OK, So I ordered some pics from my friend Elizabeth of the kid's this summer. I'm pretty excited about it.

Callie got her shots yesterday. In fact, Noah and I joined her with flu shots. She got hit with the rest of her 6 month shots as well though...and has been unhappy about it since. She slept most of the day yesterday. Coupled with this is her top tooth is starting to break through and I'm sure is causing her some pain. Poor kid.

I was joking with my friend about how bad my grammar and probably spelling is on this blog. Yeesh, I can tell I've been out of the workplace for awhile. Oh well, it's a blog. Most of the time, I'm stopping in between paragraphs to deal with kids and/or one of them is trying to help me type. But, just so you are aware...I am aware that at times there are grammatical errors that I miss.

We're headed to Target this afternoon. The kid's got $5 from grandpa and grandma and we are going to let them pick out a toy. I'm also looking for a frame for the Callie collage that Elizabeth did.

Well, I've got nothing really exciting to post, so I'll sign off.

Perspective

OK, So I had calmed down a little bit with the pics until I talked to Dave and he began mentioning that the other ones weren't that bad and that there had been some cute ones...Not the thing I needed to hear after my afternoon. I completely agree with him, but it just made me really sad, because that ship has already sailed. So, I had a bit of a meltdown myself. Don't ask me why I cried over this. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. Noah came in and started wiping my tears and said, "Don't cry mommy." Then he came and gave me a kiss and said, "I tiss and make it better." He's great for perspective even though he was the cause of my current angst. He has his absolutely adorable moments. (I just wish I could catch them on camera.)

Now that it's evening, I feel much better. Noah was (of course) an absolute angel the rest of the evening. In hindsight, he almost seemed scared of the photographer and a bit shy. He has to be in the right mood for these kinds of things. As Jen said, wouldn't it be great if they took walk-ins? Then you could go when both your kids were in great moods and you knew you would have success.

I skipped out of the house for a half hour and went to Starbucks for a much needed break. I realized I had been with either one or both of the kids non-stop for a pretty long time (minus them being at kid's church on Sunday). Needless to say, I needed some time away. I sat and read a book and let my equilibrium restore. When I came home, I felt like a better person. Noah went down easily. Callie and I snuggled this evening for awhile. Callie never snuggles. She's a "babywise" baby and puts herself to sleep. It's great, but every once in awhile I really want to snuggle with her. Tonight, she let me.

So, at the end of the day, I don't have any actual pictures of my squirts together, but I have a lot of great mental ones. Now...if I could just get my brain to digitally download them...I'd be golden.

Photo lessons

You know those cute cherobic faces? The silly grins? The adorable laughs? Why are those so FRICKIN hard to catch on camera?! We went in for round two of photos at Penney's today. Dave refused to go since he went the last time. I ended up taking my grade school friend (who now incidentally lives in Lafayette), Jen, with me. It was a nightmare (the session, not having Jen with me). Last time, Noah did great and Callie was ho-hum and fussy. This time, Noah threw the fit of the century where I literally walked out, walked straight to the van, and put him in time out there to cool off. From the get-go when he woke up from his nap, I had a bad feeling about the afternoon. He just woke up...wrong. I planned this whole event so that they would just be getting up from their naps, be fresh, angelic, and happy. I tried bribery (I had Nemo snacks...but he wanted Cars snacks). I tried offering a cookie. I tried being silly. He would have none of it. To make matters worse, our photographer this time was just OK. The guy last time really tried and did cool poses and actually engaged the kids. If the kids would have been smiling, they would have been great. This lady just looked at me is if she wanted me to take the initiative. I asked her, "What would you like me to do with them?" She said, "Whatever you want". OK, as much as I appreciate having a say, I'm not the photographer and I don't have vision for this kind of thing...hence why I took them in. You could tell it was the end of the day for her and she didn't really care much. Jen did a great job of helping out so that I didn't start crying in the middle of Penneys. My one thought over and over again was why didn't I take the first round?! Hindsight as they say...

The only saving grace is that my friend Elizabeth took some pretty good shots of the kids this summer. None of them together mind you, but still...I'm hoping I can still order some from her. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try for round three, but if I did, I would probably call her. She does a beautiful job. For some reason, I just thought Noah would do better in a studio. Now, I know that he just has to be in the right mood no matter where we are. Darn two year old.

OK. Deep breath. As my dad told me when I called him frustrated on the way home: At least we didn't get into an accident to or from. His way of trying to help me gain perspective. Really, it's just a blip in the radar. I did purchase some Callie pics though. OK, so I just need to be OK with the fact that my kids aren't going to be photographed well together this year.

