Happy Washing

Just when I thought everyday life couldn't get worse, the dishwasher breaks!! So I will not be blogging until it is fixed. I usually run the dishwasher twice a day so you can imagine how many dishes I have to wash. Not to mention that with this HUGE belly it makes it very difficult to stand in front of the sink for a long period of time. So if anyone feels like washing dishes you are more then welcome to stop by!!

Exhausted!

I know it sounds funny, but I feel so happy and exhausted right now!! This morning I cleaned and took a nap. Thanks to Brian for taking care of the kidos!! We ate lunch and then I was off to the grocery store. It was a very long and heavy trip to the store. The cart was almost impossible to turn toward the end. I will pat myself on the back for a moment and share that I saved $87 using my coupons today.

Tonight was wonderful!! It was totally last minute but we had a little Steelers party. The Hostetter Family came over and brought with them some delicious apple dumplings. I had the most wonderful time visiting with Jena while the men watched football and the kids ran around. It was such a relaxing evening with sloppy joes, macaroni, and chips. I did have a pregnancy moment and forget to put the evaporated milk in my macaroni, but I caught it about 10 minutes into baking and it came out okay. Then, our new neighbors, Brian and Dana, joined us with their little girl Grace. Hannah and Grace have a ton of fun together. They usually tell Carter what to do. Although tonight Carter had Owen to back him up. Anyway I am just feeling so grateful and happy tonight. I just feel like the Lord has really blessed our family with these friendships. Brian and I were just talking the other night about really wanting to entertain more and next thing you know we are entertaining and loving every moment. Well, almost every moment. I think we would like to forget the moments where all 4 kids were screaming at the top of their lungs. Just to hear themselves yell. YIKES!!

Thanks to everyone that made tonight so special!! Next time I will try and take a photo. Whoops!

MCCS 15th Annual Benefit Auction

This morning we got up and went over to Mount Calvary to enjoy an all you can eat breakfast. After eating Brian was given the assignment to bid on this really beautiful wooden rocking fire engine. Unfortunately he was out bid. We also went over to the kids festival and had lots of fun walking around and visiting with our friends. Hannah Grace really wants to go on the blow up jumping things, but she will only go if Carter goes, but Carter is too small. Maybe next year??

Carter had a lot of fun on the playground. At one point I caught him under the jungle gym looking up... when I looked to see what he was looking at I saw 3 young girls in skirts. I really hope that he isn't trying to look up skirts at this young age!! He is still my baby!!

Hannah is looking very sad because she missed out on the lollipop rings. Kacy was so sweet to offer Hannah Grace some licks, but Hannah didn't want to share.

The Girls. It makes me so happy that we have found a church home where the kids have made such wonderful friends. Not to mention the wonderful friends that Brian and I have made. It is a blessing to have tons of love and support. I look forward to building many memories here.

I am also grateful that Hannah Grace hasn't noticed Isaac yet. For those of you who don't know Isaac is already spoken for... he is Kacy's boyfriend. I just love that it is so important to the girls to have boyfriends, but the boys really want nothing to do with this activity.

Hannah Grace and Kacy eating a snack under the table. The boys were paying attention to them so they thought they would play hard to get under the table. Too Cute!! I just love watching them develop into little people with personalities and opinions of their own.

Ride and Tie

So my younger brother, Tom, who works and lives in Boston, Mass. decided to take a trip out to visit our Mom in Portland, OR. However, days before the arrival he tells my Mom that for fun he entered them in a Ride & Tie race in Cool, CA. For those of you not familar with a Ride & Tie it is a race between teams. Each team has 3 members -- 2 humans & 1 horse. The rider gallops past the runner, then gets off, ties the horse to a tree and starts running. The 1st runner finds the horse, gallops past the second runner and then ties the horse and starts running. They continue "leap frogging" this way to the finish line. Interesting fact: This sport was born in the old West when two men and one horse chased a horse theif to get their horse back.

So back to the fact that my brother told my mom days before that she would be running for a number of miles. I know that many people think that my Mom looks more like my sister, but she actually turned 50 this year. Sorry Mom but you do look great! In addition, she is in very good shape but wasn't training to run a race. As many of you out there will understand when you get older your body doesn't always work like it used to. I am only 27 but I am learning that I can't go out and just run a mile without actually training for it. I do remember a time when I would just go out and run the mile in gym class and then go to Math and be fine. Not any more!!

