Holiday Blessings

Look at me, 4 posts in under a month...I'm really on a roll. And, this one is a good one. I'm happy (well almost there) to announce that Mike and I are expecting our 3rd child. We just found out on Saturday and honestly are a little overwhelmed. It was definitely not expected since I was still on the pill. Its a funny story actually.

We had just started talking about maybe trying for a third and I was going to just finish off my last pack of birth control pills. I finished the weekend before my surgery, 2 weeks ago. And obviously, I'm more than 2 weeks pregnant...not to mention the partying has stopped around here since my surgery because its kind of a no no. So needless to say, while Mike and I were pondering our future and doing the should we/ shouldn't we thing...God was just up there laughing I'm sure.

I honestly think we may be at our fill emotionally and physically this month. Mike's finger is still healing. He ended up getting a bad infection in the cut I mentioned in my previous post and has since had to do some finger physical therapy...I know it sounds kind of funny. So he's still not 100%. I still have the stent from my surgery in my stomach and it won't be coming out at least until the end of next week. I called my urologist's office today to tell them about the pregnancy and they said the stent may have to stay in longer since I can't do an xray to confirm its ready to be removed....yeah me!! So here I sit, with a really bad cold, 2 weeks post surgery with a stent that is still causing me a lot of pain/uncomfortableness, and about 5 weeks pregnant. Needless to say, we are both tired. Poor Mike, by the time I get the stent out, I should be heading right into my morning/all day pregnancy sickness so he will still be running on full time 2 parent job duties. Sucky!!!

There are lots of things we are praying for right now. One, above all else, this new baby will be healthy. Obviously I have had multiple xrays over the last 5 weeks because of my kidneys, not to mention I was under anesthesia for my surgery, and have been on vicodin and Advil for my recovery....oh yeah and I've taken my fair share of NyQuil and cold medicine for this nagging cold. So, like I said, a healthy baby and pregnancy is forefront on our minds. Next up, some quick recovery for Mike's finger and my kidney issue...hopefully a stent removal right around the corner. Let's see...what else, oh yeah, it would be great to not be sick this pregnancy...one can dream right? And of course for our two current loves to love this baby as much as they do each other. Van has been very adamant about wanting a girl...he says...."if I don't want a boy, I just don't want a boy"....let's see if we can work that out.

So if you could keep us in your prayers that would be wonderful. I will try and keep everybody posted about all of our ongoings, health wise and other. Hope you had a wonderful holiday too!

B

Post Surgery Blah-ness

So here I sit, 4 days post surgery and feeling kind of blah. It turns out the doctor had to remove 3 kidney stones during my surgery and I will probably be keeping my stent a little longer than expected. Overall I believe the recovery has been better than it was last year. My pain is much less and I'm sleeping much better. While I'm holed up in my recliner I feel pretty good. But, then once I get up to move around and try to get some stuff done I start hurting and getting really uncomfortable...so back to the recliner I go. I'm getting really tired of sitting in this recliner. I just feel so unproductive. And, my type A personality is really struggling just sitting, not multitasking or doing 4 loads of laundry, vacuuming, and running a grocery list down mentally in my head. Mike has been great taking care of the kids and vacuuming, doing dishes, and constantly picking up toys. He has had a multitude of "mom" days now and hasn't put up much of a fuss at all. Believe me, I know he's tired and would love for the kids to take care of themselves and the dishes to clean themselves, but he keeps on ticking and hanging in there.

Did I mention that last week he practically cut his finger off? Oh I didn't...well let me give you the details. Last Friday I was at Target trying to get as much done as I could before my surgery and I get a frantic call from Mike telling me I had to come right home....I was really worried. He told me he cut his finger and couldn't get it to stop bleeding and then kind of babbled for a minute, said he was calling 911, and hung up. I left my full cart in the aisle and drove home as fast as I could. When I got home the paramedics were here and Mike said we needed to go to the emergency room. As it turns out, Mike cut his finger trying to open a box for Van. He cut his left index finger from the middle of the top to the middle of the bottom, severing his nerve. He has no feeling in the top half of his finger right now. Its been wrapped, stitched up, and on a splint for the last week. The doctor said his feeling should come back eventually and hopefully he will be getting his stitches out next Tuesday. So....all of his extra duties this week have been one handed...can you believe it?

So needless to say, St Josephs hospital has taken a big chunk out of our bank account this last month...2 emergency room visits, a surgery, multiple prescriptions, and follow up appointments...so much for extra money for Christmas right?

So that is my blah-ness right now. I am very grateful for all of the work my husband has done this week and all of the extra work the moms at Van's school have done (taking both kids multiple mornings). Hopefully we are both on the up swing...Mike's finger will be better in a few days and my stent will be out in a couple of weeks and then all will be back to normal...well the normal craziness we are always dealing with. I have now officially passed another 30 minutes in my recliner...back to my tivo I go!

If I'm not back before then, hope you all have a happy holiday...we are so excited for Christmas morning and can't wait to spend it with our little ones.

