POSITIVEly wonderful!!!

In the words of Chloe:

This year my birthday present is going to be a sibling!

SEE!

Special delivery expected November 16, 2008!

Might I add this is ONE DAY BEFORE my 3rd birthday?!!

Mommy is...

• 7 weeks along
• Craving fruit (again)
• Feeling disgustingly nauseous
• Breaking out like a teenage boy
• Averaging four trips to the bathroom each night
• And more than anything, counting her blessings. Not many women miscarry, lose a fallopian tube, and get pregnant again within 26 days, after all!

If this isn't a miracle, I don't know what is.

The JOYS of Motherhood

This post by my friend, Natalie made me laugh out loud. Doesn't it just sum up the kind of days we all sometimes have?

Indiana

Neil had training in Indianapolis two weeks ago, and Chloe and I tagged along for two reasons. #1: our friends, the Roberts just moved there and #2: there's a good chance we'll be living there someday (most promotions with Neil's company lead to Indiana), so we found this to be a perfect opportunity for me to explore the area a bit. Despite 32 hours of driving (round trip), and not seeing Neil the majority of week, I am so glad Chloe and I decided to go. Thanks again, Brett and Leslie for your hospitality!

We left on a Saturday morning and drove nine hours before stopping in Columbia, MO for the night. Chloe was oh-so-glad to be out of the car, as you can see!

Sunday we made it to Indianapolis by 3pm, unloaded, and spent the rest of the day relaxing with the Roberts. The kids were happy to be reunited. Monday evening I dropped Neil off at his hotel, where he stayed until Friday. The rest of the week was spent exploring the various suburbs of Indianapolis, keeping the kids entertained, and enjoying a break for the everyday craziness of life (while Neil sat in classes all day).

Friday was my favorite day! Not only were Neil and I reunited, but we spent the afternoon in beautiful downtown Indianapolis, child-free! It was glorious! We had lunch at Harry and Izzy's, a restaurant co-owned by Peyton Manning, and absolutely stuffed ourselves! Our waiter told us that Peyton comes into the restaurant all the time. Unfortunately that didn't happen to be one of those days. The food was so incredible that I dreaded the thought of getting full. Shrimp cocktail, a yummy green salad with slivered apples, toasted walnuts, blue cheese and a creamy vinaigrette dressing, prime rib sandwich, onion rings, and the best creme brulee I've ever tasted in my life! Old Blue Eyes and Lady Day played in the background, which made this candle light lunch even more memorable. It was a combination of perfect and romantic!

Here is the shrimp cocktail we devoured. This is what St. Elmo (Harry and Izzy's sister restaurant, located next door, is famous for). The picture really does it no justice. What makes this unique from the others out there is the cocktail sauce, specifically the amount of chili sauce and horseradish they put in the cocktail sauce. It's through-your-nose spicy, but I was able to handle it with no trouble. Must be that Halliday blood in me.

After lunch we explored downtown. Indianapolis is quite honestly the most beautiful city I've ever seen. The architecture is amazing, with a real European feel, and it's very very clean!

Monument Circle

The Indianapolis Arts Garden (& Circle Centre Mall)

We circled a few blocks and then decided to head to the RCA Dome.They are in the process of building a new stadium for the Colts, scheduled to be finished this year.

RCA Dome

Lucas Oil Stadium (a work in progress)

Saturday we were up at 5am sharp (3am MST) and on the road by 5:42. 16 hours and 4 state lines later (IL, MO, KS, & CO), we arrived home sweet home. I have never driven that long in a 24 hour period! Ugh! Vacations are certainly enjoyable, but in my opinion it's just as wonderful to come home. Chloe did amazingly well on the drive. I was actually shocked that she lasted as long as she did. Thank goodness for portable DVD players, headphones and snacks!

