Holiday letter

Ok so I am late on this & we have apparently disappeared but I promise I will post Christmas pics & a new post sometime this week!



Here is our letter- sorry if you didn't get it & sorry if you did & have to re-read it!

Hello again! Wow where has this year gone! I swear it was just 2007! Time flies when you are having fun! We have lived in the Phoenix area for a year & survived the summer, Phew! We moved into a new house in June, bigger & closer & more of what we wanted in a house. It is 2.5miles from Kevin’s work & that has been nice with only having one car!

Kevin reached his one year mark in the Air Force in May of this year & has decided that working around the jets is not as fun as it may seem. He has gone from being on day shift (anywhere from 6am-4pm) to working swing shift (anywhere from 1pm-3am) and loves the new schedule. He is the motorcycle safety rep from his AMU (aircraft maintenance unit). He spent a good part of the year working on his CDC’s which is a large training test. He had 5 booklets of between 200-500pages & he had one month to study each & memorize what was in them. At the end of each month he took a test so that he could get the next booklet. After he had all 5 he had another month to study ALL of them &take a larger test. He passed with flying colors in September and is now a “Level 3”. He can now get called to work on any aircraft. He has also taken back up his pastime of mountain biking. He doesn’t get to ride much but loves to have a hobby! This next year he is looking forward to Below the Zone & the possibility of sewing on a new rank!

Brok is still growing like a weed. We have had quite the year from him. In January at his 9month appointment, we were told he had autism though both of us knew he was too young to officially diagnose it. He was definitely slow to progress as far as sitting up and talking but we never imagined… That led to an evaluation in early February from a developmental specialist who ruled out autism and was diagnosed with a muscle issue called hypertonia. Basically his muscles have always been flexed since he was born so he was overly toned. He finally started early intervention therapy in June & started physical therapy & occupational therapy in August.. He has since progressed to the point where he is crawling like a pro & stands on any & everything. He has learned to cruise the furniture and climb the stairs so our goal for the next bit is to WALK! He loves to eat- anything & everything, total boy! He loves water & has learned that the bath is a fun place! He is a total ham & we love it!


On October 3, 2008 Lukas Eli Beal was born! He weighed in at a pound and a half smaller than Brok, 7lbs 3.5oz, and was an inch shorter, 20inches! He is a very happy baby who enjoys eating, sleeping & pooping as well as snuggling and crying. He is on a schedule… if you call it that. He will sleep for 2hr chunks only but at least it’s a start. He is our tiny guy, but has a personality that is something else! He hates being dirty whether it’s diapers, clothes or no baths!. We didn’t know how much love we could have! Brok adores him & seems to be concerned when he cries. He also wants to play with him already, steamrolling and wrestling with him. I can’t wait to see how they play once he is a bit bigger!

I spent the majority of this year pregnant from… January to October so I was extremely pregnant through the HOT, HOT summer here! I started the year still nanny-ing for a family of 3 boys but when I had “morning sickness” she decided to stay home & so did I! I was pretty bored being at home all day (most of the time stuck at home with no car out in the middle of nowhere) so I took up a hobby that quickly became a business… I am now the owner of BabyBug Creations LLC. I started with making custom nursery letters and have since branched out into the burp rags, tutus & crayon roll arenas! I can’t say it has been easy or very lucrative but it helps pay the bills & keeps me from going stir crazy! I attended my first boutique a few weeks ago & hosted my first as well. I have had time lately to read which has always been a favorite pastime for me! YAY for books! I am looking forward to possibly finishing my degree (hopefully) & to watching my boys grow this year!

As for the dogs, they are same as always, fat & lazy! The dogs spend their time hanging out upstairs with us or outside basking in the sun!
They LOVE the Phoenix heat!

Check out our family blog www.kevinandashley.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!Kevin, Ashley, Brok & Lukas (& Patches & Zumi too

Merry Christmas!

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Another week, another post...

So this weekend at the boutique was quite... interesting... I did not do well. It was a good experience & I learned a lot but wasn't really worth my time. Besides the fact that there was more than one vendor with the same items (definately a no-no), there had been little to no advertising. It was so SLOW... Friday there was a total of probably 30 people that came through & I sold one set of burp rags for $15 & a custom name- to a lady who was working there! Saturday was even slower... At least until we vendors decided to take the advertising into our own hands. WE ended up making HUGE signs & for the last few hours a lot of traffic came through. I ended up only selling 4 rags saturday... Not a total bust but not the best... Part of it was due to another couple ladies also selling burp rags, who by the way left @ noon on friday & didn't show up til 2 on saturday, & theirs were more expensive so the lady who was hosting the boutique was promoting theirs more (hello more money for her) within the first 15 min of being back on saturday, they had sold $100 worth... yeah crappy! But as I said, I learned a lot & am now going to host my own on Dec 19 & 20th!

Other than that, we are all feeling better, our car got not only a new A/C compressor but also a new radiator... I also had to get a new phone... it radomly decided to stop charging & then when ?I went to check why, the port is coming loose... & when it shut off & turned back on, iut was just a blue screen... So i get a new one! I bought a Palm Treo off ebay...

I have a play group this week @ my house for the early intervention kids. IT should be fun... I am not really sure how it's going to work but hey- ya live & learn...

& I apologize for the scatterbrained-ness of this post, I am extremely tired & my fingers are freezing... it hsn't gotten too cold here yet, like 40s but we haven't turned on our heater & strange as it is, the heat doesn't rise! My loft is SOOOOO cold all the time!

auto pilot?

so i was definately not paying attention just barely & i put brok's diaper on lukas... it's sad when you go on auto pilot from changing diapers!

What in the world?

Where oh where has time gone! I am usually so good at posting at least once a week! This past couple of weeks I have to admit, I have been BUSY!

A few highlights:

• Brok is cruising on anything & everything now, he LOVES it.
• Lukas has started to smile & talk to us
• Kevin feels better :)
• I feel better
• We got to go home for Thanksgiving!
• Everyone got either the flu or food poisoning...
• I have a Christmas Boutique this weekend!

Brok has found that he can get around better if he cruises along the furniture... Which is nice for us except he has now entered the terrible 2s and we can't have ANYTHING on the couch we wouldn't want him to reach! Just yesterday I was feeding the baby & Kevin was in the bathroom & we came out to find that he had found this old loaf of crusty french bread (it was supposed to be hard & crusty) and was snacking on it... Wierd child!

Lukas... where has the time gone! It has been almost 2 months since he joined our family & I still can't remember what it was like without him! He is a doll (except for when he doesn't sleep at night!) and such a good baby! He is content to lay on the floor or in his pack n play & hang out there! Brok loves him too... or loves to steam roll him... He has such a personality... He HATES to be dirty in the least... Brok & I like to hang out in our jammies during the day but he has to be changed right when he wakes up or he gets so mad! & sometime throughout the day he will get really fussy for no reason & I change his clothes & he is content! It is hilarious! He also LOVES the bath! He is getting to where he will talk to us & I love to sit & listen to him!

Yes, it's true, Kevin is feeling better... It still hadn't gone away on Thursday so I made him go back in & they did a CT scan... Nothing in his brain but the doctor gave him some medication that made him feel tons better... it was like speed or something! I took a nap for less than 2 hrs & when I woke up he had the whole downstairs cleaned, dishes & all & had done the whole garage! It was really funny!

I am feeling better... I can actually account that to Kevin being off work for 3 days with this headache & allowing me to take a 2-3hr nap... oh I love sleep!

