Fire Station Field Trip, Brookie Time, Food, and LIghtning Storms...

 Just after the 10th anniversary of 9/11 Brooke's preschool class had a field trip to the fire station.  She was so excited to finally get to ride on "one of those giant yellow school buses."  I followed the bus over to the fire station just down the street and stayed with her for the first 15min.  I had to leave early so I could give Craig a ride to campus.  We are down to one car and probably will be until Craig gets a job after graduating in December.  The joys of being a student.  I was glad I got to be with her for part of it though.  The firemen gave us a tour of the station.  They showed us where they sleep and cook and hang out.  The kids had all sorts of questions but mostly they wanted to know "Where is your dog ... ya know ... the one with spots."  Because isn't every fire station suppose to have a Dalmatian? lol  He explained that they could no longer have dogs at the station because lots of kids come to see them and if one of them got bitten they would feel sad.  One little boy just kept insisting that they needed a dog and that they should just put a muzzle on it or put a band aide on the persons owie if they got bit.  The fireman kept trying to change the subject but this little guy would not let it go.  It was really funny.  I missed them getting to tour the fire trucks but Brooke told me all about how cool it was.  She said he even let her help turn on the big hose.  She was a little disappointed that they didn't get to see them put out a fire but she knows what to do if her clothes are on fire " STOP, DROP, ROLL"  - she's been telling me all day.  She has been loving preschool.  Ms. Rademacher and Mrs. Turzyn are fabulous with her.  She blows them kisses as she leaves every day.  Today she had show and tell and she took her teddy bear.  She also LOVES the fact that she gets to have chocolate milk EVERY day in preschool at snack time. 

Brooke blowing me a kiss as she got on the bus.

Brooke with her class and teachers.

Fire fighter Brooke to the rescue.

After I pick up Brooke from preschool we get to have 'special' time together.  We did bubble baths and painted nails one day, did play dough another, and today we played "camp out".  Camp out is a game that Brooke made up.  I took a break from the dishes and squeezed my giant pregnant body into her tiny Princess pop up tent (I'm pretty sure capacity is 2 small children) where we had a picnic of pretend food that she packed.  We pretended to change into our jammies and then we thought we heard a bear so we went on a bear hunt. Mostly we were just scared of the bear so we hid in spots all over the house.  I love being a stay at home mom.  I love these special moments with my daughter who is only going to be 4 once.  She has the biggest imagination and I love how she uses her hands when she speaks in order to emphasize what she says.  I love that yesterday my biggest decision was "What kind of cookies am I going to make with my kids today."  and that some days after lunch me and Brooke fall asleep on the couch while watching The Little Mermaid or Tangled.  Naps are lovely. . . especially when you are growing a baby. .. and according to Brooke we both are. lol :)  Hers is kicking up a storm lately.  I love this little girl SO much it hurts! 

Another thing that I love about Brooke is the fact that she LOVES to eat healthy foods.  We make a green smoothie together every day after preschool because she asks for one.  She gobbles up zucchini, spinach, and whatever else I make for dinner with gusto and always tells me "You are the bestest cooker in the whole world!" 

Jace on the other hand has turned into Mr. Picky!  I feel like lately he doesn't like anything but cheese pizza, meat and potatoes, hamburgers, chocolate chip cookies, cake, popcorn, and blueberries.  I have to force the veggies down him.  It's so frustrating.  The other night he told me that my dinner smelled like throw up.  It was pasta with red sauce and a side of sauteed zucchini w/ garlic.  Any advice out there for kids that are picky eaters?!? 

 The other night we went to The Golden Corral as a family.  It was funny to see what everyone picked out.  The kids got to choose what 'they' wanted.  Jace had nachos with cheese sauce, salad drowned in ranch, and cheese pizza.  Brooke chose noodles in cream sauce with a side of cooked carrots, corn, green beans, and brussel sprouts.  Brussel Sprouts - REALLY!  and she ate them too ... and liked it.  Craig had a plate of salad with ranch then like 3 more plates full of just meat... sausage, steak, etc.  I had shrimp pasta with veggies and some fried fish w/ tarter sauce.   It was a fun night. 


