Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun! On Saturday morning the girls and I went to Grannymoo's (my grandma) with Grammy (my mom) as usual. I layed on the couch for as long as I could half sleeping, half dazing off. I'm always super tired on Saturdays for some reason. Seriously, I don't lay around like that on normal days. Grammy took the girls outside to play and gather eggs from the chickens, which by the way made excellent omelettes this morning. Libby took a nap for once later that day to prepare her for staying up late to go trick-or-treating. After their naps we piled in the van and headed to Sherman to some event on 1417. I got so lost because I had no idea where this place was. I figured I'd see a sign somewhere but I didn't. After driving for 40 minutes, and stopping for gas, Libby's BFF's mom and dad comes to save the day because they know how to get there. Thank God for IPHONES, I wish I had one. A classmate from high school has this photography studio and she had this whole set up to take free pictures, which she emailed me tonight. I'm glad she was there because my camera ran out of batteries the moment I picked it up to snap a photo :(. Naomi was a peacock and Libby chose to wear her dress up Cinderella (which was a GoodWill find for $3) and her 'princess shoes', which are a pair of clearance flip flops from Rack Room Shoes. We went to my mom's house for dinner. Then we went door-to-door trick or treating in a rich neighborhood in Denison with some of Libby's friends. We had a lot of fun doing this. Naomi loved going up to the houses, but she kept trying to go inside! She refused to be carried in between houses, so she was always last one to the door after the older kids got their candy. She was so cute in her peacock outfit dragging her Halloween bag on the ground behind her. She would get mad sometimes at the people giving out candy because she was afraid they would take her candy away. We also made it to the church party and Joel had fun jamming with some kids and the youth director since they had the instruments set up. It was time to go when Naomi climbed into the kiddie pool which was there to play grab the ducks. All in all it was a fun, yet exhausting night! We have been trying to adjust to the time change ever since. I do admit that the fall time change is easier than the one in the spring. Isn't this supposed to stop at some point? I was reading that Day Light Saving Time was established by Ben Franklin who was trying to save money on candles or something by keeping it lighter longer. Something like that.

Ok I'm tired. I'm starting to ramble again. Must go to sleep. After diapers are done in washer, or Naomi won't have anything to poo in, in the morning.

More Halloween Parties!

Naomi cheesing like usual
BFF's!

Playing with the baby piano

They all played so nicely with one another.

Libby, Naomi, Jessika, JJ, Hollis, and Jessie. This has to be my fav one just because it is so chaotic! Kind of like us :P

We had a fun play date this morning! Jessica hosted a Halloween play date for members of the Texoma Moms Playgroup. Libby did not want to be Dorothy this morning, so she wore her Cinderella dress up dress instead. Naomi wore her red riding hood dress, although she still hates the hood for it. I brought a feathersword and pirate hat for her to accessorize with since the red riding hood dress looks kind of piratey. We had fun playing over at Jessie's house. Naomi was kissing all of the little baby boys like usual, and Libby and B were having a blast playing as usual. We went to eat at Chick-Fil-A afterwards with Jessika and JJ. We came home and I gave Naomi to Joel since it was her nap time and Libby and I went to Wal-Mart to buy snacks for her pre-k class.

Everyone is at dance class now, and I really should be worrying about dinner instead of sitting here on the computer! I am going to post some pictures from today first though.

Oh and btw, Dr A's office called today and said that they needed to talk to me ASAP. I assume that I failed my gestational diabetes test (for the third pregnancy in a row) and that I need to come back in for the 5 hour reading (for the third pregnancy in a row). I hate those tests! I wish they would make them more accurate because I don't have GD but, for some reason I always fail the first test. I called back the doctor office and I never heard back from them, and they aren't picking up the phones. What doctor office closes on Tuesday afternoons? Or just doesn't answer the phones all day? Weird.

What we did today.

After Naomi's nap today, we went to the pumpkin patch. I am so tired and need to do some laundry and catch up on some emails so instead of writing a long blog, I'll just post some pictures.

Sisters!

Family Pic. Yay, none of us are screaming or crying!

Love this one of Miss Ma'mm.

She thinks her uncle is silly.

Aunt Shirlee being funny as usual (and Casey trying not to laugh).

Mother's Night Out

I had so much fun last night. I am a member of Texoma Area Moms Playgroup. We get together at least a few times a month for playdates. This group is so wonderful, I'm telling you. Libby met her BFF through going to playdates with these other moms and children. I think it eased her transition into pre-k greatly since she has a friend in her class. About once a month or so, the group has a mother's night out. I am trying to take advantage of these before the new baby gets here, because it takes sooo much effort to get out of the house for even a few hours without baby in the early months. Last night we had a Halloween themed MNO (I guess that is obvious with these posted pictures!) We met at the La Quinta Inn banquet room to play Bunco and eat all kinds of snacks (of course). Bunco is soooo much fun! It's a dice game based on luck, and it is easy to learn. Everyone brought $5 and at the end, the winners won some of that money. I say winner(s) because the best and worst players "win". It is so much fun! I do not

know what I would do without this group. Being a SAHM this is just kind of essential for socialization for both the girls and I. Some of my best friends, I met through this group. You

ladies know who you are. Hey ya!

After Bunco, a couple of us went to Taco Cabana in Sherman to sing karaoke. Yes. Taco Cabana has karaoke on Thursday nights from 6-10pm. Isn't that just kind of odd? It is great though because it is restaurant and not a bar, plus it is non-smoking. So that means I can go have fun without being a pregnant woman in a smokey bar (which is just so disgusting). The karaoke was inside so the acoustics were pretty much horrible. It is not like we are some Mariah Carey's anyways, so I really should not be complaining. We were the only ones singing besides the Taco Cabana employees. They were telling us that they fight over who gets to work the Thursday night 2nd shift. We even got hooked up with some free tacos (yum) and quesadillas. I guess word has not gotten out about karaoke there because usually this town has some major karaoke nerds that would want to be all over that. I am not a karaoke nerd. Okay maybe I am. If you have not heard my singing voice, please do not feel like you are missing out on something. It is really quite disturbing. Even my speaking voice gets on my own nerves, so my singing one is like ten thousand times worse. What I have going for me, is that I don't care what the audience thinks of me, I am just there to have fun. My song list last night included: "Roxanne" by The Police, "Peaches" by the "Presidents of the United States of America", and "Hey Ya" by Outkast. The karaoke guy was supposed to close up at 10, but we

were having a blast past 10:30 when we decided it was time to go home. My absolute favorite performance of the night was Jessika and Tara singing "Spice Up Your Life" by the Spice Girls. Seriously, Jessika gets way into it. I laughed so much I thought I was going to pee. I could just blame that on being pregnant though, right? Tiffani had never sang before and she sang Peaches with me, and then a country song that I'd never heard of (but she did do really well), followed by "Air Force Ones" by Nelly. Fabulous. Tara sang "Hand in My Pocket" by Alanis Morisette and I just love that song!

