Last weeks Menu Plan went really well so I'm going to do it again!

Monday: good old spaghetti and meatballs, garlic toast, and grapes

Tuesday: broccoli-cheese chicken, biscuits, and apple slices

Wednesday: steak fajitas with peppers and onions, chips and salsa, and fruit salad

Thursday: this is going to be a really busy day with Natalie going to class in the morning, my sonogram, my regular doctor's appointment, and all the driving to and from those things. I also have to make the desert and fruit dip for the 4th of July so I think this will be a "find your own" type of night.

Friday (the 4th of July): we will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, my mom is making some sides and I will be making a desert and fruit dip. YUMMY!!!!

An umcomfortable situation

Let me first fill you all in on some of the back story:
As most of you probably know I am very close to a few of our neighbors. One of my very best friends lives across the street and to the south and then I have another very good friend that lives across the street and to the north. Between them is the house that this particular story is about.
When we moved in here we met some neighbors, but mostly we kept to ourselves. We did talk to the guy that lives directly to our south (who since then has become a surrogate grandpa to my kids...just a really great guy) and we had a few "conversations" with the man and woman who lived directly across from us. These conversations consisted mostly of him scolding us for parking on the street where it was hard for him to back his truck out of the driveway. After we had Natalie and then about a year later they had their son, the woman and I began talking a little bit more. If we both happened to be outside at the same time we would meet in my yard and let the kids play. One day she was over on our porch while the kids were playing around and the man was in his yard shoveling up stickers. Apparently the dogs needed out and instead of just putting down his shovel he yelled across the street that she needed to come let them out. Now, if it was me or any of my friends we would have laughed and told our husbands to do it their own selves. It would have been more of a joke than anything. But she asked if I could keep an eye on her son and ran over, let the dogs out, waiting while they did their business, and then let them back in. Then she came back over to get her kid. This one interaction showed me so much about the relationship between these two people. He was the one in charge and she followed his orders. It made me sick. And it just got worse and worse until two years ago it completely blew up.
She had moved into a trailer they both owned and he was still at the house here in the neighborhood. From all the stories (from their mouths directly and other neighbors) he thought she was cheating on him and so he went over and beat the crap out of her. She of course filed charges and he was due for a court date. On that day I woke up and looked outside and there were at least ten cop cars, cops running down the street with guns drawn, and just pure craziness going on. He ended up committing suicide in his bedroom with some kind of gun.
This brings me up to yesterday. The house recently sold and the closing date is Tuesday. The couple that bought it were there yesterday painting and doing various repairs. I was out front with the girls while they played with Vanessa's new bubble mower. They said hi when they were about ready to leave and so we all stopped to introduce ourselves and talk a while. I was telling them what great neighbors we have and that this was a pretty nice neighborhood. Then they asked me if I knew the people that lived in their house before them. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to completely freak them out. If I had just bought a house and found out that the guy who lived there before me had killed himself in what was going to be my bedroom I would feel uncomfortable to say the least. So I said I kind of knew them but that they "weren't around" for long after we moved here. So I was so ambiguous. And I know I sounded weird because I was all "uhhhh....", "well....", and there were several awkward pauses while I decided what to say.
What would you have done? Would you have come straight out and told them? Would you never tell them and just kind of hope that it never came out (which is not a very promising prospect considering we have yearly block parties and some of us hang out regularly...and I'm sorry that is one of the most bizarre things that I have ever experienced and we do still talk about that day)? Would it make you mad if someone could have told you a few days before closing but didn't?
After I talked to them I ran inside and told Larry of my dilemma and he just kind of grinned in a way that told me he was happy it wasn't him out there. I also called my neighbor friend and asked her opinion. She pretty much backed me up, but I think she was glad she wasn't out there too! It was just so uncomfortable. I'm sorry this has turned into such a long post, but I hope to get some good advice before the next time I see this couple.