Ready for the kicker? As we were leaving the studio, Noah starts crying, "I want to take pictures! I want to take pictures!" Really?

Meijer Monday

What to type? What to type? If I have to think this hard, then nothing I really have to say can be THAT interesting. Sorry if I bore you.

Weekend was lovely. I went on a women's retreat and actually came back pretty rejuvenated. I managed to get some good prayer and the teachings were good as well. Meanwhile, Noah and Dave were exercising their testosterone and doing manly things on the home front (like seeing the dinosaurs at the museum, having guys nights both evenings, and then hanging out with grandma and grandpa). It sounds like they had a blast. They are now BFF's.

Then...reality hit. Dave had to work all day yesterday (8am-8pm) and all day today (was home for an hour) then has to work overnight tonight. Both Dave and Noah are pretty distraught. Noah actually cried a little yesterday. Dave made the most of his hour home though with a lot of play time. I believe there are promises made for some fun times tomorrow, if I heard right. The boys will be back.

Can someone remind me again about taking children out in public? I must be missing some of the rules/guidelines. I was talking to a woman at church yesterday who took her 5 children shopping. I'm pretty sure I would never leave my house with 5 kiddos. I'd just order everything online. Then I watched 17 and counting last night. Seriously people. You don't want to get sucked in...but you SO do. Dave and I stared at it last night for an hour before going to bed. It's about a family of 17 kids, with another one on the way. First of all, my honest opinion is that is absurd to have that many children. However, they somehow really manage to pull it off. It's like the most well-behaved kindergarten class (they all walk in lines, etc). It blows my mind that she can manage 17, while I can barely manage two. Enter...my evening. I took the kids to Meijer tonight. Yes, I know. I realize it was near bedtime, but I really needed to pick up a prescription. So, we trekked over there. By trek, I mean drove out of our subdivision literally into Meijer's parking lot. And of course, I picked up more than the prescription. Laundry detergent was buy one get TWO free. With the amount of laundry I do, I wasn't going to pass THAT up. Noah's tired and whiny. Callie is crying. Somehow the cart jostles enough that one of the detergents that was sitting on the bottom of the cart, spilled off and spilled out. Lovely. A lady helped me and we at least got the growing pool of blue cautioned off. We literally could not find a Meijer employee to help us. Moving on. It was slow night tonight. Everywhere I went, I was behind people who had extensive needs (prescriptions, price checks, etc.) My kids were beside themselves by the time that I left. It was one of those nights where I was pleading with Noah to just behave, knowing that it's really my fault for throwing off everyone's groove by going there in the first place. Anyway, mission accomplished. Prescription is picked up, baby food is bought, detergent replaced. Better yet, the kids are in bed, the episode of Chuck was good, and I have nothing really stopping me from going to bed. Sweet.

Despite the craziness, I love my kids. I love this time in their lives. I'm probably going to look back at this one day and say, "Those were the easy times." Now there's a thought.

Peace out.

Little Drummer Boy

We may have a future percussionist on our hands.

Random...

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, but felt the need for a random blog...so here goes:

*I'm now completely addicted to the TV show Chuck. Dave and I have been watching season one on DVD. It's gotten so bad that I had to force myself to go to bed last night, even though there were more episodes to be watched.

*Dave bought me some beautiful flowers today. Dang, he's really good at that. Yellow gerbera daisies and another fall bouquet. I love the man.

*I'm feeling on the verge of a spiritual...something. I feel God tugging at me in random ways (conversations, random thoughts, and children's books too). Hopefully over the weekend I can uncover some of what God is trying to reveal.

*I have a great family. I love my husband and I love my kids. They are pretty stinkin awesome.

*I love fall: the changing of the leaves, apple cider, cooler air, sweatshirts...I love it all (oh fine...maybe even a little football too...but only in moderation...and only if it's an actual game with friends playing and not what's on television...and then only if it's the Colts...sorry dad...)

*Life is good.

6 months

Callie went to the doctor yesterday. She is 17lbs, 2oz (75th%) and is 26" (almost 75th%).

She has two teeth, is sitting up on her own...but has absolutely no interest in crawling or really even being on her stomach. I think she is working on two more teeth on the top. We'll see what she has around Christmas time. :-)

In other news...everyone slept through the night last night...including me. I had the first good night's sleep in what feels like months. Neither kid woke up. In fact, aside from Noah waking up at 6:30 and Dave sticking him back in bed...nobody got up until 7:45am this morning...another unheard of! I feel GREAT!!

