Asher's 1st Lost Tooth!

Yesterday, June 15, our 5 1/2 year old Asher lost his first tooth, a primary front tooth on the bottom. Today, he lost his second tooth, one right next to it! The permanent teeth are already there right behind them ready to slip into place.

Asher's teeth have been loose for a few weeks now. He hasn't been able to bite into an apple for at least a couple weeks. He said yesterday he would allow Daddy to take a look at them and pull them. Asher waited until 8pm to ask Daddy. Gees! Give the tooth fairy a little notice. :)

I, of course, should have been prepared but wasn't. But, the Tooth Fairy came through with a little, superman cup and a requested Superman t-shirt, $5 for the first tooth, and a cute little letter. Asher was so excited he woke up the entire house at 5:50 AM to tell us what the tooth fairy had brought him. Too cute!

Asher's tooth fairy, named Spider Sliversnap, better save her energy as she needs to return tonight.

We definitely do not have any more babies in our house...

Alivia's 2nd 5K Run

Last weekend, Alivia ran her second 5k in my hometown of Shelby, Iowa. We drove out the night before and stayed with my parents in their home that is the midst of a total renovation. It was bananas there. I was so tired (as I worked Thursday night, stayed up all day Friday and then drive to Iowa to stay with my parents Friday night) that I could have slept on a rock and would have not known the difference.

Anyway, we woke on Saturday morning to a chilly one. Alivia was nervous. Funny, when I run with Alivia, the pressure is off of me. :) We had to ride to the starting line and just froze. They then went back to get more people and we froze some more. The race started 15-20 minutes late. Alivia and I were so cold!

The run itself was more of a challenge this time as Alivia has not been running as much as she should have been. The run was on a beautiful trail through town unlike anything we have here to run on. It was so pretty. As we approached the big hill at the end, I told Alivia to empty her tank. She just took off passing people up the hill. She finished in 28.50! Impressive for a 9 year old little girl. She did amazing.

For now, Alivia is taking a break. She loves to run, and vows to keep on running.

Father's Day 2013

Happy Father's Day!
Today started off early in the Austin Household I got up 10 minutes earlier than my normal 5:45 workout time so that I could get in my workout and still be on time for today's activities. As I reached the basement to begin my HASFIT, I heard little feet running upstairs. I laughed as I imagined Chris getting woke up so early on Father's Day.
Sure enough, at 5:50 AM, Asher woke up Daddy to inform him what the tooth fairy brought Asher for losing his first tooth. Asher was so excited to run down the stairs to find me (after waking up Daddy and his sisters first). Kinda funny.
At 7, a little bit more reasonable hour, the kids ran in to officially wake Daddy with their hugs, kisses and Father's Day surprises. Each kiddo brought Daddy a  special gift bag. Asher gave Daddy a Super Dad t-shirt, a book, and little forms about Daddy filled out by each of the kids. Addison brought in Daddy a Pinterest Special, a bag full of POP and Daddy things (POPcorn, blowPOPs, POProcks, POPsickles, Sugar Daddys - from me of course ;), etc. Alivia gave Daddy a framed letter to Daddy that turned out pretty cute, too.
We were on the road to the flight breakfast in Iowa by 7:30, visiting my Dad. By lunch, we were back at home and walked over to visit Chris' Dad, Aunt and Uncle and Grandparents at Chris' parents house down the street. We felt like we were crashing the party there as we were not really invited and Chris' brother was on his way...so we split for home. We spent the afternoon swimming in our little pool under the sun, finally.

It was a nice, peaceful Father's Day. With that said, I told Chris that we are going to start a new tradition for Father's Day. Everyone has family to go to, and well, we don't really.  My Dad is busy at the air show and his parents are busy with, well, their family. So, it is time we make our own traditions. We will start that next year. I have a whole year to plan something fun!

I am lucky. I have an amazing Dad that I can call on for advise, to help me fix something, help me trade stocks, etc. My Dad is the most independent smart man I know. Then I have my amazing husband and Daddy to our 3 kiddos. He is always active with the kids, playing baseball, water fights, sledding, and usually blends right in with all the kids' activities (he looks like one of them!). Chris walks into the door and the kids run from all directions to give him a hug. He works all hours just to keep this big roof over our heads and us happy. What a Dad!
On the kids' surveys, they thought Chris was his age of 41, but thought he was 41 pounds, born in 1984, favorite saying was, "dong diggity" from Big Bang Theory". They thought Daddy's favorite food was pizza or shrimp (which was right on).  It was fun to see how the kids filled them out.
Happy Father's Day! Shouldn't Every Day be Mother's and Father's Day?!

