Kicking baby boy!

I am sitting here at work, trying to work, but this baby boy is kicking me like crazy. I'm not complaining, the baby moving is definitely one of the highlights of pregnancy and absolutely what I miss most once they are born, but it can really be distracting. I am sure it is kicks now too, since I had the doctor feel around and tell me what position he was in, so I knew which parts were doing what. Well, he is breach at this point, no biggie since c-section is already planned. His head is on my right side, and he likes to do lots of head thrusts, which is why I thought it was a butt sticking out all the time, oops it was his head. And on the left are his legs, which explains why I feel like someone is trying to kick their way out on the left, someone is! And I am convinced that he uses his hands to squeeze my bladder like a stress ball because every once in a while I feel like my bladder is compressing and then it stops. I drive Brian nuts by saying, I have to pee, nevermind it passed, ok now I got to go, oops nevermind passed again. And his position yet again explains why I am sticking out more than with the others, he is nestled really high and the doctor said I am completely empty down low. So I don't have the waddling effect, but I also get very uncomfortable sitting upright in a chair because everything is squished around my ribcage. So back to work, but I had to get this out. I realized I talk all the time about Shane and Myann and Baby Boy has been getting no air time. And for those wondering, still no name. The poll has ended and we may do another. Brian was siked to see Thor win, but I just don't think I am ready to give up my A name idea. We may just wait and see what this little guy looks like and then pick his name. We did that with Myann and it served us well.

Funny things the kids have been saying

So Sunday Shane had me laughing so hard. We heard the door open and close, no biggie, he runs in and out with the puppies all the time. Well when he came back inside he said, "Daddy, Daddy, I peepeed outside just like you." He was so proud. I was cracking up. Of course I said that would make the blog. Brian insisted I clarify that he only taught him to pee outside for necessity and not luxury. They did this out at the lake, well Shane apparently is a fan of it. Then Monday when he was at Heather's, she said she walked outside to see the 3 boys peeing outside. She told me so concerned that her boys had taught Shane to do that, I informed her that Shane was already a pro at peeing outside, so no worries.

Then Myann is just amazing us with all her talking and silly mannerisms. She has mastered looking at you with her eyes lowered, of course she usually can't keep a straight face and starts cracking up, but it is so cute. Then we were on the webcam with Grandma Anne the other night and Grandma Anne said she had to go to bed. So the rest of the evening Myann went around saying, "Shhh, Grandma sleeping." It was so sweet.

Oh and Shane has now gone 11 days with no accidents, except bedtime. He still sleeps in a pull up, but other than that he is potty trained. As soon as I get more disciplined, we'll work on nighttime, but I'm not ready to commit yet.

Just pics of the cutest kids:

Myann drinking her milk out of the bowl like big brother



Myann wants to pee on the potty too. But at this point she just likes to sit on it, she has never actually done anything yet.



How cool am I?



All dressed up and no place to go



Shane thinks Dona came all the way from San Diego to see him. She played all evening with him, so of course he thought that. And of course he is spiderman on this day, the day before he was batman - I have to do lots of laundry to keep up with his superhero pjs.

Drawing a blank

So what have we been up to, I'm drawing a blank. I can't believe it has been a week.
Duh just realized why the week was a blur, Brian was sick for all of last week and then I started feeling bad too.

Thursday, our mommy group went to Tomato Street for a tour of the restaurant. They did an excellent job and it certainly is a kid friendly place, we'll be back. Shane had his first taste of soda, root beer, to be exact, and let's just say he didn't want to let it go. I literally had to pry it out of his hands as we left the restaurant.



Friday I had a horrible headache and Brian was still sick, so the 4 of us hid out in the house. Except I did finally take Shane to the doctor for his horrible diaper rash, it had been on and off for a week, and by Friday I decided it was enough. Thank goodness because it turned out he had a rectal strep infection, so he was put on his first antibiotics ever. He loves the stuff and reminds me morning and night when it is time to take his medicine. I'm glad, because I keep forgetting.

Saturday our mommy group did a Family picnic at the park and we dressed in our American pride best. Kim brought a tremendous amount of ice cream, so the kids were in paradise. Shane talked about Kim's ice cream for the next several days. What can I say, they take after me in their love of ice cream.



