August in Review

Here's August! I tried to put in pictures that I have not already posted this month.

Seriously...what a wild month! Here are a few things we packed into August 2009:
* The Member's Day at the zoo
* Swimming
* Haircuts
* Bike rides/walks/runs
* Picnics
* Addison marks 3 years since her baptism
* Girls get first pedi and manicures!
* Alivia started Kindergarten August 17 at Standing Bear and Loves it! She is doing great! It has taken Addison, Asher, and I some time to adjust and are still adjusting.
* Going to Parks
* Playing outside LOTS
* Visted the Children's Museum
* Visited the Fontenelle Forest/DinoQuest
* Went to the Offutt Air Show
* Put our house for sale with a real estate agent (or 2!) - check it out!
* Chris and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary
* & We had lots of fun!!

Until next month...

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August Visit to the Fontenelle Forest/DinoQuest!

What a perfect day to go to the Fontenelle Forest (and we had to get out a second showing - yes, someone was coming to take a second look already! Unfortunately, they bought the house of the same model as ours but had a 3rd car garage. :( ). After walking Alivia to school, Addison, Asher and I headed to where else - Bellevue - to visit the Dinos. This was not our best visit. Addison, who declined going potty while inside, had to go potty as soon as we got really far away. She refused to go outside where there was not a potty, instead selected to whine through the Dino exhibits. UGH! Let's just say we have had more peaceful visits. The dinos are still there, and are still neat to see. After a brief potty break inside, we went back outside to play at the Acorn Acres. What we had missed at the Dino Open house is that the dirt in the Acorn Acres area has been converted to a rock and fossil digging area. How neat is that! Addison and Asher played there for at least a half hour!

Overall, it was a fun morning. We hope to visit at least one more time before the Dinos travel to another land.

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Alivia's 1st School Project: To Build a Teddy Bear!

Alivia's Teddy Bear!

This week is Teddy Bear Week in Kindergarten at Alivia's school. She brought home a plain paper bear that we were to cut out and creatively decorate together as a family using any materials we wanted to use. Here is Alivia's bear! We had a lot of fun creating the Standing Bear Cub Teddy Bear! Alivia's teddy bear will be on display in the hall all week along with the other bears.

The Standing Bear Elementary Bear Cub!

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2009 Offutt Air Show

For something to do on this beautiful Sunday, we took the kids to the Offutt Air Show. We thought for sure Asher would like it, but we were not sure what Alivia and Addison would think about it. We took the shuttle bus from Bellevue University to the base,  arriving just before 1 pm knowing that the Navy Blue Angels were to perform at 3pm. We quickly found out that Alivia did not like the loud planes. She cried for at least the first hour we were there. Asher cried when they did the bombing presentation. Addison, on the other hand, plugged her ears and watched. (Note to self: Bring earplugs fo the kiddos next time!). After much delay, the Blue Angels performed. They were awesome!

All in all, it was a great afternoon. We were away from the house for showings an got a great show ourselves!

 

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Kiddos Overnight at the Farm

As Chris and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary, the kids spent time with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Bet on the farm. As they loaded up in their car, Asher appeared to not have a clue what was going on. We were really rushed, too, quickly saying our good-byes.

They first went to Mamas Pizza for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa reported that they all did fine. Then they went to the farm, playing with all their toys in and outside. Addison slept in Grandma's crib, Alivia slept in the bed in the same room with Addison, and Asher slept in the pack n play across the hall from the girls. Asher went right to sleep. However, Alivia and Addison saw bugs on the dresser, spider hanging from the light (there is a pull string for the light and they thought it was a spider web!), it was not light enough, etc. I bet Grandma and Grandpa had fun with all of their drama. Eventually, by 10 PM, all the kids were finally asleep.

The fun continued on the farm today. Asher took a 3 hour nap in the fresh farm air before coming home about 5. Oh, they had to stop for ice cream first, though! Now, here is the kicker. Grandma and Grandpa got into their car to go home and Asher wanted in. He gives Grandpa Bill and hug, crying, pointing to the back seat where his seat once was. He was so upset as they drove off. I don't know, but I think Asher liked staying with Grandma Bet and Grandpa Bill on the Farm...and so did the girls!

