Life is Beautiful

Super quick icecream recipe

2011-07-11T21:32:00.003-05:00

We have really been making a huge effort to eat things that are organic or made with as many organic, hormone free ingrediants as possible. One of the most expensive things is organic icecream. That stuff is crazy pricey! So I was super exited when I saw this tutorial about home made icecream! Last night I decided to give it a shot and see how it went. To my surprise it came out really good!

Things you will need:

1C Half & Half

2T Sugar

1/2t Vanilla

1/2C Salt
Ice

1 Large baggie

1 Small baggie

Step 1- Gather your suppplies

Step 2- Mix Half & Half, sugar and vanilla in the smaller baggie. I used a sandwich size bag and it had plenty of room.

Step 3- Fill the larger baggie with ice and dump in the salt. I used canning salt, but rock salt or table salt should be fine also. The salt helps the ice freeze the cream faster. Real scientific, I know.

Step 4- Put the smaller baggie in the bigger baggie and shake the heck out of it. It takes about 10 minutes of shaking to get the job done. I tried to give this job to Kaelin but she didn't want any part of doing the hard work. Make sure the smaller bag is sealed really well otherwise you'll end up with salt icecream.

Step 5- Open the bags and enjoy! I put ours in the freezer while we ate dinner to let the icecream really harden. It is really good as vanilla but you could easily make another flavor by adding ingrediants such as chocolate, nuts, fruit or any other thing you like in your icecream.

This recipe is extremely easy and a very quick, kid friendly one. We don't have an icecream maker so I've never made any before. It's nice to be able to make some whenever we need it. Plus it's a small enough amount that I don't have to worry about super expensive icecream getting freezer burnt in the freezer. I could totally see this being the kind of thing we can do for a family picnic or even a birthday party. Set out the supplies and each guest can make their own with whatever flavors the want. Yum!

Ebeanstalk.com v2.0

2011-06-22T18:50:00.001-05:00

I have had the pleasure to work with ebeanstalk.com a few times in the past and I have to say, they are still one of my favorite sites to find top selling toys for 3 year olds! (Oops, my 3 year old is now 4, I guess that's my next post!)

Both of my kids are curious little creatures. Sean loves taking things apart and putting them back together again. His favorite thing lately is to carry around various cables and plug them in to things. Don't worry, my outlets are all covered! He'll take a cable for my ipod and stick it into the aux jack on the laptop or the media center computer in the living room. I think that's fantastic for a 1 year old! So my favorite commercial toys for him are the wooden games that ebeanstalk carries. The wooden puzzles, magnetic mazes and shape sorters are perfect for his little fingers. The Melissa & Doug toys were some of Kaelin's favorites and those have been handed down to Sean to love now. So, one benefit to the wooden toys is that they definately hold up to the abuse kids inflict on them! So much better then cheapy plastic toys that break apart after the first time they get thrown around a bit. Plus, with these around, all my cables and cords can get a rest from being jammed into everything!

Kaelin loves all kinds of experiments and projects where she gets to learn how to make things and how they work. I will be going to visit family in a few weeks so Mike will be home alone with Kae for almost a week. They are planning on hitting the beach, the zoo and (of course) Jump'n Jungle in their free time. But I am seriously eyeing these fun science kits as another activity for them to do together. A few months ago we bought a kit that was a solar cell that could be made into a dog, a robot, a sailboat and a wind mill. She thought that was the coolest thing ever and I know Mike loved getting to geek it up with his princess. She carried a flash light around with her so she could show everyone how it turned on when she shined the light on the solar cell. I think she would love the butterfly garden after we had such success with our lady bugs this past year. And I would love to see her playing with any of the Magic School Bus kits! I'm ashamed to admit it, but I loved that show even when I was a freshman in college! (Shhhh!) The microscope would go perfectly with her mini microscope and magnifying glasses! I love that we have a little one to pass our nerd genes to! :)

So, if you haven't checked out www.ebeanstalk.com yet, do it now! You know, Christmas is only 6 months away. Just saying!

Dress A Doll Magnet Set Review

2011-01-29T11:05:00.005-06:00

We have all been cooped up in the house for the last few weeks while we had a nasty cold bug. Pair that will the cold rainy weather we've been having and you get some super grumpy kids and a frazzled Mommy. So when I opened the door one day last week and found a box from ebeanstalk, I got excited! So did Kaelin, she couldn't wait for me to open it and see what she got!

Inside we found a Dress A Doll Magnet Set!

Dress-A-Doll offers hours of open-ended fun with one magnet doll, plus plenty of clothes and accessory pieces to place on the included 9 x 12" double-sided magnetic playboard. It′s packed in a reusable vinyl storage envelope and includes a booklet with suggested activities and design ideas.

So basically, it's a set of magnetic paper dolls. How cool is that? We've attempted paper dolls before and it wasn't pretty. Kaelin gets frustrated when she can't do things by herself and all those little tabs on the paper dolls just don't work for her. We immediately opened the super cool carrying bag that it's in and popped out all the pieces. There are 29 pieces in total and it's enough to make 8 different outfits or endless amounts of "silly suits" as Kaelin calls them. It comes with a magnetic board to put everything on so she doesn't even have to take the magnets off of it, she just slides the pieces she's not using to the side. So I don't have to go on a scavenger hunt to find the ballet shoes, or the raincoat, or the teddy bear. Well, you get the point! Nothing frustrates me more then having 1000 little pieces and no way to contain them all, so I love this!

She sat and played with her doll set for quite awhile! This was such a nice change from all the whining and fussiness that goes with a cold. She really had fun with the fact that she could dress the doll and change her outfits with no help from me whatsoever. I can't stress how important that is when you have a very independent kid like mine! Plus the carrying case allowed us to take the set with us in the car and to Grammy's house. As long as she doesn't accidentally drop any of the pieces I don't have to worry about them being left behind or ending up in the floor boards of the car after she's played with them!

We give the Dress A Doll Magnet Set 5+ stars!! Happy kiddo, happy Momma!

Disclaimer: I was provided the Dress A Doll Magnet Set for free from ebeanstalk for the purpose of conducting this review. Ebeanstalk is a toy website that does their best to provide you with the best toys out there. They like to stay informed about the best learning toys and toys by age by having people like me and you tell them about their favorites! What are the perfect baby gifts? Is their a toddler toy that your kiddo just won't put down? Head on over to ebeanstalk and tell them what they are!

So, I've been a slacker

2011-01-28T16:38:00.001-06:00

Wow, it's been over 3 months since my last post?! Crazy talk! I could make excuses and blame the holidays, but I won't. I just plain old slacked.

There have been so many changes with the kids in the last few months. Kaelin is really looking like a big girl! Mike convinced her to go get her first hair cut and I think it jump started her hair growing! I can put it into a real ponytail now, or piggies even! She continues to surprise me every day with the things she knows. She's a little sponge and soaks up every single thing around her. I am starting to have a little bit of a problem with her being jealous of Sean. She can't stand it when I'm on the couch feeding him and she can't be in my lap also. I have been looking into preschool for her in the fall. I mostly want to get her (and me!) used to being on a set schedule and used to her being away from me in a classroom setting. I think I'm going to send her to the same school her BFF went to. It seems like a good school, I went to school with the current director and they are extremely flexible with the schedule. So I could start with sending her one morning a week and increase it as we get used to it. She may surprise me though and love school so much that she doesn't mind being away from me. But I do want to wait until the fall, no point in starting too early and her not liking it. She got a Leapster Explorer and some games for it for Christmas and she's already playing the 4-7 year old games. She doesn't quite know her numbers or letters yet, but she's starting to get it. And for the most part, she is finally sleeping all night! I just ordered her some ladybugs for her ladybug habitat and she is so excited about getting them and seeing them grow!

Now for Sean. My little guy is a chunk! At his 9 month checkup he was already weighing 20 pounds! That's more then Kaelin weighed at a year old! He got a new big boy carseat for Christmas and loves riding in it, rear facing still of course. He crawls all over the place and is even cruising the furniture and using a walker. He will be walking by his birthday I'm sure. He's just such a happy little guy, I love it! He is a total water baby like his sister was. If I carry him in the bathroom to start the tub then get him undressed in his room, the second I set him down he hauls naked butt for the bathroom and shrieks when he sees the water! He's a fairly decent sleep. We've all been dealing with a cold the last few weeks and he has popped 3 teeth so none of us have been getting too much sleep.

I'm finding myself still trying to find a balance between being me, being a mommy and being a wife. Somewhere in there I have to juggle household duties and some days go better then others. But if my kids are happy, Mike and I are happy, and we're all clothed and fed then nothing else really matters. Mike and I don't get too terribly much alone time but every once in a while one of the grandmas will babysit and we'll catch dinner and a movie. We're working on some things around the house. Mike is building some cubby shelves for the kids toys and working really hard on our vegetable garden. He's studying really hard so he can work on programming some Apple apps. He's pretty excited about it and I hope he's having fun with it too.

Sean's 6 month WBV

2010-09-30T23:03:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my little guy is 6 months old today! The time has flown by so fast. He's doing really good. He is trying to sit up on his own, he gets out of his bouncer seat by himself, babbles and giggles nonstop, grabs at everything within his reach, anything he gets his hands on goes in his mouth, he's rolling all over the place and so close to crawling! We went to his WBV today and he's 19lbs 7oz and 26 3/4in! Holy cow! He got 2 shots and handled them so well, barely cried at all. I seriously can't believe how big he's getting. He's learning new things every day. He's loving getting to eat food too. So far he's had bananas, sweet potatoes, plums, peaches and carrots. Plus Mum Mum rice cakes and biter biscuts. He loves them all!

How not to make cake balls

2010-08-07T23:01:00.003-05:00

The other day I ~~was drunk~~ got the crazy idea to do a fun baking project with the kids. I went rummaging through the pantry and found a cake mix and some icing. A ha! We'd make cake balls! So here's the low down on how to them.

Remove jewelry. You'll thank me!

Tuck assistant 0.5 into his highchair and give him a toy.

Bake a cake and let it cool just a little bit. You'll need to have a large mixing bowl and spoons ready also. If you want to keep your sanity, stop here. Just ice the cake and call it a day!

Have assistant 1 (dressed in their "baking outfit") go crazy on the cake with a wooden spoon. You want to get it nice and smashed.

Put the cake crumbs into the large bowl and mix in a half of a container of frosting. You want the cake moist and sticky but not gooey or your balls will taste under cooked.

You're supposed to roll your balls by hand, but I cheated and used a cookie dough spooner thingy.

Then you put all of your balls into a cake pan or on a baking sheet so you can freeze them You want them firm so you can cover them easily, but not frozen.

Uh oh! Assistant 0.5 needs some attention too!

Ahhhh, much better!

While your balls are in the freezer gather your decorating supplies. We used candy wafers but chocolate chips would work too. We also used sprinkles colored sugar.

Melt your candy wafers or chocolate chips in the microwave. But follow the ~~destructions~~ directions and don't do what I did and burn them. Yuck! And if you do, throw it out and make a new batch.

Get some plastic forks and break the center tines off. This will make for nice dipping forks. Plus you get to laugh because your forks look like Batman!

Next you use your forks to dip the cake balls into your coating of choice. I found it easiest to do this myself. Distract assistant 1 by letting them wash your dishes in the sink.

When that doesn't last long let them get into your decorating sprinkles. What's a little sugar, right? Try not to let them eat too many though because you do need some sprinkles to decorate your cake balls with.

In theory you'll have beautifully covered balls of cake when all is said and done. However, this is all we got. I was having a hard time getting the wafers to melt nice and smooth and I think the cake balls were too cold because the candy wouldn't stay melted and just clumped as soon as I dropped the balls in. So we gave up and Kaelin ate the rest of the balls straight from the freezer sans coating.

They just keep growing!

2010-08-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

These kids are in big trouble! They just keep ignoring my demands to stay little!

Case in point: we had to move the Jumperoo to the second setting for Sean already! Oh and I just bought him a box of size 3 diapers. Yes, he's only 4 months old, someone get me a drink!

But then, just when I get upset for him growing, he does something as cute as this:

Or this!

And this little princess

Has done this recently:

They're in trouble, I tell you!

About me!

2010-07-31T19:24:00.000-05:00

Here you go, a little info about me:

Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?

Tucked in on the bottom but out on the sides. I have to be able to stick my feet out the sides of the sheets.

Have you ever stolen a street sign before?

No, but I might. :)

Do you like to use post-it notes?

Yes. But I don't have a need for them much anymore.

Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?

Ha! When Mike goes to the store he always forgets to use the coupons I send him with. I always use them!

Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?

Oh wow, tough call. I'm very afraid of bees, but I grew up around bears and don't like them either. I guess I'd go with bees since I'm not allergic to them and a bear could take my head off.

Do you have freckles?

Does a bear poo in the woods? Yes, I have a LOT of freckles. I don't tan, I freckle!

Do you always smile for pictures?

I try to, but I hate pictures of myself most of the time.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

I have many! I hate when Mike leaves the closet light on. I hate bad drivers. I hate my dog howling in her cage or scratching at the back door.

Do you ever count your steps when you walk?

I used too.

Do you ever dance even if there is no music playing?

Only with my kids.

What size is your bed?

Too small! Really, it's a queen but I want a king!

What is your Song of the week?

Queen of the waves from Kaelin's Barbie movie. Damn thing won't go away!

Whats your least favorite movie?

Napoleon Dynamite. Stupidest. Movie. Ever.

What is your favorite food?

Mmmmm, chinese. And sweets. And pizza. And BBQ chicken. And steak.

What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

Princess and the Frog, Patch Adams, 50 First Dates, Center Stage.

Were you ever a boy/girl scout?

For a few years in MN.

Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?

Gross! No!

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?

Uhhhhhhhhhhh.........

Can you change the oil on a car?

No but I can change a tire.

Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

No, but I have gotten lots of warnings.

Ran out of gas?

Yes, once.

Favorite kind of sandwich?

Grilled turkey and provolone.

Best thing to eat for breakfast?

Bagel and strawberry cream cheese.

What is your usual bedtime?

11 or 12.

Are you lazy?

I try, but my kids won't let me.

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?

A cat, punk rocker, little girl, 50s girl, doctor.

Which are better legos or lincoln logs?

Legos, until you step on them barefoot.

Are you stubborn?

Yes.

Who is better...Leno or Letterman?

Don't care about either one.

Afraid of heights?

Not really.

Sing in the car?

All the time.

Dance in the shower?

There's not much room, so not really.

Dance in the car?

Yes.

Ever used a gun?

Yes. I'm pretty good with them too.

Do you think musicals are cheesy?

Depends on the subject of said musical.

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Vet, marine biologist, lawyer.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Sure.

Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?

All the time.

First concert?

New Kids on The Block.

Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?

I love Target, but Wal-Mart is a necessary evil.

Nike or Adidas?

Neither.

Cheetos Or Fritos?

Fritos if I have to choose.

Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?

Sunflower seeds with a Dr. Pepper.

Ever take dance lessons?

Yup, when I was in high school and college.

Is there a profession you picture your spouse doing?

Other then computers? No.

Own any record albums?

A lot.

Own a record player?

Yeah we have a cabinet record player in the hallway. Still works too!.

Regularly burn incense?

Blech!

Ever been in love?

If I'm not I don't know what it is.

Who would you like to see in concert?

Hmmm, maybe...... ummmmm, can't think of anyone.

Hot tea or cold tea?

Cold peach tea, please.

Can you swim well?

Like a fish.

Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?

Yes, but I do it anyways.

Are you patient?

Ha! Yeah right! Although Kaelin is really determined to teach me to be patient.

DJ or band, at a wedding?

DJ.

Which are better black or green olives?

Yuck, neither!

Can you knit or crochet?

No, but I can sew, cross stitch and latch hook.

How long have you been married?

Pigs have been flying for 8 years.

Who was your HS crush?

Uhhhhh, I had many crushes.

Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?

No I huff and puff and slam things.

Do you have kids?

A girl and a boy.

What’s your favorite color?