May in Review, Finally

The month started with May Day, visiting Grandma Marci. The weather has been weird, even snowing in MAY!! We went to the zoo with Addison's 2nd grade class, Asher graduated from preschool and finished up his Monday preschool, we celebrated Alivia's 9th birthday and Mother's Day. We had to say good-bye to our Grandma Marci. I'm so very thankful that Asher and I started out month visiting her...

MAY PICTURES

Alivia's 9th Birthday

I am not doing so good on keeping up this blog. I'm not sure how the time gets away from me, but it just does.
Last Saturday, Alivia celebrated her 9th Birthday. Only one more year until she is in the double digits! Craziness. Where does the time go? Our little girl is growing up.
Alivia celebrated with her friends after the last day of school on Friday, having 5 girls over for a sleepover. They played spin the body on the bottle was nail polish. Pretty fun and cute game. They played twister, made friendship bracelets, before watching a movie. In the morning (after a long night I may add), they made sun catchers. They all had a good time.
We celebrated with Chris' parents, my parents, and Alivia's Great Grandma Patricia by having a little BBQ at our home. Turns out, Alivia no longer wanted a hotdog or hamburger! She is quite selective with her eating lately, liking something one day and not the next! I have a feeling this may get worse before it gets better. Alivia received Lego friends from her grandparents, clothes and money. She was thrilled. She had large lego friends pieces to put together, and she loved doing that over the next few rainy days (and we have had our share of those!).
From us, Alivia received an iPad mini with a pink little case. Now, I know, she is only 9! But, she was already using Chris' so much that he never saw it. Alivia only asked for a mini, so when I saw them go on price drop at Walmart, Chris insisted I jump on it. After opening it, Addison and Asher were not happy. But, they are used to the idea now. Addison and Asher have iPod touches, but they do not use them much except when we are traveling.
Alivia is growing up. Her tastes are changing. She likes technology, but she still likes art. She now likes to run, which we are pleased to see her take an interest in. Alivia likes to spend a lot of time with her friends, with Elizabeth taking up most of her time. Alivia likes to ride her scooter, roller blade, and break away and play animal jam on the computer (when Mom breaks down and allows her to play). Alivia has such a big heart and is quite thoughtful. She likes to talk and can talk for a great length of time without taking a breath. Humm...could that be her age? :) And, this year she claimed to have a little boyfriend named Caleb all year. Insane, am I right?!

Here are her questions answered for Age 9
1. Favorite color: Light blue and pink.
2. Favorite Toy: ipad that she got for her birthday/animal jam
3. Favorite Fruit: Strawberries
4. Favorite TV show: Zak and Cody or Jessie
5. Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Roast beef and cheese sandwich (Although she never eats it! She is a greek yogurt n fruit kind of girl. She loves her salads, too!).
6. Favorite outfit: Monkey shirt from Justice
7. Favorite Game: Animal Jam.
8. Favorite snack: popsickle
9. Favorite animal: Kittens, puppies
10. Favorite song: Taylor Swift: Never Getting Back Together
11. Favorite book: Bad Kitty
12. Best Friend: Elizabeth
13. Favorite Cereal: Chocolate Chex
14. Favorite Thing to do outside: Run around, basketball
15. Favorite drink: Lemonade
16. Favorite Holiday: Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Stuffed dog
18. Favorite thing for breakfast? Chocolate chex (Alivia does not like eggs, bacon, waffles, or donuts!).
19. Favorite restaurant? McDonalds?! ?!
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet and a singer.