Although Chris and I did miss the kids, it was nice to be able to spend some special time alone, talking, walking, eating, napping, and having plenty of moments of silence. After a while, you forget what it is like to do those things without interruption.Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking our Austin 3 for 24 hours!

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Chris & Krista @ 10 Years...

10th Wedding Anniversary

June, 1996: Chris and I met while working as techs in the ICU at Clarkson Hospital.
October, 1996: I wrote the note that changed my life and stuck it into Chris' work mailbox asking him to hang out sometime. He called that night asking me out on a date to Old Chicago in the Old Market.
July, 1997: Chris began working at Sterling Software (which is now Northrop Grumman). Yes, he has been driving all that way since 1997!
September, 1998: Chris proposed marriage - I said yes!
August 28, 1999: Chris and I were married at Faith Westwood Church in Millard in front of friends and family. Our reception was held at Lakeshore Country Club in Lake Manawa, Iowa.

September, 1999: We took our beautiful honeymoon on a Sandals vacation to Negril, Jamaica.

Once at home, we set up married life in our apartment at 3919 N. 154th Court #337 (Torrey Pines Apartments). Chris wanted a house almost immediately, where I liked not having to worry about the yard and home maintenance.

April 2000: I started my job at Dey Pharma, leaving nursing behind.
August 11, 2000: Chris & I moved into our first home at 4013 N. 162nd Avenue just 1 mile from our apartment. It was a beautiful 2 story home with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. We found the home while driving through the neighborhood with my parents. We actually went to the door and asked the homeowner (Noel) to see it!  Chris and I loved the house, but Chris thought it was out of the budget. We put an offer in a couple days later.
September, 2000: Chris finishes his Master's Degree! YEAH! We have the 1st of many parties at our new home.
May, 2002: I finish my MBA! Yeah! I won an award at Dey, sending Chris and I to Napa, CA for a weekend getaway. 
November 2002: We take an unforgettable trip to Hawaii!
August, 2003: Chris and I take a trip to Chicago. While staying at the Fab Sofitel (love that place!), Chris and I decide we are ready to start a family. Scary!
September, 2003: I begin RCIA classes with Chris as my sponsor at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.
November 2003: We are excited to find out we are expecting baby #1 due June 23, 2004!
January 31, 2004: Chris and I get married AGAIN!! This time we are married in the SVDP Catholic Church with Chris' parents and his Grandma Biga as witnesses. It was freezing that day!
February, 2004: We found out our first baby is going to be a girl! We start planning for her arrival.
April, 2004: I become a member of the Catholic Church.
May 25, 2004: Alivia Grace Austin surprises us by coming early (4 weeks to the day!). My water broke while at work, actually, but it was not an obvious thing. We went into my OB's office where I waited for a half hour before I reminded the receptionist that my water had broken. Alivia was born at 3:05 that afternoon.

Having a baby brought many changes to our home. Alivia was an overall good baby. She had reflux initially, but Zantac put a stop to the 72 hours of straight crying (oh, that was fun). I did not want to go back to work. This was a weird thing for me since all I ever wanted to do was work hard to do well for us. I had trouble balancing work/mommy life for many years.