Yes the kids have blue hair, we tried to be festive, but that stuff is like tar. Hard to put in and even harder to wash out.



Sunday, I tried to send myself into labor. Not really, but I was worried for a while there. We decided it was time to finally clear all the weeds and brush off the front acre of our property. We borrowed our neighbor's brush cutter, so Brian ran that for hours. I had the task of picking up the large weeds and clearing the sidewalk, and then pulling the small weeds out of our yard. So while the kids napped, Brian and I worked our hineys off. My neighbor, Heather, said I was a sight, a big old pregnant lady hunched on the ground pulling up weeds. So I didn't go into labor, but my back was horrible, I didn't walk upright the rest of the evening. But it was worth it, the area looks SOOOO much better and now the neighbors can't complain. Plus we can actually see the puppies when they run through the field.

Monday, I had my 32 week OB appt. Heather, neighbor, watched Shane while Myann and I went to the doctor. Myann did much better this time and didn't cry when they checked my blood pressure or listened for the heartbeat. She even kissed my belly and patted my belly saying baby.

Tuesday I went to work while Heather watched both kids. Both kids love it at her house. Heather has two sweet boys a few years older than Shane and he loves playing with them. The work countdown has begun. The official quit day is now Sept 13th, but I'm hoping to be mostly done by mid Aug, and from there it will just be tying up loose ends. Let's pray.

And on a side note, my dear friend Tricia welcomed her baby boy into the world on July 28th, Xavier Ali Martinez. He is a cutie and doing wonderfully.

Shane's First Field Trip

Today was a day of firsts, Shane went on his FIRST school field trip. Those brave teachers walked them 2 blocks to the city bus stop and then they waited for their bus and caught the bus downtown to Mobius. Then they did the same trip back to school. The teachers said it went well and the kids had a good time. Shane was very excited this morning before school and insisted that I needed to go with him because it could be a special day with mommy. I told him this day was special because it was without mommy and was his chance to be a big boy. Mommy goes with him to Mobius all the time, so that would be no big deal. After I picked him up from school he acted like it was no big deal.

So while Shane was at school, Myann and I didn't have anywhere to be today so I decided to get out crafts for her and I to do. She immediately took interest in the markers. She proceeded to write all over her hands and face with markers. No big deal right, they're washable. WRONG! She grabbed the bag of nonwashable and I didn't think to check first. I didn't even realize it until I tried to wipe the markers off her hand and it didn't come off. We scrubbed and the color faded slightly, but she was still covered in marker for her nap. Luckily we don't have to go anywhere tomorrow so she can hide out with Tina at home while I go to work. I guess eventually it will wash off.




And as for the past few days...Sunday we recovered from the trip and unpacked. Shane and I briefly went to the market and I had to drive Brian's big truck. The whole time Shane kept telling me to "Power the truck". Which to him means to rev the engine or go heavy on the gas. I won't do either, I am nervous enough in that truck. So then Shane said, "Only boys can power trucks, girls just drive vans." He is all about what boys and girls can do right now. Monday we had a playdate at Millwood Park. The kids love it there. We stayed late because they were doing so well. Tuesday Shane had school and Myann had My Gym.

Myann at Millwood, thinking the paparazzi found me again.



Tonight I got to unwind at our HOA meeting. Brian was too sick and stayed home. The meeting was informative and we met some more of our neighbors and visited more with those we have met. We really live in a wonderful neighborhood with people who look after you. It is also full of young families, which helps a lot. So after the official business ended we stayed for hours and socialized, a nice evening for me.

Return Trip Home July 19th

Saturday we got up and packed up the house, packing was a little tough because of all that we had accumulated that week. We made it fit though. Next we went back to Del Mar for lunch at Poseidon, our favorite breakfast place, but I decided to get fish tacos, I am in San Diego, I am going to enjoy my fish tacos. Myann also tried Calamari for the first time, she seemed ambivalent. From there we ventured over to our old stomping grounds in Carmel Mountain Ranch. We did not go by our old house, I was curious to see it, but we were short on time and thought what would be the point. We did go to the new park that was being built when we moved, and it is a pretty impressive play area. The kids loved it. Ginger, Thor, and Britta met us there for a last playdate. Then we were joined by Aunt Sandy, Aunt Cheryl, and Donna to say our goodbyes. As a last minute surprise, our friends who we didn't expect to see since they were out of town that week showed up, with an hour to spare before we had to leave for the airport. It was Patti, Royce, Tyler, and Brooke. Tyler, Britta, and Shane were the 3 musketeers when we lived in San Diego and Brooke was Myann's first real friend close in age. They would sit on the blanket together and watch the big kids play. It was wonderful seeing them again, even if only brief.

