And a picture taken with it. Brian went late and picked it up, the kids were in bed by the time he returned, but luckily, MissAriel was still awake! I LOVE it, I am SO happy.

and she was happy to pose!
I will have a GREAT weekend taking pictures! You all have a great weekend, too. Okay?

I just wanted to stop in and say hello. Thank you to everyone who responded regarding my sister’s flood. I appreciate the support and offers to help so much!
I met with her last night. We had dinner, then we went to Target and Kohl’s and somewhere in between then she pumped in my van. LOL. It’s so incredible to me that I can live so far away from someone and see them so little and we get together and it’s like we are neighbors and have been for years. I guess that is what sisterhood is all about. It’s truly a gift. hmmm….interesting that I do not have two daughters, no? Not that I can choose the sex, because Lord knows how badly I wantedRacecar to be a boy, it’s just surprising that we do not have a 3rd child to create the brother-brother or sister-sister relationship. However, I am in awe of the relationship between my girl and my boy. so blessed. We all are.

I won’t be around much as I am flying to Kansas Saturday morning. Tonight, we went to Best Buy as we are comtemplating purchasing a new camera. I LOVE my camera and I am just sick that it is SO broken. It’s still in the shop, if it’s not fixed by tomorrow, we may tell the guy to just give the thing back. I saw one camera that I loved, a Sony, of course, 7.2 megapixels and a 12x optical zoom. That’s right–TWELVE. My broken camera had a 3x optimal zoom. It was different, some things were not as good, but somethings were better, I’ll guess you’ll have that, it’s funny because they are the same price. We’ll see. If I get one tomorrow, perhaps I’ll get on-line and tell you about it. (and share pictures)

I bought some knee-high black leather boots, with a nice tall heel. (my sister bought the same pair) They are AWESOME! Let’s see, what else? Racecar is actually doing well with potty training. In no way am I actively trying to train him, I am just following his cues. On two occasions, he woke up with a dry diaper, the first time I FREAKED out thinking his kidneys were failing, but then I put him on the potty and he peed for 10 minutes! Can you believe that? Ariel doesn’t even go through the night. Tonight I put Thomas undies on him and he loved it, he didn’t even want to wear pants, but Baby, it’s cold outside! He went pee twice and then he became entranced in Wonder Pets–he peed all over himself. He’s cute.

Anna STILL loves school. Seriously, so much. This morning she rocked my world with her brilliance. First, I was helping her get dressed, she typically dresses herself, but on days of school I help her to speed up the process. Anyway, she started to fall a bit, she put her leg straight back behind her, like a figure skater and said “I have to keep my balance.” uhhh…burrito? Did you just say “balance?” She proceeds to notice the new jeans I was wearing and asked if I “bought bread at Target last night in Indianapolis.” I can not get ANYTHING past this girl–no lie.

I guess that’s it. Brian is busy at work. I feel like I haven’t seen him in weeks. We decided that next Saturday we are taking the kids to a pumpkin patch for pumpkins, apple cider and apples. I love fall. Ariel is very aware of the season’s changing. I received her calender for October for preschool and there are 2 HUGE events that take place, the first is school pictures. My baby girl, who I swear just had her newborn picture done in the NICU in Chicago, is having school pictures taken this month. OMG. She needs a haircut. The second event is a Halloween party. OMG. She needs a costume. A GOOD costume.

Today I worked on the FOA newsletter, I basically finished, I usually work on it at night when the kids are sleeping, but I really needed to get a start on it, it was odd doing it while the kids were awake, but they were good. Tomorrow, I must clean and do laundry. . . fun.

Oh and we returned from Best Buy tonight right before bedtime. I putRacecar’s pajamas on him and he climbed into his big boy bed and went to bed. He was so tired!

I really wanted to blog about my weekend, about how Friday night, we celebrated Brian’s Mom’s birthday, she is someone I truly treasure in my life. We had decorations, a great cake, meatloaf and the dreamiest of creamy mashed potatoes, all homemade, made by me. I would also like to tell you about my Saturday, a dreary day, but I spent time shopping alone at Kohl’s and Target, then I attended a Sensaria party where I soaked my feet and sat with friends. Then we had a great evening at home, eating homemade tacos. After tacos, we went to visit one of my high school friends who was visiting from Illinois. She just had a baby boy in July. (Amy F.–think of a tall volleyball player- L.P. know who I’m talking about?) It was a wonderful visit. On Sunday, we woke up super early and visited my sister and her husband in Michigan near Detroit. We had a great time, the kids played, Brian played and I…well…I ate, ALOT. (welcome back, Weight Watchers!) So much I’d like to blog about, but I can’t, because there is something so heavily on my mind it’s hard to concentrate.

On Saturday morning at 1 AM EST, my sister’s husband, (they live in Louisville) stepped out onto their porch because it was raining heavily. It was then that he noticed water coming towards their apartment. By 3am, water was to their knees in some places. They have a 19 month old and a 7 WEEK old. They gathered what they could, put as many things up on top of countertops as quickly as possible and they left. The evacuated to their neighbors apartment, someone upstairs, someone they had never met, with both children in tow. My BIL called his friend who said he was on his way to pick them up. Because the streets were flooded he couldn’ pick them up directly at the complex, so this family of four walked through the pouring rain to meet him. People were everywhere outside. Both of their cars were flooded.