Love,
B

Gotta Love The Kidney Stones

So it turns out I'm back to having surgery. I went in to the doctor today for my follow up to see if I passed 1 or both of my stones and my xray showed that I still had both. Wow... shocker... my right kidney just likes to kick these stones out but my body doesn't like to get rid of them. So I'm having surgery on Monday morning. Like I said in my earlier post, of course I appreciate all of the prayers....but in all honesty, I think Mike may need them more than me. We are much more aware the 2nd time around and know what to expect when it comes to recuperation this time. I will be inactive for a few days, maybe longer and Mike will by flying solo on parent patrol. I'll try to keep you all posted.

B

Holidays and Much More

So I didn't make my monthly goal...but I'm really only a day off. There's been a lot going on and I've thought a lot about blogging but then when it comes down to it, I really just want to blog stalk instead of writing my own. But my hubby's been nagging me for another post and then my mom started in so I know 2 of my 3 faithful readers are really looking for an update. Its so odd that they nag me when in reality they both probably know more about my life than anything I'd write in my blog anyways.


So the holidays are right around the corner and our kids are so excited this year. I have to say this is the first year that Van REALLY gets it...I mean really. He is so excited and tells me everyday that we are getting "just a little closer to Christmas". We even made a holiday chain for him to take a link off everyday...except when I was growing up we always did it in December but he has been so excited that his chain started in November with a little over 50 links on his chain. Now there is only 1 line left and 18 links left. He has been excited about every step so far. Mike got up on the roof on Saturday and put up Christmas lights and we have a lighted reindeer in our yard...Van is loving it, he even told Mike..."daddy, you're a hero"...it was sweet. He likes to go out and turn them on himself. We will be getting our tree this weekend and I'm sure that will be a thrill too. He keeps asking me when we are going to go get our tree "to put outside". I don't think he really knows it will be in here with us so it will be fun to see his face when we leave it in here. Ava is just following Van's lead, anything Van likes Ava loves. So of course she loves the lights, Claus (as she calls Santa Claus), and all things reindeer. So like I said, holidays should be fun, very fun this year.


On a sad note, my grandma passed away almost a year ago and my grandpa is not doing too well himself. About a month and a half ago my grandparent's house caught on fire. My grandpa was asleep, heard the fire alarm, jumped out of his chair startled, tripped over the dog, hit his head and broke his hip. He was sent to the hospital right away suffering from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. He ended up having hip surgery and placed in a physical rehabilitation center to heal from his surgery but has not done too well there. After weeks of trying to force my grandpa to eat, and keep his IVs and catheters in, his care has been transferred to hospice. I'm still hopeful, however dumb that might be. Since he's been in hospice, about 2 weeks now, he's been eating a bit and looking a little better. My grandpa is sooo stubborn, so maybe it is just a matter of him not being forced to do something but instead choosing too. I'm hoping we can get through this Christmas without me losing my grandpa. He's very special to me...maybe even more so than my grandma. He was the one I wanted to marry when I was little; the one who kept a drawer full of candy bars in the garage for me to feed my sweet tooth; the one who would come get me when I was sick at school and take me for ice cream; the one who would scratch my back in front of the fire place while we watched Wheel of Fortune. You see, the list just goes on and on. They say girls have special relationships with their grandpas and mine was no disappointment. I'm sad to see him get older, sad to see the grandpa I remember starting to slip away. I know its selfish, but I'd like to hold on to him for however long I've got, even if only for a few weeks, even though he can't be the grandpa I remember...he'll always be the grandpa I love. Please pray for him...and for me.


Let's see...so the kidney stones have returned. I was in the hospital a week or so ago with another "episode"...this one lasting 3 hours. Have no fear, I knew immediately what it was and even told the CT tech that I was 99.9% sure it was a kidney stone, they were shocked at my confidence, or I guess you can say arrogance. But I'll have you know, once you have a kidney stone you will never forget that pain....I'll never forget that pain. I was in extreme pain, even screaming in the ER...quite embarrassing. It turns out I had 2 in my ureter tract. They sent me home to hopefully pass them. I went to my urologist last Tuesday to follow up and he said if I haven't passed them both by tomorrow, we will have surgery again. I had another little "episode" on Friday so I know as of then, I still had at least 1. Hopefully they will both be gone by tomorrow, but I should know more around 3pm...I'll keep you posted. If surgery is the outcome...pray for Mike, he'll need it with these 2 rugrats.


Well I'll leave you with a cute holiday pic of my little ones. We took these at Lynn and Larry's a few weeks back for Grandma B's holiday card. Hope you like it...


