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!!

Thumpity-Thump

I heard a nice strong heartbeat...and only one that we could hear!!! Next appointment is July 3rd with a sonogram!!!

It's silly, but I'm nervous

I have a appointment to see my doctor this afternoon and I must admit, I'm a bit nervous. This will be the first time I will get to hear my third child's heartbeat. My last appointment was just a little too early to be checking for it. I'm really glad she didn't even try because if she wouldn't have found it I would have just freaked out until this appointment today.
I really am not all that sure why I am so nervous, but every time I think about it I get butterflies in my stomach. First of all, I just really want it to be there for me to hear. Someone I care about very much just lost her baby and she was a couple weeks farther along than me. That scared me more than I admitted to anyone. Once you get past a certain point you tend to let your guard down a little, or at least I do. I realize anything can happen at any time. So I really just want to hear that little thump-thump-thump.
The other thing I really want is to just hear one little heartbeat. For some reason I am terrified of having twins. I know the odds are low, but I am still worried. I even dream about it. I am getting bigger faster this time so everyone says "oh, maybe it's two" and I smile and laugh while inside I am screaming and crying. What would I do with two? I don't even want to imagine the possibility.
So, I will update later and let you all know what I hear. Good luck to us!!

Yeah, so maybe I should make more of an effort

Apparently my daughters hardly recognize me if I am not in ratty sweats and a ponytail.


Sunday I went to a bridal shower at the Wichita Country Club for a girl I have known...well, since birth. Since the shower was at a country club and not the local Mickey D's I figured I had better try to make myself a little more presentable. I have a very limited amount of clothing that I can wear at this point in my pregnancy. Either stuff is too big and has to be put aside until I am further along and larger or it is not elastic waist, which is to say that I refuse to wear it because I have just enough belly for that to be really, really uncomfortable. So needless to say, I had to go buy something new. I found a way cute dress at Target on clearance(!!!) that wasn't maternity but looked ok on my new rounder body. To make it even better I already had shoes to match so I didn't have to spend money on more shoes (although I was totally tempted to find some sparkly sandals of some sort).


On Sunday I got all dolled up (which means I showered, shaved, did my hair, and put on make-up...go me!) and slipped into my room to commence my clothing ritual. This includes getting fully dressed, looking in the mirror, deciding I can't go in public looking like this even though I just bought the damn dress for this occasion, taking everything off, trying something else that looks even more hideous, ripping though my closet for anything that might look half way decent, realizing that I don't have anything else which is why I bought something new in the first place, and then going back to the original outfit and realizing it doesn't look that bad. Every time people. You would think I would learn.


So I finally finished getting ready and walked out into the living room where Larry and the girls were rolling their eyes about how long this all was taking me. Natalie looked at me like a martian had just poofed into the house and stolen her last cookie. "Mom! You look pretty!" Vanessa slowly made her way over to me trying to decide if this was, in fact, her mommy and not some better dressed, better taken care of replacement mommy. When they got over the shock of me in something without a stain on it, they wouldn't leave me alone. Natalie was all, "Look at your earrings! Look at you shoes with cute bows! Look at your shiny lips!" She couldn't get over it. Vanessa just really liked the fabric at the bottom of my dress.


Anyway, I had a really good time at the shower. It was great seeing my friend again. The only thing that sucked was I couldn't have one of the tasty, bubbly, beautiful glasses of champagne and had to have ice water (the things I do for my kids!). But all in all it was a good time. I have a few pictures here of me at the shower and then some Natalie took because she needed proof that this was real and not some figment of her imagination. I really do think I need to dress up more often. If for no other reason than to show my girls I can.

In Bloom

I love my backyard in the spring and early summer!

