September

For Labor day weekend we drove up to Shawano to spend part of the weekend with Pops. It was his 60th b'day and his request that we join him. It was a nice time. That afternoon we traveled up to the campground that Ryan was staying at with some friends (Whispering Pines) and visited him briefly.  Grandpa had fun showing Ky the camp area.  Later, Ky managed to fall into the channel.  HE was pretty upset by the whole ordeal, but Rob and Grandpa found it amusing.  I was a bit concerned since I didn't have extra shoes for him and of course his shoes were not dry by the next day. (BTW--how cute are those pics of Alaina reading the paper with Grandma Debi.  She did that herself--grabbed a paper and crawled into the chair next to her.  She will even do this at home when Rob and I are reading the paper.--Our Cute little mimic!)
So the next day, Debi, Ryan, and I went shopping Saturday morning.  I found Ky some second hand shoes that were actually pretty nice dress shoes that he wears now (they were the only pair in his size that I could find!)  When we came back to the house we were greeted by a sleeping house of boys.  Even Ky was sleeping! 

Shortly after that we understood why Ky was sleeping.  The boy got some sort of bug and began vomiting.  It was not a pretty afternoon.  Poor kid.  We were still able to leave that afternoon (Ky's stomach relaxed).  On our way out we saw a porcupine (the dark picture).  This is the first wild porcupine I have ever seen.  We were able to walk up to him really close.  It is a good thing they have quills for self-defense because when he did run, he was VERY slow.  Pretty cool encounter.

On Monday (Labor Day) we got up early and got ready for our annual bike ride around the lake.  We bike around most of lake Mendota (we do avoid a majority of County Road M since it is not very bike friendly.)  The kids did have a good time, however, I do think this will be the last year Ky will ride in the bike trailer (he is getting a bit big!)  Next year we will need to invest in a a Trail-a-bike.  I did not take a lot of pics on our ride.  It was actually pretty chilly and we were concerned about beating the rain.  We stopped at a local park near Maple Bluff for lunch.  We then came upon an elderly man skinny dipping...hmmm...not something you would expect to encounter in Maple Bluff--let alone during the day.  After that, we quickly got on our way, hoping the children didn't see too much. :)

The ride went smoothly.  We ended at the Middleton Splash Park where we left the van.  We let the kids play in the water, but they didn't really want to get very wet because it was chilly.  (Not the best Labor Day weather.)

After that we went home and unloaded the bikes.  Our timing was quite perfect!  It then began to pour and so we played out in the rain with the kids.  We had a lot of fun playing in the gutters and splashing each other.  It's been a while since I have done that! :)

In the fall we signed Ky up for soccer again at his request.  He did GREAT!  In fact there were multiple times he ran down the field with the ball!  He even scored a goal (though it was the wrong goal--but let's not get caught up with minor technicalities :) )  He has really taken to soccer well and I am looking forward to signing him up for more classes. 

Ky also took swimming classes.  He can now swim by himself with a floatation device.  We are getting there.  For this winter, he asked to take swimming again and karate (he took a camp over the summer which he loved.)  Unfortunately, we are on the waiting list for swimming right now (ARGH!) and I quit my job at the Y (LONG STORY!)--which means that I am not a member of the Y so Karate classes are now VERY expensive.  I am trying to look into other options.  There is one place near us, but they have classes for 5 year olds and up--so maybe he can wait until summer.

I am bummed that right now I don't have him signed up for any classes, but I will see if I can figure out something until spring--if not--now that I am no longer working at the Y, I figure this is God's gift for me to spend more time with him until the new little one arrives AND before Ky heads off to kindergarten in the fall.  (Can you believe he will be going to school soon!?)

Anyway--back to September....

So with September comes Apple Picking! YUM!  And I think we picked around 80lbs!  Yes we did!--and don't you worry because we used them all!  Apple pie, apple butter, apple jelly, apple bread, apple crisp, mmm-hmmm....It was wonderful! 

Alaina was humorous as always on our apple picking trips.  She would eat the apples seeds and all--there was NO stopping her!  Ky was more into the sheep this year than the apples. 

Mid-September, Debi threw a surprise birthday party for Pops.  It was really neat--he honestly had NO idea.  I took some pictures, unfortunately they are blurry, but his reaction was priceless.  All his siblings had come from afar to see him and celebrate.  Alaina of course was Grandpa's girl.  I think she knows she is the only granddaughter and likes to take advantage of it.  She was also quite the dancer on the dance floor and even pulled Ky, Mom, and Dad in to dance with her (as well as a few other people.)  She can be quite the charmer.  (I guess that happens when you are almost 2 and are as cute as a button!)

The day before Alaina's 2nd birthday we went with our playgroup to a farm.  She loved it.  She fed the baby goats milk, petted the kitties, chased the chickens, and raced on the tractor bikes.  If Rob and I ever get our piece of land--I think she will fit right in! :)

Whew...Okay so now I am up to Alaina's birthday...I will catch up...I will catch up...  And now for a little dancing....

Finishing August! (Yes I am that far behind!)

After our vacation--we didn't do a whole lot.  I think we were recovering :)!

I had my "summer" list of activities that I chugged away at finishing--and I think I almost did everything!

We went to Ella's Deli with some friends and got ice cream and rode the carousel.  Alaina was not too happy about being on the horse that went up and down.  Thank goodness the ride was only 2 minutes long! :)

Rob and I celebrated our anniversary (low key).  Rob had class, but we still managed to have a nice family dinner.  Rob had planned a trip for us (no kids!) to San Francisco in September to celebrate.  (Isn't he wonderful!?)  So we really just focused on our get away!

The kids and I also spent our last day at Sandy Beach.  Really--there is nothing better than a day at the beach--even with all the effort it takes to lug everything from your car to the beach.  Aaaahhhhh...However Alaina has thrown a wrench into the enjoyment just a tad with her new found boldness to go into the water up to her neck.  EEKS!  But when she was playing in the sand--it was all good!

We also rode our bikes from our home to the Farmer's Market with Rob's Mom & Jan.  It was so nice and fun!  We had a blast.  I know we will be doing this more in the future.
 

11 weeks

11 WEEKS!

Well it turns out I am a bit further along than thought--actually, I kind of figured I had to be with the timing of things....Anyway, the ultrasound today confirmed it.  I am at least 11 weeks.  Well baby Moe you were very cute and wonderfully entertaining at the ultrasound today.  We watched your little heart flutter and you kept jumping around--your whole body would just lift and float back down.  Very entertaining.  You also waved to us.  Your tiny little fingers--BEAUTIFUL!  Aren't you just God's Amazing Creation!  We also saw your tiny little feet.  And of course your oversized head filled with SCHNAKE brain!

How blessed we are--and how blessed I am.  I also just found out that another friend is expecting at about the same time we are.  YEAH! 

So the due date was May 8, but I guess that will be moved up to May 1st or something around that.  I guess I will wait for the doc to tell us.  Anyway it is seeming VERY likely we will have an April baby!  YEAH!

17 week update---

Well this kiddo is dancing and moving.  Food is always a motivator.  We have dubbed this kid as "Moe" declaring Ky our "Larry", Alaina our "Curly", and so as you can see "Moe" just fits.  (That and Rob and I ran out of name combinations...)

When we told Ky there was a baby in our tummy, he was in disbelief.  He told me that my tummy wasn't big enough.  Since then we have convinced him that the baby is in there and growing (and he can tell now by the bulge that is beginning.)  As you can see from the top picture, one of the kids new favorite games (initiated by Ky of course) is to shove a baby doll up their shirt and declare they are pregnant.  I am pretty sure Alaina is really clueless in the whole thing.  We have tried to explain the concept of a new baby to her--but well--she has other things to focus on.  Right now, I think she is convinced that she has a baby in her tummy...Hmmmm...Hopefully we can get this situation rectified before April.

We told the kids first that way they could tell the relatives.  We were not planning on telling anyone yet, but Mom & Jan were moving and we volunteered to help--and then they wanted me to help paint.  Well there was no way to "weasel" out of that except to 'fess up.  So Ky got to tell the news--and of course everyone was excited.

We then had Ky share it with Pops & Debi, who "already knew?"  Bummer....