 

10 yrs Ago Today

 Time stood still. We all remember ... we will always remember. Every Sep. 11th Craig and I watch the documentaries and news casts and tears still come to my eyes. The hurt and emotion is still there. I will always remember what I was doing that day and how I heard the news. I was a senior in high school. I was getting ready for school while listening to a local radio station. They broke into the music with news that the United States was being bombed. At the time they didn't know that it was actually American Airlines Flight 11 that had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center killing hundreds of people. I was shocked and scared .. wondering if war was about to start. I ran upstairs and told my parents to turn on the news. I asked my dad is school was canceled. It wasn't. We watched the news that day at school. We watched CNN replay coverage as the second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, also crashed into The World Trade Center's South tower. We saw the explosion at the Pentagon. There was shock and fear and sadness in every one's eyes. I remember being worried that there would be more destruction in large cities across the states and selfishly being relieved that I lived in such a small town. Surely we wouldn't be hit. My classmates and I watched the brave fireman go into those buildings as others filed out, burned ... hurt. We saw debris falling from a hundred stories up and felt sick when we realized that some of that debris was people. We watched the news and saw the towers fall. We saw them crash to the ground and turn into dust. I will never forget that day... and every 9/11 I remember. Close to 3,000 American lives lost between the 4 hijacked flights, The Twin Towers, and the Pentagon. Dads that never came home, wives that were never seen again. My heart goes out to their families. Life is fleeting. We need to take the time to smile, to laugh, to be with our families because it could all end in an instance. I'm thankful for the country that I live in and all the freedoms it offers. I'm thankful that I know that my family can be together forever.

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Update:  24 Weeks

Maternity Clothes:
Well I finally have a bump to show off now.  I've been having fun going through my closet and trying new outfits on.  Thanks for all the new additions to the maternity clothes, Becky! :)  Since my sisters share maternity clothes there are some really cute pieces and some REALLY horrible outfits that I'm sure everyone is too afraid to throw away since they are someone else's. Seriously though, some of these maternity pants need to go.  They look HORRIFIC.

Best Moment This Week:
Taking a relaxing bubble bath without any kids ... besides the one in my tummy.

Best Moment This Month:
Toss up ... The ultrasound was amazing.  It was so fun to see our little guy hangin' out in there sucking his thumb and trying to get his toes in his mouth.  It made it feel so much more 'real', and of course finding out that he's a he.  I'm happy to report that everything looked great on the ultrasound. :)  Also, I had so much fun on the little mini vacation we took to see my family and the Grand  Canyon last week.

Movement:
He's sure an active little guy.  I love feeling the bumps and kicks expect when he's aiming for my bladder.  That kind of hurts.  Jace loves to put his hand on my tummy and feel his baby brother kicking away.  He laughs uncontrollably which seems to get the baby going even more.  I think this little guys is already getting use to the familiar voices in this home. Whenever I feel baby kicking Brooke gets really excited and announces to everyone that her baby is kicking too. She is beyond excited for our babies to come out.

Food Cravings:
I still love a variety of fruit: blueberries, nectarines, apples, orange juice, etc.  I also really like cottage cheese, milk, string cheese, green olives, Claussen pickles, salad, V8, and German chocolate cake... not at the same time though.  The weirdest thing however I think is Barbecue potato chips because I've NEVER been a fan of them in the past.  It's makes me think of when Jace was around a yr. old and whenever we would visit Nani & Grandpa Brammer's house he would crawl over to the pantry area first thing and check the floor to see if anyone had dropped any barbecue potato chips on accident that he could sneak.  It always made me laugh.  Baby boy #2 must love them too.  I'm trying to limit myself since it's not the healthiest snack in the world.

What I Miss:
Picking up toys with ease.  My kids obviously need to get better at picking up after themselves ... especially Brooke.  I'm finding it harder and harder to bend over easily to pick up messes.  I can still see my feet though. wink wink...

Sleep:
First bout with insomnia the other night.  I woke up at 3:30am and couldn't go back to sleep.  There is absolutely NOTHING on tv at that time.  I popped in a movie and Craig found me the next morning on the couch.

What I am Looking Forward To:
The home stretch.  I'm just 4 weeks away from entering the last trimester.

Symptoms:
I found out the hard way that I still need to be taking my anti-nausea medicine every night.  I missed a night and had a barf fest the next day.  Other than that I'm feeling great! :)

Other Thoughts:
I deal with this every pregnancy ... I think most women do ... I have the hardest time dealing emotionally with gaining weight and getting 'fat'.  Okay, I know that I'm not fat, I'm pregnant but it's still hard to look in the mirror and see your body changing in all sorts of weird ways.  Craig is really good at telling me I look beautiful but it's still hard for me to feel that way all of the time.  I obsess a little too much about not going over the weight limit that's recommended for pregnancy.  With Jace I gained 40lbs and with Brooke I gained closer to around 30lbs.  It was so much easier to get back to normal after Brooke.  Dr.s recommend 25-35lbs.  I cringe if I even go slightly over at my monthly Dr. appt.  Anyways, I just needed to vent a little about it.  I know being pregnant is beautiful and whenever I see other pregnant women I always think they look cute.  Some days I just need to cry about it though.

I'm trying to deal with the fact that Craig's break is over now too.  He starts his last trimester of school tomorrow.  He's been such a great help with everything: picking up/dropping off kids, meals, clean up and everything in between.  I'll miss him.  but I'm VERY grateful that he'll just be gone for most of the day and at least I get to see him in the evening and he's not countries away anymore.