What a day!

First if all, I have no idea how to make the pictures show up anywhere else but right at the top of my posting. I would have preferred these pictures to go at the bottom, and in the opposite order. Any help would be great!

We definitely did not have a quiet Saturday at home today. It's a rare Saturday that Joe doesn't have to work so we took full advantage. This morning I went to a Visiting Teaching/Relief Society Birthday event at the church and got to spend the morning socializing with some great ladies while Joe took Abby to a photo shoot. Yep, my girlie gets to be in a promotional ad for a local photographer! I don't have pictures yet but you better believe I'll get them up when I do!

This afternoon, we headed to the mall to watch the Children's Miracle Network Cake Decorating Challenge. This is the third year it's been held and the second year we've gone. It was so fun to see all the predecorated cakes that were out for judging. I didn't have my camera and didn't think to take pictures with my phone but there were some pretty cute and creative cakes. Norm Davis (who is much shorter in real life that I had ever expected, I think he's MY height!) and Lora Mahaffey, winners of Food Network Challenges, were the guest judges. There is a live, 2 hour cake decorating contest as well where all the decorators create their cakes in front of the audience. Pretty fun to watch! My friend Carrie-The Cake Goddess-has participated all 3 years and this year she took First Place! Her cake was a pumpkin in the process of turning into a carriage! The kids also got to decorate (and eat) their own cupcake. At the end they raffled off all of the 12 cakes from the live contest. We were really hoping our number would get called but alas, no free cake for us. At least our raffle money was going to a good cause!

The hightlight to our day was our evening activity. Carrie, the cake goddess, and her husband have a hot air balloon. Her husband was looking for crew and passengers for a flight this evening. I jumped right on the opportunity! We didn't get to fly this time (got to put in some crew time before we get our chance) but Joe helped get the balloon set up and ready to go, then we jumped in the van to "chase" the balloon so we could help take it down when they flight was done. It was so amazing to get close and take part in getting the balloon all ready to go. The kids had a good time but weren't quite as enthused as Joe and I. When the balloon touched down in a plowed out corn field, the kids and Joe ran through the mud to help pack it up and put it away. Rachel and I watched from the comfort of the car. We had such a good time we told Troy to call us anytime and we'd love to help out again. Eventually, we'll get our turn to hop in the basket and see the earth in a way we've never experienced before. We can't wait!

Pity Party

I try not to complain too much about Joe's schedule. It's not his fault that he often has to work long hours and weekends. But it's really starting to get to me! 4 years of medical school and nearly 2 years into residency I'm pretty much ready to be done.
I like my husband. I really enjoy having him home and just hanging out with him and the family. I don't deal well when he's gone too much. The kids are whinier, I have less patience, the house is more cluttered. Life is just better all around when he's here. And maybe if he had a set schedule, I could adjust better. But he doesn't. Every 4 weeks, he moves to a new rotation, with new doctors and new hours. And even if his schedule is, say, 7-5, most of the time he's not leaving the hospital at 5. Sometimes he's 30 minutes late. Sometimes 2-3 hours late. Some nights I get the kids all excited and let them know daddy is going to be home soon only to get a two word text: "home late." When I read those words I get angry. Like I said, I know it's not his fault but I just can't help it. I'm mad that someone else is stealing more of my precious time with my husband away from me.
Today I'm mad. I got a text from Joe this morning telling me that he had to cover the night shift tonight from 6pm-6am. This ruins the weekend. Well, part of it, at least. He has Friday afternoons off this month, a VERY rare treat. But today, instead of coming home and relaxing with the family, he came home and went right to sleep so he can be awake all night tonight. Tonight, he was supposed to take Jacob to church for a Pinewood Derby activity (not scout related, but just for fun) that he now can't attend. Now I have a sad 6 year old as well. Abby, Rachel and I are supposed to go to a Pampered Chef party and, while I can still go, I now have to take all 3 kids. Fun. NOT! Then, tomorrow morning when he gets home, he'll be exhausted from working all night. So, instead of his usual morning basketball game at the church, he'll be sleeping. He usually takes Abby and Jacob with him to the church and they watch from the stage while he plays. They think it's the coolest thing ever! I love it too because I get a few quiet hours in the morning to sleep in a little and enjoy some time with Rachel. Not tomorrow. :(

Thankfully, I have a few fun things planned for the family tomorrow so the whole weekend won't be a bust!

It's finally spring!

I hope the weather is ready to stay nice! The winter has been really long. I think at one point we had gone over 90 days with temps below 40 degrees. That's one long, cold winter! Add in all the snow and we were so ready for spring to arrive. It's been teasing us for a while now but hopefully it's finally here to stay.