Shane and Britta




Shane on the giant spider web. He immediately climbed to the top, which is about 20 feet high. I told him he was making me nervous and could fall. He told me he was spiderman and if he fell he would just fly. That is lovely, I tried to explain that wasn't quite real and only in tv. But since Shane thinks he is a superhero right now, he doesn't buy my reasoning.




So then off we went to the airport - running late as always. Thankfully, Xjet flys out of the commuter terminal so you don't really need a lot of time there, because there is no where to go. To again prepare for what was to come, it was 5 pm, our flight was slightly delayed and the kids had not napped that day. We got on a plane packed with kids, a relief to me so we don't have to feel as bad when ours get loud. Shane decided he was tired pretty quickly into the flight and fell asleep, but Myann went into super tired hyper mode and could not sit still. She was back and forth between Brian and I and was not interested in food, movies, or toys. And she managed to have 2 dirty diapers in the course of 2 hours. Do you know how not fun it is to change a toddler's diaper in the tiny bathrooms on planes, and this is a small jet, so it was even smaller. So with some screams, cries, and a few scratches on my face, we finally landed in Spokane. Home sweet home. Myann fell asleep on the car ride home, we put her straight to bed and she slept through until 10 am on Sunday and then took a 4 hour nap, so obviously needed to play catch up on sleep.

Mommy's Day and the San Diego Zoo

Can I tell you how much my kid loves Starbucks. Richard told us he was going that morning for coffee, without hesitating, Shane immediately yelled that he wanted a chocolate donut. He went with Richard and ultimately came home with a chocolate donut and chocolate milk. He did everything he could to keep Myann from his milk and donut, even getting her her own drink and breakfast. Here is a picture of them enjoying their Starbucks on the balcony.



Grandma Jo and Richard were gracious enough to take the kids to the San Diego Zoo alone, so I could have a day to myself. Yippee!!! I figure it was win win, so they could have some alone time and I could actually experience a day alone without any work. The kids apparently had an awesome day and didn't seem to completely wear Grandma Jo and Richard out. Shane wore his zookeeper outfit and was a hit with the actual zookeepers.



Shane had his face painted at the zoo. According to Grandma Jo he sat ever so still and would not move so he didn't mess up his face paint. Maybe we should try that at home.

How did I spend my day, let's see, I caught the first day of the Nordstrom's Anniversary sale, I bought the kids a lot of new clothes for the fall and winter for pretty cheap. Then I met Brian for lunch at Miami Grill and I topped the day off with a facial and pedicure at a spa. It was wonderful and relaxing. Then we returned to reality and it is amazing how excited you are to see your kids when you have had a peaceful several hours without them. Plus they were super excited to see me too, which just makes it fun all around. We put the kids to bed and then the boys ordered take out while Grandma Jo and I went back to Beaumont's, I said that place was good so we went back again.

San Diego July 17th - Evening from HE!!

Thursday was the big day, the day I cleaned out my office in San Diego!!! Not too many boxes to go through since I brought a lot with me, but there was plenty and I shredded for hours, it was rather cathartic. I also visited with coworkers, said my goodbyes and turned in my keys. Wow that was awesome. And where were the kids you ask, with Mahro, their babysitter from before. She was thrilled to see them and obviously surprised by how much they changed in the year. Mahro had Shane since he was 3 months old, so he remembered her well and didn't miss a beat. I don't think Myann quite remembered her since she only went to her part time for 5 months, but she was very comfortable with her, so there must have been some recognition.

