Frustrations...

I knew that Emma would do some regressions with her potty training after the baby was born. Well, I heard she most likely would. The problem is that she is doing them about 2 weeks early! She was doing so good, now all of a sudden she is having accidents. But the kicker is that she is only doing them at home - not at Theresa's. She is doing fabulous at Theresa's - she is just being stubborn at home. So, she has had to sit in the naughty corner a few times. I know they say you are not supposed to discipline kids about potty training if they have accidents, but she knows what she is doing, so I figure why not? If we were at the store, or outside or something like that, I would maybe consider it an accident. BUT, when I am asking her all the time if she needs to go OR when she is playing in her room right by her bathroom, I don't think that it is an accident. I kind of blame myself as the past few days she has been wearing pull-up's and I don't think she watches it as much in those. But today, I decided to go back to the undies and what do I get? Messes. So, I know I need to be consistent. Anyway, it is driving me crazy. Not sure what to do, other than keep her in the undies and keep working on it.


Emma has taken on a new interest lately in soccer. There is a Dora the Explorer episode where Dora plays soccer with her cousin Daisy and shows off her super soccer kick. So now, Emma has to play soccer and be Dora, I am Daisy, and she does her super soccer kick. She actually isn't that bad at kicking it for a 2 year old. Tonight I taught her about passing and set up a little goal for her to kick it in. She had a lot of fun. When Tim came home, he was teaching her about how to be the goalie. Starting out a little young I know, but I LOVE that she is somewhat interested in sports. I am hoping she will be athletic and have an interest in playing something when she is older!

She has also taken a special interest in picking out her clothes. Tim called me at work one morning to tell me how Emma was (yes, he does this every morning :-) and had to tell me about her outfit. She had on a pink Dora shirt, blue shorts, purple polka dot leggings, blue socks and blue Ariel sandels. He said it was so cute, obviously not matching, but very cute. She was very proud of herself for picking it out. Well, this is what she picked out yesterday to wear AND put it on herself. Doesn't she look proud? I couldn't resist taking a picture.

We had a great weekend! Saturday Tim, Emma, and I ran errands and just hung out at home. It was nice to relax here and not have an agenda for anything. We got ice cream in the afternoon and stopped by the neighbors to pick up the cradle for the little one whenever he decides to show up - which I hope is soon. 2.5 more weeks to go! I have all the people in the office commenting "Ah - are you still here?" "Man - you like tired." "Oh - I think the baby has dropped!" "I bet you are ready for that baby!" Yeah - get sick of the comments. There is something about pregnant woman that people can't resist making comments. I understand, but after awhile it gets old.

Sunday was the picnic at the park with my sisters, parents, nieces/nephew and aunt & uncle. Everyone had a great time! The weather was beautiful, the food was really good, and the kids had so much fun playing! I had a nice time swimming for awhile also while Emma wanted to hang out with Tim.

What a good looking group - don't you think. Plus, one more on the way soon.... in 19 days... or hopefully less :-)

Thank goodness for the drugs.

What a beautiful day outside! Actually, most of the days we have been having are beautiful. Great temps, nice and cool in the evening and lots of sun for doing stuff outside. Our family picnic has been postponed until tomorrow so Dad can join us as he is in the middle of haying right now. Tomorrow at the Park Reserve should be a lot of fun - playing in sand, splashing in water, and grilling cheddar brats! YUM!

However, along with the late summer/early fall beautiful weather comes my hayfever and it has decided to peak today. Thank goodness for having some allergy pills that finally work. As my family and some friends know, I am a fall allergy sufferer and even after trips to the allergist and 4+ years of allergy shots, I STILL have hayfever. It drives me crazy. Top that with being 9 months pregnant and chasing after a 2 year old, it is the perfect combination for some crabby days! When I was younger I remember taking pill after pill and hoping something would work. Maybe those shots paid off a little bit as I can now take Zyrtec (which is pregnancy approved) along with my nose spray and have relief.

This past week has been pretty good. Work, as I have mentioned before, has been slowing down for me. AND - we have hired my friend Natalie from my Land O' Lakes days to do a job share with me. That will help immensely when I return after maternity leave! so that is fabulous.

On Thursday Emma had a GREAT day as she got to meet her idol - Dora the Explorer. We went to the Mall of America and she did so well all day, it was so nice! She sat in her stoller well and didn't complain about wanting to get up. She was patient when waiting in line for Dora and sat and ate her pizza and breadstick very well in the food court; I was very proud of her. While we were waiting for Dora, we did some shopping. We bought her a Dora poster for her bedroom and some new Princess sunglasses. She was disappointed she couldn't go on any of the big rides at the MOA as she didn't have a chaperone (they do not allow pregnant woman to go on them). But, she settled for the little grocery store carousels that sit like 3 people and go around for about 30 seconds. She did that twice and seemed pretty content. (Notice she had to wear her pretty Dora dress for the big day.)

Finally, the time came to meet Dora. We were second in line for the "meet & greet" and Emma could barely contain herself waiting. "Mama - where Dora?" "Mommy - when will Dora come?" "Mama - how many more minutes?" Finally, she arrived, but without Boots which I think Emma was a bit disappointed about. But, I pointed out, that who would be stopping Swiper in Dora's absence if Boots came along? That seemed to make some sense to the little one. She was a bit tentative at first, but did walk up to her right away and gave her a hug. Here are a few more pics from the big event.



I am so glad that Emma and I did this. She still talks about meeting Dora and had to stay there and watch Dora for about 15 minutes after our turn was up. I really think she was just in awe of her. After that, she went back to the gift store and I let her pick out a toy for being such a good girl. She picked out little Mermaid Dora and Boots Beanie Babies. I brought along some of her birthday money for the occasion and she loves playing with those two. It was a very good trip.

