A quote from Spencer...

Today, we found out some exciting news and here is Spencer's response...

He pats my tummy and says, "Good job being a girl, Baby."

We are due April 2, 2009, it's a girl.

Hiding, Hair, and 18 month visit (okay, so she was 19 mnths)

This is our new favorite hiding place...

For those that don't think I ever do her hair, I do... she just wiggles a lot, so I can't get it to look nice and then she pulls it out in about 2 minutes or less. I was able to capture a couple times with it done but that's because she was busy drinking and didn't think about pulling it out yet. And no comments on how she's 1.5 years and still drinking from a bottle... I know, I know...

I took her to the doctor this week for her 18 month check-up, but really she is 19 months this week. She is 25lbs. 5oz., which puts her at the 50th percentile for weight. She was 32.5 inches tall which is 75th percentile for height. She's getting big!

The problem with a traveling husband/dad

My husband has had to travel a lot in the last 3 years. We are hoping that this will slow down soon because of his recent promotion. However, the travel has caused some problems with the children...
Problem 1: Spencer likes to play with friends all afternoon, come home, have dinner and then watch TV before bed. When Daddy is home, we have to watch "Daddy shows" and no more "kid shows." Spencer just about has a meltdown on nights when Dave is home. He has even said, "Why aren't you leaving?" or "Why are you here?" So sad that he actually prefers to have his dad gone... (he doesn't prefer it, actually, he loves when Dave is home... he just really likes routine too and gets upset when it is disturbed)
Problem 2: Carter thinks that Dave works at the airport or on an airplane. This came from hearing me say, "Come say goodbye to Daddy, he has to go to work. Give Daddy hugs, he's going to the airport. Be safe on the aiplane, Daddy!" I can see how that would be confusing.
Problem 3: Miana thinks that every phone call is Daddy. When she is pretend playing, she calls Daddy on the phone. She thinks that it is the only way she can talk to him. This is one reason she loves the phone so much, Dave is her favorite person and for most of her life the speaker on the phone sounds mostly like Daddy...
Problem 4: I miss him when he's gone.

Only one more trip this year and then he'll hopefully be around a bit more next year...

Politics and children...

We have had lots of political discussions in our home in the last week or so. This is because of all of the political information my kids are picking up from TV, radio, kids at school, and listening to me talk to various people. One day, Spencer came home and said, "I'm voting for John McCain." Carter heard him and quickly said, "I'm voting for Barak Obama." I then talked to both of them about voting, what it means, and that they should have good reasons for their choices. Neither one could tell me why they wanted that person. Last Thursday was a politically charged day for our family. Carter's friend at school told him, "I'm voting for McCain because Barak Obama is a lier. McCain used to lie, but he doesn't any more." That is a boy who just barely turned 5. Later that afternoon, I got the following email from Spencer's tutor. She is a huge Broncos fan and a McCain supporter. Subject: School Voted Today, "Okay, so I asked the boys who they voted for and why... Ryan said he voted for McCain because he's an old man, Spencer voted for McCain because his parents were voting that way, and this is the best... J.D. voted for Barak Obama because Barak O sounds like Bronco.... perhaps we should indoctrinate our children with something other than the Broncos! ha ha ha!" That evening, we were in the car and I asked Spencer about the school election. He shook his head sadly and said, "Mom (I could hear the dispair in his voice) my school voted for Obama." He seemed so sad and disappointed. He then added, "and JD voted for Barak Obama on accident." It was quite funny how he said everything... I then reminded both boys that you need to have good reasons for who you choose. Spencer asked me why I liked McCain and I told him that I thought McCain could protect our country better than Obama could. He then asked why I didn't like Obama. I told him because Obama wanted to take away our money. So, after that conversation, Carter would tell everyone that Barak Obama wanted to take ALL of money away from us. This morning I told the boys who won the election. Spencer got very nervous and said, "Mom, is he going to take away are money today?" I assured him that we were safe for now and then he said, "Will I still be allowed to play outside?" Oh, the things that worry small children...
For those of you that are worried about me indoctinating my children... I did also talk to both boys about respecting the President even when we don't agree with everything he does.

Halloween: Costumes and Jack-o-lanterns

My boys are really into Star Wars and I am really into theme Halloweens so... Here's Halloween 2008: Luke Skywalker, C3PO, and Princess Leia



Also, we carved Pumpkins: Here's Carter's glowing and Spencer with his...

Carter's Preschool Halloween Party!!

At Carter's school they do a Halloween party where they have the kids dress up, do a costume parade and then have a fun party that the parents are invited to. They had quite the feast (crakers, fruit and about 5 desserts)! The teacher read them a story while they waited for parents to set up the table with treats, it was a great party!

The story of the old shoes:

I never buy expensive shoes. Never. If they cost more than $30, they are not worth it. Sometime around 10 years ago, I bought these shoes, I think they cost about $25-


They were my favorites. They had just the right amount of heel to help me feel dressy, but it was wide enough not to feel clumsy. The straps made me feel feminine, which was a nice feeling after a long week of chasing kids. 2 months ago, the strap broke on one of the sandals. It was beyond repair and I was devastated. It was like losing an old friend. I then began my search for new black dress sandals. After searching online and finding nothing. I gave up the search for several weeks until my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law took me shopping and were determined to find me some shoes. After 2 shoes stores, I think they realized that I had something very specific in mind and wasn't going to settle for anything less. That's right, I wanted MY black sandals. Some exactly like the ones that broke. We finally gave up the search after going into 4-5 stores. A few days later, I got back on the internet and found several pairs that were okay, all very expensive. I chose my favorite pair.

They were a pricey $75, which I was willing to pay if they fit well and if I thought they would last me awhile. So I bought them.
Here is the story of the new shoes:
First, I saw that they came in a very child-like box.

With cute little bears. I thought that was interesting, but that was it.
Then I opened the box, it slid open from the side, which was a very fancy way to do it. The shoes were covered in a beautiful tissue paper, which also made them seem fancy (I think everything seemed fancy because I had paid so much)
Next, I noticed the fancy shape holder inserts, they were very fancy with the printed bow on them (not the scrunched up paper that I normally see)

Then I started to turn them over...

... and found the most beautiful unicorn a girl could ever imagine!
And, yes! Their are 2 of them!!!
The artwork alone was worth the $75! Too bad they were a little tight and seemed a bit flimsy in construction. I had to send them back!

At least it made me laugh!