So after my day of work, we went to play at Britta's house. The kids had not yet napped that day and continued to play hard with Britta, are you seeing where this is going. From Ginger and Brittas, we went to Cheeburger Cheeburger (best milkshakes in town) to meet Aunt Sandy and Cheryl for dinner. The kids ate late at Mahros, so we skipped the real food and just got them milkshakes. Sleepy cranky kids and milkshakes - not my smartest moment. Plus Shane was having overactive bladder so we took several trips to the bathroom and Myann couldn't be soothed by anyone but Ginger. Myann was content with her milkshake briefly and then decided ripping the straw out would be much more fun, so there she went flinging milkshake across me, herself, Aunt Sandy, and likely everyone around us, though I was too busy cleaning up our area to look around us. Within minutes, Shane had gotten my milkshake and flung it to the floor - there goes more mess. So with the whining, crying, and huge mess, I could not get out of there fast enough. Of course, as soon as we exit the restaurant, Shane and Britta starting running circles, Shane is so deliriously tired that he is in super hyper mode. Real fun let me tell you. We get them to the car, thank you God that I had help, and literally within 3 minutes both kids were passed out. Upon arriving at the rented house, I had the fun task of hoisting 2 sleeping kids up a flight of stairs to their rooms. Brian, coworkers and Grandma Jo and Richard were out having a fun adult evening at the Birdrock street festival. Luckily the owners of the house stopped by for something and offered to help carry Myann up the stairs, so I only ended up carrying Shane. I quickly got the kids in pjs and off to bed. Thankfully the kids were so exhausted that they slept through the VERY loud concert going on outside our window as part of the street festival. I put in a movie and read magazines until I felt human again. The evening was redeemed when Grandma Jo returned and saw that I had obviously had a rough evening so she offered to give me a day off on Friday as they took the kids alone to the zoo. I don't even think I took a breath before quickly saying yes and thank you. My mind quickly went to work planning out my day.

San Diego July 16th - Grandparent switch

Wednesday morning, mom and I loaded the kids and headed to UTC Mall, mommy mall as I coined it years ago (because you have to be pregnant or pushing a stroller to fit in) for some quickie shopping, Myann had worn holes in her shoes. We didn't succeed at buying her shoes, since Stride Rite NEVER carries my kids sizes, or any sizes for that matter, but we got her fitted, 4 1/2 wide and she has been wearing 3s. I don't think 4 1/2 is accurate, but we'll give it a shot, of course I'll have to order online from someone. Anyway, the rest of the mall was having good sales, so we shopped a bit and visited with Daddy for lunch. Daddy didn't stick around for long since Myann was not happy that day. In fact, as daddy introduced us to a coworker, Shane told the man that Myann had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. That she had. Of course, even Myann perked up when we stopped at the kids area to play and then rode the train. We then had to grab Carl's Jr. for Grandma, she loves that place, and then hurry home to get Grandma and Papa ready for their trip back to Dallas.

As Grandma and Papa were leaving, Grandma Jo and Richard showed up. Brian and I were quite thrilled to have grandparents overlap on our trip to San Diego, having help definitely made the trip feel like more of a vacation. For dinner that night, we ventured out to Beaumont's, about 100 feet from the house we were renting and the food was excellent.

San Diego July 14th and 15th

On Monday we took a day of rest, well rest from major touristy activities. Minus the 3 mile walk from the house in La Jolla to Pacific Beach and back. My belly was pretty much cramping by the time we got back, but it felt good to get some real exercise, it had been a while. After getting the kids down for a nap, Mom and I went to Pangea Outpost, my favorite eclectic store in San Diego. I was brave and bought a pair of post baby capri pants, let's hope I can squeeze myself into them.

Later that evening, Ginger, Thor, and Britta joined us for dinner, though Ginger brought most of the food with her. Thanks Ginger, we were stocked for the rest of the week.

Tuesday we got up and out the door by 8:30 am to make it to Sea World as they opened. Sea World was a huge hit with the kids and Grandma. Grandma didn't want to leave the Shamu show. The highlight for Shane was meeting Elmo and Zoe. Sesame Street sponsored the remodeled kids area, so they have a mini show and pictures with Elmo. Myann was excited in theory, but once Elmo was within reach she freaked and clung to daddy for dear life. Shane totally cheesed it up and loved hanging out with them. We somehow managed to stay until 3pm, Myann took a 15 minute nap, without the kids having meltdowns. They were tired, but in such good spirits. We headed back home and put them to sleep, they didn't get up until later that evening.