Just an observation

I was flipping through channels the other night and came across David Letterman. He was interviewing some woman and for the life of me I couldn't figure out who she was. She looked about 35, but when she opened her mouth she sounded like a fourteen-year-old. I finally gave in and turned on the guide and it was Ali Lohan, Lindsey Lohan's little sister. She really is fourteen.
Now, I realize you can't help genetics, and she just naturally looks a lot older than she is. But then the make-up and hair didn't help at all. Whatever happened to 14-year-olds looking 14? She had on all this dark black eye make-up that I know they put on for tv, but it was seriously too much. It made me kind of sad really, to see this little kid looking and trying to act like an adult. Childhood goes far too quickly as it is. Why rush it?
These days all 14-year-old girls want to look 35, and all 35-year-olds want to look fourteen. It's crazy. I want my girls to be happy to be the age they are and enjoy every minute of their childhood. If that means I have to be the mean mom and say no make-up until a certain age or no trampy clothes I will. Even if all their friends are doing it. I want to keep their innocence intact for as long as I can.
Ok, my rant is over.

One of these days my daughter is going to hate me for telling you all this.

Natalie has been potty trained for a while. Emphasis on the word potty. When it came to poop however, things never went as well. She would have times that she would go in the toilet, usually by accident. There were even times that I thought we were over the mountain and told people that, only to be proven wrong the first chance Natalie got.
We encouraged. We offered incentives. We gushed over friends kids that went in the bathroom like big girls and boys. But nothing worked. Natalie still wears a pull-up at night (which hopefully will be changing after we get back from vacation and she starts sleeping in her own bed). I would take her to the potty, kiss her goodnight, and not ten minutes later, "Mom, I accidentally pooped." Or she would get up in the morning and stay in the bedroom until she was done. She became a master at not going until nighttime or morning. It was maddening.
Saturday, at the fireworks, I could tell she wasn't feeling great. Finally she told me her tummy hurt and she needed to potty. We went in to the bathroom at the Lot and low and behold, she pooped. She was pretty happy with herself and was thrilled to be able to actually enjoy herself again. Before she would have just waited and felt crappy until we went home.
Since then she hasn't pooped once in a pull-up. She goes into the bathroom like a big girl and handles her business. We still act like she just won the Nobel Peace Prize every time she goes, but I am sure that will decrease in time. I am just so proud of her right now. This was a major hurdle for her to overcome. It was a fear for her and not just a power play. I realized this and that is why I didn't push her. Yes, she is four-years-old and should have been doing this years ago, but every kid is different. Every kid has their own little quirks and issues. Natalie is growing up. She is realizing that, yeah, there are lots of scary things in the world. But she is also realizing that she can overcome them. She can do things she didn't think she could. All she needs is to believe in herself...with a little help and a lot of support from her ever-loving Mama and Daddy.

Should've just kept my big mouth shut

I was going to post and recap our busy week which included a trip to Exploration Place, Botanica, and a cook out with some friends while watching the fireworks, but I just don't feel good right now.
I was talking to my friend Carisa on the phone earlier and said, quite stupidly, "I think I might be over the throwing up and stuff. I haven't been sick since Mother's Day! And I am in my second trimester now." I totally jinxed myself. Not an hour after I hung up the phone I was running to the bathroom to loose my lunch. And now I just feel icky.
So, yay for being pregnant. I am going to go lay down and watch Maggie and the Ferocious Beast with Natty.

What does this say about me...and do I want to know?

It never fails. Every morning when Vanessa wakes up and demands I come to get her right that instant and not a second longer I am always in the middle of the "best dream ever". It is not always the same dream, but it is always a good one. The kind of dream that even when you wake up you want to stay in bed with your eyes closed and think about it. A couple of days ago I was dreaming that Larry and I were living in New Orleans. We were sitting on our French Quarter balcony and I could just smell the flowers and feel the humidity and taste the morning Mimosa and hear the trumpet player below us. Yes, Larry looked suspiciously like Brad Pitt from Legends of the Fall and I more than resembled Idina Menzel, but it was still us and we were living our dream. All of a sudden, breaking into the beautiful trumpeting, I heard, "HIIIIII! HIIIIII! MAAAAMAAAA! HIIIIII!" And I had to drag myself out of bed and go and save my darling daughter from the confines of her crib.
This morning was no different. Vanessa woke me from my dream and I hauled my ever expanding butt out of bed and all of a sudden it hit me. This morning I wasn't dreaming about New Orleans, or Larry, or champagne and orange juice. I was dreaming about laundry. Yep, laundry. But it was the best laundry experience ever!
You see, I hate laundry. No, strike that. I despise laundry. I'm not sure why. It's not like it's that hard to throw some clothes into the machine, pour in some soap and press start. But I always put it off and it gets WAY out of hand and I end up having to sort through a mountain of dirty clothes to find things to wash that actually match. If I don't find outfits before I do the wash I end up with purple pants and a green shirt, or something equally as hideous. But in this dream I would pick up a shirt and there were the shorts to go with it. I found Natalie's bikini bottoms and right there was not only the top, but also the matching skirt. It was laundry nirvana. Every thing had a mate. There was no searching through spaghetti stained wash clothes or still damp bath towels. It was so easy!
I have a few ideas about what this dream might have meant, but I'm pretty sure it is just my brain telling me to quit being such and idiot and get more organized. I mean seriously. If I could just keep up with the laundry and always have things that matched it would save me so much time and aggravation (not to mention the complaining and cussing that inevitably comes out every time I go downstairs to the laundry room). But still, it is pretty sad to be so happy in a dream about household chores isn't it?

