Livin the Dream

I am horrible at keeping up a blog. But, life is busy and happy.

We are all doing great. Here are a few pics from Easter.

Run, run, as fast as you can!!

This summer was CRAZY busy, and CRAZY fun! We are finally settled into our fall schedule again...with a few extra activities. The girl joined the cross country school team and they had their first meet on my birthday. :) Here is a little video of the start of her race. She did AWESOME and ran almost the whole mile!! We are all very happy with our little runner!!!

The little witch

The girl and I are reading the first Harry Potter, and we are about half way through. She LOVES it, of course, but the funny thing was this. She declared the other day that SHE is a witch, and she gets magical powers from her heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead. (It's VERY faint) And her special talent is that she can talk to cereal. And milk.

She pretty much rocks.

The girl is 7!!!

It was the Girls birthday this week, and I can't believe she is 7!!! My sister and I decorated the house and had a nail painting party after school. We pigged out on cheese fondue and birthday cake all night and it was a lot of fun :) We love our big Girl!!!

The boy...

So, last week the boy started Pre-School. It's at the High School and each little kid has a high school student assigned to them as a helper and friend. He was signed up to start in September, but they had a little girl who hasn't been for a while and they decided to fill her spot. The teacher said that the HS student was lonely because she didn't have a special friend. awww. So, she called me and we snagged the spot. It was weird the first few days, because The boy is only 3 and he still seems so little. BUT, he loves it so far and I think it will be really good for him.

Too cute...

The other day the Girl asked me if she could put a raisin under her pillow with her tooth the next time she looses a tooth. She wants to give the Tooth Fairy a healthy snack. I said sure.

Business Trip - Day 1

So, here I am in Orlando, FL. I am here for a conference for work. It should be pretty fun since it is a software conference and I am down here with a fun group of guys.

This morning, I got to the airport at about 7:15 AM and screwed up my check-in. Security made me go back to the desk and check in properly. After going through the metal detectors, I was patted down and had my bag searched. That is a first, but it wasn't so bad. I thought I had about an hour until my flight left, but they were boarding early.  I had just enough time to get my traditional Odwalla Strawberry Banana fruit puree and Banana Nut Muffin from Starbuck's and then I boarded the plane to Phoenix. I read some and started to watch "Run, Fatboy, Run". The people next to me were NOT watching a family film. I think it was one of the Starship Troopers sequels.

When we landed in Phoenix, I was hungry, but I had to hurry to my gate. When I got there I only had enough time to grab a pop and fruit cup (for only $8!). Then I was on the plane to Orlando. I started out sitting next to a cougar who obviously had something to drink with her lunch. She wanted to sit next to her friends, but their seats were split up. I was on the aisle and she "kindly" straddled me to get out of the row. I could tell this was going to be a bad flight, but then she convinced a lady from the back of the plane to trade seats. That lady later said she had no desire to sit next to the cougar's friend at the back of the plane. So, it wasn't such a bad flight. I read more and finished my movie.

After a lengthy shuttle ride, I am at the hotel. I am tired, but it is only 8:10 PM according to my internal clock. Luckily they have Discovery Channel in the hotel. I can watch that while I fall asleep.

Oh! My inner-geek jumped a bit when I saw the road sign for the exit to Kennedy Space Center. That would be cool to go there! I guess I will have to settle for Disney World.

WALL-E

This is a good time to post a new entry since I have some time to kill right now. It has been really nice since the snow has stopped and the weather has gotten back to normal. Now everything is covered in rock-hard snow piles since it keeps warming up and freezing.

So, a funny thing happened a couple of weeks ago. We were having Family Home Evening and we had just sung The Wise Man and the Foolish Man. The Boy likes that song and is one of the few that he can sing. We were trying to calm the kids down for family prayer, but the boy says, "I'm singing it like a robot!" So I said, "Do you want to pray, Robot?" The Boy says sure and it's all quiet, we have our eyes closed and we hear "Beep, beep, be-beep..." That was the end of that reverent prayer.

Another good thing is The Girl was given a special award at her school. She was the Mustang of the Week! We were told that it's a big deal for a student. I'm really proud of her since we had some behavior issues at the beginning of the year. She has also started in a theater group for kids. She has had one class so far and she really liked it. We'll have to post a video of any plays she is in.

