mommybader

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-10-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Oh how time flies when you're insanely busy!! :o) I'm thoroughly enjoying life right now! Alena and Tirus are doing really well in school. They both love going and are learning a lot! I actually wouldn't be surprised if Tirus is reading by the end of preschool. He's constantly pointing to words and asking what they say and he'll even try to sound words out that he sees around the house. Alena is already starting to read chapter books! She really enjoys the Junie B. Jones series. I may have to get her some of her own for Christmas or something. Hmm...

Anthony and I are doing really well. I sure do love that man! :o) He's an angel for putting up with my inability to keep up with the housework as of late! I've just been so stinkin tired lately and I've been finding it impossible to keep up with everything! Between swim lessons, BSF, Awanas, driving 2 kids to and from school at different times and to different locations...I just can't seem to find enough time to fit in all the household duties that I was so good at keeping up on just a few short months ago. I don't know if I blame the busy schedule or the little peanut in my tummy that's making me more tired than I thought possible. Either way, I really appreciate having a husband that never complains about coming home to a messy house or not always having dinner on the table when he gets home after working all day. He knows I'm trying my best and all he asks is that he gets to come home to a happy wife and kids...and with prego hormones raging I can't even promise that one! Poor guy...it's a miracle that marriages can withstand the rocky road of pregnancy!! :o) Thank you, God, for my amazing husband!!

Our newest member of our family, little baby Jack Ryan, is doing really good. I definitely find myself much more paranoid about his well being than I was with my other two pregnancies. Every day that he's not as active as I'd like him to be I get rather worried and imagine the worst but I'm finding it a wonderful opportunity to work on trusting God. He already knows how long I will carry Jack in my tummy. He already knows the number of days there will be in Jack's life. My worrying about it won't change it one iota...all it will do is cause me to stop trusting God and it could even have a negative effect on my little baby...stress is never a good thing in pregnancy - or ever, for that matter! So, to sum it all up...I'm learning every day to trust God with the health and development of my son, Jack.

I caved in yesterday and finally went and got a flu shot. It's funny...I can handle the pain of natural childbirth like a champ but don't you dare give me a flu shot and expect me not to whine like a little baby because my shoulder hurts!! :o) It STILL hurts too!! When will it end?!?!??! :o) But seriously, the shot itself didn't hurt at all but 36 hours later, my shoulder still feels like it got hit with a hammer! Lame...

Well, I'd better get going. I've got my nephews over for a sleepover and their movie just got over. Time for the chaos to resume... :o)

The poor kid finally has a name...

2009-09-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

So, after 2 weeks of knowing that we're expecting our 2nd son, Anthony and I have finally agreed on a name for the poor little guy! :o) His name is Jack Ryan Bader. :o) How cute is that?!?!!? I may be a little biased but I sure do love that name!! :o) Last week I found out that another very special thing behind the name Jack Ryan is that that is the name that my brother-in-law, Ryan and his wife, Jody were going to name their 1st son. They were never able to have children but since our kids are their kids...I figure it's only fitting that one of our kids gets the name they picked out. :o) Don't worry, I asked both of them numerous times if they were okay with us using their name and they both answered with a resounding "YES!" So, there you have it...our family will consist of Anthony, Laura, Alena, Tirus and Jack. Sounds pretty good to me!! :o)

Tonight was Alena and Tirus's first class at Awanas. Awanas is a Bible Study club thingy for kids ages 3 to ... honestly I'm not sure how old it goes up to. :o) Anyways, I'm SO glad I got my kids into it. I was a little nervous dropping them off tonight just because it was at a different church than we attend on weekends and they wouldn't know many people. I was especially concerned about Tirus so I went into his class with him for a little while. Within about 10 minutes I could tell he was warming up and I felt like it was time for me to leave. Well, when I came back to pick them up afterwards, I walked into Tirus's class without him knowing it and just watched him. He was kind of walking around aimlessly...watching what people were doing but he wasn't interacting with anyone so again I got nervous that maybe he didn't like it. I finally called out his name and he walked over to me with a sad look on his face and I could tell he was pretty upset about something. I was thinking, "Oh great...how many weeks am I going to have to fight him to come to Awanas?" He walked over to me, looking like he was on the verge of tears and said, "I don't WANT to do this!" I said, "You don't want to do what Buddy?" I thought for sure he'd start going on and on about how he was never going to come back to that class again but instead he said, "I don't WANT to go home!" I couldn't help but laugh a little as I pulled him into a big hug and said, "But, Buddy, that's a good thing! I'm glad you don't want to leave cuz that means you had SO much fun!" A few of his teachers could tell he was upset and came over to see if he was okay and when I informed them why he was upset they about melted at his feet. :o) He cried most of the way home saying that he wants his teachers and he wants to stay at Awanas. :o) I think that shows the first week was a success! :o) What do you think? Alena, of course, had a ton of fun...once we got there I was quickly reminded that 2 of her friends from Kindergarten are also in Awanas so she immediately joined them and I knew she'd be okay. And, of course, she was. She went on and on while we drove home, telling me all about what she got to do in her class and saying how excited she was that she'd get to go again next Wednesday. :o) I'm SO thankful that both of my kids are as excited about this new program as I am. They'll have weekly memory verses that they're required to have memorized and they'll even have a little bit of homework in their little workbooks that will help cement the Truths they're learning in class into their little hearts and heads. Please pray that this program would help me in helping them grow in their own personal relationships with Christ!!

Alena has now completed 2 whole days of all day school and she couldn't be more excited about it! :o) She's in school from 9:10am til 3:20pm and it seems like an eternity for me! It's not even really that I miss her...I mean, I can go that long without seeing her especially when I know she's in good hands. I'm just so used to how school was last year when she got out at 11:50am that by about 11:30am I'm already feeling like I'm late in leaving to pick her up. :o) On her first day of school I asked her what her favorite part of 1st grade was so far and I thought for sure she'd say either lunch or recess...that's what every kid says! :o) She, however, quickly answered that her favorite part was reading! She's such a good kid! I guess her whole class read her favorite little story from Kindergarten and I think she appreciated the familiarity of it. Today when I asked her what her favorite part of school was her answer was a little more predictable. :o) She said her favorite part today was seeing Henry, one of her best friends who happens to be in the OTHER 1st grade class. She was very excited to learn that she'd get to see him at lunch AND at all 3 recesses!! :o) That's like hitting the jackpot in her world! :o)

Well, this has become quite the novel! What can I say, this has been an eventful week at the Bader household! And the fun has only just begun! :o) Tomorrow we get to go in for yet another ultrasound so they can get some better pictures of Jack's spine. I sure don't mind...I'm super excited to see him again!! I'm hoping to have them check just one more time to make sure we're really having a "Jack" and not an "Olivia" or something. :o) Also, I'm hoping we get a nice technician who will print out a few more copies of profile pictures that I can give to Alena and Tirus since their mother is much to selfish to share her copies. ;o)

Until next time....God bless and peace out!! :o)

8 happy years...

2009-09-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well, they haven't all been happy, of course, but today is mine and Anthony's 8 year anniversary. I couldn't be more thankful for the amazing husband God has given me. I'm more in love with him now than the day I married him and that's impressive cuz I was completely head over heels for the guy! :o) Keep in mind though I was only 20...can't believe they let people get married that young!! Anthony and I have been VERY fortunate that as we've each changed as we've gotten older we've actually become MORE compatible with each other. I think that's a pretty rare thing. He's become better at communicating and I've become better and letting the little stuff go. Earlier this year, Anthony made an observation that I'm so glad is true. He said, "We've gotten to a point where we've just accepted each other for who are." It's just so true! I used to always get mad at Anthony for getting home an hour or 2 late. I felt it was righteous anger! Even if it was, it didn't help our marriage one bit. So, now, when Anthony tells me he'll be home at, say, 7pm I just automatically add at least 1 hour to that and figure I won't be seeing him until 8pm. Try it sometime on that "constantly late person" in your life...I gaurentee it'll improve your relationship with them! The other thing I used to always get so mad about is that he's the messy one in our relationship. Now I just pick up the mess or ask him to do it without taking it personal. I think a big key to success is keeping in mind that he doesn't do anything of those annoying things simply to make me mad or hurt me or anything like that. Like Anthony said, it's just who he is and I've come to accept it. When you get married they always tell you not to go into it thinking you're going to change the other person but I think that's exactly what most people do...I think most of us go into most of our relationships thinking, "I'll just smooth out your rough spots and THEN we can be best friends." Makes me wonder what rough spots I have that people are hoping to smooth out...hmm...

