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Meh January Schmanuary

2012-02-11T23:28:00.001-06:00

Okay I can't really think of anything exciting that happened in January. Is that bad? Everyone okay if we just skip to February? February is much more exciting, it's Valentines Day, my birthday month, and the last month our family will be a family of 3.

Let's start with Valentines Day!

I saw this idea on Pinterest

and thought it would be cute to do for Reese's Pre-school Valentines Day Party.

I think they turned out super cute and leave it to Reese to find doggie suckers for her friends. :)

Thankfully she was in a good, cooperative mood on photo shoot day!

I can't believe how big she is getting!

As for my Birthday, no plans yet. Secretly I am hoping that I go into labor. Shhhh!

24 days until Baby Boy is due! We are so excited. The pregnancy overall has been good.

I did have to break down and start going to a Chiropractor and acupuncturist for some back pain but nothing this mama can't handle. Reese is super excited to be a big sister and asks about the baby all the time. Just counting the days now until we become a family of 4!

The nursery is almost done - stay tuned for pictures!

December

2012-01-21T20:33:00.000-06:00

December

So December was rough, the reason I didn't have time to update my blog is because I was working nights and weekends for a big project going on at work. Needless to say aside from Christmas shopping I didn't get out much. :(

The highlight of the month was definitely seeing my little angel sing in her very first Christmas pageant at Pre-school. She did SO great!

Behold my little elf!

And her class dressed as reindeers, elves and a santa

Reese remembered all the words and gestures to the songs - we were so proud!

Next was a surprise visit from Santa, and I caught her expression the moment

he walked in the door - so cute!

This is the very first time Reese ever sat on Santa's lap.

One last shot from my little ham before we go!

We did manage to escape to Arizona to see Tom's family Christmas Eve weekend

and Reese got to visit with her cousins.

We had Christmas at our house first, here's a picture of Reese

fresh out of bed checking out the goods

Her big gift this year was a kitchen set from her cousins and Mommy & Daddy got her a Market which she loved.

Tom got me a new Canon Digital Rebel XSI, so I got some practice taking some manual shots.

Um, I have a lot to learn! Anyone out there know how to work one of these?

And of course Zoey was having a nice Christmas hanging out under the tree

Our little 3 legged kitten is doing really well

The next day was our road trip - 6 hours in the car to Arizona.

Unfortunately we found out on our road trip moving from Illinois to California that Reese gets car sick :( She did great until the last 45 minutes of the trip, when I heard "Mommy I need the bucket!" My poor baby, what a trooper.

But when we got there, she was all smiles

when she saw her cousins, Karli (left) & Keagan (right)

Christmas Eve was spent at Tom's aunt's house and it was really nice to

see the extended family.

The girls must have been really good because when we woke

up Christmas morning even I couldn't believe how many gifts were under the tree.

All in all it was a very nice Christmas and I have to admit I didn't miss the snow.

Crazy to think that next Christmas we'll be a family of 4!

Fast Forward

2011-12-29T00:41:00.000-06:00

Hmmm Sept 11th was my last post, huh? Oops! Well life happens, right? I'll give you the CLIFF note version of the last few months to catch us up!

September

We added a new family member! Meet Zoey! We found her hiding out in the engine of our MDX (1 life down) and after the flyers went unanswered we decided to adopt her. She is the sweetest kitty ever! Although she didn't come without drama. About two weeks after we found her she was playing with Reese in the hallway upstairs and somehow managed to go through the banister plummeting 10 ft down to our travertine floor. (2 lives down!) A week after that she had a tragic fall off the kitchen counter and broke her leg (3 lives down!). The break was in a bad place and we were given the unfortunate news that we had to amputate the leg :( She recovered well but another week or so went by and she twisted her front paw (4 lives down!) By our calculations she is just a few months old and only has 5 lives left! Our free kitty turned out to be our biggest expense in 2011! She's lucky she's cute!

October

October in California is BEAUTIFUL! It was in the high 70s and sunny on Halloween. We took a family trip to Julian, CA to go apple picking and Reese went Trick-or-Treating with some friends. She wanted to be a doggie of course! So here's a few pictures of our little puppy as well as some pictures of our trip to the pumpkin farm. At the end are some pics of a pumpkin carving girls night at my house.

November

Our friends Dave & Vanessa tied the knot in November so we flew home for the wedding. It was so great to see everyone but the trip went by so fast. Yes that is my baby bump you see in the top picture, I was around 24 weeks at the time. Dave & Vanessa are just the cutest couple and I wish them nothing but the best! Thanks for inviting us to take part in your special day!

10 years later

2011-09-11T12:32:00.000-05:00

Times of impact: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m.
Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes.
Time they took to fall: 12 seconds.
2819 dead from 115 different nations. 343 Fireman/paramedics, 23 NYPD, 37 Port Authority officers.

In our hearts and minds forever. We will never forget.

It's a ...

2011-09-04T21:15:00.000-05:00

Because my 35th Birthday is the week before my due date and the fact that I've experienced two previous losses, my doctor strongly recommended that we move forward with 1st trimester screenings for chromosome disorders. These involve a blood test and a Nuchal Translucency (NT) Scan where they take specific measurements of the baby to see if they have any markers for Down Syndrome or Trisomy. At first I was reluctant, but I called my insurance to see if it was covered (because it can be an upwards of $900) and thankfully it was so we moved forward.
Fast forward to Friday, my company gave us the day off for the holiday. I dropped Reese off at Pre-School and then spent two hours in the waiting room to get my blood drawn. Only took two sticks this time (ugh!) Have I mentioned how much I hate having deep veins?

From there I picked up Tom and drove over to the Genetic Counselors office for the scan. While we were in the lobby I held the door open for a new mom carrying a newborn in one hand and a toddler in the other (me in a few months!) The mom asked if we were headed to up the Dr. on the 2nd floor and when we said yes, for our NT scan she said, "Oh they are so great up there, I have 3 kids under 3 and they were able to tell me the sex all three times at the NT scan -- and they were right every time!" This got me excited! Could we really find out what we were having at 13 weeks?

Um the answer is YES!! After an hour wait in that waiting room, it was our turn and the tech had me lay down for my scan. As she was taking measurements, we could see the baby waving and squirming all over the place. Strong heartbeat of 167 - perfect! I told the tech that if she had a guess on the sex of the baby we were all ears. She then zero'd in on that area and asked us if we had any names picked out. I joked that I know it's a boy simply because my husband and I do not agree on ANY boy names. After a few jokes back and forth she revealed that we were indeed looking at a penis on the screen. The "angle of the dangle" at this development point indicates it is a boy. And after looking closely at it, I really can't say I disagree! Stunned Tom and I just looked at each other. We are going to have a SON!!! OMG! Reese is going to have a little brother! IT'S A BOY!

Now we aren't painting the nursery just yet. We've heard the horror stories wrong guesses before so we are going to wait until we see the little one a few more times. But as you can see from the picture, there's a definite appendage forming in that area!

As far as the pregnancy goes, I'm feeling MUCH better. My nausea has calmed down and my headaches have lessened. Things are going very well. I did have some spotting but that seems to have subsided too. Crossing my fingers that it is smooth sailing from here on out.

Hi Baby Boy!!

3rd time is the charm?

2011-08-24T17:54:00.001-05:00

So yep! I'm knocked up!! And I'm SO excited because I did it all by myself....err...well....let me clarify that. When we last left off.... my doctor handed me a stack of infertility tests and pointed me to the San Diego fertility clinic. After a night of googling all the tests and seeing that one of them actually involved shooting dye up my who-ha to check for "blockages" followed by a sentence that said could be painful, I started thinking this may not be the road for me.

You see my problem didn't really lie with getting pregnant, my problem was staying pregnant and I just didn't see the point in going through a bazillion tests and draining my bank account for something I already knew. So I started checking into alternative medicine. First stop, acupuncture. I heard infertility + acupuncture may = baby. But one problem, I HATE needles!! But then I thought back to the dye test up the who-ha and thought needles couldn't be worse than that. I called my insurance company and found out they cover 12 visits a year which is also about the timeframe they want you do acupuncture treatment for infertility. Ok perfect - sign me up! Enter my angel - Carrie.

Carrie is my acupuncturist and she is AWESOME. She not only put me at ease the very first day, but those needles don't hurt at all and acupuncture turned out to be the most relaxing thing ever! It's a mandatory nap every Friday afternoon! I love it!! I started talking to Carrie about alternate methods of regulating my period since I was everywhere from 19 days to 63! She mentioned natural progesterone cream and handed me a book called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life From Thirty to Fifty" GET THIS BOOK- it changed my life!!! Every single symptom I had was in this book and most of it could be solved just by smearing on a little cream that I can get over the counter at my local health store -- WHAT?! Where was this book five years ago!??

So I started natural progesterone cream, regulated my own cycle, started taking weekly Yoga classes, changed my diet to eat healthier and wah-la! 12 weeks later on my very last acupuncture appointment I found out I was pregnant!!!!! No clomid, no drugs, just a healthier lifestyle and a natural hormone replacement! I now know exactly why Samantha (on Sex in the City II) freaked out when the airline confiscated her progesterone cream. It's the key to happiness and balanced hormones for women no matter what their age!!

Anyway, I wish I could tell you my roller coaster ride was over but then came 6weeks 3 days pregnant. I went to the doctor for my 1st ultra sound. I'm sitting in the exam room when the nurse comes in and asks why I was there I tell her for an ultra sound and her reply was "Ohhhh, um let me go dust off the machine and see if it still works" WHAT? Turns out this doctor doesn't do OB anymore (she used to) but she has now settled back into regular GYN. When I saw the machine they were going to use my heart sunk, it was dusty and old. It reminded me of the computers my elementary school had. The Dr. came in all chatty but within a few minutes after starting the ultra sound...she got really quiet. I looked up at the screen and saw a sac...but no baby....no heartbeat. My heart sunk. She immediately replied "well it's still early - your dates could be off" ...problem was - they weren't.

I was then sent a week later to a state of the art imaging center for a 2nd opinion. Here they have 3D/4D technology but after two previous losses, I had very little hope. I laid down on the table with my bladder filled to the brim with 32oz of water about ready to explode. The technician started the ultra sound and again I saw on the screen a beautiful sac, but from my angle ....no baby....no heartbeat. I knew it...another miscarriage. Just as I was about to fall into a pit of depression the tech says, "and there we go, baby's heartbeat is 140!" I'm sorry...WHAT?! What did you say?! She then turns the monitor and my eyes nearly pop out of my head as I see clear as day a baby....with a flickering heart beat. I immediately start shooting her questions -- how far along am I measuring? Does everything look okay? She then says, technically I am not supposed tosay anything, she then proceeds to print out a picture and hands it to me. She then replies, if you look closely on there you will see how far along you are. My 2nd angel! That meant the world to me! I left smiling with a picture of my baby in my purse. What a happy day! Damn that old ultra sound machine for putting me through this!!! Don't worry I immediately got a new doctor.