Day by Day

Friday: Well, we did end up going to the parade. My sweet mom loaded us all up (me, the girlies, and the big red wagon) and dropped us off at the Lot. The three of us set out to the new, farther away, location. We got there pretty early and got a good curb-side seat. We got settled, I offered Natalie her Capri Sun that I brought for her, and she leaned over the side of the wagon and puked. At this point she still hadn't eaten more than a few bites of spaghetti and a spoonful of chocolate ice cream, so there really wasn't much there. I cleaned it up with a few wipes and then prepared to head out. But Natalie really, really wanted to stay and she felt better. Now, I'm not sure if this is proper parenting, but we stayed. She did great the rest of the parade and even got up and waved and clapped for her favorite things (Ronald McDonald, the big car balloon, the Girl Scouts float, and the clown troupe). Vanessa had a good time too. She waved and clapped at the weirdest times, like to normal cars and the people carrying shovels ready to shovel the horse poo. But whatever, cause they both had fun. Larry met us after he got off of work and then we all went home together. Aside from the throw-up, it turned out to be a very nice evening.

Saturday: We didn't do too much Saturday because I still wasn't 100% convinced Nat was over her virus. We did a little shopping, just the shoe store and Target. Natalie acted fine, but still wasn't eating more than a bite at a time. We were invited to two Mother's Day celebration dinners, but turned them both down to make sure we didn't infect any other little kid with the grossness we had just endured. Larry and Natalie did go to Wal-Mart for a while and when they got home we had this discussion.
Natalie:I need to go outside and get you some flowers.
Me:Maybe tomorrow honey. It's getting a little chilly outside.
Natalie:But we got you red flowers.
Me:I don't think you are supposed to tell me that till tomorrow, right?
Natalie:(pointing at Daddy as he walks in the room)He got you two.
So we had a day early, impromptu Mother's Day gift giving. Larry got me a bouquet of roses, Natalie and Vanessa got me a hanging basket of red flowers for the front porch, and they all got me a new bottle of perfume. It was really sweet.

Sunday: We did end up going to my Mom and Dad's for a B-B-Q lunch. I was having a bad "pregnant day" and not feeling great, so it was actually nice to be somewhere the girls could go a little wild and had plenty of people looking after them. Lunch was delicious, made even better by the fact that we all ate outside. Isn't all food better when eaten outside? I think so. Anyway, we had a really nice visit. Just a little aside...I love you mom. Thanks for being a great mother and teaching me what you have learned. You know how invaluable you are to me and my family so I won't say it again. I am so thankful we have always been close, and even more so that we just continue to get closer. You helped me become the person I am, but let me take my own road to get here. I hope your Mother's Day was fun and relaxing....So, after we got home Vanessa was asleep and Larry took Natalie outside to mow with him. I was (drum roll please) alone! It took me a while to get used to the idea, but not too long! I half watched "Good Will Hunting" and I half slept. Approximately two hours of pure paradise. I would like to say I woke up rejuvenated and feeling fresh, but I just woke up a little less tired. But hey, I'll take what I can get.