The race went really well they came in 3rd place and were very happy! I am very proud and grateful that they are both still alive! Way to Go!

Good Deed

Today was a typical Thursday, but after picking Hannah Grace up from school I decided to take the kids to Wendy's for a kids meal/special treat. The kids were so excited!! Although I also wanted to stop at this great costume shop Brian noticed today while in Hershey. So I decided to drive thru and eat while driving to the shop. As I get in line at the drive-thru there are about 6 cars in front of me that have not ordered. While waiting Hannah asks if I will wash her hands, which is a very concerning phrase. How could her hands get dirty while sitting in her car seat belted in? Should I panic? I finally discover that she had taken out a school project she made and had taken it apart. This meant that she had glue and yarn stuck to her fingers and hands. Thank goodness she didn't touch anything in the car like her brother or the car seat. Moreover, I am not in a state of panic now, but I assess my situation and realize that getting out of the drive-thru line to wash her hands is a BAD IDEA! I now have about 5 cars behind me. So I tell Hannah to fold her hands in her lap and I will wash them in a moment. I am constantly reminding her as we wait and also praying that she doesn't glue her hands together! So I finally get to the speaker and order the meals. I paid. Got the food. Pulled into a parking spot to washed Hannah's hands.
As a mom I ALWAYS have wet wipes on hand. It took about 4-5 wipes to clean up the mess. Now, I decide that while I am parked I should hand out the food. As I hand out the food I realize we have NO STRAWS. Hannah Grace is now crying that her tummy hurts because she is so thirsty and well there is NO way I am giving her an open container of Sprite in the car. So my options are:

#1 - Go in the Drive thru again and tell them that I need a straw, which I have done before.
or
#2 - Park car outside the door. Leave kids in the car and grab a straw.
or
#3 - Take everyone out of the car and go in for a straw.

Okay so none of the options are looking like a good idea. There are still 10-15 cars in line at the drive-thru and I am thinking of a ton of reasons why option 2 would be a BAD IDEA. As for option #3 I am thinking this is why I didn't take them in the restaurant in the first place. Still not sure how to resolve the conflict I decide to drive up to the door. Just then a man walked out the door and I spoke before even thinking about it, "Sir, would you please grab me a straw? I have two small children in the car and it would be such a great help." Needless to say this was the 'angel' of the day. He went in and brought out a few straws with a smile on his face and said, "glad to help. looks like you have your hands full." Meanwhile both kids are crying and I'm holding my belly so the baby doesn't fall out as I am jumping out of the car.

So I just want to say Thank You! I am sure this man is not reading my blog, but I am just so grateful for nice people!! As a non-mother I never realized the everyday challenges of kids. Now I am just so grateful to all those who do and lend a helping hand. It was so easy for this man to pick up a straw, but for me I would have had to unload the kids, get them across the street safely, get a straw, explain why we are not staying at Wendy's and then get the kids back to the car and buckled. So thank you!!! Your good deed made my day so wonderful!

So after the straw fiasco I drove to Cocoa Costumes or so I thought. I pulled up only to realize that Brian misread the sign that said Cocoa Couture. I can understand because they were having a Grand Opening and it is almost Halloween and the couture part of the sign was a very small font. Nonetheless it was just another funny part to our usual Thursday afternoon.

Sidebar: Have you thought about how ridiculous it is that I feel the need to hold the baby in. I mean truly if the baby would just fall out during normal daily activities, labor won't be such a big deal.

Bossy Pants

Today Carter was playing with his trucks on the table. He had them all set up and was having a great time. Next thing I know Hannah comes in and as you can see all the trucks are on the floor. She has other plans for Carter.

She decides that Carter needs to be playing kitchen. Good little buddy just plays along to make her happy.

Tonight Hannah had Awana Cubbies. Since tonight was the first official night they called up each of the kids individually who had a birthday in September so they could sing Happy Birthday to them. So Hannah was called up and they started to sing and Hannah Grace said, " No. No. Do not sing Happy Birthday to me. I already had a birthday at my house. It isn't my birthday." The leaders tried to explain to Hannah that they were singing to all the children with a birthday in September. Finally, they told Hannah that she could sit down if she didn't want them to sing to her. So she did!

Daddy helps Hannah prepare for Cubbies.

Brian and Carter are playing football. Brian taught Carter how to put his fingers down. As you can see Carter doesn't really understand. Carter puts both index fingers down because he knows he needs to use two fingers, but he doesn't want to use two on the same hand. Cute Cute.

