happy birthday katelyn

today was the day that katelyn, our old neighbor, was celebrating turning 5.

AND ...
since katelyn is ben's "girlfriend" (according to him) ...
AND ...
"the girl that is going to be his wife"



we had to help her celebrate!!

the boys had a blast running around in their big backyard ...
and enjoying all of the fun games that melissa had lined up.

we felt like we should have been paying her for entertaining our children!

thanks for the fun evening lawrences!
we miss having you so close to us!

getting there ...

well... we have sheet rock ..



it's mudded ...

and we have 3/4 a house of siding!!!

PLUS ... tonight we chose our lighting.

so our decisions are officially all made.
now we just have to sit back and wait!!

not that kind of girl

after today i have decided that i am not a very good "football mom"

to start with ... drew had football 4 times this week. (and does for the next 2 weeks)

3 of those 4 times are school nights. we have to leave here around 5-5:30 and don't get home until 8.

in my opinion he is in 2nd grade and that is just excessive!

it is just not necessary.

so today i finally decided to call and talk to the "director".

(of course i didn't tell him who i was ... because i don't want drew to be penalized for my opinions:)

he told me that they need to do all they can to make these kids successful.

well... my question is successful at what?

and at what cost?

we pretty much just agreed to disagree and i got off the phone.

i figured i must be in the minority and i am fine with that.

SO .. fast forward to tonight.

drew had a game at 6.

so at 5 we were in the absolute middle of a thunderstorm.

YET ... we got a call saying we should have the boys at the field in a half hour and the game was still on!!!

(i was rolling my eyes throughout the entire call ...thinking... you have GOT to be kidding me! you want me to rush and get all of these pads on my 7 year old and drive 10 minutes only to be told to go home!??!)

i was still holding out hope that they would call it on the field.

unfortunately ... this same director was in charge.

it was literally raining and lightning ... the ref called this director ... and you guessed it ... THE GAME WAS STILL ON!!

i was SO irritated.

now ... not only do we push our kids to spend a crazy chunk of their week practicing ... we place them out in the middle of a field ... in a thunderstorm. exactly what we typically would tell them NOT to do!

AHHHHH!!!

of course drew still played ... and every one was fine.

but that didn't change the fact that i was EXTREMELY irritated.

i seriously felt like the one and only person that was uncomfortable with those kids out there!

i want drew to be a kid.

i want him to be able to come home from school and chill - at least once in a while.

i don't want him to be pressured into having to practice and perform at a level that is beyond where i think 2nd graders should be.

i realize that every one doesn't think this way.

AND ...

i realize that not every 2nd grade team is run this way.

HOWEVER...

i also realize that we do baseball and soccer and i have never felt this way about either of those.

what it comes down to is this ...

as of tonight ... i realize that ...

a football mom i am definitely not.

puppy love

yes ... ben still LOVES dogs.
and
yes ... ben still REALLY wants a dog.



and that my friends ...

is why we visit my moms.

(well .. not the ONLY reason ... ha ha)

decisions ... decisions

after 2 days ...

and nearly 8 hours at the flooring store ...

we have made all of our house decisions when it comes to ...
carpet ... tile ... granite ... sinks ... mirrors ...wood ... and even grout!



although it seemed overwhelming at first -
the lady helping us really knew what she was talking about.
she slowly walked us through room by room ...
gave us her ideas ...
and then let us go from there ...
i even walked out with great ideas for specific paint colors (with brand, name, and #!)
all of the details are FINALLY coming together!

on a side note ...
the house has been a great distraction for me.
of course the baby is still on my mind 99% of the day.
BUT...
we have house decisions that can't wait...
we have places that we need to go...
and life can't stop...
that's good for me right now.

our house will be done in just over a month!!
we are busy preparing ...
and getting more excited each day!

NOW ...
if we could just find some lights ...

my top 20

well ... since sonya had this great idea to tag me ... i can't let her down ;)
i have done this before though ... and limiting myself to 20 today will probably be tough ..
SO ... go check out my old list ... AND ...

here are my CURRENT top 20 ...

1. going for a starbucks with stacey - grande nonfat 6 pump toffee nut latte with whip
2. my chaco flip flops
3. caramel apples
4. blogging
5. hugs from my boys
6. raspberry lemonade
7. texting/"surfing the web" on my t-mobile shadow :)
8. wolfgang puck express
9. portillo's chocolate cake
10. asics gel-nimbus running shoes
11. the beach club at disney world
12. hip hop music (and dancing to it)
13. short/comfy/cute/not frumpy skirts
14. tivo (fall shows start this week and i am THRILLED!)
15. pottery barn and crate and barrel (i know that' s 2. but i'm limited for space here!)
16. the navigation system in our car
17. super target
18. aveda products
19. mobile phone friendly websites
20. and of course ... last ... but DEFINITELY not least ... all of my family and friends who take such good care of me ... each in their own way!!

now ... i of course think each of you reading this should do this on your own blog ..
but ... since sonya tagged 3 ... i will tag 3 ...
elizabeth, kelly, and mary beth ... get busy!

our secret is out ...

yes ... he has oreo crumbs around his mouth.

yes ... he has a starbucks smoothie in his hand.

you didn't think he just willingly rode around while we got ideas for the house ...

did you?!

a tough day with a sweet ending

this morning was my surgery.

of course it was a hard day ...

one that i wouldn't wish on anyone ...

BUT ...

it feels good to have it over.

although i've had it done 2 other times ...

that didn't make me any less nervous.

thankfully ...

things went perfectly.

the nurses, doctors, and anesthesia team were all EXCELLENT!

in fact ... it only took the IV team one try to get me hooked up.
(when i went in to deliver alex it took 7 !

the nurses each tried and then the anesthesiologist just decided to do it himself)

so getting it on the first try is crazy!

now ... stacey is over wiring the house for our audio system ...

my 3 very tired crazies are sleeping ...

and i am enjoying pineapple dipped in chocolate from edible arrangements.

(a snack that i never knew that i liked - but now LOVE)

YUM!

thanks again to everyone that helped us out with the kids, left comments, sent notes, and called. it means a lot to know that people were thinking about and praying for us.

it's been a crazy few days -

but each day gets a little easier ... we get a little stronger.

and i can't ask for much more than that:)

running in the rain ... and worms

to celebrate turning 30 this weekend ...

stacey ran the chicago half marathon!

although i bailed on him ...

i am SO thankful that elizabeth and tim stuck it out with him!

of all weekends, THIS weekend happened to be what we have declared "the great chicago flood of 2008".

it rained from the moment we got into town friday - until the moment we left today (and i'm sure it is still raining now).

in fact ... it didn't just rain it POURED.

i'm sure each of them would say that they are glad they made it through 3/4 of the race before the cold front and horizontal rain set in.

AND ... bekah (my sister) and i would say the same thing ;)



although at points each of us wished we were running ...
we were the official supporters ;)

AND ...
supporting a race in this weather is not easy.

at one point we were running through a wet, muddy field to meet up with the runners ...
our shoes were sticking to the mud so we took them off and went barefoot.
it was then that we looked down and realized that we were running on a field of worms.
YUCK!

i think i decided i would have rather been running 13 miles :)



way to go guys!
you all did excellent!!
i am proud of you ...
AND ...
practice up because next year ...
i expect YOU to be like the guy who juggled the entire 13.1!

the big 3 0

stacey ... you have finally joined me in your next decade of life!

I love you!
I am excited to have a kidless weekend with you in chicago!

and ... trust me ... being 30 isn't all that bad ;-)