Dear Nausea....

Dear Nausea:

How are you doing? I assume you are enjoying your 'stay', as I can't seem to get rid of you. According to the American Pregnancy Association, You can occur at any time of the day, and for most women it seems to stop around the 12th week of pregnancy. I am writing to remind you that I am now 14wks 2days pregnant, so it's time for you to go.

Apparently, I do not fall into the 'most women' category this time. I try not to complain about your extended stay (because my reason for feeling yucky is well worth it), but I'm really tiring of you. You keep me up at night, you make a lot of food un-enjoyable, & you make me not want to do anything. I just wanted to let you know that I'm ok if you want to leave...and feel free to take your friend, "Headache", with you. No hard feelings.

Sincerely, Me

Leighton's Turn

Last night was Leighton's turn for the overnight stay at Poppa & Nonny's house. He left for their house around 5:30. Brecken was nice & helped him carry his stuff up. They hugged each other good-bye...and Brecken returned home.

At about 7:00, I heard a knock on the door. It was Nonny & Leighton. He had told her he needed to tell mommy a secret. She offered the phone, but he wanted to tell me in person. On the walk back down to our house, she asked,"What secret are you going to tell mommy?" He said, "That I'm not going to stay at your house." When he told me the secret, Brecken piped up, "Pack my bag mom, I'm going." Leighton stated that he would stay if Brecken did. So off they went together.

Thanks Nonny & Poppa! They had a blast & I think last night was the first time in FOREVER, that I actually slept all night :)

Running Away?

Last week, as I was out snapping pictures of this, my neighbor's daughter hollered out - is he running away? That would have made for a funny story, but it was just for an overnight stay at Nonny & Poppa's. Brecken had his first 'sleepover, without a reason' (meaning mom & dad weren't traveling). He was so excited to roll his suitcase up to their house. Leighton wasn't too keen on big brother leaving, but he enjoyed his time with mom & dad while Brecken was away. Leighton followed him to the street & then waved good-bye. Brecken forgot a stuffed animal to sleep with, so Leighton was a good helper & ran back to the house to get one for him & delivered it. It was pretty sweet to watch.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless (or few words) Wednesday

The Things You Do for Love...1999

First words...

Zoe is saying words a lot earlier than what the boys did! I've always heard girls talk earlier...and more...and I believe it! She is quite the little chatterbox.

She says ball, daddy, hi, bye-bye - and a few of my favorite to hear are Uttoh, Meh-me (just like Brecken said it) & Baby. She says baby ALL OF THE TIME...and follows me around the house with her arms up, saying Meh-me. We were in Wal-mart this morning buying birthday gifts for our nieces & she said baby repeatedly in the toy aisle. We then checked out behind someone with a baby & she continued to say it over & over.

Baby...


Meh-me (mommy)

Wordless Wednesday

10 Years

Happy 10th to my best friend!

10 years
5 homes...soon to be 6
3 towns...soon to be 4
3 kids
So many fun times, challenges, adventures & amazing moments. The last 10 years have been truly wonderful & I look forward to what God has in store for us in the future! ;)

This is the highlight portion of our wedding video...my boys watched it & kept saying, who's that...they look different...

Wordless Wednesday

The day it all began...

It all began on October 18, 1997...my freshman year in college. I went to a party with a few friends & first laid eyes on this guy. He just happened to have a camera & for some reason wanted a picture with me & my friend Danielle.

We chatted some, but the party got broken up by some, ahem, officers, so the night ended early. Over the next 3 months, I stalked the guy...at the Rec center...at the library. Ok, I really didn't stalk him, but I did see him frequently at both places, but only from a distance. We were both 'too cool', or 'too chicken', to acknowledge each other, besides a quick wave.

Fast forward 3 months exactly. We met up at another party, after I begged a friend to call his apartment 3 times to convince he & his friends to come over (so maybe I was technically stalking him) :) We chatted the whole night, munching on stale popcorn out of a 2 1/2 foot tall KC Chiefs plastic pop bottle & discovered we had a lot in common. We exchanged phone numbers & the rest is history.

He popped the question 11 months after we started dating - on December 18th, 1998. My dad was so mad that Aaron didn't ask his permission first, that he punched Aaron in the face. I admire him that he was still able to smile for our first picture as an engaged couple.

Kidding...I have no idea why Aaron's nose is blue in this picture...the original doesn't look that way, so I'm not sure why it scanned that way.

1 year anniversary of dating


July 7, 2000 - He was such a romantic back then...he sent me 15 roses because it was 15 days until our wedding day.


To be continued...

Wordless Wednesday

Living with Wild Animals

At times, I think I am living with wild animals. Someone is always running, jumping, climbing, howling, roaring, scratching, biting, hitting & hiding. I know it is typical in a house with boys...growing up with 3 brothers taught me that...but wowsers, they are energetic.