B

School Pics

Well we had school pics this last Wednesday and let me just say it was a huge success. Last year, Van's first year, he was miserable. He screamed during the whole group session and we couldn't barely get him to look at the camera or stop eating his shirt during his individual time. But this year...oh yeah, check out the pic below...seriously, how handsome is this little boy? I mean really, I'm not sure who he looks like more or if he looks like somebody specific in our families, but really he is so handsome, so clean cut. He was so good, didn't touch his hair after we did it and even managed to keep his clothes really clean until after the pictures. Yippeee!!!
And as for Ava, yep she's always included. Ava isn't technically an "enrolled student". However, she does go by "the tornado that comes with Van every Tuesday" and therefore gets a school picture too. This is actually pretty good for her. She's smiling and Kristen, our photographer, managed to capture a pic in between Ava's crazy tree climbing antics. Pretty little girl...oh how we love her.
And just so you can see all of the kids at Van's school this year, here's a group shot. Van was having so much fun. All the kids were smiling then Kristen said "make a silly face"...and if you notice, they almost all make the same face....love it!!

Hope you love looking at my kids as much as I do. :)

B

Trick or Treat....

Well I'm finally back. I know its been a long time but as I always say...we've been busy. But, honestly when I think about what we've been busy with I can't really nail one thing down. It seems like weeks, months just fly by and before we know it time has come and gone.

Well Van has been back at school for a few months now and is really thriving. He is having a great time and making good friends this year. We carpool with another little girl named Kiley who the kids adore. And I really mean adore. Ava is her stalker and everytime we get in the car I hear...Kiey Kiey...yep that's right...she doesn't say her L's very well. And Van, well he's just in love. He told me the other day that he wanted to make a picture saying Van loves Kiley...usually these pictures are Van loves Ava or Mommy or Daddy or some other family member....but this was a first. He said Kiley is his best friend because he really really likes her. Kiley is 5 so this will be his last year at school with her. However they will probably be going to the same elementary school but by that point she may just be too cool to acknowledge this little boy with a crush. She is very sweet though. Last week Van's class had their Halloween party at Irvine Park so I took some pics so you could see their costumes. Van had decided to be a fireman after his initial plan of elephant (for him) and peanut (for Ava) got spoiled by a lack of costumes...and Ava was a witch (thanks Jenny M). He was so excited this year...to dress up and to trick or treat. The kids had a great time at the party and the actual night of...getting candy. Here's some pics.

Ava, Kiley, and Van

Van was really excited to carve pumpkins this year too so Mike went all out. He even made some of these designs himself. I am quite proud. Hopefully you can see it well enough, but the pic below are the pumpkins that Mike made to say Van and Ava...pretty impressive. The other 2 are more pumpkins we carved just for fun.

Overall Halloween was a huge success for us this year. The kids had so much fun getting in costumes and walking around the neighborhood. After Van got what he thought was enough candy in his bucket, he was ready to go home. Really I think he only had a few pieces in his bucket by he has a short track mind...got candy, eat now, done walking. We had to convince him to keep going...just so he could get us some.

I can't wait for the coming holidays. With Van getting older he is so excited about all of this stuff...halloween, christmas, the easter bunny, etc. I swear this is more fun as a parent than as a child...its way more exciting the 2nd time around.

Hopefully I will be back before its been another couple of months.

B

Ava, Ava, Bo Bava, Banana Fana Fo Fava...

Well I feel like I am always doing posts about Van and then adding a little side note about our crazy 2nd child. This post will be purely dedicated to our "beautiful tornado" as daddy calls her. Honestly she can be such a handful or such a lover. She is highly volatile and such a spaz. You really just never know which side of Ava you are going to get. She is so sweet...when she wants to be. She loves to give tons of hugs and kisses and just sit with you, rub you, and usually tell you she loves you...unlike her completely independent brother. But on the other hand, she can squeal and grunt when she doesn't get her way...or usually the food she wants when she wants it. She is obsessed with saying "mine" which I detest. As a good friend recently told me...2 of the most annoying things kids say...mine and no....let me tell you, Ava has them both down. She has this crazy hair, that really is some of the softest and prettiest little girl hair I have ever seen, but anyways, it is really long and if not pulled back, all over her face. So she likes to shake her head no super fast so her hair is flying all over her face....this too I detest. She is quite the talker these days. She loves to say hi and bye to anybody who will pay attention to her. Also in her vocabulary are...cheetoh, please, na-nu (thank you), every family member you can think of, juice, shoe, hair, head, toes, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, oowee (ow wee), brother, i love you, ni-night, amen, num nums, water, swing, ball....I'm sure I'm forgetting other stuff but unless she is standing here saying it to me, I just can't remember. She is an excellent climber and will take on any physical task I give her. She loves almost everybody. She loves to play chase with her brother...mostly when its bedtime and she's running after him with her arms open to catch him and give him a big hug. She loves to get up in the morning and go looking for "da-ee" (daddy) or "brover" (brother). She loves to be in the cupboard at all times, usually finding something to carry around with her like Cheezits or chips...yes she just helps herself. She loves to lay on the carpet on her tummy with her head resting on her elbows and be engrossed in whatever activity I'm doing with Van. She loves to imitate anything Van is doing....he can be quite the manipulator. I have even over heard him telling her..."Ava stick your hand in the fan....yeah like that"....minutes later there was some crying while Van comes running so innocently to me..."mommy Ava stuck her hand in the fan". Oh the fun stuff these two do. But honestly, they really love each other and that just melts my heart. Although there are some days I would love to pack up my daughter and ship her to Siberia (:)), I really just can't imagine our life without her. Our 2 kids remind me so much of Mike and I...polar opposites...really I think I keep Mike grounded with my seriousness....mostly like how Van does for Ava....and Mike is always my entertainment....just like how Ava is for Van. Well I will end this post with a few pics of Ava that I took while she was playing with Daddy....enjoy!