My mom had known instantly.  Around 6 weeks or so she had called and woke me up during a nap (in the middle of the day) and accused me of being pregnant.  It says a lot about how much that woman knows me--she KNOWS I would not be sleeping during the middle of the day--and there had to be a good reason.  I didn't even have a definite answer for her then.  But, of course, she knows now.

Ky has spilled the beans to a few other people.  I did a FB post hoping to inform the rest--but I suppose there are probably some people that still don't know.  Well soon enough they will figure it out (or Ky will tell them.)  We are excited.  And yes we are finding out the gender--and no we are not telling you--you will just have to wait.  I need to start getting rid of those bins of clothes in my basement though--so once I find out what we are having, I will start sorting and setting aside the clothes I can get rid of.  (I will wait until after birth though--because the last thing I want to do is get stuck with a bunch of the wrong gender clothes because they didn't see things correctly in the ultrasound.) 

As of now, I believe the official due date is May 2.  I meet with the Dr. this week to have that confirmed.  Since April 24th is Easter--we will either aim for a few days before or after to have the baby.  April 27th--might be too late, so I think there is a better chance of having the baby prior to Easter.  Either way is fine by me.

My cravings have changed now from meat to salad and carbs.  Buttered Noodles and Olive Garden salad have been serious WANTS (though I have yet to try out the OG--but SOON!)  We are going to the Melting Pot this weekend with some friends who are expecting at the same time as us.  I am so excited for the food!  (oh yeah and the friendship too! :) ) 

Well that is all for preggo posts for now.  I have to get back to my general family posts....which I think I am doing pretty well on...Hopefully I can get caught up in the next couple weeks or so.  Until then!

It's Official!

A new "favorite" game of the kids--shoving babies up their shirts and declaring themselves pregnant.

I peed at the doc and they declared it official--I am preggo.  They gave me a due date of May 10/11--I think they are wrong.  I will talk to them later.  (BTW--I had not taken a pregnancy test at all--I figured my intuition was enough.  Rob was getting frustrated with me though---and basically said--you need to just get this done so we know for sure.) 

I don't think the doc was too happy that I waited so long to come in (at almost 8 weeks).  They couldn't schedule me until 9.5 weeks and they like to see you by 8.  My argument is that nothing is going to change during that time, and if it did--it would be nothing they could do anything about.   Anyway--this time during the "call" they told me that I couldn't eat any lunchmeat of any kind.  In the last 2 pregnancies neither of my docs said anything about lunchmeat.  This makes it rough for me since all I crave is MEAT!  (Can you sense this is a boy?)  I don't know what I am going to do.  The ham in the fridge looks SOOOOO GOOOD!  ARGH.  I am going to have a rebuttal with this at my first appointment.

October 8--

I had my first "appointment".  It was very frustrating.  They were running an hour behind.  This appointment was supposed to be our chance to ask all sorts of questions, some tests run, and have the ultrasound.  Well--it didn't turn out that way...UGH!  It was rushed and we left winded.  I felt bad and was ready to hurry home to pick up the kids (we didn't bring them because they aren't allowed in the ultrasound room--well turns out we could have brought them anyway...) ARGH!

And then on the way out we saw an accident...Okay I have to vent a minute here so hear me out...

We are the third car behind 2 cars turning left.  I was angry because of the appointment and then I also realized I turned on the street without a light so it was going to be hard to turn left.  That is when the car in front of me turned into the right lane and turned right.  That was when I saw the sign--"No left turn 3 - 6 PM" and of course it was 5.  I then started turning right to get into the right lane.  The truck in front of me either didn't pay attention to the sign or disregarded it.  They charged forward into the traffic.  That is when we saw the motorcycle.  Yeah, there was no way for that motorcycle to stop.  It ran right into the back of that truck.  The guy came flying off the bike.  (REALLY PEOPLE--I am so against motorcycles now!  How dangerous!)  Anyways at this point I am freaking out.  I start yelling--"We have to call 911.  Get your phone!"  And then my whole first aid class (which I had taken the week before) came flying into my head.  Oh my--I have to help.  I parked the van and dialed 911 as I ran to the motorcyclists.  He was sitting up.  The guy in the truck was yelling at him.  (CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!  THIS DUDE JUST FLEW OFF HIS BIKE ONTO THE GROUND AND HE IS BEING YELLED AT!!)  The truck driver is picking up his bumper off the ground yelling at the motorcyclist for hitting his car!  Why isn't he making sure he is okay??!!  Seriously...

Anyway, I yelled at the truck guy to stop and said something along the lines of "he could be seriously hurt" or "now is not the time"  I honestly don't remember.  At this point I handed the phone off to Rob and went over to the cyclist.  I got to the motorcyclist and did my whole First Aid line of "Hi, I am trained in First Aid, can I help you?"  (Ari should be very proud of me.)  I spent some time talking to him.  I found out his name was Bob and he was consious.  He knew the date and all those fun questions.  I then checked him from head to toe.  He was wearing his helmet (Thank you God!).  I took off his sun glasses and checked out his vision. It seemed fine.  With my check we confirmed that he had pain in his right chest and tail bone (he landed hard on his butt.)  I was concerned at this point with a spinal cord injury so I then spent the remainder of my time trying to keep his head still.  Another man was there on the scene as well.  He said he was an ex-EMT and began removing his helmet.  I was adamantly against that and I stated so, but I wasn't about to fight over an injured man's head.  I had Rob call Bob's wife and they chatted briefly on the phone letting her know that he was in an accident.  I have to say--I am so relieved I had my First Aid training.  When the EMT's got there I was able to give them a rundown of the situation and they immediately put him in a neck brace. 

I guess I am writing all this stuff of checking him out as more of a reflection to myself.  CRAZY to think that my First Aid training would so quickly come into use.  I do realize now that I probably should have checked on the other driver as well--and at least showed some compassion there.  I was a bit worried about the motorcyclist though and a bit miffed at the truck guy for yelling at the cyclist--but whatever, it is not my place to judge, but to show compassion.

Anyway, afterwards we gave our account to the officer and left.  Talk about a "Disaster" of an appointment.  We pray for Bob though and hope that he has a full recovery.  We also pray for the other driver to be humbled by this accident and to take it as something to learn from--we need to show compassion to everyone, no matter what the situation.

Kylan's haircut

Before...

After

We got a new trimmer from Debi.  I was so excited!  What a great way to save money!  I could now cut Rob's hair!  YEAH!  Well, first I needed to test my trimmer abilities.  Ky was a wonderful option.  I was not planning to cut all his hair short, I just wanted to do the back.

Things went really well and I was impressed by how easy the clippers went.   When it came time to clean up his sideburns, I discovered the clippers did not do a good job.  So I had Rob go get his shaver and he then attempted to trim them.  BIG MISTAKE.  They were crooked.  I told him he had to fix them and then they got worse.  Next thing I knew Ky was sitting in the chair with no sideburns.  Poor kid looked like an Amish lad.  At that point we felt we had no choice but to take "ALL" of it off.  So yes, I trimmed my sweet boys head.  I almost cried.  I love his hair long.  *Sigh*  And now he looks so much older...

So lesson learned--don't let Rob near Ky's hair.  And yes we will be growing it back out.

Room For Three

Well they fit....

Three carseats in the back of the Camry.

Yes--if you haven't figured it out, I am expecting. The due date is May 8. Since I will be doing a c-section (I am not going to risk a V-Bac after my scary delivery with Alaina), I am hoping we might be able to have the baby April 24 to coincide with August 24 (our anniversary) and September 24 (Alaina's b'day). My second ideal date is April 27--this would go with the "7" trend. Ky's b'day is on the 7th, I'm on the 17th, the new one would be on the 27th. But who knows how much say I will have with the date.

So do you find it odd that I already tested the back of the Camry for fitting carseats? Well--I did. As with each pregnancy, I went through about a week of total panic once I knew--and one of those panic moments was "will we always be limited to the van? What if it breaks down? Do we need to trade the Camry in?" Before I jump too far ahead in this blog, I should probably start back at the beginning...