I'd say blue or purple, but if we're talking clothes I'd say black. It hides sweat. And puke.

Do you miss anyone right now?

All of my family up north.

Sean's 4 month WBV

2010-07-30T16:19:00.001-05:00

I can't believe this little guy is 4 months old already! I took him in to see Dr Caffey today, actually he was there 2 days ago also for an irritated eye also. Anyways, my little moose is 16lbs10oz (85%!), 25 3/4in (80%) long and his head circumference is 16 1/4in. He's a moose! He did really well for his visit, was smiling and talking and grabbing onto things. She said we could stop his eye ointment since his eye looks better. We can start rice cereal but I think we'll wait a few weeks. I fed him some the other night and he ate it well but then was puking all night. Not fun! He loves his jumperoo and does really well in his Bumbo seat. He's just like his big sister and loves the water! He loves being on his belly and swimming in the tub or the pool. If I'm not in the bath with him he sits in a little seat and kicks his legs like crazy. So cute! And he rolled over from his back to his belly for the first time today! So proud!! Anyways, here's a picture of him from today. He crashed out after his shots so I took a picture of him sleeping in his carseat. I love this little squishy, chunky guy!

Reorganizing the house (finally!)

2010-07-25T19:14:00.001-05:00

Lately I feel like the kids toys and all our stuff have been overtaking my life! So I decided to finally do something about it and get organized. I decided to do one area a day and I started with the spice cabinet. Then yesterday I did the hall closet with all the arts and craft stuff. Today I got energized after church and did the whole kitchen! Reorganized the cabinets, the pantry, everything! I love the feeling of having order somewhere in the house! Up until now if I wanted to get zen I'd go to Sean's room since it's the only clean uncluttered room in the house right now. I still need to do Kaelin's room (she'll need some new furniture and stuff though), the living room (general reorganizing and decorating), the toy box area (!!!!), the laundry room and the master bedroom. Alot of stuff in the laundry room just needs to go to the garage when DH gets it cleaned, and the master bedroom has to be rearranged furniture wise and then all my craft stuff needs to be sorted (again !!!). The bathrooms and clothes closets aren't really that bad, I did those when I was nesting. Then DH just needs to do the garage and the office/game room. We have a relatively new house (3 years old) but we never got things the way we really wanted them so everything just got chaotic. We have alot of shelf building and decorating to do. Plus I want to redo our family picture wall with some nicer frames. It's slow going, but I finally feel like we're getting closer to having a home and not just a house. I sure wish we concentrated more on that before having kids!

Here's a link to some pics of my progress so far!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63669&id=1067923684&l=b293180baf

Naughty little boy!

2010-07-22T16:24:00.000-05:00

Remember this u/s pic?

Yeah, well he's at it again!

I like to think he's saying "Tough little boys snuggle with bunnies their Mommy made them. If you don't like it, f off!"

Some of my stuff

2010-07-05T17:11:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've really posted much about the things I've made recently. It started innocently enough- making a few hair clips for Kaelin. Then I did some bows, some outfits, bow holders, hats, tutus, hooded towels, binky clips, and recently sewing dresses. I love having a creative outlet, and even more being able to give things to people!

This kid lives in Princess dresses!

2010-07-05T16:31:00.001-05:00

Case in point, this is Kaelin dressed up at McDonald's. That's right, folks, I let her go out in public like this. I think it's important to pick your battles so as long as she's dressed, I don't care. I will, however, make sure I tell people she dressed herself! The dress she wore for her 3rd pictures is the one she normally wears, so this one was a nice change of scenery! And you can't go anywhere without lady shoes to complete the outfit!

The joys of having a potty trained kid

2010-07-05T16:21:00.000-05:00

Kaelin just came and got me and told me she had to poop. Yippee! So I take her in the bathroom and get her all situated on the potty and she tells me "turn on the fan, Mommy, it's gonna stink!" Then she tells me to leave and shut the door along with "I'll call you when I'm done so you can wipe my booty!" Niiiice! But I'll take it over changing 3 year old diapers any day!

See and Spell Review

2010-07-05T14:53:00.001-05:00

About a week or so I got a lovely little box on my front porch! I love that! Inside the box was a See & Spell by Melissa & Doug from http://www.ebeanstalk.com/. So exciting, I love getting new, educational toys for Kaelin. Plus, anything Melissa & Doug is awesome! We were on our way out to run an errand but Kaelin and I were so excited that we had to put off leaving so we could check out the package!

If you missed my last post about ebeanstalk, lemme catch you up! They are an awesome website for great educational toys for 1 year olds, 2 year olds, and they even have super awesome baby toys! Win, win, win! All the items have descriptions that tell you what skill your kiddo will be working along with detailed safety information. Super awesome prices too, which means alot in this economy.

The See & Spell is a wooden puzzle set that teaches basic three and four letter words with bright colored, solid-wood letters in the self correcting cut-outs on two-sided wooden boards. Kaelin was so excited when I opened the box and pulled it out. We have a few other Melissa & Doug toys that she plays with frequently, so she recognized the style right away. I love the wooden sets because they are well made and last a really long time, so I know Sean will be playing with this same set in a few years too. The eight word boards not only have the letters cut out, they also have a picture of the word on them. You also get a bunch of letters with this set! We hate toys that don't have enough letters to spell more then one word at a time. I like that the words are easily recognized and Kaelin knew what they were instantly. The possibilities are really endless with this set. Not only is it a puzzle, but your kiddo will learn their letters, the sounds of the letters, plus as your kiddo becomes more adept at language it will help them on the road to reading! It comes packaged with a card that has a bunch of different ideas for games to play with the See & Spell.

The only thing that frustrated Kaelin a little bit was that there are letters in the set that don't get used on the word boards, such as l, j, z, v and x. But I'm not too concerned about it since we can still use the letters to spell words on our own. I'm excited though that she figured that out on her own while I was reading the card that came with it. She said "Momma, these letters don't have anywhere to go!" before I even got a chance to play with it. So smart already! I think my favorite thing about the See & Spell is that it's so pretty in it's wooden box, that I don't mind it sitting out on the table in the living room! Bonus points! :)

3 months old and Kae's new hobby

2010-07-01T15:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Sean's 3 month birthday! Aww, it has gone by soo fast! Hard to believe that 3 years ago, when we were at this stage with Kaelin, it was the longest 3 months of our lives. Thank God Sean isn't colicky like Kae was. And sorry for the blurry pic, but Kaelin took it with my phone. That's her new obsession! And of course, all the pics she takes have to be sent to Daddy too. Yesterday he got a random picture of her strawberry milk and today it was a pic of Sean's ducky towel. A lot of times he gets really close pics of my eye or nose. Eh, whatever makes her happy!

Sean is working really hard on some bottom teeth. He normally has his little hand crammed in his mouth chewing the heck out of his chubby fingers. And the amount of drool that comes out of him is insane! Kae wasn't really a drooler so I'm having to learn to keep a bib on the boy all the time. He's getting pretty good with his head and almost a hip baby. That'll make Momma's life so much easier. It's hard to get things done holding him like a newborn. He's trying to pull himself up from laying down like he's doing a sit-up. A lot of times I'll look at him in the carseat and he's holding his head up as far out of the seat as he can. Such a big man!

Kae had her last dance class of the first summer session. She did well this month but is not a fan of tap. So when it gets to that time of class she loses interest. We ended up leaving a little early because Miss Elise thought Kae may not be feeling well. But I learned in the car she just doesn't like to tap. Such a little drama queen! Can't expect any less from a kid that lives in princess dress though!

New family pictures

2010-06-25T15:49:00.000-05:00

We went to Target today to get our pics taken. I'm a little late in having Sean's newborn pics taken, but I didn't want the alien baby pics. So we just waited until he filled out and looks like a chubby little baby first. I had the kids wear there big sister and little brother shirts and Mike and I just wore plain white shirts and khakis. I'm pleased with the group shots, you can even read their shirts! Then Kaelin didn't want to take pics with Sean anymore because he pooped and apparently it's contagious or something. So we only got 1 pic of them together but it was an ok one.

Kaelin did her third birthday pics in a princess dress and lady shoes this year. That's what she's always wearing anyways so I'm just sharing the love! :) She kept running around or giving her cheesy grin and it was a little maddening trying to get her to sit still for her pictures.

I changed Sean into one of the outfits I won from Bei Bambini before he was born. Let me tell you, I was a little hesitant to rip the tag off of an outfit he'll only wear once knowing it's got a $50 value. But I sucked it up and ripped that baby off. I can still sell the other $450 worth of stuff he got. Which is crazy for the amount of stuff that actually is, but that's another post! Anyways, we are now the proud owners of some cute baby sailor pics, how cliche!

They should be emailing the proofs to me soon, so I'll post them when I get them. Then I have to finally tackle redoing our picture wall. Ugh, it's such a mess right now and I hate it. I think I need to take the snapshots down and only frame the good professional pics. That way it's not so hectic and I can actually have a cohesive wall of pics. Maybe :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, here's the link to the pics!

Portraits!!!

Great site for fun learning toys!

2010-06-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

I was recently came across a great website for quality education baby toys and kids toys! If you haven't been to www.ebeanstock .com yet you gotta check it out!

One thing I like when I visit a website is to see that they are well organized with easy to search categories and I know when I'm shopping for baby toys and kids toys, I have a hard time remembering what works best for different ages. Ebeanstock has taken the guess work out of the equation by having a toys by age category along with many other options for finding the perfect toy! Love it! Every toy has a detailed description, safety information and tells you exactly what areas your kiddo will be working on by using that toy. Plus their team of child experts hand-pick every toy that is on their website and conduct their own tests to ensure that that the toy is age-appropriate. Many times a toy will be for ‘AGES 3+’ and their experts will move that toy to an older age group. Additionally, they conduct their own ‘wear-and-tear’ tests. If they don’t think a toy will stand up to the tough, daily grind of being a toy, they don’t want the toy. It's so nice to have a company that is looking out for not only our kids' safety, but for our pocketbooks! No more wasting money by throwing away crummy toys that just don't last.

Ever get stumped when you're trying to pick out a fun, educational and safe toy for your kiddo? Not anymore! Ebeanstalk list what their best sellers are, so we can peek at what other moms (and dads!) are getting for their kiddos. And since they are committed to selling only the best educational toys, they also have a page dedicated to expert advice. And who doesn't need some of that from time to time? When Kaelin had her birthday last week, I got so many calls and e-mails asking me what she wanted. With ebeanstalk you can get online (with or without your kiddos help!) and create a wish list that other people can view and shop from. Imagine that, not having to return gifts that are all wrong for your kiddo! You get to be in control of what others are getting them. No more loud, pointless toys! I would much rather point my friends and family to Kaelin's wish list and know that whatever they pick is going to be perfect!

One last thing I want to mention is that www.ebeanstalk.com has a chat feature! So if you are having problems finding the right toy, or just have a question about their shipping or return policy, there's someone right there to ask! I hate playing the waiting game when you just want to know what to do if your kiddo doesn't like the toy you're about to buy. Let's face it, time is way too precious for us parents, why waste it trying to hunt down answers or phone numbers?

Speaking of precious time, mine is up! Time to get the munchkins bathed and into bed. Tomorrow is picture day!

My baby is 3 today!

2010-06-19T20:45:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's already been 3 years since my Kaelin was born! It seems like it has gone by so fast. We had a small party at Chuck E Cheese this morning then came home and had a big party with all the family and friends. It was crazy hectic, but it always is! She had a blast, ate alot of sugar, got some great presents and is now passed out in her big girl bed! I am so proud of all the things she's done in 3 short years. She talks so well (always has!), uses her computer by herself, can dress and feed herself, and is 100% potty trained! I could go on and on about my super bug girl, but my brain is mush from this incredibly long day! Happy Birthday my princess Kaelin Marie!

2 month checkup and potty training

2010-06-01T13:51:00.000-05:00

Sean had his checkup today. He did really good. I felt bad waking him up to undress him. He weighs 13.1lbs (80%), is 23.25in long (60ish%) and his head is 15in (20ish%). He got his shots and took them pretty well. I brought up his reflux and she said that's pretty normal but since he's gaining well we'll just watch it for now. He still has his umbilical hernia but it is getting better. He was so cute and babbled to her the whole time she was doing his exam!
He's doing really good these days. I keep finding him asleep in his swing or on his playmat or wherever. Kaelin never did that! I'm working on getting him in his crib too. He normally goes down between 9:30 and 10. I'll hear him babble a little bit but pretty much just leave him alone unless he's fussing. Then I'll go give him his binky or whatever. He's been sleeping until atleast 1:30 or 2am the past few nights then I just bring him to bed with me. By then I'm exhausted from anticipating him waking up and ready to really fall asleep. I'm sure as I get more comfy with him being in there I'll put him back to bed in there more often.

Anywho, that's what he's up to these days!

Kaelin is doing really good too! She had her first sleepover at Grammy's over the weekend! I'm so excited that she did really well and had fun. She woke up a little upset and was ready to come home, but overall it was a huge success! With Aunt Moogie moving back into Grammy's I think Kae will be sleeping over there more often. She is such a smart little girl and has a great imagination. I could just eat her up! Every Tuesday we go over to Grammy's and she swims all day while I hang out with Sean in the house. She has a blast getting Grammy time and I get a bit of a break, so win/win! And I know my mom eats it up too!

She is doing fabulous with her potty training! The only time she pees in her diaper is if I don't get her in panties right away in the morning. Otherwise, no accidents in panties at all! She still asks for a diaper to poop in and has had 1 poop accident. But she knows when she has to go and only had the accident because Daddy took too long to get her in a diaper. I told her I'm not buying more diapers, so when these are gone she has to poop in the potty. Mom let her sleep in her panties when she stayed overnight and she didn't have any accidents but I'm not feeling that brave yet! Especially since she sleeps in my bed!

We rearranged her room over the weekend. Her changing table is in the closet with dress up clothes and her doll house and baby dolls are in her room. We even hung a mirror and a bar in the corner so she has a dress up area complete with some of her favorite dresses hanging right there! She loves it and has been living in the same dress for almost a week now!

She starts dance class next week! I need to get her a leotard still, I can't find one small enough for her. She has a skirt and tap and ballet shoes. I need to get some new pink tights too but that's no big deal. I'm so excited to see her in her little dance clothes! It's all she's been talking baout for awhile now so I hope she loves it!

1 month already!

2010-05-02T00:33:00.001-05:00

I can't believe that a month has already passed since I delivered Sean. I am in awe and a little disbelief still that I am actually a mother of two little human beings. It's been hard adjusting, but I think we're doing really well. In fact I think it's helped Mike and I to come closer together. It's almost that now we each have one to care for so we get each other a bit better. He's really been chipping in and taking the majority of the responsibility of tending to Kaelin when he's home. It's really allowing me to focus on Sean and get his needs taken care of since he requires so much hands on right now. I think it also has given him a better idea of what I deal with on a day to day basis by having Kaelin so attached to him these last few weeks. She's really become a Daddy's girl, it's quite amusing since she's always been attached to my hip.

Sean has already rolled from his belly to his back! Actually, he did it for the first time about a week or so ago. He was having tummy time in his room and slowly made his way onto his back. I was so proud until I realized he threw up and was probably just trying to get away from it! He's trying to use his voice other then crying too. It's so cute to see him move his mouth and try to get something to come out. He's swinging at his toys when he's on his little mat thing too. And he's getting much better control of his wobbly head and spastic arms!

He's still perfect to me

2010-04-23T22:50:00.000-05:00

We took little man in to the pedi today to have his belly button looked at. I've been noticing it looked funny and been very suspicious that he has an umbilical hernia. And, well, he does. She said she's not worried about it though because it is soft and reducable and should resolve on it's own by his second birthday. If not, then we may be looking at surgery to fix it. So he has a little defect, but I don't care, he's still my perfect little man! On the upside, he weighs right at 9 pounds now! That's a pound and a half he's gained in the last 10 days! Booby milk sure does a body good!

He rolled over!