Loves to you baby girl.

B

Family Pics

So a few weeks back, we got to have a free photo session with an amazing photographer. My boss was having a contest where the winning families got a free session. We ended up with an open session right in the middle of the pack so my boss asked if my family would like to take it for free. Of course we said YES!!! As any young family can attest, good pics are hard to come by and even harder to buy. We can never seem to capture just the perfect moment with our little ones...but these professionals...they are amazing. I thought I would post a few pics for you guys to see from the session!!! Love them....Jack Randall Photography in Dana Point....amazing! Enjoy :)







B

U...C...LLLLLL...A...U.C.L.A. Fight Fight Fight!

So college football season has begun again...which means every Saturday is consumed by a 3 hour football game. I'm really so tired of hearing "fight on"...blah blah blah...usc blah blah blah....we need to give our Bruins some love. For those of you who don't know, we are HUGE UCLA fans. Not only does my husband enjoy the games, but I do too. I actually like sports a lot...as Mike says, its kind of freakish how I know random things about sports. But anywhoo, we both enjoy this season. This was the first year that Van got to accompany dad to a game. They tend to be all day affairs between the driving, commuting on the bus to the stadium, the (at least) 3 hour game itself, commuting back to the parking structure, and then driving home. So up until now, I'm not sure any of us wanted to brave the whole day with a tired little boy...but now....big boys get to have all of the fun. Mike took Van to the first game of the season, against SDSU and of course we were hoping for a win. Van even wore his little jersey (seen above) that he got from "nana" for his birthday this year. So him and his daddy got all dressed up, packed in the car and had a great time. Van said he got to enjoy popcorn, nachos, a hotdog, lemonade and much more. He got to see Joe Bruin dancing too. Still to this day, if you ask Van what the best part was he will tell you "the tunnels". I guess when Mike and him were driving there they rolled down the windows when they went through the freeway tunnels and screamed really loud....he loved it. It was so nice for Van and daddy to get to spend some one on one time. You really forget about that once you have a second. You forget that for the first part of your first child's life, they were used to having you all to themselves. Van is great with Ava and never really puts up too big a fight about sharing time with her...but you can tell by the big smile on his face that when he gets you all to himself he loves it! Here's a couple of more pics from the big game day.

PS The bruins won...so all around it was a great day!!

To Blog or Not To Blog

This would be the question of the day...or shall I say week...or really to be honest, almost month. Not that I don't love blogging and love being a blog stalker to others, I just find that I am so lacking in extra time around here. This month seemed to fly by. I know, I feel like I say that all the time, or at least every blog post. I know everybody is so busy and yet they still manage to blog...how? So let's see, what have we been up to? Well I think this one will be a long one.

Let's start with the beginning of August. We had the pleasure of watching a very good, close friend of many years get married. Our friend Bryan..whom some of you know...married his girlfriend Renee on August 1st. Mike was part of the wedding party, yes I was a bit bitter that Mike was called upon to stand up for Bryan when I've known him longer and he was my friend first...couldn't I have worn a tux?!?!? All kidding aside, I still got to be part of all of the festivities and enjoyed every minute. Mike was a busy guy, between the rehearsal dinner, the night before of "boys will be boys" fun, and then the all day affair that was the wedding. It was SOOO much fun. My hubby was looking really good in a tux so of course I got all dappered up and we enjoyed a night away from the kiddos. Its always so much fun, and refreshing, to just get to be a couple again...especially when we were looking so good. I love my hubby in jeans, shorts, comfy clothes...just about anything...but seeing him in a tux is always a pleasant surprise!! It was cool because we both knew so many people at the wedding. It was just a huge celebration with a ton of friends of both of ours. Lots and lots and lots of fun. Here are some pics from the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself. Congrats Bryan...we love you both....thanks for the good time!

So that was our most recent celebration. Otherwise our month has been pretty normal. Van has been playing soccer and tball through the city of Orange all summer long and really enjoying both. They both took a day or so to warm up to, but eventually he got the hang of it and had a good time. I think he just liked doing something special, just him. We are so excited for him to be 4 (yep I can't believe it either) next year so he can actually join a league and play a sport for a team with uniforms and all. Here's a couple of soccer and tball pics...for the sake of keeping this post semi-short, I won't post too many.

okay really how many of us have this same picture from years ago...I thought it was funny (and yes he had to wear that shirt...it was the smallest the coach could find)

this day he was on "the green machine"

must have been an all red day??? what was I thinking?