August 28, 2005: Chris & I celebrate 5 years together! Wow! What an amazing ride so far!
Fall, 2005: We decided we were ready for another baby! It took a few months, but it finally happened! Baby #2 was to be born mid August 2006.
July 12, 2006: Addison Rose Austin was born just 3 weeks early.
Again, I wanted to stay home. Chris kept telling me to quit. He knew it would be better for the girls and for our family to have me at home. We enrolled the kids in what we thought was a Christian at home daycare.
April, 2007: I began feeling sick, but did not think much of it. I had started running at night and not having a snack, so I just thought it was low blood sugar. I was still nursing Addison, who was 7 or 8 months old.
April 23, 2007: My friend Heidi called to say they were expecting baby #3 in November a few days prior to this day. I got to thinking after her call..."OMG, could I be prego?!" To reassure myself, I bought a test. 2 tests later, I realized I was pregnant with baby #3! When I called my OB, the nurse asked when my last cycle was, November of 2005 did not help her any!
May, 2007: Due date #1 was December 12 or something, then it was changed to December 29 after the ultrasound (I think the first one was right). We decided not to find out the sex of this baby keeping the whole process a surprise!
June, 2007: Christian daycare turned out to be crazy. Chris and I wonder if I should just stay home now. We have paid off all of our student loan debt, car debt and have only the mortgage. We had saved enough to buy a car once I quit but not quite a year of Chris' salary after that. I decide to try and find daycare and hold out until baby #3 arrives so we can save up the necessary safely net.
November 29, 2007: Asher Wade Austin arrives!
March 1, 2008: I finally quit my job and stay home! Chris and I decide this life is so much better, less chaotic. Dinner is on the table at night, laundry is done, and we are just more relaxed (as much as we can be with 3 small kids). I love being at home, but wish Chris was closer.
July 2008: Chris and I look at a few homes. We are getting the itch to move.
November, 2008: I begin to work for "fun" at Janie and Jack clothing store for kids 1-2 nights a week. I leave a couple months later after I find it not to be fun.
March, 2009: I get back into nursing (against Chris' better wishes) to keep up my license working at UNMC 8 hours 11p-7:30am every other Saturday night. It is probably good for me to get out of the house, but it is hard for me initially since I am giving up a night's sleep.
April, 2009: We try and sell our home For Sale by Owner, unsuccessfully. The housing market is not good, and FSBO's miss 80% of the market (supposedly).
August 17, 2009: Alivia begins Kindergarten. We love her teacher, Miss Moran, but cannot get moving out of our minds. We just think it would be better for us to get our kids in a better neighborhood with nice kids nearby to play with.
August 27, 2009: Our home is listed with NP Dodge real estate. We will give this route a try. It is listed on the MLS on August 28th.
August 28, 2009: Chris and I mark our 10 year Wedding Anniversary! What an amazing ride the last 10 years has been. We have had 2 places to call home, 2 cats, 3 kids, I have had a few main jobs while Chris is still dedicated to his job, we have had a lot of fun, challenges, but all love in the last 10 years. We know many people probably thought (or wished) we would never make it in our marriage. We are happy to have proved them all wrong and then some! Chris and I are soul mates. To some, it looks from the outside that we have it easy. Believe us when we say, we have had our challenges too. Fortunately, we are both goal driven and dedicated and forever in love with each other (& will do anything for our kids!)! I, for one, look forward to every day I wake up next to Chris (because he generally has been at work for 2 hours by the time I wake up!) and get to spend with my beautiful kids. I look forward to what's next in our future.

May our laughter & love go on along with our infinite time line...

10th Wedding Anniversary!

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10 Years & Counting

August 28, 2009 marked 10 years of Marital Bliss for Chris and I. What a busy day! We started the day walking Alivia to school where Chris stayed behind so she could try the school's free breakfast program (how cool is that?!). Next, we loaded up and went and got Chris and my picture taken to mark 10 years together (I will share those later). Once back at home, my parents took Addison and Asher, while Chris, my Dad and I went house shopping (after listing our home Thursday night). We narrowed it down to 3 homes! Yeah! We got home in time to pack an overnight back, spiff the house a bit, and walk up to get Alivia from school. After the crazy day, we could not wait for our couples massage scheduled for 4:30! We said our good byes to the kiddos (who were going to Mamas Pizza before staying with my parents at the farm), and off to our massage we went!

Guess what? They made a scheduling error and we did not have an appointment! We were more than disappointed and will be writing a letter to express that!

We went downtown to the hotel night we received as a gift from Chris' parents. We walked the Old Market before going to dinner where it all began nearly 13 years ago, Old Chicago! That's right, our first date was at Old Chicago downtown in October of 1996. Our listing agents gave us a giftcard, too, so I ended up being a cheap date.

We walked around Con Agra park, watching the water and ducks before going back to our room for the night.

For our anniversary gift this year we hope to buy a flat screen tv to go above the mantel in our new, unpurchased home (that is if our home ever sells). We also hope to take a nice trip together this winter sometime. After all, you only get 1 ten year wedding anniversary!

