Kids and the things they say

3 year olds crack me up sometimes, although not always in a good way. I asked Max to play with Alex this morning. I told him Alex loves his big brother and wants to walk and talk so he can play and keep up with him. Max's response was "I don't want to play with him. When I don't want him anymore I can just drown him and then go to the hospital and get a sister." UGH! I told him he should never want anyone to drown because that means dying and it's forever. He's been talking about drowning alot since we started swimming this summer, and "killing" because he saw some cartoon talking about it on TV. I need to watch what he's watching more closely I guess. Anyway, after we had our talk about him being mean to his baby brother and how it's not nice to want people to die, he said we'll go to the hospital and give Alex back. But then we'll get the same Alex we just had and a sister! He slays me!! So funny and innocent sometimes. I told him if he wants a sister that bad he just needs to talk to his daddy cuz daddy says "No more babies!"

Oh, and I was so busy yesterday I completely forgot to mention, but we finally have a contract on our house! Took long enough. They guy is offering full asking price but wants us to pay $9000 in closing. We decided to take that in case no one else were to make an offer, but it sure puts us in a tight spot needing to come up with a ton of money in order to sell. We shorted ourselves on the asking price too to be competitive with our price. Thankfully I should be able to cash out my retirement from Marriott, we'll just have to figure out where to get a few thousand extra.

I'm going to South Bend this weekend to see Tim and we have an appointment for Monday with the realtor there to look at houses. Hopefully we can get a loan pre-approved quickly and make an offer somewhere. I'd like to close in both places around the same time so we can get everything moved! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that we will be living in the same state again, and the same house at that! Yay!!!

Kids are fussing now so I guess I have to cut it short here. I'll update as we go along though and let you know when we find a new house.

A few videos and Pictures

Here is Alex saying No-No


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and here he is learning to go down the steps in the camper. He had done it too many times before we started videoing so he wasn't all that into it, but he's doing really well.

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And Max the other day camping. I forgot to mention he had a horrible day on Saturday. He didn't want to nap for anything. Threw a tantrum on the floor and that is where he finally napped.

That's all I've got for now, but I'll try to be back later!

Back home again

and Tim is giving me crap about being a bad blogger so I knew it was time to get in here and post again.

In addition to being a maniac climber, Alex gets into everything. I have to keep rearranging my mom's living room as he gets taller and can destroy more things. His newest victim is the telephone stand. I finally had to move the phone itself because he keeps unplugging it. My calm, laid back baby has become a monster. He doesn't have the energy level that Max had/has, but he sure does get into more. "They" say that every kid is different and boy is that true. Sometimes he does the cutest things though. In addition to shaking his head no when he doesn't want anymore to eat, or when he does something wrong, he will also say "Na Na Na" which I assume translates to No No No. It cracks me up. Max was two before he learned that word. I consider it the first word for Alex.

Max is hilarious lately too. He just gets smarter and smarter. Sometimes I worry that he'll be too smart for certain aspects of school, but behind in areas such as listening and sitting still. Either way, I think he's going to have a tough time, either being bored or in trouble. He amazes me daily with his new stories and antics though. He is so looking forward to preschool, and I hate to tell him, but that might get put on hold. First off, I still don't have the kids medical records. They should be here any day, but they have not arrived yet. Secondly, I'm homesick as all heck and I think I'm going back to Virginia. At least for a few weeks.

We had someone look at the house on Friday evening and she loved it. Her husband is out of town until next Sunday though. According to their realtor, they want to get him in there ASAP if it is still available. I'm hoping that means good news, and if they do put an offer on it, we'll take it as long as we can. It also means I'll just head back to VA to get packing up the last few things and hang out there saying goodbye for real this time to friends and neighbors. My friend Laura has recently had a baby that I want to meet. My neighbor Kelly has a daughter Alex's age that I'd like to see again as well. Plus, I just miss everyone and it's making me crazy. I know I can't go for too long because I've grown accustomed to seeing Tim every few weeks, but it feels like the end of this limbo might finally be coming. At least I hope so because I don't know how much longer I can go on living in a different state.

We are going to South Bend on Saturday so I'm quite looking forward to that. Tim has to work odd days this coming week, but we'll manage. I just need to be with him right now, and I think the kids do too. My mood has been horrible and I'm sure its rubbing off on everyone. There are almost no hours to pick up at the hospital and my baby sitter is going back to school anyway so now seems like a good time to get away for awhile.

I'm sure there is more that I'm missing, but I'm getting really tired and both boys are sleeping. You'd think I would have learned to sleep when they do, but I just like my "me" time. If I get to bed now, though, I might just get 7 hours tonight!! Talk to everyone soon!!

We're camping again

And man is it cold here! It dropped down to 39 overnight last night. Alex woke up with freezing fingers and ears. Max, though, was toasty warm. I don't get how he stays so hot, but he kept me warm so I'm not complaining.