WHAT?

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't have the words to reply? Yesterday I was waiting in a line with Hannah Grace when a man asked me, "Do you know if it is a boy or girl?" To which I responded, "No. We did not find out the sex of the baby. So we would love a healthy boy or girl." The man smiled and spoke again, " As long as it is a boy or a girl and not a goat."
WHAT?? WHAT?? WHAT??
I was just standing there with a clueless expression on my face. Was this man trying to imply that I sleep with goats? Is this an old saying I am unfamiliar with? I have no idea what the man was talking about and I didn't even know how to respond. Wow it was a very awkward moment!! I know that I have said some "stupid" things in my day, but I truly hope none of them came out like the comment above. I would like to run into this man again and just ask why?

On another note, today we had a wonderful morning at church!! They had a focus on music worship with a southern gospel group. I never realized the love I have for southern gospel until recently. A good friend, Jeff, loves the southern gospel and I heard it at his birthday party and really enjoyed it. Now again I hear it at church this morning and I am just so in love with the sound!! The baby was even dancing to the music. We did miss the Coleman family this morning!!

Train Ride

This morning Brian had some work to do so I went to a local park to walk with Jena and Owen. We had a really nice time chatting and the kids were hilarious. Hannah and Carter taught Owen how to kick while riding in the stroller. They also enjoyed some fresh banana muffins that Hannah and I baked this morning. Hannah added her special touch to the muffins by using princess muffin paper. I just love watching Hannah Grace grow up everyday!!

After we returned home from the park Daddy was ready to take us to the Autumn Festival in a nearby town. We had hoped for a pony ride, but we got one even better. Hannah got to ride on an actual train. She was very excited about the ride. As we boarded the train Hannah looks up at me and said, "this is just like the train Uncle TAP got to ride on." I can't believe that she can remember back that far!! We even rode the train with Marissa, a girl in Hannah's preschool class. It was so much fun!! We also got to hang out with our neighbors Chris and Sue. Although the highlight for Hannah was playing with baby Allison!! Before leaving we even ran into the Coleman Family who seemed to be enjoying the live music at the Festival!! After this HOT trip to the festival I am ready for a nap.

P.S. I just want to share that I did consider riding the mechanical bull at the Festival to help speed up the arrival date of Baby Turk. wink.wink.

Baking Day

First thing this morning Hannah decided to do Carter's hair while she was doing her own. I just love that Carter tolerates this and then he walks away and takes out his clips and yells "Touch Down".

This looks like a photo of Carter baking, but really he just wanted to eat some of the raisins. Funny Guy!

Now here is the serious baker! She made two types of cookies today. The first was a healthy cookie if there is such a thing. They were Chocolate Chip, Raisin, Sunflower seed and Oatmeal cookies. The kids love them and I think they are good for a 'healthy cookie'. Next we made one of our favorites the Oatmeal Raisin cookies. Yummy!!

After baking we went to Harrisburg with Brian and got to hang out with the Coleman Clan for a little while. I just love to watch the three kids play!! Anna is like the sister Hannah always wanted!! Today they were playing Mommy. Hannah was the mommy and Anna was the baby. Hannah would buckle Anna in the stroller and push her around. Then Hannah would give her a drink of milk, pretend to change her diaper, and give her toys. Although the BEST part and I so wish I had a camera was Hannah trying to carry Anna. The only problem is they are almost the same size?! It was very cute watching Hannah trying to lift Anna out of the stroller. I think they both thought it was a great plan, but they never could figure out how to execute it.

Well I must run!! Both kids are awake and it sounds like "quiet time" is getting to be very LOUD!!

TOUCHDOWN!

We are having a great weekend!! Friday night we went to a local art gallery. It was a really nice time. The kids didn't really care about the art, but they LOVED listening to the live string band. Saturday we had big plans of pony rides and pumpkins, but on our way out the door we realized that the festival is really next weekend. Oops! So we went to lunch with the Coleman family and then settled for a walk around the town.

After getting some well needed rest we went back out and walked through our little town for about 30-45 minutes. I just love walking in this fall weather!! Did I mention that we have football on the TV 24-7. This is also part of the fall weather and I love it!! Carter is super cute. Every time he sees football on TV he just starts to yell, "GO" "Touchdown" "tackle". He just thinks that you should be yelling at the TV during football. He learned this from his Dad. The other night we were in a donut shop and football came on and Carter again starts yelling in the middle of the shop. I must say he takes after Brian.