In other news, I had my appointment with Dr. A. yesterday. He said that he could not allow VBACs anymore but that I could schedule a repeat c-section for 42 weeks if that is what I want to do. For those that don't know I grow babies for a long time and I would rather have the baby closer to my "real" due date than the standard 39 weeks for repeat sections. In my experience, the longer they cook, the more likely they won't have jaundice and feeding issues. 42 weeks is still within normal range so I think I am going to go with that. I might cut it down to 41 weeks if I just get incredibly antsy. OR I might go into labor on my own accord and show up at the hospital too late to give me a section. It is not in my hands. Are you there God? It's me Rachel. If you are listening please let me have a safe VBAC! We want more children and I do not want to keep on having these surgeries.

More Halloween Pictures Have Surfaced!

"Love You Forever"

Sometimes when we are bored and need to kill time, I'll take the girls to Hastings to look at books. We go to the library on a pretty regular basis, but sometimes we like to actually go shopping! Anyways, one of the days on my quest to find good books at a decent price I came across a book I had never heard of before. What caught my eye at first was the price, I must admit ($2.50). It was a used book, which is just as good in my opinion. I opened it up and read the inscription:

Mom-

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
My Mommy you'll be.

Love Shirley
"1991"

Well goodness gracious. I HAD to get it. This book was given as a gift to someone's mother and love oozed from that inscription. I started to think about why this book was in the used section. Why a mother would sell this book to a store, why it was not in her special place of mom stuff, or at least on the family bookshelf. I did not have time to read the book there, Libby and Naomi were being crazy. Libby was taking down all of the Disney Princess books that she could find, and Naomi was playing with the big display of personalized name cups. That night when I was reading books to Libby before bedtime, I remembered to find this book from my shopping bag and include it in our nighttime ritual. The book is called Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.

And capital OMG it is a tearjerker. It is one of those children's books that is as much for the parent as it is for the child. It is a 'circle of life' kind of book, that begins with a young boy. It ends with that young boy becoming a man, losing his mother and becoming a father to a daughter of his own. It is very heartwarming, and I know it might sound depressing but it is very good. Libby likes it a lot, and will "read" it when she sees it scattered on the floor amongst her other books.

If you know me, you know that I rarely watch television. It is hardly ever on at our home, unless it's Barney at snack time, or Libby watching a princess movie during Naomi's nap. The other day I was bored so I turned on the converter box and Friends was on. I love that show. Phoebe is my favorite character just in case any of you were wondering :P. The episode was of Rachel and Ross's daughter Emma's first birthday party. Joey being his usual absent minded self, did not bring a gift for Emma. He decided that he would perform a dramatic reading of one of Emma's books. He picks up a book not knowing what it is and reads it. Watch what happens, seriously it is too funny and cute.





Needless to say, I highly recommend this book. It is wonderful, and will always hold a special place in my heart. It reminds me to tell my girls every day that "I love them forever, and like them for always". <3.

I can only imagine why the book winded up on the bookshelves at Hastings. I have my own idea, but I'll never know for sure.

The Baby Police

We should be getting ready for storytime at the library but I can't resist...must blog. Last night was our monthly LLL meeting. I have so much fun talking with the other mothers. We had a great meeting last night. I think the best meetings are when I don't have to talk much. I throw an idea out there, and the mothers go back and forth talking about their experiences, what worked for them, etc. As a Leader I'm not there to offer personal experience. I lead the discussion and refer to LLL's philosophy when needed. We talked about adjusting to motherhood, processing the birth and how breastfeeding helps a mom recover (emotionally, physically, and sometimes spiritually). Many more things were discussed but, I guess you should have been there to know the details. lol.

Afterwards, a few of us went to the new Braum's to eat. Libby and Naomi were at home with Joel and I am seizing every opportunity to have fun out before the new baby gets here. While we were eating, one of my friend's 8 month old started to be pretty loud. You know, not crying upset screaming...but the loud playful scream that they have when they want to hear their voice in a large echoing room. Of course we as mothers did not care. Unless one of our children are upset and crying, we tend to just talk louder over the joyful baby sounds :). This was at 9pm at night so the place was not crowded at all. Just as we were in discussion about how disgusting Splenda is, and how some of us have stopped giving our children fruit juice (and how our pediatrician's actually recommend this), an older couple with their preteen granddaughter began to stare. Not in a nice, "Oh how cute, your baby is singing a song" type of way. The old man was staring the way my grandpa used to when we'd run in the house, or when we were being incredibly bad...just waiting for grandma to come in to intervene. Baby J is still being 'loud' this whole time, blabbing away. After about 3 minutes of stares, the grandmother gets our attention and says "Excuse me, but can you please distract him. We can't hear ourselves think over here". Well of course ALL of our mouths dropped open. Some of us mumbled, "He's just a baby", and I said loudly, "Well THAT's a first". We of course didn't distract him right away but eventually his mama did give him some ice and a straw to play with. It really would not have been that bad but the girl that was sitting with her grandparents kept looking back and egging baby J along whenever her grandparents were not looking. All of us moms were extremely ticked over the situation and we continued to carry on discussing how rude it is to ask to shut up a perfectly happy baby, etc. I mean seriously...it wasn't that distracting. He's just a baby. And we were at Braum's for goodness sake...not the movies.

Okay well better go get us ready for storytime! I hope the baby police don't show up there b/c my girls are in a feisty mood this morning.

Halloween Party!

Tonight was the Halloween party for members at the Texoma Children's Museum. Libby was of course Dorothy. "New" Dorothy to be exact. She has three dresses but this one is sparkly and the newest of the three. Naomi was Little Red Riding Hood. She doesn't like the hood so much, so for most of the night she was a pirate girl. Libby had tons of fun playing with her BFF.

Can't wait until Halloween rolls around and we actually get to go trick-or-treating. I really do hope that people give out more than just candy this year. One or two pieces are okay but a whole bag of it is just not healthy at all. I like that there are more options like Goldfish crackers, or stickers, or little things of Play-Doh.
Saying cheese while eating pizza.



