an evening at Grandma's house

We had a busy night, on a nice summer's night we walked to the park, got baths, and Grandpa came home with a motorcycle rocker for E, and C.. they love it, this will be used a lot at our house! We stayed up late and woke up early... humm maybe a nap time will be in order this afternoon?

Not Bragging

 You gotta love preschoolers, they love to dress up! this was cc's costume from two years ago! Thanks AC for letting us borrow it, we will return it to you soon!

yep I finally figured that I needed to update our personal blog, yep and while I am at it I am making this blog public, so tell other family members if you want!

I wish I could say that I will be more frequent here, and as I hope so I hope to share a slice of our life with you. So to give you some ideas as to what goes on at our house here is our low down:

CC (3yrs) lots of why Questions, and observations so far the most challenging questions seem to be the difference between why guys stand up to go potty and why she cant.... yep so after explaining to her why she then told me that Caullou also stand up to go potty, Yes he does If a cartoon character can go potty that is the way he would go potty-never did I think I would have that conversation with CC- although I should have seen that coming.- Have I mentioned that she sorta has an attitude like her mom and Grandma? As you can tell in the picture

EC (almost 7months) and loves his big sister, in fact I think he is more entertained by her than by my self at times, He is my prince Charming! some little facts about him: born January 3 12, 7.5 lb, 19 3/4 long and talks and talks and talks, his favorite time to talk is at 4 am, Yep we decided at the time he found his voice that it was time for his own room, I was not heart broken over that move- this momma needed her sleep!

GC- Pharmacy Manager at the Iowa Falls Hy-Vee for 2 years now! We love to spend time with him as much as we can and like visiting daddy often, he loves reading fan fiction right now he likes the Harry Potter Fan Fiction.

LC-(I must admit I do like talking about myself and my family just so you know) I keep our house together and try to keep our little family organized as much as I can. lately I have learned to make my own baby food, so super easy I wish I did it for CC. I am also learning the most effective way to teach my Preschool age daughter the things I want her to know, and to keep her entertained, I see lots of googleing in my future like just the other day CC wanted to know what a turtle says (sounds like) so I googled that and we watch a video on that! so yes this momma might know everything but she can find out! oh yea and I coupon, scrapbook and make cards.


Oh yeah and if you think that we look skinnier since the last time you saw us, you would be right, G-has lost 30lbs and I have lost 20lbs. We are feeling much better, and hope to keep losing some weight!

Fall Family Pictures

They say that Pictures are worth a thousand words, so my post will be brief, We are having a nice relaxing Fall, Accept for poor Gar, hes working crazy hours because of flu shot clinics, (a good reminder to those that haven't gotten their flu shots yet)

These pictures were mostly taken at Foster Park, it's a beautiful park in town with the river bank partly surrounding it, we love the park for the playground, and it's a 30 min. walk from our house!

Chloe is growing so fast! her vocabulary is expanding every day! She is learning about Baby Brother, just last night we were eating pop corn and watching Bambi (she likes it) and she was trying to feed by belly popcorn for Baby Brother, I told her that I eat for him right now and if she would feed me, Baby Brother would get it, how cute is that? Her other favorite past time is placing her head on my belly and feeling Baby Brother move! She is a Doll, A Rock Star and a princess these days and sometimes she says she is a Monster (no disagreements here!)

Anyway I hope all of you are having a wonderful Autum time, we sure are, just missing daddy during those long days of him working!

Our Trip to the Zoo

Chloe and "K" watching the Otters

Chloe had a great time at the zoo last week, when I asked her what her favorite animal was, she said a goat! I should mention that her friend has goats on his farm that we can see, so cute! The lions and frogs scared her, and she giggled every time the otters were dancing in the water, and she didn't really know what to think of the monkeys climbing up really high! Fun times!

It's a Boy!