Thankfully that was our last (and I hope only!) scare this pregnancy. Everything since has been flawless, I saw the baby again at 8 weeks before I left on a work trip to Dallas. And my dear friend Christine sent me her doppler so I could hear the heartbeat at home at 10 weeks. Baby has a strong heartbeat of 172

I am now 12 weeks and well on my way to the 2nd trimester! We are SO excited and ready meet the newest addition to the Olsen family in March 2012!

Stand by for regular pregancy updates....

I'm back!

2011-08-24T00:20:00.000-05:00

Tap, Tap is this thing on?

I bet you've been wondering where I've been....well maybe not, but just in case

This should help explain my disappearance from the blogging world:

Reese's Party

2011-07-12T20:57:00.000-05:00

Soooo we had a little snafu with regards to the Birthday party. I was dragging all the coolers by the front door ready to load them into the car for Reese's party at the splash park on Sunday when my phone rang. It was my friend Kerrie and her first words were "now don't freak out...." You have to love any sentence that starts out that way..... "but I heard a rumor that the splash park sprinklers broke and the park is closed all weekend for maintenance" WHAT?!?! I have 37 people arriving tomorrow morning for Reese's party. Crap! I hung up and called the park to verify and sure enough they were closed. G.R.E.A.T.

Time for "Plan B" given the short turnaround I opted just to have the party at our house, so I frantically started making phone calls to our guests, clean the house and moved all the furniture on the 1st floor and brought Reese's playroom downstairs to create "Toddler Central" we also skimmed the pool and cleaned up the backyard, hung some quick decorations and 5 hours later exhausted I crashed onto the bed. Fortunately this was our only speed bump, the rest of the party was a huge success.

Our Birthday girl:

Playing with the party favors before the kids arrive:

On the menu: Deli sandwiches, "bone" shaped peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, "puppy stick pretzels" Fruit kabobs, gold fish, hydrant shaped cheese and "puppy chow"

Puppy cupcakes

Reese's doggie cake

Pool party!

Toddler Central
Ball pit, cars, coloring station, roller coaster, magnet boards

Mmmmm frosting

Out cold!

Happy 3rd Birthday Reese!

2011-07-07T01:08:00.000-05:00

Whoa did you just see that? 3 years that just FLEW by us? My baby turned 3 today......3! She's so grown up! < tear >

Reese you amaze us everyday, you are so smart and such a cutie. We are constantly stopped in public so strangers can tell us how adorable you are. Your Pre-school teacher told us that you are very independent, funny, and can hold your own on the playground. We're so proud!

You still love doggies. You are obsessed. I lost count of how many doggies we have now, it's out of hand. But alas, how could I deprive you of your favorite thing? We are having a doggie birthday party this weekend with all your new friends here in California. We decided to have your party at the new splash park at Lake Skinner and you are soooo excited.

Mommy also got up early to make you cupcake to bring to Pre-school so you could celebrate with your Pre-school friends. You were all about licking the batter.

You were all set to go with your doggie backpack!

The kids sang "Happy Birthday" to you!

And Miss Barbara and Miss Lauri made you a special Birthday crown

Daddy also took you to see Cars 2 - but you got antsy and couldn't sit through it so you ended up leaving early.

Your big gift from mommy & daddy was a Flyer 500. You spent the ENTIRE night playing with it and had so much fun!

You are also getting your big girl bed on Monday!

We skyped with Gra-Gra, Uncle Shaun, Aunt Natalie, Rammie, Keagan, Karli and Uncle Kevin today. Everyone wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday!

I can't wait to see your face at your party this weekend.

Happy Birthday baby! I love you!

Take me away!

2011-06-22T12:14:00.002-05:00

Who needs a getaway? (UM ALL OF US!) I thought I'd share that Southwest has some awesome fares right now! I've already enticed a few guests to come visit us! YAY!

Check them out!

The fine print:
You have to book by tomorrow (6/23) and travel between Aug 23rd - November 16th

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T02:28:00.001-05:00

July 6, 2008 I witnessed the most amazing thing, my husband became a father. My heart doubled in size as I watched him kiss our brand new baby girl on the forehead and welcome her into the world. Nearly 3 years later, my heart still melts every time I see her turn the corner and run and jump into his arms. Or when she climbs on his lap and asks him to show her the moon and the stars every night before she goes to bed. Any man can donate sperm and become a father but it takes a very special person to be a dad. I am forever grateful that Tom is Reese's dad.

|
Happy Father's Day Tom!
Reese and I love you very much!

Happy Birthday Tommy!!

2011-06-17T12:50:00.003-05:00

Happy 43rd Birthday to my amazing husband Tom!

(Yeah, yeah I know he still looks like he's 28 and I look much older - shut it!)

I always tell him I married him for his genes so I could have beautiful children

....and I think it paid off, don't you?

I mean check out this cutie!

Anyway, this is Tommy's 1st Birthday away from home since we moved to California and since we don't have the money to fly in all his friends for surprise party I had to settle for coordinating a virtual surprise party. So I asked all his family and friends to send me a photo of them saying Happy Birthday to Tom.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to help me with this - it meant a lot! He was truly surprised and I may have even seen a small tear roll down his face. He was definitely touched.

Special thanks to Tom's friend Christine for putting together this awesome Birthday video!
It's hilarious - and I totally wish I was at this party! Looks like everyone was having a great time... in fact, I'm not sure any of them were sober LOL! Best part is the only person who actually knows Tom is the one behind the camera :)

When Tom woke up this morning the wall paper was changed on his computer - it was a picture from family back in Illinois wishing him a Happy Birthday, puzzled he asked me where I got that picture and what that was all about. I then pointed around the kitchen where he slowly realized he was surrounded by much more Birthday love. (In Tom's defense it is dark when he wakes up - his work shift starts at 5am) The photos starting popping up everywhere and while he was busy looking at the pictures I hijacked his Facebook account and posted the virtual surprise party there. I had the physical photos printed in 5x7's and they eventually landed on a wall in our house. Along with a Happy Birthday banner from his favorite 2.5 year old :) We're off to dinner at Claim Jumper later tonight to celebrate and Reese and I are making him a yummy Banana cream Birthday cake.

Behold Birthday love from around the United States - let the fun begin!

Tommy's cousins from Arizona

Aunt Debbie & Uncle Herb
(Arizona)

Tom's Mommy
(Arizona)

Best Man - Scotty

Cousin Jeff used a little creativity and incorporated Tom's Love of the Cubbies!
Let me hear ya Everybody!

John & Matron of Honor Sarah
at their Indiana rendition of Wrigley Field - Love it!

My mommy

My mommy with Sister in law Natalie
They were braving a garage sale that day!
Busy selling off the rest of our stuff that didn't make the moving truck!

My brother Shaun with his wife beautiful wife Natalie

Tom's artistic Cousin Sarah in Arizona showing her Cubbie Pride too!

Great friends Lisa & Joe!

Our Mexican/Philippino friend from Ohio - Gary!

Tom in his spandex chatting about beef :)
Portillos Beef that is -- Yum!
We won't ask any questions about his wardrobe choice...mmmm kay?

Shaun, Bobby & Angela from Arizona

Our friends Christine, Scott, Acadia & Rylan from on the other coast!
(Massachusetts)
Miss you guys!

Tom's step brother's family - Alan, Bridget, Brenna & Brooke

Tom's step sisters - Carol & Susan and their family, Rick, Alicia & Douglas
Little do they know we have a Portillos just 30 minutes away! ;)

Our sideway friends - Amy, Marty & little Ben

Can't wait to see you guys next month!

The beautiful Neff girls (Tom's sister & our nieces from Arizona)

And don't forget Brother in Law Kevin behind the camera

Glen & Vio (little Gavin was sleeping upstairs)

Greetings from Texas ya'll - lots of love from the Kordewick family
So great seeing you guys last week! Miss you!

Tsunami Softball team -

special thanks to Amanda for getting the guys together for this pic

Reese - take1

Reese -- take2

The Baldemore family from Arizona

Reese - take3

Tom's Mom and Reese - take 4!

The fabulous Senter family from Cleveland Ohio - soon to be Arkansas!

My best friend Brynna and her hubby Brian -

also our neighbors here in Cali!

The AT&T Crew - part I

The AT&T crew - part II (Thanks Mary Ann for coordinating!)

Petey aka trusted kitty sitter

Dave & his beautiful soon to be wife Vanessa
Can't wait for the wedding in November!

Happy Birthday Tommy! We all love you!

Pretty Pantry

2011-05-22T17:33:00.001-05:00

I have a new obsession thanks to my friend Sarah, it's called www.pinterest.com
It is an online cataloging site where you can see what everyone (who participates) is bookmarking on the internet. It's so fun. They also have an app perfect for browsing when you're waiting in line or at a doctors office. I'm definitely a "picture" person and love getting ideas from this site.

Case in point -- behold my weekend project! I saw a picture of a beautifully organized pantry

and then took one look at mine and shuttered.

BEFORE:

Time for a makeover!!

I immediately headed out to Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Home Goods and grabbed some glass containers and then spent the rest of the night....and into the wee hours of the morning organizing our pantry. I was on a mission it had to be done.....now.

And WOW! What a difference! I still have a few touches to add but here's the

AFTER:

a few years ago I got this fancy dancy organizer:

After we moved to California (the recycle state!) I grabbed these awesome recycle bins at IKEA. The slide perfectly under the shelves in the pantry and have handles to carry them to the recycle center when they're full.

Ahhh it's like pantry porn :) Gotta love it!

Stay tuned - I'm waiting on the delivery of my new desk for a new office renovation!

YAY!

2011-05-10T00:57:00.000-05:00

We got the call! We got the call! What call!? Remember this post?

I found that amazing Preschool for Reese back in January but not only was there a waiting list to get in but she had to be (3) and potty trained. At the time it all seemed pretty discouraging but I kept my hopes up. Well fast forward to around 5:30pm today our phone rang and it was the Director calling to tell me that Reese had cleared the wait list!!! Not only that but the next school year begins July 25th which is after her 3rd birthday...AND... I am thrilled to say that Reese is potty trained!!! I'm so excited! YAY! YAY! YAY!

I absolutely LOVE this Preschool and I can't wait for her to start, she is going to love it. I simply can't wait to see the smile on her face everyday because I just know we found a diamond in the rough as far as Preschools go. I know I sound waaay too excited about this but hey...when you know it's right...you know it's right. Call it mother's intuition, call it whatever you like, but I just have a great feeling about her 1st school experience and that makes me happy.