I've started feeling little Mr. Baby moving more and more lately and it's such an amazing feeling!! That's definitely my favorite part of pregnancy! I've actually been really enjoying the little movements that only I can feel because it's like my little secret with the baby...nobody else knows...just the two of us. :o) I am looking forward, though, to when Anthony can feel the baby kick and I'm SUPER excited about when Alena and Tirus get to feel some movement. It's cute, they both like to touch my tummy all the time and they'll get all excited and say, "I felt the baby move!!" and I have to say, "Yeah, no ya didn't...sorry. You'll feel it soon enough though!" I'm kind of assuming that if I didn't feel it, neither did they. :o) They're both still SO excited about their new little brother. Alena tells everyone she possibly can that she's getting another little brother...the bank teller, the grocery store cashier...pretty much everyone. :o) Tirus doesn't talk about it as much but he constantly talks to my tummy, saying hi and goodbye to the baby...good morning and good night too...it's SO cute. He kisses my tummy all the time too. :o) I can't wait for the moment that they get to first meet their little brother. I could see Alena have "happy tears" and Tirus starting out a little shy but giving him a little kiss on the forehead or something. *sigh* I can't wait...

150 and going strong

2009-09-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

So, I had an OB appt today and everything is looking really good! Doctor Nathan said other than needing better pictures of the baby's spine that everything on my ultrasound looked great (I'm going back in on Sept 10th to get another ultrasound done in order to get better pics of his spine). I was, of course, very relieved to hear that!! I can't believe that on this Sunday I'll be 20 weeks...half way through my pregnancy already!!! Usually when someone else is pregnant time just flies by but when it's me that's pregnant time seems to stop altogether. However, this time, time is flying by like crazy! I'm sure it's cuz Alena, Tirus and I have been pretty busy this summer so I haven't had much time to just sit and daydream about little Mr Baby.

Great Way to Start the Last Week of Summer Break!

2009-08-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

My kiddos had a dentist appt this morning and they did a wonderful job of sitting still and letting the dentist do a thorough cleaning on their little pearly whites. Unfortunately I have to take Alena back there on Wednesday to get a filling. :o( For some reason this doesn't make her completely freak out...she's even had a few fillings done before (sadly) but she still looks forward to going to the dentist. Weirdo...

After the excessively long dentist appt (it took about an hour and 20 minutes), we picked up some lunch at Arby's (YUM!!) and met up with my mom, my brother Danny, his wife Dawn and their 4 boys Austin, Caleb, Jacob and Micah and we all caravaned down to the Woodland Park Zoo. It was the perfect day to go to the zoo because the weather was amazing and because all the animals were out and about and very interactive! The kids AND adults all had a blast! My favorite part was watching the gorillas. There was a baby one that kept antagonizing one of the grown up ones until the grown up finally had had enough and swiped at the baby a few times! Then the baby quickly ran to it's mama and sat in her lap of safety! :o) It was the cutest thing I've ever seen at the zoo!

Well, my family is watching a movie together on the couch and I'm feeling a little left out so I'd better get over there and get some snuggling in. :o) I hope you're enjoying the gorgeous weather God has blessed us with this week as much as I am!!!

I'm back!

2009-08-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, how time flies! I didn't mean to wait so long between posts but life has been a whirlwind this last week!

First I'll give details about the ultrasound I had last week. So, of course it's a boy and everything looked good I think. Of course the tech can't really give much info - good or bad - but I saw 2 arms and hands, 2 legs and feet, a brain and a 4 chambered heart. I have an appt this Tuesday with my OB to find out exactly what the results are from the ultrasound...but I'm not worried. A couple of things the tech did mention were that he's measuring about a week ahead at about 10 oz but when I told her my other babies were over 9 lbs at birth she said, "Oh, I guess he's right on pace then!" Also, she mentioned that he was an awfully active baby. :o) However, he wouldn't move quite enough so that she could get some good pictures of his spine so I have to ... or get to ... go back in on Sept 10 to try to get better pictures of his spine. We got some pretty cute pictures...he even looks like he's smiling in a couple of his profile shots because his mouth is open a little. :o) Way cute! Oh, and one other picture is a straight on shot of his face - which are always a little creepy because of the way the eyes look - with his little hand up by his face and in the ultrasound he completely looked like he was waving to us! His little hand was moving back and forth...it was super cute! :o)

Another fun thing we did this last week is we went camping with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ryan and Jody, at Lake Easton (it's just on the other side of Snoqualmie Pass). I brought the kids' bikes and they had a BLAST riding up and down the little road in front of our campsite. :o) We also hung out at the lake on one of the days and the kids got to go in the water for a little while. I kinda thought they were crazy since it's a mountain lake so it's freezing and it wasn't all that warm out that day so they must have been freezing too but they claimed it was a ton of fun! :o) Oh, to be a kid again and completely oblivious to things like being cold! :o) We didn't end up going camping at all last summer and I'm SO glad that we went this year. It was so nice to get away from home and just enjoy a few relaxing days with my family...sigh...can't wait to do it again next year! Although then we'll have a 6 month old and that should add a whole new crazy dynamic to the experience!

Something kind of crazy happened today...I got home from church and my next door neighbor said hi to me the second I got out of my car - which surprised me a little because they're a little more on the quiet side - and he informed me that I should go check out my house because he had just had someone break into his house in broad daylight while he was home!!! He said they broke a window in the back of the house to get in. All I can think is that there was no car in the driveway so the person must have thought nobody was home. I was also told that the police had come and gone and that they "thought" they'd found the car of the individual(s) that had done this but they thought one of them was still on the loose. So, I called Anthony while I unloaded the kids from the car and I told him what I'd just learned and made him stay on the phone with me while I looked through the house for any signs that someone had been inside our house uninvited. Halfway through the walk through, though, I said, "What in the world would I do if I DID find someone in the house?!?!" Anthony in all his wisdom, suggested I start with, "Get out of my house!!!". I thought that was a good place to start. Luckily I didn't have to use my one liner because I found the house had been undisturbed. I swear, though, that is one of my very worst nightmares...having someone break in while I'm home with my kids. I felt pretty on edge most of the afternoon. I just prayed A LOT that God would protect me and the kids and that He would help me to feel safe in my home. I've heard of these kinds of things happening but to have it happen SOOO close to home is quite unnerving. Please pray for safety and peace for me and my family.

All in all though, this has been a great week and the fun isn't over yet! Tomorrow after the kids get their teeth cleaned at the dentist - something they actually look forward to...weirdos - we're heading down to meet my mom, my brother, his wife and their 4 boys at the zoo! Sadly, Daddy has to work but we'll try to have fun without him. As Alena says, "Poor Daddy, he misses out on all the fun stuff!" Amen Sister!!!

It's a .....................

2009-08-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'll elaborate more tomorrow and tell you all the details about the ultrasound but for now I only have time to say one thing.....

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :oD

So sorry to be so brief but I wanted to at least make sure to get this important information out there for all 1 you that read this! :o)

T minus 12 hours

2009-08-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that in just over 12 hours I'll know whether the little person growing and developing inside my tummy is a boy or a girl! It's funny how these things can feel like they're forever in the future but then one day you wake up and BAM! it's time to hurry to the appt you've spent weeks upon weeks daydreaming about! :o) I'm starting to lean toward thinking...or hoping..not sure which...that's it's a girl. I think it's more subconscious than anything. For instance, if I find myself wondering through a store looking at baby clothes I'm always in the girl section drooling over some adorable little outfit. That's one reason I'm glad I'm finding out...I can prep myself for what I'm in for. Don't get me wrong, I won't be the least bit disappointed if the ultrasound technician reveals that we're having a boy. I think I just need time to mentally picture myself with my new little baby boy or girl.

Well, I've gotta cut this one short as Anthony is anxiously awaiting my company on the couch so we can enjoy one of our favorite pastimes...watching 24. It's Bauer Time!!! :o) I know, we're dorks...

Anyone out there?

2009-08-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I seriously doubt anyone reads this thing anymore but I can't say that I blame them. I see the last time I posted anything was on November 1st, 2008. Sorry about that...

The newest and most exciting news at the Bader Household is that we're adding another member to our family! :o) Baby Bader is due on January 24th, 2010. We even get to find out in about 5 days whether it's a boy or girl! The boy name we like right now is Maximus Ryan. I really just like the name Max and I don't really care for any of the extended versions of the name so I figure I'll let Anthony pick the ending to the first name since he seems to have a strong opinion on the matter. The name Max is one we've liked for a while and we happen to have a good friend with that name so it makes it all the more near and dear to our hearts. The middle name, Ryan, is after Anthony's big brother...and best friend. The girl names we're debating between right now are Abigail and Olivia with a definite middle name of Bernice. If we go with Abbie (which is what we'd call her, not Abigail - unless she's in trouble) she'd be named after a good friend of ours, Abbe Baker, who is married to Anthony's other best friend, Able. If we go with Olivia - which is what both Alena and Tirus are voting for at the moment - then she wouldn't be named after anyone in particular...we just like the name. Bernice, however, was my grandma's middle name and if you didn't get a chance to meet her before she went to be with her Creator and her Savior in eternity you seriously missed out! She is still one of my favorite people in the world! Out of all the people I've lost throughout my life, I by far miss her the most. So, on August 25th at 10am, I'll be at my big ultrasound with my wonderful mom and my doting husband, eagerly awaiting the announcement of "It's a ...."

