Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful I lasted this long until I had to take my wedding ring off.  Darn pregnant swollen fingers anyways.
I'm thankful Kent finally killed that pesky snake that had been lurking around.

I'm thankful that I am 35 (almost 36) weeks along now!!!

I'm so thankful for my job.  Well, really I'm thankful for Kent's job, which allows me the freedom to do my "job". :) Here's a list of reasons why:

1. Tuesday afternoon I sat outside watching the kids, I got started on one of my favorite perks of the job- the tan. Honestly you guys it's still March and I have some serious lines already! 40 year old Laura will not be pleased with 28 year old Laura's sun-loving ways.  I do wear sunscreen though, I promise! 

2. Today I overheard Kylee talking with her friend that I've been babysitting for 5 years now and she said, "Ryan, I hope we get married someday." He smiled and replied, "Yeah! Me too!" Then later in the day, I was talking to the mom of the boys who come after school and she relayed a conversation they'd had at their house: "We were talking about babies and someone brought up the idea of adoption.  My son said, 'Hey maybe we could adopt Kylee!'" As in, he likes playing with her so much that he'd like her at his house.  Full time. :)  I am so lucky to babysit such wonderful kids that get along so well with my kids!

3. One more reason that I truly love my job is the availability it allows me.  One afternoon this week one of my neighbors needed to run her son to Urgent Care so her older daughter stayed here and played with Kylee.  There have been several times when I've been available to help friends who are in a bind, whether it be pick up a kid from a practice or fill in for a regular sitter and I'm always so happy to be able to help out because I know how very much I appreciate it when someone helps me out!

4. I wear sweats.  A lot lately.  Not having to get all dressed up every morning is heavenly, especially when you're pregnant.

Happy Thursday!

Spring Break Wrap- Up

Kent told me my last post was a "two part read" which means it was too lengthy for him to read in just one sitting.  So, I figured I'd better get around to posting a little more often than once a week!

The Historical Museum was a fantastic (and free!) way to spend an afternoon last week.

That's a big tree trunk!

Brooklyn looks a little unsure of her goofy cousins.  Clearly they're just making buffalo horns! :)

SkyZone was as much fun, if not more, than anticipated. I'm totally going to do it after this baby comes.  Kael and Kylee had worked up a pretty serious sweat within minutes of being there. 

The special jumping shoes were pretty cool.

So many trampolines!

Friday night I had some unexpected alone time. I was planning on (and looking forward to) spending the weekend up with Kent's fam but our realtor called and our house needed to be shown at 5:00 on Friday and again at 10:30 on Saturday morning. Of course I was thrilled to have some traffic, but need I remind you that we were off doing fun things all of last week and somehow the house didn't really get cleaned and the laundry didn't really get done. So, I stayed back to finish tidying the place up then enjoyed a little time to myself while Kent and the kids headed to Collins. I had a nice lazy Saturday morning and had time to go hang out with Mandy and Brooklyn for awhile which was really nice. Plus I know the kids probably had more fun at the sleepover if I wasn't there anyways! I went up to Collins Saturday afternoon and the floor that Kent helped his dad put in their bathroom looked great!

The last day of Spring Break was spent with neighbors and water guns.  Can you believe it was March 25, in Iowa?? We wrapped up the afternoon by grilling brats and having root beer floats on the deck.  It was all sorts of wonderful.

This morning I went with Kael's class to the Civic Center (or, Pacific Center, if you ask Kael) for their field trip.  I am always so thankful that I get to be included on so many of his classroom activities. 

Now, back to the daily grind- I'm sure Monday hit all of you as hard as it did me! We had a bit of a time getting everyone dressed and out the door on time this morning but we did make it.  Rumor is that it's going to rain this afternoon so I'm looking forward to relaxing with the kids and maybe watching a movie.  They're so happy to have their friends (my babysitting kids) back...I think Kael and Kylee got a little bored with just me over Spring Break. :)

Hope you all have a great week!