Trying to get a picture of Grandma with the kids, but they weren't cooperating.



This is as close as Myann would get to Elmo. Elmo is her favorite right now, but like the Easter Bunny, she wanted to keep her distance.



Shane was eating it up meeting Elmo and Zoe. He didn't want to leave.



Do they look like 2 kids ready for a nap? Still a little wound up after Sea World.

Once they were up, we took a trip down to a small beach in La Jolla off Marine street. Awesome white sand and beautiful sunset. Plus my future house is located there. We are letting other people live there for now, but give us a few years and we will be there to reclaim it.

San Diego at the beach

Shane and Britta playing



Myann just looking cute



Thor taking Shane out on the boogie board.



For those who want to see how big the belly has gotten.



Ginger showing Myann how to do the Stomp Rocket - definitely the hit toy of the week.

After breakfast at one of my favorite places, Mission Cafe, on Sunday morning, we loaded up and headed to Del Mar Beach. We love Del Mar because they have great bathrooms, white soft sand, parking, and a playground. So off we went to meet up with our friends Ginger, Thor, and Britta. Britta and Shane have been friends since they were a couple months old and were best buddies before we moved to Spokane. Shane still talks about Britta, but I was a little nervous that he may need a minute to warm up, as would Britta. As soon as we got there, Britta was super excited to see Shane, as expected, Shane needed a minute to warm up, so us parents giggled as Britta chased Shane around the blanket yelling his name, and Shane literally kept running from her. But within minutes he warmed up and they were back to best buddies the rest of the day and for the whole week for that matter. The rest of the week, Shane would tell me that he wanted to go back to Britta's beach to play with Britta.

For the evening, Aunt Sandy and Cheryl came over to babysit the kids, so Grandma, Papa, Brian and I could go out for a nice adult dinner. We went to Jake's in Del Mar and it was awesome. It is on the beach and just a great place. We stayed there for hours and had a wonderful time just talking and enjoying our meal without kids. Aunt Sandy and Cheryl did not have such a wonderful time, there was a bath incident that sent the kids into a frenzy, but they survived - Sandy and Cheryl that is.

Oh yeah and this trip confirmed for us why the kids do not sit next to each other in the car. Because of the rental van, we had to put the kids' carseats next to each other. Which meant the kids would touch and bother each other every second of every car trip. It definitely made car trips less than pleasant, but it also taught Myann a new phrase and she said it so eloquently, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" That is exactly what she said to Shane when he wouldn't leave her alone. By the end of the week she also would say "Don't bother me." It was really quite cute in retrospect, but their fighting was irritating while in the midst of it.

Trip to San Diego

So the fires were under control and we packed up half the house and flew to San Diego. By a miracle, we actually left on time for the airport, huge relief, because there was a long line when we got there. Plane ride was fine, both kids did pretty well, especially since mom forgot their new bag of treats at home. Thank goodness for the DVD players, yes 2 of them, we remembered. Shane watched his movies and read his books and Myann wiggled herself back and forth across the aisle between daddy and I. We waited FOREVER for our bags in S.D., so Shane and Myann entertained everyone waiting and managed to make friends with several adults around us. Our kids are not shy. Then we had to wait FOREVER again for our rental car, where again Shane made friends with a little girl visiting from Chicago. Before we left, they had shared all of the snacks between her parents and us. So hours later we were on our way to our rental house in La Jolla. The rental was not quite as nice as we had hoped, but Starbucks was literally 15 feet from our door, so we couldn't complain. Dropped bags and headed to Aunt Sandy's to rest before heading to the airport to pick up Grandma and Papa. That evening, Shane shocked Grandma and I by "reading" all the pages in his new book. He never ceases to amaze us, we read the book one time on the plane and he must have memorized the pages, it was an early reader book, so we aren't talking complex writing, but definitely more than I would have memorized. Anyway, as we went through the pages, he read the words, my mom and I kept looking at each other in shock as he recited every word on every page. My mom actually thought he was reading for a second there. He wasn't, but I was still amazed with his fast memorization.

