Missions Month!

The month of May is Missions Month at our church. I decided to donate all of my etsy sales to the missions fund. I didn't think it would be that much, as I've only sold a few items so far. Well, I ended up selling three hats and two headbands! The total was $36. It doesnt seem like that much, but I am very excited about it!

Gavin Talk

He is just saying the funniest stuff lately. What goes in, definately is coming out! Here are his latest zingers . . .

1. "You go girl!" - no idea where he heard this one

2. G: "Mom, I'm trying to teach Charlotte how to read.
ME: "Do YOU know how to read?"
G: "No, so do you think you can teach me?"
ME: "Of course!"

3. G:"Can you wear a pony tail today?"
ME: "Um, okay. Why?"
G: "Becasue it's SO pretty!"

4. He saw some naval officers on t.v. and asked, "Are those Hershy people?" This one took us a bit to figure out. Apparently their hats look like the hats they give out at the Hershy store!

5. This one is a daily phrase that he uses now. He will suggest an activity and then follow it up with, "How does that sound? fantastic?"

6. If you know my husband, you know that he LOVES to mess around and give people a hard time. I am frequently the recipiant of his crazy antics. This is a conversation that Gavin and I had yesterday.
G:"are some daddy's mean?"
ME: "yes, I guess some daddy's could be mean."
G: "But not OUR daddy."
Me: "no, our daddy isn't mean."
G: " Well, he's mean to you."
Me: "What do you mean?"
G: "Well, he's always knocking you over and telling you to stop doing stuff!"

I was cracking up. I told Ryan and he was so disturbed. He is a bit worried that Gavin will start telling that to people!

Memorial Weekend

Ryan's brother Jason and his family came to visit us over Memorial weekend. We had lots of fun. We packed as much as we could into the weekend. We went downtown, to the zoo, had a picnic, hit the Science Museum and want to Navy Pier. The kids weathered it all wonderfully! I was a little suprised at how well they all did. We put them through the ringer dragging them all over the city! Here are some pics from our fun filled weekend.

This was pretty much Charlotte's spot all weekend - in the baby bjorn

Ryan was in rare (okay, not so rare) form all weekend. Don't you just love his pose?

At the park - Gavin's favorite place in the whole wide world!

The cutest little family ever!

One of the best shots from the weekend! Love the skyline!

Babies in the car

Sisters!

Cute Cousins

Abesnt

Well, I've been a little bit of an absent blogger lately. Mostly due to the gall stones. I had a week and half filled with lots of pain! It seemed that I was going to have to get my gall bladder removed sooner rather than later. Then, someone told me about a cleanse I could do. Those evil emergency room doctors didn't tell me anything about a cleanse. She made it seem like removal was my only option! Well, I did some research and then I did the cleanse. It was VERY hard. Possibly the worst thing I've ever had to do. However, I think it worked. I've been PAIN FREE ever since! Yay! Hopefully it will stay that way. I've had to modify my diet and watch my fat intake (something I've NEVER done before in my life), but other than that I am pretty much back to normal. That means back to blogging!

Really?

Could she BE any cuter? I just want to eat her up!

This is a shameless promotion for my etsy site. There are a few new items in the shop - check it out!

Gavin has been dying to get Charlotte in the swings at the park. He LOVES the swings and so wanted his sister to know how much fun they could be. She didn't dig it as much as he wanted her to. And, as you can see in the picture, Gavin would have rather been on the big boy swings. He is gazing longingly at them while pushing her!

Jumparoo!

We got Charlie this jumparoo off of Craigs List. I think she likes it! It is nice having somewhere else to put her. She gets antsy so fast! I hope it will be hours of fun for her (if her brother will leave her alone, that is!).

Mothers Day

I had a GREAT mothers day! We got up early because we wanted to make it to the early service at church. Gavin and Ryan wished me a happy mothers day first thing. Then, they suprised me with Mario Kart for the Wii.



I have been wanting it ever since we got the Wii! It was so excited I almost didn't want to go to church! We were running a little late, so I ate my Mother's Day breakfast in the car - fruit tray and a Marble loaf from Starbucks! YUM! As soon as we got home I changed my clothes and we started playing Mario Kart. It was so fun. We even let Gavin play a bit. Ryan grilled some burgers and cooked up a nice big lunch for us. It was all delicious. He even did ALL the dishes - from start to finish. I took a nap! When I woke up everyone else took a nap so I read and played Mario a bit more! What a great day! I'm such a dork, but I'm glad my husband knows just what to do to make my day special!

Missions Month!