Hello Hospital

I have been having some pain for the last couple of days. I wasn't too worried, I just thought it was the normal stretching pain that comes with an expanding belly. Then it started to hurt more. It was kind of a low cramping. On Wednesday night I told Larry that I thought I might have a urinary tract infection and that I was going to call the doctor in the morning. So yesterday morning, after I dropped Natalie off at her summer class, I called. I was completely expecting the nurse to tell me to come in, get a test for the UTI and then put me on a prescription. But as we were talking I mentioned that I had been feeling the baby every so often but I hadn't since this weekend. "Oh." Don't you hate when a nurse or doctor sound worried. That just always gives me a bad feeling. She suggested that I go in to the hospital for an exam.
Even though I was still pretty sure my diagnosis was right I got kind of nervous. I was expecting to have to visit the doctor's office, not the hospital. My mom came over to take me and watch the girls. Natalie was playing with her neighborhood boyfriend Gavin and his momma (my good friend across the street) offered to keep her while I went. It was such a relief not having to worry about Natalie being bored in the waiting room at the hospital. She stayed with the neighbors and had a great time. Vanessa went with us and was a very good little girl as they sat in the waiting room.
They started by trying to find the heart beat. After they couldn't for a few minutes I began crying. I was just nervous and hormonal and couldn't hold it together any longer. Finally, another nurse came in with another machine and after a brief search found the little thump-thump that we were all waiting for. So after that I was a lot calmer. They did the exam and tested all the stuff they needed to test and it turns out......I have a urinary tract infection! I was right. I'm glad that I went in though. It put my mind to rest and reassured me that there was a baby and "he" (don't know for sure yet, but I think it's a boy) was doing fine. The nurses and residents were all SO nice and comforting. They kept telling me it was the right thing to come in and I should not be so hard on myself. I really like Saint Joe. It is just a good little hospital.
So, anyway everything is fine. I am not as crazy as I was yesterday and I am on medication. I still haven't felt anything, but I figure the kid is moving and I'm just not feeling it. I am just so lucky to have the support system I have. My family and friends are so great. They make everything easier. I just wanted to say thanks to all of them! Now I just have to keep myself healthy and keep baking this baby. And no more trips to the hospital until November!!!

Kid Stuff

Last night Natalie and I were discussing an episode of Caillou that we had watched earlier in the day.
"Mom, Caillou was really mad at his daddy."
"Yes, he was. He wasn't being a very good boy was he?"
"No. But he just wanted to be a grown up. I want to be a grown up too."
"No you don't. Trust me. Stay a kid as long as you can."
"Why?"
"Because when you are a grown up you can't do all the fun kid stuff that you like to do."
"Why not? You do kid stuff."

I thought back through the day, and she was ,in fact, correct. I had played PBSkids on the computer with her. The three of us had built block towers as tall as we could and when they fell we made funny noises and laughed like crazy. I had run through the sprinkler in my clothes. Since the chicken wasn't thawed out yet we had eaten macaroni and cheese in SpongeBob shapes for dinner. I watched a particularly good episode of House of Mouse. I had done all kinds of fun "kid stuff" throughout the day. I couldn't quite explain to Natalie that it still wasn't as good as being a kid. But it sure did make me sit back and appreciate all the fun we had.

I stole this directly from my cousin Andie (thanks!). I have used hers for inspiration more then once. And I hope writing it down will help me stick to my new, improved dinner schedule for the family. I am sick of freaking out about what to have for dinner at 5 o'clock each night. I am determined to plan relatively healthy, kid friendly complete meals for the week and then actually cook!!!

Oh, and yes, I realize it is Wednesday. I am behind on this post, but I have stayed on top of the cooking so far!

