Nothing new...

...to blog about.

Christian had a sleepover last night and we took him and his friends to see Avatar in 3D. We had to drive an hour out to Waldorf to go to the big theater. 

(doesn't Waldorf just sound so cute? Like a Waldorf Salad or the Waldorf Astoria? 

But don't be fooled like I was. 

It's not cute. 

At all.)

While the boys watched the movie, Matt, Addie and I killed time shopping. (Alexis went with a friend to a basketball game.) We both wanted to see it, but Addie is not the best movie companion. 

After the movie we let the boys walk around the mall for a few hours and we let Addie play at the play area there. It's still kinda snowy and very cold, so we haven't gone out to play at all lately. So she loved sliding and running around. Except when that little girl pushed her and she fell face-first down the slide. But she got over that.

Lex is at a friends house for a party tonight. And after the mall Christian went over to a friends. I hope he had a good birthday, I think he did. 

We had a big wind storm Thursday night and our garbage can fell over and hit our satellite dish. Since then the tv hasn't worked. :( Matt spent a long time working on it this evening but nothing was working so he called Direct TV. They couldn't help so they set up a service appointment for Monday. Determined to not miss the last 2 days of the Olympics though, Matt went out again and adjusted things while I watched from inside to see how the signal was coming through. And you know what??? He fixed it! It's good to know he can always get a job with Direct TV if nothing else. It's good to have options. :)

Nothing going on with our baby. No contractions. No signs. Nothing. 

Sigh.

I'm ready for a restful family Sunday tomorrow.

With Olympics of course.

My baby is a big boy!

Today my baby boy turned 12. He is officially a Young Man. Holy moly, how did that happen?!

I had grand plans to scan a bunch of pictures of him as a baby and all through the years and then... you know. The day happened and I didn't have time. And I'm kicking myself for not doing it earlier, when I did have time. 

Not to worry, the photo tribute will happen soon. 

We love Christian so much. He is such a smart, handsome, talented, kind, and funny guy. But don't worry, I'll go more into all of that when we do his photo tribute.

For now I'll just say Happy Birthday Bubba! 

I'm so glad I get to be your mama!

PS - It looks like we'll stick to only having one baby born on February 26th. And our double birthday streak is officially over in 89 minutes. Now she can come anytime.

Really. Anytime now.

Todays Potty Training Stats

Wet undies - 2

Times on the potty - 8

Dirty (and when I say dirty, I mean Addie dirty, if you know what I mean) baths - 1

Potty treat of the week - Gobstoppers

And one scene of a potty training bathroom.

I took the kids to the orthodontist this morning. I woke up to the smell of Christians special pancakes. He is so cute!

The prognosis: Christian needs retainers.

Alexis needs full braces. Again

And it's only gonna cost an arm and a leg.

Boo.

Sibs

Christian is big into I-Tunes and his I-Pod.  Our rule is that we have to approve the songs before he buys. So I get to listen to lots of up and coming artists. Lucky me!

This afternoon he was playing me a new song by Justin. 

Bieber of course. 

(As if you didn't know! He's such a heartthrob!)

It was such a cute scene. The girls started dancing and Christian was on the couch singing. I love these kids. 

And soon there will be 4!

Hmmm...

I got a text this morning from our little neighbor that her sisters water had broken and she was at the hospital! She was due the day before me! Wow, we could have a baby any time now! Everyone jokes that she'll be born on Friday, Christians 12th birthday. That way she can be just like Addie. And Christian.

I had a dr.'s appt. this afternoon. He said he "thinks" she is still head down (what?!) and looking like she's right on schedule, just tiny! He's super sarcastic, I never quite know how to take him.... does that mean that she's gonna be huge? He usually comments on her little tiny head, but this week he didn't. Hmmmm...

Then I headed over to the hospital to visit the new little one. The lady at the front desk asked (kinda worriedly) if I needed to head upstairs. I thought about trying to say something funny about being ready to push, but I couldn't think of anything so I figured better to be honest than lame.

I had sweet little baby Ronnie give our little Baby X a talk about staying put until Monday. Not that I think she's anywhere near coming, I just don't want another birthday stealing repeat.