I was pretty bummed this year... I wanted to go home for Thanksgiving to spend time with both our families & I really really didn't want to cook a whole dinner for just the 3 of us or go out to dinner... But with the financial situation from paying for all the car repairs it wasn't going to be possible... That's when my sister decided to offer to pay for half our gas & since gas has gone down so much (now we are paying $1.75 as opposed to when Lukas was born $3.15) it was going to be perfect... & then my old boss gave us $50 for a gift from having Lukas & everything was perfect! We left late Wed night & drove to Vegas for Thanksgiving with my family & then Friday headed to visit Kevin's family Friday afternoon. It was a good trip & we had a blast! Thanks to Mike & Jen for letting us stay @ your house! You are great! While we were visiting up there however, we were driving down the freeway & we hear this noise that sounds like rocks hitting the underside of the car... It was like half mile keeping hearing it & so Kevin decided to pull over, I get out & the car is SMOKING! I freaked out thinking something was way wrong! Well Kevin gets out & sure enough there is a belt shredded! The A/C compressor went out & on our car, there is an external pulley that connects to the power steering pulleys & it runs it all. The A/C compressor has a clutch that disengages when it is off & the pulley spins freely however since it ciezed (I have no idea if that's how it's spelled) it was stuck not spinning therefore shredding the belt. So kevin luckily was able to drive it off the freeway to his friends house who is very mechanically inclined (once again, thanks so much Mike!) & they figured out the issue. We ended up just using the car with a belt made for a non-A/C car & it works well jsut no a/c... I guess if it was going to happen, it happened at a good time! We were able to get it fixed easily, drive it home & it is winter so we don't need the A/C. It is covered under our warranty so we have an appointment to take it in next week!

We all ended up getting sick though either from the flu or food poisoning... Kevin & my grandma got it first on Friday morning & then it progressed through everyone else. I got it Saturday & it was awful! I feel much much better today!

I found an ad on craigslist that was a lady who does vinyl lettering & so I visited her site & found out she was having a Christmas boutique this coming weekend. Normally she would charge a $35 fee but this time is free so I decided to try my hand at it! I am so busy this week preparing but here is a preview of what I have done! I am proud of myself & I can't wait to see how it goes! I made burp rags & holiday letters as well as recipe & coupon boxes & frames!

Let's see how the rest of the week goes!

Title of this post.... UGH

Some good things about this week:

• Brok is completely cruising FAST along the furniture & is getting into EVERYTHING
• I dyed my hair darker... now I just need a haircut
• I had my 6wk post partum appt on Thursday & I found out I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant (why is that? I eat 10x as much) which was nice. Kevin was not feeling well but wasn't too bad yet... I was fine & so were the kids!
• I found so many of my friends from high school in the blogging world! Yay for catching up!
• I have only had 2 cans of soda in the last 2 wks! (maybe that's why I was smaller)
• Lukas's thrush is GONE!

The theme of the rest of this post... SICK, SICKER, SICKEST...

Little did I know... It all started on Friday...

Brok, Lukas & I had a playdate with kids from early intervention (one of Brok's therapies) well really only one kid. It was a lot of fun for Brok, he got out of the house, got to interact with kids his age & ones who have been through what he is going through. It was really good for me to meet this mom because her son will be 2 next month & just started walking & still doesn't talk either... She gave me encouragement in saying that her son went through the same steps as Brok & that cruising was a close step to when he first started walking. I felt great & looked great (I actually got ready for the day) Then about 2pm, I started feeling stuffed up, my nose was "leaking" but I was still feeling good. Then it came to about 330, Kevin was leaving for work & I started to feel dizzy & had the worst sinus headache. NO FUN! But I chugged through it until Brok went to sleep at 9 & i followed with Lukas. Kevin was still at work & didn't get home til midnight. When he got home, I was so stuffed up, had a horrible headache & couldn't barely move but still had to feed Lukas... After I did that I went into the hot shower thinking that would help... nope... Since I am breastfeeding I can't take anything but it got so bad that I couldn't even sleep... it was 2am & I hadn't slept at all. So I tried to find a tylenol, nope don't have any... but after I had given birth the doc gave me vicadin so I ended up taking one of them & sleeping a little bit til at 4 Lukas was up again & up til 630. Then Brok woke up at 7 & well that was the start of an awful week. I am so SICK!

Brok & Lukas both got somewhat of a cold but since they are littler, they are SICKER than me...
I still haven't gotten better & I still don't get any sleep. I am stuffed up, Have a horrible persistent headache & feel like death... But that's the least of it!

Yesterday Kevin woke up with a migraine... which is not a normal thing for him... & this is a migraine to end them all. I have NEVER seen him in so much pain. He was crying for me to call the doctor or to go to the ER. He was seriously debilitated. So besides that I am still sick, I now have a hubby who is the SICKEST of all! He went to the doctor who said because he never had one before it was a concern & is sending him back today to check because it is still not gone away.

So as you can see, not a fun week... How is it that when I get sick, someone gets sicker? Why can't I for once actually be sick? I would love nothing more than to just curl up in bed & sleep.

Hopefully this next week will be better...

Another Week has come & gone

I officially hate the night shift! It goes by sooooo slow!

How is it that I feel like my weeks aren't long enough? I swear I was just writing about our anniversary!

SO... the highlights of our week:

• We FINALLY got our money back from when the lady stole it. YES!


• Brok started the TERRIBLE 2's way too early


• Lukas has thrush


• Kevin didn't work much (or so it seemed)


• I got 4hrs of sleep in a row... but for only one night


• We thought about getting a cat, had a lady bring one to us & it freaked out at the dogs, at the babies & finally at Kevin... bye-bye cat


• Kevin's phone went on the fritz, 2 times before it finally died


• We sold the Enduro motorcycle!

YEs it's true, the lady that "accidentally" pressed $100 cash back on our unfinished transaction got caught & offered to give the money back... She didn't have anything on her record so we didn't press charges but I did make sure she knew it wasn't right what she did... Imagine the surprise on her face when 6+cops showed up at her house & cuffed her! Bet she will never do that again.

Brok has the WORST attitude. He has an ear piercing scream & has learned that it wears on eveyrone's patience very quickly. Not to mention that he has learned to manuver himself around the furniture to get into things. & ridiculous what he can get into! This week alone he has: dumped a cup of water on himself, dumped out the entire bag of chips, knocked off the bowls & spoons from our dinner (he LOVES spoons/forks & has collected somany of them upstairs that I thought we were losing them!) & get this one- pulled an entire bowl of taco soup (don't worry, it was cold because yet again when I sit down to eat, Lukas needs to be fed) onto himslef & the floors WHICH I JUST CLEANED! Not looking forward to when he starts walking as much as I am looking forward to it! Watch out world, here he comes!

Lukas had some white on his tongue while my family was here but since he is a spitter, it always looks like left over. Well I started noticing it creeping up his tongue on Friday night it was all over. I hadn't thought about what it could be until after the doctor had closed... It wasn't affecting him eating so we decided to ride out the weekend... by Monday morning it was all over! Poor guy... So I called to get an appointment- The whole base had training all day & then of course Veteran's day was yesterday so they were closed til today... So I got a referral for urgent care & tried to take him... Not a single urgent care takes babies under 4mo except the nighttime pediatric one... so @5pm I had to take him... He is on nystatin liquid 3x a day & I have a cream I have to use on me before he feeds... it has since cleared up & is getting better, YAY! He surprisingly weighed in at 10lbs 3oz with clothes & a full diaper so probably around 10lbs. I guess he is doing well!

