's Addie showing Dad her loot. I was impressed that Addie could tell us the names on each card. Her teachers must teach each child's name to all the class, because Addie was able to 'read' names that I had a hard time reading (each child wrote their own names on the cards, and they are in preschool - just imagine).

Dad's excited to spot a cool valentine.

Here's our sassy girl, trying to get her dense dad to understand just how things are. Note how many times she picks her nose in this short clip -- at least she doesn't ever sample.

Valentine's Day arrived with a fresh blanket of snow. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it! Weird, but I guess snow on a 30 degree day is a lot better than old, dirty snow on a 10 degree day. Corey is the best dad! He is willing to get cold and wet playing in the snow with the kids, and I think he loves it as much or more than they do.

Of course, as soon as I got the camera, Max fell off the sled and face-planted in the snow. After that, he was pretty well done with the snow. At least Addie was still up for a little footage.

Just before bath time, after the movie (Bolt, pretty cute), and after our takeout dinner (we have NEVER gone out for Valentine's Day, and we love it that way, braving crowds just doesn't seem romantic). The kids love to wrestle with Corey. I remember many evenings on our living room floor wrestling our dad, is it in the job description?

Happy Valentine's Day!

February?!?

2009-02-11T20:38:00.007-07:00

We had the best day yesterday! It was 60 degrees, and sunny. Pretty windy, but totally great. We went on a walk, played in the puddles, and decorated the driveway with colored chalk. Max was in heaven! Poor guy never gets to do anything fun. We take Addie to school, he gets hauled in and out of the car, only to be dragged back to the house to kill time till we go to pick her up again. And that's his outing. So good weather is heaven sent.

Here he is, enjoying our pools of melted snow that can't make it through the frozen ground (it was 10 degrees last week). Yes, he is up to his ankles in icy water, but he wasn't complaining so I didn't worry too much about it. Later, when he fell down and sat in the water for a minute before I realized it, I decided we needed to go in and get him dry. He wasn't very happy with me.

And Big Sister showing him how to ride a pink bigwheel. Poor kid, he needs some boy toys!

Great neighborhood

2009-02-10T20:02:00.003-07:00

One of our few hangups with deciding on our house (5 years ago) was the proximity to the mall. Our backyard neighbors are across the street from Sears, so we get some mall traffic... kids cutting through, lots of garbage blowing into our yard, and the occasional shoplifter being pursued by police.

Yup, I've been lucky enough to witness two arrests right from my own home! The first was last summer, I was out weeding when the pursuit unfolded in front of me. Max was sleeping inside, but Addie was roaming around with me, so I beelined back inside and locked the doors. My first thought was, "I left the back door open, maybe someone took refuge in the house!" Mother's paranoia, I guess. My imagination is vivid when it comes to what could happen to my children.

Then, this past Thursday, lightning struck again. Addie was still banned from civilization, but it was the last day to pay the deposit on her dance costume so I had to bundle the kids up and drop by her class to give them a check. Max was napping, so I waited till as late as possible. Finally, we head out and were walking into the garage when I saw a police officer coming around the other side of the garage. He asked if I saw anyone running through here, and I realized I did see someone running around the house behind me that is currently vacant. He kind of blew me off, so I proceeded to load up the kids. I got Max buckled in, and felt I should turn on the light to the garage (hanging around in a dark garage while the police are looking for someone doesn't seem too smart). Just as I did, I heard the officer start screaming at someone that was apparently hiding underneath our giant arborvitae at the end of our driveway. I guess he found who he was looking for, but all I could think was Get In The Car!!! Close The Garage Door!!!

Did I mention that we have a detached garage? So we were stuck, with no windows to see what was going on. I waited a couple minutes, then went out the side door to see if it was safe. By then, our street was lined with cop cars, and our driveway was blocked. I was going to miss her dance teacher, so I pulled my car out and waited. I saw five officers taking care of this perpetrator, and one noticed me waiting so he came to talk to me. "Don't worry, ma'am, we just apprehended a shoplifter that was fleeing the mall. Nothing to worry about." Yeah, easy for him to say. He doesn't have to live here! At least I can rest assured knowing there's apparently very little crime in the area. There can't be, since there were so many available officers chasing down a shoplifter! Isn't that the kind of thing that usually gets shrugged off? I guess this means we actually do live in a great neighborhood.

Good to know.

