LOADED DIAPER

We have a piano now (though we need to get a bench)!! And a band. The kids have started a band they named, "Loaded Diaper". While they know how to spell it, they are choosing to spell it, "Loded Diper" and they have been drawing signs and logos for the band.

Sadly all my sheet music (Tori Amos, Bette Midler, "Desperado", and many more...) is missing at the moment...thought I had it at my Dad's. We're worried it may have been left behind back when he sold his house. I hope not, I'm still going to keep looking elsewhere just in case it got put in some other box. Oh well, time to update the collection with Norah Jones, Coldplay, Five for Fighting, and the Fray : )

all baby...

couldn't resist the cherries in this 3 pack of sleepers on clearance at Target. 3 for $6.51.

more about names--honestly, two of my favorite names were Aubrey and Ellayna (Ella). Mike is not a fan of either : ( There are others on the table, though between the two of us, there is one we agree on. Still not tellin', though I believe I may have inadverently mentioned it before : ) It's too early in the name game to share for sure though. Never know! I will tell y'all her middle name is Katherine after Mike's Grandma.

These photos aren't the greatest...I took pics of the pics.

baby feet

body shot

My Grandma says she looks like Maddie. How she can tell, I have no idea.

what's been going on?? part 2

Figured I'd fill in with photos.

Happy 25th birthday to the Make A Wish foundation. We were invited to their birthday bash at Miller Park, since Kaycey was a wish recipient almost 4 years ago. Unfortunately, this is as close as we got to Corey Hart...there were SO many people there for the event!!

Which was cool and sad at the same time...cool that so many people were able to come out and that likely means healthwise they are doing okay (maybe not 100%, maybe not cancer free, but okay!) Sad that so many people's lives have been inflicted by some sort of life-threatening illness or disease. Partial group shot of all the wish kids there (There were so many other parents trying to take pictures, so I was squeezed in up in front, so I couldn't even fit all the wish kids in the lens!!) Kaycey's in the bottom row, center, in a pink hat. Ironically she was sitting next to a little boy named, Riley. I met with Riley's parents back when he had been diagnosed Stage 4 NB after Kaycey had gone home from her transplant. Riley is doing well, which is such wonderful news with all the bad news I read about from kids with Neuroblastoma.

My first gelato ever, July 10th. I've been on a gelato hunt ever since: ) In Chicago with Ashley (also prego, due in October, with baby boy Finn)

Me & Fran, July 11th...hadn't seen her in 8+ years. We were the best of buds for years, and even lived together. What was funny is that our lives took such similar paths after we last had seen each other. We were always 2 peas in a pod. It was nice to see her again.

Another old friend, Joe, with my friend Sarah and I. Hadn't seen him in just as long! We got to meet his boyfriend and a bunch of his super fun friends, too.

Other random news: with any luck, I will have a piano in the house by the end of the night. Provided it doesn't kill anyone and no one kills it (trying to get it in the house!!) Also I am tired of the neighbor burning branches, etc. He has decided to do it within 5 or 10 ft of our lot line, and unfortunately the wind has been blowing our direction every time he burns. If I have the windows open, the whole house smells, and not a good smell. My curtains in our bedroom have a smokey odor now, too. He has the biggest lot on our street I am guessing. Why couldn't he burn in the middle instead of right next to our house?? UGH. I thought our house was on fire the other day when I pulled up to the house!

School starts in less than 5 weeks. I am so eager to buy backpacks and notebooks, it's crazy!!

And baseball is almost done! Cal has a tournament this weekend, Kaycey has one more game. I love baseball, but I was baseballed out.

I had another ultrasound today to study baby 4's heart. Since Mike had a congenital heart issue at birth that required open heart surgery by age 2, we had the option to have a study done to make sure her heart is A-OK since it tends to be hereditary. Everything looks fine, and I asked the U/S tech if she could print me more pictures (last time the gal handed me an envelope of ultrasound pics...but they were all the same picture!!) This time, this particular gal went to town. It was like a photo shoot in utero. I'll try to scan or post 'em soon. I even got two photos in 4D, which honestly looks a little scary and alien like, but still pretty neat : )

what's been going on??

