I found out...

that I couldn't have found out the sex of the baby anyway. The unbilical cord was serving as a thong of sorts and was hiding any sex organs that I might try to cheat and see. You might remember that I was trying to be surprised with this baby, but I was worried that my lack of self-control (the same one that caused me to eat all of Celia's potty training chocolate chips a few weeks ago) would make me cheat at this sonogram. Nope! I'm happy because I think I would have been excited to know today, but it won't be as exciting as finding out later.

Devin, Addison, Aunt Shel, Mariah and Celia all accompanied me to the sonogram today. When they showed the baby facing us, I said "whoa! It looks like a monster!" Addison exclaimed "I HAVE A COOKIE MONSTER IN MY TUMMY TOO!"

Anyway, that pretty much made my day.

I'm glad Micah's doing better. He was riding his road bike and was hit from behind by a car. Keri called me and I only listened to the part of the message where she said "hit by car" and "trauma unit" and I flipped out. I called her bawling my eyes out and she reassured me that he'd be ok. Phew... Pregnant, hormonal women should listen to entire messages, not just the bad parts. Anyway Micah has been my friend for 12 years. I am so thankful he's ok. I wish I could be there to help Keri with Skylar so she could play sexy nursemaid. Keri, I'd lend you my sexy waitress outfit, but..oh wait...I don't own one. :)

I hope you all looked at Amanda's hilarious Bradley post. My favorite part was easily the raisin game. You have extremely creative children! Addison might be more creative if I didn't dumb her down with so much Winnie the Pooh and Backyardigans.

Love you guys..

Jesus Is My Friend

The sticks

Tomorrow we'll return from Pocahontas. It really was a nice trip. My grandpa's health is really not the best, but he was in a great mood and told all of his funny jokes (even though I think Addison may have learned some new fun words). Pocahontas is interesting. It's really pretty, but it's definitely another world. Have you ever heard of a dry county? That means no alcohol in the whole county. We were at an Italian restaurant and the people at the table over brought their own wine in a paper bag. We passed a sporting goods shop and I thought "that's kind of weird for here," but I quickly realized that a sporting goods store is not sporting equipment. Well it is, but not footballs and jockstraps. Sporting goods = rifles, ammo and other hunting things. Heh.

I always ask to visit my great-uncle Gary's house because he is awesome. He has one of those great, thick accents, a pet raccoon and he spends the day tinkering around with tractors and other engines. His latest venture, though, is creating bombs (out of pop bottles, toilet cleaner and foil) and shooting off potato guns. He really is one of the sweetest, most lovable old guys out there. I don't think he'll be the next unibomber. He's too sweet.

Addison did pretty good on this trip. The car ride was much better than our last car trip to Colorado, thanks to this lovely device we bought: The portable dvd player. My daughter is probably quite a bit dumber than she was a few days ago due to the large quantity of Barneys and Thomases, but at least I didn't have to turn around in the car every 5 minutes to hand her a different toy. She's been testing me a little bit more with the new audience we have watching, but no big meltdowns. My dad's been in DC these past few months, finishing up his 29 year Army career, so Addison hasn't seen her gramps that much (he was in Afghanistan all of last year). You can't control how your kids act (duh) but it always made me feel kinda guilty when she was standoffish with my dad. He was here with us this weekend and she's been really sweet with him, giving him hugs and kisses and stuff.

I am feeling really stressed out about this hurricane stuff. I am just feeling really sorry for all the people whose lives are destroyed because of a storm. I know God works everything out for good, but why does He allow these storms to happen? I can understand how sin affects everyone, not just the person sinning, but storms aren't caused from sin. It's a weather pattern. It just doesn't seem right. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting God's love; I just get confused when I see such massive destruction. Does one of my smarter, more theological inclined readers have a good answer?

I am tempted to never stay at a Howard Johnson motel ever again. I saw on Fox News that one Howard Johnson motel in Texas tripled their rates this weekend because of the massive influx of people headed North. Um, isn't that price gouging and isn't that illegal? I hope someone sues the crap out of Howard Johnson if this is indeed true. I was frustrated to hear that so many people stayed in Galveston, even though the National Weather Service warned that Death was imminent. Well how can they leave if they're getting royally screwed by hotel chains?

Night night my friends.

They're still funny....

Addison and Celia have been squabbling all morning over this stupid Thomas & Friends book that has puzzle pieces. Lots of tears and drama were involved. Just now I heard Addison say "Celia, I love you! I love you Celia!" and now they are happily playing together in her room. When I went in there to see what they were doing (I'm always a little suspicious if they're playing too well) this is what I saw:

































Lately I have been really struggling with the girls and the endless squabbling and other typical toddler stuff. I have been so very tired (because I am so very pregnant) and just feel like I'm existing, trying to get through the day instead of enjoying time with the girls and my life as their mom/nanny. It's nice when God provides me with a little comic relief (like today).