Rough week

2009-02-06T21:20:00.004-07:00

Addie's sick. But she isn't sick. She came down with a rash on Monday, but I didn't think much about it. I just thought her shirt was irritating her, because it was just on her upper body. When she got home from preschool (yes, I sent her with a rash), it had spread across her whole body. The doctor thought it was scarlet fever, but she didn't have strep that usually prefaces the rash (or the fever, for that matter). "Come back if it's still around in two or three days," says the doctor (not my regular ped, but ours was out that day). Doesn't he see me wrestling Max away from all the fun 'toys' that a doctor's office presents to a toddler? Like I want to come back.

That was Tuesday, and she still had the rash on Friday... along with some flushing around her mouth and up her cheeks. Another $30 co-pay later, we see our regular doctor. He's convinced it is scarlet fever, and doesn't understand why she didn't test positive for strep. He brings another doctor in (his dad, actually) and they both agree. Dad says that scarlet fever can sometimes come on after a staph infection, thus the negative strep test. Great! She could've been on meds for 3 days and back in preschool had the first doctor thought of this. Because he didn't, Addie missed 2 days of preschool, playgroup, and her dance class. Ask me how my sanity was this week.

Thankfully, the weekend was awesome! We had record breaking warmth on Saturday (53*) and we were outside most of the day. We went out to breakfast at our favorite local pancake house, then headed to the park. Although we haven't had more than a couple dustings of snow since December, it's been so cold that no snow has melted. That means around 3 feet of snow melting all over the place. Thankfully Corey had the foresight to have me grab their snowpants and boots, because it was wet, wet, wet! We were there about 1 1/2 hours, and the kids were still mad when we said it was time to go home. Max crashed in the car, but Addie spent the next hour or so clearing slush from the driveway and front walk with her dad. We now have beautiful sidewalk-chalk art along our back walk, and muddy grass everywhere.

Base humor at it's finest

2009-01-28T19:56:00.009-07:00

Okay, those with sensitivites to basic bodily functions... please turn away. Switch to another blog about cooking or gardening, but read no further.

Now that I've got you all sufficently hooked (who's going to stop reading after an opener like that) I shall continue.

I was at the hall closet, putting things away and organizing, and I took advantage of my relative solitude to release some pent up pregnancy bubbles. The second I finished, Addie came tearing into the hall behind me and grabbed me around the legs for a big, "I love you Mom!" hug. Behind me, you see. She started to run away, then slowed to a stop and screwed up her face and said, "Smells like you need to go poop, Mom!" By this time, I was laughing so hard I nearly succombed to another pregnancy curse! My poor daughter. She will end up no more a lady than her dear old mom did, even though I do frown upon Corey's pull-my-finger trick he's teaching her.

Here she is with her new love, the internet. She is now up to three websites that she alternates between. Playhouse Disney, StarFall, and Scholastic Reading.

She also had Parent/Teacher Conferences today, and she is perfect! Of course, that was my interpretation of the conversations. All three of her teachers say that she is great -- sweet, respectful, smart... all the things that any good mother loves to hear. I even asked about her attitude, because it's been a rough couple months here at the Grip household. They all seemed shocked that little Addie could cause me a moment's trouble because they've never seen such a thing. Alas, I guess I'd rather her act properly outside the house, even if I have to deal with her sass at home.

Max's new trick

2009-01-18T20:41:00.003-07:00

I've got a climber. CRAP!!! I never thought I'd have to deal with this, because Addie never gave me any trouble. Wishful thinking, I guess. Yesterday, I heard a suspicious noise coming from down the hall, and realized it was the toothbrush cup on our sink. I walked back to find this.

Unfortunately, we all thought this was so cute... and Max got the audience he so loves. So today, when Corey dragged him out of the sink again and told him "No!" there was major drama. You'd think he's a girl the way he carries on when he's ticked. But he's pretty cute, otherwise, so we forgive him.

Look how big my kids are

2009-01-13T20:54:00.006-07:00

I know it's cliche, but I can't believe how big my kids are getting. Here's a couple pictures to enjoy if you're bored.

Max won't let me feed him anymore. He'd rather two-fist his food himself. And I do mean two-fist. Anytime he eats, whether it's crackers, grapes, sandwiches... whatever, he has to have something in both hands. This is him enjoying rice and veggies. I had to wait till the next morning to sweep the floor (ever tried to sweep wet rice? Yuck!)

Addie ALWAYS wants to help. And I feel bad when I turn her down just because I want to get through making dinner without having to exercise any patience. Tonight, she made chili (almost by herself). And because of this, she ate a whole bowl. This is big, because she doesn't usually eat much dinner. Notice her apron? She didn't want to miss out on any cooking by spending time to find her baker's hat -- a christmas gift from her cousins.