Let's see, what else has been going on since my last post? The weather has been amazing lately and we've been able to take full advantage of the pool and backyard as well as some beach time. I have to say that I haven't grown tired of seeing the sun every morning.

In the baby department, I got my last blood test back and it confirmed I have a progesterone deficiency. So I've been doing a TON of reading/researching to figure out my next move. My doctor is recommending that I jump in with both feet and start some pretty invasive testing at the San Diego infertility center which is supposedly one of the top practices in the country but not only is it an inconvenient distance, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready for that. I still want to try to get pregnant on my own so I've started down a more natural/homeopathic path. I started acupuncture a few weeks ago and visited the health store for some progesterone cream. I also got some herbs from my acupuncturist that should help. So we'll just see where this takes us. In addition to these measures I also increased my gym time and started a new weight/cardio/yoga routine. I'm still taking Yoga classes at the Yoga studio and I love them. I feel MUCH more relaxed about everything than I did a few months ago.

Tom's been busy teaching himself guitar and I have to admit he's getting good. When we met and he told me he dabbled with the guitar I asked him to play me Van Halen's "316" and he said he wasn't that advanced. But guess who surprised me on Valentines day with a flawless performance? It was so sweet and meant a lot.

Reese is non-stop, if you can believe it she talks more than me! She has a ton of energy (energy I'd like to bottle!) and she makes us laugh every single day. She is still obsessed with doggies and brings them everywhere she goes. She definitely has a very strong will and can be quite stubborn (gee wonder where she got that?) But she's an absolute joy and I am enjoying every minute watching her grow. I still can't believe she's going to be 3 in July.

Aside from all that we are looking forward to Tom's mom coming out for visit later this month. I'm also planning a girls weekend to Vegas. Mother's Day was very nice, I got a gift card for new Yoga clothes and a beautiful picture colored by my little artist. We enjoyed a relaxing day at home.

10 days til our 4 year Anniversary! Where does the time go? Well that's it for today, I need to get to bed!

The Easter Bunny was here!

2011-04-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!! I hope you are having a nice relaxing day with family and friends! Tom and I were awakened at 7am by a very excited two year old that stumbled upon an egg when she went to the bathroom and proceeded to come running into our room screaming

"THE EASTER BUNNY WAS HERE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

We skyped my mom and Reese was off and running looking for all the Easter eggs

And I'm pretty sure she found each and every one!

In the meantime, Mommy & Daddy enjoyed some Orange, Peach Mango Mimosas ~ Yum!

I also made some really yummy banana muffins

This was the first thing Reese saw when she came down the stairs. In my defense, one of these baskets was from my mom. The other two.....well....one from me and one from..... Tom? No huh? Okay, Okay she's spoiled. What can I say, I bought a few things here...and a few things there....and the next thing you know we have 3 baskets.....annd a doggie purse.

Reese had to show her new doggie purse to Grandma

Whoa, what's that?

Discovering she got a water shooter for Easter, she also got a Nemo raft for the pool and some other pool toys. Now we just need the pool water to warm up!

Checking out her loot

Tonight we're having a nice turkey dinner but otherwise just relaxing.

Reese is watching her new Tangled movie and feasting on Easter candy.

We miss everyone back home and hope they are enjoying the egg hunt at Aunt Elaine's house!

Easter Eve

2011-04-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it's hard to be away from family on holidays. Just as Reese was old enough to do fun things like color eggs and make cookies, I wisked her away to California away from her Grandma :( So I do try to include Grandma in everything we do here.

Earlier this week we colored eggs and since Grandma couldn't be here in person we Skyped her in (Gotta love Skype!) We're also planning on Skyping Reese's egg hunt around the house Easter morning.

Reese had a ball decorating her eggs, she must have put 14234894 doggie stickers on her egg

Even Daddy joined in the fun

We did kitty eggs, and puppy eggs and eggs with stickers. Mommy did one with glitter.

Daddy's eggs were still soaking in dye so no pictures of his :(

This morning was the City of Temecula's big egg hunt....or candy/toy hunt for the little ones. I had a really cute Easter dress to put her in that my mom got her and of course she REFUSED to put on the Easter dress. I finally got her dressed (she picked her shirt because we are officially in the "I want to dress myself stage" and we headed over. When we arrived, this was the face we got followed by "I don't want to see the Easter Bunny", "I don't want to hunt eggs" "I don't want to play"

Oh this is going to be fun.....

She eventually warmed up when she saw all the other kids start showing up Each area was designated by age with different color balloons. Here's us standing in front of the 0-2 area. Behind me on the ground are toys and candy galore! It looked like a giant pinata had exploded all over the park.

Reese had her Easter bucket ready and was all set to go

Then we heard the countdown over the loud speaker 5-4-3-2-1 and all the toddlers were off and running

It was sort of an organized madhouse if there is such a thing

Reese did a great job grabbing all her candy and filling her Easter bucket

Here she is with all her loot playing with her new windmill.

Hopefully the Easter Bunny will find our new house tomorrow.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter tomorrow and enjoy spending time with family & friends!

MIA

2011-04-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry to be MIA for the past month. I'm okay! I've just been refocusing some of my priorities. We are gearing up for a huge implementation at work which is keeping me busy and then after work you'll find me either at yoga, acupuncture or the gym. By the time I get home one of those and play with Reese for 15 minutes it's time to go to bed. My work day now starts at 7am so sadly this girl is in bed by 9 now which leaves little energy for blogging.

But I did take a few pictures for you. over the last weeks. Let's see.....Reese went to her first Birthday party out here. Her little friend Juliana turned 2 and the party was at My Gym, a super cute place where the kids can do gymnastics and run around and play for a few hours.

The Birthday girl:

Reese twirling with the hula hoop

Yum! Banana Cupcakes!! That's how you are supposed to eat those right?

Bounce! Bounce! Trampoline

The kids played a game where they had to go on a hunt for "turtle food" for the turtle...Reese was obsessed with the talking turtle (puppet) I'm seriously considering getting one for the house because she listened so intently.

What kid isn't happy in a ball pit?

Our next trip was back to the San Diego Zoo (now that we are members) with our new friends Ursula & Sophie! The girls LOVED the train ride. SO much that we had to go around twice. The weather was perfect and it was a great day out.

Reese had to check out the seals. We found out that she HATES statues...so we sort of tricked her into popping up the hole to be by the seal. She wasn't happy. LOL!

Reese and her friend Sophie exploring the caves

I also joined a working mom's group and we held our first event which was an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. Again we had great weather and the kids had a blast collecting all the eggs.

I bet you can guess what Tom's been up to, right?

Fertility challenged

2011-03-15T19:35:00.000-05:00

Sitting in front of me are (7) different requisitions to "diagnose and treat" my ...infertility. Yep you read that correctly, I've now officially entered the world of infertility. Oh Joy!
After my 2nd miscarriage I went to see a Dr. here that came highly recommended...and he was very nice. I loved his office staff, everyone was wonderful BUT he basically just handed me scripts for whatever fertility drug "I" wanted without doing any testing or monitoring and honestly it concerned me.  To clarify, they weren't new drugs, I had been on them before but my pregnancy had still resulted in a miscarriage so isn't the definition of insanity when you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results? On top of it, I read this story on a message board I frequent and it scared me. This girl was not being monitored on Clomid and ended up in the ER. I personally hate being on any kind of drug, I'm not even a big fan of taking Tylenol, so I really wasn't up for yet another science experiment with my body. I was ready for a 2nd opinion.
Enter Dr. #2 who also came highly recommended by one of the girls in my mom's group who had also suffered miscarriages. I'm not sure what I expected exactly ....but I've been used to previous doctors telling me that miscarriages are a "fluke" and not to be too worried because I had already had a healthy pregnancy, it doesn't mean anything and I should just try again. But today the story changed. The concern now is that I am approaching "advanced maternal age"   and my miscarriages are "recurrent" or "habitual abortions" as the medical community has so fondly termed them (insert cringe here) and time is no longer on my side. My Dr. was also disappointed to hear that they didn't do any testing after my 2nd loss.

Sooo...the plan now is to send me through 3 months of bloodwork and diagnostic testing to rule out things that could be causing me to lose babies. They even threw Tom into the testing mix. We need to rule out his "sample" as well.

Blah, blah, blah, all I heard was "3 more months" which puts a sibling for Reese as far out as 2012 already...possibly into 2013 I just want to cry. Lost is my dream of having my kids close together in age. I know this isn't the end of the world but I can say "it sucks" right? I'm allowed that, right? It sucks.

Well, I can't bore you entirely with my dauting medical history so in happier news, I planted my very first all organic garden this past weekend along with some flowers to dress up our concrete jungle of a backyard.  Behold some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

18 quarts of yummy strawberries! Yum!!

Mom's visit

2011-03-10T17:42:00.000-06:00

I have proof! I have proof! My Mom (who never travels!) came to California!! I still can't believe it. My mom was a trooper, she had a case of bronchitis and was coughing up a storm and still managed to fly across the country to come visit us and have a good time.

On the way home from the airport we stopped off at the beach on Coronado which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to go. I was hoping to have lunch on the sun deck but for some reason it was closed.

Well now what?! You Yelp! of course...I've never been steered wrong by my friends on Yelp!

They recommended the Burger Lounge and boy was it yummy! Which reminds me I should add a review. I had a turkey burger and a chocolate milkshake - YUM!

For the first three days Mom was in town, I had to work so Reese & Grandma got some quality time together. My first free day it was raining of course! (BOO!) so we decided to go to Birch Aquarium in La Jolla followed by lunch at Torrey Pines golf course which overlooks the ocean.

Check out the size of that sea bass!

There's also a room completely dedicated to seahorses...I had NO idea there were that many kinds of seahorses!

When we got to Torrey Pines we told the waiter it was my Birthday so he brought us a free dessert! Strawberry Shortcake with a hint of vanilla and it was DELICIOUS!

Next stop (later that week) was the Zoo. I guess I knew that San Diego had a nice zoo but I didn't realize it was THAT nic, It's definitely one of the top zoos in the country. It is very lush and inviting, it doesn't smell like a zoo and the exhibits were all very animal friendly. Even lunch was good - we ate at Alberts, the sit down restaurant and it was excellent.

I decided a membership was in order so if you come to visit I'll be happy to take you to the zoo!

Now on to my favorite exhibit - the Pandas! Did you know that females and males pandas are only fertile during a 24 to 72 hour window every 2 to 3 years!! So 2 pandas must be brought together at exactly the right time. Sometimes the fertility is only for a 60 minute period of time!!