"point, step, and throw"

the "shovel"

Let's see...oh yeah, in early August we had Vacation Bible School. What a hectic week this was. I was teaching the 2-4 year old class with another mom. That meant, up, dressed and fed (me and both kids) and out of the house by 9am, everyday. Boy were they tired. It seemed to get worse and worse as the week dragged on. They had a great time, but we were all just so beat by the time we got home everyday. Ava pretty much ran amuck in the class the entire time, since she was a little younger than the actual age group, but Van was a real champ. He practiced his questions every day and always knew his answer when he was called on. At the closing ceremonies, he even grabbed the mic from me to show how well he knew his answers to all of the crowd. For those of you that really know Van...you know this is just not him. He is usually one of the shyest kids around....but for some reason, when it came to showing everyone how much he had studied...he was all about showing off...those Billingsley genes coming through. Here are some cute pics from the closing day....

Well that's all of the big stuff that has been occupying our time. I've been working a lot and Mike has been super busy with softball and his band. You will be happy to know, they have finally "laid down a track"...okay not really a full track. But he is recorded playing his drums along w/ their guitar player on this song. Please keep in mind they are missing the bass playing and lyrics. But, if you have a minute, take a listen here. Also, remember, Mike has only been playing drums since February. I have to say, I'm really impressed. He was so excited to get to do this. Now we have proof of actually how good he is...I've been sending this along...even though he is pretty humble about it...but like I said, take a listen. Its cool to think that's really him playing.

Other than that...we've just been hanging out. Ava is still the most crazy monkey child I have ever seen. I was even joking with Mike the other night that we have to get her one of the "cat climbers" because she just needs some sort of jungle gym to always be climbing on. She is getting so big, I can't believe she is almost 1 1/2 ...time has been flying. I'd love to post a pic of her but believe it or not....in all of our August pics...there aren't very many...or even more than one where she is looking at the camera. Sorry. Van is starting school again in a week and we're pretty anxious for this. He's really excited to go this year so I'm hoping for a very smooth transition. I will keep you all posted. Alright...got to call it quits now...this one has taken me long enough to write and I'm sure long enough for you to read. I will try my hardest to not be gone again so long.

Thanks for reading,

B

A Little Extra Goes A Long Way...

So tonite I was doing the bills, like I'm sure lots of other mommies are doing, and guess what?!?!?! I found $50 extra dollars in our bank account. I had accidentally written something in there twice!!! I was so excited. Its 3 days till payday and now I can sit back relieved that we will definitely make it...yippee.

And, because I found this extra $50 I was in such a good mood. Such a good mood that I went and cleaned a bathroom I had been putting off for a couple of days, helped my little ones clean their bedrooms, and sat down at the computer to work!! Yes, that's right...instead of being lazy, enjoying some microwavable popcorn and watching tv...I got to work. I made a checklist and am determined to get it done. I was so excited about that relief money that I became so motivated to get other stuff done.

Yeah to extra money!!! Hope all of you other mommies out there are as lucky as I am tonite!!!

Amazing, Amazing, Amazing...Oh My Keith!

Well I had the privilege...and I do mean privilege of seeing Keith Urban in concert on Sunday night. Oh my goodness it was AMAZING. We had floor seats, which meant we were standing most of the time because if someone in front of us was standing we had to stand too just to see him. Well that was fine by me because I was standing and clapping and singing and dancing almost all of the night. I was really bummed in the beginning because they were supposed to be performing with Sugarland that night and on the way to the concert we heard on the radio that Sugarland wouldn't be performing because the lead singer was sick. Well I was beyond upset...they were actually why Mike got me the tickets. I really like Keith Urban but I love Sugarland. Well let me just say that Keith made up for the loss. He must have played 10 different guitars all night long. I knew almost all of the songs which is great for me because I love to sing...and sing I did...all night long. He was such a great entertainer. I mean it was more than just singing, it was straight rock 'n' roll all night. He sang sweet ballads, rock songs, fun dance songs...he really had everything. Awesome!! His band was great too. He came out in the audience a few times and performed on little side stages...one of the times he was only 15 feet from us. I'll post some pics at the end here and that's when he was really close...too bad we didn't take our camera so the pics are just off of Mike's phone which didn't take the best shots. And we got to see his wifey, Nicole Kidman, like 10 feet from us too. Mike said that made his night. I can't even begin to describe how much fun I had. It was my first concert and I had no idea what to expect but I LOVED it. I think he will be so hard to top. I want to be a concert junkie, but not just for anyone, I really just want to go see him again and again!! Thanks babe for the best birthday present EVER!!!

PS Keith you would be proud, I even pulled out my old Keith Urban CD and I've been listening to it ever since the concert. I'm still in awe.