Tomorrow Addison and I are headed to (drumroll please) Pocohontas, Arkansas to visit my Grandpa and his wonderful wife, Alta. I'm excited about seeing them but not excited about the drive or the location (my aunt was recently feasted upon by chiggers when she went). I'm especially not excited about packing! I HATE PACKING! Obama's magic wand (or Pixie Dust) would really come in handy.... (how long before that gets old? tee hee...)

Oh yeah! You've probably noticed that we got Addison a bigger bed. It was only $100 at a garage sale and she likes it a lot.

Politics

This is a followup to that survey I posted about politics. Nah I don't think I'll be giving Obama and second look as the survey says to do. I'm voting for McCain/Palin in November.

Here's where I stand on some of "the issues:"

Disclaimer: I never went to US Politics class at K-State and also never studied, so I got a D. Well now I wish I could go back and redo it! Oh well... Anyway, I'm no expert, just a concerned American.

Taxes: cut taxes, cut spending, do not raise taxes for small businesses. I actually liked Huckabee's fair tax approach. It rocked. I would love to see that happen in our country someday.

Healthcare: We've got to do something. People with pre-existing health conditions are getting royally screwed. We pay $400 a month in premiums for Addison and me, but that's paltry compared to the $2000 that my friend's parents pay in premiums only because she has a heart problem. I don't know what the answer is, but I do not agree with a National, single-payer healthcare plan. I grew up in the military and I remember how much Tricare sucks. Yeah, it's great that it's free but you see people at the doctor's office for every sniffle and cough (BECAUSE IT'S FREE!) and can't get an appointment. I tried to make an appointment for my "yearly" and the receptionist said "Sorry. No appointments. Call back in a month." My mom had to get on the phone and yell and scream (and pull rank) to get me an appointment off post. Then there's the whole hoop jumping thing to see a specialist, and the crossing fingers/saying prayers when the bill comes to make sure everything's covered. If not, there's more yelling. I don't have a lot of faith in government run systems, but I dont' know what the answer is.

Abortion: Pro-life. I appreciate that McCain has always been pro-life and his running mate proved her pro-life stance by giving birth to a baby that 90% of women have chosen not to.

The War: We shouldn't have gone to Iraq in the first place, but I think we have to stay and finish the job. My dad was in Afghanistan for a year. I know it sucks for the soldiers and their families, but my dad wanted to go and I know a lot of soldiers feel the same way.

The Economy in general: I don't think the government is going to save us all. Whoever is going to be president is not going to solve all our problems. In his speech, Obama was saying how sorry he felt for the people who "were driving cars they can't afford" and "living in houses they can't afford." Good thing we have Obama who will wave his magic wand and solve all our problems so that we can continue to make stupid choices.

Just thought I'd throw my ideas out there. Feel free to hammer me with lots of comments. I really don't mind. In fact, I'd love your imput. There are a lot of people out there who are much smarter than me (my brother), but I just thought it might be good to explain how I feel about stuff.

I told you I was moderate!

Your Issue Profile: 36% Obama, 64% McCain

When it gets down to it, you tend to best match John McCain. But he's not the perfect candidate for you, and you may not be sold on him yet. Obama shares a good number of your views too, so you might want to give him a second look. It all comes down to which issues matter to you the most.

Should You Vote for Obama or McCain?

Why I love CVS

This is what $8 buys you at Hyvee:

1 apple
1 gallon of Hy-vee 1% milk
4 bananas

This what $8 buys you at CVS:

2 Revlon nail polishes (on sale at $3.99 each)
1 Loreal Skin Genesis Cleanser (on sale at 5.99)
1 Right Guard Deodorant (on sale at 2.99)
1 Colgate Winnie the Pooh Toothbrush (for Devin) ($2.99)
12 pack of Scott extra soft toilet paper (on sale at $6.99)
2 packs of Shick Quattro Disposable Razors ($7.99 each)
1 bottle of CVS lotion (clearance for $2.00)

All you need are some coupons from the Sunday paper!

10 things I'm not afraid to admit (in no particular order)

10. I wish I didn't gossip so much. I'm no better than a 7th grader some days.
9. I was really pissed about that Michael Googlyschoomgly guy that wrote that song "The Healer" about having cancer. He pulled out the fake oxygen and everything. It turned out to be a lie. Then I remembered that I have lied about a lot of things in my lifetime too.
8. I hate being told what to do, unless I can't make a decision then I will plead with you to decide for me.
7. Sometimes I try to appear to be more laid back than I actually am. I like to seem like the "laid back mom", but there are times when I genuinely freak out about silly things. Like a scratch at gym daycare. I really didn't handle that one well.
6. I made a lot of really stupid decisions with money.
5. I wish I had majored in something else at K-State. Education was a dumb major for me, the girl who hates to plan anything.
4. I'm a wannabe Stacy & Clinton when it comes to judging how other people dress, but wear white v-necks that have holes and sweatpants with paint stains to bed (I just threw these two items away yesterday, realizing that it's not a great way to keep the spark going in your marriage).
3. I still drink a cup of coffee everyday even though I'm pregnant. I think the baby will understand that it's too weird to drink decaf at 7 am.
2. I listen to "Jesus Is Just Alright With Me" by DC Talk everytime I work out at the gym.
1. I am really, really, really excited about Sarah Palin. I think McCain made a great choice.