Sunday: we had chicken and cheese enchiladas (minus the sauce for Natalie), fiesta corn, and apple/plum/grape fruit salad

Monday: had dinner out with Mom

Tuesday: we had pizza burgers (which both kids ate and liked...it's a miracle!), creamy Italian pasta salad, and watermelon chunks

Wednesday: we will have crispy ranch chicken tenders, green beans, rolls, and mandarin oranges

Thursday: we will have taco cups (biscuits with taco fillings inside), raw veggies with dip, and apple slices

Friday: left over night! everyone will pick what they want

Saturday: hopefully Larry will grill out and I make some kind of potato and veggie. And of course fruit.

Just a few of the perks of having two kids

I remember when Natalie was Vanessa's age she had to go everywhere with me. If I needed to throw a load of laundry in the dryer I would perch Nat on my hip and down to the basement we would go. If I needed to get the mail she would go back on the hip and we would go get it. If I needed to pee, yeah, she would go there with me too. It was kind of annoying that I never had a minute to do anything myself. And everything is harder when you are holding a squirmy toddler.

So now I have two squirmy kids. But the crazy thing is even though I have doubled the number of kids now I do have a minute or two to get things done by myself. I can leave the two girls together and feel relatively safe in the fact that they are ok. I don't want it to sound like I use my four-year-old as a babysitter, but I know that she is there to tell me what is going on. This morning I was making the girls breakfast and left them in the living room. After a minute Natalie yelled at me that Vanessa had found my purse and was trying to get the small bottle of sunscreen I keep in there to spray at her sister. I was able to get to the living room, remove the purse and the sunscreen and then get back to icing the cinnamon rolls. If it was just Vanessa I couldn't have left her there. I guarantee that there would have been a mess waiting for me when I got back.

Natalie is not only good at telling me when Vanessa is doing something wrong or dangerous, but she is also good at diffusing situations. Vanessa usually takes it a lot better when Natalie tells her she can't crawl up on the coffee table. The crying usually stops a lot faster when big sis kisses her bumps and bruises. Not always...sometimes it is much more annoying to my little one when her partner in crime reprimands her or tries to take away the pain be it physical or mental. There are many times that my girls just need their momma, but they do have each other. And as much as it comforts and helps them, I think it comforts and helps me ten times more.

Our Vacation.....a pictorial

Hi. Here are the pictures from our vacation. There are a ton. Seriously. A ton. This is just a sampling of what I actually took. Just be glad I'm not posting them all here!! Enjoy!

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Here are the girls ready to go early Sunday morning. They did amazingly well on the long drive there.

Hello Colorado!!! The hotel we stayed at was great. We were on the first floor with a sliding glass door that opened directly to our car, both very important things when staying with two kids and lots of stuff! Here is the view out of the glass door (that is Pike's Peak).