Last week was CRAZY! Monday Kevin didn't work very long, Tuesday he ended up getting to get off early because Wednesday from8am-4pm he had a class (which got out @ 12) & then Thursday night he was on the crew that got to go home early & Friday his squadron had their annual Thanksgiving Feast @ 130 so he got off @ around 630ish. Monday (as in 2 days ago) was base wide training so he had to go in @ 730am & was off by 3 & then of course yesterday he had off. So as you can see though he worked, he didn't work... However, tonight his jet is seriously broke & he will not be home til around midnight or later.

Once Lukas Started the nystatin, he slept soooo good. That night I went to bed when he did & either I was really out of it or he slept from 10ish-230ish. YAY for me... but then last night it was every 2hrs again!

About 2months ago Kevin accidentally dropped his phone in the toilet, luckily it was under warranty so he got it replaced for free & then the other day he couldn't view his pictures without the phone resetting so they are sending him a new one... But then Saturday or someday soon after he went to pull out his phone to text me & it reset but got stuck on the verizon start up screen. So he is now on phone replacement #2!

& about the cat... yeah random & not something we will try again!

& the enduro is a motorcycle Kevin's dad bought but never rode so he brought it down for KEvin to either ride or sell. WE have had it listed on Craigslist for about 3wks & a guy came on Sunday morning & bought it for $800! YES!!!

Tis all for this week... More to come next week!

PS- I learned how to digital scrapbook! SOOOO FUN!

A lot can happen in 3 years!

Make sure you read all 3 posts! I had a lot to say!

• Get married-check, November 4th, 2005
• Get sealed-check, Novemeber 11th, 2006
• Have a baby-Check, Brok Grant Beal, March 23rd, 2007
• Join the Air Force-Check, May 8, 2007
• Move to Phoenix for our first assignment-check, Oct 2007
• Have another baby- check, Lukas Eli Beal, Oct 3, 2008
• Enjoy an anniversary?

Well if you can't tell, today is Kevin & my's anniversary... We have been married for 3 years today... We have had our ups & downs but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have the best husband. He works so hard at a job he doesn't care for just so I can stay home with our boys. He treats me like a queen & puts up with all my complaining. He doesn't dwell on my not so keen house keeping skills or cooking skills. He is AMAZING. I love you Kevin!

We didn't get to spend much of an anniversary together because my family just left this morning & he had to take a nap so he can work this new shift (swings which are good on some days & bad on others, like tonight) and he won't be home til probably around 4am or maybe earlier/later. (*he actually got to come home early because he has a class tmomrrow) However, one of the best parts of having my family visit is that I actually feel somewhat comfortable leaving my children with them... I mean I feel good about it but it is wierd to leave Lukas & Brok... Up until I had Lukas the longest I had ever been away from Brok was when he spent the night at my friend Heather's. He was 17mo old & I had been apart from him for maybe 4hrs total, if that. Well since it was our anniversary & since we knew it would be a while before we got to do it again... I left BOTH my boys with my mom. We went to dinner at Applebee's & it was delicious... Wierd but very good to get away. That was nice... Kevin also let me get a few new pieces of clothing. I say let because I won't allow myself to spend the money I would rather spend it on the boys. I found out that I am a size smaller than before I got pregnant (YAY!) and that I look good in heels & can actually walk & function in them. I am a flip flop girl all the way but I look really young. People thought my sister was Lukas's mom & she's only 17...

Anyway... here are our pictures from 3yrs ago & from today... my have things changed... if we had only known then what we know now... I would do it all over again! My life is WONDERFUL! THEN... Wow I was skinny & young looking...

Now...

Lukas is 1 Month old!

Make sure to read all of my posts! I have a bunch today!

I can't believe it's been a month since he joined our lives... I remember when Brok was this age thinking aobut Kevin leaving & feeling like I wanted another baby soon but with Lukas, I feel complete... it's kind of wierd... I Love this little guy... he is so sweet & still so much of a baby (Brok was over 11lbs by this point) that I don't have those baby blues missing the sweetness.

This past month hasn't brought much change from him, he only weighs like 8.5 lbs, if that maybe a bit more but is long.

Things he LOVES:

• his binky, I think I have 4 of them & he will go at it if I put it in his mouth.
• his mom- she feeds him, she loves him & she can't handle letting him cry! :)
• His blankey- my kids LOVE their blankets & they have their own type
• laying on my back massage cushion-he's in 7th heaven
• EATING- every hour, on the hour except from 9pm-midnight & 3-5am where he sleeps. However, the 3-5 block he has to be on my chest
• his swing- he hangs out in there when I need an extra hand! Thanks for that gift with Brok aunt becky!

Things he HATES:

• his cradle-not sure if its the movement but he is not diggin it lately... he'll sleep for about an hour in it, eat then sleep again... can't tell if it's cause he's hungry or what...
• his car seat, but only with the strap things on it... they hug his face too close & he can't move his head
• the fan, he likes to look at it but not lay under it like Brok did.
• FORMULA- this kid is not diggin it.
• his feet confined-i.e. footie pajamas
• swaddling, unless it's loose- again the foot thing

other than that he is a pretty easy baby... We will definately keep him! Enjoy the pictures! I certainly do. My mom did a great job!!!!

Halloween & a fun weekend!

This was such a fun year! Last year Brok was a dragon but he was still too small to really get it & no that he did this year but he had fun walking around with his Auntie Brooke & LOVED eating the candy!

We tried to get him to dress up as the alligator as originally planned but he wasn't having that.... so here are my pictures wrestling an alligator LOL. Then we tried to make him a football player but got as far as getting the black under his eyes & he wasn't going for it so eventually he became a clown... my little brothers all wore this costume when they were Brok's age, so it's over 20yrs old!

Lukas was just cute in his little "This is my costume" shirt & witch hat. Kevin & I dressed up as a vampire & Countess but we never got good pitures. Oh well, I looked retarded!

My family got here on Friday afternoon & my sisters helped Brok carve a pumpkin. He wouldn't reach into the pumpkin but liked playing in the guts in a bowl.

It was good to have my family visit & stay for more than a weekend. They got to go out to the flight line with Kevin on Monday & they loved it. I think my dad was in 7th heaven! Here are some pictures from that day. When you are within like 10ft or something of a running jet you need to have ear protection on (trust me, it's worth it) & I was going to try to get out there with Brok but he wasn't having the ear things. However, Lukas was not bothered at allby the ear things. Brok also did not like the loud noise of the jets... But what's new...

If you can't see, that is Kevin's name on the inside of the jet. How cool is that?

Other than that it was good to have my family here becuase they gave us a break from always being with the kids. They helped with diapers, feedings & holdings so we could enjoy our days (not that we don't already but sometime it gets mundane) My mom also helped me make some easy meals & freeze them for the times when I don't have time to cook! (like everyday) I even made one tonight, stir fry with rice which was AMAZING! I am not a chef but I do like to eat homemade food!

This is a totally lame post but i feel like super woman today! In the 9hrs kevin was @ work I... paid off 4 credit cards/loans & paid my power water & cable bill, bathed Lukas (which is a big deal for me cause i'm afraid of him slipping or getting hurt even with the baby bath), cleaned up the loft, vacuumed my floors, steam cleaned my carpets & finished a complicated order of letters! Not to mention the normal mom duties of changing diapers feedings & playing! Plus i successfully got brok to take 2 good naps & ate myself! I know totally lame but i feel proud of myself for accomplishing so much! Ps i am so in love with this little guy! I don't remember much about when brok was this little but this guy is soooo stinkin cute! & brok is still my freaking cute kid! He LOVES his brother!