Quick update on fire

Since I'm getting so many requests for an update this AM I'm posting a quick update. Thankfully all the homes in our neighborhood made it last night. The winds dropped from the 40's with 55 mph gusts to single digits with nightfall. Couldn't come at a better time as the photos posted last night were in our neighbors backyard at the top of the hill in our neighborhood. Latest update is they were able to dig a perimeter with a bulldozer and the weather is cooperating today while they fight the flares still burning. I've added a google link to the left, it wouldn't save with our address. Type in 5905 E 25th Lane, 99223 and if you follow up the hill to Therman lane all the trees behind it were on fire and into the backyards of the folks on Therman lane.

Thanks for everyone's concern. Will let y'all know if anything changes.

Our neighborhood in the news

So our neighborhood, Broadmoor has been in the news all evening, with our neighbors shown on their roofs hosing down their property to keep the fires at bay. Yes, we were never closer than several miles from fires in San Diego, and here we find the fires just up the street from us. Fires broke out over town this afternoon. I actually drove past them on the way home from work, but didn't think they were too close. By the time I came home, I could see smoke up the street, but just assumed the wind was blowing the smoke our way. Well I was outside pulling weeds and my neighbor yelled she was calling 911 because she thought their was a fire up the hill. I blew her off as overreacting. But minutes later a news crew drove by and then a firetruck. At that point, I turned on the news and called Brian. By the time Brian came home it seemed as if half the city drove through our quiet neighborhood. Yes, gotta love the nosy people who are more interested in checking out the fires, rather than staying out of the way of the firetrucks. Fortunately, the winds are blowing east and we are west of the fires. The mass of the fires are less than 200 feet from the houses at the top of our street. We could see billows of smoke every time a tree went up in flames. So the neighbors got on their roofs and started hosing down the area. And thankfully there are several firetrucks up the hill waiting to fight the fires. We are watching the firefighters on the news hosing down the brush fires in their backyards.

Ok, I just typed the above part 8:30 pm and then police knocked on our door to tell us we were under mandatory evacuation. So Brian and I went around the house packing up anything of value and getting ourselves ready to go. I was a bit skeptical, so I called our neighbors and they said they were going to wait it out a bit, so I told Brian that we could start packing, but I wasn't waking the kids and heading out until a house actually caught on fire. So now it is 10:30 pm and they are showing that the fire is still climbing up the hill and will reach the street, but shouldn't burn any houses because they have structural boundaries, whatever that is, I'm happy to hear it. So we seem to be safe and they said the firetrucks will be parked here all night to make sure the fire stays low and in the brush. This has been a good lesson in what we need to do in the future to better prepare for emergencies. And let me tell you some of our huge pine trees will be cut down in the near future. And thank you to all of our friends who called concerned and offered their houses to us if we evacuated. We are lucky to have such wonderful friends here.

Here are pictures Brian took off the news, since we didn't want to add to the chaos at the top of the street by going up and taking our own pictures.

Myann's First haircut

Today we took Myann to get her first haircut at the Hair Zoo in Post Falls, ID. As Brian said, a little far for a haircut, but it is the only decent kids one around and I wanted her to have a good first experience. She did awesome. We had Shane go first so she could watch him and see it was no big deal. Shane did awesome as always. He just played with his toys and let her buzz away. We went a little short for him today, but thought it was a good idea with the hot weather and San Diego trip next week. He really cheezed it up when I told him I had to take pictures of him because he was so handsome. Next came Myann...she didn't care for the drape around her, so off it went. She had no issues with the scissors and let the lady cut away. That shocked me, since she won't let me near her with a comb half the time. Because I didn't want the mullet look or her hair much shorter, we did a tiny trim. Mostly just gave her true bangs, out of her eyes, and then a trim all the way around. After, she got a ponytail and glitter spray. Quite the beauty!!! And I do think her hair looks a bit thicker now.






What a pretty girl, she even got glitter spray in her hair. And then waited patiently for her sucker.