Monday: Today was Natalie's last day of her one-day-a-week school (well, until she starts the summer session in June). They had a hot dog lunch party and had dress up costumes in the class. Natalie seemed to have a great time. As soon as she saw the box of clothes she was gone. When I picked her up she proudly said, "Know how many brownies I ate?" and held up three fingers. Don't worry, I saw the size of the brownies and they were really small. Her teacher gave her an absolutely glowing report and I think I actually lit up with pride. She praised her on her imagination and creativity. She was so proud of the little girl Natalie grew to be this year. At the beginning she was quiet and shy and wouldn't talk to other kids. I was worried and talked to her other teacher about it. She didn't really seem concerned. She said Natalie was just adjusting. It turned out she was right. By the end of the year she hugged me goodbye and then was off having a great time. I would pick her up and she would be playing with her friends. I would hear about songs she made up and stories she told. What a great little girl! Happy Mother's Day to me! Anyway, after that we went to the Lot and met up with my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and nephew. We all packed up the wagon and strollers and went down to River Fest where we ran into my other sister-in-law, nephew and a niece. (Follow all that?) It was fun but SO windy. It was crazy. Lots of the kid stuff wasn't even going because of the wind. We spent a while down there anyway and got to the Lot just as Larry was getting off work.

Ok, that was a lot longer than I planned. My fingers are tired. Good night!

Back to the land of the living

It seems we are all getting better around here (and you better believe I am furiously knocking on my wood computer desk).
I really don't even remember much of yesterday. I woke up sick and stayed sick all day. I throw up easily when I am pregnant anyway, add a stomach virus and I was down for the count. Natalie still wasn't feeling well and pretty much just stayed laying on the floor watching cartoons. Luckily for all of us Vanessa took a pretty long nap and then sat in her high chair eating graham crackers until my mom got here and took over. Thank God for my mom. She totally saved the day. If it wasn't for her, Vanessa might still be in her high chair eating nothing but crackers. Needless to say I wasn't the best mommy yesterday. But I think I am forgiven. I mean, I did take care of them when they were throwing up all over me. And you know how grateful 4-year-olds and 1-year-olds are.
We are all feeling a ton better today. Vanessa is even over her diarrhea (YAY!!!). Natalie is feeling better but is still not eating. She hasn't had more than a bite of tater tot since Monday. But she decided that she wants some spaghetti for lunch today, so spaghetti she will have! All she needs to do is get her strength back up and I think she will be almost back to normal.
Maybe stupidly, I am still planning on going to the parade tonight. We haven't missed one since Nat was born and she has been so excited for it for weeks now. It is right by Larry's work so we just bring our chairs and walk a short ways to watch it. Hopefully all will go well, but if you see us you might just want to wave from afar. I don't know if any or all of us are still contagious.
I am so glad we are all getting well for the weekend. We are scheduled to go to my parents for a Mother's Day celebration, but my dad is sick too so we will see. Other than that we don't have any real plans. Just maybe some River Fest stuff, shopping, etc... Natalie wants to go to WalMart and get the hanging basket of red flowers she saw last weekend as my Mother's Day present. She is such a sweetie. Hopefully you are all well and can have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Remember to hug your mamas and grandmamas. Seriously, we wouldn't be here without them!

This is going to be gross...just be warned!