What a week!

I survived!

Yes, I did it... I officially spent a week with the boys alone all day while Kevin worked... It wasn't easy at first but it did get better... There were some issues I had like how to carry Lukas & Brok in from the car (grab Lukas's seat out of the car, put it in the garage, grab Brok & then Grab Lukas again), How to feed Lukas while trying to keep Brok from pulling everything off the table, & how to handle it when both of them screamed at the same time... But I am alive & we are no worse for the wear!

I Love this picture! He has the curliest hair ever! I love giving him a bath just so I can see the curls! Who do you think he looks like? Everyone when we go out says like his daddy but my aunt & mom say like me. All I know is he looks nothing like Brok!

This week was pretty fun... Nothing too exciting happened...Excpet for... On Tuesday night or maybe it was Monday I was talking to my mom on the phone & Kevin was watching TV & I happened to look over at Brok & I saw what looked like the insides of a wet diaper so I freaked out & then when I looked again, it was really VASOLINE! After Lukas's circumcision we had to put massive amounts of vasoline so it wouldn't stick to the diaper. I had left it on the floor many times before but this time I guess it was too much to handle for Brok. He had emptied the thing! It was all over him, his legs, the floor, his shirt, EVERYWHERE! & currently it is coating the bottom of my tub... Kevin took him in & scrubbed him while I cleaned up the floor out here... I thought I could escape the mischief becuase he wasn't mobile but I guess not!

Lukas had to go to the doctor again on Thursday ( a week after his 2wk appt where he weighed 7lbs 5oz & was 21in) because he had a goopy eye, turns out oit was just a blocked tear duct, but he weighed 8lbs 1oz with clothes on so around 8lbs so he is growing despite all the spitting up he does.

Friday Brok had his 18mo appt & he weighs 24lbs 11oz & is 33in long. He is solid! The best part of his appt is that the doctor thinks he is normal. He said that some people will jump to conclusions just because a child doesn't follow the "normal" and that he seems to be fine. We asked about the walking, he said that because he didn't crawl first but scooted on his butt that he will walk later, it's not a big deal. We asked about the talking thing (he only says mom) he said taht is fine, that if by the time he is 2 he doesn't say like dad or ball or a few other words he will have him checked. So that was really cool!

We also went to church for the first time since Lukas came... I forget that he is only 3wks old! It feels like he has been here forever! Brok got to go to nursery for the first time & he loved it! We checked on him several times just because we worried how he would do not being able to walk like everyone else & everytime we checked he was taking someone else's something or other! But he definately enjoyed it & it was nice for me to just have to worry about Lukas during sunday school & relief society!

This week will be fun becuase it's Halloween & my family is coming to visit! YAY! It is wierd that my family hasn't seen Lukas at all. I will be sure to post pictures of the obys! We haven't decided on a costume for Lukas but have some good ideas & I might have an outfit for him... Brok is going to attempt to be an alligator but he doesn't really car for the costume so we will see what he ends up being!

What a sad & greedy world we live in!

As if our life wasn't hard enough, i just checked our bank account & realized that when we bought groceries this week we were overcharged by $100! & kevin had forgotten to grab the receipt. I called to find out what happened & was told he had requested cash back & that since it was self check he was responsible for grabbing the money which he didn't know he had requested & that the person behind us picked up the money. How ridiculous is it that we are now out that money all because someone was so dishonest & took that cash? Obviously he didn't know he'd left it or he would have gone back for it! & who in their right mind would think the machine would magically spit out money? I am frantically calling the store to review the tapes & hopefully this mess can get cleared up with the simple fact of showing he didn't get the money! & to whomever took that money may karma send it back your way
I hope you needed it as much as we did!



********UPDATE**********
Since I posted this yesterday, I have contacted the police who contacted Wal Mart & they have since review the tapes & discovered that Kevin hadn't finished his transaction & that the lady in line behind him had noticed & pushed to get $100 cash back & walked off with the reciept & cash. She then proceeded to pay for her stuff with her debit card & so now we are waiting for a supeona (sp?) for the police to get the information from her debit card & to go after her... Hopefully she can be tracked & we can get back our money.

The brothers together @ last!

I know it's a bad picture but everyone has been wanting to see them together! Besides the fact that brok doesn't sit still for more than 5 seconds & i have to hold Lukas things are going well! Kevin goes back to work tomorrow Eek! It ought to be interesting! Brok has become curious about Lukas trying to pull him & wanting to touch him but when i try to get him to hold him or look @ him he doesn't want anything to do with him. He has become kevin's best friend! We went bowling last night with our friends & it was all i could do to contain brok! He wanted to find his dad & didn't want to sit still! He is pulling up on everything & is moving along furniture. We have also walked in to get him out of bed & He's been standing up in his crib. So maybe sometime soon something will happen! Anyway I'll try to get better pictures!

rub a dub dub

so i went downstairs for a drink & kevin was supposed to be watching brok. i came back up to find brok sitting in our tub... he's tried before to get in & out but never successfully. he loves to go stand at the edge so it's not unusual to find him in our room but this was priceless. funny thing is he didn't hit his head or get mad! guess we'll have to keep our door closed from now on!

I finally caught him with open eyes! I know everyone wants pictures of the 2 boys together but right now brok is sick so We've been keeping our distance. Luke already has a stuffy nose poor guy so we didn't want to make it worse. It was nice to have visitors this weekend. Kevin's parents came! Now it's back to just the 4 of us. Kevin goes back to work in a week & i'm nervous because the next day is Brok's 18mo appt & the first time I'll have to take both boys out alone! I guess it's then or never! I am adjusting to the no sleep again. I forget how often they want to eat! We've been pretty consistent @ 2hrs apart & hopefully he'll start going 3hrs when he gains a little weight! He is a pro @ nursing now but NEVER seems to be able to stay awake! Wouldn't that be the life! That's all from our household this week! Luke has his 2 week on thurs & gets circumcised :( poor guy!

Here's our skinny little monkey man. He is so tiny! We went for our 3 day check on monday & he was only 6lbs 10oz! I know a lot of my friends That's there normal sized kid but not me! No one in either of our families that wasn't a twin has ever been so small! But he is a cutie! We'll keep him! Brok is getting more used to him, the other day luke was crying & brok found his cord & thought he was upset because of that! I love it! I'm adjusting to 2 kids- I've actually spent a couple hours with just me & them & while hard it's going to be fun! I can't wait til luke is a little bigger & they can play! It's still wierd that he's not even a week old! I feel like he's been here forever! I can't remember life without him even though i do remember feeling guilty about brok getting less attention. But he still gets it & in his own way i think he understands! Kevin's parents come tomorrow so i
might have time to upload pictures! Ps he wears clothes but the diapers are too big for him & he leaks!

We are home!

I don't have pictures uploaded yet but here are 2 I sent my mom. He was just seconds old in the first one & about an hour in the second. We got to come home yesterday around 5pm... What a relief! I hate to say it but I can't stand the hospitals... I mean how do they expect you to rest when they come check like every 5 min! Plus it doesn't matter how many kids you have, they still act like you know nothing!!!!