Although Chris and I were both rather sick with colds and we did not get our long awaited 10th anniversary massage, we were able to spend and celebrate our 10th anniversary together! Here's to many more...

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We are LISTED

We have had enough. So, we were willing to give the next step a try.

It's official...sign in the yard! We are listed!

Listed with NP Dodge

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August OCM

August OCM

Thursday morning, Addison, Asher and I took our monthly trip to the Omaha Children's Museum. Let me point out, it was not the same to go without Alivia! Addison and Asher acted much differently without Alivia, though. Addison seemed a little timid. She was not used to be the one deciding what we do next. However, I don't think she minded. Asher was all over the place and was rather hard to keep up with. They both had a lot of fun. We got home just in time for a quick nap before the real estate agents came. Another month of fun at the OCM!

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Alivia's 1st Week of Kindergarten

I have decided to do a Kindergarten Journal for Alivia. For the first week, I wrote something down daily. I will write less often as time passes.

Monday after her 1st Day

Monday, August 17, 2009

Day 1: The first day went well. We walked to school with Daddy. We went inside early, dropping off Alivia’s napmat, extra clothes and PE shoes into her locker. Then we waited in line outside. We all walked her into her class. It was crazy with everyone’s parents there! Alivia’s face got all red, but she never cried! I can’t say that about Mommy and Daddy, though. What a big girl. Daddy ate lunch at school reporting that she was doing well, but did have problems opening things. So tomorrow, I will have to pack things easier to eat/drink. Alivia actually said she did not want a juice box and wanted a thermos because then she could do it alone. We all went to school to pick her up.  Alivia was quite chatty about the day, saying how she loved school. She was quite excited through the night, having problems calming to fall to sleep. She talked nonstop, 100 miles an hour!

Miss Moran’s Email update today:

“Hi. I noticed that you mentioned that Alivia was very shy and did not come out of her shell easily. I just wanted to put your mind at east that, although she is very quiet, she has told me she need to use the restroom and she also told me all about her bike riding this summer.

It was great to see you at lunch. I hope you are having a good day. I know we are having a busy (and rule filled) day!!!

Molly Moran”

 

Tuesday, Day 2

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Day 2: The kids and Mommy walked Alivia to school. Today is the first day of PE, so we made sure to dress her in shorts.  Again, Alivia got all red and quiet as we left school, but I never saw any tears. Mommy was still sad to leave her. Once on the way home, Addison started crying saying, “I miss Alivia!” Mommy started crying. UGH! We finished  our walk on the side of the street without having to cross the streets so many time (Alivia likes to cross the street and walk so she can practice crossing the street). We miss her more!  How can something so good for her be so hard and sad?

We all walked up to pick Alivia up again. Addison ran to Alivia and gave her a hug when she came out of the door on the black top! It was so cute! Once at home, Alivia was quite chatty! She was doing multiple cartwheels and appeared to have endless energy. Addison and Alivia played in their rooms until I got back from my run at 9, then she went right to sleep.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Day 3: It was raining when we woke up, but it stopped just long enough for us to walk to school. We arrived after the bell, then I helped Alivia and Sophia put their backpacks in their lockers and get into class. We arrived later today, so there were not many parents there. Alivia had not given back the card to the teacher to report that her parents were picking her up (now we know to do that!), so I stopped and talked to Miss Moran for a minute. Alivia went on to play with Play-Doh oblivious that I was still in the hall snapping pictures.  Addison, Asher and I walked home, getting home just before the rain showers picked up again. Whew, that was close!

At pick-up Alivia broke down into tears when she realized I did not bring a snack with me to school. This was her first sign of being tired.

