A good start

Today started out nicely and quickly went downhill. Major back problems today coupled with major crabby kids and I didn't get to go to book group. :(

Today's Smileys:

1. Talking to my mom on the phone at 6:40 this morning. I'm pretty sure she was calling to make sure I was awake for class registration this morning.

2. I was awake and we got into the 2 classes we had hoped for. WA-HOO!

3. "Mommy, Help Me." All day long. All from Mari.

4. Pain pills are my friend today.

5. Ice packs.

6. A rub down of my back to help it make me feel better.

7. A bath.

8. Starting to read "Pillars of the Earth." I read it in high school and wanted to reread it.

9. The Cosmo Cricket blog. It seriously always cracks me up.

10. All the CHA sneak peeks at Two Peas in a Bucket. I'm very much in love with all the new scrapbook lines.

11. Ace of Cakes makes me laugh every time I watch it. A wonderful pick me up.

12. Got my free pictures in from Shutterfly. WA-HOO!

Busy, Busy

Today was a busy day. I'm exhausted and in pain (yeah, again, blech!), but we got a lot done.

Today's Smileys:

1. Getting in to Michael's this morning and finding paper for baby shower invites on sale (and they are SUPER cute).

2. A trip to Gander Mountain and getting some of the last things we needed for our camping trip this coming weekend.

3. Finding chairs for all 3 kids at 13 dollars less then what I had found them for online.

4. Getting a new swimsuit that looks good and isn't too "frumpy."

5. Getting some more stuff packed into the camper.

6. We got some of the things in the house rearranged how we want.

7. Looking through the kids' scrapbooks with all 3 of them and their excitement. It was so nice to see them appreciate all the work I have done on their pages.

8. Being motivated. It is just too bad that my body wouldn't cooperate as much.

9. Finding a new bag that I can use as a diaper bag and a purse on our various outings. It's cute.

10. Peder and Jake using my foot lotion for their dry feet, they are cute.

MIA

I know I've been MIA lately and I apologize for that. We've been very busy and by the time I had time to post something I was just exhausted. I will be posting pictures of some of our adventures soon, but for now here's a summary of each day of the past week and my smiley's for today.

Friday 7/17 - Got a clear plan in place with my primary care physician's assistant and got some new pain ideas, John and Jill are back in MN and we got to me meet our new nephew Alex.

Saturday 7/18 - I got to go scrapbooking with Jill and Krista for the first time in almost 3 years. Jake and the kids got to hang out with Tom and John and 4 of their cousins.

Sunday 7/19 - We were able to make it to church and stay for the whole service. NICE! Jake took me on a surprise date in the afternoon, we saw Harry Potter and then went to a local park, laid in the grass and talked. EVEN NICER!

Monday 7/20 - Had my first appointment with my new Physical Therapist. She was 45 minutes late, but am SO excited about how thorough she is and how she explained everything to me. (And I'm already seeing great results with the muscle pain I've had!) Also, got into the 2 crops that my mom and I wanted for ScrapFest in September.

Tuesday 7/21 - Book group and a snack out with Beth. French Fries and Cheese Sauce, YUM-O!

Wednesday 7/22 - A nap....WA-HOO!

Thursday 7/23 - Peder's last day of preschool. Jake took him to and from so that I wouldn't have to deal with Mari's tantrums the whole time. So nice!

Friday 7/24 - Took Peder shopping for a bunch of stuff for our slumber party we had last night. We always have so much fun and he looks forward to them.

Today's Smileys:

1. Went to the zoo with Alison and Monty and their twin boys Nick and John.

2. Got to see a baby orangutan, he was cute and playful.

3. Emmy falling asleep in my arms on the way out of the zoo. I loved it.

4. I gave blood today.

5. Beth came with me to give blood, despite being nervous. She wasn't able to give blood because they couldn't find a vein, but it meant a lot to me that she was there.