This month is Missions Month at our church. I've decided to donate all proceeds from my Etsy site this month. So if you were thinking about buying something, this is the month to do it!

Ethics reviewed

Thank you to those of you who left their opinion on my "what would you do" post. Here is what I did/or would have done in each situation.

1. The Roast Situation: This one actually did happen to us. Ryan and I were grocery shopping and I found a roast for $.13. I grabbed it with the intention of taking it to the register and seeing what happened. If it did ring up for $.13, I was going to get it. If not, I would have put it back. Ryan on the other hand DID NOT think that was ethical. He took it to the butcher and pointed out the mistake and they corrected it. No roast for us that week!

2. The coat in the park: This did happen to us and Ryan and I, again, had a difference of opinion. While taking the coat to a lost and found or the police station is a good idea, it is NOT practical in the city of Chicago. I doubt that anyone would ever call the police station to pick up a coat. I thought we should just leave it there. Ryan, however, thought it was okay to keep it. I still feel badly about it to this day (it was well over a year ago) and I don't think that Gavin ever wore it. My conscience bothered me way too much! This actually happened to us again this weekend. We were at a park and there was a little girls coat left behind. We checked with others in the park, but it wasn't theirs. We left it.

3. Target price discrepancy: This did not happen to me. It happened to a coworker of Ryan's. The cashier did not ring up one of her items worth $80 and she just walked out chalking it up to "good fortune". I have a similar situation before. I was at a store with a friend not intending to buy anything. I ended up finding something, but forgot I was holding on to it. I didn't realize it till I got home that I didn't pay for it. I took it back the next day and payed for it. The lady thought I was CRAZY for doing that. It was only worth about $2.50 I would always go back and pay for something, no matter how much it cost.

I thought it was interesting that Ryan and I differed on #'s 1 and 2. I wonder if it's a male/female thing as well as conscience. I think I am going to continue with these posts from time to time. I have a few more I want to lay on you! Thanks again for the comments you left!

Gavin Talk!

1. We were playing swords the other day and Gavin said, "I dangerous - ed you!"


2. He is constantly worried about his hair and will say a million times a day, "Is my hair sticking up?"


3. This is my favorite conversation as of late.
Gavin: When I get bigger, I am going to drive you and daddy to church
Me: wow, that will be cool.
Gavin: And when we get there I will be your teacher
Me: You want to teach at church?
Gavin: Yeah, I want to be the Head teacher, the one who teaches everyone
Me: So, you want to be the pastor?
Gavin: I sure do, mom!



4. While we were riding in the car . . .
Gavin: I don't think Charlotte knows about Jesus.
Me: No, she doesn't know yet.
Gavin: I will tell her!
Me:Okay
Gavin: (matter of fact) Charlotte, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. They nailed him to the cross and it hurted him. Then, he rose again.
(in amazement) He put mud on someones eyes and then he could see!
(concerned voice)And Charlotte, some people walked on dry land and some people drowned (the parting of the Red Sea).




5. "Hey mom, let my people go!"



6. Every season change it is a little bit of a battle to get Gavin used to wearing short sleeves or long sleeves. I was trying to get him to wear a short sleeve shirt and I was comparing the shirt to mine. I said, "See bud, my shirt has short sleeves. Don't you like it?" Then he says, "Yes I do, it's cute! I like it because it's so greeny! Can I have long sleeves?"



7. "Your baby is so cute!"



8. "I LOVE babies"

Planting seeds

Since we live in an apartment, we are not able to plant a garden. Planting is one of Gavin's favorite things, so we decided to do a make shift garden. I don't know how it will turn out, but we had fun doing it. We sure made a big mess in the kitchen! Because my mom was here to watch Charlotte, I got to take Gavin to home depot to pick everything out. It was so nice to just spend some time with just him. I really miss that. I think he does too, although he would never say that. He LOVES his sister.

OUCH!!