Last night my family had a memorial service for my Uncle Warren who passed away last Monday. He fought a 6 year battle with cancer and died the way he wanted too- at home with friends and family around him. The memorial service was very nice, very low key like he would have wanted and really was a celebration of his life. It was so nice to hear stories about him (and my Mom!) that I have never heard and see some of my Mom's friends and people she grew up with. Of course whenever someone passes, you feel the guilt of "Why didn't I do more? Why didn't I call and visit more?" and those why questions that don't really get answered. I know they are pointless, but really hope to not take people for granted and my days for granted as one really does not know how long they have upon this earth. I am so thankful that I knew him and that he is in a better place. It was a long battle and I know that it was tiring and draining for everyone involved and his passing was a blessing. But still, it is very sad and always in the back of my mind.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday also. Baby is still doing good, but not showing any signs of coming early or anything. Which, as much as I would love, is okay with me. Yes, I have been more cranky lately. Yes, I have been more tired and concerned about the tiny bit of swelling I am seeing, However, I know that the longer he stays in there the better - so I am fine with him taking his time. Fern did say that she could try to move things along at my next visit if I wanted, however, both Tim and I agreed with Emma and with this one that we will let nature take its course. If I am overdue, that is different, but for right now, he can take 3 more weeks to greet us and meet the family.

Today we are just hanging around the house, doing errands, and stuff like that. Kristen is taking some pregnancy pictures this afternoon - hopefully we will get some cute ones with Emma, but we will see if she cooperates. I plan on finishing the baby's quilt after I get done with this posting, and walking on the treadmill. I am going to make a good attempt at walking on the treadmill every night/day until junior comes. Tim, Em, and I have been good at walking outside, but now, it is a bit warm. So, I will do it in the comfort of my own home with the TV on and in better temps.

I think that is all for now. Everyone enjoy your weekend!

Fun in the sun

Thank goodness tomorrow is Wednesday - or - my Friday! My last day of work for the week. Work has been really good actually. Very quiet - which is nice. It helps that we hired someone to help out while I am on maternity leave, as right now I don't have a lot to do. I LOVE IT! A nice way to calm down and de-stress before the new one arrives.

This past weekend was fabulous. Tim, Emma, and I went to the cabin to enjoy the last weekend there before the end of summer and before the new baby arrives. The next few weekends we will be staying closer to home - just in case! What is the baby count down too - like 26 days? Crazy!

We really just relaxed the whole time. Emma played really well in the water, went for jet-ski rides and even started driving the jet-ski. Scary I know.... I usually let her put her hands on the handlebars, but this past weekend, she decided she had graduated to driving it. I always go pretty slow with her on it, but this past weekend her thumb would slowly sneak on the throttle and off we went! Granted, I don't know if she actually knew what she was doing, but it was pretty funny. She loves steering the jet-ski also and loves looking for the "Big Waves!" She will turn the jet-ski one way, then the other way to find the waves and then laugh if we get splashed.

She also got a lot more involved with swimming, which I loved! I decided in 16 years her and I will do a triathlon! She started out the weekend by being on her little kick board and going back and forth from me to the beach. Then, I showed her how I swim and she wanted to try. I give her an A for effort, but I know that she is a bit too little for swimming. Then, I showed her how I plug my nose and dunk my head under the water, which she thought was hilarious! She said she wanted to try, and would plug her nose, count to three and then jump - but not go under water. I did have her under the water once, which I can't say she overly enjoyed, but she didn't cry either.

The weather was fabulous, we ate very well (which is why we call the cabin the fat house) and contemplated calling in sick to work on Monday :-) Although both Tim and I knew we couldn't do that either.

The one thing I thought was funny was when Tim told me about Emma in the bathtub Sunday night. She was teaching her water Cabbage Patch Kid doll Armani (or Ani was we call her) how to swim. She would stand her up and say "Okay Ani, plug nose. Now 1 -2 - 3!" and then dunk her under the water. So, obviously she got a lot out of our lessons!

It is so much fun, they are such big sponges right now! It is fun to teach them something new.

The levels we go....

I just scared my daughter into taking a nap in her big girl bed. Okay, maybe scared is a harsh word, but she did her little song & dance before nap. Which, is unusual, because she normally goes down for her nap with no problem. ANYWAY, she was at the top of the stairs, just laying there and not wanting a nap. So I go up there, ask her to go to her bed and she says no. So, fine, nap at the top of the stairs. Then a few minutes later I hear her go to her room and I am curious as to what she is doing. Well, when I check on her again, she is now covered up with her princess blanket. Enough is enough I think and tell her that she needs to go into her room so if I start vacuuming it won't scare her. (She HATES it when I vacuum.) She looks at me alarmed - "you are going to vacuum Mama?" "I might and if I do, it would be better if you were in your room. I know you don't like it when I vacuum." She promptly goes to her room, lays down and covers up. She asks me one more time about my intentions about vacuuming and I say, "Well, as long as you are in your room, you won't hear the vacuum and will stay asleep." Then rolls over and sucks her thumb. Now, mind you, I have no intentions of vacuuming. I actually intend on reading my book "The Jane Austen Book Club" and napping myself. I am so exhausted right now that I feel I could fall asleep typing. So, I will take a nap, then bake a cake. I should clean, but just am not up for it today. So there - the levels we go to get our little ones to sleep in their beds. Am I ashamed? No, not really. I COULD have vacuumed, but she doesn't need to know that!

