Long awaited update

I apologize for being so behind on the blogging as of late. I haven't really had a ton of extra time or the drive lately. I am sure people are awaiting pictures as well. Pictures will have to wait until I find the card reader I bought for my laptop, it was purchased during the fire and has been "misplaced". My charger didn't make it, so a new camera may be on the horizon. :)

We LOVE our new place. It is big, with a huge yard, a garage, basement (storage!!!) and brand new carpeting and flooring. We are still settling in, but for the most part are back to a normal life. Rob and I have both struggled with a bit of anxiety, but we too are back on track. I recently have signed up to be a Pampered Chef consultant (in addition to my regular job bartending and managing the bar). I am excited about the new venture and am already loving all of my new kitchen gadgets. It has even inspired me to cook a bit more at home, which I am sure Rob is thrilled about!

Emma is almost officially a school kid. She starts kindy on Tuesday. It is hard to believe that in a few short days we will be watching as she starts her school journey. Her first day is more like an activity day, it will only last a couple hours and I will be with her the whole time. Her second day is a half day and her third day is when the year gets into the swing of things. She is in full day, and I can only imagine that she will be one tired girl at the end of the day. She is excited, but is a bit nervous. She is worried about not being able to read or tie her shoes well enough. We have explained to her that she will learn these things and it seems to have helped calm her fears. I have no doubt that she will have a million friends by the end of the first week and love every second of it. I was excited about the school supplies that I got to buy, I finally had a reason to get them!! I have a feeling that I may shed a tear on one of her first days of school, but can't wait to watch how much she grows and learns this year. One of my friends from high school is a teacher there and has already introduced himself to Em. It does help ease my anxiety a bit to know that she is in such good hands. Hard to believe that I am going to be taking my "baby" to school.

Arabel is hilarious. Her speech has exploded over the past few weeks and she is always good for a laugh. Her personality is much like Emma's (and mine), but has a nice dose of Rob's thrown in there. She is stubborn and opinionated, but laid back and very lovey. She does things on her own terms, but we knew that from the refusing to walk shinanigans. :) I am looking very forward to spending one on one time with her and watching her grow while Emma is at school. I know that she is really going to miss her sister though. I have a feeling that she will be a little lost for awhile before she gets the hang of Emma being gone. I am also looking forward to getting her potty trained. She is completely ready (we will see if she is willing to train though), and I am completely ready to say good bye to diapers. :) I hope that it isn't a year long struggle like it was with Emma. Something about those stubborn kids, I have no idea where they get it.

I hope everyone is doing well, and thanks for being patient. :)

We are back!!!

We have returned from our trip. :) I have posted pictures on facebook under Alissa's wedding weekend. (If you aren't on my friends list please request me!!) I would post them all here but the process is tedious and I have a TON! I am also working on uploading pictures to Flickr as well. Just trying to figure out the easiest way for everyone to check out pictures. :) Stick with me, I will figure it out one of these days.

Our trip went off without a hitch. The kids did great on the train and the plane. Emma said she likes the train better because she could walk around. Arabel was unimpressed with the whole thing and slept through her whole 2nd flight. :) We did lots and lots of walking, ate a metric ton of delicious food, took multiple modes of transportation and spent quality time with family. We are already looking into going back to Chicago to spend some more time there. Thank you to Bev & Tom for dinner and lunch.... and for the ride from the airport to the train station. Here is a run down of our trip:

Thursday:
train from East Lansing to Chicago
cab from Union Station to our hotel
walk from hotel to Navy Pier
lunch
walk back to hotel from Navy Pier
dinner with Bev at Pizzeria Due
back to the hotel for the night

Friday:
hire a driver/car for drive to the airport
fly from Chicago to Minneapolis
cab to hotel
Happy Hour with the family

Saturday:
breakfast
wedding
lunch at Punch
reception
bed

Sunday:
hotel shuttle to Minneapolis's light rail station
light rail to airport
airport tram to correct terminal
fly from Minneapolis to O'Hare
picked up by Bev
lunch at SuperDawg
ride to Union Station
train back to East Lansing
picked up by Jason


I am a little tired just looking at the amount of stuff we packed into 4 days.