 

Thursday, Day 4

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Day 4: It was a nice, but cool morning this morning. Highs in the upper 70s today. Alivia was harder to get out of bed today, but did get up, dressed and was cooperative. We walked to school too early and had to wait outside. That annoys me a bit. Alivia gets clingy the longer we have to wait. She asked me to walk her to her locker and classroom where Miss Moran was waiting outside of the classroom. Alivia slipped into class and made it look easy for her. It is still difficult for us to say good-bye in the morning. I am waiting for the day that I do not get choked up. We miss her so much all day long! I treated Addison and Asher by going to the neighborhood park after dropping off Alivia. I think Addison misses her a lot. Pick up was uneventful and I made sure to bring a drink and little snack she could eat on our walk home. She rode on Daddy’s shoulders today. Once at home, Addison and Asher are tired. They, Asher especially, are trying to get used to the new nap schedule and being awakened a few minutes early so we can pick up Alivia (I put them down for naptime at 12:30, so I can hardly move up naptime!). Alivia reported the she cried in PE. :(

 

We got  an email from Miss Molly Moran today. Here is what she said:

“Hi!

I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you about Alivia.  Our class is working very hard on getting routines and poor Alivia already has them down!  She is always doing what she is supposed do and she has to listen to me get after the other kids.  I am hoping that at the end of this week I will be able to get past routine and move on to the fun of learning new things!!  I have been trying to reward Alivia and the handful of others by giving them "positive paws" and prize box.  I am sure she is getting tired of hearing my voice!  

 

Basically, I just wanted to tell you what a great kid you have!  I hope you are having a great day.  Alivia was the "star cub" yesterday.  I enjoyed hearing about Piper the cat and the rest of the family. :)

 

Molly”

 

Friday, August 21, 2009

Day 5:

After going to bed at 7:30 instead of 8, Alivia did wake up easier. She dressed in Capri pants, short sleeved shirt and a sweater for our walk to school. It was windy and chilly, probably in the 60’s. We arrived to school just as the bell rang! Love that! I walked Alivia in, having her take out her lunch box, finding her locker and putting her backpack inside. She gave me a quick hug before walking into room #6 with Miss Moran. As she walked off, Addison said, “I miss Alivia.” I do too, sweetie! Addison, Asher and I went home to go to the grocery store together.

We picked up Alivia at 3:45. Love the hugs we get from her at the end of her school day. She rode home on Daddy’s shoulders. Alivia, once again, said she cried today because the kids were screaming too loud. :( 

All in all, we made it through a successful week 1 of Kindergarten!

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It Only Takes 1 Hotdog

...to get me raging mad. At least when it randomly appears in our yard, is 2 inches smaller than our hotdogs and our hotdogs are all accounted for within buns, and we have neighbors that we are less than fond of that we KNOW threw it into our yard while they were grilling.

Okay, let me explain. Tonight we were out grilling hotdogs, and then the neighbor came out and started grilling. I was pushing Addison on the swing and Chris was in and out of the house while tending the grill. I ran up to the house for something, walking over a fresh hotdog. Hum, I thought. I actually assumed it was ours. So, I went inside and asked Chris. I counted the hotdogs on the grill vs in the package and they were all accounted for. I took the hotdog and put it up to the ones we had and that hotdog clearly was not from our package. I was majorly mad. I walked out to Chris at the grill and asked him, "Are you going to the door or am I?" talking about going to our neighbors' home. Chris said just to wait until the neighbor came back out.

When the neighbor came out, he had a guilty grin on his face. The hotdog was cool and freshly thrown and I knew he had thrown it. Chris asked him about the hotdog as well as the dog feces, and he of course denied it. I was SOOOOO MAD!! I went and got Addison from the swing and went inside to eat.

After dinner, I cleaned up while the kids went back outside with Chris to play. All of a sudden, I saw Lisa, the neighbor next door that we have hardly uttered a word to for 3 years (quite pleasant), out on their steps talking to Chris over the fence. I quickly dumped my cleaning up and went outside (looking back, perhaps I would have been better off staying inside). Needless to say, I vented my 3 years of feelings and thoughts about the neighbors and their not so kind, immature behaviors. Chris took the kids inside so they did not have to hear Mommy get mad.