6. Took a nap on the air mattress with Peder.

7. Went to the Teegardens' for a birthday party for all 3 of their boys. It was a good time.

8. All 3 kids playing together when we got home.

9. I love good night kisses from my kids.

10. A night at home and some alone time with Jake.

Camping Gear

If you want to read a hilarious little bit (especially for you ladies that hate swimsuit shopping), go to the previous post. I laughed out loud.

Today's Smileys:

1. My mom picked Peder up from preschool today. It was very helpful when I was having a bad day and in pain.

2. Peder coming home with a new comforter for his bed. Lightning McQueen. Very exciting.

3. Got another scrapbook page done today.

4. Getting 8.5 hours of sleep last night.

5. Cosmo Cricket blog...they crack me up.

6. Going shopping for some of the needed camping gear. It was fun to get some stuff to stock up the camper.

7. Peder wanting my parents' dog Jack to sleep in his room with home.

8. Watching a movie with Jake...I haven't had a chance to just hang out with him much this week, so it's nice.

9. Working on my cross stitch.

10. Peder's excitement at meeting his new cousin Alex tomorrow.

Swimsuit Shopping

I read this over at the Cosmo Cricket blog and had to share it with you. Remember how I said a bit back about how shopping for swimsuits was a hilarious adventure. This about sums it up:

When I was a child in the 1950s the bathing suit for the mature figure was boned, trussed and reinforced, not so much sewn as engineered. They were built to hold back and uplift and they did a good job. Today's stretch fabrics are designed for the prepubescent girl with a figure carved from a potato chip.

The mature woman has a choice-she can either go up front to the maternity department and try on a floral suit with a skirt, coming away looking like a hippopotamus who escaped from Disney's Fantasia or she can wander around every run of the mill department store trying to make a sensible choice from what amounts to a designer range of florescent rubber bands.

What choice did I have? I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room.

The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary tensile strength of the stretch material. The Lycra used in bathing costumes was developed, I believe, by NASA to launch small rockets from a slingshot, which give the added bonus that if you manage to actually lever yourself into one, you are protected from shark attacks as any shark taking a swipe at your passing midriff would immediately suffer whiplash. I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place, I gasped in horror - my boobs had disappeared!

Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my left armpit. It took a while to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib.

The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups... The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speed bump. I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a full view assessment.

The bathing suit fit all right, but unfortunately it only fit those bits of me willing to stay inside it. The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom, and sides. I looked like a lump of play dough wearing undersized cling wrap.

As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, 'Oh, there you are,' she said, admiring the bathing suit.

I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me.

I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of masking tape, and a floral two piece which gave the appearance of an oversized napkin in a serving ring.

I struggled into a pair of leopard skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane, pregnant with triplets and having a rough day.

I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning.

I tried on a bright pink pair with such a high cut leg I thought I would have to wax my eyebrows to wear them.

Finally, I found a suit that fit...a two-piece affair with a shorts style bottom and a loose blouse-type top. It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it. My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured.

When I got home, I found a label which read -- Material might become transparent in water.'

So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too .. I'll be the one in cut off jeans and a t-shirt!

Long day

Today Jake had a work BBQ after work, so it was the kids and I on our own all day today. I'm exhausted now and will be heading to bed soon.

Today's Smileys:

1. Getting up before the kids this morning and getting a scrapbook page done.

2. Mari singing all the time. She's so cute because she hums and then will go, "Happy, Happy, HAPPEEEEEEEEEEEE, YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

3. Peder telling me, "Mom, Mari's singing happy again. Isn't she cute?"

4. A peaceful afternoon.

5. All three kids tucking themselves in on the floor in the living room and just laying there quietly for a half hour. It was cute and a nice break.

6. All three kids constantly taking turns running up to me asking for kisses for their owies.

7. Snuggling with all 3 kids at once for a bit before Jake got home.

8. Jake doing all kinds of picking up and cleaning.

9. A nice relaxing bath.

10. Going to bed before 10p....

Break Needed

We had a very rough first half of the day here. Peder's carseat wasn't in the van and I didn't realize it until we were supposed to be loading up to bring him to preschool. The girls whined for an hour and a half while Peder was at preschool. When we went to get Peder from preschool it was raining and Mari threw a continual tantrum while we were picking him up. It was not fun and I was VERY ready for nap time when it came.