Sarah called me the next morning at 9am and told me what happened. My initial thought was “I can’t believe she experienced this six hours ago and I’m just learning of it now” and my second thought was trying to figure out how I could help. Luckily, they have renter’s insurance, well, we thought it was lucky except that renters insurance does not cover floods. No home and no help from insurance. The waters rose and receeded, leaving it’s mark on their apartment, their belongings and their hearts and memories forever. Toys, clothes, shoes, pictures-gone. In a moment. Brian and I laid in bed last night thanking our lucky stars that we were in our bed and our kids were in THEIR beds. The comforts in life we so easily take for granted. What I would give for my sister and her family to have that same feeling of comfort once again.

My heart feels broken. I can’t imagine what my sister is feeling. Tonight I did some shopping, I tried to replace a few things, and alot of the toys Ethan lost we have the same toys in our basement. We are meeting Wednesday night so I can give her these things. Her brothers and sisters are helping by donating gift cards to places like Target, etc. I wish we could do more. I keep thinking-3 months from now, this will all be a memory, somehow that brings me comfort. I hope it brings them comfort. Their days are long, wet and so tiring, I don’t know where they are getting their stamina. Not only are they enduring something so difficult, they are handling it with such grace and dignity and in the midst of it all, they are teaching me about strength.

Thank your stars tonight. I am thankful for their safety.

Okay, so she was was almost four weeks ago—I’m not a bad aunt, I’m just a busy auntie! I can’t wait to share even more pictures of her next week that I took on my own!
(with my camera–which is being fixed RIGHT NOW)
Tessa Mary. 9 lbs 3 oz

Just born!

Napping with Daddy! (my brother)

Proud Papa!

Pretty in Pink

Can you even take it?!?!

Oh my God. soooooo cute

burrito

Bigger brother giving his little sister a bottle. He’s very proud

Big brother changing a diaper! He really wanted to do this! He’s sooo cute!

Tonight, my Mom and I attended a wedding shower. On a Wednesday. evening. A wedding shower on a Wednesday evening. At first…I thought it was strange, I had never heard of such an event taking place on anything other than a weekend, BUT after a few minutes, I LOVED the idea. The weekend was not taken up, the kids went to Grandma’s for the evening and I got out of the house. It was lovely. Chili’s catered. YUM AND YUM AND YUM. I love the southwestern eggrolls, they are seriously something that I could consume for 35 days straight. (I don’t know why I chose 35 days, but it’s true.) Anyway, they had mountains, do you hear me? MOUNTAINS of Southwestern Eggrolls. Oh the Weight Watcher Gods were thundering tonight.
Speaking of thunder. It is COLD outside. Right now it’s 51 degrees. My sister said something about it hitting the 30’s tomorrow. whatever. It is not supposed to be this freakin’ cold this early. I really wanted to say fucking cold but I didn’t want to offend anyone. I’m so polite.

Speaking of polite. I think my kids are very polite. They always say “please,” they always say “bless you,” they always say “you’re welcome” and they always, ALWAYS say “thank you.” I love it. Oh and they always say hi to everyone. Cashiers, the bank tellers at the drive thru, (even though they can’t hear them) and each other afterAriel gets back from preschool.

Speaking of preschool. Ariel loves it. and I am really enjoying my time with myRacecar or No-ey, asAriel calls him now. (thanks to Brian) Although she loves preschool, she actually had to miss a day last week because she was sick. Can you believe that? I think she would have been fine, but I know what she had was so contagious, because No-ey had it and gave it toAriel, who gave it to us, who would have given it to her classmates had she gone, but she didn’t. She was fine, she really seemed to understand why she couldn’t go. (of course, in trueRacecar fashion his hasn’t completely cleared up–I see a doctor’s visit in the future…)

Speaking of sick. Christi passed away yesterday. This family is so amazing. She is yet ANOTHER reminder as to why I spend so much time working with Friends of Allie.

And speaking of Friends of Allie, we had our walk on Sunday and it was great, even though it rained. We had a great turn out and we have now raised just over $5000. I’m so excited. and I am so proud of my family and my friends and their family and friends who came around and did something so amazing. Ariel andRacecar attended their first walk. That made me happy.

Speaking of happy. I’m happy. Things are good. I am grateful. Racecar LOVES his big boy bed and has been sleeping in complete peace and comfort every night and for every nap. He never gets out. (by the way, Elisa, I once read that you should never take a child out of a crib until they are 3 years old UNLESS they are climbing out and endangering themselves. I followed that withAriel, but becauseRacecar is so…….much larger thanAriel was, we did it a little early….but I’m sure Emma will do great when you do it!)

We have a busy couple of weekends ahead of us. This weekend we are going to Michigan to visit my sister. Then the weekend after that I am flying to Kansas to visit my brother. (sans kids) I can’t believe I never mentioned the fact that my brother and his wife had a baby girl on 8/24. It’s incredibly special because in 1994 they had a son and in 1997 they had another boy. They decided to have another and try for their girl and they had the most precious baby girl in 2006. I’ll have to introduce you to her tomorrow. She’s amazing and I get to meet her next week!

Not the greatest picture of me, butRacecar is soooo cute!

checking out the chickens

OMG, HE’S KILLING ME. (with his cuteness)

About to leave for Sunday school

eating at the walk

LOVE. IT.

Lynette, my awesome co-captain and I. Both Bright Light walkers. (both raised $1000 or more!)

Team FOA. We have raised over $5000! (and still growing!) YAHOO!