Easter Pics

Charly, happy with her new shovel and magnifying glass.

Charly using her shovel and magnifying glass. Dan taught her how to start fire with the glass;)

Everyone just lounging.

Mark making some lemonade.

Charly posing for a picture.

Aydan trying to get the camera.

Aydan mowing the lawn.

Charly looking for Easter eggs.

Charly, so proud of the eggs she found.

Dan and Charly coloring eggs.

Charly had to have the cups completely full of eggs.

Charly looking cute

Charly's eggs she colored.

Charly and her colored hands.

Recap

Seriously? I haven't blogged since April 7th. That is a long stretch even for me.
I have been busy to say the least. I get on facebook and post a status update and check a few other status updates...and that is about it. Then it is back to work, work, work. I am glued to the computer all day and night...oh so fun.

Aydan is mastering walking. He still crawls sometimes, but each day he walks more and more. I couldn't be more proud. And not much else is cuter than a little kid taking those learning steps. Looking like a drunken sailor.
He has 8 teeth now. Number 7 and 8 are almost finished coming through. He is chomping away like crazy on everything.
He gives high fives now. He saw me give one to Charly and of course had to give high five as well.
And he is finally giving kisses. Real ones...where he leans in and actually knows what he is doing. Before, we would only get kisses on occasion or by accident.

Charly is still just a crazy girl. She has such a free spirit...and a strong one at that. I have so much fun with her. She is excited to have a sister most days. She will want to kiss and talk to my belly.
The other day Charly handed me a screw that is in the shape of a question mark, and she said "look mom, it is like a question mark!" Boy...never even knew she knew that. I am sure it is something she learned off the tv, but it cracks me up to hear stuff like that. Completely left field.
She is still using the potty like a champ. We hardly ever have any accidents. She still LOVES candy, and eats like a bird. She is still very independent and likes to do things herself. And she definitely likes to be in "control". Well...isn't every almost 3 year old?
She is learning the different ways to make her brother laugh and spent ten minutes last night playing "boo" with him on the floor. They both laughed and laughed...it was cute.

Mark is doing ok. He starts a new job today. He will do some training and we will see how it goes as far as what is entailed and hours, etc.
He also has poison ivy....all over. He has had it for about a week. Last weekend Dan and him were moving some firewood. Well, he must have picked it up somewhere. So, he has been not having fun with that.
Plus, he has been seeing the doctor a lot lately. Mainly about his dizzy spells. He hasn't gotten as bad as the first year that he got it, but he still gets them and they never were able to figure out the cause. This doctor has a theory and we will see after a number of tests if it is true.
He still needs to get his sleeping figured out...but in time we will. Not all sleeping pills have an affect on him, and finding one that is not too expensive is hard too. And his back problems have been on the back burner for quite some time. We will see....
Other than all that, he is doing well. We keep very busy with the house and kids and everything. I am blessed to have a husband that doesn't assume any task is "just for the wife".

I am plugging away. Getting work done and chasing after kids. Peyton is growing just fine. I feel her kicking around quite often. I have a lot of spells where I just can't breathe well. It is frustrating more than anything. Peyton is usually either sitting on my diaphragm or my bladder. So, I either can't breathe or constantly have to pee. And heartburn is kicking in. I remember having that pretty bad with Charly and with this one...I guess I will too. I bought some raisin bran the other day. That was the only thing that helped before, so I am hoping it helps this time too.
I have a pretty hearty appetite. I am trying to keep it at bay...so as to not gain those extra pounds. But, it is really hard when I am hungry all day and never seem to be full much.
Other than all that, I feel healthy and happy and everything seems to be going along as normal.

I am having fun with our groceries. I am getting it down to an exact science. Which, if you know me at all...this kind of stuff really tickles my fancy. I remember going shopping with my dad when I was young...and he used to make sure that the price of a smaller item was a better deal then buying a bigger package. Or vise versa. Simple math. I never thought this odd and seemed common sense to me. But, apparently, not everyone does this.
I have my stores that I go to, to get my deals. But, even so..I am still working on getting this science down even better. I go to Aldi, Aunt Millie's outlet, Sam's, Dollar General, and then meijer, hardings, or wal mart for the items not available at all the others. I am doing my shopping once a month and jam packing my fridge and freezer. I really could use a second fridge and/or freezer...but in time.
Now, I am also starting to keep track of prices of everything. I may take it as far as to figure in yield etc, to get an accurate food cost. But, we will see if I do all that. At least, if I have a print out of my prices, I can make a better judgement call on which store to buy what at. This last time shopping, I realized I am spending way too much on cheese. Next time I will buy it at Sam's. We go through it fast enough, and the shredded cheese actually freezes ok.
So, between factoring in cost, quality, use of item...it is fun for me to shop and figure it all out. I am no longer in "survival mode" where I was doing my 20 dollar a week grocery shopping, so I am able to expand my horizons and shop more in advance.
And not to mention..the day after grocery shopping...it is so much fun to figure out what to make for dinner....way too many options;)