Anyway... It was a very easy labor (ok well once I got the epidural) We went in @ midnight-ish to get started... What they did was put some white cream on my cervix that makes it thin out or something like that & then you have to lay for an hour, walk for an hour & lay for an hour... That was HORRIBLE! I thought the contractions I had for a week were painful... But until like 330, I had to bear with it... Then she checked me after the 3rd hour... still no change so they did it again. Another awful 3 hrs... Still no change so they started the pitocin around 7 & checked me @ 730, I was @ a 2... around 830-9 my doctor came in and broke my water, strangest sensation ever and then I was able to get the epidural! Thank goodness for medication... I applaud any woman who can do it natural! I was happy & wonderful feeling after that & progressing fairly fast, around 1.5-2cm every hour and a half or 2 and then at 230-245ish I was at a 6, so my doctor has this trick (which definately works) where he fills back up the sack with saline which makes the baby float again & most of the time will cause you to progress faster... So by the time that happened, around 315 I kept getting the sensation that I had to pee everytime I would get a contraction which I shouldn't have felt so they got the epidural topped off around 330, took 10min to kick in & I was at an 8-9 around 345... That's when the pressure started... I knew it was coming & fast. My nurse wasnt in the room & my doc had gone back to the office (right across the parking lot) & I told Kevin to call & tell them I needed to push... So by the time they came in, I was not able to hold it in, I pushed once hard & the nurse & Kevin saw his head, tons of hair! The doc came around 350ish and I pushed 3 big pushes & his head slipped out! One small push, with no problem & he was completely out! Kevin said it was like a slip n slide for him... Way easy for me! He is a gorgeous little one, so tiny to me & we adore him!

Brok didn't meet him til yesterday but it was so cute to see them together & we got some good pictures! They don't really look related! Brok was bald except for a little hair & Luke has tons of dark hair!

The first night was a little rough, I keep forgetting that with Brok we didn't have him home til he was 4days old so I'm expecting things to go smoother but he is still trying to figure out the nursing & my milk hasn't had time to come in... Overall, we have noticed he doesn't like his back & that he LOVES to lay on Kevin's chest to sleep...

I am feeling rather good considering it hasn't been 48hrs yet (still so strange) and mostly only hurt where I had the epidural, just a small pain, nothing huge! I am still getting used to the idea that I have 2 kids... & 2 boys at that!

I will get pictures soon!!!

Lukas eli beal 7 lbs

Lukas eli beal 7 lbs 3 oz 20 in @ 356pm. Healthy as ever & cute as a button! Mom is also doing well.

I am sitting waiting to

I am sitting waiting to dialate & decided to play a game. Guess the baby weight! My guess is He'll be here between 3 & 5 & will be over 9lbs!

Just a little update (no baby yet)

Still no baby! I guess he didn't want to win the race because I have a new cousin (see picture) Maxwell Bradford Allen Neal was born on Monday & is doing well... He is in NICU to help with breathing but is getting stronger & is maintaining temp & weight. & My friend goes in @ 2am tonight to have her little girl Lola... We are dog sitting their cute little chihuahua Princess...

Lukas will be here hopefully (cross your fingers) by Friday afternoon at the latest... I should have known... our kids like to come Fridays... Brok came on Friday, Luke will too... I am nervous, anxious & excited all rolled into one... I can't wait to meet hime but am nervous to be away from Brok that long & about how fast it'll go... & anxious to get it over with... It's just gunna be me & Kevin... This week is CRAZY busy for my family, my youngest brother's first football game @ home, my sister has homecoming & thier car keeps dying (hmmm... must run in the family) so they won't be coming for a few weeks... Kevin's parents may come but more than likely not...

Other than that, we decorated for Halloween (it's like a thing with KEvin's family... They go all out, especially his sister & brother-in-law, & we have the perfect front yeard for it! We have this little rock flower bed thing we turned into a graveyard & are still working on the grass... but it's turned out well so far! We are also replacing our clutch now in the car... Yipee... but by now everything should run well & should be 100% new so we basically bought a new car... Let's hope... $4000 into it, not including tires, tune-up and all the oil we have had to replace the past month as well as rental cars & car payments/insurance... Isn't life wonderful!

The next time I post will hopefully be pictures of baby Luke!!!!

Maxwell Bradford Allen Neal 7lbs 12oz 20in long 8:55am CST Monday Sept 29!!!!

Our life as we know it

Sooooo... This little story starts around 620am on Thursday the 25th of Sept.

Kevin left for work around 545am & right away Brok was up. He was in a bad mood & I didn't have the patience to deal with him... But I fed him some cheerios and milk & he seemed content... Around 618am I started feeling very crampy & uncomfortable... So I decided to try to time my contractions. Now I wasn't sure they were all contractions but they would start in my lower back & slowly go to the front around the bottom and up to the top before they would subside... I did it for an hour while playing tetris & they were pretty regular, between 5-7min each... I didn't want to get my hopes up so I timed for another hour... still regular... I let Kevin know what was going on & he said go get monitored but since I have Brok, I kinda couldn't go alone. So I monitor for around another hour, they aren't getting closer together but are strong & definately 5-7min apart. So he comes home & we go get monitored. They watch me for an hour an a half and sure enough they are regular... BUT I am only to a 1 & my cervix is only halfway forward... Soooo I get sent home to walk around the mall, eat and rest til they are 3min apart or my water breaks... So we go out to the mall & I get some Jason's Deli (MMMM Delicious!) but while I am inside ordering, Kevin decides to check the oil... Dipstick handle comes off in his hand... so he's thinking Great... He goes to start up the car again & it sounds like it's going to keel over. We decided to head back home to the mechanic & have them check AGAIN for an issue... They think oil pump but looked up on this mechanic site where companies post bulletins about their vehicles & come to find out...

Hyundai needs a special oil filter!!!!!

In most vehicles, when you turn on the car, it automatically sprays oil into the top of the engine to lubricate... Hyundai doesn't... their oil filter has a check valve that holds the oil in the top of the engine to have constant lubrication... Therefore, if you don't have that filter, everytime you start the vehicle, you are damaging it... So all these months of regular maintenence & it's actually damaging the engine...

So we call our warranty company & ask about the oil pump & they cover it so we decided just to take it to the dealership... However, we had to leave it there... So here I am in early labor wihtout a car...

Then yesterday they call & say that because the oil pump was indeed bad, it had damaged the lower part of the engine so our warranty company had to pay for that... 26hr job (meaning 2-3 days of labor, & if someone doesn't have the engine, shipping time) Luckily they cover a rental car as well...

So while we are waiting to get the approval for a rental car, I decide I want Taco Bell... Its 2.17mi from my house to there so I think, Ok, I will walk... It's 1230 in the afternoon but I walked Brok & I to Taco Bell & ate lunch... That wasn't too bad... Then I had to walk back, facing the sun, listening to a child scream because he has to have his blanket on him & won't keep it from blocking the sun... I barely made it inside... Then we find out we need one more reciept for an oil change so we call all the places we can think of where we got it changed & found the reciept then faxed it in... Hallelujah we have a rental car...

So I am still contracting regular 4-5min apart & I decide to go to bed... I slept awful! I woke up at 530 feeling tons of tightness & sick to my stomach... I have now been measuring contractions for an hour & they are getting closer together... YAY! We may have a baby before the weekend is over!

My aunt & one of our close friends are also scheduled for this week to have their babies so now it's a race... & appartenly Lukas doesn't wanna win!

Countdown begins!