Prior to marriage, Rob and I had discussed kids. I had wanted 3, he had wanted 2. We figured sometime down the line we would figure it out. Well, after 2 kids, I was really unsure about having a third, but always kept it in the back of my mind. Two kids are a lot of work--but THREE??Can I handle three? Of course, I then gave it to God and prayed about it. I prayed that Rob and my hearts would want the same thing. Whether that be 2 or 3 kids, we would both be content with the same. So we always kept the option of 3 kids open. Rob occasionally would ask me, and I would tell him that I am still torn. Finally we had a discussion in August. I told him that I do want a third, but I was really scared and wasn't sure if wanted to commit. I also told him that I had an "idealized" timeline--which meant us getting pregnant this month or maybe not at all. Rob said "let's just see what happens". Well just like Ky and Alaina--God quickly blessed us.

Once again, I knew about a week before you can usually find out. There were the tell-tale signs. The week that would confirm sent me into a panic. I couldn't sleep. I was up hours every night--often on the computer googling stupid things like "Do 3 car seats fit in a sedan?" and "How does going from 2 -3 children affect your family?" --BTW--I highly recommend NOT googling that, because only bad and more worrisome stuff came up--such as, you can only book suites at hotels b/c they won't let you put 5 in a room (by the way this is UNTRUE of most hotels) and 3 car seats rarely fit in the back of a car. (which as you can see, I proved wrong! HA!) Also then tons of abortion topics came up--and that just is NOT an option.

After about 5 days of this worrisome panic filled with many tears, I had a breakthrough. It happened at Lifegroup (our church group made up of 3 families.) We were discussing how God has control of everything and how wonderfully he has planned and made all of our lives and that is why he has protected us. WOW! At that moment I realized how selfish I was. God chose me to be the mommy of this little baby. He so carefully prepared us for this child. He put his own touch in creating this little being. How selfish am I? And honestly a lot of it came down to convenience. Nothing is convenient in life. However, God has always prepared us for the difficult times and been with us throughout it all. He is faithful. He chose us as parents for this child because he knew we would succeed in raising him/her in his ways. WOW! Isn't God awesome!? And how flattered am I to have been chosen to take care of this little being, this piece of work--God's creation.

After that Lifegroup and since I have slept through the night. My heart has been at peace (of course I still wonder about things--but I know that God is by my side and everything will be just fine.)

So here I am now about 7 weeks pregnant and for the last week I have been STARVING! WOW! I just want to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat. I have held back. I am already starting to show. I need to fit in my pants a little while longer yet. We were hoping to keep it from Rob's side until T-giving, but I don't think that is going to happen. I have yet to take the pee test for the doc. I am just not interested in toting my urine into the clinic again. It was embarrassing enough last time. They won't really do anything anyway until I am 10 weeks or so. So I am just biding my time.

I know my friend Rachel is pregnant too. I really want to have a preggo buddy--but she isn't telling anyone (including me) so I don't want to push her. Rachel--if you are there--I totally watched you down that Big Mac at Mc'D's a couple of weeks ago and I knew. You were eating like I wish I was. Seriously though...Another month and we can get on with things and not feel so secretive.

I did weigh myself today. I have only gained 2 lbs, which could easily be explained away with vacations. However, I am gaining it all in one place. UGH! I look forward to the 2nd trimester when things get a little more enjoyable and I start to feel the baby move. It makes things more real.

So do I want a boy or girl. Either would be fine. I always envisioned myself with boys so I wouldn't be surprised if it is a boy--especially with my appetite. All I want is MEAT & Carbs!

If it is a boy, that would be nice because then even though Alaina is a middle child, she would be the only girl and hopefully override any "middle child" syndrome. If it is a girl, however, then Alaina will have a best friend and TONS of clothes to pass down and share with her little sister. We will find out the gender for my own sanity. I have to start getting rid of all the clothes in the basement. I have 4 years of boys and girls clothes right now (yes girls--I have been blessed with hand me downs!)

Well I think I will end this blog here. I am very excited for you little one! I can't wait until I feel you! Love you!

Kentucky/Indiana Vacation

Better late than never...here we go.

We left after a long night/morning of packing for Illinois.  Of course, like always, we were a bit later than we would have liked.  We had to stop at the bank since we were refinancing the house and that took a little longer than planned--and then a few other things came up as well--like the garage sale in our neighborhood I HAD to go to.  (Okay don't laugh at me.  I go to these people's sale every year--their kids are 2 years older than Ky and Alaina--I pick up lots of clothes that are in GREAT shape for really cheap prices...And if you are still laughing at me because you are one of those "brand" name people--when I say "nice" I mean brand name quality clothing that I could probably sell for more than I bought it for AFTER my kids wear it.  We are talking an investment here....Okay now you are really laughing at me....Do you see how my mind works?)  Anyways--back to my story...

So off we go to Illinois.  The plan originally was to leave early enough to go to the Children's Museum in Rockford in the morning and then off to visit Grandpa Herbst, Aunt Linda and Aunt Janice.  But like all things--I couldn't find our membership cards until the last minute--so yeah--we were late...

But we got to Grandpa Herbst safely and had a WONDERFUL visit with him.  In fact, one of the best ever.  It was past his nap time so he was probably overtired, but he was a lot of fun.  He kept calling Ky "Charlie" and really enjoyed watching the kids. He also gave us a peek at the young man he once was.

After the visit Aunt Janice & Aunt Linda took us for ice cream at Oberwiess.  (Do they know us or what?!)  What a yummy and fun time!  The cashier even brought out balloons for the kids. We had a wonderful time visiting with our Aunts before beginning the official "vacation".

The rest of the day was spent driving to Indianapolis.  On the way, we tried stopping at a Bob Evans, but were unable to find one.  (We don't have Bob Evans in Wisconsin.)  Instead we ended up stopping at a Denny's that was very smoky--ICK!  It is always funny going to out of state restaurants that don't have the no smoking ban yet.  I am so used to not being around smoke, that now when I am, it is just overwhelming.

We got to Adam & Liz's in good time and were able to plan the next day with them. Saturday we slowly got up--what can I say--it's the weekend!  and were off to Conner Prairie.  Liz used to work there and gave us all the fun "behind" the scenes stories.  It was a VERY hot day though, and made the outdoors difficult to really enjoy.  I felt sorry for all the characters dressed in their garb--especially the blacksmith!  What a job on a 90 degree day!

I think the kids most enjoyed tormenting, I mean playing with the animals.  There was this poor mule that Alaina kept following around.  I think she found his tail intriguing.  Ky also got to meet his buddy Diego who was making special appearances that day.  (Talk about another hot gig.  Can you imagine wearing that giant furry costume?!)   Alaina cried and didn't really want to get near him.  I could tell that Ky was being very shy--but it was a fun experience.

At one point on our long journey Ky was being obstinate so we went to the doctor (at Connor Prairie--remember 1800's characters) and asked him what we could do about a naughty child.  He said that he had just the remedy.  He told us that we needed to go outside and find a hickory tree and then cut off a branch about yeah long and yeah wide.  He then told us that we needed to apply it to his buttocks area.  It was all very funny and well done for his character.  That man sure thought quickly on his feet!

After that we were off for some dinner.  We ate at a yummy place (Liz--what was the name of the restaurant?  I don't remember.)  They had awesome barbecue.  And there was SO MUCH food.  We were stuffed.  I know Adam and Rob definitely had lots of brisket left over (it became dinner the next day.)  At one point in the meal Alaina reached over and grabbed some spicy food off of Liz's plate.  Oh, how I wish I had had a video camera on her!  She started scraping it off her tongue and making faces and then began to cry.  I guess she learned her lesson--don't take food off of other people's plate!

On Sunday, we enjoyed another lazy morning before we headed out for ice cream at Handel's, a local ice cream place.  Ky got Dora on a stick, while Rob and I enjoyed some of the flavors.  I had chocolate raspberry truffle and it was DELICIOUS!  This place definitely had 2 thumbs up from me.

After Ice Cream we walked through the Art Institute's gardens.  The kids had fun in the crazy house.  I enjoyed the flower area by the river which had a lot of butterflies.  And then there was a ledge.  First Ky, had to walk on it.  I was okay with that--it was even with the ground on the other side, and I just made sure to stand next to him on the "Drop-off" side that got bigger and bigger.  Well then, of course Alaina saw Ky do it so she HAD to do it as well.  Talk about making me nervous.  She did fine though.  That girl is definitely an adventuresome one!