Tonight Matt and I had a meeting at church. I had a small talk to give that I'm glad is over. Everything went really well and we had a good time. It's always nice to be spiritually uplifted with and by good friends.

Maybe tomorrow I'll break out the camera. Maybe.

Right back in

Such a relaxing weekend and now I'm right back in the swing of a very busy week. This morning was full of calls to doctors, orthodontists, and insurance companies. Some of them got more than one call from me. Not fun.

We left the house at 12:30 for a doctors appointment for Lexi. On the way we had a long talk about attitudes, family, and school. I felt very prompted and had a clear mind which allowed me to make some good points to her. Hopefully it all sinks in.

Christian changed his mind about what he wanted to do for his birthday. I've been asking him for at least a month, but not really getting any straight answers. We have no plan and no invitations, and his birthday is Friday. He doesn't seem too worried about it, I guess I shouldn't be either, right? Somehow they don't seem to understand that things like parties and dinners don't just get done, they have to be planned and organized. Sigh.

The girls and I got home at 5:00 with just enough time to get dinner started for the kids and then Matt and I were off for our Baby Class. 

Now I'm watching Olympics with Addie, who should have been in bed an hour ago. She's fluctuating between rubbing my belly, hugging my belly, and hitting my belly. Oh, and then she spent some time spitting on her hands, rubbing them together, and then rubbing them on her face and hair. Seriously. (could I make up something like that?)

Tomorrow I'm gonna try to tackle my uber long to-do list. This to-do list is a culmination of a bunch of others, with all the leftover stuff that I haven't gotten to. All the yucky stuff that I've been putting off. Then off to the OB and then a church meeting tomorrow night. 

Busy, busy, busy...

Home again

I am home again. 

I left Thursday night to start on my Annual Girls Weekend with two of my best friends Jackie and Autumn. This year, since I'm great with child, they decided to come to me and we stayed in Baltimore.

This is the trip that was supposed to happen the weekend Christian was sick and in the hospital. It had to be postponed and we weren't sure it would ever really happen. 

I'm so glad it did!

We had a wonderful weekend of girl talk, shopping, and eating.

Not a lot of sleeping going on, but sometimes talking is better than sleeping.

Especially when eating is involved. ;)

I didn't get my camera out at all. We decided that from now on we're only gonna use one camera and take our thumb drives so we don't have to worry about exchanging pictures later. 

I think it's a phenomenal idea. 

Too bad we didn't figure it out before this weekend.

Now I'm home again. 

And relaxed.

And ready to be a better mama and wifey.

Cause that's what it's all about, right?! 

It looks like I'm baked!

You know those turkeys with the pop-up timer? Well, my timer has popped.

I'm done.

Thanks!

Doing what I love

I love to shop. For anything. Clothes, food, furniture, books, toys, I love it all. And I love to save money. When I combine the two, I am seriously happy! Today I went shopping and made $2.35.

I started couponing just a little bit in New Mexico. Then in California I learned a little bit more. But when I moved here and knew we were permanent, I really got into it.

My favorites are the 3 big drug stores - CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens. CVS and Rite-Aid are about a mile away from our house, but Walgreens is a drive across the bridge, so I only go there when I've got something else to do over there OR there's a really good sale.

I haven't learned the grocery store system too well yet. The reason is that I can shop at the Commissary and Wal-Mart and I feel like they always have the best prices. I still want to learn though because I know there are great deals to be had!

Okay, so here's what I did today. 

First I went to CVS. 

I bought some toothpaste, a razor and some mousse. My first transaction was the toothpastes, which were $3.50 each, and the mousse, that was $2.99. I had a coupon for $1.00 off 2 toothpastes and $1 coupon for the mousse. I paid $8.59. Then I got some ECB's (ExtraCare bucks) for $7 (for the toothpastes) and $2 (for the mousse). Next I bought the razor that was $9.49. I used my ECB's, so I only paid $1.06. And I have a coupon for a mail-in rebate for a free razor. So I'll send that off and get a check back for $9.49.

So at CVS I made $0.16.

Then I went over to Rite-Aid. 

I registered at Rite-Aid.com and got a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase.