Let's see...anything else? Oh, I don't know. I am sure there is. I am having fun living this life. I am blessed with amazing friends and a wonderful family...that just keeps getting bigger! I am happy for us to own a home, and are settling down in one place. I am enjoying being more a part of the church family and getting to know everyone more. I am looking forward to being able to make repairs and updates to the house. Slowly as it will happen. And I am looking forward to summer...because we just get out more and enjoy everything this part of the world has to offer...beaches, parks, fresh produce, lots of blueberries, maybe camping, long walks. Every year, when we pass so many farm stands and can go to the Coloma one...and sample the produce...and go out and pick a pail of blueberries, or we get a bunch of produce given to us by friends...peaches, tomatoes, apples, watermelon, etc ....we both say "oh yeah...that is why we love it here!". Of course, there are more reasons...but that is one we seem to forget about.

Well, I better stop talking about food...I am about to go raid my fridge! Maybe I will go take a shower instead since both the kids seem to be actually sleeping at the same time! And work is winding down enough for now...

Updates and stuff.

Last Saturday we made a trip to Kalamazoo. Mark and I just needed to get out of the house and out of town, so Kalamazoo was a good idea. We hit a few stores. First we went to the Salvation Army on Portage Road. We got Charly a zip up, a bathing suit, a tank top, and an Easter dress. Aydan got two shirts and two pairs of shorts. That should hold them both over for a while and I think they have enough for the summer. 19 bucks total.

We went in to a few more consignment shops and we found a little food specialty store where Charly bought herself a small piece of chocolate. The lady was very nice and had a lot of good stuff at her store. It turns out the place has been there for 27 years....and we had never been in there before! Go figure.

Then we made our usual trip to Sam's club. It was crazy busy. We had no idea why, but it turns out, it was "taste of Sam's" day. They had a few more samples then usual for everyone to try. A lot of cheese's actually. And Aydan had some cheesecake that he didn't want to let go of. He cleaned that little plastic container with his little tiny spoon pretty darn well.

We hit Aldi on the way home to get milk and before the kids had a complete melt down, we were on our way home.

Aydan has been getting so big. His walking is doing well. He takes quite a few steps at a time, but isn't ready to be walking full time yet.

He had teeth number 7 and 8 come through. They are about half way there. It is two on the bottom, so this gives him four up top and four on the bottom. He'll be killin those steaks in no time!

He is doing really well with using a fork and/or spoon. He loves to eat anything out of a bowl with his utensils.

Let's see. He is still babbling like crazy. He loves to talk. He likes to hold a phone to his ear and babble on. He also loves to be outside. He is like his sister with that.

Aydan has learned to scream when he wants something...yeah, its great. (sarcasm). He will push his cart and get stuck, so he will scream really loud. "Yes, dear...that does get mommy's attention."

He is down to his last tiny little bit of formula. We have been phasing it out for a while. We are down to pretty much a bottle a day. When the formula is gone though, we aren't buying any more.

He has been drinking milk pretty good. He wouldn't drink as much from a sippy as he would a bottle, but is getting better at that too. So, the bottle will be completely gone soon as well.

He loves music. I put on some Janes Addiction the other day, and he went right over to the stereo to stand up in front of it and started bobbing his little body. It was cute.

Aydan has been sleeping pretty good through the night. He still wakes up sometimes and will wake up early morning, but a lot of the times he goes back to sleep without a bottle or much crying.

Yesterday was a crazy day for me. It started out busy. I had a lot to catch up on and more work coming in...then my Word program stopped working. Which is a program that I use for most of what I needed to do. I was at a standstill, so I attempted to reinstall Word. Well, it still wouldn't work, so I rebooted. Well, my computer came up saying that I might have a problem with my hard drive and to do a system check. Which required another reboot...and it does the system check while the computer is loading.