On Monday morning we left for camping in Kentucky.  The plan was to visit Mammoth Cave.  We did not make reservations for camping--and now we are very glad we didn't.  We had planned to camp at Nolen Lake Park.  It was the only campground near Mammoth Cave that had a lake.  I thought having a lake was an important aspect in our camping with the kids (especially with some potentially VERY hot days) so this is why we chose that campground.  I had called ahead because I noticed that many of the Kentucky Parks did not have sites reserved.  It turns out that school starts in Kentucky in early August--so the only campers would be out-of-state ones.  When we were browsing the Kentucky sites, we were not very happy with the limited info they had, and honestly after calling a few times, I was a bit concerned about how great the sites would be as well.  This is why we didn't reserve sites.

We got to Nolan park and there was no one in the office.  We found a man mowing the lawn and he said "just pick out a site, set-up, and we will settle up with you later".  Hmmm...

Well we saw a few sites but they were all crammed together in a treed area--and I mean crammed.  There would be no privacy.  We went to another office and found a lady working the desk.  We asked about other campsites and she said "SURE!  Just let me xerox you a map of the park".  She dug a hand drawn map out of her filing cabinet and copied it.  All the other sites we found we did not think we would actually be able to fit our tent in the area allotted.  We are VERY glad that we didn't make reservations. 

At this point we called Mammoth Cave NATIONAL park (Nolan lake was a Kentucky park) and they said that they had sites available.  We let the kids play in the lake for a bit and then left to find a campsite at Mammoth Cave park. 

To get to Mammoth Cave Park we actually had to take a ferry across the river.  The kids LOVED it.  I felt sorry for the ferry operator.  What a boring job!?  back and forth, back and forth....

We were so happy to finally get a nice normal camping site at a park that was ran professionally.  While we worked to set up the tents the kids lost it.  I mean LOST IT!  They were screaming and crying--yeah--it was not a happy day.  They were overtired and were done being crammed in the van.  The people around us must have thought that we were lunatics (and to those people I apologize.)  By the time we were done setting up, Rob and I were losing it--and we STILL had to make dinner.  We got it done though and then threw the kids in bed.  WHEW!  With the crazy campsites and driving, that day was crazy!  Mental note--never plan on camping in a Kentucky park again!

Tuesday, so in case you didn't know, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the largest known cave system in the world.  They currently have almost 400 miles of cave system charted--and would not be surprised to find more.  We were very excited to be able to take a vacation so nearby and get to explore a small piece of this cave system.

We took 2 tours.  The first tour we took was the New Entrance Tour.  This entrance was found/created by a man who sold cave tours to make money.  Eventually he sold it to the park.  This tour had a lot of sharp turns and took quite a bit of negotiating, which was not easy to do if you were the one holding Alaina.  It was really neat to see the formations.  (I think our pictures don't even do justice the the actual beauty of the cave.)

We went back to our site for lunch and Ky found a stick bug that he was very excited about.  Unfortunately, I don't think it survived the love of a four-year-old.  After that we went back to Nolan Lake.  It was the last really warm day that was predicted and we figured we would take advantage of it.  The lake was beautiful.  Nobody was there, so it was like having the place to ourselves.  The kids LOVED it.  The water was beautiful, with exception of the fish that would come and nibble on you.  The only downside was Alaina was getting a little TOO brave in the water.  She was not afraid to walk out shoulder deep.  Yeah...we gotta get that girl some swim lessons.

That evening we returned to the campsite where we paid $2 to shower.  Yes at this campground you have to PAY to shower.  My shower was quite horrific.  I was with Alaina and the water went from hot to cold- there was no in between.  I ended up burning her in attempt to get the soap rinsed off her.  Yeah--we did not take anymore showers at the campground.  I was done.  I also went and got my money back.  I was not happy at all with that experience.

That night Rob and I enjoyed a couple of beers by the fire.  I think I actually drifted off.  As we were preparing to go in our tent we noticed it was starting to sprinkle.   I put the firewood under the picnic table and thought nothing more about it until....we woke up to POURING rain a couple of hours later.  It stormed and stormed.  I had hanging laundry--it was soaked.  The firewood--wet.  And around 4 AM or so I got up out of bed to notice the bottom of our tent had become a water bed.  I would step and I could feel water squirting out from the sides of my feet.  It was coming in the tent through the seams of the tent and getting our bedding wet.  Alaina was in luck being elevated in her pack and play.  The rest of us had bedding that was getting sopping wet.  Aroudn 6 AM--it was still pouring and rain was starting to come in a little bit through the top of our tent.  Our tent held up well--despite the TORRENTIAL downfall.  And I am not exaggerating.  Around 6 AM we were able to look out and see that our entire tent was submerged in water.  And it was still pouring.  The kids got up around 8 AM.  Rob and I had had little sleep trying to keep bedding up and dry.  It was still raining.  We were lucky that I remembered that there was an umbrella in the van.  I ran and got it and we took turns running to the bathroom.  We ate breakfast in our tent (not a good thing when you have little ones) and stayed in the tent. 

We decided after a while, that SINCE it was still raining, there was nothing better for us to do, but to go on a cave tour.  We drove to the tour area and discovered we had just missed the last tour we wanted to go on.  At this point we went to a shelter and prepared lunches and ate (while it continued to pour.)  We then returned back to catch the Historic Tour. 

The history behind the caves was fascinating.  We found out that it was a status symbol for the really rich to visit the caves.  People would come dressed as though it was a black tie affair--men in tuxedos and women in huge petticoats, heels and parasols.  Many left their mark in the cave by paying their tour guide to "burn" their names in the cave with a candle.  It was so neat looking at names of people from over a century ago.

When we left the cave it was still lightly drizzling.  We decided at this point that we would drive to the local town--cave city.  And let me say--this city was a joke.  Signs were falling down and misspelled.  People were trying to sell "cave" rocks out of their front yards.  Buildings and amusement parks were decrepit and looked closed.  After driving around I told Rob we HAD to stop somewhere--just to say we did.  So we stopped at the fudge shoppe.  It was the only store open in this series of buildings--most of the buildings were molding.  It was just really weird.  We bought some fudge from a guy who had half of his store taped off with caution tape--yeah weird.  I think I felt sorry for him.  He then tried to convince us to visit the wax museum.  He told us how FASCINATING the waxed Abe Lincoln was and how it all felt so real--"No thanks, sir."  I think we will pass on this one.

After that adventure we were still scared to return to our "flooded" camp.  We made our way down a short path to a cave opening where a man died in.  It was a huge news story in the 1920s.  On our drive back we had a lot of fun watching the butterflies.  Kentucky has TONS of butterflies.  They are ALL over the road.  We probably hit over 100 of them. 

We returned to our wet site.  The good news was--the puddle under our tent was gone.  The bad news--everything was wet and muddy.  We ended up moving our tent up onto the cement driveway for the night.  We were a bit concerned it might rain again--and we needed the tent to have a chance to dry out--and we didn't want to have to walk in and out of mud to get in the tent.  Let me tell you--having a muddy campsite made it very difficult to have both kids out.  Rob and I managed though.  We put the kids down early and it all worked out. 

We were more than happy to leave the next morning--though much of our stuff was still wet and some stuff was even starting to mildew.  When we packed the van--it stunk of wet stuff.  And we still  had several days left of our vacation (I am sure you can picture how bad it smelled by the end.)

Thursday morning we were off to Louisville.  We had a hotel reservation there and were going to take in some of the sights.  On our way we stopped at the Jim Beam Distillery--it only seemed right, being in Kentucky.  The kids did not necessarily enjoy the tour, but they did LOVE the fire truck they had there.  They also loved the bourbon chocolates!  Yum! (and yes they were safe for kids.)

When we got to Louisville we were ecstatic--SHOWERS!   BEDS!  DRYNESS!  Our room was AWESOME.  We had purchased our stay on priceline and paid very little for our room (I think we paid 35% of the normal stay price!)  We had this OUTRAGEOUS window that was on the river and we could see everything.  The kids loved watching the tugboats and ferries.  It was so neat!