My most recent project I've been working on is going through the Gospels in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and writing down every command that Jesus ever spoke. I figure, my kids behave much better if they know what I expect of them and I'm hoping that same thing will be true of me once I know all that is expected of me from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm only in the 18th chapter of the book of Matthew and I've already filled 8 pages with 81 commands spoken by Jesus. I've got a long ways to go and I can't seem to get enough of it! I highly recommend taking on this challenge. Obviously, knowing all the commands won't make me - or you - perfect...only being washed in the blood of the Lamb of God will do that...but I thoroughly enjoy reading all the things that Jesus found important enough to talk about on His short stay here on Earth.

Well, on that note, I think I'll actually get back to my project at hand as I eagerly await the arrival of my husband. God Bless!!!

Inconsiderate/Selfish People REALLY Irritate Me

2008-11-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

This morning at 5:30am our doorbell rang. All I could think, in my exhausted state of mind, was "this better not be some teenage trick or treaters!" Anthony answered the door and I heard a man ask "Is that your car right there?" referring to our Toyota Tercel that was parked on the street. Anthony confirmed that it was and the man went on to tell him that someone had hit our car and then fled. He and his girlfriend had heard the crash and came running to see what had happened. They had already called 9-1-1 so the police were on their way. After going outside and assessing the damage, Anthony came in and stayed up waiting for the police to arrive. I started some coffee because we assumed it'd take at least an hour for the police to respond to a "low priority" call like ours - nobody got hurt and there wasn't much they could do to fix the situation. Before the coffee had finished brewing, the police officer arrived so Anthony went out to talk to him. I didn't want to go outside in case the kids woke up from all the commotion so I went and laid in bed, waiting for Anthony to come in and fill me in on what the officer had said. He came in about 10 minutes later and didn't have much to say. The officer had said he was sorry this had happened...that they'd keep an eye out for the vehicle responsible for all this but since there wasn't really any paint missing from our car it would be hard for them to identify the vehicle that did it. This morning when we all left to take Anthony to work (since we didn't have time to really check out the car and see if it's even drivable) we all walked down and took a look at the car. The back end on the driver's half of the car is pretty well smashed in. The lights on that side are hanging by a wire and the bumper is pretty droopy all around. Anthony's planning on getting his hammer out when he gets home from work tonight and banging the tar out of the inside of the trunk, to try to re-shape it. He's hoping he'll be able to get it straight enough that he can screw on a new brake light/turn signal piece. Through this I've been trying to find things I can thank God for and after a LOT of thinking, I've come up with a couple things. 1) None of us were in the car when it got hit 2) the back end wasn't smashed far in enough to where it would touch the back tires making it undrivable - instead it's just going to a little on the ugly side. That's all I've got so far... Anthony mentioned that he once heard a wise man say (when his car had been damaged) "Well, Lord, why'd you let that happen? It's YOUR car after all!" It's a good reminder that all we have belongs to the Lord and He's the one in charge of our stuff. He gives and takes away. Plus, in the end, it's just a car... I've had to watch my response to all of this since I know I have little eyes that are also watching my response. I want to teach Alena and Tirus that it's wrong to do what these people did - not take responsibility for their actions. I also want to teach them that while it's okay to get frusterated when "bad" things like this happen to you, it's NOT okay to want bad things to happen to the people that cause trouble in your life. I figure if my kids learn this important lesson early on in life, they'll be way ahead of the game since most grown ups struggle with this issue.

Whirlwind Vacations

2008-10-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

In the last week and a half, I've gone to Jewel, Oregon with my husband and kids and Tucson, Arizona with my mom and brother...*sigh*...talk about a whirlwind of VERY FUN activities!! :o)

Anthony and I took the kids down to Oregon to visit our good friends, Able and Abbe. We were just there for a couple days but it was SO nice to get caught up with them and get to know their sweet, adorable little kids. They have a son that's 4 years old (he's actually only 4 months older than Tirus so they had a blast together) and they have a daughter who's 2 1/2 but talks better than I do! :o) Sadly, their daughter was only 6 months old the last time we got to spend time with them! :o( All the kids got along VERY well which a total blessing! Able and Abbe are amazing parents and it was really nice to see how other people run their house and get fresh ideas of how I could do things better at my own house. The first day we were down there, the 8 of us went for a drive to Seaside Oregon. I thought I'd been there before but I definitely hadn't. I'd highly recommend going there, especially with kids! There's actually swingsets on the beach! Plus the kids all got to go on a beautiful carousel that we found in one of the cool little shopping centers we went to. There were a ton of cool little shops to look in to but with 4 kids 5 years old and younger that'd be just asking for trouble! We did venture into a hat store where the kids got to try on all kinds of crazy hats. :o) Alena's favorite of course was a tall, pointy princess hat where as Ty preferred the crazy one stripped in primary colors with the spinner on top...go figure... :o) The second day we were there we all went to an awesome pumpkin patch! There was a pond in the middle of the farm where they had set up a fun little boat ride. About a 1/3 of the way thru the ride a (metal) shark jumped out of the water and then a little while later 2 (metal) dragons came out of the water. The kids thought it was the coolest! :o) Although poor little Chloe did NOT like the dragons! :o( She screamed and ran to her mom...poor girl! :o( After the boat ride, Alena and Ty got to pick out a pumpkin, as did Chloe and Jack. Then we got to go on a train ride back to the front of the farm by the parking lot where we paid for our pumpkins and checked out the farm animals before leaving and heading to lunch. Above is a picture of Alena and Tirus getting a ride from Daddy in the wheelbarrow. Here's a really cute family picture of us at the pumpkin patch:

I was home for only 2 days before I packed up and flew down to Tucson with my mom and my brother, Danny. We got to go visit my other brother, Scott, and his girlfriend, Kelsie. Scott got a job down there at the national headquarters for MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) at the beginning of this year and I hadn't seen him and Kelsie since June when Scott came up to help Kelsie move all her stuff down there. I must admit, I kind of fell in love with Tucson! I know I'd eventually get sick of having pretty much one kind of weather all the time (except during monsoon season in July and August - which I'd LOVE to experience some day!!), but I thoroughly enjoyed visiting! It was about 90 degrees the whole time we were down there and it felt perfect. It's a very different kind of heat than what I'm used to here in Washington - it's a very dry heat - so it's more like if it were 75 degrees here at home. We went to a few places to observe and learn about the plants and animals that are native to the Sonora Desert that Tucson is in. We also went to an active Catholic Mission and that was gorgeous! The architecture was unbelievably ornate. I can't even begin to imagine all the work that went into making that place look as amazing as it does. One of the evenings after we'd all gone to dinner together Danny and Scott went to a college football game while Mom, Kelsie and I went shopping and out to coffee. We ended up hanging out at Barnes and Nobles for quite some time and that was actually a ton of fun! It wasn't part of the original plan for the evening but it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was the first time I'd gotten to spend any one on one time with Kelsie (Mom was off looking at books most of the time) and it was really nice to get to know her. She's really sweet!!

Well, Anthony is anxiously awaiting a chance for me to destroy him in ping pong so I'd better end this here. I'm hoping to get better about adding new posts to this blog on a more regular basis.

Sorry I'm such a slacker!!

2008-10-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a whole month since my last post! So sorry!!! I can't help but wonder if everyone I told about my blog quit checking it by now...can't say that I'd blame them! :o)

Well, things are going really well here at the Bader household. Anthony has been getting deliveries that have been keeping us afloat. He's surprisingly upbeat for how slow work has been this month. I feel like that's a total answer to prayers for peace and encouragement that I've been praying for him. This rough economy has hit his line of work really hard but he's still got his chin up and a handsome smile on his face. :o)

Alena is LOVING Kindergarten. To give you a very current example of just how much she loves her teacher...today was her last day of class for 9 days (there's no school next week due to parent/teacher conferences) and she came out of school crying...and cried the whole way home I might add...because she's going to miss Mrs. Green SOOOO much. :o) I personally, see that as a good thing! It shows that she's really enjoying Kindergarten and she adores her teacher. What more could a mom ask for out of her child's school experience?! It's amazing to see how well Alena is doing on learning how to read. She loves to look through books and try to read as many words as she can. I'm so incredibly proud of her!!! I've been loving working in her class every Thursday morning. I've greatly enjoyed seeing her succeed and being able to get to know her teacher and classmates has been a real blessing. We actually just finally scheduled our first playdate with one of her classmates! If you ask Alena what her favorite part of Kindergarten is, without having to think it over, she'll immediately answer, "RECESS!" :o) That's my girl! :o) She's gotten to be quite proficient on the monkey bars, hula hoops and jump ropes. I get to go out to recess most of the time when I'm there on Thursday mornings and she gets so excited to show me how talented she is at all these new hobbies of hers.