I bought the diapers for $8.99 and used a $1.50 Huggies coupon and a $1.50 Rite-Aid Huggies coupon. Rite-Aid also has a monthly rebate program and is offering a $3.00 rebate for the diapers. Then the Oil of Olay body washes were $6.00 each and I had 3 $1 off coupons. Then I will send away for the Oil of Olay Buy 3 get a $15 Rebate that's going on right now. So I paid $16.81 and I'll get a rebate check from Oil of Olay for $15 and one from Rite-Aid for $3.

At Rite-Aid I made $2.19.

Here's how I organize. I go through the ads and my blogs (there are millions but I like The Krazy Coupon Lady and The Centsible Sawyer) and circle anything I think might be a good deal or I might want. Then I make a list of coupons to find or print from all the ads. Then I only have to go through my coupons once. After I've got the coupons I need, I paperclip them to the ad and I'm on my way! Organization is key to couponing!

There are a few things I never want to pay for again. 

The first is toothpaste. 

Seriously, if I ever pay for toothpaste again I will be very sad.

Here's my stash of toothpaste. If that's not a years supply it's pretty dang close!

The other is razors. If I ever have to pay more than $1 or $2 for razors... so help me. :)

And here's my stash of razors. Matt, Alexis, and I also have extra's in our bathroom drawers. 

There's just a small taste of what I do.

A nice day of shopping and I made $2.35. 

Doing what I love. :)

"Wee! Wee! Wee!"

That's what I heard coming from Addie's room this morning. I had heard her about 15 minutes before that, just happily playing, so I took that opportunity to finish folding the laundry before I picked her up for the morning. That's when I heard the "Wee!"

I walked in to find this...

Those are her pajamas on the floor. The last few mornings I've come in to find her in only her onesie.
Awesome.

I guess we might be buying her a toddler bed sooner rather than later. We were going to continue going along happily with her crib sleeping until she turned 2 in June. She's never tried to climb out before. Then when she turned 2, we were planning on buying her furniture for her "big girl" room, and then we'd move the baby into her "baby" room. But now that might not work... especially with a neurotic mom that would be checking on her every 2 seconds to make sure she hadn't fallen out of her crib and broken her neck!

And I don't think I exactly made things better by taking pictures of her antics this morning.
Oh well.

The house is quiet and the kids are at school! Just barely though. Their bus got stuck this morning on it's way to come get them. I had been watching from the window and had noticed it was 15-20 minutes late, but then I didn't see the kids anymore and figured I had just been distracted when the bus came. But no, it never did come. Finally a mom offered to give Christian a ride (which made me feel like mother of the year!) so he texted me to see if that was okay. Then I called Lex to find out that she was waiting at another friends house for another school bus, which was on it's way.
I guess that's why they had a 2-hour delay. :)

Even though it's only been a few hours, it feels so good to be getting back to normal.
We can go places again.
The kids are getting back into the school routine.
I've even had energy and been jumping on my to-do list that kept expanding over "the break."

The snow has been pretty. But I'm glad it's going away.

And that we're not getting anymore this year.
Because we're not.
I don't care what anyone says.
No. More. Snow.

Yo quiero Taco Bell!

We headed out to the big city today for some Babies'R'Us and mall shopping. Christian got some pants for Christmas that we still hadn't exchanged, so I figured it was about time. :) It was supposed to snow this afternoon so we left nice and early, which was nice because even with leaving before 10:00 we didn't get home until 5:30.

We had a delicious, nutritious, and gourmet lunch at Taco Bell. I brought in my camera because I swore I would take pictures to document our day. And this was the one decent picture.
I call it "Sisters."

We had a busy and fun day. The kids were apprehensive about going because none of their friends could come, but I think it worked out.

And tomorrow the kids are finally back at school! They've already called for a 2-hour late start, totally not sure why since it hasn't snowed in over a week. But at least they'll be able to go.

My kids are ready.
And their mom is ready too.
I love 'em to bits and pieces, but an unplanned week and a half without school...
mmm, not so much.

Happy Valentines Day!