As the computer was rebooting, I was playing with Aydan on my lap. I leaned back in my chair and bumped my cup of tea onto my keyboard. Oh lovely.

I turned the computer over on its side and got the blow dryer out. I had only gotten it on a small portion of the left side. I was hoping no damage would be done...beyond what was already going wrong with my computer.

The computer was doing its "system check" and it would get stuck on "3 out of 5". I shut down and tried again. Same thing. I couldn't tell if it was still loading, or if it was stuck...but I was pretty sure it was stuck. I shut down and tried to boot in safe mode. No go...it would get stuck as well.

I shut down again and booted up. I chose the option to boot normally, but not do the system check. The computer came on and I was back in business. Even my Word was working again. So, I dove in to work where Brett was holding the fort down. We had quite a few calls and people emailing...busy busy morning/afternoon. We all didn't really start feeling any where caught up until 3 in the afternoon. I think we got a lot handled though.

And did I mention that just two days earlier, I dropped my phone in the sink while doing dishes? And then an hour later Mark dropped his phone in the toilet? Yeah...its all very ironic. I couldn't get my phone working, but Mark's is back in business. I am using an older phone that we had kept from before.

I still need to figure out if my computer is all ok, but for now it is working and I still can do my jobs!

I am looking forward to the weekend. Tomorrow, Mark and I will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary. This is the anniversary of the day we got back together. Five years ago...Easter...we met up at McGinnis Landing in Kalamazoo and have been together ever since. I had called Mark after six years of being apart...and I always like to stress that "I" called:) But, I was living in Lansing and Mark was living in Hartford. We decided to get together just to catch up in Kalamazoo. We met at 6pm at the restaurant. Mark was there first, waiting. And I think I even got there a tad early too. We sat and talked for about 5 hours and have been together ever since. I think we both knew what we had wanted all along. Maybe we just needed the time away to really be certain..who knows.

It is crazy to think back about all the emotions going through me when we met up again. I was so excited and scared. I think I can safely assume, I will never feel emotions like that again...which is a good thing. I want to remember that moment with Mark as a highlight in my life. I remember so many details...which if you know me at all, I don't remember much;) But, I remember watching him walk up to the table. He had on blue jeans and a blue long sleeve shirt, pushed up at the sleeves. I remember our kiss while standing outside of my car, and it was starting to rain. I remember watching him talk as we sat at the booth. I remember thinking....how it was just so good to be back in his life. I had missed him so much, it was amazing. I love my husband so much, and I am thankful for our meeting in Kalamazoo...who knows how life would have ended up, if we just never decided to "catch up".

Sunday we will go to church and then have brunch at our house. Dan and Dana are coming down tomorrow and will be here to celebrate Easter with us. We will have Ham, potatoes, sausage egg casserole, fruit, chocolate cheesecake...and whatever else we scrounge up.

I am just looking forward to a family filled holiday weekend. I won't have much work to do that I know of yet, and we can just relax.

Well, on to work!!