I love the nice weather. As soon as Jacob gets home, he and Abby head outside to play. Abby is old enough this year that I can let her ride her bike along the sidewalk in front of our house without worrying that she'll run into the street. So, the two of them are allowed to ride down the sidewalk and go past our house, two houses each way. They have a nice little pattern where they ride down, turn around in the second driveway and ride the opposite way and do the same. Those kids could ride up and down the sidewalk for hours. I love it because it leaves me with a nice quiet house and I can get some things done without someone following behind me undoing whatever I just did.

Joe got home early today so we all spent some time outside this afternoon. The kids drew a hopscotch on the driveway. Jacob perfected bike riding with no training wheels. Rachel hung out and enjoyed the fresh air and Abby sped along the sidewalk on her princess bike.

He did it! Joe took the training wheels off Jacob's bike today and he's riding like a big kid now! We tried last summer but he just wasn't confident enough. This year, he's more than ready!

I am not a photographer

As you can clearly see by my terrible picture taking skills! I always say that my kids aren't photogenic because they always seem to look so silly in pictures but I think it's about time I blame the picture taker instead. How does everyone get such cute random snapshots of their kids?

This is my attempt to get a picture of Rachel's smile. She's been so smiley lately but never when I have a camera around. I'm so slack about taking pictures anyway so I never think to even have the camera nearby. I need to work on changing that.

Adventures in bottlefeeding.

Well, that didn't work! I'm exclusively breastfeeding Rachel, which is fine and dandy when I don't mind toting her around with me wherever I go. However, there are some things coming up that I really can't take her to. So, we're trying to introduce a bottle. Well, let's just say that someone isn't too happy about that and it's not me! I had to go up to the church tonight to do activity days for the boys and while I can take Rachel with me, I just don't see anything appropriate about nursing in a room full of 8-11 year old boys. So, I left her home with Joe. I pumped earlier today and had a nice little bottle ready for him to give her while I was gone. I fed her a few times right before I left to make sure she was nice and full and headed off all by myself for, I think, maybe the second time since she's been born! When I walked back in the door just over 2 1/2 hours later, my poor baby was sweaty and red in the face from crying because she was so sad that I was gone. She took the bottle for a little bit but, according to Joe, let all the milk dribble out of her mouth and gagged on the nipple. So, needless to say, it wasn't a success. I guess we try again in a few days. It's kind of a catch 22. I only need her to take a bottle maybe a couple of times a month. But, in order to get her to take a bottle a few times a month, I'm going to have to try and give her a bottle much more often so she'll accept it. :( What to do, what to do?

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I mentioned in my first blog post that I want to lose some weight and that I hope to use this blog as sort of an accounting for that. I promise I won't fill it with food logs and minute by minute updates about my weight but hopefully I can at least share some ups and downs and get motivated by a little cheering section, right? :)

So, I started today. I have 25 pounds to lose. I've never had to really struggle with my weight but almost 3 kids have taken their toll on my body! I also hit age 33 this year. To me, it doesn't feel old in any sense of the imagination but I know that I'm getting older and it's just going to get harder and harder to get fit so I better just start now! This morning I started with a nice big glass of water followed by a big bowl of oatmeal and another glass of water. I need to toss out the easter candy-or at least put it somewhere where I'm not tempted-and get some more produce at the store. My main plan is to just eat less/better and move more. I know that's really all there is to a healthier lifestyle. Wish me luck!

Easter 2010

Jacob had 4 days off school so we decided to pack up and head to Minnesota for Easter. Joe had to work, as usual, even on Easter Sunday so I went alone with the kids. It was my first road trip on my own with all 3 kids. Amazingly, they all did really well. The 4 hour drive turned into 5 since our stops were more than just a quick run to the potty. Rachel had to be changed and fed and changed again. And the weather was amazing so I was content to let the kids run around outside at the rest stop. We had a great time visiting family and the kids got to know their new cousin Richie even better. Dan and Katie let them sleep over one night. They dyed eggs, ate puff corn and watched a movie and had an egg hunt. The kids had a blast!



We got all the cousins matching Easter outfits and set them up for a group shot. They're all so cute!

I did it!

OK! Here it is! My blog! Amazing, I know! It must be a sign of the times. I kind of thought I would never blog. To me, it's like scrapbooking. Everyone else does it and it always looks so cute but the thought of doing it myself just isn't appealing. Maybe one day I'll read the Twilight books too....NOT! ;)

So here I am. Blogging. My sister in law Jenn has bugged me about starting a blog for a while now. I decided it would be nice to document some of the cute and silly things my kids do. And I'd like to lose some weight so maybe I will use the blog as an accounting for that as well. (As I sit here eating the chocolate covered gummy bears from my kids' Easter baskets. Oink!) I worry that I'm too boring to blog but we'll just have to see how it goes! Don't expect too much from me but I'll do my best to keep it updated and share what's going on in our lives.