And I thought I had a hard time getting pregnant! Sheesh no wonder they are endangered.

No trip to the zoo is complete without a visit to the petting zoo. Reese was obsessed with feeding the goats and sheep, it was too cute. I had to drag her out of there..."No Mommy I want to feed the goat!!!"

Mom & Reese checking their hands against the size of an apes

On the morning of my actual birthday I woke up to a party at my house!

Reese & Grandma were busy making me a Birthday cake, Birthday cupcakes and Chocolate covered strawberries (Yum!)

My team at work send me a box of yummy cookies and my wonderful husband got me flowers and surprised me with a trip to Vegas. Reese spoiled me with a pair of Ugg boots.

Special thanks to my friend Natalie who sent me a gift card to a nearby spa and to my mother-in-law who treated me to some fabulous products from Estee Lauder.

My sister in law gave me a gift card to Lulumon for some new yoga pants (yay!)

I was SPOILED. A huge thank you to all of you for making my day so special.

Turning 34 wasn't so bad afterall.

Before we knew it the week was over and it was time to take mom back to the airport. :(

We did some heavy recruiting in an attempt to get her to move here...the jury is still out.

It would have helped if it was sunny while she was here. Of course the one week my mom picks to come out it's chilly! Temps were in the mid 60s all week and hit over 70 the day she left. Oy!

On the way home from the airport Reese and I stopped at Balboa Park.

We played with the other kids and took in the sun. Perfect ending to a perfect week.

Thanks again for coming out Mom - it meant a lot to us!!

I'll keep my eye out for a ranch house in the neighborhoods nearby!

Saying Goodbye

2011-03-04T01:24:00.001-06:00

Well it's been a LONG month but we got through it. First and foremost I want to give a shout out to my amazing sister-in-law Kim who overnighted a buddy pass to me so I didn't have to spend a thousand dollars on airfare to go home last minute for my grandfather's funeral. I seriously married into the most amazing family and I am so just feel so lucky to have them in my life. Thank you Kim!!

Grandpa's funeral was such a wonderful tribute to his life. Even though it was on a Wednesday morning when most people couldn't get off work, we still had around 150 friends & family come pay their respects, what an amazing turn-out! The grandsons were pallbearers and the granddaughters read bible passages, my Aunt gave a complete biography of Grandpa's life from birth to his final days which was incredibly moving followed by a few words from my brother that made us laugh and reminisce in good memories of Grandpa. The cemetary is directly behind our church so everyone in attendance followed the casket out and walked behind the hearse and a pipe & drum choir that my cousin Ryan is a part of. Listening to the bag pipes and walking slowly out to his final resting place was hard. We were met at the grave by the honor guard who followed with a 21 gun salute and the folding of the American flag that was cast over his coffin. As Taps was played the tears flowed freely as we said our final goodbyes. I remember thinking to myself that THIS is how you want to leave this world, 92 surrounded by family, friends, and a very respectful thank you from your country for your service. You couldn't help but reflect on your own life and the legacy you want to leave behind.

The next few days were spent with family. My cousin and I went through photo albums and got to see rare photos of my Grandma & Grandpa before they were married. We also found very candid shots of my Grandpa messing around with some of his army buddies in the jungle in WWII. It was neat to see him so young and happy. My mom and I also spent time cleaning out the house and tying up some loose ends. We had to get as much done as we could because we decided it would make the most sense for my mom to fly back to California with me instead of flying out by herself just a few days later for my Birthday weekend. More on that in my next post!

Celebrating 92 years!

2011-02-13T15:26:00.000-06:00

My grandpa passed away this weekend and it's so hard to say good-bye. Grandpa who would have been celebrating 93 years this May was the monarch of our family and he will surely be missed by not only our family but many many friends.

Growing up I spent a lot of time at my Grandma & Grandpa's house. I have fond memories of watching Grandpa come in from the orchard with a fresh bowl of strawberries or raspberries, or watching him put on his gear and get us fresh honey from the hives on the side of the barn. Grandma was usually busy canning, cooking, cleaning or chasing after us. Her house was spotless and everything was handled with a tremendous amount of love & care.
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Christmas at their house was always fun. The house was full of children; myself, brother and 6 cousins running around. Grandpa was always sure to have a hand crafted gift under the tree for each of us. One year we each received customized wood "tug boat" named just for us. I believe mine was "Lacey's Tinkerbell" I also remember receivng a wooden duck on a stick that when it walked the feet flapped over and over as it waddled along the floor.

Every Easter Grandma & Grandpa would have a huge egg hunt set up, and after church each grandchild was handed an egg carton and sent off into the orchard to find their dozen eggs. I still wonder how many eggs might still be out there :) After we collected our eggs, we'd fly kites and run off to a nearby park. Grandpa also kept tricycles & big wheels under his house for all the grandchildren when we'd come over his back yard became a giant race track.

Over the years Grandpa became a Great-Grandpa to 11 Great-grand kids. But even though Grandma passed away back in 2005, Grandpa made sure that his 8 grandchildren , their spouses and all 11 great-grandchildren each had an Easter egg with a $5 bill in it.

Grandpa's conversations with us were normally focused on us doing well in school, behaving for our parents, and of course finishing our plates. Not a meal went by where Grandpa wasn't telling us there was "plenty of food!" if anyone was still hungry.

What I will remember most about my grandfather is his work ethic, the man never sat down. He was constantly at the chuch, in the garden or out helping a neighbor. He had a heart of gold. If he taught me anything it was certainly to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" In 34 years I never heard my grandfather so much as swear. He was kind to everyone and always willing to lend a hand.

Grandpa is a WWII veteran, and last year was selected to go on the honor flight, which is a free flight to Washington DC to see the memorial constructed (finally!) for our veterans. Unfortunately many of the men who served are at an age where they can't get around easily and this was true in Grandpa's case. He was simply too weak to make the trip. But Grandpa did receive over 100 letters thanking him for his service from family & friends which I'm sure meant more to him then seeing the memorial.

As you can see, I could go on and on about the amazing 92 years of this man's life. I was honored to have him as my grandfather and I will miss him everyday.

I love you Grandpa! Rest in peace and tell Grandma we said hello!

They know.

2011-02-10T02:11:00.001-06:00

We'll it's official, Calfornia knows I am here! I got my California Drivers License ~~today....~~ oops! I mean 30-90 days from now. Yes that's right, I took my test today and passed, got my picture taken and paid my fee but I won't actually get the license for 3 months. What kind of craziness is that?! 3 months?! I never knew how efficient Jesse White's DMV offices in Illinois actually were until I stepped foot in a California DMV today. Oh my what a difference!

I am simply amazed that the United States can put a man on the moon but we can't streamline the process to obtain a drivers license. When I arrived in California I promptly went to the California DMV website to find out what my "to-dos" were as a new resident and was shocked to see that the very first thing I needed to do was to make an appointment for my visit to the DMV. Hmmmmm I thought, this is new....an appointment? You mean I won't have to wait in that god awful line next to the people that clearly just came from the circus or Wal-mart? (Point of clarification: I mean THESE people who shop Walmart) Wow! I was impressed...an appointment. How efficient!

I arrived 6 minutes early for said appointment, I grabbed the very last parking space in the parking lot and headed towards the door expecting to see a very orderly DMV where I must be checking in with the "front desk" for my "appointment", where this friendly DMV employee would surely greet me, offer me a latte and take me to their desk to simply fill out some-paperwork, take my picture and I'd be on my way. (ok maybe the latte is a stretch but a girl can dream?) Um WRONG-O, instead I walked into.....you guessed it....a LINE. But clearly this line isn't for me because I have an "appointment" so I walk right past that line to the front desk and ask where I check in for "appointments" only to have the stereotypical overworked, underpaid, annoyed DMV worker say "Back of that line" WHAT?! So much for the effiicient DMV, apparently the only thing orderly about this place is that they hand you a number when you arrive....whether you have an "appointment" or not doesn't really matter....it's all a facade! I asked the girl in front of me if she had an "appointment" and she said no and of course was promptly was served before me. What a joke. So my advice to anyone headed to a California DMV is - skip the appointment!

Anyway, it seems California is cracking down on fraud (which is a good thing!) so they are making their new IDs easier to use and harder to fake which of course in turn is causing MAJOR delays with production...as long as 3 months. Guess I won't be buying alcohol anytime soon!

Among the new features, licenses for drivers under age 21 will be printed vertically, making them easier to identify for police and shopkeepers. The cardholder's signature and birthday will be raised, allowing them to be felt by touch. Hidden images can be seen only with the use of ultraviolet light, and a laser perforation outline of the California brown bear will be visible when a flashlight is pressed against the back of the card.

Ooooooh fancy!! Long gone will be the days of "fake" ID's sorry to all the 16 year olds out there.

Here's an example of what mine will look like when I get mine sometime in May!

Time to move!

2011-02-02T12:37:00.001-06:00

The Blizzard of 2011 commences!! Our neighbor was kind enough to share pictures of our house back home and ZOMG! am I thankful that we do not have shovel that today!! I have to admit it is SO weird to hear about ice & snow when all I see is sun & palm trees. I didn't wear a coat out this morning when I went to get my latte for heaven's sake. It's 61 & sunny here so this is just crazy. I actually feel a bit left out.....but I think I'll get over it ;)

Front yard back in Chicagoland

Backyard in Chicagoland

View from where I am....

I'm happy to start researching rentals for you - just say the word! :) Our guest room is ready to go...

Keep warm everyone!

One Year Later

2011-01-24T00:23:00.000-06:00

Ugh I did it, I looked back to my blog post a year ago to see what my goals were and how many of them I actually accomplished. That's always hard when you know you didn't accomplish them all. That's why I rarely put goals on paper, because the guilt when I don't accomplish them consumes me.

But I digress...let's see how I did.

Lacey's top 10 things to change in 2010~

New job! - CHECK! (1 year anniversary was January 12th!)
Quiet Time - Reese is going to bed at 8:30pm. Eh, I'll give myself a 50/50 here. She does go to bed earlier but we're not quite at 8:30. Sooooo this one has room for improvement.
Cooking - My goal is to master at least 25 different dishes and add a few desserts :) FAIL. I think I added 3 at most. I suck. But now that I have a new kitchen, I will say that I have already tried a few new recipes in just the two months we've been here. So I'm giving this one hope in 2011;)
Health - Get in shape without a gym. FAIL. 2 miscarriages, enough said. I'm taking a Yoga class, it's a start.
House - I want a new house - CHECK!!!!!! Not only do I have a new house, but it's in a new state! Whooo hooo!!! Big ole check mark next to this one!
Finances - I am in search of a new online software to track our finances. Check! Mint.com :)

Organization - I vow to change my ways so I am not constantly looking for my phone, my keys, etc. I'll say I'm getting better here but not there yet. This one again goes in the "room for improvement category"

Spend more quality time with family & friends - Check! I made sure to do this (or attempted with some) before we moved.
Travel - I want to do a few small trips that won't break the bank. Check!
Be in the moment - Check! and I think yoga is helping with this one. I am spending more time away from my laptop and in the moment, whether it be playing on the floor with my little girl or taking in the sunshine and fresh air. I have to admit the moutains and never ending sunshine in Cali have helped tremendously/

So that puts me at 60%..for 2010. Not terribly impressive but if I take the remaining 4 goals and turn them into 2011 goals, I think I have a shot :)

Are you sitting down?