Water Park

I apologize to all my loyal readers that I have been slacking in my blog entries. I can make a couple of great excuses; my husband has been working on the computer 24-7, I have 2 kids and am ready to pop with baby #3, or I am just plain lazy. I shouldn't say that I am lazy, but I have been distracted with so many 'projects' lately. For example, taking everything out of the kitchen cabinets so I can scrub them inside and out which also goes along with alphabetizing all my spices. I made a comment to my doctor this week about my crazy nesting activities and she replied, "we don't become alarmed until you start to alphabetize your neighbors spices." So to the neighbors you are warned if I come knocking.

We don't really have any news at the Turk house. Brian went to Cincinnati, OH for 4 days to go golfing with my Dad. It is a yearly tradition that they meet up with the same group of guys every year. The younger guys this year decided they want to start some more traditions like having a trophy that is passed to the winner every year and making a scrap book with photos, which I can totally picture my husband sitting at the table with a glue gun. right?! NOT! Maybe he will go visit the Oakes' so he can use the endless supply of scrapbook tools and get some great pointers.

The kids are doing great!! Thanks to the Montgomery Family the kids are also very wet!! Along with a gift for baby Turk they wanted to send the kids a little something. Well, I would hardly call it a "little" something. More like a huge, wet something. The above photo is the new Step 2 Water Park that the kids are just loving!! Today Hannah had her friend Kacy over to play and shared the new water park with her. During the visit I also got to visit with Jen and Carter really loves baby Trey!! He is just so fascinated with him. I hope that he is the same with baby Turk!!

I would also like to add that along with getting my kids really wet for 2 days in a row now. Brian and I were able to enjoy a dinner alone while the kids played with the water park on the other side of the screen door. It was like free babysitting. Thanks Montgomery Family!

Well I must get back to my busy life. Both kids are awake and trying to get their exhausted Daddy to wake up on the couch. So I better distract them or send them out to the water park once again. Hope everyone is loving the fall weather as much as we are!! Oh that is another excuse I have been spending most days outside in this GREAT fall weather!!

1st Day of School

Today was Hannah's 1st day of school. It was a short day and I was with her for the entire day, but it was very serious for Hannah.
She woke up and ate a good breakfast and then she cleaned up all the dishes. Above she is putting her orange juice glass in the sink. Please note that the cup has no lid. This is because Hannah is in school now and she doesn't need a lid. Her idea not mine.

Hannah listens to the teachers talking during her first assembly. The first thing Hannah Grace told me at the assembly was, "Look Momma they use a microphone just like me." Please refer to the birthday blog photos for a look at Hannah's microphone.

This is Hannah eating snack at the table. You may note Hannah's Cubby in the background. All in all we had a great time. We read some books, played in the kitchen, played blocks, talked to the teachers, and met lots of kids. Hannah has 16 kids in her classroom and 2 teachers that were wonderful. Hannah can't wait to go back next week. She told me next time that she will go to school by herself and I should go to my school and she will see me later. WOW! They grow up so fast.

Happy Birthday Hannah Grace

Today Hannah Grace is 3 years old!! She has grown up so fast!!

Hannah woke up to Mommy singing Happy Birthday and then she went to find her first gift of the day. A package with a princess balloon attached.

"What is it Mommy?" Hannah asks.

Hannah found a shirt to wear for the day that said " Make it Fun Play Dress Up" and then she found her "sprinkle necklaces" and a crown. I love that Hannah calls anything fancy "sprinkles". She got to be a birthday princess which was a dream come true for her!!

Birthday Bubble Bath

Ready for the World!!
Linking fingers while eating her birthday sprinkle donut at the Fractured Prune.

Trip to Toys R Us. Hannah got a gift card from Uncle B and Auntie A, which she called a credit card. She went shopping and picked out all the things that she wanted, put them up on the counter and then paid the woman with her card. Our little shopper.

Too cute for words. She loves her new "fancy shoes"!!

Blowing out the candles for the FIRST TIME without help from Mom and Dad.

Can we open the presents now??

Sharing with Anna

Reading Cards

Hannah loves to be the star of the show!! She even thanked all the guests using her new microphone.

Watching Kipper with Daddy before bed.