Back to the showers.  We all showered and it was WONDERFUL!  At one point Ky pushed Alaina off of one of the beds and we had a bit of a scare.  The beds were elevated and she was standing on it.  I watched her fly off and hit her head on the floor (I mean she literally landed on her head)--and she really cried.  She is a tough girl, she only cries when she really gets hurt.  I called the doc and everything.  God watched out for her though and she was fine.

After our showers, we took a walk through some of the parks in Louisville.  The kids had a lot of fun, they had a lot of playgrounds made for different ages.  From there we stopped at an Italian restaurant for dinner.  I had a FABULOUS lasagna.  The kids really enjoyed themselves.  At one point, Ky put 2 straws in his drink and you could just see that he was plotting something.  I then asked him "Ky, why do you have 2 straws?  You don't need 2 straws."  He was very quick on his feet to answer.  You could see in his face that he knew he was busted.  But then he got this "Aha" look.  He replied to me, "I have 2 straws so I could share with you!"  Smart boy!  For that, I let him keep the straws.

The next morning we were off to the Louisville Slugger Factory.  The kids had fun finding the baseball bats that led the way to the stadium.  The museum part was pretty interesting.  I liked seeing Babe Ruth's bat with notch marks on it for each homerun.  Ky & Rob both got to hold some really old famous people's bats--I don't remember who--however Rob should.  Unfortunately the camera ran out of battery power and since we walked to the factory, we did not have more with us. 

Shortly after the factory tour we all received little bats.  I SPECIFICALLY told Kylan not to hit his sister with the bat.  And what did he do.  Once I had my back turned "Crack" right on her head.  Yeah, it did not make for a very good last 20 minutes at the museum.

After that it was time to go--to the local winery.  Of course we had to stop!  We went to the River Bend Winery and had a tasting.  The kids were good.  We gave them crayons and pictures as we tasted the different wines.  It was very good.

On the way back  we stopped by some fountains and let the kids play before we hit the road back to Indy--but first a detour to the local ice cream place.  And let me tell you, the bakery was SOOOOOO Tempting!  If we are ever back in the area, we will stop so I can get some cookies and pie and more ice cream.  It was all very yummy.  Definitely a memorable place. 

When we got back to Indy, we were bummed to find out that Ma & Pa Vander Heyden would not be joining us.  The boys took a ride in Adam's Javelin to get some pizza and we hit the sack for the next day--Day at the Indy State Fair! 

It's been a few years since we have been to the fair and boy was it memorable.  Deep fried butter, peanut butter sandwiches, pickles--you name it--they deep fried it.  There were also the cheese sculptures and the cockroach races.  It was all fascinating.  Of course the kids like petting the animals the most.  And poor Aunt Liz was sneezing because of her allergies.  We didn't make her suffer too long though.

We left the fair in the early afternoon to hit the road for home.  We had a wonderful time!  Thank you Adam & Liz for your hospitality.  It was a wonderful visit.  You are ALWAYS welcome here.  Camping in Kentucky again---uuuuhhh...only National Parks.  Louisville was wonderful. 

Our vacation next year will be in Wisconsin.  We try to do an "every other year" traveling vacation outside of the state.  All in all it was a good vacation, despite the Kentucky surprises.  (And we only lost a few things due to water damage & mold--that's pretty good!)    So finally--here it is mid-November and I finished our August vacation blog.  I feel really lousy about being so behind, knowing that I am missing writing down memories.  I am going to try harder to put some things on the back burner so I can catch up on this blog.  These years with the kids are flying by TOO fast to lose the memories because I didn't have time to write them down.  (Can you believe Ky starts school next year!  And he is starting to read on his own!  Alaina is NONSTOP talking!  And is potty trained!  YEAH!  Okay...I will catch up and give you all those details, I promise!  But here is this blog entry along with a few other ones...

Dancing Laina! (and other August stuff)

The beginning of August, Ky had a getaway with Nana.  Which meant Alaina and I had special girl time!  We had a lot of fun shopping together, playing together and cooking together.  The girl LOVES to make cookies (and eat them).  That weekend Rob and I biked with Alaina from our house down to the Union.  It was a great bike ride and we actually were able to take mostly trails the whole way there!  We had lunch at the terrace and Alaina loved feeding the ducks.  She had a great time getting one-on-one attention. 

The following weekend we attended Heather & Nathan's wedding.  Heather was quite a breathtaking bride in her gown--and it was fun to see Nathan all gussied up.  We took the kids with us, which worked out alright (you always have to be a bit nervous that your kids might say something loudly during the ceremony.)  At the reception we discovered that Alaina was a dancing QUEEN!  Nobody could stop her.  In fact, she would get mad if you picked her up or took her away from the dance floor.  She danced with almost everyone--except Mom & Dad.  She did not want US to dance with her. 

At one point she did stop dancing so that her and Lexie could trade shoes on the dance floor.  Alaina LOVED her new pair.  In fact, Lexie wanted her shoes back and had to chase Alaina for them.  You really have to see her obsession with shoes to believe it.  (As I am typing she is clomping around in a pair of dress up heels that Aunt Liz & Uncle Adam bought her for her birthday.)

The next day we were off to Illinois for some fun with Aunt Janice, Linda, Sue and Uncle Tom.  We had a fabulous brunch with the relatives.  (There were pancakes!  What more could the kids ask for?!)  After we stuffed ourselves with goodness (and Uncle Tom's bloody mary's) we went on a nice boat ride on the lake.  I am pretty sure this was Alaina's first boat ride, and Ky's second (his first was also with Uncle Tom at 2 months old.)  The kids loved it.  They got to try out the captains seat and became obsessed with honking the boat's horn. 

At one point we stopped for Aunt Linda to fish.  Unfortunately, for her the fish must have been swimming on the other side of the lake because she did not even get a nibble. 

After the boat ride, we let the kids play in the beach area for a little bit.  The water was full of weeds, but Aunt Janice and Uncle Tom braved it for the kids.  They had a lot of fun playing on the playground too.  It was a wonderful visit that Ky still talks about.

LOTS of pictures of my garden's bounty.  Those pictures are all from ONE picking!  Isn't that crazy!  It always seems to happen in August --I suddenly get TONS of produce.  I was so blessed this year with peppers.  I usually only get a few peppers every year, but this year I had 25 peppers in that ONE picking!  OUTRAGEOUS!  I am so blessed!  Some of the veggies went to friends and neighbors, otherwise the tomatoes were canned and everything else was frozen.  We will be eating well this winter!  Thank you God for the bounty you provide us with!

Oh--I almost forgot.  I bought broccoli plants on a whim this year.  Broccoli has NEVER worked for me before, but this year my plants have been WONDERFUL!  I have frozen so much broccoli!  And at the end of September I am still cutting 1 - 2 cups a day!  Yeah Broccoli!  I think I will buy more starts next year!

The following Monday, I took the kids to Olbrich to enjoy the butterflies.  They LOVED it!  They also love the fact that I let them run free and just followed them.  It's like a giant exploration for them.  The butterflies were beautiful as usual--but I think the weather was actually a bit too hot for us to enjoy the outdoor gardens as much as I would have liked.  It has been a VERY hot summer this year (probably why I got so many peppers--no complaints!)   

And of course the last picture, I am just proud of....The whole key to this shopping trip was the razor--which I only paid $3 out of pocket for, yet made $13 off of.  There are just so many neat tricks to saving money and shopping.   If you haven't checked out my new blog www.simplegreensavings.blogspot.com you should take a look.  I am trying to pass on my wealth of information to others on how to save money. 

So that is the beginning of August for us.  Next blog will be our vacation to Indy and Kentucky.  Stay tuned!

Wrapping up July

Can you believe how quickly time flies?

Summers are just CRAZY. You are finally able to get outside and you just CRAM everything possible into such a small time frame.