Becky

Let the countdown begin...5 days

Only 5 more days until I get to go to my FIRST CONCERT!! Yippee. A couple of months back Mike surprised me by buying tickets to go see Keith Urban and Sugarland on the 19th, the day after my birthday, as a present. I can't believe now its only 5 days away....I'm super excited. Yeah for great hubbies!!

3 nights and counting....

Well we have big news around here....okay maybe not that big to all of you...but to us its a big deal. Van has had 3 nights now of no accidents or pull ups. He has been potty trained all day, including naps, for over a year now but the all nighter was the clincher. So he's been doing pull ups at night so its still easy to get off if he got up to go potty on his own. And every so often we would try it to see if he was ready and up until now, I hadn't really had that feeling. Then last week I noticed every morning that his pull up was dry plus he's been getting out of bed on his own during the night to go to the bathroom. So Friday night we decided to go with just his boxers, no pull up, and he did it..accident free. When I went to bed that night around 1130, I woke him up to go potty, which he did, and then he got back in bed and went to sleep. He got up around 645am and was perfectly clean...and pretty proud of himself. And so has been the story for the last 2 nights. Last night we got him up around 1130 too but he didn't get up this morning until 730am....yep, thats right, he made it a full 8 hours perfectly dry. Dare I say my child is fully potty trained....24 hours a day? I know it will be so when we aren't doing the "extra" wake up when we go to bed but I think for now its better safe than sorry. We are very excited!!! Yeah Van!!

God is Good!!

I just found out that 2 women I care about are having babies!!! Not only is this exciting because babies are always exciting, but these are 2 people that have not been blessed with an easy road when it came to bringing their babies into the world. Its so hard to have people you genuinely care about struggle with getting pregnant when you have 2 amazing healthy blessings to hug and kiss daily. However, an answer to my prayers...both of these amazing god loving women have been blessed as well. God is good. Can't wait to see them grow during their pregnancies and watch them enjoy all of the blessings and trials of motherhood. I will be praying for you my "D squared".

Long Overdue...

I know, I know. You all have been patiently waiting...or some rather impatiently.

As all of my fellow mommies can understand, at the end of the day...the only time I have to blog, I am so tired that I just want to veg out watching tv or doing nothing. I know keeping a blog isn't hard work, but for all of you complainers...you should really try it. Some weeks I find myself so motivated and with a lot to say....and then there are other times I keep trying to sit and blog and so many things come up that need taken care of. Well this delay is somewhere in between.

So I feel like we have been really busy. Van and Ava started recreation classes a few weeks back and are thoroughly enjoying them. Ava takes a little tumbling class that she has to be the little star of...I swear she is beyond her years...at least in this daring physical stuff. She just steps right up, in front of the boys or whomever is trying to go first, and throws herself down on the mat ready to try whatever the task may be...sometimes wheelbarrow walking, somersaults, log rolls, balance beam walking....she just goes right for it. I really think she is cut out for some sort of circus acrobatics or something...maybe one day we'll see her in the Cirque Du Soleil. Van goes to that class with her and has one before her that is more focused on doing crafts and stuff which is right up his alley. He's so quiet and reserved in public that he just likes to do the quiet activities. He has started soccer though and is starting to break out of his shell. Of course he is the shy one in the group so the teacher has taken a little liking to him which is nice because he usually needs just a bit of coaxing to join a big group that he is unsure of. But he has come home after both practices so excited with sunkissed cheeks ready to tell me all about it...so I know he really likes it.

Mike and I have been hanging in there too. We officially accepted an offer on our condo a few weeks back so once the short sale gets approved by our lender, we will be in escrow. Its all very bittersweet for us...but we have had to make some tough decisions just to get by lately. We know we are seeing some of the consequences from some bad decisions we made and are dealing with them the best we can. We are holding tight to our budget and haven't seen an overdraft charge now in almost 2 months...I know it sounds small but we were just being so lazy that it seemed like they kept racking up. Mike is actively looking for a band to play with since his new found talent on the drums. He is VERY good for only playing for around 4-5 months. He will be very modest about it, but he really is good. He is playing with a new one tonite and we're hopeful that this could be a good fit. I'm excited for him. Mike has and will always be my dreamer...he has so many goals and dreams in life and if possible, I'd like to see them all come true...especially if they are reasonable. He's young so why not go out and do all the things you've always wanted to do but never thought you really could, right? He's not sacrificing his family, his beliefs, or his morals for these little moments of happiness, so I'm all for it. I'm putting away working and just getting by. The days go by so fast I can't even believe another month has past. As our little ones get bigger, I feel like time goes even faster. We've even pondered the idea of "another" little one as of late...no this is not an announcement of any sort...we've just been talking. The rational side of me is like heck no....we don't have the money, the room, the car space, etc etc...but my husband tries to play to my emotional side....so who knows.

Well that's about all I can squeeze in right now, I'm hoping to get some reading time in tonite too. But, here are a few cute pics we just took when our little ones were having some fun in the sun. Enjoy!!

Be back in hopefully less than a month this time...