Thankful Thursday

This is going to be a combination of Thankful Thursday and sort of a week in review of all the things we've been up to lately! Spring Break has been a wonderful combination of laziness and productivity...lounging around home and occasionally getting out and about.  Initially I wanted to spend Spring Break in Florida because I had found some super cheap tickets.  Kent's work travel schedule kept getting changed around and we just never got around to getting tickets and I'm so thankful we ended up sticking around home all week. At the time, a few days in Florida sounded heavenly but as I approach 35 weeks, flying with two kids and being out on a hot beach sounds, well, exhausting. :)  Here's what we've been up to instead.
Last Thursday evening we headed out to a hotel in West Glen because we had some family staying out there.  The kids swam, we ate and just hung out. Friday morning, my mom, the kids, (Brooklyn too!) and I headed back to the Jordan Creek area to get some lunch before heading to the hotel. After eating at On The Border we took a walk around the pond (the weather was beautiful that day!) and fed the geese.  Brooklyn was laughing so hard watching Kael and Kylee feed the geese- it was hilarious.

Chip smiles.

Just strollin'.

That's Kael up there on the top of those rocks.  He saw another kid climbing up there and just had to try it.

After our walk we headed into the hotel again and did all the typical hotel stuff: swam, ate, played games, stayed up late. It was awesome and super fun to get the chance to catch up with some of my cousins who I don't see nearly enough! The kids all had fun together too.

"Helping" with the luggage cart.

The girls

Kent and Brooklyn

He's so ready for another one. :)

 Saturday morning we woke up in the hotel and the leprechaun had visited us! Kylee had expressed some serious concern about leprechauns this year.  She didn't like the idea of a little guy sneaking around our house and playing tricks on us or turning things green.  Luckily, this year he left a note saying "No tricks this year, just treats" along with a handful of green things: juice boxes, snacks, balloons, etc. Kylee was so relieved.  Hung out for awhile at the hotel Saturday morning, then back to Ankeny and Kent's parents joined us for lunch, a bike ride, and a stop at a couple parks in town.  Saturday night was Kent's "favorite night of the year" because there were some sort of wrestling finals on. So he had a good night but it would have been better if the Hawks had won, I suppose.

Sunday we headed up to Collins to get a few baby things out of storage.  We had lunch with all of Kent's family then headed home and I went shopping for baby stuff. I felt at least a little bit productive, having made some headway in crossing things off my "must buy before baby arrives" list.  I also started packing a bag for this hospital which makes this whole baby thing more of a reality and I am getting so excited!!! Sidenote: we are no further in the name search.  This could be another post entirely- I just can't settle on anything and am very uneasy about the idea of "waiting until I see him" to see what name will fit him best. 

Monday morning we ran some errands, including a stop at our library where Kael secured the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie along with several Wimpy Kid books.  Kylee also chose a few favorite movies and books and before you knew it we were out of there with no fewer than 50 items.  The kids were in heaven and I so remember that feeling from when I was a kid- there was nothing better than coming home from the library with a stack of treasured books! Back home some neighbor friends came over for awhile to play outside then the rain came so Kael and Kylee spent the afternoon watching their movies.

Tuesday Brooklyn came over for a bit then mid-morning the kids and I headed to Monkey Joe's.  I haven't minded too much that this Spring Break has been a little rainy because I would have felt guilty going around to all these places if we could have just been outside enjoying the weather.  The kids LOVE Monkey Joe's and had fun burning off some energy there.  We swung by Little Caeser's and oh my was I one happy camper.  Their crazy bread is out of this world.  I really miss having a Little Caesar's in Ankeny! Stopped by the mall and the kids had fun picking out some new sunglasses and other random fun summer stuff.  Kylee found a Donkey Kong shirt in Kael's size and he was so excited.  I'll try to snap a picture of him in it today to show you.  Kael loves it so much- I think it's one of those shirts he'll try to wear every.single.day if I let him. Sidenote: something I am soooo thankful for is the pretzel place by the kids playplace in the mall.  We had been shopping for awhile and I was so thirsty- the girl told me she had to charge for a glass of water (I mostly wanted the ice so that's why I didn't want to buy just a bottle of water) and I would have paid nearly anything at that point.  27 cents later I walked away with a GIANT cup of ice water. I hadn't thought of it before we went to the mall, but when we got there we realized the Easter Bunny was in town so the kids had fun sitting on his lap and riding the train.