In July we enjoyed several more GREAT beach days as well as a trip to Milwaukee--complete with journey through Discovery World and a Brewer Game. We ran a little late leaving from Madison (of course--I had lost our membership card) and went straight to Discovery World (after I found it). We had a difficult time with parking. Discovery World had a sign saying parking was $14 and we were only going to be there 2 hours--and thought that was ridiculous. Being former residents we knew we could get a parking garage for much cheaper. Unfortunately, we had forgotten about the "accident" that had happened the prior week where a boy was killed by a concrete slab that fell on him in a parking garage. So, naturally that Main parking garage was closed for inspection and ALL of the other parking garages were full due to the loss of that major parking garage. (Yes this became a BIG deal--as we lost 30 minutes of our Discovery World time driving in circles.) We eventually were forced to the Discovery World garage where we discovered that their sign, was merely there to "Scare" away people who were trying to use their lot since the other lots were overcrowded. I think we paid $3 to park. HOW FRUSTRATING! What happened to honesty! Anyway...so we got to Discovery World and the kids had a blast.

Rob impressed us all by laying on a bed of nails. Kylan showed everyone his infrared tummy, and Alaina..well she was Alaina, just trying to run everywhere and get a "behind the scenes" look at things. (Yes with that child, I am often running behind store counters to get her and back rooms...)

Their music section was really neat--though lost the small child interest. Rob and I of course did the "read as much as you can while the kids are still in sight" tour.

The water area was the best part of the journey. Unfortunately, we got there at the very tail end of our time. We literally only had 15 minutes or so to look at the fish tanks. Alaina was very funny! She is such a bold and adventurous child, but when it came to walking on the glass (with the fish and water below) she was petrified. Be sure to check out the videos! She was too funny!





Since we got kicked out of Discovery World so quickly, we played in the outside park--which is a musical area. The benches are xylophones and they have this metal screen that makes music as the kids pass rocks through it. It's pretty neat.

After that we were off to Oscar's to continue our ice cream quest. Oscar's is a custard place on the the west side of Milwaukee. It was pretty good. We also got burgers & fries, but were not that impressed with those--Gille's is definitely better.

From there we were off to the Brewer game. We let the kids play at a playground along the way and journeyed into the stadium. Alaina did VERY well this game. I was impressed by her. She sat through much of it and just watched the crowd--and ate (of course!) Sadly, the Brewers lost...

So that following week Ky bit holes in his shirt. I was so angry with him. He has been doing this for a while and I have been trying to stop him. Anyway, we felt a punishment was in order. This was probably one of Ky's biggest punishments. We talked to him about how things cost money and we have to work in order to earn that money. And, since we had lost a shirt he needed to "pay" us back by working. So I made him wash all the tile floor by hand. He enjoyed this for about the first 45 minutes. But the last 30 minutes were full of much tears as they DRUG on. I was pretty sure I had made an impression since I had not seen any more holes in his shirt--however on Aug 28th (over a month later), I discovered another chew hole in on of his shirts. Naturally, he will be washing the floor again. And hopefully it will once again make an impression.

The following weekend we went to Rob's company picnic. It was held at Mt. Olympus. We decided that since we hadn't been in the Dells in a while we would camp Saturday night and also spend Sunday in the area (Devil's Lake). But as always, things don't work out as planned. The kids had a great time at Mt. Olympus. Ky went on his first "real" roller coaster. He just made the 42" requirement (though when we are the doc's a week later he measured in at 41.5".)

He LOVED it! During our day at the park we learned that our passes were actually good for the next day as well, so we made plans to skip Devil's Lake and come back on Sunday as well. We left at a reasonable time for dinner, but had trouble getting our tent set up in a timely manner and then finding a restaurant to eat at. It was nearly 9PM by the time we got the kids fed. ARGH! Yeah they were overtired and cranky. (If we do this next year I think we will just pack a dinner.) This was NOT worth it.

The next day when we returned, it was cloudy and not as nice. In fact we got rained out for part of the afternoon and ended up in the overcrowded indoor waterpark. BLEH! We left early and were very happy to get home. SO TIRED!

The week following, we signed Ky up for the Soccer Bible Camp at the church across the street. I was so excited to get him in. Five afternoons for $40. They provide snack and then feed the whole family on Friday! It was a wonderful blessing. Ky loved the camp. He loved his coaches and learned a lot. I did try to get some pics of him, but every time I did he was playing with his pinny. Oh, well! That's my boy!

The following weekend, we went up to Shawano to "get away". It was nice. I really relax better when I am not at home looking at the children's messes or thinking about what I need to be doing. On Saturday we spent the day at Shawano beach. It was so nice! I love watching the kids play and enjoy themselves.

So that was July--are you exhausted from reading this? I am exhausted from typing it! Summers are always so busy, and I am sad to think that it is almost over. *Sigh* Stay tuned to the August posts--including a trip to Kentucky!

4th of July 2010

Kylan played T-Ball this summer for the first time. He was the youngest on his team since it was a 4-5 year old league and he turned 4 just days before the session started. I was nervous that he wouldn't be as good as the others--but my fears were quickly eased as I watched all these little kids who couldn't catch, hit, or throw, try to play a game of t-ball.

The first game was amusing, after that every game was pretty much the same. One kid would hit the ball. All the kids on the field would run towards it. There would be a dogpile for the ball. One kid would finally get up with the ball in their hand. At least one other kid would cry because they either got hurt in the pile-up or because they did not get the ball. The adults would then have to tell the kid with the ball Over and Over to throw it to first. The kid would under/over throw it. First baseman would then run around trying to retrieve it. Next batter.

The runner was limited to first base, unless they were the last batter then they got to hit a homerun. (Be sure to watch Ky's first homerun in the video below!)

Ky enjoyed the game. I enjoyed watching him. He would often try to go up to bat with his glove still on. It was so fun to watch!



The beginning of July, I dug up the rest of my carrots. It was very exciting since I had not grown carrots before. They were so yummy- but I am not sure they are worth the work since I can get them so cheap at the store. Nonetheless--fun! I never realized how funny looking carrots can grow. Be sure to notice the photo of one of my carrots that appears to have it's legs crossed!

For the fourth of July Weekend we went camping at YellowStone Lake. It was highly recommended by a friend of mine. It was a cute little campground--but not my favorite. The lake was actually manmade, which was a bit disappointing. And while the water was clean it had clumps of algae junk-EW!

We reserved our campsite online--knowing that the campground would quickly become crowded for the 4th. However when we got to the site we were quite disappointed. We had to park on top of a hill where there was some free space for the kids to play. At the bottom of the hill was the fire pit (can we say DANGER!) and just beyond the fire pit was the picnic table and then a spot for our tent. This actually made it very difficult for us since we had to be careful of the kids running down the hill and falling in the firepit.

We tried setting up chairs between the hill and firepit, but you couldn't sit in them due to the incline. We also used a white rope to make a line to show the kids where they could not walk. It worked okay--but Ky ended up with a lot of time outs until he got the "rope" system down.

We arrived Friday night and set up camp. The next morning we decided to do a trail before swimming. It was TOO hot! And honestly the trail was not that exciting. At one point we found a puddle with tadpoles--and that was about the most exciting part--that is until we found the inchworm. Otherwise there really wasn't any other wildlife and the trails just were not as scenic as we hoped. And then the trail got whiney (not WINDY, whiney). Yes, the boy began to whine. He couldn't walk anymore. He was tired of the trail...blah blah blah. (Notice the sad boy pics.)

I think we were all pretty annoyed by then and Ky was not helping the situation. We made it though--and went straight for a well-deserved cool swim!

While at the beach, Ky met a boy who was a little older than him. It was really cute watching them play. At one point Ky came to me and asked me if he (Ky) was in preschool--I assume the boy had asked him. I told Ky "Yes and that he was in his Mommy's Preschool of Love." He then went back and told the boy that--TOO CUTE! And the boy just nodded, like "yes, of course."

Towards the end of our beach time I decided to bury Ky in the sand. We had a lot of fun doing that and even had some stray children join in. We tried to mold his body to look like a gingerbread man, but then he started moving.

After that it was back to the campsite for dinner and s'mores. This was Alaina's first time roasting marshmallows--so I did make sure to get some video of that. Not to mention, it is too funny watching these wee ones try to deal with all the sticky.