We had spaghetti for supper tonight & the boys said they were T-rex's and proceeded to eat their spaghetti with their mouths...off their plates, rather than using their hand & forks. I know that I was not teaching very good table manners by allowing them to eat this way tonight...but #1: they cleared their plates & #2: Aaron and I were able to hold a conversation while they did so.

Time for corn!

Zoe had her first ear of corn last night. I just love watching babies try to figure it out. Big brother Brecken stepped up to help her. She couldn't decide whether or not she was a fan yet, but I'm sure she will be down the road!




Here's pics of my other babies eating their first ear of corn - they all used the same method :)

Tag! You're It!

I was tagged by Ann, so here goes :)

1- What’s your staple meal (ie. what meal do you cook most often when you can’t be bothered to be adventurous)?
I'm having a hard time coming up with this...I love trying new recipes, so I mix things up a lot! In order to have an answer...I'll say Broccoli Chicken Casserole.

2- What do you want to be when you grow up? I honestly am still trying to figure that out :) I have no idea what I will do when my days are not filled with entertaining & playing with preschoolers & babies!

3- What book are you reading at the moment (if any)?
I'm reading Family, by Karen Kingsbury. It's a series...and I read the prior two books in the series over our long weekend in KC. Thank goodness my hubby's ok with me reading while he's driving ;)

4- How do you relax? Reading or walking. Piano used to be my top choice - but it's not as relaxing when 4 other hands are assisting you :)


5- What color are the interior walls of your home?
Taupe, a sagey green & a light blue for the kids' room.

6- What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Homemade ice cream...or Food Network tv...

7- What time is bedtime and getting up time?
Bedtime - around 10, unless I'm reading a good book...then 11. Uptime - I usually get up by 6.

8- How long do you spend reading blogs (per day or per week)?
WAY TOO LONG...what can I say, I'm addicted to them :)

Now, I get to tag a couple of people. I'm tagging Kara. Sometimes I think she is my equally anal, overly organized twin :) I'm also tagging Courtney, a) because I like her AND b) she is way overdue for a post!!!

Fun times in KC

We spent several days in Kansas City this week & the boys were in heaven with all of the 'dino-stuff' we did! We ate at the T-Rex cafe one evening - the boys were thoroughly entertained during the meal, which doesn't happen very often!


We also visited the Union Station to see the exhibit, Dinosaurs Unearthed. They were quite impressed, although Leighton did cover his ears most of the time because of all the dinosaur noises.

Zoe even enjoyed the exhibit - she roared right along with the dinosaurs.



We spent a good amount of time in Science City. The boys had fun exploring everything. Aaron & I enjoyed listening to them - they had all kinds of adventures - in the rocket, in the helicopter, in the underground pipes (mommy joined them on that one).


We spent an afternoon at Faulker's Ranch & Leighton caught a fish. He was pretty nonchalant about it...I expected a little animation :)

1 year stats

Zoe's 1 year appointment was this morning.
Stats:
14lbs 10oz - .03 %
28" long - 18th%

She is smaller than either of the boys were at 6 months...we have a petite little peanut on our hands!!! She handled the shots pretty well. Unfortunately the blood draw didn't go so well. The tech was a newbie & had problems finding her vein...she poked her & then moved the needle around for awhile as Zoe screamed :( The experienced tech came in & felt Zoe's other arm & said she could stick her again, but that she would prefer to wait until she's a little bigger because her veins are so tiny. Sounds good to me! I know newbies have to learn on someone...but I don't really like my baby being the practice child!




Here is her "As You Grow" page I made for her scrapbook. It's fun to see how much she's changed through the year!

Happy Birthday Zoe Lynnae!!!

1 year ago at 9:19am, you came into the world & changed our lives forever! We were so excited to hear the words, "It's a Girl!". You are truly a little blessing! You were 7lbs 8oz and 20 inches long. We will see tomorrow at your appointment how big you are at 1 year!

Today....a year ago...

I went in for my 40 week appointment...2 cm dilated...not much happening. Dr stretched my cervix. I had contractions off and on all afternoon, but nothing consistent. We went to friend's house for birthday cake & went for a country drive to watch the wheat harvest. It was during the drive at 8:30pm that I finally started timing contractions...Daddy brought up names again...made one last plug for Zoe as the girl's name & I gave in.

I made Aaron take a picture before he went to bed...because I was pretty sure it was going to be my last night pregnant. Lordy Pete, I look huge.

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Zoe's 1st birthday on Father's Day.

The invitation

The birthday girl


She didn't really get into the opening presents thing, although she would pull on the paper a little bit with some help. She got a lot of fun girly toys :)


She enjoyed the frosting on her cake, but didn't dive in like her brothers did with their first birthday cake. The little lady didn't take a very good nap, so she was a bit on the tired side.




The cousins on the Gisselbeck side had their first picture taken all together :)