We stopped by my grandma's house on the way home from the mall and she was so happy to see the kids.  Back to Ankeny to drop the kids off at my mom's for a sleepover.  No reason really, just for fun. The kids hadn't stayed over for awhile so they were excited.  Kent and I went to The Clipper for Taco Tuesday and even though I wasn't a bit hungry after eating 4 pieces of crazy bread with my lunch, I sure wasn't going to turn down a Clipper Taco.  (I'm starting to see how much our break revolved around food! Turns out I must be getting my appetite back...;) After dinner Kent and I went to hang out with Mandy, Justin and Brooklyn which was fun.  Considering Mandy lives only ten minutes from my house, I don't see her nearly enough! It was nice to catch up with them and easier to do so while my kids were at grandma's.

Wednesday morning Kent was dying to go see the kids before work.  He all but dragged me out of bed to head over to my parents' house so we were there by at least 7:00.  The kids were up and at 'em and had already eaten breakfast.  I hung there for most of the morning.  Mom, the kids and I all went on a walk after the rain cleared, making sure to navigate around all the worms, for Kylee's sake. :) We left, met Kent and his mom for lunch at our favorite El Azteca.  Then, the kids and I packed up and headed to Climb Iowa where Kael dominated the rock walls.  Kylee is good too- it's just not as easy for her because her reach isn't quite what Kael's is.  Kael made it to the top so easily this time- he must have had a growth spurt since we were there last! Back home to relax, then a pickup game of basketball formed in our driveway with several neighbor kids.

Whew that brings us to today- Mom and I are taking the kids (Brooklyn too!) to the Historical Museum and I'm guessing a stop at the Spaghetti Works downtown.  The kids will just be excited to see Brooklyn, mostly. :) Tonight Kent and I are taking the kids to SkyZone- a new indoor trampoline place that just opened up in Grimes. 'Cause we're cuting edge like that. ;) It looks so fun!

This weekend we're headed up to Collins so Kent can help his parents install a new bathroom/laundry room floor and the kids and I are going to hang out with Grandma Cindy.  Should be a wonderful weekend! Then, back to reality on Monday morning. We've had a great spring break spending lots of time with family and having plenty of fun doing stuff in the Des Moines area.

In other news we have shown our house a couple times over Spring Break which is encouraging that people are still looking even though we haven't moved on the price.  We're still on the hunt for our perfect house, but truthfully house stuff has been kind of on the backburner lately as the baby's due date gets closer.  It is going to be a crazy April!

A few more random things I'm thankful for:

My med school BFF Andrea matched to Iowa which is just awesome! I knew she would. :)

Another one of my BFF's is going to welcome her nephew into the world today! Dawn if you're reading this make sure you send me pictures of him!!

My brother-in-law Rob has been feeling better after a bit of a health scare last week.

Kent has been able to arrange for someone else at work to do most of the traveling in April so he'll be around in case baby decides to make an early arrival. :)

Happy spring!!!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that last night's post-dinner doing of dishes turned into an impromptu dance party in the kitchen. For those of you who know us well, this is not an infrequent occurence. :)

I'm thankful for a husband who checks the weather on his phone for me every morning so I know how to appropriately dress the kids or if I need to send snow pants, stuff like that. Ever since my phone jumped in the toilet a few weeks ago my weather app doesn't seem to want to work. Or any of my apps for that matter. I'm also thankful that when Kent tells me it's going to rain today and I ask if I should send an umbrella with Kael to school, he responds honestly, "Duh Laura don't make him take an umbrella. Totally dorky." Because evidently getting soaked walking from the school to your parent's car just screams "I'm cool."

I'm thankful for Kylee's "tell it like it is" attitude. The other day I caught her staring at my stomach (I was wearing a very fitted cami). She studied it for a minute and I knew exactly what she was thinking, I just waited to see how she'd say it. "Hey Mom...your belly button looks cool, you know, sticking out like that." Thanks Kylee.