Saying Good Bye to Grandma Marci

On Monday night at around 9:15, my mom called to tell me Grandma Marci had fallen in her apartment. When they got to UNMC, they found out that she had fallen because she was having a heart attack. She had like a 90+% blockage and was not expected to make it through the night.
I rushed into the hospital to see her. When I arrived in her room on the 7th floor, Grandma told me, "I had a bad day," and continued to mutter something about seeing a picture of the kids today and her face lit up. She spent that first part of Monday night into Tuesday morning in pain. Grandma no longer wanted to fight and asked for no treatment for her heart. She was given Morphine twice, which made her sick. I asked if she had an Ativan order (for anxiety) because she was so anxious due to the overwhelming pain, "I don't know what I'm going to do." I was so sad to watch. Grandma had taken Ativan in the past without the side effect of getting nauseated. Once she received it, she calmed and was asleep. I went home at 1:30 AM leaving my Mom and Aunt Marsha with Grandma. I had worked Sunday night and slept maybe 4 hours Monday, so I was a wreck.
By Tuesday morning, I called my Mom and Grandma was still asleep and had not work up since I left. The kids and I kept busy in the morning and then went to visit Grandma around noon. I was not sure the rules on if the kids could see her or even if I should allow them to see her in such a state. So, they waited in the waiting room with Marsha. My mom had left to go take a nap at Grandma's apartment. We left at 1:30.
By 2:30, Grandma was gone. We drove back to the hospital to be with my family.
My Grandma will be laid to eternal rest in Shelby, Iowa on Friday morning. I wrote a eulogy for my Grandma with input from my family, too. I am not sure how I will ever get through it, but I am going to try. I miss my Grandma Marci, but she will forever be in my heart.

My Eulogy to Grandma Marci

I am Krista Austin, the daughter of Bette and Derald, and the youngest of Grandma Marci’s grandchildren. It has not been easy to put together something to say about Grandma, as I can never do justice for all the things she accomplished during her 100 years. We are all grieving for a very special lady, mother, grandmother, and friend.
There are so many things I will remember about Grandma Marci. Grandma always knew she was one of a kind. Growing up, she was Grandma Jones to me. As time passed, she became Marcella Jones. She even called me once and said this is Marcella Jones. I was like, Grandma, you are just Grandma to me! More recently, she went by Marci Jones. She was always a bit of a princess.
Grandma always had an amazing sense of style and kept up with the latest fashion trends. I recall on several occasions she would arrive in her leather pants and a zebra or leopard print blouse. She dressed like she was 20, okay, maybe 30 tops. Grandma never saw herself as old, and we loved that about her. She always accessorized with many bracelets, necklaces and earrings. I remember waiting in her bedroom on Happy Hollow while she primped. She had all of these mirrors, fancy make up, and always had her nails done. Oh, and her hair. As a beautician, she knew just how she liked her hair. Though, I’m not sure she ever found anyone to style her hair just so for her. She was always so glam. Her friend Marilyn Manning made an unexpected visit to Grandma and found Grandma dressed to the nines. Grandma said she always dressed like that now. Why save clothes in the closet when you are 100, right? Grandma was an inspiration for aging in style and grace.
Grandma was always photo ready. If you get a chance, check out some of the pictures we turned up of Grandma. She would get her lip stick on and be ready with her beautiful smile. She always looked radiant!
Every family member would probably say they remember Grandma’s noodles. As my cousin Dave would say, “If you don’t know what I’m talking about that’s your loss.” But, I think Dave has the recipe.
Grandma always had our backs. Dave recalls when he and Wade were 5 or 7 years old, they refused to eat their vegetables at dinner. Somehow they talked Marsha into calling Grandma who convinced Marsha to just let the boys skip their vegetables for one night. What a grandma!
On one of Grandma and Grandpa George’s last trips to the lake, Grandma told us how she came to a bridge and was about to meet a truck. She was certain she was going to hit either the bridge or the truck, so she closed her eyes! Wow, I’m glad she did not give me driving lessons! We are lucky, her, the truck and the bridge all came out unharmed. Grandma renewed her driver’s license when she was 93 and it was good for 5 more years. She stopped driving when she was maybe 95. My Dad was the only one that ever told Grandma how nice her Cadillac was. So, on her 98th Birthday, she gifted my Dad her car. What an amazing gift that he continues to drive and remember Grandma, although he took the spinner off of the steering wheel. My Dad gave her a bad time after that telling her he had high expectations for the gifts he would get from her on her future birthdays. Grandma had planned on painting my Dad a picture of the airplane he had built. In the ER on Monday night, Grandma told my Dad how sorry she was that she was not going to be able to paint a picture of his airplane for him.
Speaking of birthdays, we helped Grandma turn 100 years old last July by taking her out to eat. As the waiter chatted with us, amazed that she was 100 years old, he asked her what her secret was. Grandma said something like, “Just clean living.” Yeah, clean living and a little Vodka. I guess Grandma had her fun in her day, too! Oh, and she then flirted with the waiter.
Grandma always had a green thumb. She had a backyard full of flowers in Happy Hollow, flowers all around their home at the Lake, and her apartment now is filled with over 67 plants that she continued to tend to! She was in fabulous health, too, only having one surgery her entire life and that was to have knee replacement. That is amazing! In more recent years, she really watched what she ate, trying to eat healthy taking a liking to walnuts, blueberries and pineapple. Now I know where I get my healthy eating habits from.
As many of you know, Grandma was very strong willed. She had to do things her way. Live her life her way, where she wanted to live it, and how she wanted to live it. Grandma was sharp as a tack and remembered about everything other than if she took her pills. She lived independently with the help of 2 loyal helpers, Rose Brown and Judy Cortess, and my mom and Marsha. There were many times that my Mom questioned her on her ability to live alone, but Grandma would not have it any other way. I believe she willed herself to pull through sickness, aches and pains, so that she could continue to live in her apartment overlooking Omaha’s beautiful city skyline.
As Wade and Allison and then Chris and I started having kids giving Grandma Great Grandkids, grandma was thrilled being surrounded by all her great grandkids. She loved watching the kids open presents, show her things, and run around making noise. The smile of her face was priceless. On Easter, Grandma rode the golf cart so she could watch the kids collect the Easter eggs. My son Asher and I would visit her in her apartment. She could hear Asher’s voice but could no longer hear the pitch of my voice, so Asher interpreted. During our April visit, Asher brought her flowers. She started to cry and gave him a big hug. She then told me to make sure that her Great Grandchildren know how much she loves them when she is gone. She always gave Asher a little something she had around her apartment when we left. Last time she gave Asher a birdhouse. He was so excited…we made her day and she made ours. When I saw her on Monday night, she told me that she had a bad day. And then her face lit up, despite her pain, as she said she saw a picture of the kids earlier in the day. She loved us all so much. I feel so lucky to have been able share my wonderful Grandma with my kids.
I never thought about not having my Grandma. I mean, I have only known my life with her in it. She was 100, so why couldn’t she live to 110? She was such a smart woman, trading stocks until the last few years, learning to draw and paint, and always looking for and enjoying the positive things in life.
In Grandma Marci’s 100 years, she was a wife, mother, friend, beautician, artist, interior designer, Grandmother, and so much more to all of us. We all have so many wonderful memories of Grandma Marci, memories that we will forever keep in our hearts and minds.
I will end with a poem I found titled, “God Saw You Getting Tired.”
God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be so he put his arms around you and whispered, "Come to Me"
With tearful eyes we watched you and saw you pass away and although we love you dearly we could not make you stay.
A Golden heart stopped beating hard working hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us He only takes the best
 