*side note: we didn't get the house. :( I will keep you updated on any news though.

now she can be a real princess

Nothing overly exciting has been happening on the home front, which explains the lack of updates. :)

We have booked our tickets and hotels for a trip out of town in April. My cousin is getting married in Minneapolis and I was not going to miss it. Rather than taking another road trip like we did in August, we decided not to drive. Don't get me wrong, I am all for road trips, but the idea of being in the car for like 30 hours in the span of a weekend wasn't all that appealing to me. We decided that we would take the train from East Lansing to Chicago. I figure that the girls will get a kick out of that, plus it is only a 4 hour ride. We are staying in Chicago that evening, which will allow us time to catch up with some family and enjoy some deep dish pizza. :) Rob hasn't ever been to the city, so it should be a fun mini trip. We will be flying out of Chicago to Minneapolis the next day. (Nothing like turning an 8 hour drive into 1 1/2 hours in the air.) We are doing the same thing in reverse on the way back (minus the overnight stay in Chicago). I think that it will be a fun weekend for everyone.

Emma can now be a real princess. At least that is what she told me. Last week she was lamenting over the fact that all the real princesses have their ears pierced. I told her if she wanted them done, then we would get them done. I have been trying to use getting her ears pierced as a reward for years (to no avail, obviously). She was finally ready. I called ahead and made sure that two people would be available to pierce simultaneously. (If not, Emma would have jumped out of the chair and only had one ear done.) She was ummm.... less than thrilled with everyone when she got them done. The type of cry that she let out was one of those that tugged on my heartstrings. How in the world could I let these girls torture my poor little baby like that? A tear may or may not have escaped from my eye. After an hour of sniffles and cuddling her doll, she was proudly showing off her new earrings. She picked an adorable little set of rhinestone pink (surprise!!) flowers. Here is a picture I took right after. :)
Please notice that she is smiling in this picture, so I guess I didn't torture her too badly.

Another big development... I have received information that KINDERGARTEN round up is in like a month. Yup, Emma will be heading off to school in a matter of months. Oy. When in the heck did this kid grow up?? In 5 weeks I will have details on her first year of school. I don't know that I am prepared for this.

I am going to start potty training Arabel shortly. I got a copy of a book that I am willing to try the method. It is called 3 day potty training. 3 DAYS!! If it works, you will probably be able to hear my screams of joy from where ever you are. A kid that is potty trained in 3 days and before the age of 2?? I may just keel over and die from sheer excitement of the idea. I will keep you updated on how it is working. In the meantime enjoy this adorable shot of Bells. (She was getting the feel for the potty.)




I also wanted to give a giant THANK YOU!!!! to my dear friend Kristin. She made these gorgeous headers for my blogs. Her talents are endless.

busy little beavers

We have been very busy this weekend. I promise I will have pictures up shortly, I just wanted to write this quick little post, then I am off to dreamland.

Rob has graduated from MSU!! He walked in commencement on Saturday afternoon, and we couldn't be more proud of him. The kids were amazingly well behaved during the 2 hour ceremony. Arabel was running on no nap and managed to make it through the whole thing, minus 10 minutes. Not too shabby for a kid who had no interest in listening to speeches by the dean.
After the ceremony we met up with friends and family to celebrate.

Emma had her birthday party today. Impression 5 was awesome, and I can't say enough about the people. A great time was had by all and we are incredibly lucky to have such amazing friends and family.

I promise pictures will be up soon...

The giving of thanks 2009 edition

Here are some pictures from the holiday weekend.


Arabel adores this hat.


Thanksgiving Day




From my 10 year high school reunion

Quick update

I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I have been very under the weather and can't seem to shake whatever it is that I have. 2 very ugly ear infections have left me pretty much useless and deaf. (I can't stand or focus on one thing for too long or I get sick, due to the crazy equilibrium problems I am having at the moment.) I am on antibiotics, and was hoping to have some sort of relief by this point. I am just happy that the rest of the family has managed to stay healthy. As soon as I am feeling a bit better I will get some new pictures up. Thanks for sticking it out! :)

Some more wedding pictures

These are ones that I stole from Bob and Tracy. :) Thanks guys. As you can see from the pictures Emma was clearly waiting for her boring parents to leave, so she could party it up.


This was taken right after the ceremony. I wish didn't have that goofy face in this picture. I think it is perfect otherwise. (From left to right: Caity, Blake, Jordan, me, Arabel, Tristan, Emma and Rob.) That is only half of the kids. :)
dancing with Caity and Kelly
Bri and Em
dancing with the bride
Bri, Tracy and Em
dancing with Tracy
I think she might have been getting a smidge tired. :)
Jordan, Lauren, Tristan and E