I'm thankful for the warm weather we had this week but so, so, so not thankful for the snake in my front yard that evidently came out to enjoy the sun, too. Kylee had to walk right by it to get inside and the girl couldn't sleep for two nights after that.

I'm thankful for the one measly Kleenex I dug out of my pocket when we decided, on a whim, to walk to a park that's about a mile and a half away from my house so Kylee could do the monkey bars...she slipped on the last rung and landed face first in the wood chips. She bloodied up her chin and cut her lip pretty badly. I literally had nothing else on me besides a single tissue. No water to wash her off with, no band-aid, no wipes. Totally, uncharacterstically unprepared. She toughed it out and we made do, but I made a mental note to at least stash some band-aids in her bike basket for future outings.

I'm thankful for a reality check.  Last night I walked by the kids' bathroom and noticed the rug was scrunched up in the corner, there was toothpaste all over the sink, the shower curtain was half open, the toilet seat was up and the cabinet was left open. "Ugghhh why does the bathroom look like this?" I said loud enough for Kent and the kids to hear, hoping it would urge the kids into coming back to tidy it up.  Kent just laughed.  "It looks like that because we have kids, Laura." True dat.

I'm thankful for people who say to me, "I love reading your blog! You should be a writer."

I'm thankful that last week Kael said to me, "Mom do you know who's half birthday is today?" I, of course, had no clue.  "It's Dad!" he exclaimed.  You better believe we started blowing up some balloons and making signs to hang up for him to see when he got home from work.

I'm thankful for this crazy-warm weather we've been having.  I love when the kids come in smelling like outside.  I also love how spending so much time outside sure tires them out.

I'm (kind of) thankful for Daylight Savings Time.  All four of us are still trying to adjust- but I'm loving the later daylight hours.  It makes me feel like summer is just around the corner!

I'm so thankful for Kael's first grade music concert. He's so darn handsome!

He was happy about going to the concert, but even happier it meant we had time to play at his school park afterwards.

Ultrasound pictures!

Yesterday afternoon all four of us went up to Ames to have an ultrasound done.  A VERY special thanks to my mother-in-law for setting this up for us and another BIG thanks to our very experienced and knowledgable ultrasound tech, Jan!

It was really special that Kael and Kylee were able to be there to see the ultrasound- even though it wasn't easy for them to see all the baby parts, they definitely got to see his face, his hands, and a cute little foot.

We learned a few things from this ultrasound.

1. It is, beyond a shadow of doubt, still a boy.

2. He has big hands.

3. He weighs in at about four and a half pounds. (!!!)

4. He has a cute little chin, full lips, a cute nose, and a bit of hair already!

5. I could not tell from the ultrasound if he looks more like Kael or Kylee.

6. I was hoping that when I saw his face I would have a stronger feeling of what to name him.  That did not happen.

7. Kael thinks he looks like a monster.

8. Evidently at this far along you can actually tell if/when the baby's eyes are open- something I was completely unaware of in all my previous ultrasounds.  We got to see the baby's eyes moving and it was one of those moments I'll remember for the rest of my life.  So, so awesome. What a miracle this little guy is. Thanks, Jan, for capturing this sweet memory on video!

Here are a few pictures....

This picture just takes my breath away.

Covering his eyes, but we can see his cute nose, mouth, chin and hands!

This is the picture that caused Kael to think he looks like a monster.

Cute little footprint.

He's flexing in this one. Kent was so proud. ;)

As far as I can tell he seems to be healthy, happy, and awfully handsome, if I do say so myself. :)

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for a lot today.  It's easy to be thankful for nice weather, cute stories about the kids, kind words from friends....and I am.  I'm thankful for all those things. 

But today, those things pale in comparisson to one.  Today, I'm thankful for my mom.  Because I get it.  I finally get it. "You'll understand when you're a mom." We've all heard those words and then one day it becomes a reality.  You become a mom and you realize how very ungrateful you were during your teenage years.  You start to see how very much you took your own mom for granted.  You understand that as the years go by, you don't need her any less than you did at day one.

