God Momma

Today my bestest friend in the whole wide world came over to visit the girls (and me too right Jackie?) We had a nice visit watching a few movies, papa Murphy's pizza and a whole lot of cuddling. Primarily of the baby though- miss Kaitlynn thought it would be more fun to use Jackie as a make shift slide than to just sit calmly next to her- Ah the joys of motherhood! Speaking of motherhood, we have asked Jackie to be Olivia's Godmother. She was pretty stoked about it and I have to say I cant think of anyone who would take care of my bambinos like me more than Jack-a-bomb (sorry). So yes, Jackie is Olivia's Godmother and we have asked Tim's brother Brad to be her Godfather. Brad will be flying in from Las Vegas with his son Dominic so I have a feeling that the weather here in January might be a bit of a shocker to their systems... I hope they bring warm coats!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas was a bit of a whirlwind this year. I had to work Christmas Eve night from 630 pm until Christmas day at 7am... so honestly my holiday was spent working and sleeping- which is not all bad seeing I should have a boo coo big check next week! So after my very long night of watching the "Christmas Story" marathon in many of my patients rooms, I tucked in for some sugar plum faerie dreams of my own. This was until noon when I had to get up so we could visit with Tim's family for the holiday. I was tired but okay when we swung past and picked Kyra up from her mothers house for the afternoon. Turns out her Grandma Kathy bought her a digital camera for Christmas but forgot to get her a memory card for inside it... so who is open on Christmas Day? Well your neighborhood Wallgreens of course! Luckily for us it was on the way to Karla's because we were already running late for our 1pm commitment. Which- I am not sure what we were thinking because 1pm is in the middle of nap time- and boy did Katie need a nap- sheesh- she ran around like a little hellion. But I supposed my feeling her chocolate to ward off the crabby pants was not such a great idea either... we learn with age. After a nice little luncheon and a tiny gift exchange we packed up the girls and headed home for our own little Christmas. The girls had a great time opening their gifts and showing each other their new treasures. Highlights: Kaitlynn got real movie sized Woody and Buzz Lightyear dolls (which she takes to bed with her) and Kyra got a laptop computer (I know we are nuts). Little Olivia got diapers and formula which may sound cheap but I tell you it is very necessary. Timmy opened the "family" gift which is a set of pots and pans made by his favorite southern chef Paula Dean. I use the term family because Timmy cook the food, the girls eat the food and I get to do the dishes....hmmmm. My Christmas gift will be coming this summer from a street vendor at Farmer's Market- you will have to wait until then to check it out- but its totally worth the wait! After we picked up all the paper- we went out to eat at our traditional Christmas hangout- CHINESE!!! (Mary, Carlos and Jennifer know what I am talking about). We filled our bellies and then dropped Kyra off by her mom's again since it was her official weekend but our holiday. I always hate to see her go- the time certainly does fly by when she is here. We got the babies girls tucked into their beds and then I ventured back out in the cold to meet up with my buddies from high school. I know what you are saying- "on Christmas?" AS it turns out- they all live out of state so the only time we can all get together is when they are all home for the holidays- so yes- even on Christmas. It was great to catch up with all of them. I had forgotten how good it feels to just sit around and shoot the sh*t. So I have decided one of my new years resolutions is: To take it all in whenever I can- you never know when you will get the chance again... I am getting old!

Pea-Nummy-Butters

Kaitlynn Bella LOVES Peanut butter- but the funny part is that she cant say it! She calls it pea-nummy-butters and I laugh every time. The issue comes in when I am done laughing and she is looking at with a scowl on her face like "Whats so funny mom, I want a damn peanut butter sandwich pronto!" So everyday at lunch time she runs her chubby little hinder up to me in the kitchen and we do our little exchange of words and then she is off again. Speaking of peanut butter- today we finished making all the peanut butter balls, Oreo balls and this year I made cashew clusters and dipped pretzels. I do find it interesting that even though I am busier nowadays, I seem to find more "stuff" to put on my plate (figuratively of course- gotta fit that bridesmaid dress in March-yeah Jennifer!). So yes, we got everything thourally covered in chocolate and set out to cool. In the afternoon mom came over to watch the girls while Tim accompanied me to the doctor- don't freak out- everything is okay- but at the time I wasn't sure of that at all. Here is a list of my symptoms (since delivery): Black spots in my vision, starring of my vision (colors mainly), back pain at sight of epidural, Right sided hand numbness, Right sided mouth numbness and tongue swelling. The last three were an isolated incident but when you put it all together it sounds pretty bad. Now you know I am not one to complain (unless you ask Timmy- sorry honey) but as I mentioned it at work the girls in the ER thought I was crazy for not getting in to see the doctor- so I did. He ordered an Xray right away (to see if there was a bone fragment that broke off when they inserted the epidural) and then an MRI was scheduled for the morning... on Christmas Eve Day! The scary part came in though when the put that birdcage contraption over my head and then stuffed me into a tube that there was no escape from- if I never do that again it will be too soon. Ait turns out I got to listen to holiday music one last time and everything was clear (on the test that is) Olivia with her penguin-o from Auntie Anna