2010-04-20T14:27:00.000-05:00

My little man has hit his first big milestone! Yesterday I had him on his comforter for tummy time. Slowly but surely he rolled from his tummy onto his back! He kinda did it in stages but he got there by himself! Of course he had motivation, he puked and was getting away from it. Poor kiddo. He's doing pretty well, still kinda pukey but that's normal. My mom came over this morning and we took the kids to the library for story time. Sean slept the whole time and Kaelin was pretty good. She was a little attention hog and kept putting on a show for everyone. I think she's been a little deprived lately. I had to drag her out kicking and screaming! Eventually I'll be able to take them by myself but I still am not supposed to pick Kaelin up so I appreciated the help.

2 week appointments

2010-04-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late in posting this, but Sean and I had our 2 week checkups on Tuesday. Mine was first. everything is going well. I'm down to 131lbs (woohoo) and they removed the steri-strips from my incision. I can drive and carry the baby carrier with Sean in it now. I still can't pick Kaelin up, but I admit I have cheated a few times. But mostly just stuff like helping her in the carseat or getting her down from the table. I have to go back at 6 weeks to see Dr Files, then probably a few weeks later if I decide to get an IUD.

Sean's appointment went well also. He's up to 7lbs 9oz and 20 1/4in! My big little man! They took blood for his second newborn screen and he was very unhappy about that. He doesn't have to go back until 2 months for his next set of shots.

Mike took Kaelin grocery shopping while I was with Sean at his appointment. It was nice not to have to do the shopping for a change! I'm sure we spent more money that way but oh well, he did pretty good.

I think we're doing pretty well since Mike went back to work on Wednesday. We've been in bed by 9:30 every night and Mike's been up on time in the morning. Sean does pretty good through the night. Some nights he'll sleep longer stretches, but for the most part he's up every 2 hours or so. I try really hard to get him to sleep in the PNP all night but if he won't settle down I'll let him come snuggle with me. But that's normally not until the end of the night when I'm hardly able to keep my eyes open long enough to feed him.

He's been a little gassy and fussy lately. I've been trying to correct a forceful letdown and foremilk/hindmilk imbalance and it seems to be helping. I feel bad though because I didn't know about that with Kaelin so I'm wondering if she ever really had colic. Well, I better shower while little man is happy and Kaelin is occupied!

Sean is here!

2010-04-08T12:25:00.001-05:00

It's a good thing we finished Sean's room when we did because my water broke the next morning! Here is his official birth story along with some pics from the hospital.

Tuesday, March 30, I woke up at 8:30 with a wierd wet sensation. I didn't think much of it and rolled over to my left side to snuggle with Kaelin. When I did I had a cramp in my belly that wouldn't go away. I rolled back onto my right side and had a little gush. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom where I had some more cramping and another gush of fluid. I wasn't sure if this was my water breaking or not because nothing happened when I stood up. I went and sat back on the bed with Kaelin for a minute wondering what I should do. Then I ran to the bathroom again because I could feel another little gush coming. I called Mike and told him he should probably come home. I went in the bedroom and Kaelin was just waking up so I turned on her cartoons and told her I was going to take a shower. Luckily she accepted that well because I knew I shouldn't pick her up.

I went ahead and got int he shower, nowing it would be a few days before I'd get the oppurtunity again. While I was in the shower I heard my phone ring a few times. When I heard Mike's ringtone I asked Kaelin to bring me the phone. I told Mike I was in the shower and he said his mom was on her way over. She got there right after I got out of the shower. She took Kaelin and got her dressed while I finished getting ready to go. I packed the last few things in my hospital bag and grabbed the cameras. While we waited for Mike I went ahead and fed Kaelin her breakfast. Mike took one look at me when he got home and said, "Your water definately broke, you look alot smaller." I was still having some cramping every few minutes. We dropped Kaelin off with Aunt Colleen and headed to the hospital. Luckily Mike had thought to call the doctor so they were expecting us.

We got to the hospital and went up to the 4th floor. I got changed into my gown and they came to put the monitors on me. When I had one of the cramps I asked if it was showing as a contraction. The nurse said that it was and I was contracting every 2-3 minutes. Wow! Talk about fast! She checked me and said my water definately broke and I was already at 3cm and Sean's head was really low. Dr. Files came in and asked if I was feeling the contractions and I told her I was and they were starting to get more painful. She looked at my strip from the monitor and told me she definately wanted to do my c-section before the one she had at 12. It was already 11:50! This was happening really fast! I told Mike to hurry up and get back upstairs. They came and started my IV and then moved me over to labor and delivery. Once I got into my room my mom, sister, and Mike's mom all came in the room. I was really starting to feel my contractions and they were coming every minute or so. The nurse checked me again when I told her I was feeling pressure, I was already at 5cm! Mike got changed into his scrubs and got the camera and baby book ready. They got me prepped and wheeled me back for surgery.

The OR was really cold so they brought me some warm blankets. My doctor sat with me and held the blankets on my back and helped me breathe thorugh my contractions. The were calling Sean a tasmanian devil since my labor was progressing so fast! Finally the anesthesiologist showed up and placed my epidural. I was starting to shake with my contractions and I just had to remind myself they were the last ones I had to feel. Once I was numb they got me draped and brought Mike in the room. We were sitting and chatting about random stuff and the nurse was laughing at us. Pretty soon Dr. Files said, "It's almost baby time, get your camera Dad". Mike snapped the first picture and then Sean was crying. They said he was born at 1:26pm and was 6lbs 14.9oz and 19 in. I could tell his cries sounded a little wet and noticed it was taking awhile for them to call Mike over to see him. They said he was breathing fast and were going to take him to the nursery for observation. Mike brought him to see me before they left. He was so beautiful and peaceful looking! I heard the nurse say she was giving me some versed and felt very tired. My doctor said she was removing a 5mm cyst from near my right ovary and would send it of to pathology but thought it was normal.

The moved me back to my room in L&D to recover. After an hour or so theey let all our family back in but we didn't get Sean until about 5:30. He nursed like a champ right away! They told us to watch his color but that he was doing much better with his breathing. Both grandmas and all his aunts got to hold him before they moved us to post partum. They put me in a room that had two beds but assured me I wouldn't have a room mate. That was cool though because then Mike got to have a real bed to sleep in and not a fold out chair this time.

Sean did really well while we were in the hospital. He barely cried and slept really long stretches, even at night. Mike was able to stay with me the first two nights since his sister stayed over night with Kaelin. But during the day he was home with her for the most part. She got to come up and see baby brother a bunch though and finally warmed up to him really nicely. The nurse told me when she took him back to have his blood drawn for his newborn screen that he didn't even wake up when they had to poke his heel. He's seriously that laid back. They did his circumcision on Thursday and he handled that pretty well. He was almost asleep when he came back to the room so I fed him and let him crash. He slept for about 5 hours after that!

We got to come home on Friday. They said he passed his hearing test and was a low risk for jaundice. His discharge weight was 6lbs 6.1oz, so not bad. The nurse came in and took out my staples after I took a shower. We had to hang around a bit for them to take my vitals again and then I was discharged too! We loaded him up and took him home!

So far we're both doing pretty good at home. Mike is on vacation so he's been handling Kaelin while I handle Sean. He nurses well and sleeps fairly well. So much more laid back then Kaelin was. I'm praying he doesn't get colic and continues to be this well. I'm getting around pretty good and my pain has been manageable this time around. Mike and Kaelin both have allergies really bad and have been sick the last few days. But other then that, we're managing pretty well!

Sean's Nursery

2010-03-21T17:18:00.000-05:00

The nursery is being painted and put together! Yay! We got the room cleared out friday night and taped off the stripes on the upper part of the walls yesterday. Then this morning we painted the stripes! After they dried we pulled off all the tape and started painting the chocolate color on the bottom half of the walls. Once that's finished and dried we can hang the wall boarder in the middle and start assembling furniture. Kaelin has been helping us paint and I got a bunch of cute pics! Once it's all done, I'll post the pics from start to finish.

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Here's a slideshow of the room being done. We still have a few things to do, like hang his picture and curtains. But other then that, it's done!

35w1d OB appt

2010-03-11T19:53:00.001-06:00

So everything went fine. weight was 146lb; bp was 110/60, hb was 146bpm and fundal height was 35.1cm. She did the GBS test and checked my cervix. She said that I have a wierd cervix and it wasn't an easy exam. whatever that means! Anywho, 1cm dialated but still thick so she's not worried. She said if I start having contrax that get to 8 minutes apart to head in. She would rather I come in early then get into full blown labor since I'll be a repeat c-section. So I go back in a week to see the PA since she'll be out of town. She said I can tell the PA to skip the internal since I have a funky cervix and she'll check me again in 2 weeks.
I also got an e-mail that my crib and changing table are in and ready to be picked up! So he may have a room ready when he gets here after all. I can't believe that I was so stressed about everything being perfect for Kaelin and am so relaxed about that stuff this time around. Poor kid's getting the shaft already! But really, we have the carseat, a bassinet in our room for him to sleep in, he has clean clothes and blankets, he has Kaelin's swings and bouncer seats, and her changing table is still in use. We wouldn't even use his changing table for that function until she's potty trained anyways. What more does the little guy need right now?

33w1d update

2010-02-25T19:43:00.000-06:00

I went in for another OB appt today. So far, so good. BP checked out ok, gained another 1 1/2 pounds, Sean's heartbeat sounded good and I'm measuring right on track. I have started paying attention to some Braxton HIck's I've been having. I'm only having a few a day, so nothing to worry about right now. My biggest pain right now is in my back. It feels like he's hanging out in my rib cage and spreading them apart. Driving or walking for a long period of time is pretty uncomfortable because of that, but otherwise I'm still feeling pretty good. I haven't really had to give up anything just yet. Although if Mike is around I let him do the carrying of the kiddo so I don't have to. I go back in 2 weeks and then after that I'll be down to weekly appointments until he's here! I'm feeling a little nervous about having another c-section, but I've heard that the second time around, and not being an emergency, is easier to handle. I hope so! I know Mike is looking forward to having the 2 weeks of vacation too! I'm hoping to have an early night tonight since we skipped nap, again.

Only 10 weeks left!

2010-01-28T20:38:00.000-06:00

I went in for my OB appt today. I am at 29w1d, so I only have 10 weeks left until Sean is here! Man, we have alot to do! The appt went well, spent more time in the waiting room then the exam room. My weight is up to 141 (2 pounds from last time), BP was 102/60, Sean's heart rate was in the 150s and I was measuring right at 29cm. She asked about my headaches and if I started taking my iron. She told me to take it on an empty stomach or it does no good. I didn't know that, so I'm glad she said that.

So far I still feel pretty good. My feet are starting to hurt and I've noticed I'm getting cramps in my legs at night. It's starting to get uncomfortable to have a full stomach, I feel like I can't breathe after eating. Sean is doing the same thing that Kaelin used to do and like to wedge himself up under my ribs on the right side. As annoying as it can be, I know I'll miss it when it's gone. :) I still feel like I have a decent amount of energy, which is good because Kaelin has decided that she doesn't need a nap on most days. Today we got up early and she had a fun day at Grammy's, so she fell asleep on the way home and we took a nice nap.

Margret and I went to the mall after my appt so I could get a few new shirts. I had $60 credit at Motherhood from returning my dress for Mike's Christmas party that got cancelled. They still haven't said anything about rescheduling it so I decided there was no point in hanging on to the credit. I'll just get a different dress if we do end up going to a party at this point. They had a bunch of stuff on the clearance rack so I was able to get 4 new shirts. I admit, 4 shirts for $60 is kinda steep, but considering that's where I had the credit, I was happy to end up with more then 2 tops.

I was hoping to be farther along in potty training then we are by now. But sadly, we've really regressed. Kaelin had a bladder infection and a yeast infection last month, and now another yeast infection. So she is terrified of the potty from the whole trying to get a sample thing that ended up in 2 straight caths. Oh well, I know she is capable of doing it. She tells me as soon as she needs her diaper changed. I think I'll leave it alone for a month or so and then readdress the situation. I know once she's willing to get on the potty again she'll get it really quick. She was doing really good before this whole infection thing started. It would be so nice to only have to buy 1 size of diapers come April, but she'll do it when she's ready I guess.

Only 26w1d afterall

2010-01-08T14:27:00.001-06:00

So I just spoke with my OB's office. They called to tell me they scheduled my c/s for April 8th. I was confused because that would be right at 40 weeks. So I called back and left a message and the dr just called me back. Apparently after my first u/s with the other dr in the office, they changed my due date to the 14th not the 8th of April but never told me. So I am now 26w2d instead of 27w1d. Whatever.

27 weeks!

2010-01-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

I went in for my 27 week appt and 1 hr GTT yesterday. My BP was low, but that's pretty normal for me. I must have finally gained enough weight because I didn't get hassled about it this month. I'm at 139, for a total of 10 pounds. Belly measured at 26 cm and HB was 147. We talked about circumcision and how my OB does it. I'm very relieved to find out that if we decide to do it, she uses anesthetic. They are supposed to call me with my c-section appointment but we're shooting for April 1 or 2. I go back in 3 weeks, then I'm down to 2 week appointments!

Overall I'm feeling pretty good. Starting to get hard to eat and breathe at the same time. And I'm pretty uncomfortable any time my stomach is full, but I remember that from Kaelin too. I've been having more round ligament pains in my lower belly and some pain in my back. But really, nothing too bad. My sister and I started talking about the baby shower yesterday. We decided on Feb 27 and she got the invites all written up yesterday afternoon. I just need a few more addresses and then I'll get them out into the mail. Mike and I are going to go and try to finish our registry this weekend. I've pretty much picked out everything online but I want to see some of it in person before deciding for sure.

Ugh! The cat is trying to stick her face in Kaelin's breakfast. I swear, you'd think they were starving!

Christmas and stuff

2009-12-27T20:14:00.000-06:00

I'm actually sorta relieved that the holidays are over. I love them and spending time with family, but it's so much stress and chaos. I don't like stress and chaos. The night before Christmas Eve I got another one of my freaky migraines. Mike and Kaelin took such good care of me, it was so cute! Kaelin helped rub lotion on my feet and belly and laid with me to make sure I was allright. Mike finished up some last minute shopping on Christmas Eve while I stayed home and took a nap. We had super yummy chili dinner at my Mom's and got to open all our presents. Kaelin got princess dresses, crowns, some stickers and coloring stuff, and a swing set! Mike and I got another set of our dishes and a carpet shampooer. Christmas day was hectic as always. We got Kae up to open her presents but she acted like she oculdn't have cared less about them. It was like pulling teeth getting her to open them all! She got more dresses, lady shoes, dolls, a car toy, princess pajamas, etc. We rushed over to Mike's mom's house for brunch and opened more presents then went home for a quick break. Dinner at my mom's was good as usual. Nice and relaxing but we did end up having to leave earlier then planned because Mike was getting calls from work. Last night Kaelin spent the night throwing up every hour for a few hours. 3 sheet changes and a sleepless night later she seems to be feeling better but has a bit of a fever still today. Mike is feeling a little yucky today as well so hopefully I won't get the same stomach bug. Mike didn't get his car fixed this weekend so I guess I'll be without a car all week again. I guess we'll just take it easy and get some more projects done around the house.

Ahhh, peace and quiet

2009-12-21T14:04:00.000-06:00

The last week has been crazy! we have been getting ready for Christmas and I have been nesting something crazy! I have bagged clothes, linens, toys, garbage, etc until I was up to my eyeballs! But it feels so good to have the clutter GONE! Now Sean's room is still a wreck because my sewing stuff is still in there plus all the stuff he's inhereting from Kaelin is in their for now. But the majority of the house is great! Mike has to finish the garage, organize the game room and the laundry room. I have to reorganize the kitchen cabinets still and get our files in order. But for the most part I am good!