After two Sundays of church being cancelled, we were all so ready to be back where we know we need to be! Addie woke up this morning with my cold and was lethargic and grumpy. Matt and I debated about keeping her home, but neither of us wanted to miss another week! Then she woke up from her rare mid-morning nap and was fine. So thankfully, we all got to go. :)

It was such a nice meeting. People shared their conversion stories and they were all very touching. Then we had a potluck afterwards. I could do that everyday! I love potlucks! Good food and good company. And so nice to see everyone after such a long break!

Tomorrow I'll get out the camera.

Promise.

Saturday

(Christian and I last Spring)

(I miss my waist!)

(Matt and I need more pictures together and with the kids! I couldn't find one of just the 3 of us on our laptop.)

This afternoon Matt and I got to go on a date with our boy. We took him to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. It was cute and Christian liked it. I love taking the kids out by themselves, I think it's so important and we don't do it nearly enough!

After our movie we did some shopping at Wally World and Target. I forgot how much I hate shopping on busy Saturdays! We got some baby essentials and I came home exhausted. I'm battling a cold that is currently winning. That, plus my constant numb hands, it's really just insult to injury what with being 8 months pregnant and all! But I was able to come home and take a long nap which made me feel lots better and able to function for the evening.

Matt made dinner and now we're all sitting around watching the Olympics. Just another Saturday. :)

PS - I'm trying to do a post a day for the whole month. Some days are harder than others, like tonight when I'm tired and haven't taken any pictures. I guess that's life, right?

Babies, babies everywhere!

Last night we were finally able to have our baby shower that was canceled with the blizzard last weekend. It was soooooooo nice to be able to get out and visit with my dear sisters that I've missed!

The food, oh the food. It was the kind of food that, when you wake up in the middle of the night, you wish you could have another plate of!
That kind of food... so good!

We played a cute Jeopardy style game all about Nursery Rhymes.
Yeah, I need to brush up on my nursery rhymes.

The shower was for Christina, Alecia, and I. We are all due within weeks of each other and we all have a (roughly) 1 1/2 year old already.

Alecia is due first, she only has 5 more days!!!

Then Christina, she has 15 more days!

And me.
I have 29 more days.
Seems. Like. Forever.

We got lots of diapers and cute outfits. Here is one from an especially cute and crafty lady, you know, the kind you love to hate!

It was so nice to be remembered and included and to have our sweet 4th baby celebrated!

Thanks for making it such a wonderful night ladies!

Spic and Span

I finally got bit by a cleaning bug. I figured the house needed one last thorough cleaning before the baby invasion. And since she's coming early, we needed to get it done! :) Since I am in no shape to do it all myself, everyone pitched in. I love when everyone helps and it all gets done in one day! Now my back hurts, but it's so worth it! There's just nothing like a clean house!  Now to get those hospital bags packed and then I think we're ready for baby! At least as ready as we're gonna be!

Breaking records all over the place

We broke the all time snow record for this region. We've gotten 54.9 inches, barely breaking the old record that was set in 1898-1899 of 54.4. This year has gotten more snow than the last 5 years combined. I guess that's kind of cool to say that we were here during the snowiest season EVER!

Today is the first day that Matt has missed work. We woke up to blowing snow and whiteout conditions (not to mention the Blizzard Warnings). Yesterday they told everyone they would work on a 4-hour delay, so Matt was planning on heading out there. Then we saw on Facebook that friends had already tried and they had FINALLY closed the base. I guess that's very unusual, they never close the base!

And even though every news show (which have been on all day!) has said "Do not drive if you don't absolutely have to!," my husband absolutely had to. He and Christian chained up the Camry and drove around the neighborhood. Then, when more kids came over he took all of them out for a spinning fun time. So glad I have an excuse not to join the fun!

It's been another pajama day. I baked some bread and put some meat in the crockpot, my favorite way to cook. We've watched some movies and painted nails. Just another snow day!

And since I didn't take any pictures, here's the boys silly video. They took 4 and I believe this is #3. You can see them all on Matt's Facebook page.
(and even though it doesn't look like it, there really is a ton of snow blowing!)

Oh, and they canceled school for the rest of the week. No school till Tuesday!
Should be fun!!!

Snow fun

• 2 of the 10 worst winter storms in this regions history have happened this Winter season. The one we had this last weekend was #4.
  
