Saturday we started painting Emalyn's room. We got the first coat on and then our neighbor came over and asked if we wanted tickets to the Kane County Cougars game with a parking pass and 7 drink tickets. We knew we'd be worn out, but decided to paint the second coat and then go to the game. It's hard to pass up an almost free family outing :). Here's Maddi and Brett enjoying their nachos.

Cade finished his cheeseburger and I finished my nachos and we were moving on to our peanuts. There's something about ball game food and those peanuts that make you all messy with the shells!

Yes, it was August 29th, but it felt like October. It got down to 49 that night and it was probably in the upper 50s at the game. Maddi was freezing, so Brett gave her his sweatshirt. She started crying when he took it off to give to her. She is just such a sweet girl with such a tender heart and she didn't want him to be cold but he convinced her he wasn't cold because he didn't have goosebumps so she took the sweatshirt and was warmer.

Even Cade was pretty cold, and he doesn't usually complain about being cold. We went for a walk to get liccorice ropes and he didn't mention another word of being cold after that. We left the game after the 7th inning stretch and we all went to bed because we were worn out. A few hours later we were awoken to Maddi vomiting. Yes, just like her mom, she had too much red dye from her fruit punch and liccorice. I was quite the puker as a child so I deserve all the nights I'm awoken to clean up vomit. She was absolutely fine before bed and fine when she woke up, she just had to get that out of her body, I guess.

Sunday we spent more time putting Emalyn's room together and then it was pretty low key. Speaking of Miss Emalyn, I had my 30 week appointment today and she is scheduling my induction day! Omie is trying to get a flight and my dr. had no problem with agreeing to setting a date. I will go in the night of November 5th and they'll put something on my cervix and then if I don't go in labor that night they'll start pitocin the next morning. Of course I could go in labor on my own, but that's never happened before so for now I'm happy to know when we will meet little one.

2nd and 3rd grade

Summer is officially over and school has begun! Today Maddi started 3rd grade and Cade started 2nd grade. Their school is 2 story and Maddi moved upstairs with 4th and 5th grade and that just breaks my heart that she is now with the "big" kids.

Maddi was very excited about starting school and Cade was nervous. You can see it on his face. They both did a great job and didn't cry and either did I. Success. I enjoyed my first day without kids by taking a nap, going to lunch with friends, and then grocery shopping. It was very quiet at home and I couldn't wait to pick them up and hear all about their first day.

Cade didn't have much to say about school (typical boy) but he did have a good day and likes his teacher. He isn't complaining or acting nervous about going back tomorrow so I think his back to school jitters are over and he's back in the swing of things.

Maddi gave me a whole low down on the days events as usual. She always has so much to say and keeps me in the loop. She thinks her teacher is wonderful and is just so excited about being back at school and being in third grade. She brought home this paper about things they worry/wonder about it. I thought it was cute. Hers said:

I wonder if my dog misses me because every time last year when I came home from school she ran up to me and was licking me.

I wonder if my teacher would like me because I like to know if they like me or not.

I wonder if I would make friends with anyone who were not in my class last year because I like to make new friends.


Unfortunately it was quite a rainy day but the rain did let up enough for us to walk to school. It just wouldn't feel right to drop them off in the car line for the first day. They had to have indoor recess and probably will for the next two days too. Bummer of a way to start recess, but the kids didn't seem to mind so much.

Maddi with her friend Maddie as they waited to go in their classroom. This is their 3rd year in the same class and they are Maddi M. and Maddie H. They are contemplating being Maddison and Madeline so they aren't Maddi M and H the rest of their lives. Their teacher said she doesn't like using last name initials and since their names are Maddi and Maddie she might call them Maddie with an E and just Maddi. We'll see what happens...

Baby boy still not smiling, but he was good and didn't cry. I think it helped that his class was all sitting in the hall watching him hang his backpack and say goodbye to me.