The campground that my parents stay at is a private park with full hook-ups, cable, and even internet. I could really learn to love this place. Ever night at 8 they do something special with the kids. Last night it was a hay ride around the park with a movie to follow. I took Max on the hay ride and he had a blast. Alex stayed home to get a bath and keep warm. I think tonight is ice cream so I'm sure we'll be heading up to the office for that.

The kids had me up at 6:00 this morning. Yikes! I'd love to go back to sleep, but we are all up now and my mom has friends coming in a few hours so I should probably getting cleaning and straightening up. I have a feeling if it's only going to be a high of 71 today that we'll head into town and go shopping.

After being away for awhile, we've had breakfast and cleaned up the camper. In a few minutes we are heading outside. I may post again later today, but don't be surprised if you don't hear from me ;)

Alex's newest stunt

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I am so in trouble!!

Not much time to post now, but I wanted to say HI! I've been really bummy lately about the whole living situation and missing Tim. The boys have been keeping me busy too. I have to work all day tomorrow and then we are heading up to Lelanau to camp with my parents for the weekend. I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures from that.

Oh, I do have some good news. I called the catholic school system here in Bay City. They have preschool openings at the grade school I went to. Not sure where I'll get the money, but I plan on filling out the registration papers over the weekend and enrolling Max next week. He'll go on Monday and Wednesday mornings for as long as we are living here. He's pretty excited, although he doesn't get why we can't go right now. It will at least get him out of the house and with other kids his age a few hours a week. Good for all of us I'm sure!

Tonight we are heading to Chris and Russ's for pizza and then going to Muscle Beach for ice cream. I can't wait!! Talk to you soon!

Talk about slacking

I have been horrible lately! The last time I posted I didn't want to go to work. It ended up being a really good day and I was glad I went. Alex has been teething lately and is just a bear to be around sometimes. I keep him pretty doped up with Motrin though, when he gets cranky, and that seems to help alot. So do Popsicles!

Tim has been here for the last few days and the boys have loved having him home! Yesterday we did breakfast with his mom and Russ, and then in the afternoon we went to his dad's. He and Karen hadn't seen Alex yet and it has been ages since they've seen Max. Mike and Katherine came as well with the girls so it was a nice family get together. Max and Splendid spent most of the day in the pool, and the rest of the day picking apples out of grandpa's trees and tossing them on the ground. Crazy kids, but they had fun! The adults did a bit of swimming, but mostly just sat around and chatted. It was really a great day.

Today we got up later than we had planned but still made it down to the Detroit Zoo by 11. We've been hitting as many zoos as possible lately and I have to say this one was not my favorite. The layout is all wrong and I think we ended up missing quite a few things because we never knew which way we had already gone and where we didn't go yet. However, they had the coolest polar bear exhibit! We saw one just walking around outside as we followed the path, but getting to the indoor part was what really made the whole day worth it. At first you enter a building and see seals swimming under water. They were cute, but not what we were there for. The pool was separated (underwater) by glass, though, and on the opposite side you could see another polar bear swimming as well. Around a small corner we entered an underwater tunnel and wouldn't you know the polar bear was right overhead. It was the neatest thing. He used the top of the tunnel to walk along when he was over it, and pushed off from the sides of the pool just like people do. Max was in complete awe! Later, after we had finished with all of the other animals, we went back and got to see the swimming polar bear in the outdoor exhibit. I got a bunch of great pictures that I'll post after I'm done typing.

The kids both crashed out on the way home, but they were so good the whole day so we knew they would. We headed back to Bay City in time to have burgers with grandma and grandpa. Max had to tell his stories about the animals he saw and loved showing off his new monkey book and stuffed tiger. He has this thing lately with blowing raspberries on people's stomach. I ended up being the victim and Tim took a hilarious video of Max making horrible noises on my tummy. All while Alex was attacking my head and sticking his fingers up my nose. No idea how to post video on here though and for some reason I can't get it to load onto dropshots. I'm still trying though so watch for it.

Oh, almost forgot. I was unloading the dishwasher this morning and Alex decided he was going to help. He climbed up and played in the water that had emptied from glasses and bowls. He was soaked! Before pulling him off I had to grab my camera!

Here are some pictures from the Zoo




And, that's about all I've got in me tonight. I'm sure I've missed a million things, but I'm too tired to keep typing. Tim is heading home tomorrow so we'll probably just stick around the house in the morning. I think he'll head out when I'm going to work at 2:30. I always hate it when he leaves, so hopefully being distracted by work will help!

Have a great night!

I don't want to work today

I was dumb enough to take call last night and it was horrible. One new person and one per diem (me who is also new) for a whole bunch of stuff that we should not have had to deal with without more help. Obviously they were short, but I just didn't feel safe and neither did the girl I was working with. I only have to go in today for 4 hours and I hope it's better!!!