Tirus is as wonderful as ever. He's okay with Alena going to school every day but his favorite time of the week is Friday and Saturday nights because those are the only nights of the week that Mommy and Daddy let him sleep on the floor under Alena's loft bed in her room. :o) Or if the kids are really good, Daddy will build them a fort in the living room and they get to sleep in that on those non-school-nights. Tirus lives for those such nights. :o) Every night, without fail, he asks, "Mommy, does Nina have school tomorrow?" He gets very sad if the answer is yes but he jumps for joy on the seemingly rare occassions we get to say that no, in fact, she does NOT have school the next morning. :o)

I'm doing pretty good as well. I've been enjoying playing a TON of ping pong with Anthony and I'm incredibly excited about my two upcoming travel opportunities. This Sunday, Anthony, the kids and I are going on a little road trip down to Oregon to visit some old friends, Able and Abbe, we haven't seen in about 2 years. It sounds like we'll even be able to go to a really fun pumpkin patch while we're down there. I'm really looking forward to getting to know Able and Abbe's 2 little kids that are 2 1/2 and 4 years old. The 4 of our kids should have a blast getting to know each other. :o) And of course I'm definitely looking forward to hanging out and catching up with Able and Abbe. They are amazing people and I'm just sad we don't get to see them more often! So, I said I have two upcoming travel opportunities...the very next weekend after we go visit Able and Abbe, I get to fly down to Tucson, Arizona with my mom and brother, Danny, to visit my other brother, Scott. I've never been to Arizona so I'm excited about that new experience but much more importantly I'm excited to see my brother whom I'm haven't seen in about 6 or 8 months! And it'll be great to spend some time with my mom and brothers. We figured out that it's been about 13 or 14 years since just the 4 of us went on vacation together. I'm SO excited!!!!! And I must admit I'm just kinda sorta looking forward to having 3 1/2 days of no responsibility. :o) I'll definitely miss my hubby and kids but it'll be nice to get away and recharge, know what I mean?

Well, I guess that's enough rambling for one day. I hope the Lord is blessing you with good health and lots of time with your loved ones. -Laura

It Starts....

2008-09-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

We're only 2 weeks into the school year and already Alena has brought home some nasty germs and I've been infected. I've never had a dumb cold hit me so hard. Usually I get a stuffy nose and a cough and I deal with it...not this time...I've been completely wiped out. I can't get through the day without a nap and at least 9 hours of sleep at night. Even then it's questionable as to whether or not I'll survive from day to day. Alright, enough belly aching.

I got to volunteer in Alena's classroom for the first time yesterday and it was really cool! I loved watching Alena interact with her new friends and it was really nice to see for myself that she's doing so well academically. I sat at her table with 3 other little kids and there is such a wide range of abilities...I don't know how Mrs. Green does it! I mean, in one miniature chair sits a little boy who can't write really any of his letters, has no interest in trying to learn them and can't seem to do any detailed drawings at all. Then in another miniature chair sits my little girl who knows all her letters, is sounding out words to write them herself and is also drawing (and labeling) detailed drawings of her looking at a giraffe (she spelled it jraf...how cute is that?!?!) at the zoo with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jody. Like I said, it's really exciting to see Alena doing so well but it's also sad seeing someone else's child struggling so bad. I greatly admire Mrs. Green - and all Kindergarten teachers for that matter - for their patience and ability to meet the needs of each and every one of those kids.

This evening, our 4 wonderful nephews are staying the night at our house. My kids LOVE their cousins! And the boys are such good kids...I never have issues with them. If we do have issues while they're here it's always started by my kids! :o) So, yes, right now I have 6 kids, ranging in age from 2 years to 6 years old, sitting in my living room having a movie night. And I must say, they are 6 of the best kids God ever made! :o) I'm sure it makes no sense at all but it's actually way easier to have 6 kids than 2. I know, it sounds crazy but they entertain each other so well, I can actually get more done around the house and there's less arguing. I gotta say, I absolutely LOVE having my brother's boys over to my house whether it's for a couple hours or overnight.

Until next time...may our Heavenly Father keep you and protect you from all those nasty germs your kids bring home to you on a daily basis...

Adjusting to a New Schedule

2008-09-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we're half way through our first full week of Kindergarten and everyone's having fun! :o) Alena loves going to school every day. Every evening she asks, "Mommy, do I get to go to school tomorrow?" When I say yes her little face lights up with that gorgeous little smile of hers and she squeals with delight. :o) Oh, to be 5 again... When I picked Alena up from school on Monday she walked over to me with her head down, shoulders slumped and I was thinking "What could possibly be wrong? It's only the 2nd day of school for Heaven's sake!!" She informed me, "I didn't get the Super Bee today Mom." So, I asked what you're all thinking..."What's a Super Bee Sweetheart?" I guess Mrs. Green has these little stuffed animals dressed up as bees that she hands out to kids that are having "Super Bee-havior" in class that day (they're actually really cute!). The child gets to bring the little toy home for the night and then returns it the next day so the bee can go home with someone else each night. Well, Alena thought she had done a good job in class and deserved this little prize. We had a long talk that night about how we need to be good in class because it's the right thing to do, not because we're trying to earn a prize...and I told her I was sure she'd get a chance to have the Super Bee sooner or later...and man, did I hope I was right!! :o) Well, Tuesday I went to pick her up from school and she came running to me as fast as she could with the biggest grin I've ever seen on her face. I couldn't help but laugh as I asked, "You got a Super Bee, didn't ya?" She answered with an excited, "Yep!! I sure did Mom!! Wanna see it?!?!" She dug it out of her bag at lightening speed and even let Ty check it out for a minute. :o) The Super Bee was begrudgingly returned to Mrs. Green today and Alena's still getting over the disappointment of realizing she probably won't get the Super Bee again for quite sometime...not til after each kid in the class gets a turn. Well, it was fun while it lasted...

Tirus is adjusting well to the new schedule as well. Today was our first day back at Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). At least once a week during summer break, Tirus would ask me, "Mommy, do I get to go to BSF today?" When I'd say no he'd say, "It's taking too long to go to BSF!" Yesterday I shared the exciting news that today we were going to go to BSF and so this morning when I walked out of my room I was greeted with the biggest smile as he said, "Mommy!!! We're going to BSF today!!!" He was bouncing off the walls, he was so excited! :o) He met his new teachers and played with a few familiar friends that attend our regular church along with some new friends as well. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and I'm sure I'll now be asked EVERY day, "Mommy, do I get to go to BSF today?" :o) Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining that my little boy LOVES to go to Bible Study! :o) On another note, tonight as I was putting Tirus to bed, I was asking him random questions. It's alway fun to see what they'll say next. I asked him who his hero is and, without hesitation, he said "Daddy." I asked him what he loves about his Dad and he said, "He lets me beat him up." :o) Tirus sure does love to wrestle with Daddy!! And poor Daddy does get a monster beating too!!! That kid is quite the little ninja! :o)

I'm really looking forward to this year of BSF. We're studying "The Life of Moses". Besides Jesus Himself, I can't think of a more facinating person to study from the Bible. Can you? I'm also starting to study a new book with a couple of my girlfriends. It's called "Sheperding a Child's Heart". I've heard it's an amazing parenting book and I can't wait to get started!! Between the two studies I'm starting, the 2 mornings a week I watch my BFF's little girl and also volunteering in Alena's classroom one morning a week...I think I should be able to find a way to keep busy, what do you think? :o) I'm actually REALLY looking forward to each and every weekly commitment I've got on my calendar right now. It's not too often a person can say that! I'm very blessed, that's for sure!!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

2008-09-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

That's right, today was the day!! Alena had her first day of kindergarten and she LOVED it!! She's just bummed she has to wait a couple days before she gets to go back! I'm really hoping that attitude towards school lasts through, at least, the next 13 years of her life!!! :o) I'm not holding my breath, just hoping. :o) I left Tirus and his best friend at home with Anthony while I drove Alena to school. On the way there, I told her that I wanted her to be sure to remember one classmates name and tell it to me when I picked her up. For some reason I always remember my mom telling me it's important to remember new friends' names...now I'm not even sure if she ever actually said such a thing, perhaps it's just a figment of my imagination. Anways, we got to the school quite early, I didn't want her to feel rushed or chaotic on this very exciting day. Okay, okay, I didn't want to feel rushed or chaotic on this very exciting day. :o) I walked her to class and helped her find where she was supposed to put her coat and backpack. Then we found where she was supposed to sit for the day, got her name tag on and took a couple pictures of my big Kindergartener. I told her to have a wonderful day, that I'm SO proud of her and I'd see her after school. She was completely fine with me leaving, not that I was surprised by that at all. She's always been a go-getter kinda gal. I mentioned that I was very proud of her, well, I was also very proud of myself because I didn't shed a single tear through the whole thing!! :o) I'm getting so grown up! :o)

While Alena was in school, Tirus got to play with his best little friend in the whole world so I don't think he missed his sister in the least. :o) I have always said though that I swear Tirus would have been completely happy as an only child. Not that he doesn't love his sister, he tells her quite frequently that he loves her (and I don't even prompt him to do it!!), he is just a million times more well-behaved when Alena's not here for him to pester. :o)

I got to Alena's school to pick her up at 11:30am with 2 little 3 year old's strapped in the back seat. I "knew" Alena got out of school at 11:40 but I wanted to be sure to be in the front of what I "knew" would be a long line of cars full of parents wanting to pick up their little cherubs. Well, come to find out, 1/2 day co-op kindergarten actually gets out at 11:50am and no other parents showed up until 11:48am. So, there we were...me and my 2 little bundles of energy, strapped in the van for 20 stinkin minutes, waiting...and waiting...and waiting for Alena to get out of school. :o) At 11:53am the doors FINALLY opened and Mrs. Green acknowledged me with a wave and sent Alena skipping over to the van. I told her I was so excited to hear all about it and all I could get out of her was that she got to play outside...recess...that's all she'd talk about!! :o) Can't say that I blame her, recess is the most exciting part of school but I was desperately wanting to hear every detail of her entire 2 1/2 hours at school and all she'd talk about was recess. She did remember a name of one of her classmates...Elizabeth...they sat next to each other in class and even played with the hula hoops together at recess. :o) Apparently, Elizabeth is quite the hula hooper. So, sorry I don't have any other juicy tidbits to share regarding Alena's first day at kindergarten. But the most important thing is that Alena had a blast and she can't wait to go back on Monday!