2011-01-21T19:33:00.000-06:00

Big news....HUGE...almost unbelieveable news. Probably not as exciting for YOU but I am SO excited. You see my mom doesn't travel. It's a "hassle" so she politely declines any invitation that requires her to get on a plane ...including the invitation to my destination wedding. I was sad but I understood.

But OHHHHHH how things change when a granddaughter enters the picture and then moves to California. Suddenly the clouds part and the sun shines and the "hassle" seems to dissapate. This is just a really long, drawn out, annoying way to tell you that MY mother has booked AIRLINE ticket to FLY to see us next month for my Birthday. I honestly never thought I'd see the day. This is HUGE news. What an amazing Birthday present. I'm so excited to show her around California...Catalina Island, Coronado Island, LaJolla, the beach maybe LA. I don't even know where to start! YAY!!!! It's so fun to have something to look forward to!

We also have our first official "guests" coming next weekend. My niece Keagan (8) has a gymnastics meet in San Diego next Saturday so the whole family is flying in and staying with us. The guest room just needs 1 coat of paint and we're all ready for them! YAY! for visitors! I'm also excited to see Keagan strut her stuff on the mat. I've heard she's quite the gymnast!

In other news, I went to my yoga class last night and I LOVED it. (Can you believe there is this much positive stuff in one post?!) I loved the location, the studio, the teacher. It's perfect! I'm going to try to see if I can make their Pilates class work with my schedule too.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Coronado Island

2011-01-09T23:15:00.002-06:00

I'm sad the weekend is over :( we had so much fun this weekend and one more day would be so nice!

On Saturday Tom had his softball tournament and he had the catch of the game - YAY! Tom! Reese and I stopped by the farmers market, found a new playgroup, did some exploring and shopped. The funniest part of the day was when Reese and I were walking around one of the stores and she got antsy being in the cart so she decided to tell EVERY person that walked by "I'm stuck in the cart! Help me!" Which definitely got some smiles. She also decided to announce to the dressing room that "Mommy was naked" Thank you sweetheart -- Oy!

Today was a girls day on Coronado Island. We had lunch at Hotel del Cornado, walked the beach and then jumped on our bikes for a beautiful scenic tour of the island. The weather was picture perfect --- but I forgot my camera so iPhone pics will have to do

Here's Bryn walking down the stairs from the hotel to the beach.

One of the pics I took while biking

The gorgeous beach on a perfect January day

View of hotel from beach

Another view from the bike trail

Sunset on Coronado

I tried to put myself in a picture but that didn't work out so well

Coronado Island is definitely on my list of places I want to bring all our visitors

hint...hint :)

Yoga & Ponies

2011-01-07T02:18:00.000-06:00

So what did you add to your life list for 2011?

I've always wanted to take a real Yoga class at a real Yoga studio and there just so happens to be one near our new house! YAY! I decided this will be yet another way to change the negative energy in 2010 into positive energy for 2011. Class is from 7:45-8:45pm which sounds like the perfect way to end the day if you ask me. I didn't go crazy, it's been a long time since I've done yoga so I figured Prana Flow was a good place to start.

Um what's Yoga Prana Flow?
Yoga Prana Flow moves through poses and sequences that unfold in an inherent harmony and body intelligence. The arrangement of movement is linked to the breath creating a coordinated and complementary mind/body experience that awakens the prana (life force) within. It is intended for students who are already familiar with most of the asanas and principles of alignment, and who wish to build stamina and endurance with their yoga practice.

Sounds fun right? Ok well it does to me! :) And I'm excited!

Hmmm, what else have we been up to? Ah yes, the search for a Pre-school for Reese. She's in daycare now but I really want something more structured and somewhere she can meet more little friends. We got a recommendation for a place called Murrieta Ranch and ZOMG! it is SOOOOO cute!

The campus has 4 different "themed" playgrounds that the children rotate through. There's a "train yard", "castle", "fort" and the "wild wild west" playground. Two of the toddler rooms have tree house looking lofts for the kids to climb up and read books in. The children already enrolled looked so happy and were having a ton of fun playing with shaving cream and giggling away. If all that wasn't enough, they also have a mini petting zoo on-site and the kids learn how to take care of the animals by feeding them and giving them water everyday. There's sheep, goats, chickens, a pony, ducks and a fun parrot that waves and talks to the kids and welcomes them in the morning when they arrive. LOVE!! On our visit Reese was completely obsessed with the parrot, she got so distracted that she left her beloved "Bells" doggie (her favorite) behind when we left and guess who had to go all the way back to get her? Mommy to the rescue!

Here's Mr. Parrot waving "Hi!"

The choo choo train we couldn't get Reese to leave

The "Wild Wild West" playground

One of the ponies

I figured there was no way we could afford this place but if I cut out a few lattes and switch some other priorities I think we can. YAY x 2! I was ready to sign her up the moment we walked in...but then came the fine print!
#1 this place has very low turnover (not surprising) and there's a waiting list. Boooo!
#2 Reese has to be fully potty trained (we're close but not there quite yet)
#3 Minimum age is 3 (her Birthday is in 6 months!)

We immediately put her on the waitlist and crossed our fingers we get a call for the next school year which just so happens to be her Birthday month. I REALLY want her to go here. This is so different from any other Preschool we visited. It's perfect. Everyone out there please cross your fingers she clears the waitlist!!

In other news, Tom *may* have found a softball team. He's playing in a tournament this weekend and hopefully will meet some new friends.

I joined a "Hip Mamas" club but haven't been to an event yet because most of them are scheduled while I am working and Reese is at daycare Boo! Hopefully one of the playdates will work with our schedule soon. It's time to venture outside the house.... :)

A fresh start

2011-01-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!!

Wow, I remember when it was 1999 and we were entering the 2000s and now an entire decade has passed! Where does the time go?

To start off the new year I decided to put the past behind me and begin with a fresh start. I felt like my miscarriages were gloomy clouds hanging over me and I wanted to change that energy for the new year so I decided to have something made that would remind me of the two babies I didn't get to meet but also let me move forward.

I designed this key chain so my two guardian angels can go with me wherever I go. The colored crystals represent the birthstones associated with their due dates. Rose for October and Ruby for July and then I am having a charm engraved with the year.

I'd also like to thank my friend Emily who sent me this fertility bracelet - as of last week, six people she knows who received this bracelet have gotten pregnant (some after like a year + trying). So it has officially deemed as good luck :) Fingers crossed!

Good-bye 2010!

2010-12-31T12:21:00.002-06:00

It's finally time for 2010 to come to a close and honestly I'm okay with saying good-bye. Don't get me wrong 2010 had some great moments and some wonderful people entered our lives but 2010 was also the year of 2 miscarriages and the lost dream of a 2010 baby so I'm ready to open the door to 2011 and see what's in store for us. Although I did fulfill two other goals in 2010, the first being to change positions within the firm which I did in January (it's hard to believe I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary!) and secondly I fulfilled the dream of moving my family to California. We've been here a month now and aside from missing my family terribly I do not regret the decision at all. We love it here and I'm really excited to raise Reese as a California girl.....well as best I can as a Chicago girl myself. :)

I thought it would be fun to rewind and look at a few of the New Year's Eve's of my past....well the pictures I have scanned anyway - the rest are in a box in my mom's basement because they didn't make it on the moving truck.

This is a picture of my old friend Jason. Unfortunately Jason disappeared out of my life on my wedding day. He RSVP'd yes to attend the reception and then I got a call saying he couldn't attend about an hour before it was supposed to start. No excuse, no nothing just after nearly 20 years of friendship he just couldn't make it. It broke my heart. But I don't think it had anything to do with me, I think it had everything to do with a jealous girlfriend, now wife. Maybe someday he'll pop back into my life. I hope so, I miss him.

Here's another friendship I miss, this is Tami, we were inseperable all through junior high and high school. Oh the times we had!! I was there the day my cousin Mark told me that he had a "thing" for my gorgeous friend Tami ...fast foward to today, they are happily married with two handsome little boys!!

Ah yes the three amigos!

Jenn on the left, me, and Sarah. Jenn and I met at work, my very first impression was that Jenn was wound a little too tight for my tastes but OMG! was I WRONG. She was just being "professional" which is something I was still learning how to do! LOL! Jenn is the life of the party, makes me laugh and helped me keep my sanity at work. Ten years later we are still great friends! Miss ya Jenn! You can see what she's up on her blog and see her two beautiful girls.
Sarah and I go WAAAAAY back and this woman holds my deepest darkest secrets so I won't say anything but I LOVE YOU SARAH! :)

Um yes, I bring that silly feathered hat to every New Year's eve party! I mean what's a party without a hat?! Here's another picture of the girls doing a New Year's shot. That gorgeous girl in the center is now my sister-in-law! How fun to take a look back at the "old" days!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's.

And now for the cliche - See You Next Year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T00:39:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Well as expected, Reese didn't waste anytime, the second she saw the slide she was all over it.

We had a hard time getting her to focus on all the other presents.

Even Mickey & Pluto went down the slide

Daddy finally got her to open another gift. This gift was very special, it was from my mom. She got Reese a recordable book where she recorded her voice reading the story to Reese.

It was so sweet, I may have teared up a little.

She also got some doggie pajamas from Aunt Kimmy

and even helped mommy open her gifts

My mom also joined us this morning while we opened presents via Skype. Here's Reese showing Grandma (who's on the laptop screen on the chair) her new doggie that walks, barks, pants and best of all SHEDS. Yes, I had on black pants this morning and they have little white synthetic hairs all over them! This dog truly is as close as you can get to the real thing. I swear if this thing pees or craps on my floor I'm calling the manufacturer!