So the grind begins...they came home with papers for me to fill out and sign, made lunches and got snacks in their backpacks, made sure homework was done, etc. I'm glad school has begun again but I miss the lazy days of summer too.

Meet the Teacher

Summer is coming to an end and school is about to begin...

My big 3rd grader, Maddi, and her teacher, Mrs. Clark. Maddi wasn't thrilled about who she got for a teacher but after meeting her she REALLY liked her and she is so excited about starting school. One of her bffs, Maddie H., is in her class for the 3rd year in a row, so that was exciting too. I am so happy that Maddi is looking forward to school and I hope she continues that excitement as the school work begins. She has had a really great summer and is loving dance, is excited for school, and is in a really good place right now. I pray that it all continues on this track for her.

My big 2nd grade boy, Cade, and his teacher, Miss Huddleston. The class lists were posted last Thursday and the kids were so excited to see who their teacher was and what friends were in their classes. Cade got the teacher he wanted, except that she accepted another job in the district as a librarian the day the class lists were posted so it just said "new teacher-tba". Then we got a phone call from the school saying that the first grade TA from last year who also covered maternity leave for a kindergarden teacher was going to start the school year as the teacher until they continued the hiring process. Tonight we found out that teacher is actually now going to be the teacher for the whole year. Cade is so happy and so am I. She is a sweetheart and already knows most of the kids from being the first grade Teaching Assistant and all the parents of the kindergardeners that she subbed for just loved her. It's really hard to get a teaching job here and even though she is a certified teacher and taught first grade in another state, she had to take a position as a TA instead of a teacher. I'm happy for her that she gets to be the teacher and not just fill in until they hire a new one and I'm happy for Cade that he now knows who his teacher will be and that he really likes her. Cade is pretty nervous about starting school but I'm sure after the first few days he'll be happy to be back in his routine.

Fun Family Visit

My little brother, Cody, and his wife, Katie, and sons, Paul and Benton, came to visit and we had so much fun! We have been waiting for their visit for a few weeks. They have been travleling all summer visiting Texas and then staying in Pittsburgh with Katies's mom while Cody finished her basement with a bathroom. The bathroom took longer than expected and Cade has been asking almost daily when Paul was going to get here. After lots of traffic getting here, they finally arrived in time for some Chicago deep dish pizza on Friday night. It was perfect timing because Brett had just got back in town from traveling on the west coast all week too. We all had a great visit with Cody and the family. Here are some highlites from our visit....

The cousins, Cade (just turned 7), Paul (will be 8 in October), Maddi (will be 9 in October), and Benton (just turned 4 in June) playing Nintendo DS.


Then it was time for the kids to get crazy...they ran around the basement, upstairs, everywhere shooting Nerf darts and throwing balls and doing what kids do.

Brett got in the action and was showing Benton how to shoot the TV with his darts. Boys will be boys...

Saturday morning we boarded the train to the city so the Montana mountain family could experience city life. The kids are enjoying their breakfast of chocolate and powdered donuts.

Katie and I enjoyed some donuts too.

Cody and Brett on the train.

Benton and Cade acting silly once the sugar from the donuts hit their systems.

Maddi and Paul acting silly.

Little Benton snuggling with Cade on the train.

Paul giving Maddi some love on the bus ride to the Lego Store.

Katie and Cody snuggling on the bus ride.

The boys all had money they've been saving and had talked about what they would buy at the Lego store the whole train ride and Benton was planning on buying a Star Wars Lego. As soon as he walked in the store he grabbed this box of Star Wars Legos and told his dad he found what he wanted to buy. Too bad he didn't have enough money for that box that was as big as him, but the did get a cool Star Wars plane.

Cody and Maddi hanging out while the boys were making their decisions of what to buy.

A Lego model of downtown Chicago. The boys had all made their purchases and were all smiles.

Every time we go to the Lego store it's a tradition to get a picture with the Lego man on the bench outside the store.

Next stop was the Hello Kitty store for Maddi, Benton, Katie and I while the rest of them stopped at a sports store so Cody could get a Cubs baseball hat.