Other than work I don't have much new to report. Alex has been cranky as all get out so I'm trying to keep him as happy as possible. I'm guessing it's a combo of having a cold and teething, but he doesn't want to nurse or take a bottle very well. He is whiny and doesn't like me to be out of his sight. Man does that get tiring. Max has been good though. Or at least pretty good. He's still 3, but he has been great about entertaining himself or trying to play with Alex.

Did I mention Alex is a climber? I know I have! In addition, he's also not afraid to just go over the edge of things to get down. This has cause many falls from the couch and bed, and still he does not learn. It is getting harder and harder to keep two eyes on him but I think he'll live! He has also taken to screaming at the top of his lungs. When you don't do what he wants, he'll stand there with a hurt look in his eyes and just screech! It's ear piercing. Definitely a goal to stop that ASAP.

Well, not much else to talk about so I'm signing off here. I'm sure I'll be back again tomorrow!

Challenge for my friends

Not sure if everyone is aware, but you can leave comments on each of my posts. Where it says "0 comments" or however many there are under the actual post. Just click there and it takes you to the spot to do so.

I'm telling you this because, well, I'm a dork and I love to hear what people think! Let me know you are here reading and it would really make my days and nights!!! I'm trying to get Tim to post as well so you can get his view point when we do family stuff. Reading my rambles all the time can probably get boring and I know he could spice it up a bit.

Anyway, I'm tired and bored so I thought I'd post this to say PLEASE LEAVE ME SOME LOVE!!!

And here are a few more pics because my kids are so cute and I'm dying to share

Alex with Nana

Max being very silly!

Goodnight!! I think I'm finally going to head to bed. Not sure when I turned into a night owl, but I've been staying up too late and the kids have been getting me up too early!

I'm finally back

We have internet again and I'm not doing anything but working so I should be able to get back into daily posts. Hope so anyway!

Ok, so where did I leave off. I don't think I ever posted about our 3rd day in South Bend. We drove up to New Buffalo, MI and went to the beach. It was a very nice beach, clean, and the water was surprisingly warm. Alex, of course, ate tons of sand. I don't know how to get him to stop doing that without actually holding him the entire time we are there. Max had a blast in the water. By the time we left he was swimming under water for a short distance and having Tim throw him through the air to splash in the water. I was so proud of how far he has come this summer. A long way from the little boy that was scared to be in the water without his life jacket and having someone hold onto him.

The next morning was a rush back home because I had to work from 7pm - 3am. I wanted to get a nap in before I left but that never happened. Too much going on. It wasn't a horrible shift though, and I'd probably do it again if they needed me to.

Thursday evening we left for Rifle River to go camping with my cousins. We stayed right on the river which was awesome. There was a small island in the middle of the river where the kids would play. Max had his life jacket on at all times, but again, he impressed me. By the end of the 3 days, he was walking upstream, lifting his feet, and floating down to where the adults sat waiting to catch him. He definitely had fun and I was grateful there were other kids there to play with him, even if they were older.

On that trip we also went tubing twice. Max had to ride with me because he is so young, but he had fun anyway. Except he kept asking to go faster. He talked to Tim on the phone Saturday night and told him he liked it, but it was more fun with his friend Jared. Jared and Max got to tube on the back of Papa's boat back in June. My little daredevil likes the speed I guess. He did great even though it took us almost 3 hours to get down river. He played with squirt guns when we stopped, and sat patiently with me the rest of the time. Lots of juice and snacks helped I'm sure.

It was a really nice weekend and although it can be stressful to have so many people in such a small space, I actually look forward to doing it again. Preferably with Papa's boat so Max can go faster ;)

On the home front, Tim and I are dropping the price on our townhouse yet again. As much as it stinks to do that, there is so much for sale in our area so we need to undercut everyone and make ourselves look more appealing. We are both getting frustrated with living apart and the situation we are in so selling sooner rather than later is becoming essential. I hope this price drop gets us moving. We have so many houses to chose from in IN that I'm actually looking forward to the hunt!

Here are a few pictures from the last two weekends...

Alex eating sand!

Max getting ready to go out for a day on the river

Floating down the river with Amanda

There were many more, even a few of me, but I look fat so I'm not posting them here. If you are interested in seeing them, and a few videos of the kids at the beach and camping, check out our video and picture link on the side of my blog.

That's all I've got for now because I have to finish getting ready for work. Until next time!

I've been out of touch

Our internet has been down since Thursday and we also went camping for the weekend. I'm at grandma's now using her computer. Hopefully Papa can get our internet back up at home and I can get back into posting. I need to fix our homepage as well as tell you about our weekend and post a few pic. Max went tubing for the first time and loved it. Hope everyone is well and I'll be back for an update as soon as I can!