Bah Bye Then

Wow! Its really here. My girl trip and boy do I need it. This is the first time I am leaving the kids for more than one night. I left Sammy once for 15 days. I had Thea with me in the womb though. Maybe some day I will take a trip without the kids, including ones in my belly.
Anyways, I leave in one hour 3o minutes and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!
I will post pictures of the wedding and festivities as soon as I get back.

Do you need to smile?

Look here.

8 Days and Counting!

I can hardly wait. I am taking a trip in 8 days with 3 of my favorite women on earth, to meet 2 or 3 (not sure about B yet) more of my favorite women on earth (some featured above, minus the wee one). And I get to spend 3 whole days with them while Daddy takes care of the kids. Doing all kinds of fun things including, going to a concert, eating, getting manicures, eating, just hanging, being able to have uninterrupted conversations, eating, sleeping in and oh yeah being a part of my precious AB's wedding. I can't let myself think about that too much for fear of uncontrollable tears. I am filled to overflowing with emotion about this one. So happy, but such a lame word to use.
These are the moments in life that make me realize how truly blessed I am. When I say I love these girls, I mean I believe their friendship to be utterly priceless. I have learned so very much in such different ways from each of them. They have seen me at my worst and somehow manage to like me anyway, well at least they pretend to. Each one has an intimate, personal and unique relationship with Jesus that has inspired me at many times over the last 12 years. What a privilege to be blessed with such powerful friendships.
Thanks Girls for who you are and what you mean to me!
Now lets get this party started.

Oh What a Night!

I had high hopes for a peaceful Friday night. Mike had to work, so I made a mish mosh dinner of frozen pizza and empty-the-fridge left-overs. My friend ShSh came over and I was really looking forward to putting the kids down and catching up with her. We sat down to dinner and not 30 seconds passed when Thea pointed proudly to her mixed vegetables saying "this, nose". Do you get where this is going?
Thea did you put something up your nose?
Yes. (big smile)
I take look. Sure enough a bright green pea placed just beyond reach. I tried everything. Nothing. I call Mike. He needs to come home. An hour of home-spun procedures ensues, complete with tweezers, a toothpick, a booger-getter-thingy, a flashlight, all 3 of us adults trying to restrain her, Sammy bringing in his doctor kit to help and much crying and carrying on. Oh yeah and laughing too. Finally we surrender and I take her in to Nighttime Pediatrics where Mike and I hoped the "trauma" would continue, so she will STOP PUTTING FOOD UP HER NOSE. Mike went back to work and thankfully ShSh was there and willing to stay home with Sammy. After waiting over an hour, the doctor came in to see her. You would think she was getting a spa treatment for how calm she was. She was the most docile I had ever seen her. The pea was removed without one objection or complaint.
Thanks a lot Doc.
I had clearly expressed our desire for a bonified traumatic experience. She had already received a balloon which helped the situation tremendously.
As I drove home, Thea in the back with not only her balloon but one for Brother too, it occurred to me that she had just experienced a carnival-type adventure. A room full of toys and some other kids to play with, balloons and fun people giving her lots of attention. Why shouldn't she stick things up her nose ALL the time?
The only solution I can think of is putting tape over her nostrils at each meal.
Any other ideas?
Sorry I don't have a picture. We took video of Mike sucking her nose though. That is some priceless footage especially since he only dislodged snot!
Yummy!

The Good, the Bad and the........

well I guess we will never know because you need a mirror for that. I promised to update throughout the building process and I guess I need to give the not so great along with the fun and exciting.
So this community where we are building is associated with Martha Stewart, she has had say in the design of the homes and what not. I'm sure it has been an immeasurable pleasure for KB to have to deal with her along the way. And when you walk through the models you can see the benefits of having her involved,what with the unbelievable furniture and custom accents and all, but I've yet to see the benefit come to fruition in our home. In fact, that is where a not-so-good development has come to light. You see (no pun intended) mirrors in the bathrooms are NOT INCLUDED. Martha, apparently, did not appreciate the standard plate glass mirrors that KB was putting in the homes, so she demanded they remove them from the package ............ without feeling the need to replace them with anything else. Are you kidding me? So once we pick our colors, it is off to the local home decor stores to pick vanity mirrors. Which will surely be fun, but come on Martha!

Enjoyed

this book
Oh my goodness. I couldn't put it down. Not because the writing or the storyline was anything spectacular, but because I kept waiting for Nanny to get a life and tell off Mrs. X. NEVER NEVER NEVER. Not for me. No thank you.
and
this movie
I am not one for action films but seeing this movie confirms that I love the ROCK and I enjoy any film he is in. This was so funny and so ridiculously unrealistic and so entertaining I was a giddy school girl watching it. Mike just kept laughing and saying, "honey, you love the Rock".
Giggles.

Once Again

You need to go here for the Friday Funny. I cracked up midway thru when Charlie starts laughing.
By the way Thea woke up from her 3 1/2 hour nap yesterday with a raisin up her nose. Which means it must have been in there for about 4 hours. She was eating "raze" in the car and fell asleep. I transferred her to her crib. The "blow-out" method didn't work for me, so I surgically removed it with tweezers. Thankfully it was right at the edge of her nostril.
Got to spend time (too little) with Katie and Luke Thursday. What a sweet baby he is!!!!! Just a joy to be around. He and Sammy got along famously. He is at the age where he knows how to treat babies and it so nice not to have to be watching him like a hawk. He was feeeding him Cheerios as they lay on the Diego couch together. The afternoon was so delightful since the baby squeeser/pusher/poker/bosser-arounder (AKA Thea) was sleeping. I think her motivation for her aggressive behavior around babies is mostly to "help". She, for some reason, thinks they need to be standing when they are sitting and vice versa. She feels compelled to point out their eyes, hand toys directly to their face and she likes to lay on them. This was passed on from her brother. Anyways, sweet time with friends.
Tough day with the kids yesterday. I finally just had to leave the house and be alone for a while. I left around 7:30, drove to Barnes N Noble and read until 9:30. It was blissful.