My mom does it all.  She's often the first one I call with good news, bad news, and sad news.  Her reactions are always perfect.  She gives great advice when I ask for it and listens quietly when I need her to just be there for me.

My mom stayed home while I was growing up and was always there for me. And not just me- she was there for my friends too.  To this day, I still have friends who, when they come back to town, ask, "Is your mom going to be around? I'd love to see her."  In high school one of my best friends was more excited about coming to my house after a trip to the mall than going to her own house. "Your mom just cares more than mine does.  She always has time to see all the things I want to show her." 

That same friend gave me such a compliment when she said the other day, "I'd rather call you than anyone else when I'm upset about something because you understand that sometimes I don't want advice. I just want someone to listen to me.  You're just like your mom.  She has that same quality and that's why people love to be around her."

People would tell me in high school, "You're going to be just like your mom, Laura." I don't think I ever thought that was a bad thing; I just didn't ever realize how much I'd love to be just like her.  She asks very little of those around her but sacrifices her time and energy at the drop of a hat if someone close to her is in need.  She almost certainly never gets the thanks she deserves. 

So today, I'm thankful for you, Mom.  You're the best!

A few random pictures

This guy just lost his fourth tooth! He pulled it out by himself today at school.  I just love his toothless smile!

Doesn't he look like he's 10? I can't believe he'll be 7 next month....

This girl loves her grandpa.  And dressing up in leotards.

I'm so lucky I get to spend my days with this.

Not much to report on our weekend- I should take a picture of our March calendar to show you how very empty it is. I love it so much!  Because I know a very very busy April will follow.  So in the meantime we're just soaking up every lazy minute of our free weekends.

Have a great week everyone!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kael's tooth finally came out! It had been sticking so far out because it was so loose and Kent kept calling him a hillbilly. :) Now if we can just get that other front one out...

I'm thankful for a friend I hadn't seen in a long time and ran into her at church the other day.  "I didn't know you guys were expecting!" she said excitedly. "Yeah, just 9 weeks!" I replied.  She looked genuinely perplexed.  "Do you mean you're 9 weeks along or you have just 9 weeks to go?"  She totally made my day.  Kylee had picked out my outfit for church and evidently the big, sparkly earrings and birghtly colored dress drew attention away from my bulging belly.

I'm thankful for Kylee's friends and at the same time amazed at how early gender differences become apparent to little kids.  A mom of a boy in Kylee's class recently told me this story: Sam came home from school the other day and said, "Mom, girls smell good." She smiled and asked what made him think of that.  "Well, Kylee Kay in my preschool just smells delicious" he answered. :)

I'm thankful for Kylee's play-doh cake making station.  We had so much fun playing with it the other day!

I'm thankful that I finally have a space set up in this house for the baby.  It's not perfect and it's more than likely temporary, but a space nonetheless.  We're getting close!

I'm thankful that Kylee is so very....honest? conscientious? earnest? I had seen on Pinterest a link to questions for parents to ask their kids to get them talking.  One of the questions was "If you could change one thing about me as a mom, what would it be?" Being a person that doesn't take criticism well, I thought to myself, "well, that's one question I'll never ask my kids" but last night I was sitting with Kylee and the question just popped into my head so I asked her.  She looked at me and replied, "Well, I wish you never cried and that you never got hurt and that you were never unhappy." At first I was so taken aback by her response I didn't know what to say.  I thought for sure she was going to say she wished I let her eat candy bars for breakfast.  So I asked, "Do you think I cry a lot?" because truthfully, I am a bit of a crier but I rarely cry around the kids. "No not at all," she answered quickly. "I just want everyone to be happy all the time." Oh Kylee.  You are wise beyond your years and show such depth and sincerity of feelings for a four year old.

I'm thankful for a girls' lunch on Monday.  I'm also thankful that my friend was kind enough to let Kylee hold her baby girl- she's only 3 weeks old! Adorable!

I'm thankful that Kael had a great basketball season!

What are you thankful for today?