We ate lunch at one of my favorite spots, Rosebud, because I knew Cody would enjoy the bread with fresh parmesean and my brother Todd says they have the best fettucini he's ever had. Cody agreed the fettucini was the best ever and we all had full bellies and were ready to see more of the city. We walked over to Oak Street Beach so they could see Lake Michigan. It's just so hard to believe it's a lake and not an ocean. Katie was happy to get her toes in the sand.

Our family at the beach. I thought I got pictures of the Stanley family at the beach, but I guess I just took them on Cody's camera. I'll have to get a copy of that picture from them.

The boys couldn't help themselves from diggin in the wet sand...

After the beach we rode the subway over to Millenium Park. Again, I thought I had pictures from the bean but they must be on Cody's camera. Bummer. We got a good group shot of us in the bean and it's tradition to get a pic in the bean with whoever visits us. While at Millenium Park these goofballs were walking around giving free hugs and we dared Maddi to get a free hug. She said she'd hug the girl but not the boy. As she walked up the boy went to give her a hug and she dissed him for the girl but after giving the girl a hug the boy got his hug too. What's with the free hug people everywhere? We also enjoyed watching the silver statue on Michigan Avenue and Cody and I were speculating how much money he makes. I told Cody he could find a new career being the silver statue and him and his "peace loving" family could give free hugs so we could see how much money they make.

Even though the Cubs weren't playing at home until Tuesday, we had to make a stop at Wrigley so Cody could see Wrigley field. He didn't actually get to see the field, but we did get some pics on the outside.

Benton, Maddi, Paul and Cade.

This time with silly faces.

Benton and Maddi became fast friends. Maddi is just so sweet with the younger kids and Benton enjoyed her attention.

After getting back from the city the kids had a Lego building party in Cade's room building their new Lego purchases. Maddi built Benton's for him which worked out great because it gave her something to do and Cade and Paul could focus on their Legos. They wouldn't stop for dinner or even cookies! They were on a mission. Once the Legos were built they had a slumber party in our living room and watched a movie until they fell asleep. I went to bed before the slumber party started so I didn't get any pictures of the party but this is a picture of them the next morning. Cade woke them all up at 6:00 am and they started playing right away.

Sunday we stayed home and the kids played outside and we went to the pool. After the pool they were worn out and Cade and Paul fell asleep while watching Star Wars Clone Wars.

Cade even had a Lego character in his hands while he was sleeping. We woke Cade up so he could play with Paul before they went to bed because Paul was leaving early the next morning. Cade wasn't happy about waking up, but he did wake up.

Paul was wearing an Indiana Jones costume while sleeping. We tried waking Paul up to play with Cade but he just wouldn't wake up. Later when we were outside and Cody and Katie were packing up the bus we heard the ice cream truck. We went and told Paul the ice cream truck was here and if he wanted an ice cream he had to wake up. That got Paul to wake up! Then we noticed that Benton had fallen asleep on floor which Katie said was the first time he's ever just fallen asleep somewhere. We couldn't get Benton to wake up for anything so he missed out on the ice cream.

Sleep head Benton missing out on ice cream, Paul, Cade and Maddi enjoying their ice cream. Notice Cody's VW bus in the background. Brett, Maddi and Cade thought it was very cool and want to get one too.

I'd say the kids had a very fun and busy weekend since they kept falling asleep everywhere!

Early Monday morning Cody and family had to get back on the road so they could get back to Montana for Paul to start school. It was hard for everyone to say goodbye because we had such a great time together. Even though we don't see them often, the kids just pick up right where they left off and have the best time together. Thanks for visiting Cody, Katie, Paul and Benton!

While you were out

This weekend we painted and rearranged Cade's room. It was like the show "While you were out" because Cade was playing with friends or at bday parties most of the time. He was speechless when he first walked in and saw it. He loved it which made our time and efforts all worth it. I really like it too. I wanted to do tan but Brett said everything in our house is tan or brown and boring so we needed some color. We went with Holiday Wreath and I am glad he made us do a color. I really like it. Hard to tell from the pics exactly the color, but gives you and idea.