 

Grandma, we love and miss you!

Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day is just another day in our house, with a couple exceptions.

First, I woke up to flowers on the kitchen counter. They were beautiful and my favorite, from Trader Joe's.  Chris and the kids also gave me a hand print framed piece that I love and a ring to replace my wedding ring I can not wear. Unfortunately, the ring had to go back since it only came in whole sizes and I wear a 5 1/2. Boo.

We also went and visited Chris' mom and Grandma, and my mom, grandma and aunt. They kids thought it was so fun to see so many grandmas in one day!

To top off the day, I worked. Ugh.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

Alivia's First 5K run with GOTR

Alivia has now completed her first 5K run with Girls on the Run Nebraska! The day before Mother's Day, she ran in Lincoln for the sunny 1pm start time. It was chilly leading up to the race, but it was nearly perfect running weather once we got going. Yes, we, because I ran along side Alivia and her friend Katy.

Girls on the Run is an organization that teaches girls about issues such as anti bullying, good nutrition and the importance of exercise. Alivia really got a lot out of the program and looks forward to doing it again next year.

The event itself was fun. Many of the teams dressed in fun tutus (but can you imagine running in them?!), balloons in their hair, and fun designed Girls on the Run t-shirts. It was a fun event.

The start was staggered, but that did not seem to help much. There was maybe a 2 sidewalk width for over 2000 participants to run along. And, considering these are girls 3rd through 6th grade, they did not know enough to move to the side when walking, to no just stop right in front of someone in the middle of the street, or to perhaps not hold hands while walking (or running) 6 kiddos deep blocking the entire path. Maybe you can sense my frustrations. Alivia, Katy and I found our way around the crowds and still finished until 30 minutes! Quite impressive for a couple of 8 year olds!