Last Wednesday I took Kaelin to the doctor for a UTI. That was traumatic! She wouldn't pee in the potty so they had to cath her, but they took so long to do it that they didn't get much because she peed in her diaper int he meantime. So she screamed and broke blood vessels all around her eyes for a tiny bit of pee. They said she did have a UTI and gave me a script ut wanted a bigger sample. I tried to get her to pee in the potty and tried putting the sterile collection bag on her. No go. She was sore from the cath and cried everytime she peed for the next few hours and was not going to voluntarily pee for us. So I waited a day and then started the meds. Now she's 5 days into the meds and starting to tell me to change her diaper when it's dry again. I don't know if she's getting a yeast infection too or if the meds aren't helping. So I'm waiting for a call back on what to do. I know they'll want more urine but it just isn't going to happen and there's no way they'll be able to cath her again without sedation. So if they want to see her again Mike is going to have to take a sick day tomorrow and go with me.

Carissa is here today and she's reading Kae a book in the living room. It's so nice to have a few minutes of relative silence. I guess I should get things ready to make brownies. I promised we would do that after lunch and it's only a matter of time before they remember. :)

23w appointment

2009-12-10T18:35:00.000-06:00

I had another routine appointment today. Weight is up to 133 lbs, BP was normal, fundal height measured at 23cm (perfect!) and the baby had a good strong heart beat. My doctor wants me to gain more weight, but I really think a pound a week is pretty good. I go back in 4 weeks for another check up and my glucose tolerance test. They offered both flu vaccines but I declined them. Dr Files said that if I am exposed to anyone with the flu to call her right away so I can get started on Tamiflu within the first 12-48 hours. So, pretty routine stuff. When I got home I saw I had an email about a giveaway I entered to win $500 worth of 0-3 month baby boy clothes- I won! Yay! It's only 15 pieces because it is boutique type stuff, but free is free!

Starting to feel very overwhelmed

2009-12-08T11:44:00.000-06:00

For some reason I am feeling very stressed today. I'm looking around the house seeing all the things we need to do to get baby ready (and just declutter our lives in general) and I realise I have no idea where to start. I guess what I need to do is sit down and make a list of to-do's and just try to get something small checked off every day. Some of the main things are going through Kaelin's toys. She has way too much stuff and there is no way we can fit any Christmas presents in with all the stuff she already owns. I think I'm going to be brutal with that one too. Alot of stuff is going, like all the little happy meal toys and the 50,000 little Barbie pieces she has. Stuffed animals are going to be drastically downsized as well. She has a ton and doesn't even play with them, they are taking up room in her closet. If I can get rid of those then I can move her changing table into the closet once she's potty trained and she'll have more floor room in her room. I really want to reclaim my room and my bathroom from kiddo too. It was convenient when she was little to have a basket of toys in there to occupy her while I shower, but now more of her stuff is in there then my stuff. And I think her toothbrush and bath stuff needs to be done in her own bathroom more regularly. I know she loves my big bathtub but it's always full of toys. Plus she always grabs my candles and stuff and tries to play with them in the bath. I would love atleast one room in the house where I can go and just have adult stuff. Another big project I want to accomplish is getting all the closets and cabinets reorganized so they are a little more efficient. We have really tall cabinets in the kitchen and some of them aren't even being used. We have very little counter space in the kitchen so I need to better organize everything in there. Our master closet is a huge mess. I need to sort thorugh all the extra sheets and blankets and get rid of stuff we don't use. Not to mention, Mike's side of the closet is a wreck. He has clothes thrown all over the floor and he doesn't even use his dresser, all his clothes are on the built in shoe shelves in the closet. So he needs to get rid of a ton of clothes so our closet is clean. Then I can put the trunk at the foot of our bed in the closet with all the linens in it to clear up room in our bedroom. I think staying on top of keeping things organised is going to be our big challenge but I really think getting rid of a bunch of crap will make it so much easier. Maybe then the everday tasks won't seem so overwhelming.

What a week!

2009-11-19T11:09:00.000-06:00

I will be so happy to see this week over and done with! Kaelin has had hand, foot and mouth disease all week. So I've been afraid to take her anywhere even though it's not that bad. I would feel awful if someone caught it from her and got it really bad- sores in the mouth, fever, diarrhea, etc. So we've pretty much been hanging out in the house watching movies and stuff. Mike left yesterday for a work trip and won't be home until tomorrow night. So after I got him all packed up Tuesday night I was laying on the couch with Kaelin. I picked up my left arm to do something with Kaelin and realised my arm felt funny. Sure enough, within a few minutes my left arm, leg and half of my face was numb. Then my head started throbbing. Ugh, so not the time for a migraine to kick in. So my head has been throbbing for 2 days now, but luckily Kae has been pretty good. I guess I should get moving.

18w5d update

2009-11-14T10:26:00.000-06:00

Tuesday was a big day for us! We saw Dr Rowe, the peri, this morning for the follow up u/s from the integrated screening. Everything looks great with the baby! 100% definately positive it is a boy! We were able to get great shots of the head, face, stomach, toes, legs, hands, heart, etc. We got a few good profile shots and a bunch of shots of his penis. We even got a picture of him flipping us the bird! He's in trouble already! He's measuring a few days ahead at 19w even so that is good. Kaelin was always behind, so I'm sure he's going to be a little bigger then she was. He was moving all over the place and the tech had to keep chasing him down. They said the placenta is not close to my c-section scar but is covering the front and top of my uterus. So no big suprise I'm not feeling anything definite yet. All the bloodwork for any genetic issues came back negative. We waited for a little over an hour so Kaelin was kind of burned out by the time we got called back. But, overall, she did good.

After lunch I went back for my regular appointment with Dr Files, my OB/GYN. My weight is up to 129 lbs, so almost back to where I started at. Blood pressure was good at 100/60 and I assume my u/a was clear. We discussed circumcision and she said she does it in the hospital before discharge. That's realy good because I've heard of a few doctors waiting a few weeks to do them. I go back in 4 weeks and then we'll do the GTT at 28 weeks and schedule our c-section. So everything is looking great and we're just plugging along!

Profile

Being Naughty!

I'm all BOY!

Stretching his long legs

Foot

Doing some catching up

2009-11-07T18:15:00.000-06:00

I have been really bad about updating this blog. Things have been going okay around here for the most part. We're just plugging along. I can't believe I'm almost halfway through this pregnancy, it is going by way too fast! Mike is on vacation for the next week and we have alot going on. Monday Kaelin goes to the dentist for the first time. I figure that's a Daddy job since I can't go with her for x-rays. So I'm thinking it'll go smoother if I'm not there so she can't beg for me. Plus I have an appointment with the angel I call my chiropractor. I haven't been since Kae was born and I am feeling the pain big time. I want to find out if my insurance will cover the massage therapist there so I can go back to weekly massages to get through this pregnancy. If not, I guess adjustments alone are better then nothing. Plus I've met my yearly deductible so I may as well take advantage if it is covered! Tuesday we see Dr Rowe to get the resluts of all the genetic bloodwork and another u/s! I'm excited for this one and we'll have to have it taped. Then in the afternoon I see Dr Files for my monthly checkup. Other then those appointments, Mike wants to spend a bunch of time doing fun things with Kaelin all week. I want to go through Kaelin's toys while they're out of the house one day and narrow done her stuff. She has way too many things for a 2 year old!

I'm feeling pretty good so far, aside from the back pain. We've passed the point where I started being able to feel Kaelin move and so far, nothing this time around. But I blame that on the anterior placenta and I'm not too worried about it. I'm not too terribly big yet either. I mean, I feel huge, but I can still wear normal clothes and if you didn't know I was pregnant you probably wouldn't guess it. I have worn my favorite maternity jeans a few times but mostly just because they are comfy. But I'm always pulling them up and it drives me nuts! Mike's christmas party is next month and I need to get a dress. But I guess I'll wait until it gets closer so I don't buy the wrong thing. I don't want to wear something that looks too small, and I don't want to buy a full on maternity dress meant for later if I will be swimming in it. I figure I'll hit up Motherhood when it gets a few weeks out.

Well, dinner should be ready soon so I better get the kitchen straightened up a little.

Halloween Pics!

2009-11-01T09:31:00.000-06:00

Kaelinhad so much fun trickor treating last night! Thisis the first year she really got what the concept was and was super excited about going to get candy. I had a hard time getting her dressed though. She wanted to wear her princess lady shoes and I told her it was way too cold for them. Then I tried getting her black tights on bu she nixed that idea too. Luckily I was able to sneak her ears in her piggies without her noticing! Our neighborhood is the perfect size for her age, so by the time we ran out of houses, she was done. And so was Mommy since I ended up carrying her most of the way! We walked with our neighbors so Kae had her friend Taylor with her. They were so cute! She kept holding his hand and walking with him. She was pretty sugared up by the time we got home so her 9:00 bedtime was out the window. She ended up coming into bed with me and fell asleep watching Aladdin on the iPod after about 15 minutes. Here's some pics of my Minnie Mouse!

What do you mean this candy is for other kids?

But the Nerds are my favorite!

Just scored!

How we did most of our T or T'ing.

All it takes is a little chocolate ice cream

2009-10-26T17:29:00.000-05:00

I discovered a few days ago that I am no longer producing milk. Yay, right? Well, it would be except Kaelin doesn't care if she gets milk or not. She's all about the comfort latch. I have been weaning her lately and I consider this a big step, I was afraid she'd nurse until I delivered and then push the baby out of the way to nurse. But now I know that won't happen. I don't feel so mean telling her no since I know she's not getting anything. Bedtime has been going well. She has some milk and cuddle time before bed. Then we all go to bed and she falls asleep watching a movie on the ipod. Soon I'll get rid of the ipod, but for now it works. Not much luck getting her to sleep in her own bed still but most nights she's in bed with us she sleeps all night! Yay! All I want is sleep right now, I don't care how I get it. She still has a huge interest in my boobs, wants to hug and kiss them and tells me they are her babies and she loves them. So today I decided we would do naptime with out nursing. Now this is a huge deal because other then a car ride, nursing is the only way I can get her down for a nap. So I let her pick out one of her old binkies thinking she would like something to suck on while we snuggled. She played with it but wasn't satisfied. So we went and layed in bed like we do for bed. I gave her some milk and the ipod. 2 hours later I was cranky and she was still wide awake. So I gave up and got out some ice cream. She has ice cream sensors and came running right away. I shared thinking she would stay awake through the evening and we could all go to bed early. Mike got home a few minutes later and sat on the couch with her while he played a video game. Next thing I know he's telling me she crashed. Maybe tomorrow I'll just start with ice cream.

Trunk or Treat

2009-10-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we took Kaelin to Trunk or Treat at a local church. They had free food, a moonwalk, a pumpking patch, people in costume, face painting, and a fire demo from the fire dept. When it got dark they had people's cars lined up in the parking lot with their trunks decorated handing out candy. She seemed to have fun. But she refused to wear her mouse ears so I don't think anyone knew she was supposed to be Minnie Mouse. Oh well. I forgot to take our camera so my sister's friend took a few pics for us. If they're any good I'll post them when I get them.

Kaelin has been having temper tantrums like crazy lately. I just don't know what to do about them, nothing seems to help. We took her to Target yesterday to get a few things. She wanted to run around and hide in the clothes racks and do whatever she wanted. I told her she either needed to sit in the basket or let my sister carry her. She said she wanted to hold my hand and walk. I let her, then she kept pulling away from me and running off. People were looking at me like I was a horrible mother and I think I scared the ladies in the maternity dept. Finally my sister took my wallet to check out my stuff so I could take Kaelin to the car. She threw such a fit and was trying to get out of my arms. I swear people thought I was kidnapping her the way she was screaming. I finally forced her into her carseat and got her calmed down. I told her that she was not going to be able to use the iPod the rest of the weekend but I'm not sure she gets it. It's getting to were I don't want to take her tot hte store by myself anymore.

14w4d doctor appointment

2009-10-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

Mike was off today so he got to go with me to my appointment today. So far everything is good. I'm down another 1/2lb so I got quizzed over my diet. Dr Files also told me that I had +1 ketones in my urine so I need to really drink up some water. Nothing to be worried about yet, just cautioning me. My blood pressure was normal and the baby's heartbeat was in the 160's. We discussed my anterior placenta and whether it would move or cause any problems with the c-section. Luckily, it should be fine since it's not low, just in the front. She said they normally move up some as the uterus grows. She seems open to working with us on scheduling the c-section to where we don't use up all of Mike's vacation time in the hospital too. If we do it on Thursday or Friday then we would be home Sunday or Monday, so that would be good. We'll schedule that at around 28 weeks so she said just to remind her about that then. She didn't give me a hard time about not getting the flu shot, so I was happy about that. I had blood drawn for the cystic fibrosis test while I was there. I hate getting blood drawn! I go back in 4 weeks to see her for a regular appointment and to see Dr Rowe (peri) for the next u/s. The appointments are at 10:30 and 1:55 so I'll have to take Mike and Kaelin home and have lunch in between. I'm excited to take Kaelin to the appt. so she can see her baby brother too! That should be pretty cool for her!

The ups and downs of potty training

2009-10-06T16:08:00.000-05:00

So we're potty training...sorta. We're taking the approach of not pushing her but not ignoring her signs either. So far if she is either naked or in panties she'll do great job of telling us she needs to go on the potty. Yesterday she had 2 accidents though. One at my mom's and one outside in our driveway. Both times I think the excitement of the situation distracted her. So from now on I think we'll only have panty time when we are home and inside close to the potty. After her 2nd accident we came in the house and she peed 3 different times on the potty. I don't know how she had so much in her bladder, but she did. So she now has 11 start stickers on her potty chart! Not bad for only working on it a few weeks. It's so great seeing her get excited when she realises that she peed on the potty all by herself! She squeals and claps and then flushes the toilet and runs out of the room squealing. The downside to it is I can no longer ignore it when she says she wants to sit on the potty. So some nights we're in their stripping down 4 or 5 times before she actually does anything. But it's progress and I would love it if she's fully trained before April. Diapers aren't cheap!

Hello 2nd trimester!

2009-10-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

Thursday I hit 13 weeks so I am now in the second trimester! Yay! The best news is that I'm starting to feel alot better. I haven't thrown up in atleast a week and the queezies seem to be easing up. In other news, Kaelin is starting to sleep a little better at night. Some nights I actually get an 8 hour stretch out of her. Too bad I'm up to go to the bathroom a few times a night. I've been looking at bedding and furniture somewhat. I've found a few cute things I like but haven't settled on anything just yet. Well, I guess we're off for another busy weekend of running errands.

12w5d ultrasound pictures

2009-09-30T10:18:00.000-05:00

12w5d update

2009-09-29T16:15:00.001-05:00

I saw Dr Rowe (peri) today for my 12 week screening u/s and bloodwork since my OB doesn't do it. Everything looks really good on the u/s and the nuchal fold measured at 1mm, so that looks perfectly normal. I was able to see the little face, hands, crossed legs, belly, stomach full of amniotic fluid, etc. The heartbeat was a wonderful 167 bpm. The tech asked if I wanted to know if he could tell what the baby is. Of course, I said yes! He told me it's only about 80% accurate at this point but that baby looks like a little boy! We have thought that from the beginning so I was not suprised at all! He said he could tell as soon as he started the u/s so I'm pretty sure it's right. When Dr. Rowe came in he said that they say 80% but he's showing off for us and he's going to say he's 80+% sure it's a boy. It was so neat getting to see that today, I was not expecting it at all! I called Mike on the way home and told him all about it. He's out of town for work so he missed it. I go back in 5 weeks for more bloodwork and then 6 weeks for another u/s. Plus I see my OB in 2 weeks for my next appt. I'm not sure if they'll still do an 18 wk u/s at their office or if they'll just go by the next one with Dr Rowe. I have a bunch of pics from today that I'll scan in at my Mom's tonight and post later!

I can't believe it's Sunday again already.