Since there was still quite a bit of daylight remaining when we got to Colorado Springs we decided to start doing stuff immediately. Garden of the Gods was literally seconds from our hotel so we went there first. We went to the visitor center...and then walked the main loop through the park.
The next morning we headed to Cripple Creek to ride the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad. The drive was beautiful and the train ride was a lot of fun. It was also really interesting seeing the old gold mines and ghost towns (but the girls just liked the ride!).
Then we went to Seven Falls.
Natalie got an Indian head dress and drum at the gift shop. This was the beginning of her new found love of all things Indian on our trip.
We still had some stuff to see at Garden of the Gods, so we headed back there to finish our day.
Our first stop the next day was the Cave of the Winds. I was a little nervous about taking the girls into a cave, but Larry convinced me it would be fine. He was right. The girls were SO good. Natalie remembered not to touch anything and they never got scared.
When we were planning the vacation I didn't think we would go to the Manitou Cliff Dwelling museum, but considering Nat fell in love with all things Indian we decided we should go. We got to explore the dwellings which was pretty cool. We also got to enjoy an Indian dance performance. Natalie even got up and did the friendship dance with all the other kids. She is still talking about it to this day!
To finish the day we went to the North Pole amusement park. Natalie wanted to ride everything, even the scary fast rides. Larry was such a good sport. She was too short to ride a lot of the rides herself so he went on them with her. I was more worried about Larry getting sick than Natalie! We went to the magic show and Nat really got a kick out of the bunny that appeared in the little gingerbread house. We were going to go see Santa but the girls got a little nervous so we just waved to him from afar. I told them he probably already knew what they wanted anyway. It sprinkled on us a little, but it passed really quickly and we stayed until the park closed.
On our last day in Colorado we went to Canon City to see the Royal Gorge. There was so much to do there. We crossed the bridge, went to the Mountain Man Camp, went back across the gorge on the aerial tram (a little red box on cables....yeah), and went down the incline railway to the bottom of the canyon. There were some parts that scared the crap out of me, but the girls were totally fine. I felt like such a weenie! It was quite windy that day and a little cold. The Arkansas river was at the highest point it was been since the 1960's. They had even stopped rafters from going down it because it was too dangerous.
And finally (seriously!!!) we went into North Cheyenne Canyon and visited Helen Hunt Falls (not that Helen Hunt). It was so pretty. I was very pleasantly surprised and glad we decided to stop. The girls weren't too happy in these pictures. We woke them up from a nap to see the falls. I know, mean us.
So, that's it. If you made it this far I'm impressed! We had a great time as you can see from our pictures. It was nice to just get away as a family. We made some great memories. I can't wait to do it again someday!

Free Entertainment

Every time it rains really hard or for a really long time, our street becomes a lake. It is one of those trouble spots in Wichita that floods horribly. I have gotten used to this over the years. We see the offending storm coming and begin the process of pulling our cars up as far as we can and moving anything that might be swept away.
At first I was annoyed by the flooding. But as I said I have gotten used to it, and even begun to accept it. And, this is going to sound bad, but I have come to view it as free entertainment for my family. You see, every time the street fills with water there are people who think that they can drive through it. The big trucks and SUV's usually have no trouble. They go really fast and the waves lap up into our yard. The smaller cars, however, are not as lucky. Apparently they see the giant Suburban make it and think, "oh yeah, my little Geo Metro won't have any problems with that!" Goobers. There are always at least three or four cars that get stuck and have to either be abandoned until the water goes down, or our personal favorite, someone has to push them out.
It might sound mean that we don't go out to help them, but if we did that for every car that gets stuck every time it rains we would be out there all night. We have decided it is better to just stand at the door and laugh and point. Even the girls get into it. Last night Natalie was standing at the door shouting at us, "There's another one!!!" Talk about quality family time!

Happiness Is.....

Natalie's beloved Aunt Lesley found this satin princess jacket and matching purse at a garage sale. It has "diamond" buttons, a big picture of Cinderella on the back and Natalie loves it. She wore it all around the house last night (without pants of course. You apparently don't need pants when you have a jacket that lovely). At one point she gasped and said, "it even has pockets"!!!! When you are a princess-obsessed four-year-old this is happiness.

Playing Catch-up

#1. We're baa-aack! We had a wonderful time and did all kinds of fun, interesting things. Don't worry, I will blog all about it when I have a little more time and a lot more motivation.

#2. Happy Anniversary to Larry and I. As of June 1st we have been married for six years. We spent it on the road to Colorado and then with an evening at Garden of the Gods. All in all a memorable and nice anniversary.

#3. Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad!! I think it has been 39 years (correct me if I'm wrong Mom!). We had them over to get souvenirs, look at pictures, eat a scrumptious pork tenderloin that Larry grilled and just hang out. I hope they had a nice anniversary. Next year we'll throw you a party!!

Well, I'm sure there is more, but I am just lacking for energy today. I slept ok, I am just one tired girl. I'm going to go watch Natalie ride a roller coaster on the WII and hopefully get Vanessa to take a nice, long nap! I will update again soon!

Vacation!!!!!!!

We are leaving in a few minutes for our summer vacation! I will update when we get back. Have a great week!!