Now, Alivia wants to run another 5k, so she is continuing to run. Yeah for Alivia! She did an awesome job, and I am just glad she picked up one of my better habits. :)

Annual Garden Walk

A couple weeks ago, Asher and I decided to visit the Omaha Botanical Gardens. It is usually so pretty this time of year. And, they had a fun lego exhibit that I knew Asher would love.

At least I was right on one part.

Asher loved the indoor lego exhibit. They had a lawnmower, a flying bee, buffalo and more...all made out of legos! It was amazing. They had a fun little area for Asher to build with Lego's too, which he enjoyed doing for a long while.

Now, the gardens were not all that pretty. The place was honestly a total mess. I believe they said parts of the garden were closed for the sewer separation project, but don't quote me as I am not sure that was entirely the reason. Over half of the gardens, including the outdoor train exhibit, were closed! I could not see any reason why the trains had to be closed, too. I thought they entry should be cut in half considering over half of it was closed. Just saying. We were both quite disappointed.

I guess we will have to wait and see the gardens in their pretty state next year.

Asher's Last Day of Preschool

I seems like yesterday, Asher started his first day of Preschool at Sacred Heart in Papillion. He did so well adjusting to preschool life, making new friends, learning a lot, and enjoying school. I adjusted, too, in due time. Being home alone for just a few hours a few times a week was a big adjustment. The time goes fast, but I have missed having Asher at home with me.

Fast forward to today, his last day of preschool. It was still hard for me to give him that hug as he walked into preschool the last time. I snapped pictures with his wonderful teachers as they reminded me how all the kids have grown up over the preschool year. They came in little 4 year olds, with little chubby cheeks and hesitant of school. Now they have all grown up a bit and are ready for Kindergarten.

And with that, I had to go, tears flowing down my cheeks.

It is sad to see Asher move on to Kindergarten. We have had 2 years of just the 2 of us at home, bonding, playing, going places, etc. I will miss him when he goes to school. Sniff, Sniff.

Congratulations Asher for achieving one more milestone! I love you!

Visit to Grandmas

To celebrate May Day, Asher and I stopped by Trader Joe's for some flowers and made a visit to Grandma Marci. Grandma looked all dolled up for our visit. She was so happy to see us, especially Asher. She looked good for her nearly 101 years of age, but reported to me that she has not felt well. She has skin cancer on her chest and arms that they are just treating with topical creams, and she has some sort of nerve thing that causes her body to jump and spasm without warning (probably due to age). Some days are better than others.
Asher was such a sweet little boy, giving Grandma the flowers and a big hug before quietly eating his lunch. Asher helped Grandma and I communicate as Grandma can not hear the pitch of my voice at all, but it appeared she could hear Asher better.
As we said good-bye, Grandma gave Asher a birdhouse and a plague that she wanted him to have (kinda funny) and told me to make sure Asher and the kids know how much Grandma loves them and loved them when she is gone. So sad to have to think like that.

The visit made me think how lucky I am to be able to share my Grandma with my kids. We need to visit more often.

Living on the Edge

I have lost all motivation, to work, to sing (oh Thank God, right?!), to play, and to blog. I will try and do better.