• We're supposed to get another 10-20 inches today and tomorrow.
  
• They've already canceled my dr.'s appointment, church activities, and school for tomorrow and it hasn't even started snowing yet!
• The kids have been out of school since Friday. Tomorrow will be their 8th snow day.
  
• I haven't touched a snow shovel all season :)
  
• I wish I could say we've gotten a lot done since we've been stuck home all weekend, but we haven't. We have done some bonding and that's way more important than any household chores!

Watching a movie and cuddling.

The boys shoveling us out. Not sure why they waited till it was dark, but whatever.

Addie being silly in her babies bed.

Snow accumulation in our basement window on Monday. It hadn't snowed since Saturday night and this is what was left.

Our winter wonderland.

Good grade celebration

At the beginning of the year we bribed the kids. We told them that if they got good grades we would go with their friends family out to a Japanese Steakhouse called Asahi, our favorite kind of restaurant! They both got A's and B's for both report cards so we figured it was finally time to make good on our promise.

We went with the Rutkowski's and Neidermeyer's, some of the kids besties and neighbors. We love, love, love our neighborhood! Seriously, we are blessed with awesome neighbors!

Shannon, Robin, and Alexis.
These girls are absolutely inseparable!

Addie was very concerned when the chef lit the big flame. She held tight to daddy for a few minutes.

And then after dinner she rested her big melon on my big belly.
The baby started moving and kicking as soon as she put her head down!
They're already making each other crazy!

The grown-up table.
Sometimes it's so nice to have adult conversations with minimal interruptions!

And the kiddie table. Don't you just love how the boys are too cool for pictures!

We figured it was also a good night to go out since they're predicting another big storm tomorrow and Wednesday and I'm sure we'll be homebound!!!
Wish me luck...

Superbowl

We had our sweet friends the Utzingers over to watch the Superbowl with us. We ate lots of yummy food and had such a fun time visiting. It's so nice to have friends that are also neighbors and able to drive in this mess!

Lexi and Jenna had fun visiting.

Rob and Lana after their little cutie fell asleep.

The big kids watched the Superbowl for awhile but then they decided it was Wii time.

Me and my hubby.

My favorite commercial was this one for Google where the guys falls in love in Paris.
So cute it made me want to cry!
I owe Christian a 30 minute back rub since the Colts lost. Bummer.
But the food, company, and entertainment was good.
Not so bummer. :)

PS - They already canceled school for tomorrow.
UGH!

Boys

Christian is always coming up with new and clever ways to entertain Addie. Some safe, some not so much. Here is one of the more questionable ways. But Addie is a third child and I try not to sweat the small stuff.

And she loves her brother, and all the fun stuff he does with her SO much!

One of Christian's jobs is to go up the street and get the mail everyday. He usually takes Addie with him because of course she LOVES to follow and go anywhere with him! I was summoned outside after they had gone to get the mail so I could see how they had cruised.

That's when Christian informed me that he had dutifully bundled Addie up (this was a few weeks ago after one of our lighter snow storms), put her in her stroller, and pushed her while riding his skateboard. Then he let me know that they had planned another excursion up the street to show her the (at that time) almost completed Tot-Lot, so I broke out the camera.

Here they are getting ready to go. Notice Christians shorts, man, I'm making myself look like a pretty bad mom here! Oh well. Even though Addie doesn't look excited, I asked her if she wanted to come in and she screamed "NO!" I take that to mean she really wanted to go with her bubba! And who am I to deny such fun?!

And they're off...

And for all you critics out there, this is way better than him actually holding her while skateboarding, which he's been known to do as well!

C'est la vie!

Everybody poops

****Warning****

This posts is all about poop. If you might find this offensive in any way, please take precaution while reading.

This story started on Tuesday. That was the day that Matt and Addie found a half eaten bag of Plum Sweets in the pantry. Addie goes gaga for anything covered in chocolate so of course she was game to eat them, which she did. Probably 1/4 of the bag. Now anyone that has ever eaten Plum Sweets knows that they are not only delicious, but also very helpful if your having bowel issues.