Naomi likes playing with the train set.

Oh, and in case you are wondering...the increase in blog posts is due to me deleting my Facebook account. I've got to have SOME kind of internet outlet!

Women Battle Health Insurance Industry, Demand Equal Benefits and Premiums - ABC News

Women Battle Health Insurance Industry, Demand Equal Benefits and Premiums - ABC News

Shared via AddThis

Amanda, I thought of you when I read this. You posted about a health insurance company denying coverage to a 4 month old baby because the child weighed 20 pounds.
R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s.
This story is equally disturbing for me. Women are getting denied health coverage for having a c-section from a previous birth. Health insurance companies are viewing it as a 'preexisting condition'. Since most moms who have one c-section end up having their babies by c-section in the future, the companies just don't want to pay for it. This is not fair on so many levels!!!

First School Pictures :D

Libby's pre-k pictures were in my parent outbox this morning. And my oh my they are adorable. I can't believe that my big girl is 3 already and going to school. She only goes MWF in the mornings and that seems to be great for her. I wish public schools had the same schedule. I am dreading when she is 5 and goes M-F from 8:30-3:30. I still flirt with the idea of homeschooling and will check out books from the library on the subject as I run across them. Libby is such a social person and benefits from the classroom setting but at this point I am just scared to death from sending her to public school. I wish that we had enough money to send her to private school. At least that way they wouldn't be teaching for the TAKS test and she'd get to pray to God with her friends like she does now. I wish that she could go to Waples forever!

Kool Smiles

Makes me frown. The search for a great pediatric dentist continues. I might be picky but I want the best treatment for children. Is that too much to ask for??? The dentist told me that Libby has 4 cavities and needs 4 amalgam fillings. She also told me that all that they have for pain management is nitrous and if that doesn't work they can put her in a papoose board to keep her from freaking out. Ugh. We had a HORRIBLE experience with the papoose thingie this past Saturday when she had stitches put in her forehead. I can just imagine how traumatic it would be for her to go to the dentist and have that experience. I asked about numbing her mouth and the dentist doesn't like to do that because children tend to bite their cheeks really hard and can cause damage. I made an appointment for her with a group on Loy Lake in Sherman who will allow me to come back with her, and has adequate pain management for children. The receptionist on the phone said that Kool Smiles isn't certified to give anything more than nitrous. Not that I WANT my daughter to be higher than Slater in Dazed and Confused. But c'mon she is three and can't be expected to sit there still not crying in pain for however long it takes to do a filling. Not that fillings are extremely painful, but it can be awfully scary for a child to be in that situation. And if there is anything that I learned in my Bradley childbirth classes (that I had while pregnant with Naomi) is that fear=pain and it's best to just relax. I want a second opinion anyways so that's another reason why I am taking her to the dentist on Loy Lake. 3rd time a charm maybe? We shall see. Appointment is the first week of November.

Oh and speaking of habitually changing docs, I switched OBGYNs. My mom says I'm never satisfied with anyone. I say that being picky isn't always a bad thing. Choosy moms choose TMC? I figure this is my last switcharoo since I'm 21 weeks now. I'm really not a looney toon, just a very picky mama when it comes to who is handling my lady business, and my baby's birth. Can you blame me?

Saving details on new doc and birth plan for another post...

LLL booth at the fair

Besides the 3 hours of Libby getting hurt and then stitches at the fair, I really had a good time hanging out with some friends at the LLL booth. Rest assured Libby was okay and in good hands with her Grammy for the remainder of the afternoon.
We handed out breastfeeding information bags, had a babysling giveaway, and tried to sell some books. I had brought some chairs and taped the international breastfeeding symbol on them to set up a nursing station for moms. We have group goals to purchase an actual tent like structure and have a baby changing station/nursing station and have it set up at local fairs and festivals. Maybe we could get free booth space in there since we would be providing a service. We have new business cards that Lydia made up. It's fancy to see my name on card stock, lol. Lydia also did a great job making the poster board. Her son helped decorate it, too!

Jessika and JJ

It was fun to hear stories of women who had been helped by LLL in the past. Quite a few women knew who we were and talked about how a Leader had helped them through their early breastfeeding days. Some grandmas even came by to tell us how much LLL helped their daughters. I'm so happy that the group is getting bigger and we are setting goals and actually reaching some of them.

Better go, the girls have dentist appointments in the morning and I should start getting ready for that (even though it's 9pm in the night before). I can't just wait until the morning to get things ready or we will never be on time! We are trying out Kool Smiles tomorrow. Let's hope we have better experience there than we did with the place on 1417.

Libby's not so fun time at the Grayson County Fair.

What was supposed to be a fun day at the fair for the girls ended up in a trip to the E.R....Libby tripped over an extension cord for a carnival ride while trying to keep up with her friends. Poor girl never got to ride the trucks :(. She got two cuts on her forehead which required 6 stitches total. Dr. L removed the stitches this afternoon and she is healing up fine. I saved the stitches to put into her baby book. They'll go right beside her umbilical cord stub. :D I better go...it's book time. After they go to bed I'm going to post some pictures of the LLL booth at the fair.

Poor baby.
:(

Quick post during commercial break.

Just read about a VBA3C with my doctor in Denton from the ICAN yahoo message boards. Woo-hoo! Love to hear these stories!!!

Friends

A friend on facebook posted old pictures from high school. Me and this friend weren't really close back then so there is none of me in the pictures. Which on a normal day I'd say "THANK GOD". But I've been feeling rather fat lately and it would be kind of uplifting to see a size 10 Rachel again. I couldn't be more unfashionable as I am now back then, could I be? My clothing options these days are less than pathetic. Nothing seems to fit right over my growing belly. And if it does fit, it's uncomfortable because it's either jeans, or not made of cotton. I have some pretty dresses but, I always feel like I should throw on some makeup when I wear a dress for some reason. Or brush my hair. Most days that just isn't possible if I want to make it to a playdate before lunch time.

Back to the pictures...there were pictures of a friend (former friend), and my heart sighed. It is so weird to know someone and be so close and then not talk to them anymore. I don't even know this person anymore. And really I'm okay with that (we had a falling out and I've tried to refriend her but it never seemed to work)...but looking at the pictures reminded me of how we used to be bff's. And how much fun we had our senior year. The whole situation made me feel old.