We officially are schedule for an induction to begin at midnight on Thursday Oct 2nd. Hopefully he comes sooner but now I can say only a week or however many days! YAY!!!! It was going to be this coming SUnday because they moved up my due date a few days but the hospital said it wasn't enough to matter so I get to wait :(

He is at a 0 station (that means he is halfway to down all the way) but my cervix is still backwards so until that changes, chances are he won't be coming until they start me...

I'll keep you posted!

Still no dang kid!

I swear he just likes to torture me! I go back to the doc tomorrow & I guess unless he decides to make an appearance soon, I will be scheduled for sometime around the 3rd of Oct (which my sister is going to LOVE because the 4th is homecoming & she got asked) I really think he is just intent on keeping me in pain! I know I was anxious with Brok but this is really riduculous! I keep waking up going "Today's the day"then of course it's not & then I have to think "less than 2 weeks, less than 2 weeks" but that doesn't help any because I get more impatient that time doesn't go faster! ARGH!

My aunt is having her baby next Monday via c-section (he is all the way up under her ribs in the transverse (side to side) position) and I want him to have his own birthday but I know he is going to come on somone's birthday!

As far as contractions go, they seem to be regular & they definately hurt but not enough that I can't sleep at night... Which is frustrating!

I just want to pop him out already! I am tired of waiting to meet him! Brok & I want him to come play NOW!

Oh what a fun day for us!

So I woke up this morning around 5-515 to get Kevin's lunch made & couldn't hardly move or walk. I had serious pain in my pelvic area & I felt really sick to my stomach. I made it down the stairs and got Kevin's lunch made but I was still feeling some serious pains. I didn't sleep well last night because I was so uncomfortable so I finally broke down & called the doctor & he told me just to go to Labor & Delivery to be monitored & checked because it could be a numerous list of things including labor, bladder infections, pressure from the baby, you name it...
So we get all packed up (Brok was awake thank goodness) and go to the hospital. They hook me up to the monitors and I lay there in pain for about half hour... Nothing exciting going on... little tiny contractions every once in a while but nothing too major... & I was only @ 1cm so they send me home on bed rest (how am I supposed to be on bedrest with an 18mo old?!) and said to go to my reg appt with my doc... which was this afternoon... So I tried to get some rest, luckily Kevin's work said stay home, take care of her... I went to my doc still in serious pain & he just said there's not much he can do but that I am more than likely going to have him soon... He couldn't find his head because he is so far down (he had to measure from my bone to the top of my uterus) and he said the longest I will go is Oct 3rd... IF I make it to next week, he can then schedule my induction (let's hope I go sooner, 2 wks is too long!) But he isn't sure I will make it that long...

SOOOOOO keep me in your thoughts that it will go fast! I am starting to contract harder & more regularly so hopefully soon! I'll keep everyone posted...

We have Pull-Upage!

So randomly last Wednesday after a rough day of therapy & Brok not working well with them, I was sitting on the couch eating dinner or somehting & I heard him grab the cheeto bag off the couch, I didn't Think anything other than getting it away before he dumped them out but when I looked....

HE WAS STANDING AT THE COUCH!!!!

All it took was a bag of Cheetos to get him to pull himself up! I thought it was just a fluke that he wouldn't do it again so I pu them back on the couch & what do you know, again!!!! WOOOHOOOO

I didn't want to get my hopes up so I thought I would keep it to myself but... since that day, He has been pulling up on EVERYTHING! including a 6in off the ground tote bucket (which he got stuck because it wasn't tall enough to let go & fall) the couch, the bed, the tub, you name it, he pulls up! & the thing is, I don't think it's even from the therapy! I think he is finally realizing he can do things! The only thing is that sometimes he forgets that he can just fall back onto his butt & get down so he will scream til we figure out that is the issue. He also can't figure out how to grab something off the couch & fall to eat it... For instance, animal cookies, he wanted them soooo bad & when he got up to get them, he didn't want to let go but wanted to eat them! He's funny!

But YAY for Brok! We might be getting somewhere! I'll try to get a picture up soon!

Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Soooo.....

This seems to be the story of our life...

Our car is still broken :( After we took it in to them last week due to it dying on me when I would press the clutch & brake together & they cleaned the throttle body, it was still making a strange noise. When you hit 2500-3000 rpms it would sort of knock like something was hitting something else. Kevin's first thought was a rod which is really bad... So back I went to the mechanic (it's pretty pathetic when you walk in & they know your name) and they heard the noise & figured out it was pulleys that should have been replaced when the original issue, the timing belt, was done. Because when you replace a timing belt you have to figure that they pulleys have the same amount of miles on them as the timing belt so the bearings can go bad. Soooo.... I called the dealership to make sure that they hadn't replaced them (if they had & were just bad parts, they would have had to fix it free) but htey only had replaced the timing belt. Therefore we had to fork out another $650 for the pulleys & the tensioners to be replaced. So they fixed that & had no noise until of course Kevin goes to pick up the car & he still hears it. When we go back to get his motorcycle, he tells the guy @ the front about the noise, he hears it & says bring it in tomorrow morning... So once again, back to the mechanic I go once again today... It's around 1030 or 11 when I get there because I figured I had better go to the store before because who knows what the issue is. They all go out there (picture 4 or 5 guys standing around our car revving the engine) and listen for the noise which I can hear from inside. No one can figure anything out but that one of the parts they replaced came to them bad. So they take off the top & bottom cover of the engine, watch the pulleys & sure enough they are loose again. So they take off all the other belts around & watch just that one to be sure. Very little noise... But they notice the front cam (or rear) is wobbly. So he lets me know that they are going to take apart the cam to see why it's wobbling. (by now its' been at least an hour if not more) Once they do that, he brings me in the cam shaft cap & shows me how it is scored on the part that the shaft goes through, not a good thing, that generally means the shaft is bent. & since it is bent, it is causing the wobbling which made the pulleys loose which made the belt flap & cause that noise. So now we have to replace the cam shafts & caps but you can't get the caps from Hyundai so they are having to get a whole new head (which we just had fixed so ours is perfect) so now it's a treasure hunt. Find the cheapest head for our car & win the prize...

Sounds like fun huh? & all because the stupid timing belt broke. There is no way of knowing whether or not the actual belt broke due to malfunctioning pulleys & that could have caused the problems or if it just broke or what. & the most stupidest part of it all is that the only thing covered under our warranty is the pulleys... & who knows if they will really reimburse us because it wasn't done @ the issuing dealership because I didn't know this til this morning AFTER I HAD GOTTEN IT FIXED. I guess it's better than nothing but it is so frustrating.

I HATE BEING A GROWN UPPPP!

Who doesn't like free jewelry?

I saw this on Jessica's blog & her stuff is super cute! Check it out & leave a comment ot be entered to win!
http://jewelrymakingideas.blogspot.com/

***update on the contractions-there isn't one! still going strong!***

I am having a rough time!!!

So the past week or so, I have been having contractions... But the thing is that they aren't regular enough to do anything about them other than wait them out... But they are so strong! SometimesI feel like just going to the hospital to get some pain med cause I can't do anything to relax my muscles! I asked the doc aobut it & they said "oh it's just braxton hicks" or "you're just practicing" but really? My mom said everything is more pronounced the second time around because your body already knows what it's doing but I am seriously not sure my body knows! LOL. I just feel so uncomfortable & can't relax! It's hard too because sometimes I feel awesome so I start a project or go out of the house, they hit so strong all the sudden I can't hardly finish what I am doing! Has any other mom had this issue before? He can come out anytime really & I am sure he's fine since the doctor guestimated he's already close to 8lbs if not yet (he told me he is between 7-8lbs based on my history of babies & my size & that if hemakes it to @ least 36wks he will be totally ok) so I am ready for it but it's not happening & I am in a lot of pain!