Since our nice President (complete sarcasm) took his first oath of office, we have been living on the edge. Chris works as a government contractor. He has been through several lay offs and survived so far. His office space is now practically empty. He shares one big office, once held by a manger, with one other guy. His original boss and original co-workers from way back when he started (this has been Chris' only job since college!) were cut this last week. It is ugly there.
Meanwhile, Chris was working on the Florida task with a Pennsylvania management team. His management, women, were evil, back stabbing, lazy, witches. Really, you should see how they "talk" to him via email. Long story short, the one manager was railroading him, more or less forcing Chris into saying, "I QUIT!" She was putting short time lines on difficult tasks, making Chris work through the weekend and long nights to complete, would tell him to do one thing and then once he did it ask him why he did it, etc, etc. She went crazy emailing him straight for 3 hours last Friday to the point where Chris took it to the National Contract Manager who happens to be local (Chris' 2 managers are not local). This manager was shocked by the BS that Chris was contending with, dropped Chris from the Florida contract, and put him on another one starting this upcoming Monday.
This last Monday, we thought Chris would surely be cut sooner than later as he would be their first choice considering how his manager was treating him. They lead him to believe, he would be cut this week, during a meeting that was to happen on Thursday. We were scrambling, trying to decide what we would do if and when unemployment hit us. They sometimes give 2 weeks, but many times they just cut the people and walk them out. His company is evil in how they treat their employees. Now, Chris can breathe, but this is short term. Yet, he remains on the short list to be cut.
We are both scrambling to see who can get the best new job first. I'm beginning to think I have a spelling error on my resume as I do not hear back from anyone. There goes working part time while I stay at home so there would not be a hole on my resume. I thought that would help!
In the meantime, I am continuing to work every other weekend, but I have bumped up my hours to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is a major adjustment as I went from Friday through Monday at 9:30pm with 8 hours of sleep. I was exhausted and an emotional mess by the end.

I'm actually hoping one of us will find a new job by the end of summer. Chris is applying to jobs in all over, not just here in Nebraska. He has been applying here for months without any reporting back. So, time to up the ante. In the meantime, we will continue to wonder where we will be living tomorrow, if we will be employed, can we take a vacation? Will we move (that is a never ending question)? Should we just sell our home now since it appears to be inevitable? Really, we are living day to day waiting for the next fireball to be thrown at us by Chris' company.

Living life on the edge has been fun (sarcasm), but we are really to live with a little more certainty and a little more boredom. Does that exist?

April in Review

I'm so behind! Finally getting around to April's pictures. We helped celebrate Chris' birthday, watched Asher play cold soccer and swim at the warm indoor pool. We did make it to the park a couple times even through this crazy cold spring weather!

April Pictures

To Move or Not

So far...we are staying put.

Just when we find ourselves saying, "Let's move," Chris' work pulls something that makes us think now may not be the best time.

So, for now, we are staying.

Not sure if that will change tomorrow...but it is what it is for today.

I guess I will go back to trying to enjoy winter in April.

Sigh.

At least the sea gulls stopped by shadow lake to visit.

Happy Birthday to Chris

Last weekend (yes, I am that behind on this blog), we helped Chris ring in another birthday! Since his big birthday last year was celebrated away from the kids in sunny Florida, Chris wanted to spend the day with the kids this year. So, I had a lot of fun activities planned for him to select from.

First, breakfast came from Daddy's favorite, Panera. The kids were about as thrilled with this as Chris was. As Daddy worked out, I finished up on his birthday treat (a home made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that was so yummy!). After getting cleaned up, Chris wanted to take a family walk around the lake. The kids were not happy about this one bit. So, Chris decided to have them stay at his parents down the street while we continued our walk with Pippa around the lake. It was quite peaceful actually. We need to do that more often!

After talking with his parents, Chris decided to take advantage of the Home Depot mulch sale and go and buy a few bags of mulch. 75 bags later, he was home ready to dump it. Huh, that was not on my list of fun things to do. I suggested roller skating or a movie! Anyway, instead we mulched the entire yard. Yeah...got that done just before it rained and snowed all week. (sarcasm).

After our hard work all afternoon, we ordered pizza for dinner. That's special, right?! But, we were able to top it off with the delicious cake and ice cream. The kids gave their Daddy a gift card to Subway and chocolate covered almonds (because he is a bit nutty yet sweet), while I gave him new jeans that I believe were made of gold and the imitation ho hos that he asked me for instead of the cake that I made anyway. :) All in all, better than the napkin holder that I will never let him live down giving me.

Chris reported having a happy birthday best spent at home. Many More, too, Mr. Austin.

March 2013 In Review

 Another wild month behind us. Addison lost 3 teeth. That is a big deal to a 6 year old. Addison lost 3 teeth in a week. That is a big deal to the tooth fairy. Just saying. Asher started swim class. He is doing great! He loves the water. Alivia is running her little heart out in Girls on the Run. She is doing amazing. She ran 3 miles with me over spring break! Impressive, am I right?! That is good for an 8 year old. I got another year older (sigh), while Chris prepares to get another year older this weekend (sigh). We had more snow (moan) but the kids liked to play in it. I wish I could say the same about shoveling the darn stuff. We just finished up a fun week of spring break and celebrating Easter. Now, back to reality. BRING ON SPRING ALREADY!!