Eventful days

Let's see. I am sitting in a quiet house. That is a rare occurrence. A friend of ours, Mike, came over with his son and we have been just relaxing. Well, Mark and Mike took Rowen and Aydan for a drive and Charly is in bed sleeping...she's been taking a long nap. So, that leaves me to a quiet house. Kind of surreal.
Anyway, thought I would type of a blog post. Taking a nap is a bit silly at this point. I am sure I would be asleep five minutes and Charly would get up. And at this point, it would just make me more tired then anything.
Thursday night, I started feeling crappy. It was around 4 o'clock and I just wasn't doing well. This is really the peak of my day. I am trying to get work handled for the evening. The kids are usually a little crazy. Dinner needs to get started. It is just the "hectic" time of day, no matter the day.
Well, I was just getting overwhelmed, so Mark ....
Charly just got up...see, I wouldn't of even got my eyes closed if I tried to take a nap;)
....ok, so Mark told me to go lay down for a minute and he handled the kids. I just needed to gather my senses and lay my head down, so it was much needed. I had no idea what I was making for dinner, which was part of my anxiety. I had pulled out a chicken, but it didn't thaw in time to roast it whole. I think Mark left with the kids...I really can't recall right now. But, when I got up, I think I remember being alone for a bit. I ended up breaking the chicken down, putting it through some flour and making some fried chicken. I poured myself my 1/3 glass of wine and enjoyed my therapeutic cooking....cutting up raw meat...messing with flour...frying stuff up...ya know, good stuff. For the rest of the meal, I pulled out all the leftovers in the fridge. We had mashed potatoes, rice, cole slaw, beans, and corn. Oh, and I whipped together some biscuits too...cuz ya can't have fried chicken without biscuits...of course.
I was feeling a bit better, but the onset of a headache was still looming and I wasn't quite "up to par". Just feeling a bit run down really. Dinner was tasty. I quite enjoyed my chicken, and I was glad to have done the second dredging of flour so the crust was nice and crispy.
After dinner and after Cindy and Garry went home, my headache was pretty much the forefront. I was fading fast. I had taken a tylenol before dinner, but it wasn't doing much. I took another one before bed and hoped it would do the trick. I woke up around 4am with the screaming headache. Yes, the headache was still there and it didn't want to go away. I had trouble going back to sleep, but eventually I did.
Friday was not much better. I was feeling quite ill all day long. Headache, nauseous, tired, achey, etc. Plus, Friday morning was one of the busiest "phone" days I had had in a while. It was ridiculous...it just kept ringing. By noon time, it slowed down a little and by 2 o'clock I was able to peel away from the computer and since the kids happened to both be napping at the same time, I took advantage and laid on the couch and buried my head to block out the light. I think I slept for about 20-30 minutes and then Mark got home. I was glad because he was able to relieve me of my duties. He made plans for Charly to stay at Grammie and Papa's for the night and him and Aydan were going to go hang out at a buddies house for the evening. And he canceled dinner with his parents, so we didn't have to worry about cooking.
After they all left the house, I got some more work done. Everything that was necessary at the time. I pulled away from the computer about 3:30 and put away some things around the house and crashed in the bedroom. It was nice to not have anything to worry about...no kids, no work, no laundry, not anything. I wasn't quite sleep ready, so I just watched some tv...even though, it probably wasn't the best thing for a headache. After an episode or two of Wife Swap, I turned the tv off and rolled over and tried to sleep.
After a bit, Mark came in with Aydan. It was close to his bedtime. And since it turned out that Charly couldn't sleep over at Grammie and Papa's, Charly came back too. I was feeling a bit better despite the headache. I wasn't as tired or achy as before. And not as nauseous either. Aydan went to bed and Charly and I put on some toons and relaxed for the evening.
By Saturday morning, the headache was gone, and I was feeling much better. No nausea...and just regular pregnancy aches and pains. I was able to get caught up on some work. I did 100 files, and was done by about noon, and was able to enjoy the rest of the day with the fam. We went to Kalamazoo for the day. Maybe I will blog about that too...we'll see.

22 weeks

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything went well. We are in to the mundane appointments. They don't last long and are quite painless.
My appointment was at 3pm, and I was out of there by 2:50. Well, I had gotten there early...and they asked me in right away. I guess they had five minutes to get me in early. The nurse asked if I had any questions. She checked my blood pressure. The midwife came in. She told me my labs came back all negative. And my ultrasound from two weeks ago was all ok. She asked if I had any questions. Which I asked her when my diabetes screening would be. She said I would get my paperwork at my next appointment for it. She measured my belly. She listened for the heartbeat. Peyton was a steady 145 and I am measuring correctly for 22 weeks.
The kids did quite well, and didn't give me much of any hassle and we were on our way!
So, everyone is healthy and doing well.

Here is my belly at 21 weeks.

I am not sure how I will feel with this last half of pregnancy. With Charly I was so anxious to have her. I was excited to become a mom and have a little baby in my arms. With Aydan, I wasn't quite as anxious for the birth, until about a week or two before. I had a lot of anxiety about how I would manage two kids and work. I was excited to meet my son, but I knew that I needed to try and enjoy having only one kid to run after for the time being. With this child, I am excited again. I already know what it is like to have two kids, and three will be quite challenging, but I am not as scared. I am ready to embrace it all. And I can't wait to see all three kids interact with eachother. They will all be close in age, and I can only hope that they will be close in friendship as well as they get older.

And also, knowing this is my last child that I will have, I feel like with the birth of this one, I will be able to move on to the next chapter of my life...so to speak. I kind of feel with every pregnancy....and probably the first year of the baby's life....that my life is on hold. I don't mind this in the least, it is a sacrifice that a mom gives. But, knowing there is an actual end to it all....bulging belly, nausea, aching body, sore boobs, breast feeding, middle of the night crying, etc.....that is nice to know. Ha!...watch, I will end up missing it;) Yeah...we will see.