I'm off to Florida this next week for work and then I am coming back through Phoenix. I am excited because I get to see my brother and his family. He has two boys I have never met. It will be good to see them.

Snow=bad; Hot Chocolate=good.

We've been pretty much snowed in for 3 weeks. It has snowed over 5 feet since Dec. 17th. That is WAY too much snow for me, and it's hard to go anywhere. I'm sick of looking at it, and sick of talking about it. And, it's hard to find new things to do to entertain the kids everyday at home. This video is one such attempt. Seriously, having hot chocolate was a big event that day, haha! I'm really hoping that school opens up soon so I can get back to my schedule again!!

My little sweetheart

So, the baby has been teething for the last few days. It's so sad, because she is normally such a good little sleeper, and her eyes are looking so tired. (And I'm sure mine are, too :( ) Anyways, yesterday morning I got a nice surprise when Ken made me breakfast in bed. (yum yum) It was awesome. And then this morning I got an even BETTER surprise when the girl did the same thing! And she made me her favorite, cheese melted on toast. AAWWW....my family is so nice to me. And I love them, too!!

Doublé-Vous Assignment

This is a video that my friend Matt and I did for a Business French class that we took back in college. I finally found the disc so I decided to post the video. Good times!

A dream fulfilled

I have been saying for years that I want to run a 5K, but I was always too lasy, busy or pregnant to do it. UNTIL NOW!!! There was a thanksgiving Turkey Trot that was a 5K and I finally did it. I even convinced my sister, who was visiting, to run it with me and we had an awesome time! It was really chill and easy, and there were thousands of other people there even though it was really cold outside. And they said no strollers, but I saw a lot of families who ran or walked together. It felt really good to be a part of something on Thanksgiving, and I think I'm hooked. Next year I'm hoping to bring the fam, and we will do it together. That would be so much fun :)

I finally downloaded the pics from our camera...

We've been really busy the past few weeks. I've been needing a whole day at home with no appointments or plans and today was the day! IT WAS AWESOME! I love days when I can read my book or play with my kids without checking the clock. And I finally downloaded the pics from Halloween, so here are a few. Late but still cute :) The baby was a tootsie roll ,
The Girl was a flower in a pot
And the boy was Elmo (and pretty happy about it :))

We had a good time and still have some candy left, if you can believe it.

A Day with Dad

So, the Boy and I had a busy day of errands to run so I thought I would make it more interesting to take the camera along. This is our day...


Here we are, ready to head out the door!


Packed in the car with a big smile! (Watch how the Boy's smile wanes throughout the day.)


Stop #1: A quick deposit at the bank since we finally sold our car!


Stop #2: Here we are across the parking lot at NW Beauty Supply buying some stuff for Mom. This the girl that the Boy picked up while I was making our purchase. (Well done, my son!)


This is the Boy showing the sucker he got from the cutie at NW Beauty Supply.


Back at home to pick up some things I forgot! (Ooops.)


Stop #3: The post office to send some stuff to Oma in Canada. What will the Boy do to stay amused?


Oh... this is what he did.


This is what the Boy did with the stamps the worker gave him at the post office. They were gone off his hand when we came out of our next stop. I have no idea where they went.


Stop #4: Just checking some stuff... for Christmas. (Little does he know...) There is a large wad of stamps somewhere in that store.


Stop #5: A renewed smile for Home Depot.


He insisted on taking this picture.


The Boy was hiding around the corner and jumping out so I decided to take a photo. This creepy guy photobombed the picture just as I clicked the button.


Stop #6: Must... find... food! PLEASE!


Stop #7: There we go... although he only drank the pop.


Another photo by the Boy at Walmart. We bought lunch at the deli and squatted at the Subway.


Stop #8: Off to Dad's favorite store! How will he be amused here?


... That's how.


ROAR!


The end...


Zzzzz...

Life is good...

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Canadian Thanksgiving last weekend. My sister took some awesome pics of our family.

And it begins...