2009-09-20T10:22:00.000-05:00

Mike was off on Friday so I was set for a fun and hectic weekend. We ran a bunch of errands and got a few things done before heading home. I started unloading and reloading the dishwasher to get my mess of a kitchen cleaned up. All of a sudden my right thumb went numb so I told Mike and he had me sit on the couch. By the time he came in the house my entire right hand was numb up to my elbow. I had these migraines when I was pregnant with Kaelin so atleast I knew what was coming. I had Mike call the doctor's office to see if they wanted me to go the ER like I have in the past to rule out a stroke. Whoever the doctor was on-call told me to take Tylenol and lay down and if it didn't help to go to the ER for something stronger. Mike's mom came over and hung out with them while I laid down for a while. When I got up I was feeling awful and was starting to go numb again. I had Mike call the doctor again to let them know we were going thinking they would call ahead and send us to the 4th floor again. Wrong! We sat in the ER just like everyone else. Luckily we got back pretty quick. They took all kinds of blood and urine samples and hooked me up to all kinds of machines. The PA came in and said it sounds like a classic migraine and he would give me some more Tylenol and Zofran. Great, thanks. So I sat in the horrible upright bed with the lights blaring for 5 hours to be told I had a slight UTI but could finally have a shot of Demerol and go home. It was almost 2am when my MIL dropped me off. Mike had Kaelin asleep on the couch finally so I went straight in to bed. I slept like crap though and then we had a crazy day of birthday parties yesterday. So my plan is to do pretty much nothing today. Well, except laundry and dishes, but nothing else!

10w4d OB appt.

2009-09-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

I went in for my OB appt today. I ended up having to see the nurse because my doctor had to leave for a delivery. That could eventually be me, so I understand how that can happen.

My stats as of today:
Weight: 126 lbs. (down another 3 lbs.)
BP: 110/60
Baby HB: 155 bpm

I asked about switching to a prenatal that comes in a generic and they said that was fine. They didn't really have an opinion on my bruising so I'll ask about it again next time I see the doctor. She gave me a prescription for phenergan so hopefully that will help with my evening queeziness and my insomnia. I'm hoping for good sleep tonight! I got to hear the heart beat on the doppler for the first time! She had a hard time chasing it down, but once she did we could hear it really well. The nurse gave me a hard time about not getting a flu shot, but I just don't feel they are necesarry. None of us get them so I would rather not get one now. They said they'll have a swine flu one out soon but I am definately not getting that. She sent over orders to do the 12 week screening with Dr Rowe, so I'll call and see about that tomorrow. I have a very high deductible and am having to pay $330 a month for the next 6 months towards my retainer for Dr Files. So if this is going to be crazy expensive I'll have to skip it. We only have so much that can be contributed to the HSA a year and I need that to pay Dr Files off and Kaelin's ER bills. So we'll see.

I guess that's about all I have to report from this visit. I go back in 4 weeks.

Not much new around here

2009-09-13T11:44:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. But, truth be told, as busy as I have been- I'm also incredibly boring. I haven't really gotten much of anything done around the house in forever. So today I threw in a few loads of laundry and cleaned up the kitchen. Mike needs to hang Kaelin's new fan in her room. Right now it's sitting on the kitchen table. I have my next OB appt tomorrow afternoon. Should be uneventful, I don't think there's anything special scheduled for it. I'm still feeling pretty crummy most days. By the time dinner rolls around, I really don't feel up to eating anything and that just makes me feel worse. Hopefully thins will all pass in a few weeks and I'll feel back to normal.

Public restrooms are not morning sickness friendly

2009-09-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

It's no secret I haven't been feeling all that good lately. I spend the majority of my days on the couch watching Disney movies over and over again. I'm counting down the days until the first trimester passes and I feel human again.

So last night I had visions of fried potatoes and french toast for dinner. But I royally screwed up the potatoes so Mike decided we should go get his new boots and dinner. We stopped at Cracker Barrel and I decided I could stomach a salad. Wrong! I ended up in the bathroom puking my guts out. That is so gross, throwing up in a place hundreds of people put their butts. I did, however, feel slightly better afterwards, so I guess that's my silver lining.

After dinner we went to Cavender's to pick out Mike's new boots Kae and I were getting him for his birthday. He found exactly what he was looking for and we even had enough cash left over to get Kaelin a pair of pink cowboy boots! They are so cute! I'll have to take a picture of her in them later. She's really into dressing up right now so all she'll wear is princess dresses and high heels. That's alot of fun walking through Wal-Mart!

My step-dad had his prostate removed last Thursday. They said it looked like the cancer was contained but we should know for sure this week. He spent a few days down at UTMB and is at home now. So far he seems to be feeling pretty good. They had a size too small stockings on his feet though so they are pretty bruised and sore from the swelling. The doctor thought he had gout in hhis foot since the pain was so bad, but it turned out to just be the compression stalkings.

Mike is leaving work early today for a dentist appt. He ended up with an emergency root canal last week after breaking a tooth on vacation. More medical expenses. Speaking of, I got the bills from the hospital for both of Kaelin's emergency visits this year. Over $900 each. Yeah, it costs the same to have them look at her burned hand and put a bandage on it as it did for them to stitch her forehead. Nice. Oh well, that's what the HSA is for. But I have to pay off my OB retainer first so these will have to get a minimum payment until we start our HSA again next year.

I guess I better get in gear. I have to run to the store and get 60 bows made before Carissa's birthday party on the 13th. Eek!

First U/S pictures!

2009-08-24T17:54:00.000-05:00

Today was my first ultrasound appointment. I have to admit that I was totally freaking out that they were going to tell me I was having twins. But, it's just 1 healthy little bean! The doctor said that I am measuring exactly one week behind but she isn't going to change my due date just yet. She wants me to talk to my doctor next month when I go back in and see what she wants to do about it. She may even wait until my 18 week u/s. I figured I was a little behind what they were saying because I have long cycles, so I'm not suprised at all. Anyways, enough babble, here's the pics of my little blob!

Kaelin is going to be a big sister!

2009-08-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to finally be able to share the news! I found out 2 weeks ago that I am pregnant again! We told family while we were on vacation but I wanted to wait until we went to the doctor to tell publically. So yesterday morning we saw Dr Files and I had all kinds of bloodwork and stuff done. I should find out the results of all that tomorrow and then be able to schedule our first u/s. Right now they are estimating I am due on April 8, 2010 but it can (and probably will) change with the u/s. Kaelin seems to be taking the news well, hopefully that will be the case in April. So far I feel pretty good, a little queesy but nothing too bad. We justgot back into town Sunday night so I still have a lot of laundry and house cleaning to get done. The trip was wonderful, the wedding was beautiful, but we are so glad to be home!

Signing off for a week

2009-08-08T09:41:00.000-05:00

We head out this afternoon for my brother's wedding in MN. I'm actually packed and feel ready to go instead of being filled with the dreadful feeling I'm forgetting something. I'm so excited for Kaelin to get to meet her great-grandparents and the rest of my family! And of course for my big brother's wedding! I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and videos to post when we get back!

Cupcakes

2009-08-06T14:57:00.000-05:00

Kaelin and I made cupcakes this last weekend. This is the first cooking project I have really let her help with. Normally she plays with the pots and pans and pretends to cook. I was smart though, and stripped her down to her diaper and put an "apron" on her. She had so much fun being a big girl and mixing all the ingrediants together. And especially, licking the beater!

Having a sick kid sucks

2009-07-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

Kaelin woke up Thursday morning at 3:30 puking all over me. We got her settled back in and she slept ok. We got up at around nine and hung out on the couch. I let her nurse a little bit and then she got up and started screaming her tummy hurt. I managed to get her to the bathroom in time for her to puke all over the sink. I took her to the ped and she said it's most likely a virus and to push clear liquids and take her to the ER if she continued to throw up. She seemed better and played all day with Carissa. Then she woke up shortly after I put her down for the night last night and puked again and was running a fever. I couldn't get her to take Tylenol for anything so we just watched it through the night. She seems to be feeling better and only urped up a little bit this morning. I've been feeding her easy foods like soup and toast and tonight we took her to get a popsicle from DQ. She's in the shower now and hopefully she won't puke at all tonight.

In other news, we leave for MN in a week! I'm excited but the OCD side of me is already packing in my mind. Actually, I started a packing list about a month ago so I wouldn't forget anything. I'm trying to figure out the best way to pack our luggage so we only have to check 1 bag now that they charge for luggage. What a rip off. I think I have it figured out so hopefully everything will fit like I'm planning. I'll have to pack a few more baby type supplies for Kae this time around since we'll be staying with my dad part of the time and he has no baby stuff what so ever. But it shouldn't be too bad, just stuff like her soap and lotion, etc. I would like to get out our new Toddler Patapum carrier and get her used to riding on Daddy's back because I think that's the only way we'll make it through the airport. Especially since we have to lug her carseat with us. Ugh, I'm dreading the actual traveling part of the trip, but I think it'll be worth it! I feel bad that Mike won't have any vacation time left to take for his birthday at the end of the month. Plus we'll be broke after the trip so I think he's bummed about not being able to get a big birthday present. We'll see though, I have some savings bonds I can cash in to use if I need to. It's so much harder for me to try and do gifts for him now that I'm not working. My paychecks used to be extra so I could get him whatever I wanted. Can't do that anymore.

Today is Thursday, right?

2009-07-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

One thing about being a SAHM, I never know what day it is or the date. I'm constatly checking a calendar for the date and I have to think back on the week to figure out the day. Not that I'm complaining or anything. After working at the clinic for 6 years and writing the date on 50 million charts a day and counting down the days to Saturday, I feel a little out of touch with the real world. I'm sure once school starts for Kaelin, I'll look back a miss these clueless days.

Things are putting along around here. We have a to do list that's about a mile long and I don't see us checking anything off it any time soon. Let's see, to name a few things, we need to: finish staining the deck, finish the playhouse, get the office/game room organized and unpacked (including the closet), list the stuff Mike wants to sell on ebay, clean out the closet in the sewing/music room, empty out Kaelin's closet and pack away the clothes she's outgrown so I can actually use the bottom part of her closet, pack away toys she's outgrown including various bouncy seats and play mats, revamp the file cabinet and actually file away paid bills and paperwork to the house and car, finish hanging things on the wall in the living room, reorganize the kitchen cabinets so they are more user friendly, etc. They are all a weekend project but it seems like we have no free weekends.

Kaelin is continuing to amaze me every day. Her vocabulary is insanely huge and she carries on full conversations. Since Carissa has been here 3 days a week this summer, she has picked up even more things. She has a huge crush on our neighbor's little boy, Taylor. He is 7 and such a cutie. He comes over and rides his bike and colors with chalk with Kaelin. Last night he came in and played some video games while we finished up dinner. Kaelin was just smitten with him! Then he took her and Mike over to his house to jump on his trampoline. She had a blast! She kept calling it a trampolina, and was correcting us when we would say trampoline. After I got her to bed, she woke up and was asking for Taylor when I went in her room. So sweet!

The girls are watching Dragon Tales while I putz on the computer. I guess I should get moving before they get too bored.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Kaelin threw my cell phone in the pool yesterday. I saw her grab it and started yelling at her to put it down but she got to the pool before I got to her. I took it apart and let it dry and it seems to be working ok today even though I can still see water in the screen. I am eligible for an upgrade so I should just go to AT&T and get whatever free upgrade they have available. I was ready for a new phone anyways, but still!

Traveling stresses me out!

2009-07-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

We're flying to MN next month for my brother's wedding. I'm trying to buy our tickets and rent a car today online. What a huge PITA! Priceline gave me a good price but when I try to buy it- it tells me it can't find my flights and to select other (more expensive) flights. I think I'm going to just get the flight through priceline and get the rental car directly from the rental company and use a 20% off coupon. We won't be able to pick up our car until Monday though, but that should be ok. We'll fit in Dad's car ok, we just want our own car because everyone else is heading to the wedding 2 days early and we're not. Dad sent us the money for the trip but now that it's all jacked up we're going to end up paying for some of it ourselves. Which is fine really. I'm just thankful Dad was willing to help us out with our flight.

Kae's not the baby of the family anymore

2009-07-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

First Kaelin lost her title of baby of the family on my side when my nephew Jacob was born. She lost the title again today to our new nephew on Mike's side of the family. Baby Edward was born at 12:45 this morning after less then 2 hours of labor! We went and visited them this afternoon at the hospital. Kaelin was very upset that Mommy was holding another baby and was clinging to my leg the whole time. He's a cutie pie and such a quiet baby. They'll be discharged sometime Monday and I can't wait to get to see him again!

Fire Ants are the spawn of Satan

2009-07-06T09:44:00.000-05:00

We went out to my sister's boyfriend's house for the fourth of July. They have a huge 6 acre private pond and a pool. They rented a huge inflatable slip and slide also. While we were there we were all eaten alive by stupid fire ants. My feet are still itching like crazy and all puffy from the little bites those damn evil creatures inflicted on me. But we had a great time and Kaelin played hard! She did not want to get off of the slip and slide. She even swam in the pond with Aunt Moogie and Daddy. They have a high diving board set up for the pond and Margret convinced me to jump with her. I haven't been off a diving board in years, let alone a high one. And I hate swimming in water that I can see has seaweed growing to the top and little fish swimming around. But I did and I guess it was fun, I swam to the dock and got out as quickly as I could though!

Mike finally got my shelves hung up in my craft room yesterday! So I spent a little bit of time in there last night organizing stuff into boxes and putting them on the shelves. I can almost get in there to make stuff again! Yay!

First dance class

2009-07-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

Today was our first Mommy and Me dance class! Kaelin looked so cute in her little dance clothes! She wore one of the very first tutus I made for her when I was learning how to sew. So I'm pretty much happy that it stayed on her body and didn't fall apart. She was the only one in the class so her attention span was pretty much nothing. She had to much room to herself to run. Hopefully some more kiddos will sign up or the class will be canceled. Anyways, Mommy got a cardio work out chasing her around the studio. Here's some pics of Kae before we left for class.

She was dancing in this one.

More interested in her toys then leaving for class.

The bow on her tutu. So cute! But I have to say, my bow skills have come a long way from this!

Did you get your tickets to the gun show?

2009-06-30T19:00:00.000-05:00

They're right over there!

That's Kaelin's new game she plays at the dinner table. She started that last night out of the blue, I guess she heard Mike saying that one night and remembered it. We saw her pointing to the window and saying "They're over there" over and over and finally we realised what she was doing. Now she does it and just cracks up laughing when it makes us laugh. Silly girl!

Could use some prayers and positive thoughts

2009-06-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

This isn't exactly what I would like to blog about, but it's the hand we've been dealt. Friday we got the call that my step-father, John, has prostate cancer. So far that's all we know. He goes in tomorrow for a CT scan and a bone scan to see if it has spread to anywhere else in his body. He doesn't get the results of those tests until the 7th. Which I find sick that he has to wait that long to find out how bad it is, but I guess that's how it works. I was over there today and he seems pretty upbeat about it all. He was saying he wasn't going to let it get to him. I guess I'll update when I know more, but in the meantime I'll take any prayers or positive thoughts anyone has to offer.

Birthday pics are coming

2009-06-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted any pics from Kae's birthday yet. But we got a new Mac awhile ago and Mike uploaded all the pics to it. I haven't had the time to play with it yet, but I need to upload the pics from it. So as soon as I figure out how to do it, I will! I also need to reschedule her birthday portraits. I was waiting to see how her scar would heal but it's slow going so I guess we'll just have to have 2nd birthday pics with the scar.

2 year appointment stats

2009-06-25T18:30:00.000-05:00

I took Kaelin for her 2 year checkup and shots yesterday. As soon as we got to the doctors' office she was upset. She has seen way too much of them for traumatic things lately! She weighed in at 22lbs 10oz (5%) and was 33.25 inches (20-50%) and her head was 47cm. The doctor said she seems to be growing fine and isn't worried about her being small at all. She got one vaccine that she missed at 18 months due to an outage and will go back Monday for the other shot she's due for. She did ok for the appointment but did not like the doctor touching her. She kept pushing her hand away and even told her "Go out that door" a few times. Such a booger! I think she is doing exceptionally well with her milestones for her age also.