Here's a couple very sweet pictures of Alena on her big first day...

Last Day of Summer Break

2008-09-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

So, today is the last day of summer break at the Bader household. I find that to be very bitter sweet. I'm so excited to see my little princess growing up to be such an amazing, brilliant little girl. On the other hand, though, I can't help but be sad to see her moving into a new, more independent stage of life.

I took Alena to her classroom today so she could sit down with her teacher, Mrs. Green, and take an assessment test. When I picked her up a half an hour later, Mrs. Green informed me that Alena is more than ready for Kindergarten. She can count to 109 (do ask me why it stops there) and she is starting to read and write 4 and 5 letter words. However, because we're talking about Kindergarten here, there will be kids in her class that don't even know all their letters yet. I was a little worried that Alena would maybe get bored since they'll be starting out with learning their letters but Mrs. Green told me that on the homework she sends home (can you BELIEVE there's homework in Kindergarten?!?!?) she will add some more challenging work for Alena to do on top of what they'll already be working on.

After the assessment test was complete, Alena and I came home and enjoyed some lunch together. She made her own ham and cheese sandwich. Again, it's amazing how independent she's getting!! :o) After lunch, Anthony, Alena, Tirus and I went to Kayak Point and enjoyed a little fishing. Anthony caught 5 or 6 little flounders, 1 bullhead and (oddly enough) 1 pretty good sized crab! :o) Anthony was out in the water a little bit while he was fishing and a crab walked right up to him with his pinchers out, ready for a fight! :o) Anthony gently kicked the crab up onto the beach so the kids could get a good look at it and they thought it was REALLY cool! Before leaving Kayak Point we, of course, had to make a stop at the playground they have there now and all 4 of us had a ton of fun clowning around on the teeter totter thing and the big spider web looking thing.

All in all, this has been a very fun family day...the most wonderful way I can think of to end summer break.

Fine, I'll play your dumb game... :o)

2008-09-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

A. Attached or single? Married to my best friend and the most handsome man I've ever met!!
B. Best friend? Obviously Anthony's #1. We're celebrating our 7th anniversary tomorrow!! :o) Coraly is my other best friend. She actually painted my toenails when I was laid up in ICU for 5 days and I didn't even have to ask her to! :o) I don't think God makes better friends than that!
C. Cake or pie? cake... but I'm a definite sucker for pretty much any baked goods...especially if they're accompanied by vanilla ice cream...mmm...
D Day of choice? Tuesday or Thursday cuz those are Anthony's days off...usually...
E. Essential item? My cell phone. I feel naked without it!
F. Favorite color? Pink
G. Gummy bears or worms? both are equally tasty but I heard a wise man say that chocolate covered gummy bears are to die for...I've got to try those some day SOON!
H. Hometown? Lake Stevens, WA
I. Indulgence? going out to eat (or just to coffee) with a loved one while my kids are well entertained at a friend's or family member's house.
J. January or July? July of course!! My birthday is on the 5th!
K. Kids? A beautiful 5 year old little girl and a ruggedly handsome 3 year old little boy (I'm not exactly sure what "ruggedly handsome" means, I've just always thought it sounded cool :o)
L. Life isn't complete without? My faith in my Savior Jesus Christ
M. Marriage date? September 2, 2001
N. Number of brothers and sisters? Oh boy, here we go...A 33 year old step brother, a 31 year old brother, a 29 year old brother, a 28 year old step sister and a 12 (almost 13) year old adopted sister...kinda sorry you asked, aren't ya?
O. Oranges or apples? Crisp Fuji apples
P. Phobias? Definitely sharks and I'm not crazy about snakes or spiders either
Q. Quotes? The perfect summation of parenthood: "The days are long but the years are short"
R. Reasons to smile? The sound of my kids laughing; the many "Friends" references that come to mind throughout any given day; beating my incredibly competitive husband at...really...anything
S. Season of choice? I've come to love them all but I think my favorite is winter. I am such a little kid when it comes to snow and I love snuggling my kiddos or my hubby to keep warm! :o) Although I also love summer, taking the kids to the beach, playing tennis with Anthony while the kids ride their bikes.
T. Tag seven peeps! (see below)
U. Unknown fact about me? Being at a social gathering where I don't know a majority of the people really stresses me out.
V. Vegetable? Potatoes
W. Worst habits? procrastinating; getting grumpy with my kids way faster than I should
X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultra sound, I had so many stinkin x-rays when my lung collapsed that I don't ever want to have another one for as long as I live!
Y. Your favorite food? my step-mom's enchiladas
Z. Zodiac sign? Cancer, I've never liked thinking of myself as cancerous though....

Tagging people:
Tina Lefebvre because it's fun to learn random little facts about friends!

Sorry I'm lame, I only know 3 people with blogs on blogspot and 2 of them have already posted this

Oh how time flies...

2008-08-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe there are only a few weeks left of summer break!!! That means there's only a few weeks until my baby girl starts kindergarten!! That both saddens and excites me. I'm always in awe of the amazing little person she's growing into. Yet it's sad to know that she's moving closer and closer to not needing me as much...to being a grown up. It's also almost time to get back into the swing of BSF, Discovery Club...you name it, it starts in a few weeks. Crazy...

Our softball tournament went pretty good! We got 3rd place out of 16 teams!! I'm very proud of our team, we played well, had a ton of fun and only 2 out of the 12 of us got hurt at all. One guy pulled his hammy in the first game and was out the rest of the day and the other guy (my 57 year old Dad!) tweaked his hammy as well. He didn't have to sit out the rest of the day but he did get a pinch runner from then on. I'm glad to be done with softball...the ol' calendar needed to get emptied a little...but I'm very excited to play again next year!

Anthony has a softball tournament this weekend so he's actually taking a weekend off from work!!! That's just stinkin unheard of! It's made me realize that he NEVER works more than 4 days in a row because this has been a long week! Our kids are desperately missing their daddy and I'm missing my best friend as well. But, this too shall pass! I've packed mine and the kids' calendar quite full this week and we've been having a ton of fun! We went to Forest Park in Everett (I highly recommend it!!), Kayak Point in Arlington (again, highly recommend it!!), a sidewalk chalk extravaganza at the Public Library and tomorrow we get to go to a good friend's house for a playdate! Lots of fun!!! I'm definitely tired though!!

I just found out today that on the last weekend of October I get to go on vacation with my mom and brother Danny to go visit my other brother, Scott! I know, it's not til the end of October but with how quickly this summer has gone by, I'd better start packing now because I'll be boarding that plane before I know it! :o) I haven't seen my brother Scott since the middle of June and I can't wait to see him! This is the first time any of us has lived out of state and it's just plain weird!! Honestly I'm also really looking forward to having a few days of no responsibility! :o) It'll be weird to have 3 and a half days of just hanging out with my mom and brothers and not have to cut up anyone's food or put anyone to bed! :o)

Well, it's getting really late and I need my beauty sleep! So, until next time...which hopefully won't be too long from now...peace out!!

All sorts of fun

2008-07-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the exciting weekend of the Church Softball Tournament!!! Can you believe it?!?! Okay, maybe it's not that exciting but it should be a good time. :o) I'm hoping the weather holds up and none of my teammates get injured. I just remembered that last year during our last game I got hit by a line drive right in the quad. Man, did that hurt!!!! It was one of their strongest hitters and since I bruise pretty easy you can imagine the pretty colors my leg was for quite some time!! :o) So, I'm hoping we won't have repeat of that this year!! We have one game tonight (it's a make up game, not part of the actual tournament), one game tomorrow night (the start of the tournament) and then all day Saturday. My kids are very excited about this because to them it means that their fun Aunt Nikki (my 12 year old sister) will be staying the weekend at our house to hang out with them while Mommy and Daddy are off playing softball. I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes...

This last weekend, Anthony and I got to go to his 10 year high school reunion!! Man, it made me feel old! I remember being in high school and thinking, "Man, my 10 year reunion is SOOOO far away! I'll be, like, ancient by the time it's my turn to have my 10 year!" I know it wasn't MY 10 year but mine's next year and it affected me just the same. It was a lot of fun though! We got to see some people we hadn't seen in a long time. The few hotties from his class were still lookin pretty good! :o) There weren't really any surprises...everyone pretty much looked like they did back in high school...just 10 years older...imagine that!! :o) I guess the only amazing thing we heard was that there was one girl from his class that had 5 kids and had been married 10 years! Talk about getting started right away!