We had a busy day yesterday, so that could account for some of it. We watched my friend's girls in the morning. Callie had her doctor's appointment, and then I (stupidly) made their picture appointment in the evening. Well, Noah was just fine. Callie however had missed her mid-afternoon nap because of the doctor and was not too happy. She cooed, laughed and giggled at the doctor's office, but had nothing really for the photographer to work with. I looked at all the pics, and although there were some cute poses, nothing that I REALLY liked, because the kid's weren't really smiling well in any of them. Since these are the ones we are planning on sending out around Christmas, I opted for a reshoot. I planned it for a day where we have NOTHING else going on...so hopefully the kids will have good naps, and then we'll go get their pictures taken. Here's hoping for a better shot next time.

My master plan today is to get control of my house. It has been in various states of clean/unclean and I plan on making it ALL clean today, along with maybe watching some more "Chuck" on DVD. I am really starting to like that show. It amuses me.

Well, Callie is cooing and "talking" in her exersaucer now...It almost sounds like singing. Noah is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. While the kid's are content, I better get hopping.

Who's who? 6 months

We were just commenting on how much the kid's look alike. Here are both kids at 6 months. Can you figure out who is who??

Clothing Exchange

Well, we had the annual clothing exchange tonight. And, I must say that I thought that it went pretty well. I think most everyone went home with a decent amount of new clothes. What is a clothing exchange, you ask? Well, we get a bunch of girls together, clean out our closets, and pile it all on my floor. We then sort, try on, giggle, and all go home with fun new things. Wine/Champagne/sparkling grape juice is generally involved as well.

I came out with a few pairs of jeans that ACTUALLY fit me, a pair of khakis, 2 pairs of capris, and some other stuff. My husband will be so thrilled. :-) Actually, he loves it, because I get to go "shopping" without spending any money.

Thanks ladies for a super fun evening!!

Wordless Wednesday

My dad came up last week and he and Noah read about the moon. He then took Noah outside to show him. Every night since, we have had to look at the moon. It's pretty cute. It was full yesterday so it was even cooler. Thanks Pops. :-)

Melodic Monday-Come what May

This is the song that Dave and I heard right after he proposed to me. We recently heard it as a wedding song and it makes me wish we would have chosen this one as well (they made it work SO well). Anyway, for now...It's my melodic Monday.

Come What May

Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
I want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I'm loving you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time

Chorus:
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And there's no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing out this song I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I love you until the end of time

Chorus

Oh, come what may, come what may
I will love you, I will love you
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

Spontaneity

Yesterday morning after my dad left, Dave and I were trying to decide what to do with our day. I just wanted to go to Target at some point, but beyond that we had no plans. Dave says, "Why don't we go to the zoo?". And so we did. We got ready real quick and headed down there. It was fun. We saw some things we hadn't yet...like an elephant bathing...Noah and I actually got to pet it! We also got to feed a giraffe as well. Aside from the fat lip that Noah gave me when I went to hug him and he jumped into my face, things went pretty well. We came home and then went to Target. I found a new shirt and a pair of jeans. Dave had to work last night, so we are letting him sleep a bit this morning and then we have a wedding to go to this afternoon. It's one of the few we've actually been able to attend this year and we are bringing the kids. Here's hoping we don't regret that decision. :-)

After changing peepee pants at 6 this morning, and convincing him that he really did need to go back to bed...he slept in until 8am...Woohoo! Now, my little mousketeer is dancing to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. :-) Amazing what good sleep will do to an attitude.

Unfortunately, Dave and I were chatting this morning before he left for work. Neither one of us got restful sleep last night. We were both tossing and turning. We couldn't figure out who caused who to have bad sleep.

My dad is coming this morning with their newest addition...a kitten named Eli. Eli is going to visit the vet today...dum dum dum. Poor meow meow. My dad is coming to take me on a birthday walk and out for lunch. It's interesting, we have been going on birthday walks for as long as I can remember. I'm 26 now, and I'm still looking forward to them. :-)

Callie is starting to take a bottle really well. We have been giving her one at least once a day to practice and she can hold it herself and just sucks it right down. That is encouraging for Dave and I as we now feel a little more comfortable leaving both kids with a babysitter. It frees us up. We have had two couples in our lifegroup offer to watch the kid's sometime if Dave and I want to go out...our response? "Heck yeah!" Now we just need to set it up.

I should probably finish getting ready before my dad gets here and Callie wakes up.

Have a great day!