B

Graduating...and on to bigger things

Hello all. I'm back again. Let's start by saying these last few weeks have seemed crazy. I feel like I've had so much to do...and not just w/ the kids or w/ Mike, but actually me, lowly ole housewife having lots to do on my own.

Well the easiest place to start would be graduation. Last Friday Van had his last day of school for the summer. Our preschool runs on a school year schedule so we get out in June and begin again in September. One side of me is bummed for Van and wanders a bit what I'm going to do with him all summer but there is that other side of me that is so thankful for me and Ava to not have to work another Tuesday morning for 3 months!!! I know, its only a few hours a week, but to have to bring my 1 year old crazy spazy monkey child with me and have to keep an eye on her from not single handedly destroying every craft on Tuesday plus doing my job as a parent worker are 2very difficult tasks. Tuesdays were easily my most trying day of the week with 2 exhausted kids by nap time. So I'm very relieved to have this short break. Oh yeah, back to graduation. So our school does a general graduation that all of the kids get to participate in and then at the end they just have the "actual" graduating preschoolers stand up for acknowledgement. The service was short but very sweet. They all walked in to the graduation march song and then went on stage to their assigned seat....sounds easy, huh....I'll have you know we worked with these 2,3, 4, and 5 year olds all week for this....so it was quite a triumph for it to go pretty seamlessly. Then our little ones did their good morning prayer, good morning song, and pledge of allegiance...Van of course knew all of these. Then all of the teachers went up and talked about the kids that came on their days and that was about it. It was still very exciting to get to watch Van at the door waiting his turn to come in and then watching him on stage doing his songs and stuff. I know he's only 3 and still has 2 years left of this program, but we are already so proud. He has gained so much socially, physically, emotionally, and intellectually over the last 9 months. I just can't wait to see how proud I'll feel at his high school graduation....or as Nana (my mom) says...when he graduates from med school. He is such a serious and intense little boy but has such a sweet innocent side that just catches you off guard...its sooo opposite from his in-your-face super cute charming demanding little sister. Well we were the epitome of proud parents and proud Nana cheering for him when he made his entrance and snapping what few pictures we could. The theme was Hawaiian in case you're wondering why I dressed my child like that for a graduation...enjoy the photos...sorry about the lighting, this is WITH a flash.

(do you see the thing in the background in the green dress...yes that's our crazy spazy monkey child Ava...she will climb on anything she can find...I really hope she lives to see 3)

So now that school is over, we are going to try our hardest to enjoy our summer break. Thanks to Nana, our kids will be partaking in some rec classes this summer. Van will get to try out his skills at soccer and tball and Ava will be taking her first tumbling class (okay honestly at this age its really just balance, tunnels, slides, and fun stuff like that...next year is the real tumbling....we're very excited for her). This will be Van's first time actually getting to play sports in a team like setting. The classes are really just skills classes but at 4, next summer, he will officially be able to join a t-ball league or a soccer team and we can't wait. I think this is really what Mike has been waiting for since the day I told him I was first pregnant. It will be fun to get to watch this and we really hope Van enjoys it.

So what else is happening...well Van is a writing machine now. He loves to write any word we can think of for him to spell. Earlier this week he wrote out little notes that said mommy, pappy, grammy, Nana, and opa...all by himself...so of course we gave all of the grandparents their notes. He loves to spell and read too...well not really read but he likes to sound out the words and make a real effort to read his books...I honestly don't think it will be long. This summer our mission is to get him to be a number writing master. He's doing so well on his letters but we need to work a little more to get his numbers really legible. He's such a little sponge, he gets so excited to learn new things and show us what he has done...he's an easy one to teach.

Ava is really becoming a crazy toddler. She is so much more physically active then Van ever was. I'm convinced its because she watches him do everything and just does it too. She will climb on anything, including the monkey bars in our backyard. She climbs up both sides of ladders and the slide on our backyard tree house. She climbs up on our beds, chairs, couches if she can find something to push over to give her the extra height boost. I really do fear for her life here in the next few years. Amazingly though she does not climb out of her bed...at least for now. She has really started to thin out since she is always running after a faster brother. I'm anxious to take her for her 15 month checkup next week just to see how she's grown. She really can be so sweet and charming...she just sucks you right in when she wants to. She says please now...well actually she says..."puh puh" which to her means please, heck I'll take it. She is quite the jabber jaws though so it will probably only be a matter of time before words start spewing out....such the girl.

As for Mike and I, we're doing great. We have been sticking to our budget so well the last month. We even had extra left over a week or so ago and I was able to pay 2 bills that I wasn't expecting to be able to pay, at least not then. Plus Mike has been able to save a little here and there and make himself a nice little spending money pot. Its funny, we really aren't sacrificing that much..like we don't feel like we're missing out on anything we really want to do....we're just being better about being smart w/ what we have and really saving for the things we really want to do other than just being lazy. Does that make sense? We have been cooking machines lately and eating at home so much more...which lets be honest, is so much cheaper and better for all 4 of us. I try really hard to not give in to the temptation to be lazy at night and eat out instead of cooking good stuff we already have here....so far I haven't given over to this weakness and Mike has eaten everything I've cooked. We've even tried a few new things and are trying to expand our "menu" so that we don't get tired of the same stuff. Its amazing how little you really need to spend every week if you really watch what you are spending money on. Plus, this should not go un-noted, we have great wonderful families and friends that take us to dinner or make us dinner at least one time a week just because they like our company...so its always a nice break for my cooking hands and Mike's cleaning hands.