Fast forward to Thursday morning. I checked on Addie at 6:30 at which time I smelled a foul smell coming from her room. It's pretty much unheard of for her to sleep with a dirty diaper, so I wasn't positive the source. And she was still asleep so I let the sleeping baby lie.

Fast forward to 9:30 Thursday morning when she woke up and I discovered that the source was, indeed, her diaper. Slight red bottom, but nothing too terrible.

Then there was the ill fated trip to the commissary where she waited at least an hour for a diaper change. Little more red bottom, but still not too terrible.

Then the ill fated trip to Wal Mart. You guessed it, upon arriving home I found another mess in her diaper. An even redder bottom, to which was applied a healthy dose of rash cream.

There was another dirty diaper mixed in there somewhere late afternoon.

Then I went visiting teaching that evening. When I got home I noticed Addie walking, feet wide apart. I picked her up and she was totally stiff. Poor girl didn't want to let me anywhere near her diaper which was, indeed full.

Her bum was as red as a fire truck. She cried and cried and cried and the rest of the night we let her roam "free." She was happy about that and even asking to go to the potty!

Since we've been snowed in all weekend, we decided to make the best of it and seriously push the potty training that I've been just lightly pushing until now (and also let her bum air out). She's been in undies all weekend and doing good!

She's still working the Plums out of her system so we've still had lots of poo.
But, the good news is that she's pooing on the potty!
She prefers the big potty to her little potty and instead of having us hold her on, she's decided she can hold herself up. When I ask if she's done and she's not, she'll tell me "no," and continue her business until she is done.

Love it!!!

Getting 'er done!!!

Checking her work.



Then she decided she really meant business and kicked off her pajamas all together.
(she was also playing with her hair, that's why it looks like that!)

Such a happy little pooper!

And every time I don't have to change a diaper I am a happy big mama!

Totally random

It started snowing this morning at 10:15, right on schedule!

It snowed last weekend so they canceled church. Then they canceled school on Monday. Tuesday brought a 2 hour late start, and then Wednesday started late too. Thursday was an already scheduled 2 hour early dismissal. And then, even though it hadn't started snowing yet, they canceled school for today too. Of course they don't make the decision until the wee hours of the morning, so we get the call around 5:30 and then usually can't go back to sleep. Pregnancy woes.

Speaking of pregnancy woes, here is my list:

• pregnancy induced carpal tunnel - I wake up ALL night with numb hands
• not being able to walk up the stairs carrying Addie without having to stop and catch my breath
• being out of breath from just rolling over
• bathroom visits every 20 minutes. Seriously, I go, brush my teeth, go again, put lotion on and put my hair up, go again...

I could go on and on, but I won't. I really am thankful to be able to be a mom. Truly.

Matt got up with Addie this morning so I could sleep in. Then at 9:30 Alexis, Christian, Matt, and Addie brought me pancakes, eggs with ham and cheese, and orange juice in bed. Then they dropped it off and let me eat all by myself and watch my programs. :) It was soooo nice!

The kids have been at friends houses all day. We told them both that tomorrow they can all come over here. Should be fun!

Matt took Addie out for a long walk in the snow. I stayed inside and napped. :) I'm hibernating I guess.

My sweet friends were throwing a baby shower for me and two other ladies at church. Unfortunately it got canceled though. Along with everything else this weekend. School, Matt's Navy weekend, all school activities. I asked Matt when he thought they would cancel church. Will they do it early tomorrow or try to wait a little while?

I'm thankful we're all healthy and safe and with no reason to be out in this weather. And that we have electricity. That's a big blessing in this mess!

And to add to the randomness, a few random shots.

Christian is all the time coming up with creative ways to entertain himself and Addie. Here's one he came up with a few weeks ago and they both loved! He dragged her around the house wrapped in his blanket. I don't even think they had any crashes, which is always the test of a good Christian/Addie activity.

Matt out this morning documenting the beginning of the storm.

Preggy shot, week 34.

Alexis got her split! Not sure who took this pic or why her hands are cut off, but it's still cute. :)

After spending (almost) the whole day inside, Addie had lots of energy. So Matt chased her around the living room. I love, love, love the look of pure joy on her face! She's a happy girl.