Reese was in love her with new doggie, it went everywhere with her throughout the day. The funniest thing was getting the gift to our house. Kim took it to UPS and at first they refused to ship it because it kept panting and barking in the box. She actually had to muffle it with paper and sweet talk the UPS guy to let her ship it. Apparently they have a rule against anything that makes noise. It also scared the crap out of me once it was delivered. I brought the box in and set it down and a few seconds later it moved and I heard the muffled bark come from the box. Reese heard it too the moment she came down and saw all the presents -- "Mommy there's a doggie in there!"

This is her staring at the barking box:

Aside from the dining room table (see post below) Tom got me a Mino HD Flip Video recorder.

I love it! It's very easy to use and it records up to an hour. Now it will be much easier to send out videos of Reese growing up to both of her Grandmas.

And finally we ended our day with our very first turkey dinner....I mean first EVER. See that plate the turkey is on? I got that as a wedding gift in 2007 and this is the very first time it's being used. And that's the first turkey I ever cooked and it came out really yummy if I do say so myself. Although when I was boiling the potatoes for this awesome Cheddar mashed potato recipe I found, I went to drain the boiling water out of the pan and accidentally hit a glass on our counter top, as I tried to save the potatoes and the glass I managed to spill all that boiling hot water all over my hand. OUCH! I spent the rest of the night with my hand in a bucket of cool water and applying lidocaine, drinking wine and popping a few ibuprofen. At first I thought it was a 2nd degree burn but it's looking like I may have lucked out and it's only a 1st degree burn. Yet another thing I can remember about our first Christmas in California.

Overall it was a wonderful Christmas full of lots of smiles, laughter & love. Although we missed seeing our family face-to-face we didn't miss the snow in Chicago.

Until next year, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

xoxo

Lacey

Santa came! Santa came!

2010-12-24T23:36:00.002-06:00

Reese left out milk & cookies for Santa
and carrots for the reindeer. (the bottle of wine is for mommy)

Looks like the bribe worked! Santa came! Santa came!

Can't wait for her to wake up tomorrow!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T12:22:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

It's our very first sunny & warm Christmas and it's so.....odd. Going to the grocery store without a coat just seems so wrong. Typically we spend tonight at my Aunt's house with all my cousins and their kids, it's usually a madhouse. We'll miss everyone and I hope they have a wonderful time and at least think of us!

Instead we're hosting a mini Christmas Eve get together at our house this year (YAY!) My best friend Bryn is coming over with her husband and parents for wine & desserts. We may even jump in the hot tub. I guess that's the only upside to losing the baby...I get to have wine on Christmas and New Years and go in the hot tub. I'm trying to shift my thinking to everything happens for a reason so we'll see what's in store for us in 2011.

Merry Christmas to all !! I hope Santa is good to you!

xoxo
Lacey

RAOK

2010-12-23T19:34:00.001-06:00

I've been inspired. A friend of mine from high school turned 34 today and instead of expecting gifts from others he spent his birthday doing 34 Random Acts Of Kindness (RAOK) and he posted pictures of his adventure throughout the day. I was feeling very bah-humbug about Christmas this year but honestly this little project of Mike's just warmed my heart. Here's how his day went:

ROAK
#1 - Starting small. Instead of waiting for breakfast I made some for Jenn (his wife)

#2 - Big tip at Starbucks (the drink was free so i was obligated)
#3 - Donated to AnimalShelter.org which supports Illinois dogs

#4 - Left cookies and scratch off lotto tickets for mailman.
#5 - Delivered cookies to village hall
#6 - Delivered cookies to library

#7 - Delivered cookies & donuts to Police Station

#8 - Delivered cookies & donuts to Post Office

#9 - Delivered cookies to Fire Station

#10 - Donated baby food to local food pantry

#11 - Left quarters on vending machine

#12 - Left free soap at laundromat
#13 - Returned shopping carts
#14 - Gave random people scratch off lotto tickets
#15 - Left quarters for redbox rental
#16 - Delivered cookies to daycare where Jenn worked
#17 - Donated money to salvation army bell ringer
#18 - Dropped off dog treats to kennel
#19 - Dropped of a surprise treat for my sister who works at the kennel
#20 - Delivered flowers to a nursing home

#21 - Donated money to another Salvation Army Bell Ringer outside a Walgreens

#22 - Gave Lottery ticket to DMV picture taker

#23 - Left more money at a redbox rental

#24 - Snacks to various floors at hospital

#25 - Donated Pregnancy books to maternity ward

#26 - Donated coloring books/crayons to Pediatric floor

#27 - Visited Rae's Nana

#28 - Delivered snacks to Labor & Delivery where daughter Raegan was born
#29 - More snacks at hospital
#30 - Gave cratch off lotto ticket to garage attendant

#31 - #33 Trays of cookies to neighbors

#34 - Generous tip to waitress at Gioradonos' for B-day pizza celebration

If everyone spent their Birthday like this the world would be such a better place. Thank you to Mike for making me think twice today and doing a few random acts of kindness on my own and for helping me get back in the Christmas Spirit (just in time! Phew!)

Merry Christmas & Happy 34th Birthday Mike!!

Doesn't he have the cutest little family?

Table Fiasco

2010-12-23T00:39:00.000-06:00

My fabulous husband tried so hard to surprise me with a dining room table for Christmas. Unfortunately his plan was foiled by the vendor. Tom ordered it online and shortly after receiving his confirmation got an e-mail saying his order was canceled. Puzzled he called the vendor, they apologized and reinstated the order. Tom hung up and shortly after he received another cancellation e-mail. Back on the phone with customer service. This went back and forth for a few days until finally Tom gave up and had to let the cat out of the bag because I asked why on earth this vendor was calling so much! After one last ditch effort he was finally told that the table would be back online December 18th but wouldn't be available for Christmas delivery. He checked on December 18th and alas no table to be found. He came in a few hours later to break the news to me and I just happen to be sitting at my laptop. So I fired up the website for a final look and not only was the table there but it was $80 cheaper then when Tom originally ordered it. SCORE. The vendor also granted us a 20% discount to make up for the fiasco. So although it won't be here in time for Christmas, I think we'll be able to start out the new year with a table.

Yay! I'm definitely an adult now because I'm so excited to have a new table and a room completely dedicated to eating in! HOORAY!

Behold the new table, chairs & bench in all it's glory!

Keeping Busy

2010-12-21T01:02:00.001-06:00

Is Christmas really 5 days away? This month just flew right by! We'll I've been trying to keep myself busy to keep my mind off of ...well you know.

First I have some pictures for you from Tom's trip to Florida for the National ESPN Softball tournament at the Disney Land resort.

Pretty view of downtown San Diego from the plane as Tom departed for Florida:

Here's a picture of the park, Tom said they had plasma screens up with the brackets for each game. They also announced each player's name over the loud speaker when he was up to bat.

If you know my husband you know that alone made his day :)

Here's a few of the guys warming up in the batting cages on site.

Unfortunately they didn't take home the title, they lost on day 2 of the 3 day tournament.

Which gave them a little extra time to relax and enjoy their surroundings

And what trip would be complete without a few souvenirs?

Tom brought Reese home Mickey Mouse and of course...a Disney doggie!

I think we're now up to 40 doggies - and it's not even Christmas yet! Oy!

With the bad weather that weekend Tom's flight got delayed an hour but he made it home by 8pm which is more than I can say for the rest of his team. Only 1 lucky member of the team was booked on ATA and got home that night.The rest of the team was flying Southwest and unforunately all of their flights got cancelled. So in order for the team to get home before work on Monday they had to rent a mini-van and drive back to Chicago from Florida --Ouch! Just one more reason we're happy we moved when we did!

But don't think it's all roses here, it's actually been raining non-stop for about a week now and isn't scheduled to let up until Thursday this week. Tom and I are keeping an eye on the pool since it's close to overflowing! Eek! We did have to laugh though...Tom ordered a pizza tonight from a place 5 miles away and they refused to deliver "in this kind of storm" Um ...it's raining, not storming...there's no wind, no thunder, no lightening...just some water falling from the sky. I also watched a couple brace for a hurricaine under their umbrella while exiting Lowe's yesterday as a gentle mist fell from the sky.

So we busted out a few rainy day projects this weekend. Reese and I made Christmas cookies and decorated a Gingerbread house. Although I think more candy went in her mouth than it did on the Gingerbread house.

I also put up a few fun decals up in Reese's play room which is slowly coming together.

I think Santa has a few more things in store to complete this room

and Sunday I spent the day on my hands and knees scrubbing and sealing our travertine floors on the upper level and foyer. Something just didn't feel clean about them, but boy amd I paying for it today.
Every muscle in my upper body hurts. I forgot how much work scrubbing floors was.

I did take a picture on my way down the stairs, here's the foyer:

Next order of business is to find a mirror or some other decor to go over that table.

Any ideas?

One week later

2010-12-16T01:23:00.001-06:00

Well it's been a week since I lost the baby, I wish I could say I felt better. The "process" isn't over yet and seems like it is dragging on forever. I'm tired, lethargic, emotional, and my hormones are out of control; I've woken up with a headache everyday this week. Oh the joys of being a woman!
I have to admit I am having a hard time processing the fact that I'm supposed to have a two month old baby and/or be in my 2nd trimester and yet I'm back at square one. It's kinda like playing chutes & ladders and you are just about to win the game and alas you pick up the card that takes you back to the very beginning and you get to watch all the other players finish the game before you. At the moment the wind is out of my sails.
I am doing my best to redirect my thoughts to Christmas and watching all the excitement in Reese's eyes talking about the presents Santa is going to bring her and discovering fun childhood things like watching "Frosty the snowman" for the first time. Unfortunately more often than not my thoughts drift back to the fact that my "timeline" is off. I wanted my children closer in age and at this rate it's looking like they are going to be 4+ years apart. Reese actually came into my room the other morning and said "Mommy I want a baby brother or sister" It just crushed me. And given that I was 10 weeks, I was feeling pretty confident I was keeping this baby so I did it....I bought Reese the "Big Sister" t-shirt which now hangs in the closet with the tags still on it and I don't even have the energy to bring it back. She probably won't fit in it by the time a little sister or little brother comes.

I know there are worse things...I know there are couples dealing with much worse than I am but for this moment in time I've made reservations for a pity party of one and I'm not sharing my table.
On the bright side, my "girls" are definitely taking care of me and I am so so grateful for their kindness and generosity.

Special thanks goes out to our friends Lisa & Joe, Kami, Emily, Sarah, Lauren, Allison, Christine, and Marcie who sent the following refreshments to my pity party:

Yummy cupcakes!

Cheesecake!

Godiva Truffles!

And a gift certificate to this wonderful company -- where I don't even have to speak to a human...I just go to their website, pick out some yummy food, order it online and 30 minutes later it's delivered to my door no questions asked. Actually the guy who delivered my chinese food on Monday came in and delivered it right to my kitchen counter...now that is service! I didn't even have to sign anything.
This is a sulking girl's dream come true!