After dinner, we had a belated Family Home Evening about prayers. Addie went on hiatus with saying prayers for the past few weeks. She is in Primary now, and was pretty offended when she wasn't chosen to say the prayer. I told her that she couldn't pray in Primary until she started praying again at home. So, now she insists on praying at every opportunity. Her prayers are pretty entertaining, since she includes things like Santa Clause and his reindeer, "all the people we love, and all the people we don't know," and anything else that pops into her mind. So we had a lesson on what we should be thankful for. I started the list, then she insisted on writing things for herself. I couldn't believe how well she knew ALL her letters! I never practice them with her, so all the credit goes to her preschool teachers. Incase it's only legible to her mama, the list includes food, health, sleep, friends, home, Bishop, and Jesus

I'm so proud of my kids, and am constantly shamed by my lack of effort in teaching them these things that they are sponging up so easily. I have these moments, and vow to put forth more effort. So here's hoping I can take advantage of my guilt and try to teach my kids what a good mom would. Wish me luck.

Nothing to blog about

2009-01-12T19:55:00.005-07:00

Maybe I'm suffering a little of the winter blues, but I can't seem to come up with anything to blog about. But I thought I should post a little bit, if only to let you know I'm still around.

I know I haven't said anything about Christmas, but that's only because it was NOT a great week. We went to Minnesota, but were unsure of our plans because of weather up until the afternoon we left. Addie came down with a fever that night, and didn't get over it till Saturday after Christmas. She came down with a cold, cough, runny nose, and a terrible 3 year old's attitude. She earned her first two spankings because of how she was acting . I know being sick makes you not want to be friendly around people, but it's hard to see your daughter act like she wasn't raised right when she only gets to see family a couple times a year. Max was about 2 days behind her with his cold, then I followed him the next day. Corey didn't come down with anything till New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, he is still suffering. He started with a head cold, then a sinus infection, then an ear infection. He's been draining bloody infection out of his ear for a week!

Maybe this is why I have the winter blues, since the winter can be blamed for most of the blues I've been subjected to lately. Sorry this is so lame, I just had to break back into blogging to see if I can look at life a little differently.

I can't even add some Christmas pictures, because I didn't get any good ones. Here's one of Max, enjoying a little private space in the kennel at Corey's grandparent's house. Note the bejewled phone he's playing on, and the runny nose and eyes. This was his life for a good two weeks, poor kid.

Winter Wonderland (like I wonder why we still live here)

2008-12-21T19:22:00.008-07:00

When we moved to Milwaukee, we thought that we would be here no more than 5 years (4 1/2 yrs ago), then move on to bigger and better things. Then, last year we endured the 2nd worst winter on record (the worst was in 1892 or something like that). After that, Corey declared that we were NOT going to spend another winter in this place! Well..... here we are.

This past Friday, we were 'blessed' with about 14 inches of snow. And not the first snow of the season, either. I think we are ahead of last year's snowfall at this time. I have been kind of sissy about the snowblower, and have not used it this year. Luckily, Corey has been home during each of the previous storms, so he just takes care of it. Last week we got a few inches while Corey was out of town, and I was just going to clear a path to the garage. But the snow was so powdery (Utah snow) that I ended up pushing it off the whole driveway. I say 'pushing' because that's all I did. I didn't lift anything, it was great. And, since I am 22 weeks pregnant, I figure I should refrain from any kind of snow hefting.

Back to Friday. We bought Addie a snow shovel her size for Christmas, but with this snow we decided to give her a present early (and put her to work). I bundled her up, then sent her out with Corey to clear our paths. Max was TICKED!!! He wanted to go out soooo bad! This did not excite me, because I figured that I'd spend 15 minutes getting him and me bundled, then he'd be out for 2 minutes before he started crying from the cold. And I don't have any snow pants for him yet, but I did find some snow gloves (waterproof), so I thought I'd give it a try. An hour later, I was freezing and the drive and walkways were cleared, so I started hauling kids back inside. Again, he was Ticked! He'd have stayed outside all day if I'd have let him. What a trooper! Addie, too, although I expected that from her. She just loves doing big-kid stuff like that.

Here she is, first braving the snow. The grimace is just the initial shock of the cold, I'm sure.

Doesn't look like he's too excited, huh. That's what I thought, until he started trucking down the driveway trying to catch up to Corey and the snowblower.