Yesterday was the Girls 5th day of grade one. When I asked her how her day was she told me she was part of a new club. It's called the Popular Club and only girls in her class who are 6 and are cool can be in it. She said one of the other girls in her class is the "leader" and tells them what is cool or not. So, they have to wear "cool" clothes like capris, or skorts to school and they have to have their ears pierced. (The Girl does NOT have her ears pierced for a variety of reasons, but the "leader" is nice enough to let her join anyway.) Oh yeah, and NO BOYS!! I was a little shocked at how soon we have to deal with this type of snobbery at school. It may just be that they are copying what they see the older girls do, but I'm a little worried that this club may be hurting some little girls feelings. When I was in Grade 7 there was a popular club in my class that I was not a part of. We called them the Snob Squad and they called us the Nerd Herd. It sounds funny to me now, but at the time I was really hurt by the exclusion. And that was Grade 7. I don't know if my little Grade 1 girl really understands how much it hurts to be left out. So, for FHE last night we talked about being friends with people who are different and how that is okay. Hopefully, it will help.

On another note, our baby is AWESOME! She is the first of the three to sleep at night and I am amazed at how different I feel after 3 weeks. I should be WAY more tired, but I feel great! What a sweetheart :)

THE BABY!!!!!!

We are so behind on baby news. Here are a few pics to satisfy until I can tell the whole story.

M's Little Rant

So, I don't care who you are. Being 9 months pregnant is no fun. It would be nice just to be able to breathe comfortably, or walk without waddling. I also don't appreciate when I go out somewhere and people's eyes pop out of their heads at how huge and low the baby is. And, no I am NOT having twins, and yes I'm sure. I had this guy the other day ask me if it was safe for me to be out by myself. ????? Seriously, who says stuff like that? I know in a few months I'll be able to say it wasn't so bad, and it is SO worth it. But right now I'm glad this is my last day. Tomorrow morning we go in, so wish me luck!!!

Wishin' and Hopin'

So,... I know we are about the have our third baby so you think I would know that contractions coming 30 minutes apart for a whole day doesn't mean the baby is coming. We have been thinking the baby was going to come since last weekend, but no luck. I even came home from work on Tuesday to 1) fix a GFCI outlet that blew up and 2) all I could think about was the baby coming so I wasn't getting much done at work. M and I went to the doctor's to get her checked, but there wasn't much progression since last Thursday. The bonus of that disappointing afternoon was holding our friend's month-old son. He fell asleep on me and that made me even more excited for our baby to come.

What else... I walked out to my car this morning to go to work and I heard a pounding on my car! It was parked under a large black walnut tree and there was a squirrel ripping the nuts open and dropping them down onto my car. Not cool...

(...I think I am becoming a huge fan of ellipses...)

We saw Batman Returns at the the IMAX a couple of weeks ago and it was awesome! The sound was one of the best parts. Also, part of the movie was shot with IMAX cameras so those scenes were VERY impressive. They also played The Watchmen trailer and I am pretty excited about that movie. (Check out the song from the trailer at the left under "featured songs".) It's from a graphic novel (that is a way of saying "comic book" when one is an adult) that I read last year. It really helped me get in touch with my "inner geek".

Speaking of "inner geek"... that is one thing I miss. When I was in college, I managed a computer lab so access to people with similar interests (ie: computers, graphic novels, video games, etc.) was fairly easy. When I needed people who understood obscure movie references, could identify indie music, or knew what a Kandinksy was, I had my art friends. You would think that being surrounded by engineers all day, I could find some people like that, but most of the people at work don't even know what a podcast is! (Not that I don't enjoy the people I work with...) I gotta say that I appreciate M for knowing what a Chocolate Rain is, sitting through Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and indulging me while I ran network cable throughout the house instead of just setting up a wireless network (but I did that too). Thanks, M!

Our new addition...haha

On Friday we finally broke down and bought a minivan. We have been talking about it for a while, but it was always something we were going to do...later. But, we ran out of "later" because our due date is SOON!!! Yikes. I swore I would never get a minivan, but I secretly love it. Maybe because it's still new and exciting, I don't know. I feel a lot more prepared for three kids than I did with our car. At least I won't be squishing them in the back, or homebound...right? I'm happy. Thanks, Ken :)