I had my doctors appointment today and baby Heuer is doing great. Everything is progressing as it should and my body is starting to show a few signs that it is getting ready to go. Not yet - not in a few days, just where it should be for a woman who is now 36 weeks pregnant! So, that is good. We are heading up to the cabin tonight for the last time before Junior makes his appearance and I am really looking forward to that. I am bringing a book my digital scrapbooking stuff, and some yummy food - like cake! I figure Tim owes me a lot of watching Emma time, so I am hoping to get some scrapbook pages down this weekend. But, I rarely do when I am there - I just spend the time outside.

On a sidenote - one of my friends told me they are calling ole' #4 from the Packers "Jet Favre" I think that is kind of funny, sad but funny. Tim thinks this whole soap opera is hilarious and laughs when I cringe at seeing Brett Favre at the press conference with the Jets. Once again, it just doesn't seem real.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pictures

FIRST - how about this whole Brett Favre thing? Brett as Jet? I don't think so. I don't like it one bit. Not that I was all that happy with his change of mind. Don't get me wrong, I think he is a fabulous player, but I think this whole retirement then not retirement thing is smearing his name. It will be hard to watch the Packers this year without him - especially with Aaron Rogers. Don't know how I feel about that guy yet.... anyway, I should move on to a happier topic.

PICTURES!

Here is Emma dancing around in her silk pajama's from China. Tim said they toured a silk factory in Shanghai and couldn't resist these for Emma. They are a bit big - but very nice and cute I think. She likes them. Although, we have them safely up now until they fit a little better.

Emma and happy Daddy. Both were very happy to see each other and I think Emma is still a bit worried that he is going away again. She will keep checking in with me about Daddy's whereabouts. I told her we were going to the cabin this weekend and she said, "Daddy come with?" and her asking if Daddy is at work, what Daddy doing, etc. She always has to make sure she knows where he is.

Emma and Kyra riding the Dizzy Dinosaur ride at the fair. She did really well on all the rides. I think she went on about 5 total. But she will tell you that the Ferris Wheel was her favorite.

The merry-go-round. I sat and ate ice cream with Kaylee while Kristen took Emma on the merry-go-round. That ride went on for quite a while, but they all seemed to enjoy it.

And finally....
Miss Stubborn
We were walking around the yard the other day and told Emma it was either time to go in for a bath or go for a quick lawnmower ride. Well, she didn't think so. She wanted to Ping (or Swing, as most people call it). We said, no and repeated the options again and she once again insisted on Pinging. So, Tim and I headed towards the house and were hoping she would follow. A minute or so later when she didn't follow, we turned around and looked back and couldn't find her. But, when we looked at the swing we saw this... She was sitting there, sucking her thumb, and waiting for someone to push her. She probably sat there for about 10 minutes - sometimes calling for me or Tim, but basically just waiting for someone to come. I went in the house and Tim got the lawnmower and eventually pushed her. Yup, he caved.

That's all.

Miscellaneous stuff

(First, let me apologize, I tried to upload pictures, but keep getting an error. So -I guess I will post pictures later)

It was so nice to have a night back to normal. Tim came home after work, we made supper, him and Em went to the garden and I did dishes - back to normal. I love it. Although, the start of the day didn't go so well. I AGAIN did not sleep. Which, Kristen told me that when she was pregnant with Kaylee, she had some insomnia. Man, I hope that is not me. So, I looked up insomnia and pregnancy and discover that 78% of woman suffer some insomnia during pregnancy. So, before bed tonight, I will take a nice hot shower, finish my book club book (Swimming to Antarctica)and wind down. Hopefully that helps.

Emma had a rough morning at daycare again! Apparently, she didn't want Tim to go and was a pretty sad and unhappy camper for Theresa for about an hour after he left. She did have fun eventually, but that was after she refused to eat breakfast, didn't want to watch Cinderella, and was just being sad all over. No good. I guess it will take her a few days to get used to things again. This is making me feel really good that Tim and I decided to continue Emma in daycare when I am on maternity leave. She really needs her schedule and I think it would be hard on everyone if she was off of it for 12 weeks. Hopefully she is better soon.

So, like I mentioned yesterday, Tim is back home! He had some fun stories to share and some fun gifts! Emma made out like a bandit. She got a little tea set, some silk pajama's, Princess stickers for her room, a purse, hair clips, and the thing she was very excited about?? Microwave popcorn. We sent some with Tim in his care package and he didn't eat it. She found it in his bag and was so excited about the popcorn! "Daddy brought popcorn! Yummy popcorn!" He got me a very pretty long strand of pearls, pearl earrings, a purse, some cute bracelets, and a little note pad. He did a pretty good job - I was impressed.

Emma loved going to the airport to pick him up. Unfortunately with all the increased security, we could not go in the airport - just the baggage area. But, we stopped at a spot right by the airport so she could see planes take off - she liked that a lot!

On Saturday we went to the Washington County Fair with the neighbors. They were very kind to take Emma on the rides as I couldn't because of the pregnancy. Or, as Emma says about everything now, "Mama can't because she too big!" Gee... thanks Emma... like I need a reminder from a 2 year old. She was been pretty funny lately. Her expressions and her language have really expanded lately (for good and bad) and Tim mentioned how much better she is talking. Better in some instances, not in others. I forget that she is constanly listening, even when I don't think she is. For instance, the other day I am sitting at a stop light behind someone, minding my business and probably humming along to a song. What does Emma say? "Go Guy! Why you not going? Go Guy!" So apparently, I was mad at some point with a guy in front of me who was not going fast enough through a light. And of course, Emma had to pick up on it. Tonight, Kristen dropped off some carseats for her girls as Emma and I are picking them up from daycare this week. The girls were in the wagon ready to go back home when Emma looks sad and says, "Hey - I have no friends to play with now." She got really upset this past week when 2 deer were in our garden eating the green beans. I was yelling out the window trying to scare them away and I hear her yell (while she is sitting on the potty) "Mama - what happening?" Then all of a sudden, she is running into my bedroom, bare buns at all to see what is going on. Then, she starts yelling out the window too. "Go deer - no eat Daddy's garden. Go Bambi - those Daddy's! Run deer - NO!" She yelled for about 3 minutes as the deer stared at us and cocked their heads to figure out what was going on. The list goes on and on. It is fun to watch her develop, but then not so fun as she insists on other things that can't happen at the moment, like getting a piece of gum, having a certain snack, or something like that. Sometimes, she will just not let it go. I do not give in, because I know that will only make it worse, but still, it is hard.