Remember how fun it was to eat snow? Now, all I can think about is frozen cheeks and chapped lips as a result of the snow eating. I think I'm getting old. This picture has Addie on her knees, but when she walked down the walk before it was cleared, the snow hit the bottom of her coat. Wisconsin's great, huh?

Corey hauling Max back up the driveway. I thought the noise of the snowblower would be too much for Max, but when I took him from Corey he freaked out. Guess he just wanted some male bonding time.

Like I said before, I wonder why we still live in this place that can bury us so entirely in just a couple hours. Options, I guess.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2008-12-16T21:20:00.008-07:00

I have the most amazing husband. I know everyone says that sometime or another in their marriage, but I really have a great man taking care of me.

We got back from Nauvoo on Sunday night, and Monday got a call from Corey's mom saying she wanted to come visit. She was on the road the next day. She got in late Tuesday evening, and we were sitting around visiting when Corey handed me an envelope. I had been cleaning all day (mother-in-law visit cleaning) and was tired, so I was very confused when I opened the envelope to stare at the travel itinerary in front of me. It said that I was leaving Saturday morning for Ontario. But I don't have a passport, and I don't think December is the time for me to go to Canada. But, on further inspection, I realized that I was going to Ontario, CA!! That's right next to Ranco Cucamonga, and that's where Amber lives with her babies!!! I was going to finally see those quads!!! Not only did Corey buy my ticket, he arranged the week with Amber... he got me a substitute for Primary... he changed my doctor appointment... and he took a day off to watch the kids! What a man.

So I was off to sunny weather, and beautiful babies. And I forgot my camera. Not that I had much time to even think about taking pictures. So, I've stolen some pictures from Amber's blog (this woman has enough organization to post regularly, nurse, pump, medicate babies, entertain those that come to help her, and stay calm while 2-3 babies are crying in her arms at the same time). And I fell in LOVE! I cried when I left, not just because I was going to miss helping out, but because I wasn't going to be able to hold and feed and change and rock and watch their development anytime I wanted. I can't believe how much I bonded with these wonderful miracles in such a short time. Five days doesn't seem like much, but a week later, I'm still missing those babies so very much. And it was hard work! There is NO down time. If all four are taken care of and happy (or sleeping), you are doing dishes, or folding laundry, or prepping bottles, or trying to remember to nap... because the nights were not any easier. I was peed on, and puked on, and woken up, and everything else that babies do that mommies (and surrogate aunties) have to endure times 4. And I wish I could go back tomorrow.

Here are the babies, these pics were taken a couple days before I got there. Top left is Michael, top right is Jakob, bottom left is Jaileigh, and bottom right is Anthony. It's amazing to me that anyone can confuse them, they seem so individual to me. Of course, that doesn't mean that I didn't fumble the names several times a day, but I always knew what I meant.

Typical scene at home, Mom and Dad holding two babies each.

Beautiful family, don't you think?

Oh, how I love them. Anthony, Michael, Jaileigh, and Jakob.

Hard to read in this picture, but their onesies say "All mommy wants for Christmas is a silent night." You don't know how true this is. Amber could fall asleep with people visiting around her, catch a couple winks while nursing or pumping, sleep with babies on her lap and chest... anything to keep up with these babies.

Oh, yeah, I came home the night before my birthday to balloons, a crown, and a completely clean house. My bed was even made! And this was all Corey, his mom went home a few days before. Addie made me wear this crown the whole day (when she remembered). Aren't I a lucky woman?!?

Nauvoo

2008-12-16T14:33:00.007-07:00

Sorry, I have been remiss with my postings lately. But I have been busy doing things I should be posting about, so I'll try to catch up.

Thanksgiving in Nauvoo, what a good idea. I was not really on board, because Thanksgiving is about family gathering and feasting. At least that's what I believe. But being away from family, Corey didn't want to waste away the weekend by sitting on the couch watching football (I should be grateful, I know). And Nauvoo in November is so private! Very few visitors, so we had many attractions all to ourselves.

Here we are with the oxen. 2500 lbs of peaceful animals, still a little scary.

The statue of Joseph and Hyrum at the end of the Trail of Tears (0r hope, I forget).

Addie and I in front of John Taylor's property. Since we are decendants, we felt a bit of ownership and pride. We even signed the book in his home as a great-great granddaughter, and a great-great-great granddaughter (Addie's excited to meet him in heaven, funny that she is starting to get some deeper doctrine)

Again, we had Carthage Jail all to ourselves. We got there at 4:50, so we had the last tour of the evening. And it was full dark, so it was easy to transport ourselves back to the actual event. Very powerful.