Here's some of the things she's doing:

Speaking and understanding very complex sentances.
Has a huge vocabulary.
Counts to 10.
Knows all of her colors and animals (by sight and sound).
Swims with only arm floaties and no assistance from us.
She's starting to draw and can almost get a circle drawn by herself.
Knows a handful of basic shapes (square, circle, triangle and star).
Walks and runs forwards and backwards with no assistance and rarely falls.
Feeds herself with a fork and spoon very well. Also uses straws and drinks out of glasses and bottles (water, coke, etc) without spilling too much.
Climbs into her booster seat and carseat by herself.
Puts her shoes on by herself.
She's capable of making simple choices like what she wants to wear or eat.
Loves putting together shape puzzles.

Now I just have to get her weaned and sleeping through the night!

2 icons lost in 1 day

2009-06-25T18:28:00.001-05:00

Wow, I can't believe that both Farrah Fawcet and Michael Jackson died today. Not that I was the biggest fan of either, but still. They were both huge icons to their generations. Everyone in America (if not the world) has seen the famous red bathing suit poster and heard of the King of Pop. They will both be missed.

Happy 2nd Birthday Kaelin!

2009-06-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

(I know I'm a few days late posting this, but it's been busy around here!)

Friday was my sweet princess' birthday. I can't believe it's already been 2 years, the time has gone by amazingly fast. Friday I took her to Jumpin' Jungle and she had a blast! That has really become her favorite place to go, she loves all the moonwalks and slides. There was a little boy there with his dad and he quickly became attached to Kaelin. He followed her all over the place and kept talking to her and trying to hold her hand. We went to get a drink and he threw a fit because we were leaving the room. It was pretty cute, normally Kaelin is the one that gets attached. He did break her heart though when she asked for the ball he was playing with and he told her no. She came running to me and said "Him said no to me Mommy" and started crying. It was so pitiful. Friday night we went to Wal-Mart to pick up her birthday present, a new big girl bed! It's a really cute toddler bed and it matches her other furniture perfectly! She's so excited and loves it! So far she hasn't slept any better in it, but I figure we'll work on it once things settle down this week.

Saturday we had her party. We rented a moonwalk and had all the family over. There weren't as many kids this year as last year though. One of her friends was home sick, another is in the hospital with MRSA and another was spending the day with his daddy before he left town again. But I think she had a good time! I made a huge pot of spaghetti and meatballs since that's her favorite dinner. And I did go with the cupcakes and it worked out really well. I only have a few left in the fridge. She did pretty well this year with presents too! She got a bunch of PJs and a few outfits, a Muno guitar (she loves it!), a princess table, a new art easel, an aqua doodle, sidewalk chalk, books, a Mrs. Potatoe Head, board puzzles, a coloring book, and a new bathtub boat toy. It's a good thing I just cleaned out the toy box and her clothes! Now I just have to pack up the clothes and toys and crib and store them away.

Today is Father's Day so we're heading over to my parents for a late lunch then over to Mike's parents. I guess I should get my butt in the shower.

Baby Kaelin June 19, 2007 10:01pm

I won something!!

2009-06-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

My friend over at LoveToShopMom had a giveaway week to celebrate her birthday. I entered the contest to win this carseat cover and I won it! Yay! I've never won any of the contests I've entered before so I'm pretty excited!

Sweet score at the grocery store!

2009-06-16T16:57:00.000-05:00

Sunday night was grocery shopping night. I normally sit down and make my weekly menu based on the sale paper and what coupons I have. It's become like a game to me to try and see how little I can get stuff for. I spent $46 and came home with 9 dinners! Here's what's on the menu for this week:

Pizza

BBQ chicken
~Corn on the cob
~Garlic Shells

Hamburger Helper
~French bread
~Ceaser salad

Grilled cheese sandwiches
~Tomato soup
~Fruit cocktail

Burgers
~Homemade french fries
~Sauteed onions

Meatloaf
~Mashed potatoes

Cheese steak sandwiches
~Fresh fruit

Lemon pepper chicken breasts
~Pasta

Hamburger helper

So I'm pretty pleased with myself. I'll need to run to the store for milk again at some point during the week. And I'll have to go get the stuff for Kaelin's birthday party probably Friday night. We're planning on making her favorite dinner, spaghetti, for Saturday night. I'll probably run to Wal-Mart and get their industrial size spaghetti sauce, I don't think Kroger's has very big ones and I don't want to buy 5 little bottles. I guess I'll make a few pounds of meatballs also. Kaelin like it's better that way because then I can give her sauce without any meat in it, otherwise I have to try to pick out the ground beef. Friday I think I'll make some cupcakes so she can have a birthday cupcake with 2 candles in it on her birthday. And I still have to figure out what I'm going to do for her birthday cake. Krogers doesn't have an Abby Cadabby cake so I think I'll check Wal-Mart otherwise I guess I'll make the cake myself. Or I could just do a bunch of cupcakes in Abby Cadabby colors. Hmmmm, that sounds good. Then I'm not stuck with leftover cake, I'll just send cupcakes home with everyone.

10 year reunion was last night

2009-06-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

Last night was my 10 year high school reunion. I suppose I'm glad I went but it was not what I was expecting at all. Hardly anyone showed up and everyone just stood around all night. They served some food but it wasn't very good at all and the cash bar was outragousely expensive. I did get to see a few people I wanted to, but for the most part it was people I didn't know or really didn't care to see. We went outside so Crystina and Mary could smoke and some biker guys started talking to us. They got out a bottle of liquor and passed it around. Ahh, good times. We stayed long enough to take the class picture then left. We went over to Molly's Pub and had a drink there. We ran into a girl that was a few years younger then us and was a Cavalier with us. She went to the same college I did so we spent a while talking about when we were on the drill team there. I got home a little after 12 and Kaelin was ready for bed. Mike had managed to pacify her some but couldn't get her to sleep. I have a horrible headache this morning because I couldn't seem to get to sleep at all last night. We have a baby shower to go to this afternoon and I'm looking forward to eating, I'm starved for some good bbq!

Splashpark Fun!

2009-06-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

My sister called me the other day to see if I wanted to take Kaelin to the splashpark in Pearland. Sounded like fun. So yesterday we took Kaelin and Carissa there. The first one we went to was crowded and didn't have alot of water stuff going on. The second one we went to was much better! I slathered the girls in sunscreen and let 'em go. They had a blast! Kaelin ran around non-stop in all the different sprinklers and puddles. Here's a few pics. We'll definately have to go back again!

7 years ago today

2009-06-09T22:38:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already been 7 years since we got married. We had a nice evening just the two of us. We went and had dinner at the Olive Garden then went and saw "The Land of The Lost". Interesting movie, we'll leave it at that. It was nice to have a chance to get out of the house by ourselves. We don't get to do that very often. Kaelin was seriously wired when we got home. It should be fun trying to get her to sleep tonight. I guess I better get on that. :)

No dogs allowed

2009-06-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

We have a pretty strict no-dogs-allowed-in-the-kitchen-while-we're-eating rule. This includes the plastic, non-verbal kind as well. Case in point:

Some new pics

2009-06-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

This week has gone by so fast! Kaelin has done really well with her stitches. The only time she fussed about them was when we would take the band-aid off each night to clean them. I took her in yesterday morning and had the sutures removed. It was not a pleasant experience at all! We had to hold her down again and she screamed the whole time. She kept yelling that she needed medicine or a new band-aid. Then she started yelling "Thank you" to the doctor. She's so polite, even when she's being held down. Here's a pic of her band-aid she's been wearing.

We have been having a hard time getting Kaelin to get into and stay in her high chair lately. So on Thursday I took her shopping and we found a new big girl booster seat! She loves it! It's pretty similar to her highchair since we had the space saver one, but it's new and she's happy with it. So far no problems getting her into it, just getting her out of it!

Kaelin and Daddy were playing "fort" in Kaelin's bed the other night. They were pretending to look at jungle animals with their binoculors. So Mike took her outside to use the real binoculors to look at stuff. It was so cute watching her look through them!

And she's spent. :)

Last night was Mike's sister's graduation. It's so wierd to me because 10 years ago I was graduating. The reunion is next weekend already. Eek! Anyways, there were almost 1000 students graduating this year. They had it out on the football field and we were able to see Colleen as she walked by to go sit in her chair. It was so hot and the ceremony was so long that we didn't make it. It took an hour for them to even get to the part where they present the diplomas and then Colleen was about 500 names in. It didn't start until 7 so I'm sure theygot out of there really late. Kaelin stayed with my parents because I knew she would not have fun if she went with us. After we left we stopped at Chili's and had dinner. So yummy! Then we went and picked up Kaelin from Mom's. She had pizza for dinner and went swimming. She was ready for bed as soon as we got home, which was awesome. I was so tired that I went to bed shortly after I put her down. Here's a pic of our graduate!

I have to go to church tomorrow to run the sound system. My step-dad is preaching and the normal sound guy will be out of town. So I have to go up there today for a run through. Shouldn't be too hard but I don't really like going to church anymore.

Next week or so will be super busy! Tuesday is our 7th anniversary! Then Mike has a dentist appointment and our reunion is on Friday night. Then we have Kaelin's birthday pics and Geri's baby shower on Saturday. Then we're either going bowling or up to Humble Saturday night. Then it's Father's Day and Kaelin's birthday after that! I can't believe she's going to be 2 already!

Not winning any awards any time soon

2009-06-01T01:12:00.000-05:00

We had to take Kaelin to the ER again tonight. She fell while running away from me in the living room and gashed her forehead open. I heard her hit and new it was a hard hit so I scooped her right up and hugged her tight. Mike came running in and when I pulled her back to show him I saw the gash. I knew immediately it needed stitches. Mike grabbed a wet rag and held it on right away so it didn't bleed very bad at all. She was screaming she needed a band-aid so Mike put a piece of gauze and some princess tape on it before we left the house. I showed it to her in the mirror and she settled down. The whole way to the hospital I was freaking out because she was so calm and quiet. She just held my hand and looked out the window. Once we got into a room the nurse came in and looked at it and said she'd definately need stitches and it would be awhile. Thankfully Mike's mom met us there so she helped us keep Kae entertained. She was running around and playing and trying to jump on the bed the whole time. The nurse practioner came in and told us he was going to numb the area and that we would have to wrap her up and hold her down so they could suture it. That was horrible, she was scraming the whole time. They covered her eyes so the light wasn't in her face and she was fraked out that she couldn't see any of us. Then she started saying "Thank you nurse Kevin" even while she was screaming. Broke my heart. I had to look away and try hard not to lose it so she wouldn't hear me cry. As soon as they were done I scooped her up and unwrapped her. She's happy with her princess tape and is excited about going to pick out new big band-aids tomorrow. I need to call Dr. McAtee and see when they want us to come in. The ER said 5 days to have sutures removed but I want to check with them just in case. Well. I'm exhausted and going to try to settle down before going in to bed.

Kaelin's new outfit

2009-05-31T00:34:00.000-05:00

I finished Kaelin's new outfit today. Her pictures aren't scheduled until June 13th, but I figure this way she can wear it tomorrow to recital. Here's a few pics.

I feel alive again!

2009-05-29T23:21:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness I woke up feeling much better today! Still a little bit of a lingering headache and some pain in my jaw but nothing too. bad. Kae and I just hung around the house today, I didn't want to push it and be out somewhere and unable to drive home. Not that anyone wants to know this, but I started my period again yesterday. Suprised me because it's only been 33 days so I wasn't expecting it for atleast 10 more days. It seems like my body is trying to get it's act together. Maybe in a few months I'll have a completely normal 28 day cycle. Wouldn't that be great if having Kaelin whipped my reproductive system into shape? Here's hoping!

I got the ribbon that I ordered for Kaelin's hot pink and zebra outfit! I'm so excited to start on her jeans, I really hope they come out cute. I'm going to use this tutorial for them. I really want to do some of her birthday pics in this outfit. I cut a bunch of pieces of ribbons and heat sealed them. So now I just have to cut the hem off a pair of jeans and start sewing! I would like to figure out a good way to trim the pockets and belt loops in ribbon also. I may have to hand sew those or just use on iron on adhesive. I also got the white and ballet slipper ribbon. I'm going to make a onesie and tutu set out of that for dance as well. I just need to get a good white onesie to use for that one. I think that's all I'm going to make for class this summer. I still have some other tutus I made that she can wear with a leotard.

I can tell when I'm typing while I'm over tired because I start to ramble. So I guess I'm gonna brush my teeth and head to bed.

Did anyone get the plate number of the truck that ran me over?

2009-05-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

Today turned out much worse then I imagined. Kaelin woke up grumpy and clingy, not much of a big deal except my mom was coming to stay with her while I went and had a wisdom tooth pulled. Atleast I knew Mike would be here in case she absolutely threw a fit when I left. (Mike had car trouble this morning and so he worked from home.) I got to the dentist's and noticed the words didn't look right in the magazine I was reading. Crap, another migraine. I won't go into detail, but since getting pregnant with Kaelin my migraines have stepped up a level. I get nauseaus, visual disturbances, numbness and sometimes slurred speech. So I knew this had the potential to turn bad, quickly. They took me back and I got started watching a movie while they numbed me. Overall it wasn't too bad except the doctor had a hard time getting the tooth out. So I felt alot of pressure while she was digging at it. By the time I left I was feeling better but the headache part had kicked in full force. Plus my jaw was hurting from biting on the gauze so hard to help stop the bleeding. I got home and Kaelin was ready for her nap. So I changed out of my jeans and sat on the couch with her. Mom sat with us and rubbed my head while Kaelin fell asleep. I tried to nap with her but the novacaine was wearing off and it was starting to hurt. I asked Mike to call and ask if the doctor would call in some pain meds for me. Luckily, she did and he went and got it for me. Mom had brought over a frozen lasagna and garlic bread so I didn't have to cook so I stuck that in the oven. I ended up only eating a bit of it before switching to jello. So I've been taking it easy and letting Mike handle Kaelin. They just got from getting milk and icecream at the store. Tomorrow we're supposed to go to lunch with Mom and Margret. Mike is going to take my car so Margret is going to pick us up. Hopefully I'll feel up to it. Then she's going to take me to switch out our HD DVR box since it decided to crap out on us today. I can't handle anymore Little Mermaid, Jungle Book or Horton. Crap, I'm going to have to reprogram the new box with all our recorded shows.

Today was a pretty good day

2009-05-26T22:18:00.001-05:00

Kaelin slept fairly well last night. Which doesn't suprise me since she played hard yesterday. We got up at 9 this morning and she was in a good mood. We ran to Wal-Mart to get some new mouthwash that stains her mouth blue in the hopes it'll help let us brush her teeth better. I also picked up some children's flossers since she'll let us floss her teeth. She did really good in the store and sat in the basket eating popcorn chicken the whole time we were there so I bought her a set of Tinkerbell keys as a treat. At 2 I told her it was time for her nap and we went to her room to sit in the rocking chair. She was out in a few minutes! It's been so nice having her go right to sleep instead of fighting me to stay awake. I'm trying really hard to stick to a schedule and be diligent about where I get her to sleep at. I think I was getting to lax with her routine and letting her sit in the living room with us until she fell asleep was just making it harder on me.

I got dinner started while she napped. I mashed the potatoes and started the chicken marinating. I heard a tiny peep out of Kaelin and she came walking out of her room. She asked to go back to sleep but didn't. I got her a bowl of strawberries and blueberries to snack on. That kid can eat some berries! Her little hands are stained blue! Oops! I took Megan to the high school for an audition and Mike stayed home with Kae. After dinner we went outside and found a frog in Kaelin's rain boot. So I got a little flower pot and buried it in the garden and transplanted the little guy into his new home. Kaelin was pretty excited about that so I had to take a picture of him for her. When we came inside she pranced around in a pair of my shoes. So cute!