So, last night I experience the most horrific pain. It was bad. My upper abdomen was throbbing. I was pacing the house, trying to make myself throw up and whatever else I could think of doing to make it stop. Finally, I had to wake Ryan up. He suggested we go to the ER. We packed up the kids and went! It was 1 a.m. Boy was I glad that Charlotte sleeps through the night doesn't need to eat! That was such a blessing. Gavin was a little concerned. He told me that I probably just needed to eat something and then my tummy would feel better. What a sweet boy. Once we got there, he curled up in the waiting room and went to sleep. Charlotte was still zonked. I got in pretty quickly. Probably had something to do with my tears and the fact that the registration guy thought I was going to vomit on him. He was a little shifty. They asked me all kinds of questions and offered to give me morphine - sounded good! By the time they came back with it, an hour or so later I was feeling MUCH better. They wheeled me to ultrasound. I always see people on t.v. getting wheeled around the hospital in their beds and never thought twice about it. I felt like I was on a roller coaster or in a video game. It was insane! I was trying not to laugh. They did the ultrasound, confirmed I have gallstones and discharged me (after about two hours of waiting in between). I will probably have to get my gall bladder removed sometime in the near future. I want to wait until I am done nursing. Let's hope they do not return in the mean time. If they do, I am armed with vicodin (for me) and some frozen milk (for Charlotte). I've never taken anything more than a Tylenol for pain before, so I hope the vicodin doesn't make me too loopy! Please keep me in your prayers. Pray that this DOES NOT happen again. They told me it was pretty common for women in my age bracket who have had children recently. I was also told that I have to eat a low fat diet. Now I can't have coke OR fatty food. I better at least get skinny after all of this!

Because of Charlotte

Because of Charlotte . . .

My stomach is flabby
My clothes don't fit
I don't have much extra time
My house is messy. Well, just a bit :)
My feet have grown 1/2 a size
I can't drink my favorite beverage
I rarely leave the house
I come in contact with poop several times a day
I smell like spoiled milk much of the time
My laundry has doubled

I assure you, the list goes on and on. However, I wouldn't change a thing! I love this little girl more than life itself! I never knew little girls could be so much fun!

I can't believe . . .

I can't believe . . .

1. I hide from Gavin in the pantry to sneak sweets.

2. My baby put herself on a four hour schedule with no direction from me (Thank you Lord!).

3. Gavin finished his Cubbie book! Actually, I CAN believe that one - he's one smart kid!

4. I broke down and bought a new pair of jeans for my chubby self. I won't tell you what size they are! Hmmm, maybe I should cut down on #1 . . .

5. I have DRASTICALLY cut back on my Target excursions and I haven't even had withdrawal.

6. We still have 145 days till our vacation to Florida.

7. I have an obsession with all things onion.

8. I was taken over by my craving and drank an entire glass of coke knowing that it upsets my baby's tummy. Bad mommy!

9. My belt will not fit around my waist, so I had to use Ryan's ( I was even a bit nervous that his wouldn't fit me! He's so skinny!).

10. My hair is falling out, much like it did with Gavin, and my bald spots are coming back. If it gets really bad, I'll be sure to post pictures for you all!

I saved my biggest one for last - you are not going to believe this one, folks. Drum roll please . . .






11. My baby girl is THREE MONTHS OLD!

What would you do?

I frequently find myself in situations or hear about certain situations that make me think, "What would so and so do?" or "how would so and so handle this?" Sometimes Ryan and I even have a different view point on some things. So, I am going to lay out a few scenarios from time to time and ask you what you think or what you would have done.

#1. You are at the grocery store shopping for a roast. The price tag says the meat is $4.49/lb. and you are looking at a three lb. roast. The catch is that the total price is listed at $ .13. Do you grab the roast, take it to the counter and make them give it to you at that price? OR do you bring it to their attention so that they can fix the obvious error?

#2. You are at the park in the middle of a VERY LARGE CITY. Hundreds and hundreds of people frequent this park on a daily basis, but no one is there at the moment. You are playing with your child when you discover a very nice, very clean coat in your child's size. You know there is no way the people are coming back for it, or are they? You know that if you don't take it, someone else will. What do you do, take the coat or leave it?

#3. You are at Target and are buying a few very expensive items. Your total bill should be over $300. You are at the checkout and while the lady rings you up, you are chatting with her and not paying much attention to the price. You swipe your card, pay for your things and leave. As you are walking out to your car, you realize that your receipt does not reflect the price of the items you have. It should be at least $80 more. Do you leave it as is (their mistake) or go back in and pay for what is in your cart?

Two of these are no brainers to me. I know what I would have done. One is a little harder for me. Not sure where I stand. Ryan and I disagree. I wont tell you which one until I get your feedback. I am very interested in what you all will have to say! I hope you'll leave some feedback for me!

April?

Where did April go? So much happened that it flew by!

Ryan's mom came for a visit

My mom came to visit

I think Gavin and I went to the zoo at least four times with various people

We went to the Science Museum

We took Gavin to fly kites

We baby sat Maddy

We baby sat Gabrielle a few times

We went to visit Ryans Grandma and Grandpa

We colored Easter Eggs


We celebrated Good Friday and Easter at Church



That was most of the things we did in April! I hope your April was as fun as ours was!
I can't believe May is already here! Pretty soon I'll be saying that about Christmas!