That's it for now - I need to start my winding down. Here's wishing that I sleep better tonight. Hopefully pictures soon! Stupid blogger - maybe these are the problems that led people to switch to a different site.

Finally- back to normal

Yeah - my husband is home! Emma is basically jumping off the walls because her Daddy is home. His flight and travels were good and from the moment she saw him, she hasn't wanted him out of her sights. Even when she was sitting in the stroller and he was lagging behind with me, she kept asking "Hey - where my Daddy go?" So yes, she and I are very happy.

I have a bunch of pictures to post and more stories from our weekend, but I am exhausted. I have a cold and have not been getting much sleep.

Any way, I have to go. More tomorrow

A hard week

4 more days until my husband comes home and man, I cannot wait. It has been a long 6 days - hopefully the next four will go faster. Emma has had a hard time, I guess I didn't really think it would affect her this much, but I think it is. In the mornings the past two days, she seems happy and excited to go to Theresa's. But then, halfway there she starts crying and saying "Turn Round Mama! No Tesa's - go home!" What a way to make a Mom feel guilty. I question my decision to work part-time as it is and with that, it just makes it worse. She does fine when Tim drops her off, I just think she is confused and missing him and possibly thinking that if I leave, maybe I won't come back too? Not sure - maybe I am reading too much into it, but let's put it this way, the past two mornings have NOT been fun and have left 2 people in tears. I am glad I am home with her the next four, because I couldn't take another one. I seriously thought about calling in both days. However, I called Theresa's while at work and she is fine. Tuesday she refused to take off her shoes - not sure what comfort strategy that was for - but she would not take off her shoes for anything! That reminded me of when she first started daycare and refused to take off her coat for the first 2 to 3 weeks. At least she has come along way since then.

For the most part, other than the mornings, Emma has been great. She keeps asking where Tim is and when he is coming home and get's really excited when my cell phone rings now or I get the buzz meaning a text message came in, just in case it is Tim. She told Kristen the whole way to the store tonight that Daddy is "Para Para away" and "At school in CHINA." Big emphasis on the CHINA! The next days should be pretty busy, so before you know it, we will be at the airport bringing him home.

We have been emailing and texting briefly and he has called twice. It sounds as though things are good. The encouraging thing is that he has mentioned a few times that he has been shopping! Yeah me! I think he repeats in every message that it is hot and humid there. Yeah buddy - here too and try being pregnant besides!! :-)

Emma accomplished something new yesterday - pedaling her bike! I was so excited! She wanted her Big Bike as she calls it and starting pedaling! What a big girl!
I honestly couldn't believe it. Normally in the past, I always had to push her or she would push it herself, but never pedal. So, that is our big news this week.

She also discovered a comfortable new chair for reading. Although, I was not all that convinced it would work. She kept pushing those paper towels and readjusting until they were just perfect. Finally, she settled in to read. Which, she has been reading so many books lately. She almost prefers that to playing sometimes. I think it is great - except when she wants to read the same book 4 times in a row. That, I cannot take. I buy her books all the time... garage sales, book sales, ebay sometimes, and why she wants to read a science book (which is way above her head at the moment) I have no idea. I have started making up new Dora stories where Emma is in the adventure with Dora and Boots and she really likes that. Those are usually reserved for when she is on the potty. No accidents - 4 days and counting! This weekend will be interesting when we are away from the house. I am a bit nervous about that. Do I put on a pull-up over her undies just in case? Not sure how to tackle that one.

Tonight, the little one was NOT wanting to go to bed. I lay her down, she gets back up (so, yes, she is in her big girl bed). I lay her down, she gets back up AND climbs into my bed, find her movie player and is attempting to watch the movie when I bust her. So, I lay her down and tell her the next time she gets out of bed she is going in her crib. Yes, we still have the crib up. It is in her room and Tim thought we should keep it up while he is gone for situations again. I go downstairs to wash dishes and she sneaks up behind me and laughs. So, I put her in her crib. "MAMA! NO MAMA! BIG GIRL BED - NO CRIB!" Over and over for 5 minutes. I go in there and lay her in her bed AGAIN and she rolls over and haven't heard a peep from her since. I know, I probably should have left her in the crib, but it is on the lowest setting and she can almost climb out, so I am a bit nervous about that.

Baby #2 is good - 5.5 weeks to go. He is hiccuping now - AGAIN :-) Fern said that will mean he is a good eater. She said that babies that are hiccuping a lot in utero are either sucking on their thumb or on their lower lip and that is a good sign for nursing. I have never heard that one before, but we will see if it is true. I kind of wish I had an appointment this week. It really doesn't matter, but I wish I would see if my body has started getting ready for the baby at all.

Well, I should probably get to bed. Who knows how early the little one will be up. She was up and in my bed around 2am and slept until 6am. I woke up to "Mama - Get up! It is daytime!" I am hoping that does not happen tonight.