I thought about sparing you all the disgusting details of life here, but in the spirit of this totally honest blog, I decided against it. Aren't you lucky ducks?
At 2am Natalie began crying. Actually it was more like whimpering in her sleep. I was already awake because my back was killing me so I just rubbed her back and tried to get her back to sleep. I kind of thought it was just a bad dream. I'm not sure why I didn't connect the fact that Vanessa whined in her sleep right before her stomach exploded all over her bed too. Yep, Natalie now has the stomach virus that Vanessa is still trying to get over. While Vanessa only had one bout of throwing up and then a lot of diarrhea, Natalie is still throwing up. She cannot even take a sip of water without it coming back. I am worried about dehydration. At least Ness could drink her water and eat crackers. I don't see getting anything in Natalie's tummy for quite a while. My poor girls are miserable. And let me tell you, this house smells like...well...let's just say it doesn't smell pleasant.
I was just talking yesterday to a good friend of mine about how when you have two kids they just pass sickness to each other. There is nothing worse than having two sick babies at one time. Except if I was sick too (let's all knock on wood and hope I don't get this). Both my girls want me at the same time and I have to decide who needs me worse. That is a horrible decision to make because inevitably one of them is getting less than they deserve. Right now Natalie is laying on the couch watching tv and Vanessa is sitting on my feet. They just look so pitiful. I feel so bad for them.
Just to let you know it took me about an hour to type all of this after having to pause to help Natalie throw up once, poop twice, and change Vanessa's poopy diaper once. It was a very yucky hour. Hopefully things are settled down a little bit. I am going to go snuggle some girls on the couch and enjoy not cleaning anything up right now. Uh oh, I think I spoke to soon.

My poor little Nessa. Not only did she have an ear infection this weekend, she also caught some kind of stomach virus. She kept having really gross diapers and threw up in the middle of Saturday night. I felt so bad for her. I also felt very tired. I still do.
For some happier, and less gross, news....I reserved our hotel room for our vacation yesterday. I am so excited. We got the hotel we want and we are only paying $40 a night thanks to my wonderful Aunt!!! It is nothing fancy, but it has a pool and a make-your-own-Belgian-waffle-bar at their free continental breakfast. It is really close to a lot of the places we are going. I think it is going to work out really well. I have been requesting info off the Internet and have printed off a few coupons. I even found a "Coca-Cola family fun" coupon for the North Pole amusement park for $5 off a person. That's $15 we will save right there! Hello souvenirs!! Everything costs so much more than I remember. Every cent we can save will help.
I also went to Dollar Tree today and got a few fun things to give Natalie on the trip there. I just picked up some drawing paper, a notebook, some pens and pencils, stickers, and a couple of card games. I will get a few more cheap things, wrap them up and let her choose something every couple of hours. I really hope this will help with some of the boredom that will inevitable come with a 8+ hour drive. I am going to get a few things for Vanessa too. We will take the portable DVD player and some movies, some books and some cd's. I am sure how ever much I take it won't seem like enough though!
I am getting so excited to take an actual family vacation. Larry and I have traveled together before and it was great...but this is going to be so special. All four of us seeing new things and doing fun stuff. I love that we are getting to show our kids things they don't see everyday in Kansas. Traveling and being aware of other places is so important to me and I want to pass that on to my girls. So far we haven't had the money or resources to go on a real vacation. I am so pleased that this year we are making it work.
So, enough rambling about something that is not even going to happen for another month (we leave June 1st..our 6th anniversary). And I don't really have anything else to say! Have a wonderful day and enjoy the weather. Sounds like it's going to rain quite a bit the rest of the week.

Updates and cute pictures

Let me start by saying I am feeling better today. It has changed from a sharp stabbing pain to more of a dull throbbing pain. Much better! With my mom helping out all day Wednesday and Larry taking off and helping me yesterday I actually had a chance to start healing. And I got some sleep last night. Vanessa is feeling better. It is amazing how fast antibiotics work on a baby. She is still kind of messing with her ears, but she is happier now. I woke up in the middle of the night and for the first time in a long time went and checked to make sure she was still breathing. She was and everything was fine, it was just weird that we were still sleeping!

This whole week I wanted to post about what a wonderful weekend we had and how well Vanessa's birthday party went. And now it is almost weekend again!

Here are the pictures from JC Penney's that we had taken for Nessa's first birthday. They were coming out pretty cute until both girls decided they were d-o-n-e! We still got a few cute ones!

Just to fill you in

I have hurt my back. It really, really sucks. I can barely move. What I think happened is I pulled a muscle when I was throwing up. Don't you wish you were me? And that's not all....
Vanessa has an ear infection. The poor little girl hurts so much. She just wants to be held and snuggled and then in the next minute if you so much as hold her hand she screams at you. And she is not sleeping, which means I'm not sleeping either.
It can only get better, right?!?