At one point, Alaina actually knocked her chair over and fell into the firepit, but thankfully the angels were watching her. She did not get hurt, just pretty scared--which helped to prove our point of needing to stay away from the firepit.

The next day was the 4th of July and I tried dressing the kids in their red, white, and blues. Unfortunately, Alaina's skirt was a bit too big in the waist, so she had droopy drawers for much of the day.

That morning we walked another trail. This one was more interesting because it went around the water preserve. Ky caught a monarch--and this was TOO neat to watch--be sure to watch the video of it--his expression and holding the butterfly is just PRICELESS! We saw several differnt water bird including a heron? pelican?, yeah I don't know what it was. At some point on this trail though, I got stung by something and it really hurt. I was done with the trail by then and just wanted to get back to the car.



After that we had lunched and then tried to figure out what to do. We had planned to camp one more night, but the forecast was calling for storms. We were also watching tons of clouds moving in. We decided to pack up and leave after dinner. We didn't want to have to deal with packing up a wet tent the next day or trying to get the kids to sleep through a storm. Turns out we made a good decision. It rained a couple of times that night. All in all it was a good 4th of July weekend.

Introducing my NEW MONEY SAVING BLOG!

I am so excited...

So yeah...I was putting all my money saving deals in my family blog and I didn't want to clog up my family stuff with my AWESOME savings...not to mention I am just bursting at the seams wanting to tell people about all these fabulous deals I find AND how you can do little things at home to save money...So I did it...I started another blog...a separate blog.  And yes I did much thinking before I just threw this blog together.  I already have over a year's worth of topics on how you can do little things a home to save money (and be green!)    So check it out...become a follower or like my facebook page so you can see my new articles as they come out.  I plan to update my site 4 -5 times a week--but I should first let you know that I will be out of town for a week (so don't think I gave up on my blog if you suddenly notice I dont' have any posts--I will be back!)  Yeah!  Check it out.  Let me know what you think, and tell me if you have any green ideas to share--I know you have some too!  Here it is!

http://simplegreensavings.blogspot.com/

Happy Savings!
Jess

Finishing up June

Sometimes it is amazing how fast time flies...

End of June was a wet one! The kids hit the splash park (where only Ky splashed, Alaina wanted nothing to do with the water), and then I took them to the beach. And what a glorious day at the beach it was.

We had it pretty much to ourselves. I sat in a chair and read, and they played so nicely! It was one of the most peaceful mornings EVER. They didn't fight, they didn't cry. AHhhhh...I am now sure that the beach is the solution to keeping the kids happy--and yes, I have taken them back several times since.

So you are probably wondering about my pathetic cherries. When we moved to this house I told Rob I wanted a cherry tree. And so we planted one 3 years ago. Last year we had our first cherry...that a bird must have eaten! This year we had 3, that when we picked we discovered they had been pecked at (Hence the careful cutting of the cherries.) At least we tasted them and they were delicious! Who knows maybe we will have 9 cherries next year--and if you are nice to us, we may share!

One Saturday we drove up to the local Creamery and enjoyed Sundae's and a hayride to the cows. It is kind of a funny story. I mapquested it, and we followed the directions and pretty much were lost. I ended up turning up some random country road (that was not the road we were supposed to be on) and there it was! What makes this story really funny, is that we discovered that we never had to turn to get to the creamery, it was actually on the main road--so once again Mapquest sent us on a wild goose chase. (BTW--have you ever noticed the disclaimer on the bottom of their directions when you print them out...Pretty funny!0

IT was a HOT day at the Creamery. A 90 degree day, of course. Alaina was not too happy with it, but we survived. I felt bad for the cows. They were panting and so HOT! Poor ladies!

Our final adventure in June was taking the kids to Leopold Nature Center. We walked around the paths and attempted to identify trees. I brought the Audubon Society Tree Identifier book--and well, Ky just wasn't that interested. Bummer. Well I learned a few new trees when I wasn't chasing kids. Alaina was HILARIOUS on this trip as she kept stopping to kiss the flower. Then she would grin up at me and say "I kiss Flower!" (Yes I got one on video, be sure to watch.) These kids crack me up. Seriously, if you live a boring life, have a kid. They will fill your schedule and ALWAYS keep you guessing.

More Birthdays & Father's day

For my 32nd birthday, I decided I would not cook.  And would primarily eat for free!  I love all the new free deals I am finding.  The kids and I had a leisurely morning.  I worked out and then we went to have a late brunch at Denny's.  (Free Grand Slam on your B'day!)  I got a kid's meal for Alaina and Ky, but Alaina did not hardly touch her food.  However, I enjoyed watching Ky devour his meal--and enjoyed the older couple next us admiring my beautiful children.  Ahh..yes a good birthday it was.  It was also Playgroup day so we met our playgroup at the park where Ky got his face painted like spiderman.  (Exciting times!)  Rob then met me there and brought ice cream.  He had class that night, so this was our best opportunity to have some time together.  From there we were off to the Y for work.  And finally dinner came--Red Robin.  Yes a free meal from them!  YUM!  This time I learned my lesson though--I did not order Alaina a meal.  I shared my meal with her and that was just fine.  Kylan especially enjoyed the day and for the next several days asked at every meal if we could eat out :)  Ahhh..there is just something nice about not cooking for a day. 

I almost forgot the kids got balloons at Red Robin and it was so much fun watching them play with their balloons.  It was a GREAT birthday! (Of course the video below doesn't do the balloon "fun" justice.) Why is it that once you pull out the video camera the kids just stop doing what they were doing?

That weekend Nana & G'ma Jan came and we picked strawberries together.  It was the end of strawberry season and I didn't want to miss out on filling my freezer.  The picking was also my first experience with stinging nettle.  (EEKS!)  I was crouched down picking some berries and I felt something jabbing my skin.  I figured it was just a weed so I ignored it.  A few minutes later I felt a burning sensation.  I got up and I saw blisters appearing on my arm and legs where I had been in contact with the weed.  What a nasty weed!  After a while ( a lot of burning), the area turned numb so it really didn't bother me anymore.  But YUCK!  Now I know...and I will stay away from it.  It is so funny to think that people actually make tea from this nasty weed!
After picking Mom & Jan treated us out for a yummy lunch at a cafe.  Good food and happy children all around!  After that I spent my time cleaning strawberries and freezing them.  I have learned that coring them and putting them on a cookie sheet is the best way to freeze them.  (DON'T SLICE).  After they freeze 2-3 hours on the cookie sheet then transfer them to your freezer bags and Voila--wonderful whole strawberries that aren't all frozen together!  And, so perfect for pulling out for blender drinks! or toppings, or baking....mmmm...

The next day was Father's day and the kids had fun giving daddy a father's day song and gifts.  I made Rob a collage with the kiddos and entitled it "Daddy's Tax Credits".  (A term Rob came up with himself!)  He loved it.  From there is was church and then off to Pop's and Debi's for more birthday/father's day fun.  We celebrated Devan's birthday and mine.  It was a good time with good food.  Alaina decided to try an onion--mmm...yeah...got that on camera. 

So I really haven't done much for milestones so here is my effort...Ky is officially 40 lbs now and 31 3/4" tall.  After every meal he stands up and says, "See how much bigger I have gotten?"  He is currently in T-ball and just finished Karate camp--which he loved!  We are planning to get him more karate classes in the future.  He talks alot--and right now he is in a phase of asking ridiculous, drive you nuts question.  (i.e.  "Where is that car going?"  "I dont' know"  Why don't you know?"  Because I don't know that person?"  Why don't you know them?"  etc...  or one of my favorites in the car..."Can we follow that car?"  "NO"  "Why not?"  "Because we are going somewhere else"  "Why?"  Etc....)

Alaina is talking in sentences.  She loves her nuk, but we have tried to reduce her down to just having one at nap and night time.  She still pushes down babies smaller than her and pulls hair.  And yes I discipline her every time.  She will occasionally go on the potty, but more often than not she will sit to go and then stand up and pee right in front of the potty.  She LOVES to annoy Kylan and get him to scream.  She is still into purses and shoes.  She climbs EVERYTHING!  She is Miss Independent, but still LOVES to be held. And right now is a mommy's girl. 

That's all for now...gotta get to bed! 