Lisa reported how the entire neighborhood hated us. Lovely, especially considering Chris and I did not talk to any of them but were nice and waved to them. She went on and on and I jabbed back. She was in tears, which I found interesting. Tears? Were they tears of guilt? Seriously, I should be crying! Afterall, she said the entire neighborhood did not like us and that I was labeled as the witch on the corner. Lovely. I found all of this funny considering I had never been formally introduced to the people claiming to call me a witch. Were we or were we not the ones that put our home on the market all summer for many reasons but kept it on the market because we wanted to get away from them?  I thought it was most funny when I said that we know how they celebrated after we put our FSBO sign in the yard. She denied this until I told her Chris saw her, then she confessed in part to the cheering, clapping and the gossiping. In the midst of all of this, Jason, the neighbor husband, peeked his head outside to ask, "Should I call the cops?" Okay, for what? Because I am talking to them from my yard? Walk inside if you do not want to hear it! Seriously, call the cops. They will laugh at you! Anyway, Lisa was going in circles and wasting my time with her dishonestly and reports of gossip, so I went inside. I was seriously still mad, but felt better that I had told her everything - caught her in all her lies.

I went inside and reported to Chris, who had listened to my conversation with Lisa. We decided, if we are going to live here, we have to clear our name. So, we decided to go door to door up our dead end street and then to the homes behind us reintroducing ourselves, 12 homes in all. Yes, I know, they probably all thought we were crazy. But you know what, crazy is probably much better than what they had heard from our neighbors! We even went back to the neighbors house next door, introducing ourselves to them like we had never met! We just hope the people up the street think we are nice, but quiet people that live on the corner. Crazy...that has to be better than the witch and whatever name they had for Chris.

So, Chris saw my spine front and center tonight. I think I held out good for 3 years. Will we be friends with the neighbors next door? Probably not. I do look forward, not backward. I will try harder to love the neighbor. As for the rest of the neighborhood? Time will tell. Many of them probably heard the conversation I had with Lisa, so the truth is out. We will see where it goes from here.

Let's just hope we do not find anymore hotdogs!
 

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Alivia's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Alivia's 1st Day of Kindergarten at Standing Bear Elementary School. The morning was full of anxiety, nervousness and tears (and that was just Mommy!)! Alivia ate her breakfast of Honeynut Kix and was ready to go. We started our walk to school at 8:15, arriving early so that we could pack up her locker and take some pictures. Alivia shares a rather small locker where she stores her gym shoes, nap mat, backpack and eventually her coat and snow boots. We added a few family pictures for Alivia to look at in her locker, as well as in her desk and in her lunch box!

Alivia seemed nervous but excited to start Kindergarten. At 8:35, students lined up outside of the school building where they wait until 8:45. We will now be arriving to school at 8:44. It was very crowded and overwhelming! Once inside, Alivia was greeted by Miss Moran and her 23 classmates (yes, we were surprised by the large class size!). She sat at her desk and started to play with play-doh. Alivia gave each of us hugs and said good-bye. Her little face was red, but Alivia was strong and never cried! It was really difficult for Chris and I to walk away and leave her into someone else's hands. The walk home we talked ourselves into the new reality: Alivia is ready so we have to be.

Meanwhile, Addison and Asher hardly skipped a beat. Addison invited Asher to play with her, then they colored, played play-doh and played on the play set. I tried to get them to watch Caillou, Alivia's favorite cartoon on PBS, but they had no interest.

At 11:20, Chris met Alivia for lunch. She enjoyed seeing Daddy, but was pretty quiet about the morning's activities. She ibrought her lunch to school in a Hello Kitty lunch box, and I think she will continue to do so (perhaps she likes what I am packing in her lunch or the pictures I left inside! :) ).

As I sit here at quiet time, I really miss Alivia. This was our time together, and it just is not the same without her. I guess I will have to get used to this new normal. I did get an email from Miss Moran, Alivia's teacher, reporting that she was doing fine! She said that although Alivia is quiet, Alivia told Miss Moran about riding her bike this summer and is getting her needs met. Yeah!

We walked to pick up Alivia at 3:40. Pick up was crazy, too. Nobody knew what door the kids were going to come out of. Alivia saw us and ran to give us a hug. She was very talkative about the day, telling us about coloring, naptime, recess, etc. I asked what her favorite part of the day was and she said, "All of it was my favorite!" After an icecream cone from the DQ as a treat for her accomplishment, I selected her clothes for tomorrow. Alivia asked, "Where are we going tomorrow?" Then she quickly answered her own question, "Oh yeah, I get to go to Kindergarten!"

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