The start of another week

I know - real catchy title, eh? I tried to be creative and well, nothing was coming to me. Emma was up at 5 am AGAIN this morning, so I am still suffering from not enough sleep. I am begining to think, especially with a new one on the way, that I may never catch up.

Tim is gone. His flight left on Friday at 8am and he has arrived safely in Shanghai. We have been sharing text messages and have had one phone call and all is good. He said Shanghai is really hot, really humid and dirty. They have done a day of sight-seeing and are now starting out on their project. I know the week will go by fast, but I miss him a lot. Emma too, she keeps making small comments about where Daddy is and will look up if she sees a car goes by and then says "no, not Daddy." At least my family has been good about keeping me entertained! I am thinking that Tim had a talking with them as I went over to Kristen's all day on Friday and was at the cabin with Mom & Dad this weekend. That was nice. Our house is too quiet when a member of the family is gone.

I just had my 34 week appointment with the midwife, Fern. Everything is going well with the little one. He is measuring the way he should be, the heart rate is starting to drop, he is in the right position - now we just have a few more weeks for the little guy to gain some fat on his skinny little body and he will be here! The books say he is about 4.75 - 5.5 pounds and about 17 inches long. Since everything is looking and I am doing good, I won't go in until my 36th week and then will go every week after that. I am looking forward to the 36th appointment as that is when they will check to see if my body is starting to progress at all. I remember with Emma at the 35th appointment, I was already 2 centimeters dilated and about 75% effaced. That really freaked me out. She still waiting about 4 weeks to make her appearance though!

I guess I should probably get ready for bed. The one nice thing about Tim being gone is that I have to bring Emma to daycare, which means instead of getting up at 5:15, I can get up around 6:15! YEAH! Sleeping in!! If Emma let's me...

Have a great week everyone!

With good intentions...

First, let me start this blog post with some happy news. Emma is back home with us and Tim and I are very happy to have her back. Now, for some crabbiness....

Emma and I are putting together a care package filled with snackes, homemade cookies, and a photo album for Tim to take to China with him. So, it is naptime, and I am trying to print out some pictures to put in the album. The color cartridge is getting low, so I put in a new one that was bought a few months back. I can't install the damn thing. It won't let me. I check again, yup, this cartridge should fit as our printer model is listed under the "for use in" section of the packaging. It still won't let me install it. I keep getting an error that the left cartridge is not intended for this printer model. After about 20 minutes of pushing, a lot of cursing, trying to print, etc (although, I did have a lovely phone conversation with my sister Kim) I decide to call the HP support desk. They have one of those annoying voice menus so for 5 minutes I scream into the phone "HELP" "PRINTER" (I am sorry - did you say computer? "NO! PRINTER!" and finally getting to where I thought I needed to be, I get an automated response "I am sorry, our phone tech support no longer supports that printer type, please search online." By this point I am so *#%##** off that I hang up the phone and swear to never print photos again. Seriously - if the printer cartridge wasn't for my deskjet - why does it say that it is? Now, I am stuck with 2 color printer cartridges that everyone knows are NOT cheap, I don't have the receipt as I bought them months ago, and they are useless. UGH. All I wanted to do was make Tim an album. Luckily I have some older pictures printed out, but I was hoping to do some digital scrapbooking with some also.

Maybe after reading Lori's blog I am understanding some of the small daily frustrations that people have to deal with. Lori - I totally agree with yours. I like some dogs, but that does not mean I want dogs licking me OR my daughter because you think your dog is adorable. GRRRR...

I've been tagged....

What was I doing 10 years ago??
---Getting ready to be a freshman at the good ole' University of St. Thomas. I was working at Black's Valley Ag in Durand and partying it up with And-And, Gee, The P, and a whole bunch of others.

Five things on Today's To-Do-List:
1)Call my parents to see how my little girl is doing without me (which, she is doing very well)
2)Train my replacement at work for the time I am on maternity leave and try to keep my sanity at work.
3) Work ahead and plan for all my plants so I don't have to bring work home this week (hopefully I can get this done tomorrow!)
4)Go out to eat with my husband and spend some quality time with him
5) Be in bed early - again.

A snack I enjoy?
--POPCORN! Love it - eat it all the time.

Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
--Pay off school loans and other debt
--Buy Emma more Little People Toys
--Buy a triathlon bike (because I have a goal of doing a triathlon again next summer)
--Donate some to St. Jude's Children's hospital or the March of Dimes
--Buy Baby Heuer some trucks or other toys that boys play with
--Plan a fun trip for next year
--Build a green house or sun porch or something fun like that
--Buy Tim a submarine - because in his mind, why wouldn't a person want a submarine?

Places I have lived:
Durand, WI (born & raised)
St. Paul, MN (went to college there!)
Bozeman, MT (followed a man out there for a summer)
Highland Park, MN (my cute little efficiency after college)
West Lakeland, MN (my home now)

I tag:

Molly -

The quiet

It is amazing how quiet the house is when you are used to a toddler running around who is constantly talking or singing. So, obviously, Emma is at Mom and Dad's and she woke up from her nap happy and a total 100% change from when she laid down. I was so thankful for that. It made this whole thing go so much easier. In fact, Emma was so excited to go to Nana & Papa's that she had to wake up Papa from his catnap to tell him she was ready to go. She finally did say when she was eating lunch that her mouth hurt, so once again, I am assuming that it is just teething. Which was a relief.

The next few (quiet) days will be spent working and "nesting". I feel like I am going through a bit of a nesting period as I decided I needed to categorize all of my recipes by meal and put them in a 3 ring binder in sheet protectors. I know - I am a dork. Plus, there is more baby stuff to get ready, Emma's big girl room to organize and so much to do in 7 weeks. It is nice to have some time without a little one following you and messing up everything that I had just done. Tim and I are going out to eat one night this week -so that will be very nice...