*not much computer time AT ALL
*kids swimming in our CLEAN and CLEAR pool!
*baseball, baseball, and more baseball. Season is done next weekend. On to soccer for Kaycey. (Cal wants to take tennis lessons. Anyone with suggestions on where to take tennis lessons, let me know. I don't know of anything out our way.)
*sorting through baby stuff (realizing I don't have as much little baby girl stuff as I thought. Lots of summer 0-3/3-6 months, which was from Kaycey, and I don't think Maddie got much, if any, use out of. This babe for sure won't get to use most of that *adorable* summer stuff.)
*making lists of everything I want to get done in this unfinished house
*making lists of things I want/need to buy (top items being a pack 'n play and a crib; both of which we have, both of which seem ancient [our playpen is 10 yrs old and crib is 20+years old] and I really like the newer pack 'n play models with the bassinet thing. Hoping to find a good deal at a rummage or resale shop on both items.
*have been going to rummage sales looking (haven't bought anything)
*saw 2 friends for the first time in 8+ years because of facebook in the past week or so. Yea for facebook!!
*my friend, Sarah, has been staying with us for the past week. She just finished pilot training and got her wings as an officer in the USAF. Been hanging out with her (only see her twice a year, approx.)
*been getting landscaping ideas
*kids went to Vacation Bible School this past week through our church/new school and LOVED it.
*been able to tell it's getting closer to August...kids are starting to get a little restless!
*laundry, laundry, and more laundry
*cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning
*discount shopping off the clearance racks at Boston Store for summer clothes for next year
*I'm WAY too excited for fall to come (not just because of a new baby, I love fall!! Favorite season. School shopping, fall clothes, leaves...)
*pretty sure our baby girl has a name. I'm not telling : ) yet, anyways.
*in the process of rouding up a team for our annual Make A Wish Walk/Run, August 22 (if you are interested in joining or donating send an email or message! : )

My Sister's Keeper

So I was in Walmart a while back, and this paperback book was only $6. I knew what the story was about for the most part, and heard it was a good read. So I bought it. I've been looking to read more. Anyhow, it sat in a bag for a month. I thought maybe I shouldn't read it, given our history...that maybe I'd be an emotional wreck and relive the past (to a point). But, I finally pulled the book out the other day and began to read.

I am only about 50 pages into the book. Rather than being an emotional wreck, quite honestly it is making me angry because it is too eerily familiar. Angry at the doctor lingo, angry at the danorubicin and cytoxan (chemo drugs), angry at the lack of info for the parents, angry that I know so much about all of it. Geez, Elizabeth, it's just a story. But it's so real. I honestly feel like the author took some of my very words and thoughts from 4 years ago and put them into this book (mostly from the mother's point of view in the book so far). Hmmm...do I keep reading??

Welcome, Norah!

We visited our new niece/cousin today. She's a little doll!! I don't remember the last time I held a brand new baby.I think I forgot how to hold a baby. I guess I better get used to that... : ) Though I was sort of freaking out! And I don't know that Maddie has ever held a new baby, really. Cal didn't want to hold the baby (actually he didn't want to wash his hands, and was much more interested in playing catch with Uncle Scott!).

Those poor boys. The ratio of boys to girls in Mike's family (our kids and Mike's siblings' kids) will be 3 boys to 7 girls. Even if you take my Mom's side of the family and count first cousins, second cousins along with their kids, I think the ratio is 3 boys to 10 girls. Cal was the first boy born on my Mom's side in about 30 years. My Mom's little brother was the last boy before Cal to be born. Apparently the girl genes dominate on both mine and Mike's side of the family!!

God Bless America!!

The fourth of July is absolutely my favorite holiday. I usually even buy the kids red, white, and blue outfits or t-shirts (usually on clearance the year before-though I didn't last year), but we all wore red, white, and blue anyhow, of course!

We celebrated by going to a parade, listening to the AWESOME Brewers game, & a family party in the afternoon (my side). Then every July 4th for as long as we can recall, we've done fireworks in Greendale with my sister, Dad, and stepmom.