Well, I've gotta jet. Time to head to tonight's softball game. Until next time...

Let the Fun Resume

2008-07-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

So, Tirus is healthy again...thanks to antibiotics that I have to quite literally shove down his throat twice a day for 10 days. :o( He's had a rough transition back to reality though. I think he'd gotten quite used to being doted on...having his mother at his beckon call. He hasn't really enjoyed returning to life as usual...Mom telling him "No, you can't have yet another popsicle/cup of cocoa". Oh well, he's a resilient little bugger, he'll survive. :o)

We got to go to the Family Fun Fair at our church this last week and it was so much fun! Alena got a pony painted on her cheek and Ty got a spider painted on his. :o) They both got snow cones, hot dogs and popcorn. It wasn't healthiest of affairs but they had fun, gosh darn it! :o) Tirus's favorite carnival game they had there was the one where you throw darts and try to pop the balloons. I think he liked it just because he was allowed to play with something sharp and was encouraged to try to make loud noises. :o) Alena loved any game that she could succeed at. After playing each game she'd ask "Did I win, Mommy?" I don't know where she gets that competitive drive!! I blame her father... At the end of the festivities the kids got to pick out prizes based on how many punches they got on their little punch card (each game you played you get "x" number of punches on your card). They were in hog heaven when it was finally their turn to pick out their "treasures". :o) It all looked like junk to me (except for the full size candy bars on the back table) but they acted as if it were pure gold! Oh, to be a kid again and be so easily satisfied!!

Well, I'd better go let Alena come out of her room from her quiet time. She was only supposed to be in there for an hour and that was about an hour and a half ago!! She hasn't complained though I wasn't about to either!! What a good kid! :o) Until next time...TTFN!!

On hold

2008-07-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

I feel like our summer fun has been put on hold for a little while. My little boy, Tirus, is sick right now and the doctors can't seem to figure out what's wrong with him. He has a high fever of 102 to 104 degrees and really no other symptoms. He's complained of stomach pain but we got an ultrasound done today and everything looked completely fine. He's been slightly congested so our pediatrician started him on an antibiotic today, thinking that perhaps he has an infection in his adnoids. It sounds to me like we're grasping at straws but I'm getting to the point where I don't even necessarily need to know what's wrong with him. As long as the antibiotics work, I'll be happy. I don't know if that's a good way of looking at it...but that's where I'm at. I know that God knows what's wrong with Ty and I just keep praying, asking Him to reveal to me and the doctors enough that we can help my little boy get better. It's hard to see a normally energetic, crazy little boy being lethargic and lifeless for 4 days straight. :o(

Other than this lame week, our summer has been wonderful!! Anthony and I have gotten to play tennis together a couple of times and I've LOVED that!! I played in high school and he's ridiculously athletic so he can play just about any sport well. One of the things I've actually enjoyed the most about going to play tennis is enjoying the fact that our kids are now old enough to take to the tennis courts with us and they'll just ride their bikes or run around while we play. :o) I'd been tempted to have one or two more babies for a while there but the more I've enjoyed this new stage my kids are in, the more I think I'm done having kids. I think I just want to move on from the baby stage and enjoy the beginnings of the school age stage. I love babies and that's why I serve in the nursery at our church twice a week...but I'm enjoying my own kids more and more as they get older.

Well, I need to go take Tirus's temperature again. I hope all is well with those who've taken the time to read this. I hope it was as exciting as you've come to expect it to be. ;o) God bless!!!

Finally...an update!!!

2008-06-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Now, all of you...two...people that read my blog, I'm finally updating it. Aren't you impressed? Well, hold on to your seats, this may get exciting...probably not, but it might, you never know... :o)

So, things are going good in the Bader household. We're all a little sweaty since someone turned up the thermostat outside and didn't tell us how to turn it back down. I've actually dealt better with the heat these past few days than I have in previous years. It does help though that my kids are a little older and (slightly) less whiny about the heat. :o)

Anthony and I "get to" play in the All-Star game tomorrow evening for our church softball league. It should be fun...it just seems a little odd that a league that promotes sportsmanship over winning has planned a game that forces us to focus on who is better than whom at the ridiculous (yet very fun!) game of co-ed softball. My dad pointed that out to me recently and I couldn't agree more.

This weekend I got to go to the Women of Faith conference at the Key Arena with my BFF and I had a BLAST!!! I think she did too but I guess you'd have to ask her directly to find out for sure. It was just SO nice to have a day and a half of no responsibility...by that, of course, I mean no kids. ;o) I missed my kids dearly but it was a much needed break for all involved, I think. Plus I really enjoyed spending some time with my BFF and actually being able to carry on long conversations...not the kinds that we're used to that last no more than a minute and a half before being interrupted by screaming, crying or tattling kids. :o) I can't wait for next year's conference!! We've already decided we're going and it definitely won't be with a big group like when we went last year. That was more work than fun and this year was a ton of fun and not an ounce of work.

So, Anthony is officially manager and of course since it's summer (slow season) and the economy sucks right now, there's not much of a pay raise. But he's really been enjoying the opportunity to make the store his own. He's changed it a ton and it looks SO much better than even just a couple weeks ago. I'm so proud of him, for how he's really just stepped up and taken on the responsibility that goes with being a manager. They're looking to hire someone to work with him at the store and until that happens he's the only one at the Lynnwood location. I'm hoping they find someone sooner rather than later. However, I've been thinking about it and he really only works an extra 3 or 4 hours being the only one at that store. I guess the biggest downside is that he has to schedule his days off around the people in the Bellevue store because he has to have one of them come up to cover the store. Oh well, whatever...

Well, I just looked at the clock and realized it's already that dreaded time of day...time to start figuring out what the heck I'm going to make for dinner. It definitely won't be anything that requires use of the oven. It's already 81 degrees in my house and using my oven would only make matters worse. So, until I find time to blog again....I hope and pray that the Lord will bless you as abundantly as He's blessed me! Peace out Dudes!!!

Updated Good News

2008-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

So, Anthony finally had a meeting with his boss last night and found out some good news and some not so good news. The good news is that he will for sure be managing the Lynnwood store. The not so good news is that he won't be working with his good friend, Tony. They'll be hiring a new person to work with Anthony at the Lynnwood store. It's lame because when they hired Tony it was with the understanding that once Anthony became manager Tony would be working with him. However the manager at the Bellevue store fell in love with Tony because he's such a "yes man" - he'll do whatever you ask of him no matter how much it inconveniences him - and the district manager doesn't want to tick off off the Bellevue manager by taking Tony away from him. I understand that the Bellevue manager has more seniority and puts up pretty good numbers so they don't want to risk losing him...it just sucks that my husband is getting somewhat screwed over because of that.

My best friend left today to go to Oregon for 5 days. :o( Now who am I going to talk to all day on the phone? Who does she think she is, leaving me behind? Just kidding...I really hope she has a ton of fun and perhaps even gets to kick back and relax a bit too! :o)

Alena had her preschool graduation last night. It was a pretty cute little ceremony. Anthony wasn't able to make it because he had to work but my dad was there and so were Anthony's mom and dad. My dad made it to all 3 of Alena's school things this year! He's such a good guy. The most impressive thing of it all is that for all 3 of the events I called him the day of to invite him because I've been just that disorganized this year! He says it just shows how pathetic he is, that he can make it there every time on such short notice. I think it just shows that he's a wonderfully supportive grandpa! :o) After the ceremony Alena was very sad that preschool was over forever, she kept saying she was going to miss her teachers, Mrs. D and Mrs. Jammi, so much. So, we left her school and went straight to Target and bought her a Kindergarten workbook. I figured that way she could focus on the excitement of starting kindergarten instead of focusing on the sadness of finishing preschool. She's been working through her workbook this morning and she's really enjoying it! I've really enjoyed sitting down with her and walking her through each page too. She and I don't seem to do enough stuff just me and her so it's been nice.

Well, I need to get some stuff done around my house so I'd better get going. I'm fighting a cold and have no desire to do dishes or laundry but I also REALLY don't want to get behind in everything either.

Until next time...peace out!!

Amazingly good news!!!

2008-05-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

So, my handsome husband, Anthony, called me at about 2pm today with the best possible news EVER!!! Okay, other than the news of us getting married or having babies... He called and told me that Bill, the manager of the store he works at, gave his 2 weeks notice today and the wonderful thing about that is that Anthony is next in line for that position!!! We have been waiting for this promotion for probably about 2 or 3 years...maybe even longer than that...so it's just completely surreal!!! I can't believe it whatsoever!! The benefits to this promotion are overwhelming. First, there will, of course, be a pay raise associated with it. Plus Anthony is excited to finally be able to do things his way at the store. Not that Bill didn't run the store well, Anthony just got kind of sick of having to run things by Bill all the time. Anthony's been doing the same job for the past 6 years so he has all sorts of ideas as to how to best run that store. He's so excited and I couldn't be more proud! We're still not sure who he'll be working with. We always thought that it'd be Tony, one of his best friends. However now it sounds like it could be a few different people. I'll let you know when we find out more details. *sigh* I am just so excited about all this! I've actually been praying lately that God would give Anthony peace about our finances...I figured God would just help Anthony be okay with where we were financially...who knew He'd be so creative in answering my prayers! :o) God is SO good!!!