Corey watched the kids while I did a session, and paid the price. Kids don't like killing time when it's 40* out, and they've missed their naptime. While I enjoyed 2 hours of peace, Corey never got his chance. He didn't want me (and the kids) to have to go through the same experience the next day, so we went down to Carthage instead.

We had a wonderful time, and were able to teach the kids (Addie, at least) about how people lived and loved the gospel in different ways than we know now.

The Curse of Black Friday

2008-11-28T20:33:00.003-07:00

I have always hated the thought of 'Black Friday' shopping. Crowds just aren't my style, and I have a hard time believing the deals are really that good. My first experience with this cursed event was my first year in college. I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled, and it was either over Thanksgiving break or Christmas break... so I opted for missing out on turkey. I had them pulled the day before Thanksgiving, then had a wonderful day after. I wasn't in a lot of pain, and was even able to chew most of the dinner items, so I didn't feel left out. That evening, my roommate contacted me - depressed. She's from Washington, but didn't have a way to get home for the short holiday. She ended up with her aunt in Provo, and was hating it! Since I was feeling so much better than expected, I invited her to spend the rest of the weekend with us. She and my mom hit it off, and got to talking about the shopping going on the next day. My mom always went out, so she was happy to have some company.

Early the next morning, we were running through WalMart, trying to find everything on the list. But I was tired. And not too into the spirit of the day. And, appearantly, was not as recovered as I thought. I started complaining, and my mom decided to put me in the check out line (it was about 1/2 mile long at this point, so they would fill my cart while I was slowly making my way to the registers. I wasn't even halfway through this line, when my mom noticed that I was green, green... looking dangerously close to puking. My poor mom had to abort the mission and take me home (we lived very close) and got back just in time to pay for her meager lot of items.

That was my first experience. I was 18. My next experience was last year (mere weeks before my 33rd birthday). See, I got back on the horse. It just took me fifteen years or so :)

Last year, my sister Kristy talked me into joining their expedition. We were in Utah for the holiday, and I'd never been out with her. Now, in Utah, they started something new at one of the malls the previous year. The mall opened at midnight, and about 1/2 the stores opened with incredible deals (this is all part of the talking me into it speech). She went on about all the great deals the Gap and others had to offer, and she was so excited because 3 malls were doing the same thing this time, so we just HAD to go! Well, I wasn't too excited about this. Max was only 2 months old, and Corey would have to do some night feedings if I was to join the ranks, and I still wasn't too gung-ho. Corey pushed a little, because he knew how hard it was for me to miss out on fun things my family does together. So I agreed.

We tried to nap in the evening, but sisters do not nap when we only see each other once or twice a year. So, about 11:oo, we bundled up and got in line at the mall. It was crazy! I couldn't believe how many people were willing to participate in this kind of mayhem. I figured we'd do the mall, then I'd head home and they (4 of my sisters and my mom) would work on the rest of their lists. Little did I know, Kristy figured once she had me out she wasn't going to take me home! The mall didn't have nearly the store cooperation they had the year before (at least in the stores I was interested in), so I felt the night was a bust... let's hit the sack. Oh, no! We had to go to Kohl's, they had KitchenAids for cheap, and they were opening at 4:00. This was at 2:00, when we were having this conversation. Enjoying the company too much, I finally agreed to do Kohl's. So, at 4:00, the doors opened to a frigid mass of people, myself included, and we ran like crazy. We couldn't find the right mixers, so I went scouting. I found a group of people hauling away KitchenAids like they were crazed, and one woman just staring at the box trying to decide if she really wanted it. I just reached around her and grabbed it... you snooze, you lose baby! Now I was getting the fever. This is fun! We all got what we were looking for (I flew in for Thanksgiving, remember, limited luggage space and all) then got in line. This was when the fever died. The line was CRAZY!!! Three or four registers at the front of the store, and we were in the line that wrapped all the was around to the back, then up the middle again. Suddenly these deals didn't look so great (since they weren't for me, I could afford to say that). My mom courageously offered to do the check out, and sent us to WalMart for their 5:00 opening.