So as a reward for being so good, we went to Dairy Queen for lunch. By the way, before the haircut we were supposed to try out a siblings class at My Gym, but I'm a dingbat and got the time wrong, so we showed up as it was ending. Tina was going to take the kids, while I ran some errands. Oh well we just went for haircuts early and then had time for Dairy Queen, so I thought. We spent over an hour in DQ. Definitely a record for me. It takes so long waiting for 2 kids to eat enough food to justify dessert and then it is a race to see if the kids actually eat the ice cream before it melts. Thankfully Tina was there, so she helped contain the mess. It still didn't stop Myann from flinging a basket of food, complete with ketchup and fry sauce all over me. So I guess they were good before DQ, not so good there, but then again, it was past nap time, so I can't really blame them.

On the way home, Tina suggested she could take the kids up to the north Costco one day to feed the marmots that hang out by the store. She told Shane and he very seriously replied, "You can't take us to feed the marmots, baby and I are people, not food, you can't feed us to them." After laughing hysterically, Tina and I explained that they would feed the marmots bread like when we feed ducks. Geesh, that kid is literal.

Happy Wednesday!

This week has been pretty normal, nice normal, busy normal. I have been trying to spend lots of time with the kids to make up for working the past couple of weeks. We have done lots of fun playdates with the Mommy and Me group, like Millwood Park Monday and Jump and Bounce today. Then today I loaded up BOTH kids and took them to my 30 week OB appointment. I was a bit nervous, but it went great. Myann didn't care for mommy having her blood pressure taken and when it came time to listen to the baby's heartbeat, Dr. Smetana put Myann on the table with me since she started crying. Not a good sign of how Myann will do with me in the hostpial for a few days once the baby boy does arrive. But both kids were great and were competing to talk to the doctor. She is so kind that she actually sat there listening for a good 5 minutes. Oh and Shane was obsessed with peeing in the cup when it was time for him to go to the bathroom, after seeing mommy leave her routine urine sample. It took some coaxing to get him to just go normal.

Funny things Myann did today, besides parroting everything Shane said. She was climbing into the movie cabinet on the fireplace wall and fell down. She looked up and said "I fell down". Shane and I both started laughing since it was so matter of fact and a full sentence at that. Then later I was bending over and my daughter pulled out the back of my waistband, looked down my pants and said "No poop". How sad that she thinks that is normal behavior.

As for our other babies, Katie and Maddox passed their invisible fence training with flying colors. For those who don't know, we have the invisible fence at our house, so the puppies can roam free on the 3 acres. I was a bit skeptical at first, but they really don't go past the blue flags. And in a couple more weeks, we can even take the blue flags down. The trainer even challenged them today with another dog and they did not leave the area. What smart puppies we have. And next week they are going off to training school, so hopefully they will be even more wonderful puppies.

Dad's first blog

Kari recently afforded me the opportunity to start posting on the blog so I am jumping on the opportunity. I love the concept as given busy schedules these days the old adage "it's tough enough to remember what I had for lunch" rings true every single day. Only with two under the age of 4, and soon to be three, it's more like, "stop doing that now Katie...er Maddux....er whatever your name is??!!" So this is a great way to capture memories.

I wanted to put down a few of mine which I treasure today and will forget in the next few hours with my fruit fly like memory.

Before Kari turned the word "poop" into the most written about subject on the internet, I had a discussion with Shane on the very subject. As I was changing what felt like my one millionth poopy one early Saturday morning I said, "Buddy, you have to start poopin' on the potty. When your brother gets here we'll have THREE kids and we need one to be a big boy so we do not have to change THREE KIDS DIAPERS. We need one kid to be wearing underwear and go pee pee and poo poo on the potty" After a bit of silence Shane said, "Dad (serious tone with brief pause after Dad), you can't get rid of me (yet another pause)....you and mommy NEED me Dad. We don't need to have baby brother because you can't get rid of me...." I was stunned and learned a valuable lesson on how literal kids can be at times as I went into immediate damage control. Although in self defense I'm certain this was daddy manipulation 101. I am certain the kids use it daily and at the time of this occurrence my record on reasoning and teaching kids daddy's vast wisdom was stupid dad zero vs manipulative kids 837.