Princess Cocoa on her thrown. She always lays on that little couch when we are reading books or anything. So funny. She's getting groomed tomorrow, so she's looking scraggly!

And Lesley, these pics are for you, my friend. Lesley seems to think I'll want to remember that I was pregnant one day and Emalyn might begin to think she's adopted if there no belly pics of her, so here you go. I'm 28 weeks. Brett's out of town, Maddi's at dance, so I had to rely on Cade to photograph so they aren't great, but here they are....

We have another sonogram Thursday to see if the placenta has moved (crossing my fingers) and I am looking forward to seeing little one and making sure she is still a girl. The kids will get to go with me because they don't start school until next week so this will probably be their last time to see their sister until she makes her debut.

Happy 7th Bday Cade!

My "baby" boy turned 7 on August 12th! Since he's a summer baby we had his party on his real birthday from 9-11 a.m. Before we went to the party he opened presents from family. Omie had sent a mysterious gift that Cade was waiting to get his hands on. Here he is trying to open it. Watch the video at the bottom to see him opening Omie's gift. (I couldn't get it to upload because it was so long, I'll try again later). He had told her he wanted a box of tissues with 100 $1.00 bills in it so she sent him lots of pennies and toilet paper and also the DS game Cade is holding. Maddi gave Cade this Tastey Science kit. Ignore the background of these pics. We are in the process of cleaning out the guestroom which is becoming a nursery and it's a bit of a disaster area right now. Another gift from us Bakugan, some weird game boys play with little balls that turn into creatures and have cards with powers, etc. I don't get it, but I've played it with Cade a few times. I just don't get boys. Cade wanted the tissue box with money because my Uncle gave that to me one year when I was a teenager. I told Cade about it and he thought it was really cool. He got tissues from me but only 7 $1.00 bills. You can see from his goofy face that he thought the $7.00 was pretty cool! Cade had his party at Bounce Town, same place Maddi had her party last year. Cade wanted his party at home with a bounce house but I convinced him to have it there since it didn't cost much more and it was indoors and they had so many fun things to do rather than one bounce house and the kids tearing my house apart. They had a blast. Here's Cade on one of the slides. Boys being boys playing with balls.... Cade and friends playing air hockey. Brett monitored the air hockey table for a while since they were all arguing over who got to play next and when the games should end. Maddi with our little neighbor, Andrew. She is going to be such a great big sister to our new baby. She is so good with the little ones. Boys being boys again...playing dodge ball. Video of these crazy boys playing is at the bottom of this post. Watch the video below to see what the kids were doing on this wall, jumping off like crazy people. That's what Maddi was about to do. Not long after this picture Maddi landed on Cade's hand or foot or something and Cade started crying and pouted the rest of the time in that room before cake/presents. My kids ALWAYS cry at their parties. I told them their theme is "it's my party, I can cry if I want to" and Cade was not happy when I tried to get a picture of him crying just for the memories. Deep thought about his birthday wish or still staying with his theme...it's my party, I can cry...? Big breath. He asked for ice cream cone cupcakes. I filled the chocolate ones too full of batter and they overflowed down the cones. They didn't look so great, but the kids seemed to like them. Candles are all blown out...hope his wish comes true. Some of the kids enjoying their snack, drink, and cupcake. Me and Maddi with the birthday boy. Notice how sweaty Cade is. Poor guy was dripping in sweat from playing so hard. Daddy and Maddi and bday boy. Cade with one of his best friends, Jack. It was a great party and he got lots of fun presents. I know it's so cliche, but I don't know how Cade is 7, seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. It's so fun to watch him grow up and turn into such a big boy, but sometimes I wish I could freeze him right where he's at and not let him grow anymore! Happy 7th Birthday Cade Forrest!!!