WalMart. Back to the scene of horror. I tried to back out, claiming that I needed to pump, claiming exhaustion, claiming possible alien abduction... whatever, just so I didn't have to face Wally world with all the crazies! Too bad, my sister said, it's just across the parking lot and too close to opening to take me home. Crap! Strangely, WalMart ended up being the best Black Friday experience we had... go figure. It was a 24 hr store, so they were open and doing business. You just weren't able to touch any of the specials till they announced it. So, people were just standing around the areas of most interest to them. That meant, instead of 500 people rushing in the doors at once and going crazy finding what they are looking for, only about 20 or 30 people are diving into the piles... very little chance of bloodshed. Cool! We were in and out within 20 minutes, I kid you not! Awesome! After that, we just had Target (do the stores all get together to figure out how to stagger the opening times, making sure people can shop at each one of the openings?). That was alright, but it was 6:00 by this time, and I was beyond drained. I dragged in at about 7:00, just in time to feed Max, then crash for several hours of very interupted sleep.

All in all, way better than I thought it could be. Probably because I got to do this with my sisters, and that made it all worth it.

Now, if you're still with me (I'm totally rambling, sorry) I will come to the point of this whole post. This year, we didn't have any plans for Thanksgiving. Utah was too expensive, and Corey's mom and sister went to Vegas for the weekend, so there was no reason to go anywhere. Corey suggested we go to Nauvoo instead of sitting at home all weekend. I was pretty hesitant, until we found out 2 missionaries didn't have an invitation for dinner, so we had them over for a nice Thanksgiving dinner, then hit the road to Nauvoo. We pulled into the hotel parking lot around 10:30, and Corey pointed out that WalMart was in the same lot with us. "Hey, you could run over and get your Christmas shopping done tomorrow with all the sales!" Nice, just what I wanted to do. By myself. Again, with no room to bring anything home. I just shrugged him off. He mentioned it again as we were going to sleep, and I laughed at him. Unfortunately, I noticed that this was a 24 hr store, so it could potentially be an okay experience. NO! I don't want to go! But the deals... No, way! Walking around Nauvoo all day with no sleep because I shopped for the thrill of it was not my idea of a good time. This cycled through my mind, over and over again... all night long. I even checked the clock at one point, considering, but it was only 3:30. I went back to sleep. Next thing I know, Corey is standing over me saying he keeps dreaming about shopping, and figures he should just go and do it! So, Corey went to WalMart (he hates WalMart), on Black Friday (he hates crowds), & he spent a lot of money (he hates to spend money)! And I didn't get any more sleep, because I was waiting around for him to get back and see what he got.

He had fun... I know he did, even though he denies it. And he got some cool things for our family, so that's fun for me. So, I feel like the curse has been lifted, and I will consider doing this again if I have a buddy. I'd love to hear any fun, beating the next shopper to the punch, pushing yourself to the limits, Black Friday stories any of you may have. And happy shopping!

Dance Recital

2008-11-20T20:31:00.008-07:00

Tonight was Addie's last dance class for this session. Parents were invited to watch this class to see what they've learned. We sat in on the first class, but haven't been allowed in the room the rest of the classes so the girls would concentrate on the teachers. Corey came home early today so he could come, and it was sooooo cute!!! I know I'm biased, but I thought all the girls were great. I'm so sad that the next class won't start till the end of January, what are we going to fill our Thursdays with?

Here's our little ballerina (pardon the panty line)

I'm sorry this is so long, but I loved it. I recorded the whole class time, but this was the best one I think. It won't offend me if you don't watch it all, it gets a little monotonous after awhile.

Here's Addie with her teachers - Miss Michelle, Miss Elizabeth, and young Miss Jessica - saying goodbye (she's so sad)

Shopping!

2008-11-15T21:07:00.005-07:00

Saturday is a special day, it's a day we catch up on being a family. (anyone singing the old primary song by now?) Since Corey's so busy on Sundays, it's really our only day that we get to hang... and by that, I mean that I feel justified in throwing the kids in his direction anytime they need something. BUT.... Corey went to a Wisconsin Badger football game today. And I was not pleased. I shouldn't be so bossy, but it's really our only day!!! However, when we moved here Corey listed all the things he needed to do while living in Wisconsin. This list included going the a Packer game (check), golfing at Whistling Straits (working on it), and watching a Badger game. So I shouldn't complain, but I did... a lot. I decided the only way not to be a super raggy wife when he came home from the game was to fill my day, so I wasn't sitting at home with the kids all day long. So I went shopping!!!

I had a 30% off coupon for Gap/Old Navy that was to expire today, and since I didn't have a real time table to keep, I decided to take a drive. For those not from Milwaukee, it's about a 30 min drive to the outlets, and I don't like to make the time. But today I had nothing but time. And I cleaned them out! Corey was a little afraid to ask how much I spent, especially since he knew how I felt about how he spent his day (yeah, he got home at 7:45 pm), but I didn't go too crazy.