Tell me what you know

So there is apparently a lot of hype over Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Series. It was the main topic of discussion during my visiting teachers' last visit, and I vaguely remember Shannon posting something about the first of the series a few months back. One friend, who doesn't even enjoy reading told me she hibernated on the couch for three days, practically neglecting her own family, because she just couldn't stop reading! So, without giving anything away, tell me what the hype is all about? What makes these books so dang addicting, desirable and different from the other choices out there? How is it possible for 1,690 pages to feel like 25?

Oh yeah, and does anyone have a copy of the first book they'd be willing to part from for a few days?

It's Spring!

I love Spring, though the first day of Spring is rarely "Spring-like" in Colorado Springs! This year we got lucky - Thursday was beautiful! Chloe and I spent part of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and blowing bubbles, something she loves to do and is slowly getting the hang of. Here are some fun moments captured on camera.

HAPPY SPRING, everyone! Easter pictures and updates, coming soon.

NEWS FLASH!!!

We've been working on potty training for two and a half months now. I'd say Chloe's been ready the majority of that time, but there's always been a reason for putting it off (whether legitimate or lame). Well this week we finally got down to business, and our efforts paid off almost immediately! I have to give Grandma Susie most of the credit as she really got the ball rolling on Monday (while we skied and she watched Chloe). Each day has shown improvement, and yesterday Chloe had NO accidents at all! And that includes an afternoon of running errands - we became acquainted with quite a few public restrooms! To top it all off, she initiated going potty first thing this morning, and when we removed her pull-up, it was completely dry! I had planned to give her an oreo if she stayed dry all night (that's what she gets when she poops on the potty), but decided this was a HUGE milestone which deserved something much more special. So I dug through her Easter basket stash and decided on this!

Okay so you really can't even see what it is, but we'll just say Chloe ate a chocolate bunny for breakfast! Way to go little girl! You've got a proud mommy today!

Our Little Vocalist

And now, for your listening enjoyment:

a little Twinkle, Twinkle...

...and some good old Itsy Bitsy "Sta-bider"

Don't mind the lovely hair - she'd pulled out her piggies just hours prior (a daily occurrence).

St. Patty's Day Adventures

Two of the four times I've skied have been on St. Patrick's Day. Somehow it's just worked out that way. Today we hit the slopes of Monarch and had a grand old time with Dan and Stef (and Stef's little brother, Duncan). It was Stef's first time skiing and she was a real trooper! She even joined us for a blue run at the end of the day!

I am proud to say I only fell once - that is HUGE for me!


Hope your St. Patty's was pleasant and pinch-free!

Withdrawals

You know you're having The Office withdrawals when you start dreaming you're part of the cast. That's right! Last night I was Michael's new flame - watch out, Jan!

GROSS!

Only 25 days until new episodes return! But who's counting?

Midwest Eats

What do you think? Would Steak 'n Shake get more business if they made this their new advertising logo?

Perhaps I'm biased but if I saw this pretty little picture on a billboard, I'd take the next freeway exit!
(Photo was taken Saturday during our drive to Indiana - in Columbia, MO to be exact.)

Wordless Wednesday Part 2

Not a minute after publishing my previous post, I walked into the kitchen to find this:

As a result of Chloe's adventures in the toilet (again, previous post) bath time was immediately in order. I don't think this girl had been out of the tub ten minutes before she decided it'd be fun to explore Mom's kitchen cupboards.

Why do they always do these kinds of things on the days we are madly trying to get the house clean because our mother-in-law is coming into town?

By the way, powdered sugar is not fun to clean (off the floor or a child).

Wordless Wednesday

ABC tag

I am taking a break from cleaning to eat lunch and do this survey. Stefani tagged me.