I tried with Brok the castor oil, walking, sex, you name it but with this one, I havne't done any of them becasue I don't want him to come too early and don't want some of the same problems I had with Brok!!!!

any ideas on easing the pain? or distracting me?

The new favorite thing

So I guess Brok finally figured out that he is a big boy because every time I walk into his room now after nap, in the morning or last night even after I put him down for bed, He is sitting up in his crib!
We put him in a "time-out" if you will becasue he just kept freaking out last night & he ended up falling asleep. I had laid him on his back because it was around afternoon/evening nap time so I was somewhat hopeing he'd fall asleep, which he did, so at around 7 or 8 I went in to get him up for an hour & he was sat up in his bed, sleeping! He is such a goof! But I guess at least he is learning something! He had figured out how to sit up himself a while ago but this time around, he figured out it's easier from belly to sit himself up.

His new favorite word is Mum, trying to say more & mom together to get something to eat...
What a nut!

This is so dumb (& to answer why)

& I know other moms with younger kids will think how lame but for the first time EVER

I walked in to get Brok up from his nap (well he didn't really sleep but played) & he was SITTING IN HIS CRIB TYRING TO PULL HIMSELF UP!

Ok so he's a little behind but for me that is super exciting because it shows progression! We have been doing therapy for a long while & even though I see some progression, nothing too encouraging as far as walking or standing so this is AWESOME!


******I had a few people ask why he can't do the normal things... There have been so many reasons I have been given, but the 3 biggest things are autism, cerebral palsy & hypertonia.

His intial diagnosis is hypertonia, that means his muscles have too much tone & his joints don't know how to work right, I imagine something like arthritis? It's because since birth he has had something flexed, whether it be standing with his toes pointed when we'd hold him or etc. He was a very fast learner when it came to holding his head up & rolling over, but from there, it was slow go. His muscles are just very tight.

The reason for the other 2 is that I guess just he's delayed... The cerebral palsy has only been said by his physical therapist & while it freaks me out, If you look up the literal definition, it means brain paralysis. Basically, the part of his brain that is sending the signals doesn't connect with the actual muscle. For us, it is normal to think something & automatically do it but for him, he knows his brain is saying lift this leg, push up, etc but it's not connecting to his muscles. Nothing has been officially diagnosed there, but I can see where he would get that idea. The autism, I really don't see anything except his being delayed in mobility. He is super smart, he will look at you & make eye contact, he is learning new words & signs everyday (just started with putting his arms up & saying uh, uh) and is very social with us. The reason they say that it could be autism is that he does this stimulation thing with his hands & he can't walk... though again really the only time we hear it is with his physical therapist...

I don't really know what it is or why he is like htat, I know he has a very stubborn personality which contributes a lot but other than that, he is just my special little Brok & we love him no matter his problems!

Not so long of a week

This week was, well not so long :)
Monday we took our car to a mechanics shop right around the corner, which everyone recommended to us & they gave us a quote for what it would be to fix everything- $1400. Which is better than $1700-2200 right? Luckily Kevin's parents were eager to help out with that. So they took it apart & got it to the engine shop & I called to keep the rental for longer.
Tuesday Kevin woke up so many times in the night with really bad diarrhea & stomach cramps feeling super nauseous. He couldn't eat & was def in a lot of pain. So he called in sick, which in the Air Force requires you to go to the urgent care clinic... So he went & was put on quarters, or was quarentined to the house for 24hrs with viral gastroenteritis. Yippee for me, Brok also had that. The shop called & told me that our cylinder had a 4000th of an inch crack in it so it had to be machined & that was going to be an extra $130.
Wednesday they woke up feeling better, but I sure didn't. I had cramps & was sooo naeous I drank almost 2 full liters of 7up because as long as that was in my stomach, I was fine. The mechanics shop called & let me know that our car was going to be done that afternoon! YAY that was fast!
Thursday morning I was still feeling awful & naseous as ever, luckily no diarrhea for me but we picked up the car & guess what? to replace all the valves, machine one of the cylinders & replace 2 belts it was $1569. But we have a car that runs like a champ, better than before! I spent a lot of the day just being sick... no fun... There was a very electrical storm that blew in around 9ish on Thursday, the lightening wasn't in bolts but was just constant along the sky. Then the wind kicked up & it was blowing soooo hard that our 2 sliding glass doors felt like they were going to break. It blew over our BBQ & our umbrella for the patio table. I guess across town it did a lot more damage than that, powerlines were down, streets were flooded & 100mph winds were recorded. It was CRAZY!
Friday, Kevin worked 9-6 & I had to return the car before 6 so I took it back and luckily he got off before so he could meet me. We also found out that his new permanent schedule (let's see how long it lasts) will be 6am-2pm meaning he will get home aorund 3pm. YAY!

& then today we did a whole lot of nothing, had 2 people come look at our jeep, no takers yet... hopefully someone does buy it! I am feeling better & Brok's awful molar finally came in so he's doing better! YAY!

I can't make it a picture but click the link!

It takes all the words from your blog & makes them inot a fun bubble. The bigger the word, the more times its used! Suprising to me!

Another chapter in our life (sorry long again)

When Kevin & I started dating, he was riding a motorcycle & one night he left late & ended up running out of gas. He called me to come get him & buy some gas & I remember him saying "welcome to my life, are you sure you want to be a part of it?" Well this is another wonderful thing in our saga!

So we had a rough week with the new puppy. No matter what I did, he couldn't figure out to go poop outside! & he would go anywhere & everywhere... Then he got really chewy & decided to pull out Kevin's golf shoes & chew on the strings... But when Thursday night rolled around, & I'll tell you about that night in a bit, we got home & all of Kevin's shoes, not mine or Brok's (though he did chew Brok's too) were chewed on with broken shoe laces, that was it & I knew he needed a home with someone with more patience to crate train him or give him more attention. So I put an ad online & he went to a good home with a family who lost their min pin of 6yrs when it got hit by a car. Goodbye little petey!