Watch the slideshow below for more photos of Hannah's Birthday:

Friendship

Today may have been the highlight of the month! This morning I took the kids to Wolgemuth Park to meet a friend from church. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go because I have just been feeling so uncomfortable lately but I am so glad that I went. I had the most wonderful time!! I feel like I am finally beginning to make this place home. I just felt like I went to the park with an old friend and we had a great time visiting and the kids played so well together. Although next time I think I might have to take 2 baby doll strollers. It was a very hot item!!
I am just so glad that God has blessed us with a church home and friends that share our love for the Lord.
Speaking of good friends tonight Jeff and Anna came over for dinner. I just can't believe how fast they grow. Anna kept calling her Daddy, Jeff. I just think it is so funny how they learn we have another name. When Hannah plays house she is Mommy and her name is Nancy Turk. I think that is so funny. She also calls Carter, Brian Turk when they play house. Anyway Anna was so cute we have a huge flag in the basement and she was trying so hard to get the other kids to salute the flag. She finally gave up... they just didn't get it. Anyway it was a great day and night and I am so grateful for the friends that we have. Praise God!

Brian Nicolas

As I was reading over some of my recent blog posts it occurred to me that not all of you know my husband, Brian. So today I just want to talk about the man I married!!

Brian is such an awesome husband and I know I don't give him the credit that I should. When we met Brian was such the gentleman. While we were dating we lived about an hour and fifteen minutes from each other, which made things a little more challenging. I remember the first time we went out, which happened to be a totally last minute decision. I told Brian that we should meet at the movie theater between our houses, but Brian almost canceled the date because he said that he wanted to pick me up for our first date. Now instead of the commute time challenge we have the 2 kids challenge, which would be that they aren't welcome on date nights. wink.wink.

So anyway Brian and I really are a great match. I am TOTAL drama most of the time and Brian is not. Brian adds humor to every situation and I don't. The worst is trying to fight/argue with Brian. I try so hard to be mad, but he just makes me laugh. So anyway in the recent posts I have quoted him and I want everyone to know that it is his sense of humor and it really makes me laugh. I love that anything I am stressed about he can fix with his humor!!
I also want to share that I had a really hard day yesterday. I don't know if you read yesterdays blog entry, but the kids got up at 5am and I had a long day. Then, last night my body just hurt and I could not do any thing to get comfortable. This morning Carter was up again at 4:45am and I was up with him. I got him back to sleep this time. Thank Goodness!! So when Hannah woke up at 7am Brian went and got her and took her downstairs and took care of the kidos so I could get some extra sleep. Thanks Honey!! I don't think I could make it through this pregnancy without Brian! He has been motivating me to just get through one day at a time.

P.S. Since I said such wonderful things about my Honey. I had to post the photo of him in his pink shirt with a flower that Hannah gave him in his hair.

Pregnancy Brain

We've had a LONG day. The kids woke up this morning at 5:00am and were ready to play. So we took an early morning trip to the park and once again the other mother at the park was on her mobile phone (it was not the same woman FYI).

Now to get down to the true blog topic for this evening. First, I want to let all my readers know that I had NO choice. Brian made it clear that this evenings event must appear in the blog. So lets talk about door-to-door sales men. BTW while looking for a photo for today's post I found the following information:

You’ll need a hat. Every good door to door salesperson has a great hat. It doesn’t really matter what kind of hat it is, but there are some rules you’ll want to follow. The first is that you don’t want the hat to be the main attraction. You’ll want an ordinary hat that compliments your style. I’ll leave the decision up to you.A briefcase is also a must. You’ll need something to tote your catalogues and order forms around in, and the briefcase is the most common. I’ve seen people use over the shoulder bags and knapsacks, but the briefcase is the most professional.A good name is also important. You don’t want to be introducing yourself as a Teddy or a Missy. Use strong names such as Ted, Steve, Frank, Nancy, Tracy, and so on. You may have to change your name, but that’s alright. Every good sales person will do whatever it takes to make the sale.