Life is good right now. We've got a couple of really busy weeks coming up but I hope to be back after the kids start their classes with some good pictures. Thank you for all of your prayers and kind thoughts...they really do make me feel encouraged and uplifted...its so nice to know we have a huge support system out there that sometimes we just forget about. Love to you all.

B

Making Progress

Well first off, let me say thank you to all of our friends and family that wrote us heartfelt comments after my last post. I have to say I was really surprised by the honesty that came from all of you guys...not that I mean you aren't honest, but everyone came back baring their dirty laundry as well...it just really made me feel like we're all in this together. I know we aren't alone in our situation but sometimes this desperation just feels so lonely. Last Sunday I heard a class on the book of Romans at church and one verse just kept sticking out to me..."For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate" Romans 7:15. I keep hearing this in my head and this is what is making us make a change.

After I posted that blog, I just felt such a renewed sense of obligation and energy to do good things with our money. Mike and I sat down last week and had a great heart to heart about where we are and where we want to be...and what we need to do, what changes we need to make, to really make that happen. As long as we are on 1 income things are not going to be rosy so to speak, but we can do waaaay better than we are doing....and we are determined to do it. We have made a new budget, went and did good grocery shopping, made a menu for every night of dinner, limited ourselves to one time out to eat a weekend...wether it be Saturday or Sunday...and a budget for Mike to eat out for lunch during the week that has great possibilities to leave him with some fun money if he wants it that way. I think we've got a good shot this time...we are very determined. We are taking this one day at a time...our money diet...if you look too far ahead in the future its easy to make mistakes daily, just like any diet, so we're taking one day at a time and trying to keep eachother on the right track. Like I said, its been a week, I know not very long, but we're really determined this time and I think we came very close to hitting rock bottom, so the only way is up, right?

Some of you may or may not know that we listed our condo for sale a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, in line with our money woes, our condo was just costing us way too much to keep. It was a good decision when we made it almost 5 years ago but we were both working at the time and had no kids...obviously lots has changed since then. So we are forcing ourselves to list it as a short sale and deal with the consequences. If we are able to sell it, it could save us almost $800 a month...and boy do we need it! Our renters have been wonderful and ideally they would just buy it from us but they aren't in the position to do so. They really want to stay and were hoping whoever bought it would let them continue to rent from them, but we haven't been so lucky yet. Our renters have worked really hard to keep our place clean and neat and we've had some good lookers since our realtor lowered the price, but no big hits yet. We do have one offer pending but we haven't made our decision yet. We are really praying about this one and hoping we are making the right decisions. We would appreciate your prayers also.

As for our little munchkins all is well. Ava is as crazy as ever and living life on the edge. She has no fear, climbs whatever she can, and tries to kill herself daily with her daredevil antics. We'd love to enroll her in some gymnastics or tumbling class but with our limited resources we haven't made the jump yet...hopefully in a few months. She is a babbling little girl, saying mama, Jess, J (for uncle J), dada (sometimes even daddy), va (which is van), tweet tweet (for birdies), cheese (just started tonite for taking pictures), and communicates in all other ways like nodding no when she doesn't want what you have, waving to you to come over if she wants you and whatever else she has to do to get what she wants. She is quite the girl, but is also such a ham and loves to be sweet and give lots of love. Here's a recent pic of our little handful...

Moving on to our Van Man. He is doing great. He has 2 weeks left of school for this school year and then we are out for the summer. What a difference a year makes. He is making great strides at school and I'm so proud. Just today at church he proceeded to write on a piece of paper, all by himself, his name, mom, dad, and ava....at 3 years old!!! I'm speechless. This little boy has quite the streak of independence wanting to do everything for himself, including getting himself dressed completely (shoes, socks, underwear, shirts, shorts, etc) and undressed, going the bathroom, getting his own food out of the refridgerator, etc etc. I love the independence but I could go without the daily power struggle...I will conquer though. He has become a real sports nut lately and loves to play baseball in the backyard where we pitch to him, he hits and then runs our bases. He also loves to play soccer and catch. This will be another one that if we get all of our "resources" in order, we will hopefully be able to enroll him in tball or soccer through our city. Sorry I don't have another recent shot but here he is at Jess and Danny's rehearsal...showing his "guns" (as daddy says).

Well your prayers are working and we are making great strides towards peace. Thank you for your thoughts and of course I love to hear from you all. Hopefully I will be back soon...with more good news and steps in the right direction.

Love,
me