Today's Smileys:

1. A 15 minute nap...just what I needed this afternoon.

2. "I love you" back and forth between Peder and I. A little game between us.

3. Great customer service from one of the guys that came to give us an estimate on doing some sewer line work that the city is requiring of us. It was nice.

4. Getting some time in my scrap area this afternoon when Jake got home from work. A much needed break.

5. Peder deciding what we had for dinner. It was cute. And it was pizza.

6. Book group. It was a small group tonight, but lots of things to think about, which is always nice.

7. Megan's yummy grapes that she brought to book group. WAY GOOD!

8. Dessert out after book group. I love going out to dessert with friends.

9. Everyone running out of the house quick to bring me to book group. Mari sat down on the sidewalk to put her shoes on and Peder and Emmy didn't wear shoes at all.

10. Caramel Apple Pie ala Mode. Mmmmm.

WA-HOO!

Today's Smileys:

1. The girls' excitement over new clothes. Both girls usually fight me to get dressed, but this morning they saw their new clothes, said, "WHOA!" and let me change them right away.

2. Peder talking about Grandma coming all day long.

3. Ring pops.

4. A couple of hours with Jake....even if we were just shopping in a packed camera store.

5. A brand, spanking new Digital SLR camera, camera bag and two lenses. WA-HOO! WA-HOO! WA-HOO!

6. Plans to go scrapping with Jill and Krista on Saturday. That means: Jill will be in Minnesota for a bit this summer! WA-HOO!

7. My mom watching the kids so we could get our new camera.

8. Coming home to a delicious dinner. I love crock pot meals! Chicken in Mushroom sauce and rice. YUM-O!

9. Playing with my new camera for a bit.

10. Jake saying, "You're getting a really nice camera there" like 6 times while we were getting our camera. He's cute. My response was, "So are you." Can you tell we're excited. Pictures with the new camera soon!

11. My dad sharing our excitement for our new camera....and losing a hamburger while talking to me on the phone. The dogs weren't even at home with him so I found it hilarious that he lost a hamburger. :)

Ahhhh....a great day!

Today was just a great day. This morning the pain was really bad, but I got it under control with a Lidocaine patch and some pain medication. The rest of the day was great!

Also, if you have any camping supplies that you would like to sell me for a reasonable (read: cheap) price, we would love it! Since it's been 3 years since our last camping trip (read: pregnancy 2 years ago and hospital stays last summer equals no time at ALL!) we had to get rid of a few things. Let us know if you have anything and we'll chat about if it's something on our list.

Today's Smileys:

1. Jake and Peder asking me if I was going to answer my phone because I was sleeping so hard I didn't hear it ringing. This was at 7:55a....why would anyone call me this early on a Sunday morning? Oh...it was the DirecTV guy calling to confirm our appointment between noon and 4p. (That was NOT a smiley. Wait till 8a please!)

2. A yummy Subway sandwich for lunch. Delish!

3. Cleaning all the camping stuff out of the garage. I was motivated and happy. I was disappointed I didn't get to start sooner because I was in too much pain.

4. Just clearing a ton of garbage out of the garage. There are two empty shelving units out there now because of all the stuff I moved to the camper and threw away. WA-HOO! I love doing that!

5. After going out on Wednesday evening we finally have our satellite service back. I watched a lot of movies that are sitting on our shelves while doing my cross stitch.

6. The girls' pure excitement at their new bedding sets. All 3 kids were in Emmy's crib at one point....laying under her new comforter, sharing a pillow. Very cute.