Did you notice that Nancy was a strong name?? Okay so while I was preparing our dinner tonight someone rang the door bell. Brian is upstairs working. So I run to the door with a baby on my hip and Hannah holding onto my leg. As I open the door I am surprised to find a total stranger. Usually it is a neighbor that needs to borrow sugar or an egg. Anyway it is this young, cute girl who has these flyers in hand. She doesn't even come onto our porch, but stands at the bottom of the steps. "Hi. We are promoting our new carpet cleaning product and we would like to clean one room in your house for FREE. You are not obligated to buy or do anything. We are just trying to promote this new product and get the word out about our products" were the words uttered from this stranger's mouth. Now the wheels are turning in my head and I'm thinking 'GREAT' they can clean that one spot that the kids made while playing the other day. One last thing for my 'to do list'. So I hastily reply, "Okay. I guess that would be okay." The girl immediately responds, "Great! The guys will be here any minute to clean your carpet."
I am not sure why but at this point this seems really strange to me. Very few things in life are free, but I convinced myself that God was answering my prayers for a little extra help in my life. So I quickly forget about it and go back to peeling potatoes. A few moments later Brian comes downstairs, totally oblivious that anyone had rung the doorbell. "Oh, Honey someone is coming to clean our carpet in a little while" I mention as I am putting meat in the oven and boiling my potatoes. Brian stops dead "WHAT? You are kidding me right?" he replies. I very quickly tell him no and that this is great that I'm getting a little extra help. "Nancy, we did not even discuss this? What were you thinking? I can't believe you did this!" I am standing there looking at him just totally awestruck that he isn't as excited as I was. "Don't you remember when I used to sell windows?" Brian remarks and then proceeds to tell me how they sold windows to people who didn't truly NEED the expensive Windows that were marked up 70%. "Nancy, they are going to come clean the carpet and then guilt you and/or us into buying something we DO NOT need.
Now I am slowly starting to realize I may have made a mistake and I totally don't want to face/deal with it. At that moment the door bell rings again and I look at Brian "Honey, you will just have to tell them that we are eating dinner and tell them no thanks, because I am trying to cook dinner." I said, just trying to get out of this situation. So thankfully Brian goes to the door and "deals" with the situation. They were even willing to clean the carpet under us while we were eating dinner. Ha Ha Ha. Okay so I'm a very naive and trusting person. Thank GOD for my husband!!

P.S. I made these amazing Mashed Potatoes for dinner. As I was sitting there eating them I made a comment that they were so good you would find these in a restaurant. To which Brian busted out laughing, "Usually restaurants try to make meals that taste like home cooking not the other way around." Oops!?

Quality Time

I know that we all fall victim to it at one time or another. I know that you have done at least one of these very things. Do you talk on the phone while "playing" with your child? Do you watch TV while having a conversation with your spouse? Who has driven through the Drive Thru on their mobile phone?

This morning I took the kids to a local park to play. It was such a beautiful day!! We had so much fun!! Hannah made a fast food restaurant with wood chips and Carter tried to eat them. They sang the train song while driving a giant train around. We went down the slide, climbed like monkeys and went on the swings for 30 minutes. During all this fun we were having I noticed another mother with a daughter, who looked to be the same age as Hannah. The mother was on her mobile phone. I was NOT trying to monitor her conversation although it took more effort not to listen than listen intently. Needless to say it sounded like a bunch of unimportant gossip. So anyway we were at the park for an hour or so and this woman was on the phone the entire time. Her daughter really wanted to play, but was feeling a little frustrated that her mom wasn't listening to her at all.

Now I am NOT judging this woman at all!! I just think it is important to think about how our behavior. This woman may have been Mother of the Year and I caught her at a bad time or maybe she was having a really important conversation. Moreover, I began to think about how I act when I'm with my kids or even alone. As you know I got a new mobile phone last week and I love it. Before we were using a different provider that didn't really get service in our area and the phones we had were so horrible that the battery would die after 45 minutes of talking. Needless to say I didn't really use my phone much. If I had the phone with me it was usually dead anyway. Getting to the point I feel like in this world of growing technology it is getting harder and harder to have quality time. Playing with your kids and giving them your undivided attention is great!! You learn so much about them as little people and having a candle lit conversation with your spouse seems so much more intimate. Anyway I just think that mobile phones are intruding in our relationships. Sorry this is such an abrupt ending but I have to run and spend some quality time with my kidos before bed.

One HOT Granny

A comment was made on the last post about the dollhouse so I decided I would share the story with everyone. About a month ago Grandma, Linda, came to visit the kids for a day. While she was here she needed to do a little spoiling, which included buying each of the kids a new toy. Hannah Grace already has the Fisher Price My First Dollhouse that is pictured to the right. So Grandma decided that she would buy Hannah the newest accessory, which happened to be the Grandma and Stroller.

First, I want to mention that this is one HOT Granny with highlights and a mini skirt.