I wonder how many friends I will make and then lose over the course of my life.

I hope I make some more close friends...and I'd really rather not lose anyone else.

But no matter how hard I try...or how hard others try....for some reason it's the friends I've had since my school years that I feel the closest to, and can be myself around. I've had two bff's since elementary school and we are all each other's odd couple. There's the working mom, the single with the happening life (think Carrie from Sex and the City), then there's me; the frumpy stay at home mom. If we would have met in present day we wouldn't be friends. But something has bonded us together...our memories of childhood, then preteen rejection, followed by experiences in high school (even though by then we all had our separate cliques). Time has bonded us. I hope I never lose them. They are my gals. :)

Not that I'm not open to new bff's, but for some reason it has never worked out.

Naomi is awake after a 3 hour nap (HECK YES), so i better go!

Today so far

AHHHHHHHHHH! Busy day!

This morn we went to the park where first thing I truly neglected Naomi and she got hit by her sister while walking behind the swings. Mother of the Year Award goes to ME!

I met another preg mom due this month who is using the birth center in Allen. I think that's so awesome. I still wish it would've worked out birthing at the Denton birth center with Naomi but oh well.

Got Sonic for lunch (I AM SO BAD).

Went to the library and got some Carl books, they are the BEST! It's a series of books where the parents leave Carl, the family rottweiler, to take care of the baby and they have all kinds of adventures. It is mostly without words so Libby and I talk about it and we make up our own stories. The books really sound weird I know. A dog that takes care of the baby??? But seriously, they're cute. Look em up.

Then Libby and I watched Wizard of Oz while I napped beside her to 'save her from the witch'. Naomi is still napping in the other room.

We are about to head out to ballet.

THEN there is the munchkin tryouts tonight at DHS. Okay so I found out it is only supposed to be for ages K-5 but I'm going to try and sneak Libby in. She is really looking forward to it and has a routine all set up. I'm SO NOT A STAGE MOM I PROMISE. And if she ends up freaking we will leave but I think she will like it!

OK well gtg get ready for this afternoon!

My complaint letter (names taken out)

01 September 2009
Dear Dentist People,

This morning my three year old daughter, E. G., had a dentist appointment with Dr.K. When her name was called shortly after we had signed in, E., my younger daughter N., and I met with a woman at the door. The woman explained that I was not allowed to go back with E. during her examination/cleaning. I expressed my desire for wanting to go back with my daughter. I told her that I do not send her to the pediatrician alone, and I would not send her to the dentist or to any other medical professional without me being there with her. The woman said she’d be back in a minute and asked us to wait in the waiting room while she talked to the dentist. The woman returned soon and said that it was policy to have three year olds and up come back by themselves. I told her that we would be cancelling her appointment then, because I do not agree with that policy. The woman asked me to wait for another moment, then returned. She lead me to the office manager’s office where I do not know if she was saying that I would be billed for the visit, or if she thought my daughter had x-rays that morning that would need to be billed. We cleared up the x-ray bit, because my daughter did not have x-rays (or any medical treatment) while in the office. The office manager and previous woman, looked through my file and told me how the last time my daughter visited, she had gone back by herself. At that time, we were in a front office room, and honestly when they lead her back it was not clear what they were doing until they came back and explained that they were through. I was under the impression that they were just showing her around or something similar to that. I was not comfortable with that after the first visit. And today, when I came in, I had the intention of not letting her go back by herself.
I don’t feel like it is appropriate to not give the parent a choice in the matter. The way I was treated today, it is clear that you either let your child go back alone, or they are not welcome as patients. We live in a world where we have to be advocates for our children. Handing my three year old over to someone who is a stranger to her, is not my idea of healthy parenting. Dentistry is often considered more traumatic than going to a regular doctor. I want my daughter to understand that I will be right there with her, and not off in the waiting room with her sister somewhere. Setting up a healthy, non traumatic base for going to the dentist will help her establish trust and a good foundation with dental care. I guess we have separate ideas on how to accomplish this. I was told today that the reasons I can’t go back with her is a) there is a space issue and b) the children behave better without the parent there. I do not take up much room, so I think that argument is just an excuse to not let parents back there. And my argument for the latter is that I am more concerned with my child’s welfare than their behavior. My child goes to the pediatrician plenty and is fine with me in there, I do not see how dentistry would be any different. I am entitled to be at my child’s every medical/dental procedure. In my opinion a good pediatric dentist (or parent) would understand this.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope that you will reevaluate the no parent allowed policy in the future. I have talked to many other mothers in my peer circle and they are concerned with this policy as well, some have even said that they have not come back to your office because of this issue.
Sincerely,
R.G.

Stuff

I got a call from my OB's office tonight. They wanted to do a survey to see how satisfied I am with Dr. C. being my doctor. There was all kinds of feedback asked for ranging from wait time, receptionist friendliness, to doctor satisfaction. I thought this was a great idea, and I think more doctors should do this. I really don't mind answering surveys when the information can be used to either better a health service, or confirm that they are doing a good job. Which of course, I think he is doing a great job...or I wouldn't be driving over an hour to see him every month (and more often once I am even more preg).

Libby has a dentist appointment tomorrow morning. I hope everything goes well. She did great when she went to the dentist about 8 mos ago...but she is a different little girl since then! The terrible twos are a misnomer, three's are worse! Sometimes I wish we could fastforward a year. It HAS to get better than this...right? Today we were at Wal-Mart and she had one of those fits. Ya know the kind that makes everyone look at you because your child is going boneless, screaming, screeching, whining, thrashing, and crying. Yeah. She finally settled down thank God.

She had homework today from school. We are supposed to all outline our handprints on a piece of construction paper then give the teacher a family picture. I'm sure it will be a cute project when it's all through with. I just love all the artwork that is sent home with her. Today she had drawn on paper with chalk and she was just so proud of it, as was I.

K, Barney is off so I better get off my rear and go read some books to the girls. It's almost bedtime!

Update on Dinner

Tonight I bought Devoli's for dinner. We had:

(2) Lasagna w/ meatballs (gotta have my meatball fix and yes one of those lasagnas was for Joel)

(2) House Salads one with Ranch one with House (which is OH SO GOOD, they even sell bottles of it, which I have bought before)

(7) Homemade rolls with butter sauce (you know like the kind Papa John's would give but only better...and they aren't as stingy with it)

(1) Kid's Meal Spaghetti (eating out is going to be so much more expensive when the girls will start needing their own separate meals!...but for now it's more than enough).