Can you believe it! we are so excited to have a little baby boy in our house! (in about 19 weeks or so) WE are so happy Chloe, daddy and I call him baby brother! She says that Baby Brother swims in water, we took her to the ultra sound and she asked if the baby was in water! so stinking smart!

lots of pink and blue in our house! After a second ultra sound, baby and mommy are both very healthy and no complications!

my Couponing artical

Yep, I am now one of those crazy coupon lady's you see at the grocery store that litterally takes 30 minutes to cheek out with only 20 items! it's said but true, and I LOVE IT! go here to my coupon sahm (stay at home mom) I Am blog to read about the deals you can get just buy shopping at the grocery store using some coupons. I also should mention that since this article has been printed our little coupon group was contacted by the Iowa River Valley Continuing education, a division of Ellsworth Community College, they want us to do a coupon class starting in October! we are hoping to teach a class on how you can save 20%-50% on your grocery bill! how cool is that! And yes I am able to save at lest 60% or more on groceries, sometimes even up to 80% I have the receipts to prove it (not bragging!)

She's a Beauty!

or maybe a dancing princess these days, noting like dancing and playing dress up right? Little Girls are so Fun!
Enjoying this awesome weather at the park! Lunch at the park has been a favorite of ours, meet with friends, play and then take a good nappy! can't ask for a better morning/afternoon!

Christensen's Wedding

Chloe was a beautiful flower girl, Her toddler Chloe personality shined so brightly as she twirled around in her dress. I was so proud of her and G and I are so proud of her!


C Loved Dancing with Daddy, she is such a fun toddler, her favorite songs to dance to is When Will my Life Begin (tangled) and Part of your World (little Mermaid) That was my favorite song to sing too also, humm like mother like daughter?





Oh yeah I got my Canon Digital camera I have been wanting forever! can you tell the difference in the picture quality, a bit more artistic? Yep I love my new camera!

Early Summer Pictures

Barbie (now 5 months old) is a ball of energy! what a fun doggie!

We are enjoying our early summer, Chloe loves spending all her time with her daddy these days and she voices her opinion about me all the time, her favorite thing to say these days: NO! Mommy MEAN! yep that's right she thinks I am MEAN, maybe I am when I tell her to do something she doesn't want to do, what are you going to do? let your 2 year old run your life, NO! However when she is with dadda, she is Happy! that's what she says to daddy, me happy dadda! and repeats that all the time! Fun times! I am just glad that Chloe can voice her emotions at such a young age!

Barbie (now 5 months old) is a ball of energy! what a fun doggie!

Coming soonin January 2012 to our Family

As some of you know, I am pregnant with our 2nd child! we are so excited! My Due Date is January 11, 2012. My delivery date for our gummy bear is January 4 2012, at Methodist Hospital in DSM, Yep I am having a Cesarean, Not worth the complications I had with Chloe.

Any ideas on what to call this Fetus in my belly? I told Chloe that I have a fetus baby in my belly and she says that now, and although I think it's cute, it's not a pet name... So right now I have Gummy Bear which I am sorta indifferent about at the moment. Any suggestions would be fantastic!

Easter

Life is crazy around here, and I feel a sense of acomplishment of just being able to post some pics! This picture is of Chloe playing make believe with her fairy dress on! I personally love the wings! and it's sweet that barbie is also in the picture!

What a sweet time in Chloe's development to play!
Chloe loves to dance and that is what she is doing right now! so fun!

a Bouquet of flowers, We made during a cold rainy morning, she loved it and kept wanting to smell the flowers!

Some one was sly: do you see that one nest doesn't look like the rest? hum... next time I will keep a better eye on miss thing!

yep that smirk gave her a way!
What did her friend DG get at the Easter egg hunt?
And my Favorite pictures, she was ready to be done I could just hear her say "mom are we done yet it's cold and were out side!"

My Mother

As most of you know that my mom has been very sick for the past 3 years. I thought I would update what is going on with my mother.

Three years ago, almost to the date she was diagnosed with Thynoma Cancer. (click here for more info) She has been fighting it since then, with some time of remission but in November it came back in her lung, although it was still Thymoma cancer.