Enjoy MARCH PICTURES!

Accident Prone

It is not a secret, I am really accident prone.

In Hawaii with Chris, I cut my head open in the middle of nowhere on the road to Hana. A naked girl on site offered to help before Chris took off his shirt stopping the bleeding from my head.

At our previous address, I tried out Alivia's scooter hitting an uneven patch in the driveway going for flight. I landed face down. I still have a nice scar on my arm to remember that one. I now try to avoid scooters.

A couple of summer's ago, I went down our now driveway on my bike, slamming on the breaks to avoid something, and I flew over the handle bars...landing on my face (again!).

Last week, Chris and I were cutting back the grasses for spring and placing them in the large rolling trash bin. The trash bin was full when I tried to roll it closer to the plants Chris was trimming. Somehow the bin got away from me and came back smashing me...wait for it...in the face, AGAIN! Chris turned around to find the full trash can on top of me. I thought my chin was shattered. I opened my mouth and blood ran out.

It turned out to feel much worse than it was. I had a blood blister the size of a dollar coin on the inside of my lip and my chin has a nice bruise. I also manage to get a nice bruise on my knee, possibly from the trash can landing just right on it. But, my face did not look that bad for the fight I had with the trash can.

These are just the events I can remember since marrying Chris. I won't even get into the events of childhood! I must have 9 lives!

Spring Break 2013

We may not have gone on a big spring break vacation, but the kids still reportedly had fun. That is what is important, right?

We kicked off spring break at Jumping Jax in Papillion with Reding family. Funny, I saw a few other people there from Shadow Lake. Lucky for us, the place was not busy. The afternoon was filled with decorating Easter cut out cookies while Asher still went to his Monday afternoon preschool class.

Gabby, Alivia and Addison decorating Easter cookies

 Next up, member's hour and more at the Omaha Children's Museum where we met the Frederick Family. The girls loved Asher's little twin friends (as we typically only see them when the girls are in school!). We had the best time. And, I was so happy that Jill reminded me of member's hour at 9, to beat the rush. 

Maggie, Asher and Alivia

Wednesday brought more time with the Reding Family, this time at the zoo. The weather was kinda cool but not terrible. We were able to enjoy the indoor and outdoor animals, have a picnic lunch and end the day with an IMAX at 2. Alivia ended the day hosting a sleepover with her friend Gabby at our home.

Xander, Asher, Addison, Alivia and Gabby

Thursday was the day that was voted best of spring break. We visited Skate Daze in Omaha where the kids ran through their endless tube system and Addison roller skated (for maybe 10 minutes) with the Eickmeier family. The kids had a blast here. I will have to remember this to take them on very hot summer days, too. Addison ended the day having a sleepover at Kaitlyn's house.

Friday we went to the library and picked up some books and movies to enjoy at home. We spend the day relaxing at home (more because I needed to rest up for work at 7!). They were able to enjoy pizza that night with Daddy while I went to work (ugh).

The kids were also lucky to have Monday off of school. We woke up to a crummy April Fool's joke by mother nature...snow! We went back to the library and the kids read in quiet places, played educational games on the computer, etc. I love it that they love the library! Finally, a quiet place they like to go AND READ! Win win!

It was a fun spring break. It may (and probably will be) my last spring break as a really part time employee. Our future spring breaks may be more challenging to figure out. But, I am glad I was able to enjoy this one with them and our friends.

Easter Card Picture for 2013. Loved Asher's little tie (so cute!) and the little outfits I found for the girls.

Happy Easter 2013!

Happy Spring and Happy Easter!

Our beautiful Easter morning began earlier than the birds could wake up so we could make it to the 7:30 Mass. It was a beautiful Mass where we were blessed to be able to have a seat (thanks for arriving at Church at 7am.).

"I love you and your candy." LOL!

The kids saw their baskets as soon as the got downstairs before Mass, finding a book each, an outfit, a big chocolate bunny and a Lego friend. We saved the egg hunt for after Mass where they ran around, complaining of being cold, grabbing their 20 eggs each (that the bunny was caught hiding at 10 PM last night). The ate too much candy before we took off to my parents in Iowa for the day.