So a few days later I sat an observed Hannah playing with this dollhouse. First I noticed that she made Baby go potty and then Baby would ask Daddy for a cookie. Next, Daddy kissed Baby and put it to bed in the crib. Shortly after going to bed Baby started to cry, "Mommy, Mommy." So Hannah makes the Mommy go up the stairs to the baby's room. Then, Baby asks the Mommy for a hug and kiss and then asks the Mommy to pray. Finally, the baby starts to cry again after the Mommy leaves and this time the Grandma goes upstairs. The Baby quickly asks the Grandma to get her out of bed, to which the Grandma replies, "sure".

As is evident from the above story Hannah is one very observant little girl who has figured out who will let her have her way when she wants it.

Little Black Dress

This afternoon I went to have my nails done. When I arrived there was someone else in the chair so I began to search for a color. I have found that I don't actually select the color by color but rather by name. I was wearing Romeo & Juliet, which is a color I chose because Brian smokes a type of cigar with that name so it made me think of him. Today, I decided to go with Chick Flick Cherry and I love it!! I needed something to brighten my world.
I went to the doctor yesterday and I figure I'm about 10 pounds heavier than I was when I was pregnant with Carter. In addition, as we were leaving the doctor's office Brian, always trying to add humor to the situation, started to sing "She's a brick house, letting it all hang out..." Suddenly I realized that is exactly how I feel right now!! I am just so uncomfortable in my body. So this song just plays on repeat in my head. Thanks Honey!! The good news is that this baby will make an entrance soon and I will be off running once again. I have it all planned... drop Hannah Grace at Preschool go across the street to the jogging trail put both Carter and Baby Turk in the B.O.B. and RUN!!
I have this classic black velvet dress that I bought at Ann Taylor a number of years ago and I would love to wear it to an up coming black tie event. So I need to really hit the ground running. The dress is a size 8. So any encouragement would be great OR It would be wonderful if you have any other ideas for a great dress to forward them my way!! I may be doing some last minute shopping before this event. wink. wink.
Before I wrap up this blog entry I want to go back to the nail salon. It is amazing how easy it is to talk to total strangers about life. It's as if we think we can tell them anything and it is okay because we will never see them again, right?! Today a woman was getting a pedicure next to where I was sitting and she began to tell me all about her husband and their family and her brother-in-law. I just sat and chatted with her as she unfolded some rather personal information about the family. I just thought to myself 'what if I know the person she is talking about?' Okay so I had no idea who these people were, but what if I did know them? Do you show in the conversation you know this person or should you try and milk them for all the details or should you let them carry on or should you stop the conversation. So many choices!!
Actually, I was recently in this very situation. I was talking to a young college age girl when she started to talk about this horrible person that she had encountered. I suddenly realized that this 'horrible person' was a dear friend of mine. A friend that is so polite and gracious and far from horrible. So I am left with knowing who she is talking about and not knowing what to do. I thought maybe I should correct her and stand up for this friend. Tell this young girl that maybe it was just an off day this woman really is loving and kind. BUT I didn't know this girl very well if at all so I decided I shouldn't tell her because then she might think I was just as horrible for being friends with the woman. However, I did make some comments that everyone has a bad day and that we should always give them a second chance. So now... do I tell the friend that someone thinks she is so rude and horrible?? Anyway these are the types of situations in life where I feel their is no correct answer. In conclusion, I think that I have brought this situation to a resolution.
Anyone else been here before?? Anyone heard anything horrible about me? I think I might like to hear about it?!

Boy or Girl

I just love having conversations with Hannah. The other day we were talking about the baby in Mommy's belly. Now that my belly is way out there Hannah really thinks about it often. So she started talking about the baby and I asked her what we should name the baby if it is a baby girl and Hannah responded " Mini Mouse, Angelina Ballerina, Dora, or Rosie" which are all TV characters for those of you without children. So logically the next question I asked her was what if it is a baby boy. To which Hannah responded " Then Carter will like it and he can give it a name." I just love the way kids think!

Chocolate

Today, I got the new sweeter than ever chocolate by LG. I have had a mobile phone for years, but this phone truly is amazing to me. I have an MP3 Player and a navigation feature. I have been trying to learn how to use this phone for most of the day. Thanks to my husband I have been able to load about 500 songs onto the device and I am able to answer it, but beyond that I will have to keep reading. I just like that this phone is called chocolate. I feel like it melts in my hand every time I use it. Okay back to reading.