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Whether you are giving a bottle to your baby dolls or spinning around in circles, hugging my neck or saying hi to the dogs, eating a big handful of cheerios or climbing onto the couch, you are always a joy and my little tiny love.
One year ago today you made our little family of three a big family of four. You made Natalie into a big sister, and a very happy little girl. We all love you SOOO much. Your smile is so bright (and your cry so loud!)! What did we do without you?
Happy First Birthday Vanessa Lida!!!!!!

50 Questions...

that I shamelessly stole from another blog!!

1. What bill do you hate paying the most? I don't actually take care of the bills, Larry does! But I do hate that I still owe on my student loan. I think I will have a party when it is finally all paid off.
2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner? I don't really remember, isn't that horrible? We ordered pizza last night. It wasn't really romantic, but it was yummy!
3. Do you regret losing your virginity to who you lost it to? No, and I will leave it at that.
4. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be? Wow, this one is hard. I guess I would have done college a little differently. I would have been more serious about it and I would have taken that internship in Kansas City.
5. Name of your second grade teacher? I really can't remember right now!
6. What do you really want to be doing right now? I wouldn't mind curling back up in my bed and sleeping some more.
7. What did you want to be when you were growing up? an author
8. How many colleges did you attend? 3 (I went to Butler my senior year of high school, finished up my foreign language requirements at Wichita State and spent four years at the University of Kansas...which I graduated from)
9. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now? It's my 2002 Final Four shirt and I wore it to bed.
11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you where would it be? I'm not sure. I would love to live on a lake in Minnesota, but their winters are brutal.
12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? "Vanessa! Go back to sleep!!"
13. Last thought before going to sleep last night? I hope it doesn't storm so Axel doesn't keep me up all night.
14.What do you miss about being a child? less responsibilities
16. What errand/chore do you despise? general picking up
17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer? I really hope that when my kids get bigger I can volunteer a lot
18. Get up early or sleep in? definitely sleep in when I can
19. What is your favorite cartoon character? Right now I really like Woody from Toy Story
20. Favorite thing to do at night with a girl/guy? talk and then talk some more
21. Have you found real love yet? yes I have
22. When did you start feeling old? when I realized I am older than most of the popular singers/actors/sports stars right now.
24. Your favorite lunch meat? ham
25. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart? baby stuff (food, diapers, wipes, etc..)
26. Beach or lake? lake
27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual? no, but people today don't take it very seriously. And then there are those that would take it seriously but are not allowed to get married because of who they are...and I don't agree with that at all.
28. Do you own property? I will someday!
29. Favorite Guilty pleasure? really stupid reality tv
30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out? I really like a lot of kids movies
31. What's your drink? when I am not pregnant it is plain old Bud Light
32. Cowboys or Indians? Indians...when we were learning about this in school I always felt somehow personally responsible for taking their land. And their religion and devotion to the land has always intrigued me.
33. Cops or Robbers? totally depends
34. Who from high school would you like to run in to? Holly. I miss her.
35. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now? 98.7, because I listen to the morning sports show
36. Grey's Anatomy or The Office? it used to be Grey's Anatomy, but it is just not that good anymore. I have recently discovered The Office and it literally makes me laugh out loud.
37. Worst relationship mistake you wish you could take back? a few years after my heart was broken in a very uncaring way, I broke someone else's heart in about the same way. I still feel ashamed about that.
38. How many times a week do you cook? Not as often as I should. We have lots of "find your own" nights. It is just so frustrating to cook a meal and then have your kid not even touch it. On Wednesday I made chicken fettuccine alfredo and Nat wouldn't even try it (but it was so good)!
39. What is worrying you right now? Right this minute it is how I'm going to have enough room in this house for another baby.
40. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? George Bush, and every time he looked away I would throw some food at him (because I am just that mature!)
41. Indoors or Outdoors? definitely outdoors
42. Have you ever crashed your vehicle? yep, I rolled my first truck when I was 15.
43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose? no
44. Last book you read? "Goodnight Steve McQueen"...I can't remember the author. It was a quick, easy read.
45. Do you have a teddy bear? I have some that used to be mine but are my girls' now
46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth? a sketchy hotel in Mexico using bottled water
47. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go? San Francisco
48. Do you go to church? no
49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship? I am excited about having a career after my kids get older.
50. How long have you been out of school? 6 years

It costs how much?!?!?!?