7. Emmy's "WOW! What's THAT?" when she saw her new bath toys on the bathroom sink.

8. Putting the camper down by ourself. Jake called me a stud for pushing one bunk in by myself. :)

9. Just being content, happy and motivated. It's been awhile. I'm trying really hard to just ignore the pain.

10. Jake doing the grocery shopping.

11. Birthday celebrations are done and we can just relax after the kids go to bed this week.

12. Deciding to buy a new camera. WA-HOO!

Birthday Party

Ready for picture overload? These are all from the girls' birthday party yesterday. Including our little family of 5, there were 32 people there. It was a blast....and exhausting. All of us were just zonked afterwards.

Sitting on the blanket waiting to open presents.

All the presents...very generous family members! The buckets were our goodie bags for all the kids. There was candy and some toys in there. The younger girls all got dress up stuff in theirs. SO EXCITING!

Everyone hanging out during cake and present time.

Emmy getting Happy Birthday sung to her. She seemed somewhat confused.

Mari on the other hand, loves to be sung to and actually sang too. She's been walking around the house singing, "Happy, happy, HAPPEEEEEEEE!"

The cakes made it safely to the park. Thanks Dad!

Peder played in the pool for about 45 minutes and then crashed and slept in my mom's arms until it was time for cake and presents.

Jake and some of his family hanging out in the pool and playing.

Emmy loving Great Aunt Debbie's Sunglasses...she eventually was wearing them herself, the little fashionista.

My Grandpa Diekmann, Uncle Mark and Dad hanging out with Mari. Mari saw my dad and ditched me for him...then snuggled him good.

Where we set up all our stuff and some of the family hanging out there.

The pool....SO exciting for little kids.

Me hanging out in the pool with Emmy.

The castle cake Jake made. I baked the cake and made the towers out of Rice Crispy bars. Jake made the fondant and did all the decorating. This was Emmy's cake.

I baked this cake and Jake did all the carving, decorating, etc. on this too. Isn't he a fabulous dad?

Sadness

Today I found out that a woman I graduated from high school with died in a car accident on the morning of the 4th of July. She left behind a husband, 5 children, her mother, and 7 sisters. It always hits me in the gut when someone I know, even if it was once upon a time, in what seems like a former life, and it is even harder for me when they are my age or have children or both. *sigh* It breaks my heart.

I am adding this note after originally posting this. I just read on cnn.com more about the cemetary controversy in Illinois. I started bawling when I read that not a single mother can find her baby, toddler or child that has been buried at that cemetary. They lost their child once and now they may lose them again. My heart breaks for them and I just broke down. Hold your babies close tonight....

Today's Smileys:

1. Peder's excitement about going to stay at my parents tonight.

2. The girls spent the day in diapers...until 4:30p, because they didn't want to get dressed. Super cute.

3. Emmy peed on the potty this morning! The second time she's done that. And we thought that we would have to wait until she was 3 to find out if it was even possible. GO EMMY!

4. Pride & Prejudice. I love that movie. "You have bewitched me body and soul."

5. Moulin Rouge. This movie is just fun to watch.

6. "Your Song" sung by Ewan McGregor. It's from Moulin Rouge and it was the song Jake and I danced to for our wedding song. It brought back such happy memories today.

7. How much the girls love their daddy.

8. Jake working so hard on birthday cakes for the girls. He is such a great dad.

9. My dad coming to pick up Peder on his lunch break so Peder could go spend the afternoon with my mom and stay over there tonight.

10. Peder called me very excited about the new Lightning McQueen backpack and lunchbox that Grandma got him. It was pretty cute.

Tomorrow is the girls' birthday party. I'm excited....I hope that everyone has fun and that the weather is nice as promised.

My Babies are Two!

Two years ago today my baby girls were born. After a difficult pregnancy, uncertainty and finally excitement, they arrived at 10:30 and 10:31a. My beautiful baby girls were born and I knew our family was complete. We never thought we'd be a family of 5, but I can't imagine anything else or anything better.

So now here we are, 2 years later. My babies are no longer babies and it has been quite the ride. I think back to that day and I cry. Not only because it was such a scary day, but because I am SO thankful to now have 2 happy, healthy girls that exhaust me with their playing and fighting, rather then being exhausted because I've been sleeping in a hospital for days on end.