Here's a few pics:

A face Kaelin drew the other day

Buddy the Frog in his new house

In Mommy's shoes

Her new "cheese" face

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

Today was a really nice day! Kaelin was up at 8:15 and in a good mood. I got some laundry done and fed Kaelin breakfast. After I showered we ran over to Mom's to get their highchair for Kenneth to use today. They got here around 1pm. The kids hung out and played for a bit then we got ready for the pool. While I was changing Kaelin came in and told me she peed in her suit. I checked and sure enough she did, then she showed me where on the floor she did it. All the rain we had yesterday made the water cold, but it wasn't too bad. The stupid flying ants are back and majorly infested the pool. We spent the whole time scooping them out and throwing them over the side of the pool. Both kiddos had fun and enjoyed their matching arm floaties. Neither Katy or I thought to take our cameras out so we didn't get any pool pics. Kaelin took a nap but Kenneth refused to nap. Can't blame the kid, new house, new toys, not his bed. Katy and I sat on the back deck for a bit and tried to get some sun. Lord knows I need all I can get. Kaelin showed Kenneth her sidewalk chalk while Mike cooked the burgers. Dinner was yummy! I love fresh corn on the cob and burgers! Kenneth was pretty much ready for bed so they didn't hang around too long after dinner. Just long enough for him to develop a shoe fetish! He kept getting Kaelin's dress shoes and trying to put them on. Of course I made it worse by trying to squeeze his feet into them! He settled on wearing Kaelin's princess slippers instead. I got a pic of that one for sure! I'm sure his Daddy was so proud. There's a new frozen yogurt place not too far away so we went and picked up Mike's sister and went and got some desert. It was really cool and they have a ton of flavors and toppings. You pay by the ounce and was pretty reasonable. I discovered Kaelin's little battery operated car in the driveway when we dropped Megan off. I asked why it was out and she said that their dad decided Kaelin didn't need it since she had one at home too. That pissed me off so I put it in our car and brought it home. Not that she needs it, but still he shouldn't just go throwing her stuff away. Just because Mike's mom is out of town, he's being a butt and doing stuff he wouldn't do if she were home. But that's another subject all together. So instead of getting upset about it, I'll post some pics from today.

Kaelin

Kenneth

Kenneth in Kaelin's princess slippers :)

Kaelin and Kenneth playing the drums together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wljzo6_cvc8

Day 3

2009-05-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

We had a monster of a storm today! It hailed. HAILED! But luckily it only delayed our cookout plans at Mom's. They got a new pool so it was filling up when we got there. It was just the right hight for Kaelin to be able to reach in and play with the water. She wore her new Elmo skirt outfit and was so cute! I put her hair in piggies but realised I only had one Elmo clippie and no blue or red bows. So I got out the glue gun and made her another Elmo so she'd have 2. I have to say, it was pretty darn cute!

It is very stressful being with my family sometimes. Not that they stress me out, I get tired of being a buffer. My family thinks Mike over protects Kaelin and hovers. Mike thinks my parents don't watch her close enough. It freaks me out sometimes because I know they both want to say something to the other and I'm waiting for it to get uncomfortable.

Kaelin decided she only needed a 5 minute nap today so she was ready for bed when we got home. Hopefully she'll sleep good tonight and get up early tomorrow. Maybe then her and Kenneth will nap at the same time tomorrow. I'm going to catch up on some chat boards and blogs and head to bed early myself.

Long weekend, day 2

2009-05-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

I love it when we get a long weekend! Mike was off yesterday for his flex Friday and Monday is Memorial day. After him and Kae went to the airport yesterday morning and brought home breakfast, Margret and I did some shopping. Margret got a bunch of stuff and I got Kaelin a new Elmo outfit and a Dora nightgown. She is in desperate need of new pjs that are summer appropriate. We went and got the rest of the things we need for the gardens. So today we'll finish spreading mulch in the front garden then Mike is going to build a garden box in the backyard for our vegetable garden. Kaelin loves digging in the dirt so gardening is perfect for her! Then I need to clean the fridge and hopefully my sewing room. Tonight we've been invited to go see Horton Hears A Who in the park with some friends. That's Kaelin's favorite movie so it should be fun! Tomorrow I intend to clean the house and do some reorganizing. Then we're going to a cookout at Mom's house. Monday Katy and David are coming down for the day, We intend to hang out in the pool and grill some burgers. Which reminds me, I need to go to the store today.

Mike and I watched The Fog after Kaelin went to bed last night. It was pretty good with just the right amount of gore. I'm ashamed to admit my level of tolerance for scarey movies has gone down, gives me nightmares. Anyways, when she woke up she would not go back to sleep. She screamed for about twenty minutes not knowing what she wanted. We finally got her settled down and gave her some tylenol. She came to bed with us and fell asleep watching a baby Einstein video. So today Mike wants to hang her TV in her room so she can watch it in bed. Hopefully that'll help her want to stay in her bed. I really want to discuss her sleeping habits and how to wean her with her pediatrician next month. The kid is sucking the life out of me! Just kidding, but really, I'm done nursing her. She's getting too old and I just don't enjoy it anymore. I don't regret going as long as we have, I'm just ready to have my body back to myself for a bit.

Took a sick day today

2009-05-21T21:08:00.000-05:00

Ha! If only it was that easy! Kaelin woke up during the night running a fever. I didn't get up to check it, I figured she needed to sleep more then be poked at anyways. I try to let fevers run their course anyways since they're doing a job. Unless it's high of course. She only ran a small temp today, unfortunately so did I. I was supposed to go to lunch with my mom but I had to cancel. So Kae and I hung around the house in our jammies all day. I did get the laundry done, the kitchen cleaned, the floor vacuumed and the new switch plate for the triple switch in the living room stained and installed (I'm trying to install all new switch plates and outlet plates in the house to match each room). Then we both crashed and took a long nap. We got up when Mike got home and I showered while she took a vapor bath. I like having the shower and the garden seperate in the bathroom! I steamed up the bathroom with my shower and Mike sat and bathed Kae. We both put on clean jammies and all of us have just been hanging out tonight. We ate pizza in the living room while we watched The Jungle Book (again!). Now we're just waiting to see if Grandma Marger is coming over to see us before she leaves town tomorrow.

Mike's off tomorrow and has to drive his mom to the airport at 7:30 in the morning. Hopefully he'll get my shelves hung up in my sewing room at some point. Although I just saw a really cool storage shelf desk thing at Ikea for $50 that looks really cool. I don't know though, the table on it is smaller then the one I have now so I wouldn't be able to have my sewing machine and cutting mat out at the same time. But it sure would make the room look nicer. Ahhh, decisions, desicions! :)

I'm exhausted

2009-05-20T22:17:00.001-05:00

We had a bad night last night. A bad one. Kaelin went to bed at a decent time and was easy t put back to bed. Then I brought her int bed with us when we were going to bed. She would not g back to sleep! Every time she'd start to drift off, she'd wake up screaming to nurse again. I was set on making her go as long as possible without it since I'm trying to wean her. After about an hur of her waking up every 5 minutes screaming, and then Daddy having to go sleep n the couch, I gave in and we both finally got a little bit of sleep. She was up before 9 this morning, which is early for her. She ended up taking her nap at 12:45 and slept for about an hour. Nrmally she fights naps as lng as possible and finally crashes at 4 or 5.

Mike had to work really late today so went to my Mom's and stayed for dinner. Kaelin played in the sprinkler for a hour or two before dinner. She's really into water activities these days. But then she doesn't want to take a bath, wierd. Anyways, dinner was great and Kaelin ate a ton of chicken and then a pear. Since she was up early and napped early I had to keep her awake when we got home. That is a pain in the butt, let me tell ya. If I let her go to bed before 9 she would treat it like a nap and be back up in a few hours. She's had a runny nose all day today also. I think it's from teething, that would explain her crabby mood lately too. I'm very excited this will be her last 4 teeth, but at the same time I'm not looking forward to her cutting 4 more molars. The first set were hell. I gave her some cold medicine with tylenol before bed so hopefully I'm covered either way and she'll have a good night tonight.

While I was waiting for Mike to get home I finished up Kaelin's hot pink and zebra ribbon onesie! I just need to make the bow to pin on it. I'm going to make her a matching tutu to wear to dance class and a pair of matching ribbon jeans for her birthday pictures next month. She's going to look so cute in her zebra hair bows, ribbon onesie, ribbon jeans and matching tennis shoes I found for her! I can't wait! Hopefully I don't screw the jeans up. I think I'll do pictures in that outfit and the dress and brown bows she wore for Mother's Day because that was just precious!

Well, we are going to finish the season finale of Desperate Housewives before bed.

Got her dancing shoes!

2009-05-19T16:44:00.000-05:00

Kaelin and I are going to take a Mommy and Me dance class next month and again in the fall. I'm so excited! She's gonna be so cute in her little tutus, made by Mommy, of course. This morning I had to run Grammy to the doctor to get the bandage off from her carpal tunnel surgery. While we were out we stopped at a few resale shops and I found some ballet shoes in each one. I bought one that's a 6 1/2 for the summer and a 7 1/2 for fall. Here's pic I took on my cell phone. She's running around in them already!

Stroller Skating with Baby Abbi

2009-05-18T15:53:00.001-05:00

Today was our Stroller Skating play date with Jamie and baby Abbi. I was a little nervous that it had been cancelled when we were the first ones there, but people slowly trickled in. Kaelin has been a little leory of all things containing buckles lately, so she wasn't stoked about sitting in her stroller. We took a few laps around the rink after hitting up the moonwalk for a bit. We took a break to hit up the moonwalk again then took a few more laps. We had lunch while we were there and Kaelin thought everything on the table was up for grabs, gotta teach that girl more about personal space! Overall we had alot of fun and hopefully we'll be able to get together more often. Kaelin really needs friends and Mommy needs social interaction! Here's a pic of the girls in their strollers right before we left.
Kaelin crashed out on the way home, thankfully. We have to go get Colleen from school at 5, she had rehearsals for something. I'm the family driver since everyone else is at work.

I went grocery shopping yesterday. I'm proud to say that I got all our groceries for $68 and saved $30 with coupons and sales! Some weeks are really good coupon weeks and others aren't so hot. Lately I've been having more not so hot weeks then hot weeks. Of course if Mike goes with me we go way over budget, but that's no suprise.

I'm going to take advantage of my me time and relax before Kaelin gets up.

A bunch of pics

2009-05-17T19:18:00.000-05:00

I was cleaning up the hard drive on my laptop today and realised my pics were in desperate need of sorting. While I was at it I thought I'd take this oppurtunity to upload some pics from the last few weeks. You have been warned that there are alot!

Kaelin and Carissa in the tub when Rissa spent the night.

Kaelin all dressed up for Mother's Day Brunch at church.

Back shot of the piggies

Helping us garden this weekend.

She really wanted to use Daddy's tools

Kaelin and her crush Taylor in matching shoes

Practicing her pitiful and begging faces at the table today:

Tomorrow is Stroller Skate day at the skating rink. Hopefully I'll get sme more good pics to share!

Movie Night

2009-05-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

Another week has already come and gone. So that means it's Movie Night again! We rented Kaelin Madagascar and a princess movie and got Marley & Me for us to watch. I'm hoping that will be a cute movie.

I can always tell when summer is approaching- all our shows have 2 hour season finales. I'm by far the most sad about Scrubs ending. We have watched that show for 8 seasons, and loved every single one of them. Makes me realise how much time has gone by. I watched the finale of Gray's Anatomy last night and thought I was going to cry like a baby when it ended. I knew something bad would happen with Izzy, I mean, she has cancer for Pete's sake. But I was not prepared for John Doe to be George! I really hope they both make it and come back next season, but I just don't see how George will ever be the same. I guess they could do heavy makeup for each show because I know he won't ever look the same, but I doubt they will. I thought the post-it wedding with Meredith and Derrick was fitting, but I hope they have an actual wedding. I like the though Derrick came up with for them to have a ceremony (with drinks!) on the beach once everyone is better.

I had to go and pick out a new kitchen faucet today. Our had been leaking a little bit, but last night it exploded and soaked the cabinet under the sink. Mike took it apart last night but it was shot. So I had no sink all day today. Oh well, I got to get a new one with the sprayer nozzle built into the faucet, so it's ok. They had some gorgeuos ones that would have been so cool to have but I just can't imagine spending over $200 for a faucet.

Anywho, Kaelin is getting in the bath so I better get in my jammies and get the popcorn ready.

Thank goodness for dental insurance and Stanley Steemer

2009-05-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

I had an appointment today with my new dentist for a checkup and cleaning. I haven't been in since before Kaelin was born, and that was not a good experience. I really like my new dentist. The whole staff was super nice and my exam was very thurough. The best news is that every thing I need done from them is 100% covered on our insurance! So I need to schedule to have a wisdom tooth pulled and a cavity filled. Then she referred me to an oral surgeon for my bottom wisdom tooth since the roots are curved. Plus I have a referral to an endodontist to see what is going on with the tooth I previously had a root canal and crown done on. She thinks they may have missed a nerve and that there may be some infection under one of the roots. Mom has her hand surgery on Wednesday so once I find out what her recovery period will be then I'll schedule the extraction. I'm actually excited to go back and have the work done. And that's saying alot coming from me, I hate dental work!

When I got home the Stanley Steemer guy was here already. Mom put all of Kaelin's toys in our room so he didn't have to move them and then he moved the couches. He had the carpets cleaned in about half an hour then he put the teflon coating down. He went ahead and did all the hallways as the second room since we were getting a 2 room package. He also said he'd teflon the hall for free if I gave him a tip so I did. My carpet is only a year old but Kaelin has wreaked havoc on it so I'm excited that I didn't have to shampoo it myself this time. Best Mother's Day present ever!

I feel bad that Lucy has been neglected. I took her to the clinic on Friday and Dr Runge said she has fleas and ear infections. I know better, I can't believe I totally missed that. So I gave her a good scrub down in our tub today. I cleaned her ears really good and put medicine in them then put some cortisone lotion on her belly since it's a little rashy. Then I put some Advantix on her. She's on Sentinel for her heartworms and fleas but I guess it's not enough this time of year. Oh and the best thing is, Dr Runge said I can keep my employee discount if I keep their website up! Yay! I was worried about paying for vet bills no that I don't work there anymore. I used Yahoo Site builder and already have a really nice site done for them. I just need to go in tomorrow and get the credit card number so I can switch them over to Yahoo for the hosting of the site. It will be cheaper for them and easier for me to keep updated. Win/win situation I think.

Found a great deal!

2009-05-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

I love a great deal, nothing excites me more. Well, that's not entirely true. Anyways, a friend of mine posted a baby carrier website that was closing. I went and checked it out since we've always been real big into baby wearing with Kaelin. I found a Patapum Toddler Carrier for more than 50% off! Yay! When Kaelin was first born and I went to work at the dance studio, I wore her in a Moby wrap and I loved it. It was so soft and comfortable and it held her tiny baby body so nice and securely. But it's a lot of material and now that she's bigger it's hard to wrap her up in it anymore. Then I started using a mei tai for awhile. I could wear her on my front or my back, plus it fit Mike as well. But again, she's outgrown that as well. Then Mike bought an Infantino carrier that he liked, but I never thought it was quite as good as some of the carriers. Luckily she's outgrown that one now too so I had the perfect excuse to buy the new one! Now I can't wait for it to get here so I can try wearing her again, especially on my back.

2009-05-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

I took Kaelin to the library yesterday for story time, only to find that there is no story time until June. Go figure, that's what I get for passing on story time the last few weeks. So we hung out there for a bit then went over to the park. Kaelin played on the jungle gym for a few minutes then we went and checked out the turtle pond. There was only one lonely little turtle out. We went and checked out the fountain but the water looked pretty gross so I made her stay away from it. When it was time to leave I had to drag her to the car kicking and screaming.

It's still wierd for me to go to that park. That's where Grandpa Jack officiated numerous weddings (2 of which I was in the party for), held the Sunrise Service every Easter and led many other events through out the years. I still think about him and how much he loved that park every time we go. I really think we should find out how to donate a bench or something in his name for the gazebo. He was such a huge part of that park's history. It's sad for me to think that in the past few years I have gone from having 3 sets of grandparents to only one. I really hope that they make it until August so they can meet Kaelin when we go up for Jake's wedding. Not that either of them are ill or anything but you never know what can happen.