Alaina sings ABC's

So PROUD!

Happy Birthday Videos

Alaina really did well learning to sing Happy Birthday to Kylan for his birthday--however when my birthday came around she had some real issues trading Ky's name for mine. Here are some videos of her working on it.

Sibling love

A few short videos of the kids together. SO CUTE! Be sure to watch the second one--Nothing makes you happier than listening to kids laughter!

Beans & Cheese

So if you haven't figured it out yet--watching Alaina eat is HILARIOUS! I love it. Her new thing is stealing food off of other people's plates (I have to get that on video.)

These videos are from another ENDLESS meal. She was just SHOVELING it in with no stop. Of course, we only got a bit on camera. Definitely not a dainty girl....

Happy Birthday Ky Pt. 2

On Monday (Ky's actual b'day) he had a playdate with his good friends Mae & Daniel.  We started the morning by building a fort!  (WHAT FUN!)  When they grew tired of that we moved outside to the newly finished swingset with deck & slide that hooks up to the clubhouse above the shed!  (I finished it, YEAH!--but forgot to take any pics!)  The kids had a good time playing outside in the clubhouse and playing with water guns--and especially eating leftover birthday cake!  (Who wouldn't?) 

That night when Rob got home we pulled out our present to him.  We had bought him a bike.  He had a pink bike that the neighbor had given us and he LOVED it.  However, he needed something a little more age and gender appropriate (we were well aware that soon some kids would be making comments about his "girly bike".)

Ky was ecstatic.  We brought it out and he hopped on it so quickly.  I was unable to get any good pics of him on it.  He didn't want to get off--even to eat dinner.  However, we bribed him with a walk around the neighborhood (he could ride his bike) if he came in for dinner.  That did the trick.  After dinner we were off for a ride.  He did really well.  He fell 3-4 times, but didn't cry and just got back up on his bike. 

He told us his bike was named "Rocket because it is REALLY fast!".  We even let him do some loops in the cul de sac.  And now, he asking for us to take his training wheels off so he can ride on two wheels.  (though for now we are going to wait on this since his feet don't quite touch the ground. 

On Thursday we had a birthday party for Ky's playgroup friends. Of course it was "Cars" themed.  we had some games including "Don't wake the tractor"  (where Daddy played the sleeping tractor), as well as a game to see who could build their road the fastest.  And of course they played Red light Green light!  It was a fun time (and a lot of work.)  Ky had picked out kazoos as a party favor, we handed them out and they didn't work--turns out they didn't come with the little paper inside that makes them work!  I tried quickly cutting out various papers for them, but none of them worked!  ARGH!  At least the kids were too young to really know any better. 

I am sure that Ky will tell you the best part was the cake and the song.  And what kid doesn't love cake!?

I will tell you that this was a bit of a stressful party with the neighbors deciding THAT day was the day to put up their new fence.  This meant I had to keep all the kids out of the backyard and confined to the front.  It was a bit crowded, but I think it worked out well. 

Ahhhh...I am just happy that the birthday stuff is over....now to begin thinking about Alaina's--oh no, did I say that out loud?!  ARGH! I can't believe my baby will be turning 2 in a few months.  *Sigh*  They sure do grow up quick!

Oh--before I forget, I just have to add, that Alaina is really into stealing other people's food. Poor Daniel who sat next to her during "cake time" had much of his cake stolen....(Please keep this in mind if you sit next to her during any meal times in the future.)

Happy Birthday KY! (Pt. 1)

Yes, there are multiple parts to this blog because this boy had 2 parties...Yes 2.  We had a "friends" party on top of the family party.  And let me say, I am exhausted thinking about it--but the result was one VERY happy boy.

Before I get into all the details of cake making and the family party, I have to say that Kylan was a very confused boy.  He did not understand how we were having a birthday party for him that was not on his birthday.  We had to keep explaining to him that since his birthday was on Monday it was harder for people to come and celebrate, so we were celebrating the weekend before.  Then he was convinced on Saturday that it was his birthday, and once again we had to burst his little bubble.  Poor kid!  So confusing...

This year we asked Ky what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday.  He has a lot of different interests now, and nothing that he really favors, so I needed his input.  "I want a Lightning McQueen Cake.  I want a chocolate cake with pink frosting on the bottom and marshmallows on top.  And I want oreos."  Hmmm...interesting...Well, ironically (not intentionally planned) he actually sort of got that.  But we will get to that later. 

Thus I began the search for a Lightning McQueen Cake.  Don't you love the internet?  I found this site below that gave step by step instructions on how to make your own McQueen cake. 

http://www.make-fabulous-cakes.com/car-cake.html

So we planned from there.  However, there was ONE problem.  Rob and I had never made or decorated a fondant cake before.  (Fondant is that frosting that you actually roll out with a rolling pin and then place over the cake, it's kind of like a shell on the cake.)  So continued the internet search.  There are a LOT of sites out there about fondant.  And the recipes required glycerin and other stuff that was unbelievable.  Until I found this link.  This lady teaches you how to make easy fondant with marshmallows!  And it was FUN!  (Here is the link if you ever want to make easy fondant.  You know I am recording this in this blog so I can easily look it up later.  I am sensing many more fondant cakes in the future.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9rlJeJsJR0

The night before the party we worked on the fondant.  Since Auntie Barb's B'day was on the day of Ky's party, we figured we would first experiment with the fondant on a little cake of hers.  It went so well, we got a bit overconfident.  We started adding dye to the remaining fondant for Ky's cake.  And we added dye and more dye and more dye--and well after using a FULL bottle of red food coloring and still having a pink colored fondant, we were done.  So we began rolling out the fondant. Long story short, all the dye changed the consistency of the fondant, so when we placed it on the cake it cracked in the corners.  We now know (of course hindsight) that if we had simply added a little shortening it would have fixed the problem.  Oh, well.  The cake still came out looking pretty good and really amazed Ky.  The look on his face when he saw that cake was worth the late night of decorating.

The day of Ky's party, he was SO excited.  It really brings back memories of being little when you see your own child's excitement.  He was continually asking when people were going to arrive.  And finally the arrivals began! 

Uncle Adam & Aunt Liz were first to arrive, though they detoured through a fair amount of Wisconsin country before they arrived (and reminded us that we need to tour the Jelly Belly factory soon!)  And shortly after that the extended family arrived.  After some visiting and admiration of the carpeted garden, we got the meal going.  Ky was bouncing from family member to family member and playing with his cousin Dominic. And the usual family things were happening:  Richard managed to get a piece of toast stuck in the toaster--and it turned into a long and drawn out ordeal--thank goodness Detective Bloedorn was on the case.  U. Kirk and A. Barb had brought  a book from the 50"s?  on how to make various things --for example how to shoot and slaughter your cow, recipes for bizarre things like cow tongue soup, how to skin a rabbit.  And of course we cannot forget the three grandma's that attempted to change Alaina's diaper and put it on backwards! (again!) Ahh...nothing better than the fond memories of family.

We grilled for Ky's b'day (I think we pretty much do this every b'day).  It was good eats.  Shortly after dinner we pulled out the cake and the look on Ky's face was priceless.  He loved it.  We sang to him and he sat there with the cutest expression on his face.  And then we chowed.  It was pretty good cake.  Alaina kept asking for "more cake." And when she was denied, she cried. 

Then of course the gift opening time came.  And what an excited boy he was.  He got some great books, the Car's video, baseball bat (which is hidden for the time being---yeah...), a bug catching kit with lantern, underwear, cd's, and a Thomas laundry hamper.  (I am sure there were some other things as well..) At that point it was late and many people left.  Ky was bummed, but happy he still had U. Adam & A. Liz to hang out with.  It was neat to see the kids with Liz & Adam--also interesting.  Alaina really bonded with Adam, while Ky really bonded with Liz.  The next morning after a yummy breakfast Ky was very sad to see them go.  (You can see from the pics, he didn't want to smile.)  Ah...but all good things must come to an end.  All in all it was  great 4th b'day party...and Mom & Dad had decided to give Ky his present on his actual b'day--which will be in the next blog entry...

Happy 4th my big kid!  I couldn't have picked a better boy!  God sure paired us together well!