I get to participate in an American Cancer Society Relay For Life tonight...well, technically I'll be walking in it tomorrow. I'll be walking from 3am til 6am...not exactly the most sought after time slot but I figured at least then the childcare thing was COMPLETELY not an issue :o) and a lot of the other people on my team had specific times they could be there. I guess that's what I get for being flexible! :o) No, just kidding, I'm happy to do it...my mom is a breast cancer survivor and my grandma died from cancer about 5 years ago so I'm VERY happy to be able to help raise money for such a good cause.

Well, that's about it for now...I'm making a quiche for dinner and it's just about ready so I gotta go tend to that. Until next time, hope you have a wonderful weekend and God bless!!

Another fun day with friends...

2008-05-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

I got a call first thing this morning that resulted in having a very fun play date with a few of my favorite girls! :o) They came to my house for a little bit and then we took the kids to McDonald's up in Arlington. It was so nice because there were hardly any people there (at 11am on Friday of a holiday weekend nonetheless!!) and it's just a really nice facility! I won't ever take my kids - voluntarily - to play at any other McDonald's. I know what you're thinking...it's a McDonald's...how nice can it be? I'm afraid of losing our new secret haven but I gotta brag about this place! They have a bathroom in the same area as the playplace and it's just a much cleaner facility than what I've come to expect from McDonald's.

Okay enough rambling about McDonald's! :o) Tonight I'm going out to dinner (at Applebee's) and a movie (Made of Honor) with a old girlfriend from high school. I'm looking forward to the non-kid evening. :o) I've really enjoyed my kids today but I'll never pass up a night out with a friend! :o) However, Anthony was gone all evening yesterday so I'm definitely going to need to spend some time with him tomorrow night so I don't forget what he looks like! :o) Not that I could since he's such a hottie! :o)

Since after naptime, I've had Tirus in big boy underwear!! He's peed once in his pants and once in the potty...he's batting 500! Not bad for his 1st day! :o) I'm really bad at this whole potty training thing...hopefully I'm not still working on this come Christmas time! Wouldn't that be lame! Not to mention the fact that by then Ty would be almost 4 years old! We won't even go there...

Well, I'd better go...Ty's in the bathroom again...giving it another go...persistent little fella. Hope all is well in your world. Until next time...God Bless!!

Random Thoughts....by Laura Bader

2008-05-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

*sigh* Well, BSF is over now and I find myself kind of at a loss as to what I should be doing all day. I didn't think BSF took up that much of my time but apparently it did! I'm enjoying having more spare time but it's weird to know I have a few months ahead of me that won't be filled with BSF lessons, notes and all the other prep stuff that goes along with BSF.

My best friend and I took our kids to the Children's Museum in Everett today and it was actually an enjoyable, relaxing time! I've never been to the Museum and not left feeling at least slightly frazzled and exhausted. However, we were there for a surprisingly quick hour and a half (all the longer we could leave her van in the same parking spot without getting a parking ticket) and
there were hardly any people there. Plus the roof was open where they have a huge outside toy and a couple of other fun exhibits. I'm really hoping to convince my husband to get us a year membership because the kids love it and it's SO much cheaper to get a membership. They actually charge people $7 PER PERSON - adults and kids alike - for admission. However, you can get a family YEAR LONG membership for $55!! Crazy, huh? I figure if we go 3 times over the next 12 months it'll more than pay for itself!

So, I'm just about back to 100% health-wise. I'm back to doing all that I was doing before all this ridiculous lung stuff began. Our church softball team has had a few weeks of games already and last night was my first night back in the nursery at church. It's so nice to be back to "normal"...whatever "normal" is...

I've decided that this next week I'm going to start really trying to potty train my 3 year old son. I'm not looking forward to it. I mostly blame myself that he's not remotely potty trained yet. I just never think about taking him potty or anything. But this next week, I'm going to put him in underwear - or just let him run around bottomless - and see how it goes. I know a good carpet cleaner so it'll be fine. :o) I figure I'll try it for a week and if it's too big of a headache and I end up finding out he's just no where near ready to potty train I'll just wait a few more weeks and try again. He's not my firstborn so I don't worry about things like "He'll NEVER be potty trained!" I figure by the time he's 10, he'll be outta diapers and into big boy undies... :o) If you have any brilliant ideas as to how to make this whole process easier on me and my little buddy let me know. My daughter potty trained herself in a week when she was 26 months...at night and all...so this is pretty much my first go around with this whole potty training thing.

Can't wait for summer...

2008-05-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

So, I hear that it's going to be stinkin hot in my neck of the woods for the next 4 or 5 days and I'm SO excited about that!!! :o) It'll be really nice to be able to play outside with my kids instead of being stuck in the house all the time. I'm also really excited that soon my schedule will be cleared and I can just hang out with my family and friends. Soon, Bible Study Fellowship will be done for the summer and shortly after that preschool will be out too!! I love BSF and I know that Alena thoroughly enjoys preschool but it'll be so nice to not have any weekly commitments for a few months.

We have our second set of double-header church softball games this week and I'm so excited because I'm actually going to try to play. I really hope that it goes well...I haven't been too active yet since having my surgery just over a month ago and I hope I don't end up having anything stupid happen to me like getting hit by a ball or getting knocked into by a base runner or something. However, I'm assuming my husband/the coach won't let me play any position but right field so I'm far enough out of harm's way. We'll see though...at least we'll have beautiful weather for the games, right!

I'm very excited about going to the Glen Eagle Garage Sales Saturday morning!!! I get to go with my best friend and no kids!!! Does it get much better than that? Then the next day is my handsome hubby's birthday! :o) We're having some of our friends come over and my kids and I are going to make a cake for Anthony. It should be a really good time! Plus, again, we'll be having beautiful weather!! :o) It doesn't take much to make us Washingtonians happy! Just give us a few days of 80 degree weather and we're happy as can be! :o)

Better late than never, right?

2008-05-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm lame and haven't written about my FABULOUS trip yet. Sorry!! Here goes...it was AMAZING!!! :o) It was about 88 degrees every day except for the last day when it was 77 degrees. Oddly enough, 77 actually seemed kinda chilly. Although that didn't last long since when we arrived in SeaTac it was a chilly 48 degrees! :o( Welcome home, huh? Well, let's see. Our first afternoon we just walked around the resort, oohing and awing. :o) That night we got to go to an amazingly delicious dinner at the resort on a grassy field over looking the ocean. Everything was so beautiful and the food we ate everywhere was so incredibly good. Another thing that really struck me about Maui is that the colors are very vibrant over there...I don't know it maybe that's just because I was so in heaven or what. At dinner that night, Anthony's Precor rep - Terry - invited us on a boat ride Thursday morning out to Molokini! Plus he gave us a $100 American Express Gift Card to - as he put it - help us pay for a couple of hotdogs around the resort (because everything there was SO unbelievably expensive)!!! :o) Tuesday morning Anthony went golfing with a bunch of the guys that Precor sent on this trip. He had a blast and while he was doing that I went into to town and went shopping! I wanted to maximize our $100 we had gotten from Terry so I went to K-mart to get the souvenirs I wanted to get for everyone back home. I ended up finding a REALLY cute little Hawaiian print summer dress for myself and one for Alena as well. Plus I got a little Hawaiian outfit for Tirus too. We'll just be such a cute little Hawaiian family this summer! :o)

I can tell that if I go moment by moment of the whole week this will be a very, very, VERY long blogging session and I do have other things I should be doing than sitting at the computer so I'll just give you the highlights...

One of my favorite things was going snorkeling at Molokini. The amazing thing about that is that I do NOT like being in water over my head and I have a rediculous fear of sharks. And by rediculous I mean I get nervous in lakes - yeah, that kind of ridiculous. So, anyways, when we found out the first night we were in Maui that we were going to go snorkeling a few days later I began praying. :o) And I mean fervently praying. The only thing that mattered to Anthony was that we got to go snorkeling at least once while we were there and I wanted to be able to enjoy that with him. So, I prayed that God would take away any and all anxiety and I'd be able to actually even enjoy snorkeling. He answered that prayer above and beyond what I could have ever expected!!! I didn't have a moment of panic let alone anxiety of any sort. We even stopped at this one place were we swam out in the open ocean for about 20 yards to go see some sea turtles. I was completely calm the whole time!! Thinking about doing any of that now raises my blood pressure to dangerous levels but my God was with me and He did not allow me to be nervous. He is SOOOOOO good!!!!! :o)

My other favorite thing we did was we went to a magic show up in Lahaina and it was incredible! I won't tell you any of the tricks he did because you HAVE to go see it if you ever get to go to Maui and I'd hate to ruin it for you! Anthony and I were very blessed to get a chance to sit down on the stage with Warren, the magician, along with 3 other young couples. So we were about 5 feet away from him at the most and we could NOT tell how the heck he did his tricks! It was crazy! So, the show it called Warren and Annabelle's...a MUST see!!!!