Xmas in Milwaukee

This weekend we decided to make the short hour and a half drive down to Milwaukee to see AJ and Anna before we all went our separate ways for Christmas. Mom and Dad are headed to Texas to see Mary, Carlos, Jennifer and Andrew, AJ and Anna are going by her parents and I have to work overnight that weekend. So what a great time to all get together and celebrate the holiday- who cares if it is a little early? Tim even decided to join in the festivities this time. So after mom and I did our Saturday water aerobics (non-rummage season only) we all got loaded up to drive down and visit. I realized this morning that I have never seen their new place. After the wedding things were so busy and my being pregnant put a wrench in helping with the move- I guess I could have stood and directed but better use of the space was used I am sure :) Anyways- back on track here- Kyra rode down with Mom and Dad while Tim and I had the two little girls. I counted our blessings because both girls slept the majority of the way. After a quick stop at McDonalds for some yummys and a play land, we were in Milwaukee. I have to say- Anna did an awesome job with the apartment (I guess AJ may have helped but I give him no credit) it was absolutely beautiful. The had a live Christmas tree- which Kaitlynn loved and fed us the best ham I have ever eaten IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!! (sorry mom) While we were in Milwaukee we made a quick run to Kyra's favorite places: Discovery World and the Public Museum. (This is Kyra and I at the aquarium in Discovery Word... I love little fishies)I guess Tim didn't know how cool they both are because as we were leaving he mentioned that maybe next time he might just tag along again... I knew it. We were lucky enough (thank you Dad) to see the "Mummies" exhibit at the museum Sat morning and I have to say- it was gross but super neat. And of course Kyra LOVED it! She had fun going to each of the bodies and reading the captions to me- personally I was a little creaped out but the smile on her face made it totally worth it. We made a short stop by the butterflies (at least to warm up from the mummies exhibit) and Dad had a whole bunch land on him- no poop that I could see though- wink wink! (for those of you that don't know, he has a history of being pooped on by flying animals). AJ, Anna, Kaitlynn and Olivia met up with us after the Museum to catch lunch and then go see the domes. It was beautiful in the "bio domes" (as I call them) especially because they were all done up for the holidays. I realized today just how lucky I am. I have a great family that loves me for who I am and are accepting of all of my little (or big) imperfections inspite of it- There is alot to be thankful for in 2010.

PS- To AJ and Anna: Thank you for your very generous hospitality- it will not be forgotten- actually we plan to take you up on it again (soon!)

PSS- your bed is AWESOME!!!

Winter Concert

(top row- 5th in from left) Today was Kyra's winter concert at school. I was super excited to go with Timmy but our sitting situation fell through so I ended up going by myself- which was okay I guess. I met up with Sharon and Karla at the school and brought the littlest peanut with me. I gave myself ample time to get there but not too much time to park and walk inside- which I should have because they were parked up and down the streets on all sides of the school- whoops! I ran inside and found where we were sitting and dropped off Olivia. I had to run back outside though and move my car because I sorta parked in a crosswalk and would rather not have to pay a ticket this close to the holidays- Merry Christmas to me! So I ran out and back in just in time to see the start of the concert. It was adorable! The little 1st and 2nd graders did all the cutsie songs including my favorite "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." Kyra's class did more of a skit/ song rendition which was more age appropriate I guess. I still like the good old fashion We wish you a Merry Christmas and Oh Christmas Tree, etc... what every happened to those (Oh ya, Jesus got kicked out of school- I forgot... at least there was still room for him in the manger). After school all the girls and I did some running around returning and using up coupons that expire this week- I couldn't pass up the deals. We finished off our night starting to make the peanut butter balls for the holidays. It is quite the process. I was glad that mom and dad were able to help watch the girls while I got them going. It was funny that in the end it was Kyra and Dad portioning out the deliciousness, mom with Olivia and I had the Bella bean. It proves to me that even though you may have things planned out- it doesn't always go the way you think it will... I am trying to get used to this... woosaahh

Oh NO Snow!