Kaelin's independant streak is getting worse. She's so intent on doing everything herself and often refuses help. Mom said today that she is exactly how I was at this age. Hopefully that means she'll potty train herself like I did too! Nah, that would be too much to ask for. She frustrates me sometimes because she's never content to sit quietly while I do something. Like she won't sit in the basket at the store while I shop. She constantly has to be entertained and wants to see and touch everything. So then I either spend my time running after her and cleaning up her mess, or we leave the store and I don't get my errands done. I'm hoping this is further evidence that she is smart and her mind is constantly craving knowledge. In the meantime it means she gets more spankings then I like. In June we're going to take a Mommy and Me class at the studio. Depending on how that goes I may find more structured activities like that for her to get into next year. When we were at the library yesterday a lady asked me if she was small for her age. I told her that she was almost 2 but only in the 5th percentile for her size. She told me she figured she was either small for her age or had very advanced verbal skills. She speaks such clear and complex sentances that it blows my mind. I was expecting her to be speaking 3 word sentances or whatever, but instead she says things like "I want to wear that shirt to Grammy's house today". She likes to tell me the color and types of cars we pass on the road and in the parking lots also. "There's a blue truck Mommy....oh, there's a red car and a big van". And of course, her most used sentance these days is "I'm sorry Mommy, I didn't mean to do it" or right when she's about to get her booty blistered she'll say "I love you too Momma".

Terrible 2s + teething + learning about independance = 1 frustrated Mommy

2009-05-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

I have been telling Mike that Kaelin is going through the "terrible twos" for quite awhile now. Throws herself on the floor over not getting to wear exactly the shirt she wants to wear (even though she refuses to decide when given the choice), fighting nap time, not listening to me in public, etc. Today she proved me right. I had to run to Hobby Lobby to see what colors of 1.5 inch ribbon they stock for an order I got for some bows. While we were there Kae refused to sit in the cart, wouldn't walk holding my hand, pulled everything off the shelves, ran away from me, and threw one hell of a fit when I had to spank her for being bad. If I grabbed her hand to make her walk with me she'd yell "my ARM! Mommy hurting me!" Add that to the bandaids covering her right hand (from the burn) and down her leg (making a fashion statement) I'm sure I looked like a great mother. In my defense I picked up everything she destroyed and left the store in pretty decent shape. I had to give her some tylenol this morning because she has more teeth coming in, so I'm sure that didn't help any. Plus, she's learning what it's like to be independant. She threw a fir in the car because she wanted to change her shoes. Fine, I handed her the other ones. Then she couldn't get the sandals buckled so I had to try to help her. BUt then she would get frustrated because she couldn't get it on her own. I had to fight screaming out of frustration because I know she is frustrated too and it wouldn't help for her to see me break down. I just tried to gently remind her that buckling shoes is hard and sometimes even big girls need help. She wants to do so many things by herself now and forgets she's only 22 months old. She's a bit stubborn like her mom though.

My mom tells me that when I was little my favorite thing to say was "I can if I can" meaning I should be allowed to do anything I was physically capable of. Well, Kaelin is starting to have the same kind of attitude. Yesterday we were swimming and Kae wanted to sit in her chair on the deck. She tried to drag it over to the other side of the ladder and Mike told her she couldn't sit there because she could fall off the side of the deck. So she proceeded to sit down in her chair and put her feet up on the higher part of the deck and tell Mike "I sit in my chair Daddy". My mom looked at me and started laughing. Yeah, I'm in for it, I know. I just have to keep reminding myself that it's just a phase and she'll outgrow it (right??). All I have to do is keep my cool and try to survive the next few years. Then I can send her to her room when I need to!

Kaelin's first slumber party

2009-05-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

Kaelin has been asking when we were going to pick up Carissa again. So Friday we picked her up from school and had her spend the night. Kaelin had a blast! We went swimming, colored, played dress up, watched movies and ate popcorn. Kaelin didn't take her nap before we picked Rissa up so she was pretty grumpy. She was so excited about having copany that she fought her nap all afternoon and didn't crash until we drove to get dinner and movies. The girls shared spaghetti and watched The Jungle Book before finally crashing at 11. I got up Saturday morning and made us all pancakes for breakfast. We took the girls outside and let them color the driveway and sidewalks with chalk. That gave me the oppurtunity to pull some weeds from the front garden and Mike trimmed the bushes in front of the house. I didn't get to take as many pics as I wanted, but here's a few of the girls.

Sharing the headphones to the iPod in the car
Playing in the tub after swimming in the pool

Random thoughts

2009-04-30T16:10:00.000-05:00

Not much has been going on around here. Kaelin's hand is healing nicely. In fact, she's using it as a way to get new band-aids every day. I had to cover her legs with them today because she was convinced she needed more! Silly girl! Mike is getting over a stomach bug. He missed Monday and Tuesday from work. But he's feeling better and neither Kaelin or I got it. I decided since there isn't much to write about, I decided to post a few random thoughts.

1. I love the smell of fresh chopped onions and how it stays on my fingers.
2. I take longer showers then I need to. I often find myself just standing under the hot water in an absolute daze.
3. I have a fairly good photographic memory. It drives me nuts sometimes that I can't get little details out of my mind.
4. I consider myself a good cook. Mike may have a different opinion, I don't know.
5. I am in love with the Ellen Degeneres show!
6. Kaelin is my world, but I can't wait until she goes to sleep most days so I can relax.
7. I secretly want to be nominated for What Not To Wear so I can get a whole new wardrobe.
8. I hate Rachel Ray and Guy Fierri. There voices drive me bonkers!
9. I am painfully shy but when I get nervous I talk too much.
10. I have a huge problem with organization. No matter how hard I try, I always have a junk pile somewhere.
11. I wish I had a career in medicine.
12. I have a thirst for knowledge. I love to learn new things and all the details on how things are done.
13. I am not afraid of pet snakes or mice. I had both as a kid.
14. I am in serious need of a decorator for my house. I am failing miserably at it!
15. I have a home phone but rarely answer it.
16. I love crafting and I can remake just about anything I see.
17. I love to watch shows about dance.
18. Once I pick up a good book I often finish it in less then 2 days.
19. I love to swim, but I hate getting in a bathing suit.
20. I am embaressed by how pale my skin is.
21. I hate feet. My friends used to torment me about this in high school.
22. I loved being pregnant and often consider being a surrogate someday so I could finally get paid for what I really love.
23. I think that my daughter has the sweetest voice in the world and I love hearing her say "I love you too Momma"!
24. I am a huge romantic. The sappier things are the better. My husband does not feel the same way, unfortunately.
25. I miss my pre baby abs.
26. I am secretly glad I had an emergency c-section. I was very nervous about pushing with a room full of people.
27. I am very modest.
28. I rarely take the time,or money, to do nice things for myself. Even when I spend money on my hobby it gets given away to other people.
29. I love reading cakewrecks.blogspot.com. I think it is the funniest blog!
30. I wish I could write better. I have alot to say and very rarely find the right words to say it with.
31. I care way too much about what other people think of me.
32. I don't always believe my husband when he says he thinks I'm beautiful.
33. I cry easily.
34. I wish I was still flexible.
35. I do not, nor have I ever, watched The Bachelor.

Beautiful

2009-04-25T22:44:00.000-05:00

Kaelin has been a mess of tantrums all day long. Impossible to please. After throwing a monstrous tantrum tonight, I dragged her off to her room determined to put her to bed. Within minutes of getting her in the rocking chair, she was crashed. I knew she was tired and so glad I forced her into sleep. I got to thinking about how she is still up so many times a night and how discouraging that is to me. But then I saw something absolutely beautiful- my little girl in all her perfection, looking like an absolute angel. So I guess my silver lining in all her sleep problems is that I get to witness something as beautiful as a sleeping angel multiple times a night. Ahhhh, small things like that keep me going when it gets unbearable.

Strawberry Picking Day!!

2009-04-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited, we're going to Froberg's Farm in Alving for strawberry picking today! I've been wanting to do this since I heard about it last year. I really think Kaelin is going to have fun, she loves picking things and strawberries. I'm taking both cameras so I should have some good pictures and videos to post!
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We had so much fun! The field of strawberries was huge and had some great berries. Not to mention, they were under $2 a pound! We each took a bucket and pretty much filled them up in one row. Kaelin ate as many berries as she put in the bucket! I definately need to find some more strawberry recipes. We'll definately have strawberry salad tonight. Here's a few pics I was able to take, it was so bright it was hard to get any good ones.

Picking berries

The loot

Eating a berry

Miss Abigail

Carrying her bucket

She had to play in the dirt

What a hectic day

2009-04-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day, but hectic. Kaelin and I decided to try the new Color Wonder fingerpaint set we bought last night. I was expecting it to be more of a solid gel (like Carmex) but it is more of a snotty substance. Kaelin kept dipping in and getting huge globs to paint with. But overall it was fun. Daddy has a new piece of "art" to take to work and display. :)

I had to take the car to Discount Tire because the back right tire has been running low. I dropped it off and walked across the street to get us some lunch at McDonald's. The guy from DT came over and told me the tire was trashed because there was a nail in the sidewall of the tire. Dammit! Those are new tires with less than 8000 miles on them. So I forked over $180 for a new tire, after I had already paid $25 to get the tires rotated also. I could have sworn I saw paperwork in the glove box when we bought the car for a warranty at NTB, but it wasn't in there when I looked. It wasn't too bad of a trip though because they had most of the work done by the time we got back from lunch and it only took about 10 minutes to get the new tire on. Kaelin ran around playing peek a boo around the tire displays, giving me mini heart attacks.

I stopped at CVS to get Mike some shampoo since I had Extra Reward Bucks to spend. His shampoo was on sale plus I got $5 more in Extra Bucks. I love when that happens! Kaelin latched on to a pair of red Mickey Mouse sunglasses and wouldn't let go of them. So she now is the proud owner of 1 million and one pairs of sunglasses. Whatever. It kept her from continuing to pull everything off of the shelves. Our trip into Krogers was a bit better. I was able to keep her in the cart for all of about 5 minutes. But atleast I didn't get a huge fit, so that was nice.

I have had BBQ chicken in the oven for the last few hours and it smells so good! I'm going to make fresh corn on the cob to go with it. When I make a menu and a good grocery list I can stick to cooking every night. Then Mike has lunch for work each day and doesn't have to buy anything. But when we run low in groceries, I totally slack on cooking and we eat late each night. I much more prefer to an early, delicious, dinner to take out any day.

I am one proud Momma today!

2009-04-20T17:09:00.000-05:00

Today marks one very special day for me for 2 reasons.

1) Kaelin ate all of her dinner last night by herself and this is what her face looked like when she was done:

2) I got pigtails in Kaelin's hair today! PIGTAILS people! Huge milestone considering she is practically bald still.

I feel like I got alot of stuff accomplished today. While Kaelin ate her breakfast and colored, I cleaned out the pantry and the fridge. There were so many leftovers in the fridge that are unedible. It was gross. And the pantry just became a huge mess and needed resorting. Then Kaelin went and hung out with my mom while I ran a few errands. I went to the boast store and got a ladder for the pool and some oars for Mike's canoe. Plus they had some really cute pink water shoes for Kaelin, I figure she can wear them on the deck and in the back yard during the summer. The store is closing so I got everything on sale! You know I love a good sale! Then I went to Wal-Mart and got kitty litter and a new air filter. Mike is super anal about germs now so I have to buy the freaking expensive allergen filters. But that's another post all together. I saw some cute kitchen towels and rugs so I grabbed them too. I'm waiting to see how long it takes Mike to notice them. I'm not going to hold my breath until he does, that's for sure! I still have a huge list of things to get done, but I made a pretty good dent in it today. On that note, I guess I should cook dinner.

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

2009-04-18T21:43:00.000-05:00

The stormy day ended up flooding our neighborhood. Mike went to go pick up his sister and called me to tell me the car was flooded out in the Lowe's parking lot. They had to wait about an hour before it was dry enough to start and even then they couldn't make it home. So my car is parked a few streets away at a friend's house and they had to walk home through waist deep water. I went out to see what our street looked like and it was pretty bad. Water was half way up my driveway and into my neighbors' garages. My mother in laws van had water up to the doors and Mike's car was almost under water too. My neighbor drove his huge truck through and even it barely made it. So I have a full house of people and almost no groceries because today was going to be grocery day. Such is life I suppose.

Rainy Saturday

2009-04-18T14:58:00.000-05:00

So much for a productive Saturday. It is raining like crazy! Mona and Collen came over so Mike could work on Megan's computer. Then our plan is to go clean out our closet while the computer loads and Kaelin is playing with "Marger" and Caween". We both have so many clothes that we don't wear anymore and we're out of closet space. It is impossible to put laundry away when there is nowhere for it to go. Plus I feel the need to declutter all parts of our house. BIG TIME. I'm planning on starting with our clothes, then Kaelin's clothes, then her toys (gulp), then the kitchen cabinets. I figure I'll eventually get through my sewing room and the laundry room too. Then the rest is Mike's territory.

We are supposed to go over to my sister in laws house tonight for a combo birthday and graduation party. But, ummm, yeah. I'm not looking forward to going anywhere in the down pour. *sigh* I guess I should go fold some laundry now.

TGIF!!

2009-04-17T11:17:00.000-05:00

Yay!! It's Friday! That means it's movie night where we all pile on the pull out bed in the couch and stay up late watching movies. Of course I also look forward to the buttery popcorn and M&Ms.

Mike has the deck just about finished in the backyard. It just needs a few last things and stained. He bought a really pretty blue stain that looks really cool. I'm hoping he'll be able to finish with that this weekend so we can get the yard cleaned up. There's lumber scraps everywhere and the grass is getting really long. I think he said he may have to work this weekend though. Hopefully it's not another all night thing. They only have certain times they can can do major things without being penalised, and most times that's midnight Saturday night. He also has to finish his defensive driving for his speeding ticket. He was supposed to be done with that by the 15th so hopefully he can still finish and not be fined for it. I don't get why men wait until the very last minute to do things.

Kaelin's hand is starting to heal. We still have it bandaged because she freaks out when we take the bandage off. The third blister just doesn't want to pop and it's driving me nuts. I wish it would so it could heal and we could be done with it. Mike doesn't want to let her get in the swimming pool until it's all better and she's getting impatient. I think I might try just putting bandaids on her fingers today and see how she does with that. She normally hates bandaids but she's done really well with her whole hand bandaged so it's worth a shot. It's hard keeping her bandage clean because it gets into everything. I have to put a bag on her hand so she can eat and shower without messing it up. Which is fine, but bandaids will be so much easier to keep clean and change.

Kaelin is super excited because I told her we're going to pick up Carissa from school again today. We did that on Wednesday and the girls had so much fun. Lanette was home with a migraine and couldn't pick her up so Crystina called me. Kaelin keeps saying "I wanna get Rissa. She ride in backseat with me". It's funny the things they remember. We went all over town running errands and then came back here to play. But the one thing Kaelin is excited about is Carissa sitting with her in the car! Maybe I can get some stuff done around the house this afternoon since they keep each other busy.

My mom watched Kaelin yesterday so that Margret and I could run a few errands. I wanted to take my car to the dealership and get some warranty work done, but they didn't answer when I tried to find out how busy they were. We went to Hobby Lobby and my sister spent about an hour looking at scrapbooking stuff. I picked up a few things while we were there. I'm trying to decide if I want to do a craft fair with Katy in July. I've never done one so I would have alot of work to do to get ready. I would have to get tables and display stuff, plus build my inventory before then. It sounds like alot of fun but it's kind of overwhelming. Mike has been busy lately so I haven't exactly had alot of crafting time. Which totally makes me doubt getting enough stuff done to sell. I picked up some cardstock to put bows on and some little bags to put clippies in. I have so many different things I could do, but I think I'll stick with bows, clippies, crayon rolls and maybe some tutus. I found some fairy wings at the dollar store the other day that I could match with some tutus and sell them as a set. Ahhhh, I have to stop talking about this now, I'm getting anxious! :)

I guess I should get in the shower and get my butt moving.