The account is from my personal view:

1:45 am Sunday Morning my sister (jen) called me, I was in and out of sleep, wondering if I should get up and let Barbie out, so I jumped up out of bed and wondered who it was. the caller Id had it as an unknown caller, answered it. As I was understanding what was going on I got that my mom got meningitis (go here for more info on it) So my fist thought was um she's my sis she might got that infection confused with a different name that sounds the same like laryngitis, but then she listed the symptoms and you can then imagine my response, luckily I had a dr. sleeping next to me so Gar confirmed that it was in fact Meningitis.

I was able to leave the house by 6 am not really knowing what to find, while talking to the er dr. at 3 am he said described what was going on with her and said that my mother was the sickest patient he had seen in the past 2 months, With that info I thought lets go... um that's right I live in a town were gas stations do not open for another 2 hrs and how bad do I really want to wake up Chloe so I wasn't really going any were for at least 2 more hours. Yep I packed.

6:15 am. ready to go, got gas Chloe, Barbie, a suitcase full of clothes (only thing I was missing was socks, which byt does any know where to get good ones at?)

8:30am got to see my mom, at this point in time no one knew if the Meningitis was contagious so we use masks. this was a hard concept for me, I couldn't just rush in and hug her, I had to stop wash hands, use a mask, and then hold her hand. It was and still is hard to see my unconscious mom laying in the bed with a ventilator breathing for her. My heart sinks every time I really look at her.

later that day after talking with dr.s and nurses, and family members my heart was comforted a bit. However grim the out come is in my mind the Dr.s say there is a lot of hope.

Tuesday Am (by this time, my time is running together in a blur of hours, days,and moments) I was able to get an RN to go through the dr.s notes on her conditions. This was really helpful for me to wrap my mind around it. the list was long but of course meningitis was the main issue the others would be phenomena, diabetes, yep phenomena in her lungs, technically it's the same bacteria that is causing her meningitis, it's also was confirmed that her blood is septic ( a term that means that her blood is full of bacteria)

Wed. we were told that her the chance of her recovering with little damage was 10% and her mortality rate was 10% higher. Yikes, although I hate thinking in percentages because that's the worse kind of broad answer a dr. can give because there is no good text book answer and there is not text book patient.

Thursdays (today) the neurologist came early this morning and said that since her mental status hasn't changed much, she will see us Monday as she doesn't suspect much more mental activity to be apparent in the next couple days

So I have asked all the dr.s about her mental status and although it's caused by the infection that she has, she is the one that has to fight and wake up on her own with out the ventilator. and that is what we are waiting for. It's been four days and not much has happened. although they say her vitals are doing well, her kidneys are doing well, although her lungs and brain are failing. I am trying to see the good out weighing the bad, and although I believe in medicine and faith working together I am not foreseeing a good outcome. But there is still hope, when all else fails there is always hope and prayer.

please email me or call me if you would like any more information. I personally am holding up, although I will admit I am a bit of a pessimist I do truly hope she wakes up with out much problems. My dad is holding up but is lonely with out his other half awake.

Barbie

Our cute barbie dog a Rat Terrier, she is such a puppy but a well minded and smart little girl
Grandpa was the one that found Barbie, He was the one that gave Barbie to Chloe, she has been wanting a dog for so long

Chloe is so so happy to have a dog, I love the way she is holding Barbie


Chloe and Barbie's relationship is so sweet already Barbie is letting Chloe "play" with her, I love Chloe's imagination!

While visiting Gma, Chloe likes to watch Rella, (Cinderella) Barbie was in trouble (she was taunting the gma's Boxers) so she was on the chair, with Chloe, Can you tell that Chloe is thinking now my life is complete! I got my movie, and my doggie!

Snuggle time with Grandpa is the best!

This video is when we first saw Barbie, it melts my heart every time I watch it!

