2 Must-haves

I spent today cleaning while Abby was at Mom's Day Out. I have found that there are 2 things that I won't be able to clean without in the future. All women should use these things every time they clean:

1. The magic eraser mop. This thing in AWESOME and I won't ever be cleaning my floors without it again!


2. A tiara. Because every woman should feel like a princess while she is cleaning her castle. And, truth be told....cleaning is much more fun while wearing a tiara for some strange reason. I wore one of Abby's but I think I am going to dig out the one I wore on my wedding day for my next cleaning session!

A Wonderful Weekend

We had an action packed, but very fun weekend. It stared Friday night with a little girl's night out. Sam and I headed down to Destin to see Sex and the City, which was wonderful. The boys watched the kids, bathed them and put them to sleep. While the evening was nothing too extravagant, it was a much needed adult night away from the kiddos. When we got home that night John, Becca and baby Wes arrived for a weekend stay with us all the way from Germany. They will be in the states for 5 weeks while John attends SOS in Montgomery, Alabama.

On Saturday we woke up and had breakfast at the waffle house followed by a few errands. Later in the day we all headed over to the McMenamy's for a surprise BBQ/Pool party for Sam's 30th birthday. I think Sam knew something was up but I don't think she knew the details and I hope we were able to surprise her a bit. We had a wonderful afternoon and evening splashing in the pool, eating, chatting, and playing. Brian did a very good job and everyone had a good time!

Becca, Wes, and John

The Birthday girl. She makes 30 look fabulous!!

Blowing out the candles with a little help from Nolan and Abby.

On Sunday we headed down to Destin for a little beach action. One of Andrew's friends from work has a house right on the beach so we were back and forth all day. Abby had a blast in the water and was a little fish. She was out jumping waves and kept saying "I don't want to go back to shore yet." John, Becca and Wes were able to come with us for a little while but had to head back to Alabama in the early afternoon. We stayed at the beach all day long and had to drag Abby away. On the way home we stopped at Coldstone Creamery for icecream which hit the spot after being in the sun all day long. Right as we got in the car it started to rain, perfect timing. We all slept well last night after our busy, fun-filled weekend!

Out in the waves

The expression says it all.

Its A.....

GIRL!!! Abby is going to have a little sister and we couldn't be happier. I really had no preference as to the sex going into it. I had weighed the pros and cons of both and like the old cliche goes, I just want healthy baby.....boy or girl. I am thrilled that Abby is going to have a sister! I know they will have a special bond and I have already envisioned tea parties, dress up, dance recitals, baby dolls, barbies, secrets, and late night whispers. And, another big plus is the financial aspect. I have saved all of Abby's things and we are pretty much set in the pink department. Of course, I am sure I will still have to do some shopping but we aren't starting at square one.

Abby came with us to the ultarsound today and she was an angel. She was quiet and calm and enjoyed seeing the baby on the screen. I don't know how much of it she really understood, but she was excited when she heard it was a girl. Andrew asked her what we should name her and she said Nonnie. I have no idea where that came from, but it was cute!

All Aboard!!

We took a ride on the Mid-Continent Railway one day while were in Wisconsin. It is a 50 minute, 7 mile round trip train ride through the Baraboo hills. Abby really enjoyed it and she kept calling it the Polar Express. When we got off at the half way point to take pictures and look at the engine Abby was very confused. She wanted to know why we weren't at the North Pole yet! I guess I should have explained all that before we set off on our little journey :)

Abby with the train and the conductor who called "All Aboard" in the background

Looking out the window

Abby insisted on holding her ticket (which was really mine, since she was free) the entire ride. The conductor even came around to punch the tickets just like in the Polar Express, except he didn't punch any words.

Sitting on the steps on the train

Walking on the balance beam, I mean train tracks.

Ohhhhh, We're Half Way There

Ohhhhh, Ohhhhh, we're livin on a prayer.   