The reason for this post, is to tell you of my new discovery while shopping!! Motherhood maternity has a new style of waistbands they are putting on skirts and jeans that I LOVE!!!

Now, I know that I'm an old lady that likes to wear bands over my belly instead of under, but that's the beauty of this product! You can roll the band down below the waist, wear it midwaist or go Urkle like I always do and pull it up to your chin! And the fabric is soooo comfortable, kind of like a fitted tee shirt would feel (maybe like Shade shirts with more spandex).

So, if there's any of you out there expecting, or thinking that you have a little extra cash that you want to contribute to your maternity wardrobe (just in case you get that crazy urge to keep expanding your family) go and check it out. Plus, the prices were very reasonable... not the norm for Motherhood, I know, so take advantage.

I Love BestBuy!

2008-11-10T20:29:00.002-07:00

Our computer has served us well. We got it when Addie was 4 months old, and it has survived her pounding and picking (I got pretty good at reattaching keys), and even a drop or two... not that I'd ever admit that to Corey at the time. The laptop was a gift from Corey's mom, and she completely believes in buying the service plans that are offered with electronic purchases. We also believe in these, in theory, but we usually are too cheap to allow that extra expense.

With our computer, we've had a few issues that were swiftly taken care of because of the service plan. The last issue we had was the mouse pad didn't work anymore, so we had to attach a mouse to the laptop. We sent it in, and got it back 3 weeks later (can you imagine being stuck at home with 2 little kids and no computer?!?) but the problem wasn't fixed. We took it back, and found that our plan covered replacing the computer if the problem wasn't fixable or not cost effective to fix. That's right, baby, we got to pick out a new computer!!!

Now, about 3 years ago, Corey had an XBox that started sticking on a certain game. He bought it on EBay, and it came with a service/replacement plan. So he brought it back, and they didn't even look at it...they told him to pick out a new one, and since the price had dropped since the original purchase, he got that difference back in a store credit! What a deal, huh? So when we found out we needed to pick out a new laptop, Corey was giddy! Our original computer cost $1400, so he started shopping online. We went in, and found out that the policy had changed. We were to get a laptop comparable to our original. Small problem, nothing's comparable. Technology 3 years ago doesn't exist anymore. Good for most, bad for us. We had 3 laptops to pick from, and ended up with a $400 computer. We had gone into the store sure that we would buy another service plan. After all, it had saved us several times. But the plan costs $250, more than half the cost of the computer. We decided if this one went kaput, we would invest in a laptop we really wanted, not one we were forced to pick from.

Reguardless, I love BestBuy. We've had great experiences with them, and will continue to give them our business as long as it benefits us.

November???

2008-11-04T20:27:00.004-07:00

This week has been B-E-A-Utiful!!! I'm not kidding, I'd love this kind of weather in June! Or every day of the year. It's been in the low 70's all week, and continues through tomorrow. Then it's projected to rain/snow this weekend and dip into the 30's. So I'll take advantage of this while I can. We had playgroup at a park today, probably our last opportunity till... I don't know, May! So Max has turned into a handful at the park, because he's into climbing and I'm into talking with my friends. So here's a short clip highlighting my time at the park.

Halloween (a little belated is better than never)

2008-11-04T13:32:00.008-07:00

Halloween was a week long affair this year, and am I glad it's over! Between trick-or-treating on Sunday (because Wisconsin doesn't believe in doing it on Halloween night, go figure)... Tuesday night at the church trunk-or-treating... Thursday at dance class... and Friday at preschool, I was DONE!!!

Corey put it in Addie's head (about 7 months ago) that we should go as the Mystery Gang. The only one we were missing was Scooby (a key character, I know). I've talked to a lot of moms that say their kids kept changing their minds, but Addie never wavered. The only change made was she originally wanted to be Velma, and that would leave me as Daphne. I didn't think I'd pull off the velvet dress as well as Addie, so we talked her into the orange wig.

Sunday afternoon, we bundled up and headed out to get some loot... and it was cold! There were high wind gusts all day, and as soon as we went out the temperature seemed to drop. We got around to about 5 houses, and it started spitting rain, then snow! Corey's dad took Max back to the house, but the three of us pressed on.