Also special thanks to Bryn who brought me Caramel Brulee Latte's and got me out of the house for little shopping trips to take my mind of things.

I am definitely enjoying all these little treats...but you should probably prepare yourself for a vent very soon regarding all the weight I am gaining! ;)

Now what truffles are left....

Kudos to my brother!

2010-12-14T16:09:00.000-06:00

I am so incredibly proud of my brother and wanted to share his news because he's too humble to scream this from the roof tops and well it's kind of a big deal!!
My brother was named amoung the top Control Engineering Leaders Under 40 for 2010. And this isn't just in Chicago, this is Nationally! Holy cow! My brother IS smart ;) just kidding!

Anyway cheers to Shaun on this awesome accomplishment! Time to find a new job out WEST!!!

You can read the entire article here

Good Luck Tsunamis!

2010-12-10T00:31:00.001-06:00

First and foremost I want to say thank you for the outpour of love & support I received the last 24 hours. I have received countless e-mails and texts sharing stories, sending hugs, thanking me for my courage to speak out and all around support and it really means a lot to me. It is times like these that you really need your family and friends and you have all come through with flying colors and I am so grateful.
So thank you.

Secondly, I know some of you may think I'm crazy but I put my husband on a plane today and sent him off to Orlando. You see his Illinois softball team - the Tsumani's qualified for a National tournament in Orlando at the ESPN fields at the Walt Disney World Resort and there was no way I was going to let him miss it....miscarriage or not. I may not have family out here in California but my best friend Brynna and her wonderful husband Brian are just like family to me and are only 15 minutes away should I need anything and our fabulous neighbors Kyle & Megan - whom we have known all of 12 days also offered a helping hand should I need anything and honestly aside from emotional damage control, physically I am doing okay and I would feel horrible if Tom missed this opportunity he's been looking forward to all year.

I just heard from Tom and he landed safely and is on his way to the hotel. Games begin tomorrow morning and I wish the Tsumani's the best of luck!!! Bring home a win - I'll be cheering you on from California!

Meanwhile Reese and I have big plans to decorate a gingerbread house, make cookies, and watch Rudolph the Red nose reindeer for the umteenth time. We may even take a wagon ride and venture out to the park because it's supposed to be 80 degrees & sunny on Sunday. Ah yes....now I remember why we moved out here :)

GO TSUNAMIS!

If you want to follow their progress here's the site:
http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/slowpitch-softball/slowpitch-holiday-classic/

The red SCHEDULE button, should lead to a link to Mens D, team name = Tsunami's
http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/media/ewwos/pdf/sports/slowpitch/DisneySPHolidayClassic2010D.pdf

xoxo

Lacey

Two little Olsen angels

2010-12-08T23:48:00.004-06:00

Two little Olsen angels

I wish I were posting good news today but I'm not. I was hoping to announce at Christmas that we are pregnant but that's not going to happen anymore. Sadly we had to say goodbye to yet another Olsen baby today. I was 10 weeks along and spent the day in the emergency room dealing with my 2nd miscarriage. I now have two little angels waiting and watching over me in heaven. Give your great grandma a hug for me and tell her I miss her, okay little ones?

So if things didn't seem to add up the past couple of weeks I hope this explains it. It may also explain why so many of you got calls to help us move - I couldn't lift anything. A huge thank you to Dave & Vanessa for tolerating my "no seafood" restaurant request or passing on my favorite glass of Reisling with no explanation before we left. And for anyone I've been moody with or oversensitive with lately I hope this explains that too. It's been a hard and trying 10 weeks.

Since I announced so early with our last pregnancy that we ultimately lost, I figured I'd keep this one under wraps until I made it to the 2nd trimester...which unfortunately didn't happen again this time.

The reason I am posting this is because I want my friends and family to know what's going on and to hopefully avoid the following questions:

For the select few that did know - "How's the pregnancy going?", "How are you feeling?"

For those who didn't know - "So when are you going to have another one?"

Those are the worst questions to hear so please avoid them at all costs.

I will answer the inevitable question of "How are you?" since I know inquiring minds want to know.

Answer: Well this SUCKS no doubt about that. I really hoped this baby was going to stick but I had a bad feeling from the start because we conceived using a fertility drug called clomid since I was having issues resulting from my 1st miscarriage and I knew precisely when I ovulated and when we conceived but when I went for my 1st ultra sound the tech showed me 2 weeks behind my dates. It didn't make sense to me and I had a bad feeling. We saw the heartbeat at 6 weeks and 7 weeks and they said I was progressing fine but I was still haunted by the 2 week difference. Couple that with a cross country move, the stress of renting out our house in Illinois and a 2000 mile drive with a sick toddler and it isn't exactly the perfect equation for a healthy pregnancy. But I did my best. Fast forward to last week - I got a severe headache that lasted for three days and I just knew it was my hormones dropping and the end was near. This morning my suspicions were confirmed.

So from here I'm sure I'll have a few days of tears, and I'll certainly be hugging my little Reese tighter but as for this moment I am still in shock and numb. My next order of business is to search for a (RE) reproductive endocrinologists for some answers. 1 miscarriage is ridiculously common and I was at peace with that but the statistics say that women have only a 1% chance of recurring miscarriage and oh lucky me, I fall into that 1%.

Not the 1% that win the lottery mind you....the 1% that have recurring miscarriages.

Anyway, if any of your voice messages, e-mails, or texts have gone unanswered please know they mean the world to me and I will read them but I'm just not up for chatting at the moment. My blog is my voice right now and I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers.

xoxo

Lacey

We're here!

2010-12-07T17:56:00.000-06:00

Ok where did I leave you hanging? Oh yes - day 3! Well I'm not surprised because I was EXHAUSTED after our 14 hour drive on Day 3. We arrived around 10:00pm. We pulled down our street in the pouring rain. I went to open the lockbox on the house and of course we couldn't figure it out. 20 minutes later and soaking wet I got it open. We emptied the MDX and removed Reese's puke filled car seat.

Tom warned me to shut the dome light off on the MDX as to not drain the battery while we were unpacking and of course I got distracted and forgot so here it is now 2am and Tom cannot get the MDX to start and we can't use the moving truck to jump it....our only other alternative was to empty the CL, take it off the trailer put it in the driveway and jump the MDX. After several failed attempts I heard Tom screaming some choice words which I am sure were indirectly at me since he warned me to to leave the dome light on (sorry hunny!) He finally got the MDX started but now the hood wouldn't close on the CL. A few more choice words and some banging of the hood on the car, the diesel moving truck rumbling in the street and I was positive that all our new neighbors were looking out their windows wondering what the hell just rolled into their neighborhood. We decided to call it a night and climbed onto our inflatable air mattress. We shivered the first night because despite the fact that I put the thermostat at 80 (yes 80!) we were freezing. 3 days later I noticed a GIANT window open in our bathroom that was the culprit.

In the morning we were greeted by my best friend Brynna and her husband Brian and three student movers. They were college kids we hired to empty the truck and they did an amazing job. We only had a few causalties from the move. A piece of furniture from our living room got pretty banged up but other than that no broken glass or anything. Tom did an excellent job carting our worlds possessions cross country.

The first week Tom went back to work and I spent my time doing our move-in inspection, running errands, getting a few things fixed, accepting deliveries, and unpacking. 10 days later, I am happy to report my house is completely unpacked, the boxes are broken down and my Christmas tree is up. My first day back at work was yesterday and it went smoothly. Today we have a few glitches with our internet and phone but Verizon will be out here to inspect that tomorrow and install our 2nd line. All in all we it is beginning to really feel like HOME.

Reese loves all the extra space, she's been running laps around the house and giggling a lot. We also Skyped with Grandma and gave her a virtual tour of the house. It's 80 degrees and sunny here today. I took a few pictures.

So if you look to the right of our house as you head out of our neighborhood the horizon is filled with sunshine and mountains

Same if you look to the left, the end of the street is a culd-a-sac and you can see the moutains in the distance.

Our front courtyard

The kitchen is almost done, I need to find some decor and Tom informed me just this week that a surprise Christmas present is on its way - he got me a new kitchen table! YAY! We get to eat AT A TABLE! If you've been to our old house you know this is huge!!!

and on the other side of that counter is the where the Christmas Tree is

that's all I have time for today, I'll try to get some more pictures up shortly.

xoxo

Lacey

And we're off!

2010-11-27T00:29:00.001-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! As I am sure you may have guessed it was a little chaotic at our house. First things first, I'd like to send a HUGE shout-out to Dave Sobieski, Dave Maduzia, Doug & Anna Reidy, Mom, Shaun, Natalie & Walter Hemphill for giving up their entire Wednesday afternoon & night to help us load the truck and clean the house -- I know without a doubt that we could NOT have done this without each and every one of you. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!!! Your help truly meant the world to us!

Reese's little friends next door, Connor and & Cailin gave her a stuffed Bull dog to remember them by (they have 2 English Bulldogs) and they also made her the cutest little shirt with their hand prints on it that ways "We'll Miss You!" I have to admit that choked me up. It was so incredibly sweet to watch them all give their good-bye hugs & kisses. I hope they come out to visit us very soon!

Operation Move to California - Day 1

We picked up the moving truck at 7am on Wednesday and loaded it off and on all day until about 10pm. From there we had finalize the details of the lease with our renters at the very last hour - but we did manage to get the townhouse rented for 18 months so that is one less thing I need to think about.

Much to our dismay not everything made it on the truck. :( We had to leave about a dozen rubbermaid containers behind and a few other odds & ends. I was most disappointed that we couldn't fit Reese's sandbox that I worked so hard to get her this past summer. But overall it wasn't anything we couldn't replace or live without.

I think my head hit the pillow around 1:30am but my brain didn't shut off until around 3:30am going through the mental checklist to make sure everything "Illinois" was complete. The alarm went off at 7am but we still had a few more things to load so we didn't actually get on the road until 8:30am which was much later than we had originally anticipated.

15 miles into our journey Reese started throwing up - mind you she has NEVER thrown up in her 2.5 years so this took me completely off guard. Her outfit was covered, the blanket in front of her and of course she managed to completely saturate the car seat as well. Obviously that was our 1st stop -- along the highway to clean up. A fresh change of clothes and a few more wet-naps and we were on our way....for about 10 more minutes until round #2 hit. Poor baby was covered in it, so was her seat, it was a mess. Not to mention the lovely smell now consuming the car. Fresh change of clothes #3 another clean-up and we pressed on. We stopped for lunch and Reese was in a good mood and acting like her normal self begging for Daddy's french fries and stealing grapes off the table. We thought that perhaps the whole episode was nausea or car sickness because she didn't have any other symptoms. But alas....6 miles down the road and we had to stop for clean up #3....yep, all those french fries and grapes. At this point we didn't know if we should continue or stop for the day. I gave her some Tylenol which knocked her out and we let her sleep for a few hours. Lucky for us when she woke up she was a happy camper and we didn't have anymore episodes. First day we got through Illinois into Missouri and drove through dropping temperatures, snow & sleet and finally crashed at the Double Tree in Springfield, MO. I think it took me all of 8 seconds to fall alseep last night. I was beat.