A puppy is so much work, but they make up for it when they sleep. a tiered dog is a good dog, here's hoping for longer days of sunlight, for longer walks, runs and play time!

Spring is here, and nothing says spring like a new puppy, doe's in our back yard, and seedlings planted, ready to sprout that are in my living room soaking up some much needed sunshine! Enjoy the beginning of Spring

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's so fun to have a toddler around Christmas time, I forgot how everything is so magical to them and how full of life and joy they have. We got a new pre lite Christmas tree this year and every time it turns on Chloe say's ohhh weeee and will touch the ornaments, she has her favorite ones, Sleeping Beauty dancing with the prince and if you push a button her dress will light up pink and then blue, and it sings "I know You"


Daddy's little helper trying to help him "fix" her toy.

Road Trip entertainment

ok so we are crazy traveling with a toddler, but some how two days of traveling over 8 hours each day we did all right (only 3-4 breaks each day) Yeah crazy huh I think Chloe was so tiered that it helped us drive longer than what I consider average.

Anyways G and I don't always agree on the "right" kind of road trip music don't get me wrong we both like the same music but that is a loose term and sometimes we both like the extremes of the same kind of country music. I like the country pop music, ie:Carrie Underwood, Kenny, Rascal Flats and so on... G likes Johny Cash, and so on, so you can see how our music tastes don't always mesh well.

The Alternative is, Podcasts they are a bit more informative and worth listening too. my favorite that we can both enjoy is Stuff You Should Know, by howstuffworkds.com. they have tons of topics including, how lego works, how Vikings work, How Castles work, How health care works, Are zoos good for animals, How Taxidermists work, those are the ones that i have enjoyed but I know that we listened to more than just those. here is a link to the website:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/stuff-you-should-know-podcast.htm
Other pod casts that we/G enjoys are This American Life, and Car Talk.

So yes we are back in town, G is back at work and we are at gma's enjoying time in dsm. lots of posts and pics to come.

Our 4th of july celebration

Fourth of July was on a Sunday, So how did I dress Chloe to Celebrate the 4th? Thats right, a tutu is the only thing that will do! Ok So that might be over the top but I couldn't resist finding some tulle for 25 cents at our local thrift store, that screamed to me make a tutu you know you want to when i picked up the red and blue tulle in a bag how could any one resist right? So under 10 min. I made a tutu for her to wear to church. A little much Maybe but come on, it's fourth of july you have to have some fun in the morning if your going to church right? I thought so!


your thinking OMG can she get any cuter? I don't know how?

Saturday was our town's big celebration and they had a small petting zoo, she enjoyed giving gentle and soft touches to the Llamas, I couldn't help saying is your Mamma a Llama?? you know the popular childrens book? We had fun, Chloe had lots of fun



After a great morning on Saturday Chloe was able to take a much needed nappy so I was able to make this adorable bald eagles, yes they are really that cute, they took some time but paid off, every one loved these little creatures. In case you might not know, I some what have a secret obsession with Bald Eagles, I love them, just look at my older post from Valentines day 2008
yes about 36 eagles later I was done! here is the link if you ever want to make them
http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-videos/how-to-make-bald-eagle-treats

I should note that instead of using frosting for the eyes, (aparently I wasn't good a making eyes with frosting) I used regular chocolate chips for the eyes I just stuck them on with left over almond bark.
Speaking of left over almond bark, I had plenty so I used it up pretzel style with cute stars from the Hy-Vee bakery. The genleman at the counter who helped me gave me three times the normal about of "sprinkles" they usually give some one (like 3-4 oz) for just $1, I still have stars sprinkles left over!



Last but not lest, So remember that Thrift store I told you about earlier with the tulle, yep I got this awesome table runner there too! 50 cents, and it was mine, actually it was 25 cents, since all 4th of July stuff was marked Half! can you believe it! I previously made the napkins and since I didn't have any napkin ring holders, I made them with my left over ribbon, I am so proud that all this stuff came together

I hope you all had a great 4th! our family did.