Ok what are yours?

Two year olds are funny

Friday

Merah and I took our brood of children to the Legends. We thought it might be a fun experiment to take them clothes shopping. Surprisingly enough, I managed to get some stuff for Addison. Never mind the fact that when we got home she decided she hated it all and refused to try anything on. I will probably have to bring it all back, but the point is we shopped with 4 toddlers and it wasn't a suicide mission afterall.

Then we went to McDonalds to the play place. Those places are like hepatitis central in my opinion, but whatever...they had a great time and we actually got to have some adult conversation. Bring on the germs! I should take a minute to share how much I love Merah. She and I were pretty good friends at K-State, even went to China together one Christmas, but got to be really close after we had kids and realized we were (at the time) each other's only friends in town with kids. If you know us, our personalities are completely different. Merah is calm, cool and collected and I'm a spaz. I think we've learned a lot from each other. I love how our personalities have sort of rubbed off on each other over these past three years. She's taught me how to be more patient and I have seen her become more laid back and spontaneous. Our conversations have grown from centering around parenting only to some good heart to heart stuff. Considering I'm someone who hates small talk, that means a lot to me. Being a mom can be very isolating. You get pretty lonely. Merah was my saving grace. I thank God for her a lot. Come to think of it, I have some pretty amazing friends. You guys rock (but not my socks off). I love all of you.

ANYWAY (enough of that emotional gobblety gook)
Here's a "what would you do?" situation:

At work tonight this man exchanged a little rugby shirt for a bigger size. I rung everything in and put the shirt back in his wrinkled bag for him (I remember this detail because I considered getting a new bag, but am trying not to be so wasteful). He and his wife look around the store a while longer. They leave and after 15 minutes or so run back in the store with an empty bag saying the shirt had fallen out in the store. I went back to the rack and that size shirt was hanging there in front, but I didn't remember picking it up off the floor (nor did anyone else). I also did a merchandise check to see how many we had sold vs. how many were hanging up. It said we should have 1, but two were hanging there. Problem is our system is always screwing up. It's always wrong. My supervisor and I really didn't know what to do. Do we just give the guy a shirt, even though it was his fault he lost the dang thing? Is he stealing another shirt? This stuff always happens to me because I'm so nice and friendly and giving. Arrgh. Well we decided to give him the shirt because he and his wife were upset about it. It was pretty irritating though. What would you have done?

Just curious!

P.S. I have a new phrase that I hate.
Former phrases:
Rocks my socks off
I "heart" something
"Hi my sweet friend!" (yes some of you are guilty of this. You know who you are...ahem.....)

Refers to blogging: Posting something that might/might not be offensive and then writing "I'm just sayin'....." AARRRGGGGH! It's just so, so...annoying (to me). Then again, I'm pregnant. What isn't annoying these days? Other than me and my crazy hormones to Devin!

Coffee

I wouldn't consider myself a gourmet foodie in any way, shape or form. My favorite homecooked meal is this chicken rice casserole that has Velveeta in it. I have never made creme brulee, and I would never touch sushi with a ten foot pole. Blagh. Get it away! When it comes to coffee, however, I am a S-N-O-B! Fewer things are worse than burnt tasting, weak, acidic, crap in a cup. Give me the good stuff. What's good? Dark Roasted, full-bodied, and smooth.
If I had to list my top ten faves here they are:
1. Dean and Deluca (amazing)
2. Trader Joe's Pearberry (there's no Trader Joe's in KS)
3. Peet's Coffee (there's no Peet's in KS)
4. Caribou Coffee
5. Starbucks (their "special" blends, not the kind that's been on the shelf at CVS for a year, even though that's still better than my last choice)
335: Folgers

As you can probably imagine, you can't be a coffee snob on the Dave Ramsey plan. It just doesn't make sense to skimp and save on food for the family, but go blow $10 for a bag of coffee at Dean and Deluca (excuse me, I just drooled a little on the keyboard). So we drink my 335th choice: Folgers. It was a bit of an exaggeration. They have a Columbian roast that really is pretty good. Plus I kinda cheat. I take my amazing coffee and drown it in coffee-mate (to the dismay of other coffee snobs out there). My family and friends are good to me though. When Christmas rolls around I am showered with great coffee (hint, hint)and life is good till February or March when it all runs out. It's September now so we've been in the land of Folgers for quite some time....

UNTIL LAST NIGHT!

My wonderful friend Julia spent the summer as a missionary in Costa Rica and surprised me with some wonderful coffee. A big bag of it. And it is good. Bye bye Folgers. See you next month.