We ate dinner, had a wonderful Easter Egg Hunt of 25 eggs each!! and a big bag full of goodies, ate way too much, played outside, before making our way for home around 4:30. I was quickly reminded why I wished we did not live in our neighborhood upon our arrival home. Gees, gotta love the Holidays and Family. (Well, I am not sure we HAVE to love our family all the time).

ANYWAY, we at least enjoyed our day with my family in Iowa and are thankful they still invite us to Holiday gatherings. Our kids would not have it any other way, and are already looking forward to the fun egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house next year.

Happy Easter!

Stuck in Limbo

Okay...here it goes.

Chris and I are considering moving to the Tampa, Florida area.

For those of you who know us somewhat, this will not come as much as a surprise.

First, Chris worked from there for a year, getting to know the area some and the weather a lot. He liked what he saw for the most part. He has joined a long term contract that will continue to bring him to the Florida area as well as at least one other area as of right now.

There are clearly things we like about the area, the obvious one being the weather. We would love to live in a warm to hot area. The proximity to the ocean is key as well. Additionally, there are fun things for us to do as a family year around (opposed to fun things to do inside during the winter here). We have researched the area up one side and down the other, finding areas in and around Tampa that have grade A school systems elementary through high school, are safe (low crime) and are in our price range. We watched one house we loved sell. Now there is another we love, and others we would like to see.

Initially, we did not tell the kids. But, Chris asked them one night at dinner (much to my surprise). Their feedback was positive with hesitation. But, they are kids. They don't really know what they are saying, what to expect, what fears and hesitations they should have (LIKE WE DO!). Alivia is probably 50-50. She knows what it is like to start a new school, and she is hesitant with that. When she sees homes we are looking at, that gets her excited. She knows she will miss her friends here, but she will be able to visit them because they all live close to her grandparents. Addison (who is like me), throws more caution to the wind and is ready to go. She is set with her face time with friends if we move and is ready. Asher is more like Alivia and says he will miss his little friends he has made. He is really too young to comprehend what is going on (I think he should have been left out of the conversation until we knew what we were doing. It just causes too unnecessary worry).

We have had the real estate agents come through, tell us what they would price our house at, and when we should do it (like yesterday). We have been in touch with a recommended real estate agent in Florida who has been quite helpful. We have the loan pre approval (so we can refinance if we stay), the house is organized and cleaned, and moving company estimates.

Now, we just have to decide.

I am not analytical like Chris. So, I have made my decision. Chris likes to keep us all hanging in Limbo (can you sense my frustration?). At this point, I just want to say let's just stay because I am so sick of being in limbo. I can't do anything to the house because we may move. I feel like I can't buy anything (like buy clothes for the kids for next year) because I don't know where we will be living. The whole limbo thing is getting quite old and frustrating. We gave ourselves until the end of March to decide.

Chris and I know this is a now or never decision. If we do not move now, it will probably never happen. The longer we are here, the more difficult it will be to do later. I am, for all intents and purposes, a single child. There is a small window now where my parents are retired but they do not need my help. That will not always be the case. We will, someday, have to move back to be near our parents. If we ever want to live in the land of the warm near the ocean, it is truly now or never.

Are we being selfish by leaving our family behind? Maybe. It depends upon how you look at it. Many people we know live here away from family. It happens and it works. They visit and they go to visit them. Chris talked to his parents about the possibility of our relocation, but I have yet to talk to mine. I know my family's opinion from the last time this came up.

We are an active family. I HATE being stuck inside all winter because I do not like being cold. We all go stir crazy. We are hoping that our family would visit us if we moved, but we can not count on that. Some of our family does not visit now and we live near them. So, who knows.  We will miss our family here in the midwest, but we know we would come back to visit, keep in close contact with them like we do now, etc, etc. We only get one life...where do we want to spend it and how do we want to spend it? Our parents chose to live here, do we have to forever too?

The main hesitation for not moving at all is the kids, the unknown factors, the expense of selling, buying and moving, the question of if I will get a job there and where (I'm pretty sure I can get a job, but one can't be so sure), the kids the kids the kids, etc, etc. It is a big deal to pick up a family of 5, hire a moving company, and truck it 25 hours away.  Chris would continue to work from home and travel to the Tampa, office and other work sites as he does not. So, as of now, his job would remain pretty much the same.

The month of March is coming to an end. I am hoping our time in Limbo is too.

Suggestions? Feedback? How do we decide? This all sounds vaguely familiar...