So my last blog was about how sweet and lovely snow is this time of year. After the last few days I have changed my tune and decided that snow is not so great- in fact I hate it. Let me explain: This was my first weekend back to work and they have never been a picnic. But right now is the really busy time for people with pneumonia and things of that nature so our pace is now borderline insane. So I jumped right back into the mix and did alright. That was until I had to dig my car out of a few feet of snow Sunday morning- FEET! If you sit and think about it, a few feet around your tires is a whole lot of snow, especially if you don't have a shovel. So in my very tired and creative moment I used my ice scraper as a digging tool- not so bright. Once I got my car un-buried, I realized that the ice underneath the snow cover prevented my tires from gripping the ground. In one of my not so poised moments I may have sorta kinda grunted in frustration in the parking lot at work... hopefully nobody heard me. I finally got it out and drove home but you couldn't see the roads. The plows had only done the center lines and we were left to fend for ourselves. I felt like a member of survivor. So I got home eventually and had park my car on the street because there was no way I would get up the driveway with the car- it was- no kidding here- up to my hips. And yes, it was very difficult for me to get to the top of. Seeing I had no other choice I took on the drifts like an Olympic hurdler and froze my buns off in the process (those scrub pants are pretty thin). I changed clothes once I got inside and headed back out to snow blow the driveway. Typically I would have waited for Tim to get up and do it but unfortunately during a snowstorm you cant leave your car on the road. So having no other choice I cleared out the driveway... it only took me and hour and a half- no kidding. So thoroughly frozen and exhausted my head hit the pillow at 1030am and I got back up at 5 to get ready for work again... argh. The best part was Monday morning when mom called me to say that they couldn't get out their driveway and she needed a ride to work. They had kept Kaitlynn overnight Saturday which then turned into Sunday too with the blizzard. Luckily I had packed enough clothes and diapers for the sweet pea. It turns out that the plow that did their culdisac pushed all the snow into their driveway (which what were they thinking I want to know) and then all that snow drifted into a MASSIVE pile right smack dab in their driveway. Dad couldn't move it, a snow blower couldn't move it, a truck couldn't move it... It took a skid steer and a whole morning to clear that thing out - Good thing dad still has friends on the farm with fun toys. All in all it was a very eventful weekend and one I hope I never get to experience for as long as I live :)

A bLiZzArD!!!

I guess this is officially Winter. I can no longer deny the fact seeing we are smack dab in the middle of a Blizzard- literally. This weekend we have seen some pretty funky weather. Kaitlynn had a blast playing in the snow (first time you know) and trying to make "snow" castles. She was not pleased when they did not cooperate like her "sand" castles- but its all part of learning! I think her favorite part was the fact that snow goes in your mouth fluffy and cold and melts down your throat refreshing and cool... that was of course until it started going down her jacket and freezing the poor babe. I guess now she really understands the meaning of the word COLD. Like I mentioned earlier this was my first weekend back to work. So not only do I have to work 12 hour night shifts but I have to snow blow the driveway in the morning so that I can get my car up and into the garage. Can we say "pitty party?" It was a cool atmosphere in the hospital though. Everyone was talking about the snow and how much they thought we might get. There were even people from out of town that work days in a row that decided to stay overnight here in the hospital... you would have to pay me... which I guess they do- but that's not the point ;) All in all I am glad to be having the snow now instead of the bitterly cold days we will get in January and February. I wonder if there will be enough to go sledding this week?

DARE

Kyra had her DARE (Drug abuse resistance education) graduation today- Go Kyra! Lets hope she feels the same way when she is 17. Tim and I had to choose who was going to go as Kaitlynn is not a good sitter- not that she wouldn't have loved watching her "Ryra" walk across the stage but it just wasn't in the cards. Which was okay with me seeing she had the start of the sniffles. Tim ventured out in the snow and was able to see her whole class preform. Kyra even wrote a letter to her father promising that she would not do drugs- you better believe I packed that one away ;)

The girls and their pup

( 2008)
(2010)
I thought I would do a little comparative pictures of my two girls. Kailtynn is in the top photo and Olivia is in the bottom. It is funny because Kaitlynn looks so much like Timmy but I think Olivia looks more like me... it will be interesting. The funniest part is that both my girls as infants look like AJ- that is until I get them all plumped out and then they look like me- Its hilarious!

Christmas in the Air

This weekend we got things rolling at my parents house for Christmas. Dad got the tree up during the week, so Friday after I picked Kyra up from a 1/2 day of school we headed out there to help them decorate. I decided to take a few pictures of the girls without the tree decorated first just so we had a plain background. It worked out- pretty good. I got an awesome shot but it was out of focus- Argh! But the one we got was still cute and its going to have to work for this years Christmas cards. I guess I shouldn't expect too much from a 10 year old, 2 years old and a 2 month old. Bella Vista is a beast though let me tell you- I think she knows that I want her to smile at the camera and that is why she doesn't- the little stinker! Mom and I went to water aerobics early Saturday morning and did our work out. I know what you are saying- water aerobics is not exercise... But when you don't do anything at all- it definitely is. My calfs hurt for quite a while after that (I keep thinking of Hanz and Franz). Kyra asked to stay over at Grammie and Big Al's tonight because St. Nick brings better stuff at her house. At first I thought she was just being sassy and greedy but then I realized she truly believes that he brings better toys because she is at that house- its cute. Especially seeing he came a day early just to make her happy- whoops- got my dates a little mixed up I guess... silly Mommy Trina.