When I was younger and people of an "older generation" would go on about how things were cheaper "back in the day" my eyes would go into perma-roll and my mind would begin to wander...like to that scene in Top Gun where they are all playing volleyball....mmmm, Iceman....mmmm.....no shirts...mmmm. **I digress**

So let me just preface this by saying if you keep rolling your eyes like that they will stay that way...



Man, things were cheaper back in the day, weren't they?



I am in the midst of planning our family vacation and holy crap, things are expensive. If all goes according to plan we will be going to Colorado Springs the first week of June. I am getting all the details ironed out and doing a lot of research so we are not surprised by prices when we get there. I want to be prepared so it is not all "hey kids, sleeping in the car is F-U-N!!" We are planning on doing all the good tourist stuff like Seven Falls, Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods, and most importantly to some, the North Pole themed amusement park. I also wanted to take the family on the cog train up to the summit of Pike's Peak. I went in college with a friend and loved the scenery and the view. And Natalie wants to ride a train! So I was looking into it and do you have any idea how much it costs to ride a basic old train up a mountain? $30...per person!!! For that much I expect an in-ride meal, with desert. And not a crappy desert like a cookie with one chocolate chip. I am talking cheese cake piled with syrupy cherries. And maybe a light chocolate drizzle. I don't ask for much, really.
I haven't decided yet if we are going to spring for the tickets or not. If we do we are going to have to cut out something else, and I'm not sure what that would be. I wouldn't mind cutting out the North Pole, but I know Nat will get a kick out of it, and it would be kind of selfish to plan the whole vacation without any input from the other travelers. We are already not going to tour the cave because someone might get scared down there, or worse fall into one of those bottomless pits. See, I'm making sacrifices too!
So all of the prices are a little daunting to me. Not to mention the $4-a-gallon gas prices that will probably be hitting about the time we are leaving. But really, in the end it will be worth it. Some of my most favorite memories from being a kid are from our annual summer vacations. I want to create those kind of memories for my kids too. When Natalie is 28 and has a family of her own I want her to be able to say, "Hey, remember that vacation we took to Colorado? We had so much fun listening to Dad bitch about driving and Mom bitch about the price of everything and then we just had to sit in our car and look at the mountain because we couldn't afford to actually go up it and Vanessa didn't sleep at all because she wasn't in her own crib so she screamed and we were all tired and I threw so many tantrums you thought about leaving me and pretending you didn't remember that you had two kids when you went and the whole ride home we all kept asking how much longer till we could get out of the stupid car because we were restless and Mom was pregnant and getting car sick."
Ahhh! Good times!!! I sure am excited!!!

The kind of weekend you wish would never end!

What a wonderful weekend! It was so pretty and we had so much fun!! Our big outing was to the Shriner circus. I will admit that I wasn't very excited about it this year. Last time we went it was a little less than spectacular....like way less. So I didn't have giant expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised and delighted when this circus was actually pretty good. There were trapeze artists, acrobats, older ladies who did magic and dressed up poodles (ok, this doesn't sound that great, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds), elephants, tigers, and clowns. We had a great time except for Vanessa who really could have cared less about the whole thing and just wanted to go home and sleep. I even let Natalie ride the elephant at intermission which I am really kind of against. It just doesn't seem right to me. But anyway, she did it and had fun. I was worried about her going without Larry or I, but she was such a big girl and actually wanted to go by herself.
We also played outside SO much this weekend. The weather was so beautiful that we were outside more than we were inside. Vanessa got an outdoor Little Tykes playhouse for her birthday and rather than struggling with putting it up next Saturday before her party we just decided to put it up on Saturday. We have only had it for a few days and I already think it was worth every penny we spent on it. The girls just love it. Natalie pretends like crazy in it. One side is a school, one side is a bank/market, one side is a gas station, and the last side is a sports wall. She had Larry and I ordering food, using the ATM, getting gas, and learning our ABC's...all in one place!! Vanessa just likes being in it at this point. Oh, and opening and closing the door, she LOVES to just stand there and open and close, open and close. So cute! Sunday was spent cleaning house and playing outside again. Nothing too exciting, but still good family fun! All in all, it was just one of those weekends that make you smile!
Here are a few sample pics!