Other than that, I am feeling better. I am just happy that she is feeling better- hopefully Em does not give Mom & Dad any trouble. And with that - I am going to work with my recipes and enjoy the quiet.

An emotional basketcase.

For the past two days, I have been going on a total of 10 hours of sleep. 6 hours on Friday night and 4 hours last night. For a 8.5 month pregnant woman who will be without her two most loved ones for a few days the upcoming weeks, that is nearly not enough. Emma either has a strange illness or is poking some teeth because she has been super, super crabby. We give her baby tylenol and she feels better, but the nights have been horrible. She slept with us last night and around midnight, I would have swore that she was dying of some incurable disease because she was acting possessed. She was crying uncontrollably (which made me cry uncontrollably) and was just rolling around on our bed - for like 15 minutes. It was a scary 15 minutes. Now remember, I am going on very little sleep and my pregnancy hormones are sky-high, so I know I am making it out to be more than what it was, but Tim and I both agreed she was going to Urgent Care today. Then, she woke up around 5:30 and was still somewhat cranky but not bad, so I don't know. We gave her more tylenol and she is feeling better. We ask her what is wrong - where her owie is and she said she doesn't have an owie. So, I don't know. Top the whole mystery illness/teething thing with the fact that Mom and Dad are taking her with them until Wednesday and I have been crying on & off all morning. What a great Sunday. I think if she were feeling better, I would be feeling better. If we both had more sleep, we would be feeling better. Ahhhh - the joy of little ones. After seeing my emotional breakdowns, Mom said she could stay up here with Emma, but I know it is best if she goes down there. They have been looking forward to it and then Tim and I have some time on her own since he leaves for China on Friday. Which, I am sure will bring on another emotional breakdown. Ah - hormones, gotta love them. So, I am feeling pretty down & out today. At least it is a beautiful day and Emma has been napping for about 2.5 hours already, so hopefully she wakes up feeling better.

Other than this little trauma for me - things are going pretty well. Emma has been sleeping in her big girl bed the past 3 nights (minus last night) although she realizes the freedom that she holds with that as she is CONSTANTLY getting up to "go potty" "go to Mama's bed" "get sippy" "get baby Norris" (her doll) or something. Finally Tim put her in her crib last night because she kept getting up. I guess we got what we wished for - she wants her big girl now, but can't handle the freedom:-) The potty is going well too. She usually tells us when she needs to go and has only had a few accidents. That makes me very happy too! Although, I am starting to see some sibbling jealousy. I am in the process of washing baby's clothes and putting them away and Emma swears that they are her clothes - NOT HER BABY BROTHERS! (which she says with emphasis!) She has tried to put them on, but they are way too tiny!

Okay, I can hear the little one stirring now. Wish me luck! Hopefully she is doing better and I make it through this day with little crying going forward. No one said it is easy being a Mom.

Oh Yeah - I forgot

There is a GREAT picture of our book club on Sarah P's blog (see link to left). We went to Dixie's last night and decided it was finally time for a picture. We have been meeting for almost a year and it has been great. I look forward to many more years!

The Grand Slam

It has been a GREAT night. Emma has been wearing big girl undies the past two days and hasn't had a lot of accidents AND - she is sleeping in her big girl bed. I cannot believe it! Tonight when it was time to go to bed, she requested her big girl bed, but wanted the door open. That is fine I thought, whatever, just so she stays in that bed. Well, I came downstairs to purchase our next Book Club Book (Swimming to Antarctica) when I hear - "I go potty Mama!" So - I got upstairs and sure enough, the monkey is on her step stool, turning on the light in the bathroom. So, fine, I think to myself - so I help her with her pull up. She actually does go, so I am very excited and I put her in bed. Well, she tried to do that the next 10 minutes. I would lay her down, she yells down 5 minutes later that she had to go potty and then I go upstairs to see her in the bathroom. Very frustrating! No wonder she wants to sleep in her big girl bed! She is finally figuring it out! Finally Tim comes in from mowing the lawn and she settles down for him. She is still in her bed and asleep. Are the tides turning? Have we hit the jackpot? I don't know - it is too soon to tell!

Em and I had a nice relaxing day. We went to some "sales" as she calls them - garage sales. There was one that was only a few houses down, so we went to check it out. I got Em a few clothes, books, and Emma got a nice treat there. The two little girls of the house (who were about 5 and 3) were selling Rice Krispie Bars and Lemonade at a little stand - so I treated Emma to one of each. She thought that was pretty cool. It is actually getting to where Emma enjoys going to sales, which makes it easier on me when I want to stop. Although, she has a pretty good track record of getting something there!

She napped for 3.5 hours which was a blessing! I cleaned, rested a bit, and got out the little boy clothes. It was so fun looking at all the gifts I have received and the clothes I have bought for this little man. It was a nice bonding experience too, because most of my day is spent chasing the big sister and not much time is spent thinking about Baby Heuer. So, this proved to be a nice quiet time dreaming about what he will look like and become.

Emma continues to make us laugh, roll our eyes, and get extremely frustrated! Some of her new expressions? "Oh My Gosh!" "No Mama - that not right!" and countless others. It has been fun lately reading her stories and changing names or singing songs wrong - she will look at me, shake her head emphatically, and say "No Mama! That not right" and then laugh and laugh. She is getting better at saying please, but is becoming more stubborn about the smallest things. Eating supper in my spot and not her booster, needing ice in her water, or even eating with a spoon and not a fork. I know that being 2 means exploring and testing out the parents, but sometimes I am so exhausted it just gets hard.

