The good stuff...

(Fuzzy, but fun photo)

Poppy was snuggling on my lap this evening right before bed time and suddenly she said
"Mom you wiggle me!"
She was referring to the little one inside of me, that was kicking her in the belly. Her eyes got really big and she was so excited.
Oscar on the other hand has been trying to feel it and hasn't been so lucky. Maybe he needs to snuggle a bit more so that he will get it at the right time rather than always rubbing my belly post-kick.

On other news of interest...Oscar lost his second tooth tonight. He is now a missing both of his lower front teeth. He actually pulled this one out on his own. Well, he actually just kept waiting until it was holding on by a tiny thread and just happened to fall out while he was playing with it...gross.
After losing his tooth he says "Dad don't I seem to loose a tooth every Sunday?"
Rick's response was " You have only lost two teeth?"
Oscar "Yeah, but they were both on a Sunday!"
Oh, and he loves to respond to the tooth fairy as..."I know it is you mom!"

Today they played really well together. I love it when they can loose themselves in imagination world and really have a good time. They even spent quite a bit of time doing sneaky service and leaving a little paper heart that he got from primary in the place he did the service.
They thought they were being soooo sneaky. In fact they went into my bedroom and shut the door and I was thinking they were goign to get into mischief, when low and behold they had tidied up the bed and picked up some things. It was so sweet...I felt a little bad for telling them not to shut the door or to not play in my room.

All day today I was filled with a great sense of joy in having such a great family. And truthfully it may be that the R.S. Craft day was yesterday and I could finally not worry about it any longer...ahh, the nice feeling of having it over with.

Tonight I will sleep well...

Pregnancy...

This morning Poppy and I embarked on a Dr. Appointment packed morning. We first hit the Ob office for the monthly exam...all things looking good. I do love that one of my Dr.'s is female and that she has had two children and totally gets the "I feel like my body is being taken over" feeling. She encouraged me to do the half marathon, and is ever encouraging for me to be able to act as "normal" as possible (within reason).
Fair warning...i am shortly going to sound like a shallow, whine baby that needs to find a good hobby, but still, for posterity sake I'm going to say it.
One of the big challenges with pregnancy for me is the whole body image/expansion process that suddenly is out of my control. I fully understand the purpose, reason, design for the whole process (at least most of it) but yet, feel like a beached whale. I hold up a shirt that says "small" or "medium" in the maternity world of clothing, and it still looks like a tent. Not only that, but it still feels like a tent. There is little comfort in knowing that there are larger sizes that are still too big, because I know all too well that here in month or two, that is exactly what I will be wearing.
Some days I find it humorous, but most I find it discouraging.
So, with this "woe is me" unload I will note that my particularly wonderful Dr. just happened to tell me that I was Petite ( a word that has long been lost in my vocabulary)...she didn't have to say it, and I'm sure she was just being ever-so kind, but really it was so delightful to hear. She made my day.

Now that I am done whining, I will continue to say that Poppy was a dream girl through all of the visits today. She got to squeeze the jelly onto my belly to hear the baby's heart beat and she didn't throw even one tantrum!

In fact, it was a lot of fun to have her with me. I don't know the last time that we have had multiple errands to run that she didn't hit melt down at some point.

The eye exam went well and for all of her good behavior the Dr. offices gave her some candy, a sticker, and a pencil.

It was a good morning!

Thanks!!!

Today I just want to say a big Thank you to all of those Vets out there who have sacrificed so much for me.

This is my Brother-in-Law Ben...Went to Iraq three times.

I'm sure I haven't told him or many veterans thanks enough...Thanks You!!! I'm sad to say that it took a day of remembrance for me to say it. But that isn't to say that I don't think it quite often.
Tonight I Oscar and I worked on some homework about what service men we are related to. It was fun to look back and to see the service men, past and present who have served in our families. This includes my Grandpa Oertli who was a Swiss army member during WW2.
Oscar loved hearing about who they are/were and what branch of service they were in.
Happy Veteran's Day!

Open Mic Delight

Happy birthday to me! I had a great birthday full of fun, friends, and a new stockpot!
My New Stock pot!!! Whooo hooo! Just what I was hoping for.

Ricky organized a night out to one of our favorite places...The Green Frog. Little did we know that it was Open Mic night and packed completely full of people. Lucky for us they made room for us.
It could be that two of us were quite noticeably prego and they decided they couldn't turn us and our kiddies away. (FYI-These pictures are all out of order ...oh well more to come on the green frog in a minute!)
Poppy and I spent the day together and we had some tasty smoothies for lunch that went along great with the yummy orange cake my great Neighbor Reem brought over for me.
The night before my birthday, Daddy and kids took over the kitchen to prepare for my birthday. Poppy decided she wanted some chapstick...lovely!!

It was a rainy morning and poppy decided I should try on her Rain hat.

Here is the photo of the packed green frog...notice the amount of children you see...none!

Betina took the opportunity to measure my head for my up-coming birthday present of a hat. She even let me choose the colors!
Ricky made me some delicious cheese cake brownies, topped with chocolate leaves (he and the kids had made earlier in the week) and brought it with us to the green frog. It was delicious!
Here is the little cubby where they made room for us. They brought in their outdoor tables and were incredibly accommodating. It was so fun to be stuffed in a corner with some tasty food and some pretty good music in the background.

Rick really made my birthday great! What a great guy!!
Oh, and thanks to my great family/friends who gave me a stash of chocolate for my underwear drawer...it will go to good use. Also a huge thanks to Merilee who every year makes it a special point to show up on my doorstep with a wonderful gift and a warm smile. How you manage to mother the world I'll never know...but Thanks for making my day bright!

Halloween??

Due to an untimely dropping of the camera, we are Halloween picture free. NO need to fear they did wear costumes and were incredibly cute. Especially when we went to Oscar's class for his party. Poppy( a beautiful butterfly) and Oscar( a Spy) were so cute cuddled together on the reading carpet at school. A kind mother took a picture of them but I have no idea who she was or where to get the photo.
We had a wonderful Halloween full of candy, friends (thanks to Betina for having us at thier halloween party), and a spooky goodness!

This however is a pitcure of us the day before Halloween, on a hike withour friends. Kamiak butte is gorgeous this time of year. We had a nice time in the wonderfully warm fall weather.

Rock Your Vote My Friends!

"There never was a good war, or a bad peace."-Benjamin Franklin

Rainy/Wet Day

Ready for rain? How about the snow? Yes, my friends we had a slaty-snow mix this morning.
No need to fear. Poppy was ready!