MUCH better than last night's attempt at cooking which I was still depressed about today. Glad we splurged and ordered takeout. I even got my dad to come watch the girls so I could go pick it up my self instead of lugging them in there. Joel was still at work and my dad lives a couple of blocks away, plus it isn't really a kid friendly place and I wanted to avoid having two children run straight to the dining area. I was hoping that it would take longer than it did to get my food because I was having a nice time relaxing to the sound of adult conversations in the background.

Maybe not

Was going to blog but this is pointless. I'm tired.

Nevermind, let me ramble.

Oh i did manage to make expired Kool-Aid that tasted like crap...I hate the thought of Kool-Aid (red#40 + sugar= gross) but I had this weird craving for it and I found a package in my spice holder. Either I completely effed it up, or it was bad b/c it expired in 2007. And no I will not be buying any packets of KA at the store next week. The nasty stuff gave me an aversion to it.

And I made spaghetti casserole (big noodles, ground turkey, cheese, and tomatoey sauce stuff), and messed that up too bc I used freezer burnt meat. I kept thinking it would 'all be okay'. But it wasn't. Nasty stuff.

Can tomorrow's dinner PLEASE be better? Did someone say takeout?

Potpourri

I really don't have much time to blog...dishes in the sink (we are still one of those ppl without a dishwasher), naked children waiting to be bathed (not my duty tonight), and a messy house. But ah well I'm sitting here waiting for Joel to put the food up so I can wash the dishes so why not. At least he's putting the food away for me. I was going to do it all but then I decided I'd rather not. :P and just to vent why is he trying to throw everything away instead of putting it in a proper container. Do I have the only husband who despises leftovers? We had tacos, nachos, crock-pot pinto beans, rice, corn, and tomatoes out of my grandpa's garden. It was delicious.

Libby had her first day of pre-k and she liked it a lot. I took tons of pictures. I even drove by her school on her first day...I was on that side of town so why not? I saw her playing outside and it was so cute. I'm glad we decided to send her there, I think it's really good for her.

Tonight I'm completing the preview exercise with a LLL applicant from the group. We will have another Leader in the group now to help answer phone calls and lead series meetings. It will be easier to do outreach projects and organize fundraisers with another Leader. I've taken LLL meeting notices to OBGYN and pediatrician's offices, and they've all been very welcoming. But I'm only one person, and haven't gotten to all the doctor offices in the area. It would be great to accomplish that! Plus, I was putting together breastfeeding info bags for TMC to distribute. In my experience as a mom, I've only gotten formula materials when I've had my babies at the hospital. So biased I swear!!! But then again, no one makes any money off of breastfeeding (besides the pump companies) so that's a big reason there isn't a lot of info handed out so freely.

This morning when I was reading the news, I noticed that the CDC is in talks to now recommend that every U.S. boy be circumcised. Circumcision is something I just do not understand. I'd never surgically alter a part of my girl's genitals, or body (heck we don't even pierce ears). So why would I do it to a boy for cultural reasons??? The CDC is saying that men who aren't circumcised have a higher chance of getting HIV and that's why all newborn boys should be circ'd. I don't know if they've heard of this invention called the condom, but last I heard it's pretty effective warding off the AIDS buggies. Or how about the old fashioned idea of not being promiscuous. The whole idea of performing surgery on my *newborn* bc of what might or might not happen years from now is just so ridiculous to me. Call me crazy but we'll just take our chances...and if any son of mine wants to be circumcised once they can make the conscience decision, more power to them. The thought of it being any less painful at birth is just beyond fathomable to me. Babies are humans. Babies feel pain. bottom line. Most (if not all) of my friends have circumcised their boys, and that's fine. This paragraph is not intended to talk bad about any of their parent's choices to do so. I just personally don't understand it, never will, and would really rather not deal with another postpartum intervention that I'm going to be turning down at the hospital. *IF* we have a boy. Lol. It's probably a girl so I'm getting worked up over nothing.link to CDC statements

bleh

Today was ridiculous. And to write down all that happened would just remind me of how much un fun we had. Just one of those days...and I'm so glad it is almost over.

We did go to The Children's Museum around 2:30 and bought a yearly membership. Seems like it used to be more expensive. It's only $75/a year now and they have great membership perks like parent nights out, which Libby can go to. The place is kind of a death trap for Naomi so I have to be on the watch or she tries to climb the pirate ship ramp, or the steep stairs to the book clubhouse. But it's such a fun place to let the kids roam, play and socialize.

Today I realized that I have 6 months until my due date. Then I started thinking about elephants who are pregnant for 22 months. That is just pure agony. I read that their babies weigh about 250 pounds. OUCH! This made me think of when I went for my prenatal appointment and the estimated weight of baby on the chart said '8 pounds'. It was clearly a mistake since I am only 13 weeks. Dr. C and I had a laugh over this. I'd be one huge lady at the end of all this if my baby was already that huge. I did gain 6 pounds last month to my dismay. Ugh. How is that even possible??? The baby is the size of a SHRIMP! I'm making a conscience decision to walk a mile a day and eat better from here on out.

K I guess I better go, I have snacks to make and diapers to wash. Didn't I just wash diapers the day before yesterday? This is getting old. I'm buying more diapers with next year's tax return. Cloth diapers are expensive to start out with and a pain to wash but it is nice not ever having to buy diapers throughout the year.

Yesterday.

1. Went to Denton for a prenatal appt, love Dr. C.... said he makes it to all his VBACs unless his wife says it's time for a vacay and he ends up being out of town, no plans for late Feb/March though.
2. Came home, failed at getting Naomi down for a nap. I handed her to Joel and I passed out instead.
3. Went to Jessie's church where Joel played bass in this new praise band they are putting together. (wish I would have some rhythm...I'd LOVE to rock the drums)
4. Libby's pre-k open house. She LOVES it there. She has so many friends in her class (a perk from joining mom's groups). She just flat out loves it. I love her.
5. Picked up Jessika, Jessica, Tara...went to sing karaoke in Anna. The place was The Crow bar. Totally family friendly, non-smoking..."the" go to place for karaoke. I rocked the house even though I was completely sober. :)

Came home went to sleep. Libby woke me up at 7:30 this morn. This new early bedtime has it's drawbacks. yawn.