Today's Smileys are all about my girls and their birthday!

1. The girls still love to snuggle with me. This picture is from the day they were born, right before Emmy was transferred to Children's. I had to get a picture of us girls.

Me reading to the girls tonight before bed. I love my snugglebugs.

2. Funfetti Birthday cake with buttercream frosting. YUM!

3. How happy the girls got when they realized that the song we were singing was just for them....one at a time.

Mari with her cake.

Emmy with her cake. (Don't you love the happy smiles?)

4. The fact that the box their birthday present came in became a toy too. Even Jake got invited to play in there!

5. The new house in our backyard.

6. Seeing their new present for the first time. "WHOA!"

7. The new aprons the girls got from my sister for their birthday. The package came in the mail today and I just about died because of how cute they are. They also came with oven mitts, a hot pad and a wooden spoon. They also got a new cook book. HOW CUTE ARE THEY?

Emmy modeling. Notice that she put her own shoes on?

Mari very confused as to why I wanted her to stand so far away from me. She just wanted to climb into my lap right away. But I HAD to get a picture of how cute they are in their aprons.

8. All the birthday wishes the girls go. Such nice family and friends!

9. Taking the girls shopping to get all the stuff for their birthday party on Saturday. We were gone all morning, I was in pain the rest of the day, but we had a good time and it was nice to get out of the house.

10. Peder helped me make and decorate the girls' cakes. He was SO excited to help that he started crying when he thought he wouldn't be able to. He is such a good big brother.

11. The girls giving each other hugs all the way through Target. It was so sweet.

12. My little family of 5 and the love that lives here.

Pure Insanity

That is our life this week. It continued today and won't end until Saturday after 5p. Seriously. I got some peace starting at about 8:30p. I'm loving the peace right now....so nice.

Today's Smileys

1. I'm watching the movie Serendipity. Jake took me to this movie before he proposed to me. Of course I had to buy it.

2. Our new camper is now safely parked in our back alleyway. WA-HOO!

3. Getting a lot done today: baked 2 cakes made 3 batches of rice krispies and then molded those into towers for one of the girls' birthday cakes. (8 towers, 8 caps for the towers and a large flat piece as the second level of the castle).

4. Emmy's pure love of her cousin Coby. Sitting in his lap, happily giving him a hug and kiss good bye. It was so sweet.

5. Jake and Peder went to a Twins game tonight with Jake's mom and our nephew Coby. He was very excited.

6. Everyone in their Twins gear. Coby borrowed my shirt so he would have a Twins shirt too.

7. Finishing up the cross stitch for little Alex. It turned out great. Pictures soon!

8. Watching the movies I want to.

9. Working on my cross stitch project again.

10. How cute Emmy was when I went to tuck her back into bed.

11. The girls' excitement at seeing each other when they wake up.

Wowsers

Yesterday was a great day, so today it felt like the universe was trying to get back into balance. Which meant lots of temper tantrums, whining and just a lot going on.

Today's Smileys:

1. Got the registration for the new camper taken care of. We can now legally tow it.

2. The van now has a tow hitch on it....with electric brake settings. Nice.

3. My mom took Peder out to lunch. A fun time for both of them.

4. My mom's phone call from Toys R' Us trying to decide what to get the girls' for their birthday. Very funny.

5. Emmy looking for me while I'm not home.

6. Jake sending me a picture of Emmy and Peder swinging and Mari pushing Peder in the swing.

7. Beth is a great friend to come pick me up for book group.

8. A great discussion at book group tonight. Lots of perspectives and some real honest thoughts.

9. Coming home and having Peder run and jump into my arms. It's so nice to be loved that much.

10. Norman, the Visla, at the trailer hitch place. He was so sweet and laid next to me on the couch while I waited.

11. Finally getting to see Jake and talk to him at 8:30p. It was a long day....

A Big Day

Today was a massive day. Happy, happy day.

Today's Smileys:

1. Our newest nephew was born last night at 11:54p. Alexander Russell Edward Early is 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 22 inches long. WA-HOO!