The High Price of Gas

Warning: this post rated "TMI" for too much info!

Are any of you fans of "Sex and the City"? I am! I love that show. I love the fact that 99.9% of the things that happen to those girls will never happen to me. I live vicariously through Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda. Recently though, I have found something that Miranda and I do have in common.
If you did watch that show you know that Miranda became pregnant one season. I remember one show vividly. They are out shopping and eating and being out and Miranda cannot stop farting. It was hilarious. Yeah, not so funny anymore.
I don't remember being this gassy with my first two pregnancies. I am just full of gas! It would be great if I could charge $3.20 like Quik Trip. I could be rich! During the day I am ok. I have moments where my tummy cramps up and there are times I have to "let it go", but I haven't had a big public embarrassing moment or anything like that. And then there is the end of the day. All I can say is, poor Larry. Right before bed I bloat up and look like I am about 5 months along instead of 2. I hurt and I moan and I have even shed a tear or two. And all I want to do is get it out. Gross, huh? So gross that it all leads me to believe this one is a boy. Boys are gross right from the start!
So there you go. More than you wanted to know I'm sure, but I feel better getting it off my chest..or my tummy as the case may be.

one week later...

I really have sat down at the computer numerous times over the last week to blog, and then I just can't. Part of it is being so close to the screen and the colors and stuff makes me want to puke a little. Part of it is my brain is so full of other stuff that it can't form coherent sentences that anyone would want to read. I mean, a person can only read so much about how tired and shitty I feel most of the time.
I am getting more used to this whole being pregnant again thing. I am 9 weeks now and I have good days and bad. There have been recent days that I have thought to myself "ok, yeah, I can have three kids." And then there are days I just want to hide under a rock and not come out. But we are surviving. I am keeping us pretty busy. Natalie has school Monday mornings, gymnastics on Tuesday, and cooking class on Wednesday. She is really enjoying her time away from home. She is getting better and better at listening and doing what she is supposed to do. I am so proud of her. She really likes cooking class. Yesterday they made pizzas and she was so happy with herself! She was telling me all about the different cheeses they used and the sauce and the dough. It was so neat seeing her so proud of something she created. I am going to start letting her get a lot more involved when I cook.
So, of course, when I actually feel like writing I have an almost one-year0old that desperately wants her mama to hold her...I will try to continue this later!

HE'S STAYING!!!!

Sorry...I know I just posted (see below), but I just found out..........

***Bill Self is staying at KU***

Natalie and I just got done doing our "happy Bill Self is staying dance", which looks something like a cross between a chicken and Carlton from "The Fresh Price of Bel-Aire", all while saying WOO WOO over and over again. Aren't you sorry you missed that?

Being pregnant is just no fun.

I really wish I could enjoy this pregnancy. It will be my last and I am sad that I am hating it so much. Don't get me wrong, I love the end results, but I have hated all three pregnancies. I had hoped this one might be different than the previous ones, but I am now puking every. single. day. It sucks.
Here is some other random info for you:

*Vanessa is talking a lot now. Most of it is still unintelligible, but she has some words that come out clear as day. She says "hi", "bye", "dada", "mama", "doggy" and "birdie". There are other words that she has said only once so I don't count them until I hear them again.

*My bestest friend Liz is about ready to pop out a baby. I don't think it is going to be soon enough for her, but it is not going to be long. I can't wait to meet Jack. If he is anything like his big sister he will be nothing but a cute little bundle of joy. I love you Liz!!!

*I am going to have another niece or nephew at about the same time I have my baby. My brother-in-law's girlfriend is due somewhere around the end of November also. I just love that my kids are going to have so many cousins so close in age. It is going to be so much fun to watch them all grow up together.

OK, I think that's about it for now. Vanessa is standing in front of my with a blanket over her head trying to play peek-a-boo. It is not really any fun to play that by yourself so I guess I will go join in!


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