WBV and other stuff

This morning I took Naomi for her 15 month WBV. The appointment was at 9:30 this morning. I had to set my alarm for 8:30 since we normally sleep until 9:00. I got ready then at 9:00 scooped Naomi up out of bed, got her out of her pj's then took her to the potty and she went pee again. (YAY!). We didn't have enough time to do breakfast so I just made her a sippy and got a granola bar for her to eat on the road. The child hardly eats breakfast anyways, ya know. When we get there I put her in the sling and head up to the dr. office. The office is in a big building on the second floor, so I needed some assistance carrying her and the stroller can be a pain sometimes. Libby stayed home with Daddy so we could avoid the usual whining nonsense when the doctor is examining Naomi bc Libby is used to being the center of attention. So we get upstairs and I forget that she hasn't had any milk or nursed since about 4am. After I turn in the insurance form I sit down and nurse her while using my sling as a coverup. Man that thing comes in handy! We got in pretty soon to see Dr. L and his nurse and him were as nice as always. The nurse asked if we were vaxxing and I told her no, not until Naomi was 2 and that was the end of that. Dr. L looked her over and asked me normal doctor stuff and of course Naomi is as healthy as can be and gaining right on track. She's 50th percentile for weight, 80th for height. He asked if I was still bfing and when I said yes he said that's cool. All in all the visit was pretty good. Sometimes when we go for WBV the nurse gives us a Scholastic book that someone has donated...maybe the library? I don't know. Here's the bookIt's about how people carry their babies in all sorts of cultures. Of course we use strollers sometimes, too. But, I think babywearing is a very smart and useful option, not to mention the bonding it facilitates.
After the dr appointment I stopped by a friend's house to borrow The Time Traveler's Wife. There is a 'no kids allowed' book club that I'm joining and this is the first book we are reading. I am excited about the idea, I haven't read a non parenting book in ages. Plus to have something to talk about besides babies, children, etc will be refreshing. I hope that this is something that keeps up for awhile. Although, I'll have to take time off after the baby is born bc I don't like to leave new babies even for a few hours until they are well into their second or third month. Even then it's a pain in the butt bc I have to make sure I have enough milk stored and I'll have to pump while I'm gone.
Came home and made whole grain pancakes, eggs, and turkey bacon for lunch. We had cantaloupe from my grandpa's garden and it was delicious!
Tomorrow is my appointment with Dr. C. I was looking forward to the appointment so I could hear the heartbeat for the first time. But, a friend let me borrow her fetal doppler and I heard it yesterday...here at home. It's way cool. But I'm not sitting here using it every five seconds bc I know that it's probably not good to be bouncing soundwaves off my uterus constantly. I need to remember to ask Dr. C about what happens if I go into labor when his not so VBAC friendly co-doctors are on call. Hoping he will say that he will be there when I go into labor no matter what but that may be pushing it! And speaking of labor PLEASE God let me go into it this time!!! Preferably at 39, 40 weeks, lol if it isn't too much to ask.
Going to post a picture of Libby in the IKEA pet tent that I found behind the bed yesterday. We got it when she was a baby but she was too scared of it back then. She is having fun in it now! Too cute.

Meeting went well!

Meeting was great! It was only four of us but that's okay. We only got through O doing the ABC's of breastfeeding. We kept coming up with all kinds of advantages and branching off to discuss them and how they've helped us in our mommy careers! Big advantages we discussed is how amazingly FREE it is to nurse our babies, how it's easy bc there is no late night bottle making or figuring out how many bottles to pack for outings, how healthy our children have been (no bowel issues, less dr visits,), how diverse our milk is...it is an ever changing tissue (like blood) and has different and changing flavors from day to day. The chubby girl in me just can't imagine eating the same thing day after day after day. I think it is so frickin awesome that my babes get to drink virtually something different everyday since my diet is forever changing. (strawberries one day, ramen noodles the next!) the list goes on and on. Had a lot of fun with the other moms!

After I left the meeting I realized that I need to change the time. Libby is starting preschool and I will have to pick her up from school on Mondays at 11:30. Joel is off work but he is starting EMT classes so he's going to be at school during that time. I would like to start a night meeting that way working moms would be more likely to come. There is a member in the group who is becoming accredited as well, so the plan was to have a morning and a night meeting every month anyways. She should be done soon...so I may go ahead and start with the evening meetings. Hope that doesn't make it too difficult for the SAHMs to come. Although I remember when I started going to meetings, they were at 7pm. So why not? hmmmm that will interfere with the new bedtime we've got going on but it's just once a month so it should be ok.

K, well i'm off...Got to go get Libby's vaccine affadavit notarized this afternoon.

On a Sunday before a meeting, thoughts on my mind...

Man, I am SO tired tonight. I dozed off while on the couch a little bit ago. Naomi is watching Barney right now, eating a snack. The bedtime routine hath begun! Libby is playing yahtzee with Joel and my in laws. I however cannot peel myself out of this comfy chair. So I figure why not blog. again. I've done this for quite a few days consecutively!
Tomorrow is a LLL meeting. The topic is 'advantages of breastfeeding'. I'm planning on having everyone list advantages by playing 'The ABC's of breastfeeding'. We will go through the ABC's and list an advantage for each letter. There are multiple possibilities for each letter, so I'm sure it will go great. And kind of fun, too. I went to a LLL meeting in Denton last week bc I've always been curious to how other meetings flow, and what they do. The meeting topic there was weaning. A mom was getting suggestions at how to wean her three year old. There were breastfeeding toddlers (one Naomi's age), but mostly pregnant moms. Denton is a pretty natural-birth friendly town considering there is a birth center there as well as the infamous Dr. C (whose grandma was a midwife I've heard). All of the pregnant moms there were pregnant with their second child planning their second natural birth. There were some differences between our meetings and theres, mostly being they are more formal and legit. I always forget to offer book sales or memberships. bleh.

It is just so liberating almost, to be in a room full of like-minded mamas. I mean can you imagine the weaning advice that would be given to the mom of the three year old had it been in a regular, normal mom's group? or the looks? or the thoughts? idk maybe I'm just paranoid about stuff like that but I sometimes feel like I am the weirdo of regular mom's circles, and my peers. Not that I in any way think that we should all think alike/act alike/parent alike. But some of the choices I've made as a mom are just so different or foreign to other people.