2. We bought a pop-up camper tonight. A 1992 Coleman. Yep, we're SO excited. We are going camping the last weekend of the month and I've already changed our reservations for our trip to South Dakota from hotel to camping. WA-HOO! Again!

3. The girls saying, "Hand" and leading me around the house by mine.

4. Delicious meatloaf for supper.

5. Getting a bunch done this morning.

6. Peder crawling into bed with me and then staying asleep after I had gone downstairs to get ready for the day.

7. The girls saying, "Shhhh!" when getting up while their sister is sleeping.

8. A surprise snack from Jake.

9. Making plans for fun camping trips.

10. Starting off the busy week on a happy note.

I'm an AUNTIE again!

Jake's brother and his wife Jill (whom I've been friends with since we were 6) had a little boy last night!

Alexander Russell Edward was born at 11:54p on July 5th, weighing in at 8 lbs, 13 oz. and 22 inches long!

I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks when they all come up to Minnesota! WA-HOO!

A Couple of Bummers

Today was a day we were really looking forward to, we had some really great possibilites for today, but they didn't go how we had hoped, so after my appointment we abandoned all the sad thoughts and had FUN!

Bummer #1: My sister's baby didn't cooperate! We were hoping to find out if we would be getting a niece or nephew in November the little bugger said, "NO WAY! You have to wait!"

Bummer #2: My appointment resulted in the same old, same old: there is too much going on with my hips and pelvis to know for sure what is wrong. Seriously, devastated here. I will be starting physical therapy for the THIRD time. Yep, THIRD time. I will be seeing a specialist that really works on the hip and the muscles surrounding it. If that doesn't work or it helps but I'm not completely better, I get to go back in for another cortisone and numbing shot. Once the shot is in, I'm supposed to go run around, do a bunch of physical activity and honestly assess the pain level. If it is significantly improved, then surgery MAY be an option. So it's more PT, more waiting, and continued frustration.

So there are the bummers of the day, here are the smileys:

1. Peder was very proud of his painting that he brought for me from preschool.

2. Jake being home so he could take Peder to and from school today to give my hip a bit of a rest.

3. Jake let me have his sandwich for lunch because the restaurant gave me the wrong one (it had everything I don't like on it and nothing I like....totally wrong from what I ordered).

4. Jake making phone calls for me because I just couldn't do it today.

5. Sandwiches for dinner so we could head out right away.

6. Playing at the pool after dinner. SO FUN!

7. A visit from Beth while we were at the pool.

8. Emmy "tickling" Beth...it was really cute.

9. Nerds Concrete Mixer from Culvers.

10. Snuggling with Jake for a bit tonight.

11. Peder's excitement about going to the cabin tomorrow.

12. Jake's dad watched the kids for us while I had my doctor's appointment.

13. Planning a relaxing weekend away. I'm going to ride in the boat, lay on a floatie in the lake, play in the lake with the kids, spend time with my family, go to the fireworks and just RELAX. WA-HOO! You will NOT hear from me until Sunday.

Less then a day...

Tomorrow is a big day. The morning starts out with my sister having her 20 week ultrasound...we get to find out if it's a boy or a girl! WA-HOO! Then in the afternoon I have my hip appointment. Hoping for a definitive plan....so please pray for that!

Today's Smileys:

1. Less then a day until I find out what the heck is going to happen with my hip.

2. Funny conversations with Peder. "No tickles, but I do like hugs and kisses."

3. Emmy saying, "Reach" and raising her arms above her head.

4. Jake brought us lunch because I was in too much pain to make anything for the kids or myself.

5. A long warm bath.

6. A new book to read, which made it hard to get out of that bath tub.

7. All 3 kids playing ball this evening and the giggles that filled the house for at least an hour straight.

8. Coconut Pineapple scented candles. Smells like summer....

9. Jake's work around the house.

10. A funny phone conversation with my dad....and Peder telling him all about his new Lightening McQueen life jacket "I got a new Lightening McQueen life jacket to wear while we go fishing."