Auntie & the girls

Grandpa Bo & Grandma Ria

How Blessed we are to live in this country and have such freedom. God Bless the USA!

pool party!

Well, the pool is officially up and running (and clear!!). I pulled into the driveway to find 3 kids and a husband in an icy cold pool. Hopefully we'll get some warmer days to heat up the pool a bit. I wish I had a thermometer to see just how cold it was. It is really a good size pool. We can add about 6 more inches of water or so, but wanted to see how deep it was for the kids first.

Speaking of pool parties, I have the grand idea to have a pool party/birthday for Cal at the end of August (even if his birthday is at the end of September). This will ensure kids outside, having fun, and polly pockets will stay upstairs instead of over the balcony (I am still finding little pieces in the living room...)

Think pink...

alot more pink to be in our house in the relatively near future! While I wasn't terribly shocked, since I had a feeling it was a girl. Though my only clue was the dream I had. If I had to compare the pregnancy to one of the others, (while this one was very unique and different than the other 3...) I would have had to say when I was pregnant with Cal. Which doesn't make sense either ! Obviously it's a girl for other reasons--not because I dreamt it up! But I feel just a tad bad for Cal and Mike. Pretty sure Cal and Mike were near tears for a moment. A tad disappointed, I'm sure. Mike had his hopes set high for a boy (as did Cal). I was pretty indifferent. Though all along I thought a girl would be easier just for the fact we won't need to purchase a thing!! So tonight Cal said, "Mom, you're the best mom ever. Even if I have to have another sister." So I think he's already over the fact it's going to be a girl. Mike on the other hand, I believe, is in denial. In a joking sort of way. I know he's bummed about being outnumbered, and has a fear of girls growing up, but he'll get over that quickly (I think!!) He says, Guess we'll just have to have more. While I am sure he is being sarcastic, he sounds awfully serious when he says it!! At least now, we only have a girl's name to argue over (girls names will come much easier than the boys names would have anyhow.) Seriously, at this point, I think having another would be fine. But it would have to be a closer age gap!! (Oh my gosh, did I really say I'd have another? Yikes.)

My plan for next week--I'd like to go through all baby girl clothes and weed it out. I am telling you I bet we have a dozen bins of clothes for newborn to age 6. It's really unnecessary. I can't believe how much girl stuff there is. Well, it's cute and fun to look at! If it was a boy though, all new clothes would've been fun, too. Oh well : ) Maybe there will be a next time???

Statistics

Not that I am a statistician, though I did take a statistics class in college. Not that this is nuclear science. Generally, 50/50 chance of having a boy or girl, right? I found this info after a search on gender statistics. "For every 100 baby girls, there are 105 baby boys. This is a fact. Why more boys? Nobody knows! And it's a real puzzle because...Other animal species have half male and half female offspring. Men produce equal numbers of x-chromosome and y-chromosome." Hmmm. Interesting. Anyhow, so thinking of all the people in the past year or so that I know that are pregnant or have recently given birth, there were/are 10 babies (that I can think of offhand...) 7 boys and 3 girls. So given the probability factor, this baby must be a girl, right? I'm not anxious at all to find out, can you tell??? ; ) Big news in less than 18 hours!!!

another to-do

I've decided to start making shutterfly books for 2002-present, since those are the years I have digitally kept. Perhaps if I ever get ambitious enough, I will go back further and scan and whatnot, but for now that's how it's going to be. I am going to start with the most current, since all that stuff is most fresh in my head. I won't be able to buy them all anyways in an instant; besides they'll take a while to compile and write in. It's something I'll have to do over time. I just figure if I get them started all I'll have to do is buy them because they'll be ready to go. Also I intend to start my Christmas gifts (Shutterfly books for the parents again) early this year. Money will be tighter with me not bringing in the bucks from bartending (boy, do I miss that $$$!!!). But we'll make it work somehow. I was disappointed to find out that there is a job opening at our church/school...part time MWF. It would have been perfect!! Obviously it won't work because I'll have a baby 2 months into the school year (it was an office/helper type position for the preschool department). Oh well, maybe next time...