Well, that's all I'll write about my trip. I feel like I've already bragged about it a ton to those who will read this blog anyways so now I'm just being repetitive. :o)

Until next time, may God bless you as He has blessed me...with good health, amazing family and friends!

T minus 42 hours

2008-04-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

That's how long until Anthony and I will be encountering take-off on one of Boeing's fine 767 Jets! :o) After about a 6 hours flight we will begin our wonderful vacation in paradise! :o) I'm so stinkin excited I can't hardly take it!!! And this may sound dumb but I'm actually a little nervous. I mean, it's not very often that I actually go somewhere where I don't know where a single thing is...it's a little out of my comfort zone I guess but I'm willing to endure it. :o) I'm also still a little worried about leaving my beautiful little angels for so long but I make sure to not tell them that because then that worry would transfer onto them and that's just not necessary!

I can't believe how beautiful it is outside today!! I went out and actually did some weeding in the back yard! My back is telling me now that it wasn't my best idea I've ever had but my flower beds sure look nice! :o)

I forgot to mention that Alena's little program at school earlier this week went really well. She was so stinkin cute! She wore her flower girl dress from when she was in our friends (Max and Tina's) wedding this last summer. I'm surprised it still fits her! She sure looked beautiful! If anyone is interested in seeing just how adorable she was, we video taped it! :o) We already had one set of grandparents come over and watch it. It was kind of nice because 2 of Alena's best buddies from school were standing right next to and behind her so they're right in the video too! :o) And I swear all the little girls in the 3 preschool classes that were on stage had the same exact hair cut! That was pretty cute to see...at least I know Alena's haircut is in style! :o)

Well, my recovery is still going well. I'm able to do more and more every day still and I can tell that my body is healing up quite nicely. I think most of my problem at times is the fact that I haven't gone to the chiropractor in a month and half! And my body is used to going every 3 weeks so it's beginning it's revolt. :o( Oh well, I'm surviving and God has been so good to me...healing me and giving me the energy I need to do my daily tasks. Plus He's given me an unusually long fuse when dealing with my kids lately too which is very abnormal for me when I'm in pain and have things I HAVE to get done like packing for vacation and the like...Praise God and His Son, Jesus Christ! If you don't know Them on an intimate level, I highly recommend getting to know Them. You'll never regret it! :o)

And the countdown continues...

2008-04-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Anthony and I will be in Maui in 3 days!!!! I'm so incredibly excited! It's hard to believe that it's finally time for us to go! When we first found out about the trip it seemed like it would never actually happen...it was too far down the road to seem like a reality. But here we are, packing our suitcases and finalizing plans!!

I've spent most of the day today cleaning the house so when we get back I can enjoy spending time with my kids and the vacation doesn't have to end immediately after arriving home. I can play with my kids after not seeing them for a week instead of feeling like I should be doing my normal cleaning stuff. Alena and Ty actually helped me with a lot of the cleaning this morning. It's cute how much they enjoy helping! Give them a disinfectant wipe and watch out! They love running around the house and seeing how much they can clean before the other one beats them to it! One of the few times I enjoy them competing against each other! :o) The other chore they love helping with is washing windows. I spray the windows with Windex and arm them with paper towels and they go to town. I'm impressed how little I actually have to go back and re-do. I thought for sure I'd have to re-do everything they did once they were down for their naps but I didn't have to at all! They are such good kids...and good helpers! :o)

Well, I'd better get working on laundry and clean some more. I really don't want to leave much of anything for Sunday. So, as Dora would say, Adios Amigos!!!

4 Days and Counting

2008-04-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering, in 4 days I will be basking in the sun on the beautiful beaches of Maui and I won't even be suffering the lasting effects of airsickness - hopefully. Today I went to Bartell's and bought some stuff to try to ward off my horrible case of motion sickness I always battle with when I fly. I figured when I was all growed up I wouldn't have to deal with motion sickness anymore...I thought it was something that only kids suffered from. No, no, that's definitely NOT the case. So, I'll be sure to let you know which brands and methods of coping work and which don't.

My recovery is going fairly well. I've had to remind myself lately that "this too shall pass" with regards to the pain. It's beginning to seem like it'll never go away. However, I know that God will continue to be as gracious as always by continuing to heal my body. God is good! :o)

I've just been busy today, getting everything ready for vacation. I've realized that even though the kids aren't coming with us I still have just as much prep to do for them as I would if they were coming with us! Weird how that works. I'm still kind of anxious about leaving them for so long but we've been talking about it a lot and they're pretty excited. Alena's only said once or twice that she's going to miss us and to that I respond "I'm going to miss you too sweetheart but we're all going to be having so much fun that we'll be just fine!"

Yesterday, Anthony had the day off so we went shopping at a couple thrift stores to find him some swim shorts. He ended up also buying a baseball tee for the kids and Tirus absolutely LOVES it! :o) It's cute to see how proud Anthony is watching his little boy lug his little wiffle ball bat around with him everywhere he goes. :o) He even sleeps with it at naptime and nighttime. :o) Ty's getting pretty good at hitting the ball too! When Daddy was pitching to Ty earlier this week, Ty hit a line drive and nailed Daddy right in the leg. Boy was Ty proud of himself! :o) I can't help but get teary-eyed with pride, watching those two play baseball together in the backyard. Don't get me wrong though, Alena's out there too, making her Daddy just as proud. She's just not as obsessed with it as Tirus is. He was out there last night until after it started getting dark, just wailing on those wiffle balls. :o) So cute! :o)

No better place to recoup!!!

2008-04-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

In exactly 6 days and 7 minutes :o) I'll be landing in Maui!!! I'll probably be airsick but there's no place in the world I'd rather feel airsick. I'm hoping to find some meds that can take care of that problem without knocking me out completely. I'd hate to be all groggy on my first day in paradise. I've been working all morning on reconfirming our reservations with the car rental place and our travel agent regarding our flight info and I gotta say...I'm SO incredibly excited!! I've had a hard time believing we were really going but everything I've worked on this morning has kind of cemented it in my mind...we're really going and we're going really stinkin soon! :o) I'm a little nervous about leaving my kids for that long especially since only a couple of weeks ago I was away from them for 5 days while I was in the hospital. I just really hope that they enjoy themselves enough that they don't get too sad and homesick. However, I know they will be spending time at all their favorite places so I won't have anything to worry about. But as a mom...it's my job to worry...it's what I get paid the bucks for...hey, wait a minute!

Okay, enough about that...Alena has her Spring sing at school tonight and I'm pretty excited to go to that. It's so cute to see all the kids on stage...I hope Alena doesn't get stage fright like she sometimes does. I can't believe that she's almost done with preschool! She's actually sitting up at the table right now writing letters to her friends and it's amazing to see her actually spelling some of the words right! I can't believe how quick she's growing up...it's so sad and exciting all at the same time.

Well, I'd better wrap this up so I can go get Alena and Ty down for their naps and quiet time. I'm hoping to write on here a little more often than I have been. We'll see...

Peace out,
Laura

PS Hi Deef!!

Crossing to the Dark Side...

2008-04-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've finally given in and crossed to the dark side....I've become a blogger. *sigh* I'm thinking this will be a therapeutic way to get through life. My latest drama is, of course, my amazing collapsible lung. Gotta make it sound like something fun. :o) I just had a doctor appointment today and it was a pretty important one. Fortunately it turned out to be a positive one too. My doctor, Dr. Costas, told me that my x-ray they did this morning showed that my lung is back to 100% inflated and, sadly, in my world, that's a pretty stinkin exciting thing! :o) She also told me that I no longer have any lifting restrictions (besides the ones that my body is naturally imposing on my while I'm recovering from surgery). The other really exciting news I found out is that my handsome hubby, Anthony, and I still get to go on our dream vacation to Maui in a week and a half!!!! We thought that my health problems were going to make it so we couldn't go...at least not until June or July. Precor is sending us to stay at the Grand Wailea (the nicest resort in all the Hawaiian Islands - Oprah even rented out a wing of it!) for 5 nights!!! You gotta check out their website! You'll be droolin in no time!! :o)

I'm so glad that all my health stuff is finally under control and I'm finally on the mend. It's been such a long month. Tomorrow will be one month since my right lung originally punctured and was 40% collapsed. It's amazing to know that if I had lived even just 100 years ago I probably wouldn't have survived from this. However, because I'm so blessed to live when I do and where I do, I'm able to get help from the finest doctors and now I will be able to go on to live a completely healthy life. It's also amazing to look back and see God's hand in all this. I'm not saying that I think He caused me to get a spontaneously punctured lung...I know I live in a fallen world where our bodies just don't always work the way God designed them to...but I did feel His presence in every doctors office and hospital room I was in this past month. Even when I was just at home going through my every day routine, I'd feel His calming presence. I didn't have any anxiety about the surgery I had last week and that right there is a HUGE testimony because I'm just a worrier by nature!

Well, I'm gonna go play with my handsome little son. Ooh, plus dinner is almost ready. Mmmm... :o) Lasagna stinkin rocks! :o) I'm sure I'll write again soon because I can easily see this blogging thing quickly becoming a new obsession of mine. :o) Peace out!