Another memory I want to capture is bedtime with Myann. I love that time as she goes from a category 6 hurricane type of strong will to, I love my da-da mushy little girl. We read a few books and then have "cuddle time" where she flips over and lays her head on my shoulder. I sing her "Jesus Loves Me" and rub her back while she snuggles with her daddy. About half way through the first song, when I sing, "....loves me" she lifts her head off of my shoulder and gives me 1 to 3 kisses. I of course am smart enough to recognize manipulation by my 18 month old and with strong resolve I am determined to not let it effect my judgement......I tell myself, "I don't care how cute this is, after the 37th or 38th time of 'Jesus Loves Me' this little girl is going to bed if she likes it or not!!!

A few other points I'd like to mention. Kari mentions in the last day or two her anemia and my comments following diligent research into her medical condition. At one point I happened to mention in passing that a common symptom is irritability, it was an afterthought, yet it appears that is all she heard. For the record she and baby boy X are my first priority; period. Myann's and Shane's mental well being and safety are next, then the puppies, then dad......although admittedly all of us were separated by a very narrow margin.

She also mentions the 4th of July fireworks display and references drunk men lighting off explosives.......in our defense, who else would be crazy enough??

4th of July

So let's see, it has been about a week since I posted. Wednesday July 2nd was my last inspection day!!!! Talk about a huge relief to be done and I spent a good part of the afternoon on the phone with friends, I had been out of touch for a while. Of course, because of the new hands free law here, I had to pull into a Sonic to talk, so I loitered there for about an hour before ordering. We will be getting bluetooth ASAP. I am lost without talking on the phone in the car, I know a bad habit, but with kids, the car is the only time to have a meaningful conversation. As for Sonic, I promptly ordered a burger. I had good reason though. I just found out I am anemic this pregnancy. Mind you, I have never been anemic before, but I also consumed several Carl's Jr. burgers a week with the previous pregnancies and ate red meat daily. I consequently gained a ton of weight with those pregnancies. This time, I have been trying to be better, so I have been eating a lot more pork, chicken, and salmon, it has helped a little with the weight gain, but now I'm anemic, so back to red meat I guess. Brian read the side effects of anemia, of which irritability is one. Brian insisted I take the iron supplement and eat more red meat, since in his opinion, I have been very irritable. Whatever, I don't think I have been that irritable, except he and the kids do seem to make me pretty crazy these days. Maybe that is the irritability, I'll let you know in a week if the iron supplement helps me be more tolerable of Brian - feel free to place your odds.

So Thursday, Tina (babysitter and my sanity on Thursdays) accompanied us to see Kung Fu Panda. I need extra help since Myann usually won't last more than 45 minutes and I wanted Shane to see the whole thing. Fortunately we were the only ones in there, so after Myann was done, she had free reign to run the theater. She must have done the loop around the stairs 5 times. Then her and Shane both ran up to the space in front of the screen and acted out Kung Fu scenes on one another. Whatever, they were happy, so mom was happy. Hopefully they won't think this is acceptable behavior the next time.




Big girl eating her own popcorn!



Friday we went out to our friends Blaine and Pam, who have a lake house in Coeur d'Alene. It is a beautiful house on the water. The kids played on the trampoline in the water and we all took turns on the jet skis. Yes, even I jet skied, I had never done it before and was not going to miss an opportunity, though I never took it over 10 mph. Shane and Myann went out with Brian and loved it. Shane even manipulated his way into extra rides with Blaine and Blaine Jr. For fireworks, all the surrounding lake houses basically compete for best show, so we just sat there watching thousands of dollars in fireworks going off all around us. Even Brian got in on the lighting action. Fabulous, having several drunk men lighting explosives, but thankfully no one got hurt. It was a late night and by 11:30pm we were finally heading home. Shane has been asking to go back to Blaine's house now for the past 2 days. Obviously they had fun.









And lastly, this morning was too cute as Myann was playing do everything big brother does. Even it consists of just kicking the couch.

Family trips planned

We wanted to post dates that we have family coming after baby boy is born. So those of you wanting to come can coordinate with these dates, or just see when we have family in town.
Grandma and Papa - Sept 13-22 (airfare not booked, so dates tentative)
Grandma Jo - Sept 28- Oct. 5th (airfare is booked)
Popi - Oct. 21 - Nov.2nd (airfare booked)

We just added a family calendar to the left of the blog page. We will keep our trips and planned visits listed. So just click on the link and see when we're available for a visit.