A - Attached or Single? Attached for eternity!
B - Best Friend? Neil, my parents, David and Wendy
C - Cake or Pie? apple or pumpkin pie
D - Day of Choice? Friday - Neil is always home no later than 3
E - Essential Item? TiVo
F - Favorite Color? green, but I love pink and brown together too
G - Gummy Bears or Worms? cinnamon bears
H - Hometown? Vacaville, CA
I - Favorite Indulgence? sushi - I'm sure you never guessed
J - January or July? July
K - Kids? 1 sweet little snot, Chloe
L - Life isn't complete without? family, friends, good food and laughter
M - Marriage date? August 28, 2002
N - Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother, 2 sisters-in-law, and 2 brothers-in-law
O - Oranges or Apples? oranges, or any citrus fruits for that matter (especially when I'm pregnant)
P - Phobias and Fears? Phobias: spiders.. original, I know; Fears: something happening to Chloe in the middle of the night, losing a baby or a loved one
Q - Quote? "A day without laughter is a day wasted." -Charlie Chaplin
R - Reason to smile? I'm a mom!
S - Season of choice? Fall
T - Tag three people? Wendy, Manya, Angie
U - Unknown fact about me? my bishop growing up went to medical school with Neil's uncle
V - Vegetable? peas, though there are few veggies I don't like
W - Worst Habit? getting sidetracked
X -ray or Ultrasound? ultrasound
Y - Your favorite food? asian (chinese, japanese, thai), pasta, mangoes, green salad with fruit, fresh sourdough bread
Z - Zodiac Sign? virgo

Just one reason I'm grateful for Neil

Chloe is so funny when it comes to sleep. Some nights she'll hop right into bed and fall asleep in an instant, giving us no trouble. Other nights she tests and tests, finding any excuse possible to stay out of bed (no matter how unreasonable) until Neil has to finally go in and work his "scary voice" magic. On the occasional nights that this is necessary, one visit to Chloe's bedroom usually does the trick.

Well last night Neil had a dinner program, and apparently Chloe recognized this. I don't think I've ever seen such a stubborn side of her. As bedtime approached we did all the usual things - brushed teeth, read four books, went potty, sang, turned her fake aquarium on and off three or four times. I even let her stay up until 9! Despite my efforts to fill in for "scary voice", however, nothing phased this girl. She probably got up eight or nine times over the next two hours. And when all other forms of discipline had failed and I resorted to a swat on the bum, there she stood in the hallway less than fifteen minutes later wearing no diaper and her pajama pants on inside out. When 10:30 rolled around it appeared she'd finally zonked out, so I proceeded to the shower when Neil called to say he was on his way home (poor guy). As I started to explain the events of our lovely evening, I suddenly heard the pitter patter of little feet racing toward our bedroom. And only a second later there was Chloe, standing in our doorway, cheerfully exclaiming that she was "awake!" That's when it dawned on me that she just wanted to see her daddy. Neil had left for work that morning before she was up, and in between work and his dinner program (when he was home briefly) Chloe was napping. Considering this, along with the fact that Neil would be home momentarily, I figured why not let her stay up to see him. It was already so far past her bedtime - what was another ten minutes? So while I showered, my two-year-old danced around the bathroom like a maniac, absolutely wired! It was as if she'd been drinking Red Bull all night.

Neil walked in the door just before 11 and you would have thought it was Christmas! Chloe was absolutely ecstatic to see her father. The two chit chatted a few minutes before Neil successfully tucked her in (for good, I might add) at 11:15. She gave him no trouble - not even an ounce - go figure! And as I layed in bed thinking, "how did he do that?", a bigger part of me thought, "gosh, I'm grateful for a husband who knows just when I've had it. I'm grateful Chloe has both a mother and a father. And most of all, I'm grateful that Chloe loves this father of hers so much that she'll endure the wrath of a tired and impatient mother just so she can kiss him goodnight." As I started to doze off another thought crossed my mind: "Chloe's sure to sleep in tomorrow morning.. how nice that will be.."

Well, I was up with her twice in the night and she was wide awake at 7:40 this morning. Since when do toddlers not need sleep? Needless to say, I think we'll both be dozing off this afternoon.