I do wish that the LLL group that I am a part of can flow into one that represents all mothers. The crunchy ones like me, the ones who want to breastfeed but are adamant that they will stop at a year, the working moms, and the moms who are nervous about the whole idea of it. I really hope to prevent any cliques that sometimes form within groups, outside friendships of the group is fine but I don't want new moms to be misled. Just because you want to breastfeed doesn't mean you HAVE to do it until the child weans himself, or that you HAVE to post news articles on their FB pages (that's me!), or that it is an all or nothing thing. Sure, I have my personal beliefs on the subject and I hold it to high importance as my duty as a mother, as a Christian...

LLL's goal, and my goal is to help ANY mother that wants to breastfeed do so by providing accurate and up to date information...and most of all support whatever her breastfeeding goals may be.

lol. Sometimes I feel like all I ever talk about is babies, mommas, or nursing babies. I am curious to what my future 40 year old self will be and if I will still be chatting everyone's ears off about this sort of thing. This is what is important for me right now...what I feel like I've been called to do.......I can't help but be passionate about it.

All for now. Got to go read some Sandra Boyton books. :)

Reading Books!

Just wanted to post a recent pic of Libby on here bc it's been awhile since I've done that. Need to go finish reading books to them (Joel is in Lib's room right now with the girls). We've been cutting Libby's naps in hopes that she will go to bed earlier and it's working. We sleep till 9am anyways so she technically doesn't really even 'need' the nap bc she had been staying up until almost midnight bc she just wasn't tired! Anywho! Better go!

Oh and btw, me and some friends are going to do this karaoke thing on Wednesday night. I'm super excited about it. Idk why but I love doing stuff like that. I think I've already got the songs picked out that I want to sing...lol I'm SUCH a DORK. Please note that I can in NO WAY sing well, and I know this. It's just plain fun...wow I'm such a dork.

Oh yeah and sue me for there being a bottle in the background of this pic! Naomi drinks some milk with her after bath snack and since she isn't nursing as much (I am preg ya know), I offer her some milk in that bc I feel bad that she's half way weaned bc I got knocked up again. I wonder if she is going to nurse through this pregnancy like her older sister did when I was pregnant with her.

Listening to: "Use Somebody" Acoustic Cover by Lynzie Kent and Rich G on Youtube.

Rambling again

Today Naomi has used the potty TWICE! Once to pee, the other time to poop. When she is wet, she has a habit of bringing me a new diaper. I guess she is somewhat ready to be potty trained, or is this wishful thinking??? I know that she can't verbalize that she has to go beforehand, but it's kind of like if I put her on the pot at the right time she will go. Cool huh?

Tonight some friends from high school might be coming over to stay the night. I'm looking forward to catching up with them, and hope they really do end up coming over.

Oh, I got excited when I opened the mailbox today. I got the affidavit that I needed for Libby to start pre-school. I had to send a form to Texas Health Services saying that we don't give her all the required vaccines because of a 'reason of conscience'. I was worried that it wouldn't get here in time, but it is! She has most vaccines, the only ones she is missing is the MMR, chicken pox, and Hep A. We will prob go ahead and do the MMR before she goes to kindergarten...not sure yet. Naomi has only ever had that one DTAP shot (that sent her to the hospital for 3 days...105.6 fever at the E.R. being 80 days old). Under her doctor and my agreement, she will not have any vaccinations at all until she is 2 years old...and definitely no more DTAP shots!!! School starts Aug. 24. She is only going to be going on MWF from 8:30-11:30. This will be great once the new baby comes and I go into sequester mode for a month or so, probably less. I will leave the house and go anywhere on Joel's days off with a new baby. But I'm kind of scared about leaving with three little ones. But I guess I will have to get used to it before too long!

Well, I best get off the computer so that I can get ready to go to my mom's house for dinner then be back over here for friends that may be staying with us.

(Listening to Rosa Parks by Outkast)

Tire(d)

So, interesting morning. We go to Wal-Mart to go shopping. (YAY for grocery money!!!) We have our usual borderline no-fun time....Get them some chicken at the deli, Libby stays in the back of the cart until she gets too claustrophobic from food, Naomi eventually brings on the waterworks.

Anyways, oh wait. Naomi is up from her nap. Gtg for a lil bit.

Ok It's been an hour; I'm back now.

So, I go through the checkout line (YAY no wait!), and I give the lady my cloth bags. oh, cashiers seem to hate these. I don't really know why. Maybe because it is something different and they can't bag the groceries in their normal manner. ???? The nice older lady remarks "This is so frustrating", while bagging my stuff. geez, sorry lady. Saving the environment isn't motivation enough for me to not use the plastic stuff. If I'm using cloth bags it means less trips from car to house since they hold more. This is the main reason I use them.

Wow this post is getting boring.

I go outside and what do you know? I have a flat. Joel offers to leave work to help me out. please....that would take 45 minutes since I'm all the way at the denison wal-mart. (speaking of which can we PLEASE get an HEB round here?). So I tell him I'll take care of it. Which doesn't mean necessarily that I will take care of it bc I know jack (pun intended) about cars. I go to the gas station and some nice man helped me put air in it and alas we made it home. Milk still good and everything. It could be flat out there right now. I don't know. don't care. it's too hot outside to go look. Maybe I will peek at it the next time Kip has to go out to pee.

Man I'm tired. Can't nap bc Naomi slept on the way home from the store + an hour so she is playing. I haven't bothered putting Libby down for a nap bc she stays up past midnight when she does nap. If she doesn't nap she will go to sleep at 9. This seems like a no brainer to me. Not napping doesn't effect her behavior that much so we're going with the flow. Of course if she says she needs a nap I'd let her go lay down. (if it was before 3!).

I need to start taking pictures of them again. I'm such a bad mom! They were really cute in Cinderella dress up clothes the other day but I didn't want to leave the room to get the camera. laziness is my middle name I guess.

I know what I'm going to name the baby if she is a girl. (which I think she will be). well, heck I won't know for sure until I see her. But I've got a front runner.