Prayer walk

I woke up pretty crabby this morning...with not a lick of patience to be seen. Although I was pretty productive this morning, yesterday was a complete wash with two cranky crabby kids. So anyway, I decided that I would take the kids on a prayer walk this morning so that I can get exercise and pray. Well, then Chester got excited so I had to take him. At 9:00am I had the entire brood bundled up and ready to go. It started off with me just confessing all my junk to Jesus...After that, Noah started chatting with me. I was reminded of how precious my kids are. We had a lovely chat about birds and trees and everything in between. Then we played at the park. The whole walk did a lot for my peace of mind. I came home feeling a ton better. Thanks God for meeting me this morning. Hopefully I can keep the positive attitude alive for the rest of the day.

I'm meeting with a friend for lunch. We are planning on a silent lunch (signing only). My sign skills are so rusty, I'll be lucky if I can communicate clearly at all. But, practice is good and I need to get back into the game. My hope is to do this at least once a month so that I remember at least the basic skills of signing.

So here's to a better day. Peace out!

My husband's pretty great...

So, I'm another year older today. Dave did a great job of helping me celebrate this year. Well, you saw the picture of the flowers. They weren't technically for my birthday, but I totally counted them. No, my husband emailed a bunch of my girlfriends (mostly my lifegroup ladies past and present) and hosted a girl's night birthday party with the movie Made of Honor. He cleaned the house, decorated with balloons, made virgin strawberry daiquiris, skillet cookies (the best dessert ever!), and took care of the kids. He was super. It was a wonderful night thanks to him. What a keeper.


(Missing from the picture are Darlene, Becky C., Summer and Halie who left before we could take the picture to get home)

This morning started off with Callie wanting to party at 5:30. She was the first to wish me Happy Birthday...kind of. :-) Then at 6:30, our phone started ringing. Usually early morning phone calls are never good. It was one of the docs from the ER clinic. Her husband was heading into the ER himself and she needed Dave to cover for her since she was scheduled to work today. Anyway, so, Dave is at work now until someone can relieve him. I hope that everything turns out OK with the doc's husband. That can be pretty scary when you're not sure what's going on.

So, the kids and I are hanging out this morning. Noah and Callie are both "playing" with the balloons. I think I need to jump in the shower and wake up a little more. My brain still feels a bit foggy.

Oh, back to my husband being super sweet: When I got up this morning, there were two cards (one from Dave and one from the kids)...and perhaps the best gift I could have received from him: a hand written letter. So, there I sat, reading his letter and crying. I'm such a sap...but I love receiving them.

It's been a pretty great birthday so far. We have a busy day today with church and a church meeting this evening...hence the big celebrating yesterday.

Thanks for everything love. You're pretty amazing! Thanks too to everyone for the birthday wishes and lovely presents. They were all wonderful and made me feel very loved. :-)

Noah's "present"

Dave came in and nonchalantly tossed the new yellow book bag on the couch and said, "Here's a present for you." I chuckled my thanks. Noah however went over to the present, and said, "Look mommy! A present!!" He proceeded to open it, look at it and say, "Look mommy, present a book." Then he opened it up and started "reading" it. We apparently need to be more careful in our joking. :-)

The pretty flowers Dave got me:

Yeah, I've got a pretty great husband.

Thankful Thursday

Lots to be thankful for:

1) As always, I'm thankful for my family. Dave brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday and he prayed over me when I asked him. Noah is saying, "I love you mommy", which melts my heart. Callie is always wanting a good snuggle.

2) I'm thankful that our lifegroup is solidifiying. I can see God moving in this group already. Leah and I prayed over both our groups last week, and I can definitely see the differences.

3) I'm thankful for the ability to laugh. Noah has said some pretty funny things lately and Dave and I are pretty amused. It's true, laughter is good for the soul...and for the marriage.

4) I'm so thankful for the times I get to spend with my kiddos. Because, although there are days where I've had one too many bouts of puke, pee, and poop...I wouldn't trade it for anything. They are growing up so fast and I really enjoy being along for the ride.

5) I'm thankful for the Fall weather. There is something about the falling of the leaves, football games (which I actually *enjoy* when the weather is chillier) and sweatshirts that makes Fall a really fun time. My dad mentioned that there is probably a reason that Fall and Spring are so beautiful...with Winter feeling so long and dreary.

6) I have gotten some GREAT prayer in the last week and I feel myself slowly being restored.

7) God has given me great friends and family to "do life" with. I can't imagine my life without these people who constantly refine me and bring so much joy and comfort.

I could go on, but I need to get going with my day. Thanks God for all that you have blessed me with.