I felt a little better this afternoon while watching Jon & Kate Plus 8. Kate was potty-training her boys and she made them sit on the potty until they went. One of the little guys was sitting on the potty for about a half -an-hour. At least I have not resorted to that!

signs of a great day

1) The little one is asleep (although NOT in her big girl bed)
2) I (after this post) will be putting away some ADORABLE little boys items I received from my book club members this evening
3) My feet have stopped hurting and my belly is not itching
4) I will be making it to bed by 10:30
5) My loving husband gave me a nice kiss, had a nice evening with Emma and will hopefully be giving me a foot massage tonight (notice how I KEEP mentioning that? Yeah, it still hasn't happened)

Today was a whirlwind of a day, but a great day. I was lucky to have the day home as we do not have daycare this week and next. I met an old co-worker and her daughter Mandy (who is two weeks older than Emma) at Como today. It turned out to be a great day for it. We spoke around 8ish this morning about cancelling, due to the pending storms, but decided not to at the last minute. That is a great thing as the meteoroligists were wrong again and we had not rain. Emma had a great time in their butterfly exhibit and looking at the animals. However, the most fun was had at Como Town riding in the little cars and choo-choo train. Today was the first time she has ridden a carnival ride and LOVED it. She was steering those little cars and trying to honk the horn and really getting into it. Natalie took some cute pictures of us at Como which I was hoping to post, but unfortunately could not save, so I cannot share them.

After Como, we drove to see Tim at work for a bit. Since she didn't eat any of her picnic lunch at Como, we got her a corn dog, which proved to be just the thing she needed. Unfortunately the little monkey didn't get much of a nap, so she was pretty cranky the rest of the day. BUT - the good thing is that I didn't have to endure a whole night of it because I met my book club at Dixie's tonight. Yummy food, great company, and a nice surprise. They had bought baby boy Heuer some clothes, a cute little book, and a big box of diapers! The funny thing is that I was just wanting to go to Target to buy some newborn diapers as they are so cute and small compared to what I am used to now. We discussed the book a little bit too :-) "The Devil in the White City" is a fabulous book and I recommend it highly to anyone!

Otherwise, everything else is going well. Today was my first real uncomfortable day being pregnant. I am sure a lot of it had to do with walking around Como in the hot sun and high humidity, but it was worth it. Emma is good, not wanting her bed and we are working on the potty training pretty hard this week. We will see how that goes.

With that, I need to go to bed. It has been a long day.

The saga continues...

I get Emma home from Nana & Papa's today (we had a great time, but the way!) and talk up her big girl bed. How exciting it is to have a big bed, how we will put all of her stuffed animals in there and keep a night-light on, etc just to get her used to the idea. She sounds pretty excited, so we do the nightly routine, PJ's, 3 stories, and juice or milk. I bring her upstairs, lay her in bed and she starts whimpering that she wants her crib. I figure, I am tired, I could lay with her for 5 minutes, so I do that. We sing songs, read another story and lay there. I get up, close the door and she is fine. I put up the baby gate at the top of the stairs so she can't come down and I get ready to work on strawberries (Mom picked me a whole bunch at a local farm- YEAH!) Then I hear the door open and she is looking down the stairs, "Mama!" "Mama! Come get me!" "Mama - I awake!" "MAMA! Each word getting more hysterical and upset. I ignore it for about 5 minutes and by now she is all out crying. So - I go upstairs, lay her in her big girl bed (all the while she is crying and yelling) turn around and leave. I don't say anything, I just leave. By this time she is beside herself and promptly crawls out of bed - but not before I make it downstairs. She stands at the top of the gate again crying and yelling "I want my crib... I want my crib" after a few minutes, crying subsides and I peek upstairs and don't see anything. I walk up a few and the hallway is empty. I look in her room and she is not in her big girl bed. So, I look a bit more and notice she is in her crib. She moved her little step stool to her crib, crawled in, and covered herself up. I am shaking my head and about to turn around and head downstairs when I hear "Ni-Night Mama. I want my crib." And I tell her, Yup - until we take it down.

Little stinker....

A new week - a better outlook

Isn't it nice to get a fresh start? The weekend (especially a LONG holiday weekend) is such a nice way to relax, recooperate and get ready for the following week. This week has been great. Work hasn't been too hectic, Emma has been good, Tim hasn't been too annoying (haha) and we had a great holiday at the cabin.

We arrived Thursday night (yes, in time for me to watch Swingtown there) and did some fishing, playing, and just relaxing. Friday my parents, and Kristen with family came up. Emma was so excited to see Kyra and Kaylee and have little ones to play with. it was also nice for her to have someone other than me to play with. Sometimes, I need a break from playing Little People, Pinrella (Cinderella), and building Pinrella's castle. We celebrated the 4th with yummy barbecue ribs, sweetcorn, and smores! The little girls had fun with sparklers and watching Uncle Craig's fire work show. Emma took a late nap - which was also about 3 hours- so we decided she could stay up and watch the firework show from the resort across the lake. She was getting pretty squirmy by 9:30, but did hold out for the show, which was very nice. Here is a somewhat fuzzy picture of the sparklers. Plus, you can kind of see her new haircut.

Saturday was more of the same. It was a beautiful weekend up there, so we were outside as much as we could be. Emma enjoyed the jetski, as did her cousins, and splashing with her friends. Eric & Gaeb also were up for part of the weekend and showed Emma what waterskiing was all about. I bet in the next few years, Emma will be up water skiing. It was fun to watch her progress from needing to be in her whale floaty (which she sat in and kicked) to her wanting a ring floaty and then on Sunday her playing with her knee board. She would lay on the knee board and kick between people and even ventured out to where she was chest deep in the water. She isn't afraid of water, which is great. I really want to get her in swimming lessons this next year to get her more comfortable.