So back to Thursday... I decided KEvin & I needed a weekend away, with no dogs & no kid so my wonderful friend Heather & her hubby Kevin offered to watch Brok so we could spend quality alone time (we haven't had an alone night since Brok was born & I have only left him for maybe a total of 5hrs his whole life). So Wed I booked us a suite in a hotel downtown for the "romance package" & was planning a whole huge dinner & surprises. Kevin had to work really late on Wed (midnight) & Thurs was pretty crazy too so I thought I would wait til around 4 to go to the store to get our food for the weekend. So I go & get our stuff for this wonderful meal I was oging to make (pita chips with artichoke dip, salmon with a maple syrup glaze & rice, & peaches & cream plus chocolate covered strawberries) & come out to a hot car. So I turn it on to cool off, unload the groceries & go to back out of the parking spot to go home... Only I didn't make it even halfway out & the car completely dies. I was like oh great. So the nice men next to me pushed me back inot the spot & an Air Force guy comes & tries to take a look. He can't figure anything out & I was beginning to panic! I called Kevin's phone not sure if he'd answer (he didn't) & then tried to call his work & had to call him to come figure it out. So here he is on his motorcycle, Brok & I have been stuck for almost an hour & we can't figure ANYTHING out. He goes home to see if he can get his jeep to start & luckily it does. So he takes out the battery & goes to get it tested. It comes back as totally drained so I am thinking YES! He puts it back in & NOTHING! so it's now close to 7, we've been there for almost 3hrs & Kevin decides we are better to get it towed to the dealership to have them look & fix it & hopefully it's covered under warranty. So around 745-8pm, the tow truck comes & he says it looks like a timing belt. He tows it to the dealership, we pay him & leave it overnight. Luckily Kevin's jeep runs long enough to get us home & everything. it's now after 9pm. I call to try to cancel our reservation at the hotel because we will need the $$ to get the car fixed & I can't...(& now you know why it was bad that his shoes were chewed)
Friday morning- They call me to say that it is in fact the timing belt & because that is "maintenance related" it's not covered under warranty. So its' going to be $340 to fix. So We fix it. I get ready for the day, start cooking everything (*now this is a BIG deal for me becasue I don't cook usually) and the dealership calls to say some other belt needs replacing, & if I did it then it would be $300 less than if it broke a diff day. Ok so we're now up to $385. I continue to cook, my friend Heather comes to pick up Brok & we hang out til it's time to get the car & then she takes me there & will take Brok with her from there. On the way to get the car, they call again to say they started the car & it seems that when the belt broke, it cracked/broke a valve & the 4-cylinder car is now only running on 3, & that it will be $1700-2200 to fix that... GREAT! I drive it home very cautiously...
We decided not to worry about it & enjoy our night away so we eat dinner, which turned out so good, I have never made salmon nor used this recipe so it was good that he liked it & then I packed up our minimal stuff for the night & we rode the motorcycle to the hotel! It was a very nice room but missing our sparkling cider... So we get that, then we hang out & I get the munchies around 1030 or 11... The hotel DIDNT have vending machines!!! only pop machines... so I went without & around 1230-1am, I start falling asleep & Kevin tries to turn off the TV with no luck! If you press the power button on either the remote or TV, it mutes it, press it again & it resets it to the menu. So he tries to unplug it but it's in this really heavy armoire thing. So I call the front desk & they send a fat security guard to "fix" it which he tries everything we had tried... Keep in mind it's 1am, I am in my garments covered up in bed & Kevin is trying not to punch the guy. He calls another guy up to try to fix it who does the SAME THING! Like we're all retarded! Needless to say, around 130 they finally "fix"it & get it unplugged...
Saturday morning they sent a tech repair guy to fix it & he knocks on our door around 830 even though we have a DO NOT DISTURB sign out! Anyway we had a good breakfast & swam & then went home & tried to find a place close to get the car fixed but everything is closed so I decide instead of being stranded (the jeep is totally dead) I will rent a car... Luckily the airport rental booth was open & I got to get a car but that was an ordeal...

So that is where we are in our life now... Waiting in limbo for the car to get fixed... Driving a Chevy Equinox & trying to make the most of everything...

PHEW thanks for reading!

HUBBY TAG~

1- Where did you meet? Our friend Mary Elizabeth. She liked his friend & him but couldn't decide which better so when they both called to say they were coming over @ the same time, she called me to rescue her.
2- How long did you date before you were married? I think it was something like 4mo, a little more but we didn't have an "official" starting to date time. From the first time I remember thinking he was my "boyfriend" til we got engaged was 28days & then after that it was about 3mo til we were married I think.
3- How long have you been married for? 2 years 9mo & some days
4- What does he do that surprises you? He will start cleaning up my messes
5- What's your favorite feature about him? I love when he gets excited about something & when he plays with Brok & he gets so excited & happy.
6- What's your favorite quality about him? He wants to be the best hub & father.
7- Does he have a nickname for you? What is it? Just babe or if I am having a blonde day, retard, in a nice way.
8- What's his favorite color? I honestly don't know, but prob blue or red.
9- What's his favorite food? Salmon probably.
10-What is his favorite sport? Extreme mountain biking or bowling or dirt biking/4wheeling
11- Who said I love you first? He did - we were sitting on the couch cuddling & he goes "guess what?" I said what & he replied "I love you".
12- When and where was your fist kiss? On the couch in my apartment, sometime within the first week I think, when he got back from working out of town.
13-What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Well we like to 4-wheel & ride the motorcycle(*yes I still do even being 8mo prego)
14-Do you have kids? How many? Yes, Brok is 17mo & Luke is 32wks & 3days only 7wks & 4 days left(hopefully sooner!)!
15- What's a hidden talent that he has? He is a great cook. He is also way more creative & has a better eye for design than I do.
16- How old is he? 23 almost 24. But sometimes he groans about pains like he's older.
17- What's his favorite type of music? He like pretty much anything but he listens to a lot of rock at work & we listen to country at home.
18- What do you admire most about him? He is good at admitting his faults & wanting to change.
19-What's his favorite past time? other than . . . Well he likes to bowl & ride the motorcycle...
20- Do you think he is going to read this? prob not.

All I can say is...

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

He got me the best present I have ever gotten!

I had my prego massage & pedicure today- miraculous! It was soooo relaxing & my feet are sooo soft! I love it! The best part? It was sooo cheap- now I know $100 is a lot for some people & generally for us it is too but it was 2hrs long! $55 for the massage & $45 for a spa pedicure where they also massaged my feet! AWESOME!

Another Exciting Week for us!

What A week it has been!

Brok & I have been really busy between babysitting again, M, Tu, Th, F & teaching English again that we haven't had any time to just SIT! I got another student added to my group so we have 3 kids, 14, 16 & 18yrs old. It doesn't feel like they are learning anything but I guess they are becasue he invited the 3rd student! Anyway it has been very very busy!

Kevin also has been busy this week. On Wed he took the final part of his big CDC test before he takes the BIG one. It has been a rough 5 months for him, studying hard & reading over 1500pages of information about the most boring things. But it will advance him from a 3level to a 5 level.

I had a doc appt this week as well & you will all be glad to know that I only gained 1lb. Baby Luke kicked her really hard when she was trying to measure my stomach so hard that her hand slipped off. SErves her right for calling me fat! LOL.

We also had an eventful weekend. Brok has been using just a normal sippy cup for about a month now & it's been great but he isn't so good at holding it up enough to get a drink so he's been having to lay down to drink it. Well this weekend we decided to try the kind with a straw that you have to bite to suck... At first it was *@!! becasue he just kept screaming but then we handed it to him all the sudden & he figured it out. Never have you seen a more excited child. He got the biggest grin on his face & he was so happy! It rocks becasue he can sit up to drink it & he can drink in the carts at the store! He loves it.

BEFORE

I also decided it was time for a hair cut for him... he was fairly bald when he was born, with only a mohawk of hair coming from his 2 calicks in the back of his head so this was #1 & I think it was more upsetting for him than me. I didn't want to get rid of his cute baby hair but it was over 3in long & starting to hang over his ears. So out came the buzzers & his hair is now about 1/8in long thanks to dad's messing up the clippers! But he is sure looking like a big boy now! I was amazed at how long it was & then at how blonde it was in comparison to Kevin's becasue as soon as Brok was done it was time for Kevin's. You'll see the contrast!

AFTER

He also learned how to give kisses & that he really likes KEvin's nasty Sweet Chili Lime Doritos a lot!

Hopefully this week is a slower one (but it won't be) and that we can take a break!

PS this is

PETEY