This was so classic in our older neighborhood (old poops that don't want to deal with whiney kids asking for more candy). Corey made me pretend like I was taking a picture of he and Addie while really zooming in on the sign on the door, thus the orange fuzz in the corner.

Here's a pic of Addie kissing our trophy we won as a family at the ward Halloween party. Pretty fun night, even though the haunted house fog machine set off the fire alarm that brought the fire department. Ah, memories...

Unfortunately, I'm ditzy and didn't even think about bringing the camera to dance class so there's no picture of Addie in her ballerina costume (thanks Becky!) I'll try to be a better mom in the future.

This is Addie's preschool class party. There were some fancy costumes, must be a ritzy class.

It takes a special person to be a preschool teacher. I can't imagine having to corall 25 three year olds.

Two notes: I was bugged that they put Addie in the back, but didn't want to be a pushy mom complaining that you couldn't see my kid. Luckily, the lady next to me spoke up and said "Daphne needs to be in the front, all you can see is the top of her orange wig." Notice in the picture above she's in the front row.

Also, don't feel too bad for the girl next to Addie that's not dressed up. I was thinking maybe her parents didn't believe in Halloween, and the poor girl was subjected to being the only kid without a costume. But Addie said her mom brought her a costume to change into (must have been a rough morning in their house).

You never appreciate it till it's gone

2008-11-03T18:59:00.006-07:00

What a weekend! We have Corey's dad visiting us this week, so we thought we'd go for a drive on Saturday into Kettle Moraine Nat'l Forest and see what fun we could find. Corey took a shower, then I did, but before I even got dressed, Corey's dad told me our water heater was leaking. We went downstairs to look, and sure enough there was a nice fountain (or bubbler, are you from Milwaukee?) coming out of the bottom of the water heater. GREAT!!! Does this kind of thing only happen on a weekend?! There went our plans.

Of course, the kids were desperately in need of a bath, as Halloween can be messy when you add glitter hairspray to your little ballerina. Plus, Max has a cold, so he's all boogery and slobbery. All I could think of was going to church the next day with dirty kids, and greasy hair. Corey got on the phone, and an hour later spent $600 on a new waterheater that would be installed sometime on Monday.

Suddenly, I'm realizing that I'm way behind on dishes, laundry, and can't figure out how to get Addie to school on Monday when she's days past a bath. Bathe her at the neighbor's house, perhaps? (We are feeding their fish while they are out of town, and Corey was insistant that they wouldn't mind if we used their shower. Is that creepy to anyone else? Also, we weren't sure when they were coming home, and it turned out they arrived at noon today when Addie and I were over there feeding the fish! Could you imagine if I were leaving their house with a towel on my head, what would they think?) Hot water, I've found, affects all aspects of running a household.

On Sunday, with my kitchen overflowing with dishes and no way to get it clean, I decided to boil some water and wash the pans, at least. They are big, and getting them taken care of clears a bigger spot. It worked quite well, so I started washing knives and miscellaneous things, and I cut my finger! So that was the end of dishes for me. Then I got the brilliant idea of boiling water to fill a bath for the kids. It worked like a dream!! I had to boil 2 pots of water and poured it into a shallow bath of cold water. It wasn't quite warm enough, so I boiled the 2 pots of water again. I was pouring the last pot in, and poured the very last of the boiling water all over my hand -- the same hand I cut! And I am such a weenie about things like that. But I had to bathe the kids, so I gritted my teeth through the pain of putting my burned hand in the hot water. Then nursed my poor hand with an ice pack, even slept with it to ease the burn (told you I'm a weenie!)

So today I'm feeling pretty gross, and we don't know when the installer is supposed to come, so I decide to do the same thing I did for the kids. Of course, I need a bit more water in my bath, so I ended up boiling water for AN HOUR before the water was tolerable (not steamy, the way I would have prefered). I stepped into the tepid water, and heard Corey greet the installer at the back door. Oh well, all that work could have been avoided had I been a little patient. But I had to take Addie to school at noon, and didn't think we'd have hot water in time.

The up side to this whole thing is we now have regular hot water pressure in our kitchen faucet (we lost pressure one day a couple years ago, and I am unwilling to pay a plumber oodles of $$$ to fix it). I guess there was a block near the water heater in the lines, and it was cleared when the water was turned back on!!! All in all, nearly worth $600. But, you know how spending large amounts of money is fun only if you can feel the tangible reward? My reward is new pressure that we have lived without for too long, and the thought that listing our home with a new water heater (when the time comes that we've outgrown our house) will help it sell faster. I can always hope, right?