Overall, everyone had fun. This weekend we are up again with more family, more food, and hopefully great weather!

now on to stubborn Emma.... sigh...

On a previous post, I had pictures of Emma's new room and her big girl bed, etc. Well, for that first week, she was so excited about her room and loved sleeping in her bed. That lasted for a short while, now she doesn't want anything to do with her new bed. She still likes her room, but refuses to sleep in her bed! We are needing the crib in about 8.5 weeks for baby and wanted to get her out of it so she had time to adjust. I don't know what to do and why she is all of a sudden scared. I feel bad for the little monkey, but don't know what to do. Anyone out there have any suggestions? Theresa (our day care provider) thought maybe we could buy Emma a special toy for her big girl bed to sleep with and "protect" her. I don't know.

Emma has also been refusing diaper changes. I get them done, but with a big struggle with the little one. So, one day she has a messy diaper and refuses to let me change her. So, I figure, fine - sit there with a messy diaper and see how uncomfortable it is. I kept asking about every 5 minutes, Emma - we have to change you. You will get a rash and itch, etc. Still nothing. Finally after this goes on for a half an hour with no change, I go over to her, pick her up and tell her we are going to change her diaper so she doesn't want a rash. She looks at me, kicks and struggles and says "No Mama! I want rash!"

The terrible two's for sure.

Everyone have a great rest of the week!

A sure sign of sleep deprivation

So, Emma was up at 4:30am this morning. I know - what the hell? She had such a busy day yesterday playing, so I was thinking she wouldn't wake up until 7:00am at the earliest - but no chance. 4:30am! I rocked her, layed her down, brought her to my bed and nothing. Finally at 6:30, Tim took her to the living room and got her juice and turned on some cartoons so I could get some sleep (to no avail). This is after her 5:30am announcement, while she was trying to sleep in our bed, "Mama - here booger" which she had on her finger. Yeah, nice....

So, Yes, I am pretty darn tired. The surest sign??? I was in the shower and getting ready to wash my hair. So, I grabbed the shampoo, put some in my hand, and then washed my face. Yup ... Nice.

So - I am done posting for now, I am going to bed, and I will post more later. More Emma stories and pictures. I have been bad with pictures lately.

A better outlook

AHH! 4th of July weekend - yeah! I love the 4th of July, have always loved it actually, as our family in the past has always had a 4th of July party. They would start around 11am and end around 11pm and would include steak, volleyball, more games, a waterfight, fireworks, hotdog roast and sometimes laying out on a blanket looking at the stars. I loved that. Unfortunately as everyone gets older, it is hard to plan a day when it will work as people live far away, visit other families, etc. But, I have wonderful memories of those. My cousins and I have mentioned before how lucky we are to have the family we have. We have done many fun things together, all get along, and still keep in touch. It is fabulous.

My work week is done, thank goodness. I was able to only work one night this week, which was nice, but it is still stressful. I wish people would realize that I don't wake up in the morning plotting out evil plans for the feed plants. It is not my wish that they run out of an ingredient - but hey, if my inventory system shows you have 10,000# of product and you only have 100# in the plant- whose fault is it really? Sure, blame me, but in reality, fix your freakin inventory!! Okay, that is my rant for the blog. My coworker told our boss yesterday that she cannot handle it for much longer and they have us doing too much. I am not quite at the point yet, as we have had 2 bad weeks in the past 3 months. I am still willing to work hard, wait it out and hope it gets better. It has too. Well, I guess in approximately 9 weeks, I will have 12 weeks off so YEAH ME!

Emma had her first real hair cut today at Cost Cutters! I mentioned it to her and that was about it, but then she kept asking and asking, so I figured, why not? I just got her bangs trimmed and she looks like such a big girl! She did great job and sat very still and was very delighted about the sucker she got afterwards. I hope to get a picture when she wakes up from her nap.

We are heading up to the cabin this weekend and it will be a full house! Tim's kids are coming up, Kristen and family are coming up and my parents will be up also. It is supposed to be a fabulous weekend, so I am really looking forward to it. I am about to make brownies and start packing up some stuff to get ready for when Tim arrives home. We will be leaving around 3ish, which gives Em enough time to play in the lake, get down for bed, so I can watch Swingtown. I know, I know... it is a stupid show, but pretty entertaining I think.

Baby #2 is doing great. The websites average his weight to about 3.5# to 4# and about 15 inches in length. I was surprised to read that there is only 1.5 pints of fluid surrounding the baby. That does not seem like a lot and I know in the next few weeks that will decrease a bit more. He seems to have the hiccups a lot, which is still a weird feeling and loves doing somersaults in there. The midwife has started to talk to me about the birthplan again, although I think everything went extremely well the first time. I hope to do it naturally again, and the jury is still out for the waterbirth, I think I may have the last hour/hours of labor in there for sure, but get out for delivery. I cannot believe this time is approaching so quickly!

Tim has been very good about helping out around the house. The night I had my breakdown, he actually swept the floor for me! I HATE sweeping, for some reason it never gets clean enough and he saw that I was tired, sad, etc and swept. He also has been great with helping out with Emma more and just being in the house more. I am still working on the backrubs and feet massages, but no such luck on those yet. Braxton hicks are here and more cramps. Yeah.... I read about all the changes in the last trimester for the Mom's and remember there is a reason for all the discomfort.... so you will do whatever it takes to get the kid out in the end!

Well, I should run and clean, bake brownies, etc while Em is napping.

Everyone have a fabulous 4th of July! Be safe, eat hotdogs and drink a beer for me!