Ok, just be happy you are reading those lyrics rather than listening to me sing them because I have had that song stuck in my head all day long and you don't ever want to hear me sing.  I think it has something to do with being 20 weeks pregnant and being 1/2 way done.  It is a bit surreal, I don't feel like I have been pregnant for that long.  And, on the other hand, I feel like I have been pregnant forever. It seems like it was months ago that I was laying on the couch unable to move, let alone eat from the nausea.  Now, I am still dealing with bouts of nausea every once in a while but I have gotten my appetite back as well as my sweet tooth.  The heat and humidity have kicked in full force here in the redneck riviera, and I can tell that I am going to be pretty uncomfortable this summer.  I guess I will have to stay in the air conditioning or close to water (i.e- the beach or a pool) at all times!  The baby has been kicking a lot lately and Andrew was finally able to feel it for the first time while we were in Wisconsin.  The kicks are still pretty light on the outside but I can tell the baby is getting stronger and definitely more active.  Seems he/she is a bit ornery as well because he/she will be kicking up a storm and the minute I put my hand on my belly to feel from that vantage point all kicking ceases.  I guess our children really are in control from the very beginning :)  I know I said in a previous post that we were going to find out the sex of that baby at the ultrasound on June 10th, but that won't be the case.  Not because we aren't going to find out the sex.  Come on people, you know me better than that!  It's because we are going to find out earlier....I rescheduled my appointment due to some changes in Andrew's never ending TDY schedule and for once it has worked out to my benefit.  We moved the appointment up to this Thursday.  So, if the baby cooperates I will no longer have to type he/she and we will know whether to supplement the current pink wardrobe or start hitting the blue!!  I will keep you all posted.  (Ha, ha get it my blogging friends?)

PS....check out the poll to the right and tell me what you think!!

Indoor Waterpark

About 15 minutes from Andrew's house there is a tourist trap of a town called Wisconsin Dells. It known as the waterpark capital of the world. They have tons of resorts with both indoor and outdoor waterparks, golf courses, shopping, restaurants and its located along a stretch of the Wisconsin river so it has some pretty amazing scenery as well. Anyway, we took Abby to the Chula Vista Resort's indoor waterpark and she had a BLAST! It was awesome and we spent a good 4 hours there playing in the water. They had an awesome toddler area where the water was only up to Abby's knees and it had fountains, water guns, tipping buckets and water slides. She was a little timid at first and wore a life jacket to make her (and us) feel a little bit more secure. There was also a lazy river that Abby loved going around and just floating and "swimming" in her life jacket. But, after lunch she was unstoppable and wanted nothing to do with the life jacket. She was splashing, kicking, and flying down the water slides solo....she was half fish!! 

A view of part of the indoor water park

The huge hot tub.  I didn't get a picture of the entire thing because there were some people in there to the right and I didn't want them to think I was taking their picture.

Part of the toddler area.  That is Abby and Andrew in background to the right.

Orange toddler water slide.

Blue toddler water slide

Abby and Daddy going down the water slide together at the beginning of the day.

Taking a break for lunch.  I didn't think I would be able to get Abby out of the water but she must have worked up an appetite because she got out of the water without complaint and ate a lot of her hotdog!

Going down the slide after lunch.  Notice she is no longer wearing the life jacket.

Splash!!!

Going all by herself

Weee....that was fun!!

Circus World Museum

We were VERY busy while we were in Wisconsin so this will take several posts each with lots of pictures! I will try to keep them short, but we took so many pictures and you moms know how it is....its so hard to pick just a few.

Anyhow, one of the first days we were in Wisconsin we headed to Circus World Museum. Andrew's hometown, Baraboo, is home to the Ringling Bros. winter headquarters. During the summer months they have performances and you can also go and look at the old circus wagons that have been restored. They have an ancient carousel as well, it doesn't even have seat belts...much to Abby's dismay. Abby was in awe of the performances, especially the dancing elephant and enjoyed her first taste of cotton candy. It is so much fun to share these things with Abby and see the excitement and joy in her eyes. I am sure it was even more special for Andrew since he grew up in Baraboo and spent many a summer days at the Circus World Museum. (I think he may have even dated a performer or 2!)

MMMM...Cotton candy!

That is an awfully big bite :)

There's always time to stop and pick some dandelions!

Abby and I looking in the mirror of one of the restored wagons

Abby standing next to the wheel of one of the wagons....they were huge!

Ok now, who's really having more fun, Abby or Grammy?

Now that's more like it!!