Woah

So a lot has happened and I'm going to try my best to start doing this again. I am pregnant with # 3 and I am 12 weeks along. I've decided to try the VBAC route again (studies still say it's safe even though most doctors in this country are so knife happy anyways). Going to Dr. C. in Denton (THE go-to guy for VBACS after 1,2,3,4,5 c-sections), even if I end up with a repeat c, I had such a good experience last time and hope for the same again in that event. Denton Presby postpartum rules are kind of cruddy. One adult has to be awake the entire time for a baby to be allowed to room in. I called the heads of Women's Services and they are giving me an exception since I complained about my stay last time. Which reminds me...I need to call the lady and get her to fax me the exemption in writing so that I can put it in my birthplan. Oh yeah I'm one of 'those' women who feel the need to express my desires for labor and delivery. I really don't understand why someone WOULDN'T want to. I mean I write lists for my babysitter, for myself, for my husband why wouldn't I make a list of wants for something so important as my child's birth. Speaking of which, we won't be finding out the sex until the baby is born. We found out with our first child what she was going to be, and not with our second. We prefer the surprise! Not that it isn't a surprise at 16wks, 20 wks whatever. It's just different. (better) for us at least. personal preference. All in all I'm excited about the whole pregnancy. I can't wait for that moment when I can see the baby move with my own eyes through my skin. For when I can stop looking in the mirror asking myself if I look pregnant or fat bc soon there will be no mistaking it...Or when it gets down to the nitty gritty and the baby is on his/her way. Then when I get to FINALLY hold my newborn and immediately feed that child. Awww. the whole process is bliss. Memories that last a lifetime.

Just hope everything goes smoothly and safe and that I am growing one healthy baby in my ute--ee and that she (or he???) stays healthy on the outside. Praise God I've been able to have a third baby. My life is blessed. bliss.

Hello, Bye Bye.

My baby is a year old now! She turned a year old on May 14th. I still wonder what her real birthday would have been had a I not consented to another c-section (after being pregnant for 42 weeks and running out of options, and medical care.) But ah well, we can't change the past can we? Just look forward to the future...Naomi has developed into such a sweet, and sassy little girl. She loves to snuggle up to me, Joel or even inanimate objects. She is already loving to play dress up, she wears my headbands on her head, or will put on a hat and crawl around. She is very independent and can play with herself or her sister for fairly long periods of time, like if I need to make supper or walk on the treadmill. I will go and check on her and she will be reading her books with her feet. We have a gazillion of those textured books and she feels of the fabric with her feet, mostly thanks to this book. She is pretty smart, too. She can do a couple of baby signs. She does more, dog, and bird. She can say mama, dada, hello, and a new one today: bye bye. Watching a baby grow into a toddler then a toddler to a little girl (Libby), is truly the most amazing experience of my life. Oh yeah and she is starting to walk now, too. She is so adorable!!! I can not wait for what is to come! I am loving every single minute of my life. Sure, I live in a tiny house but I get to stay at home with my girls. I wouldn't trade this for anything. We've been active in the Texoma Moms group. We do cheap things like playdates at the park, museum, etc. It gives me a chance to get the girls out to play with other kids and to be able to socialize (offline) with other moms. I am a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child. And the more I mother my children every day, the more I realize that we are not supposed to be doing this alone in our 'nuclear family' way of life. I would love to go live in a commune for a week just to live that life (minus the drugs and open marriages). I want to live off the land, I want there to always be someone there to hand over my children when they frustrate me too much. And I want to be there for another mama who needs to hand over her children they are frustrating her. But for now I have a great group of moms that I've met and some ones that I've really clicked with. I am so happy that the days of never leaving the house during Joel's work week are gone. We leave the house every single morning the days that Joel works, no matter what. I got a gym membership and I have fun going there trying to lose some of this flab that I've retained since my pregnancy with Naomi. How long can you call it extra baby weight anyways???

Naomi is such a special baby girl, and her sister is so special to me as well. I am so lucky to have been blessed with such sweet, and smart healthy girls. Speaking of healthy, Naomi is still breastfeeding a couple of times a day. We are trying to nightwean her for the sake of my sanity. Four to six nightfeeds just seem to take a toll on me no matter how pro-breastfeeding I may be. I cannot fathom weaning her now, or being a mother who has never nursed at all. It is so convenient to have something right here on my body to comfort her when she gets upset, takes a nasty fall, or needs to unwind after a long day of playdates and the gym nursery. I plan on nursing her until she is at least two even if that means nursing through another pregnancy and then doing the tandem thing again. It is her birthright and I'm not going to take it away from her.

I am closing with a link to her birth slide show. I know I have posted it a million gazillion times but, I cannot talk about my baby and her birthday without adding it. Who even reads this anyways? I have not posted in so long I am sure everyone has forgotten about this blog. Anyway, here is the link ...and it is better if you turn the speakers on.

Long Time No Post

I know...I know...I haven't posted in forever and a day. Didn't I say that I would probably do this?!? Well. My writer's block has been partly because I haven't taken any good pictures lately. And I feel kind of silly posting a blog with no pictures. What's the point ya know? The picture above is from today. We met some other moms and kids there from our meetup.com group.

Today we went to the Texoma Children's Museum and Libby had a lot of fun. She did not really play with anyone but, she had a lot of fun on the slide. I've read that two year olds "parallel" play with other children, and that is exactly what she does for the most part, unless she is very comfortable with the other child. And even then it's not like real playing...it's more of a "gimme whatcha got" type of deal that sometimes ends in tears. Naomi had fun cheesing and showing off her (still) toothless grin. I took her to the doctor yesterday because, she has a small rash on her face and it turns out that she has eczema like Libby. I started giving her yogurt and wheat products last week so one of those might be the culprit. I'm going to eliminate dairy from her diet first (breastmilk is not dairy), to see if that helps it out. If that isn't it then she's gonna have to say bye bye to these wheat teething biscuits that she is loving for awhile. I had a lot of fun at the playgroup as well. It's fun talking to other moms about mom stuff. I won't go into detail here to avoid boring any of you. Unless you of course, are a mom. ;). I've better go...I'm sure that these girls are going to be getting up from a nap any minute now. It's already four! They are worn out!!! If I had the money, I'd go to the museum more often!!!

Shipoopi

This afternoon Libby pooped in the potty! She normally saves all deuces for her pull-up, so we were all thrilled when she exclaimed that she went poopy in the potty all by herself! We were all surprised since she did this on her own, we usually take her to the potty in regular intervals so she can pee! She got a candy cane (her new fav), and some markers from her birthday that I had put up. She is in heaven now coloring with her new markers. Let's hope that she has seen the light and wants to poop in the potty from now on! Only time will tell!

We're Back!

We have been gone since December 27th. We are finally back at home! We had a lot of fun in Zapata. Libby and Naomi had muy fun playing with their cousins. We ate well; I don't think I have ever eaten so many avacados in such a short period of time! The girls both had a cold while we were down there which stunk, but they are getting better now. We made many great memories with everyone and we are looking forward to going back as soon as we can.