Operation Move to California - Day 2

Our first concern was Reese....was she sick, was yesterday a fluke? What's going on? Well she woke up with a smile on her face like yesterday never happened. So we took her downstairs to the hotel restaurant for some pancakes. I covered her and her car seat with a towel - just in case, but luckily we didn't need any of it. Reese was a ROCK STAR traveler today. She watched movies, played with her doggies, colored, read books, sang. and played with mommy's iPhone. You'd swear she was a professional traveler.

We crossed Missouri into Oklahoma and don't even get me started on what a miserable state Oklahoma is. Between the rude people and a GAZILLION tolls -- of which none of them have humans working them so you have to get out of your car and try to un-wrinkle your dollar bill and stuff it into a machine to get change while 5 cars impatiently rev their engines behind you only to drive 10 minutes down the road and do it all over again. The state is BORING and dull and simply put - I hate it and have no idea why anyone would ever choose to live there. Ugh!

I was so excited when we hit the Texas border. Better scenery, no tolls, and friendly people. Although note to self, petite redheads should NOT go into a truck stop by themselves....ever. On the way through the store to find batteries for the walkie-talkies and grab a sandwich from Subway I was hit on by 4 old "Truckers" who clearly saw me as fresh meat. Ewe. One even asked me if I was a trucker? REALLY? Anyway, we got through Texas and just crossed into New Mexico a few hours ago. We decided to pull over for the night in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Reese is curled up on the big King size bed with her new doggie and Tom and I updating the blog and Facebook and calling it a night.
962 miles to go! I'll try to check back in tomorrow! Until then sweet dreams!

Saying Goodbyes

2010-11-17T00:03:00.000-06:00

The end is near, we are less than 10 days from the big cross country move. Sorry I haven't posted since Halloween but as you can imagine we've been a tiny bit busy. Between work, packing and good-byes there's been no time for blogging :( But I did manage to grab some pictures from the last few weeks. So hopefully you can forgive me.

Excuse the horrible hair day - I was busy packing and didn't have much time to get ready! We met our good friends Lisa & Joe at Brio Tuscan Grille (YUM!) to kick off a series of good-bye dinners. We are really going to miss all the laughs with Lisa & Joe they are really an awesome couple and I really hope they come visit us in California!

We also met up with our newly engaged friends Dave & Vanessa (Congrats to them!) to say good-bye but unfortunately in the excitement of their news I completely forgot to take out the camera . You'll have to settle for this adorable picture of them instead. We can't wait to fly back next fall for their big day!

Last Friday was also my last day in the Chicago office. I went to lunch with my colleagues and said my good-byes, I have to admit I got kinda teary eyed in the last elevator ride down. But to drown my sorrows I stopped at Nuts on Clark for some Chicago popcorn for the train ride home. Which reminds me I still have some leftovers in the cabinet (be right back!)

Ok now where were we?

Next order of business - yard work! Lucky for me I had lots of helping hands...well that is when they weren't too busy jumping in the piles.

Reese & I also spent a day out at my good friend Laura's house with her and her girls

(Addey, Mae & Nettie) The girls had such a fun day it was really hard to say good-bye.

Nettie and Reese are just 3 months apart, watching them giggle and chase each other around just warmed my heart and broke it at the same time since we're moving away.

The girls had a busy day filled with toys, bubbles, wagon rides, the park and even got to play with a puppy.

Sunday night we headed off to Claim Jumper in Lombard (Yes I think I have gained weight from all these meals!) to have our last family dinner (at least for awhile) with my mom, brother and sister-in-law. We surprised my mom with an early Christmas present - a new laptop with a webcam so she can Skype with Reese.

Then... it was back to packing. But BEHOLD...our basement is 99% empty

And our garage is almost full!

We also go new windows & sliding glass door installed last week....just in time for the RENTERS to enjoy. Why is it that you don't do the things around your house that have needed to be done for YEARS until the last few weeks you are in the house and it's for other people!?! Oh well, it had to be done.

We're trying to squeeze in a few more visits with friends this weekend and then before we know it, it will be time to hit the road. A new chapter begins...

I am going to do my best to keep you all updated on our travels. Lord knows I'll probably have some good stories. Tom is driving the moving van with the car hitched on the back and Reese and I are following him in the SUV. 34 hours with a Toddler in the car...this should be interesting.

Stay tuned....

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:46:00.022-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Reese was a Bumble Bee this year. Our tradition the past two years has been to join our friends Marty & Amy and their son Ben for Trick-or-Treating. Their neighborhood goes all out, it's a mad house. Kids get dropped off by the truckload and every 5 houses it seems there is a haunted garage. The houses on the culd-a-sac in the middle of the neighborhood pull out a grill and give away hot dogs and jello shots (to the adults)

The guys in our group were tossing around a football while we were trick-or-treating. Reese intercepted the football, dumped her candy and REFUSED to give the football back. She carried it from house to house while Mommy & Daddy carried her candy. She also repeated "I want a football" all the way home. Guess we know what Santa is bringing her for Christmas.

It's amazing how much power a sucker has, nothing got their attention until Tom held up a sucker.

Every time the door rang the kids ran to door to hand out candy

We are definitely going to miss this next year, the kids always have such a great time and it's fun watching them grow up together. I hope you had as much fun on Halloween this year as we did!

Let the chaos begin!

2010-10-26T01:05:00.000-05:00

Well, the townhouse is officially up for rent and we've received a lot of calls. I would say we are averaging about 4-5 calls a day. We've had two showings and another one scheduled for Wednesday. Cross your fingers it rents fast!!
The moving truck has been reserved and we are starting to pack up the non-essentials. We also informed both of our employers of the move so it's official! I scored some cheap moving boxes on Craigslist - gotta love Craigslist!

But alas that is only the start of a very long to-do list. I need to find a new daycare provider for Reese, locate new banks, doctors, get new appliances for the house, change our address and notify everyone and somehow fit in a bazillion goodbye dinners with our wonderful family & friends. It's going to be very hard to say goodbye but I know we'll be back for lots of visits and we are hoping that many of you will fly out to see us for a mini vacation -- the pool and hot tub are always open and there's plenty of room for guests!

The plan is to leave before the first snowflake hits the ground!

We're Moving!!!

2010-10-20T22:44:00.005-05:00

We're moving! We're moving!!

I can finally shout it from the rooftop! We are SO SO excited to announce that after nearly a year long debate, the Olsen's are moving to California!

Now that the big announcement has been made I'll jump right into the FAQ's because EVERYONE seems to have them, so here we go:

Who? Tom, Lacey & Reese (and all 30 of her doggies)
What?! um, we're moving!
Where? Murrieta, California
Where the heck is that?! About an hour from San Diego, near Camp Pendleton - See map here
When? Next month! What?! Yes, next month!

Why? This is the big question on every one's mind isn't it?

Are you sitting down? Are you comfortable? Have a drink? It's a long story :)

Once upon a time, Lacey and her best friend Brynna grew up in a very very small town in Illinois, it was in the middle of farm country and by our teenage standards was "boring" and "uncool" this may or may not have come shortly after Beverly Hills 90210 aired. :) Any who, we decided we both desperately wanted to move to California and drove our parents absolutely crazy comparing everything to California and talking incessantly about it. The summer after high school we jumped in the back of a jeep and drove from Phoenix to San Diego and stayed on Mission beach for a week and I fell in love with the sound of the waves hitting the beach and vowed I'd leave Chicago...someday.

Fast forward to college - Brynna meets her husband to be and it just so happens that he is from California. I stand up in their wedding and help her load the last few things into the U-haul and as the truck pulled down the driveway and turned onto the street I waved and vowed again that I'd leave Chicago....someday.

I visited Bryn a few times over the years as she moved from place to place ultimately landing her back in Southern California. Each and every I visited the weather was always near perfect and a sense of calm came over me. I realized I was a much happier person there. Each time I boarded the plane to head home I'd renew my vow to leave Chicago....someday.

Well I am happy to say it took a few decades but someday has finally arrived! Tom and I both found out in January of this year that both of our new jobs were virtual, meaning we can work ANYWHERE there is high speed Internet. Well that just opened the door to world of opportunity.....and California!

Tom and I took our time making this decision. We booked a scouting trip on Memorial day to go see Brynna and her husband Brian to check out where they live to see if it was a good fit for us and no surprise ....it was. Close to mountains, wine country, the ocean, and the sun always seems to be shining. We thought long and hard about leaving our family and friends in Illinois and even did a few experiments...hosting parties to see who actually showed up, inviting friends to dinner to see how many made the time (by the way all who showed have an open invitation and first dibs on the hot tub), We decided on a week by week basis if it was an A) I want to stay in Illinois week or B) I want to move to California week. Over several months I tallied how many weeks I wished I lived somewhere else and in the end, the scale tipped in favor of the Golden state. The decision had been made.

Tom and I dropped Reese off at Grandma's on Saturday and headed off to California to find our new house. After looking at about 10 homes and feeling sort of defeated when nothing felt right, we walked into the very last house on the list and couldn't believe our eyes...it was perfect! We filled out the paperwork that night and dropped it off on our way to the airport. The property management company called us this afternoon to tell us it was ours!

And so a new chapter begins...

Keep an eye out for cheap airfare because there is plenty of room for guests and we can't wait to host friends & family in a house that might actually have a kitchen table for them to sit at and a real bed for them to sleep in! Christmas is at our house this year for anyone willing to make the trip!

Stay tuned, I'll keep you all updated as we make our voyage to sunny California! Until then here's a few shots of the new house:

84 degrees in October!

2010-10-11T21:05:00.001-05:00

We had beautiful weather this weekend, I can't remember a more beautiful day in Chicago in October. 84 & sunny, yet the leaves are changing. Just check out the tree outside our house, just gorgeous!

We decided to head to Chicago ...not to run the marathon - you see I only run if I am being chased by someone with a weapon ;) but to stroll the streets of Chicago and spend a day at the Children's Museum at Navy pier since our days left in Chicago are numbered (more on that later!)

Slow start to the day we decided to sleep in and get there just in time for lunch. First stop - Grand Lux Cafe - YUM!!!

Reese wanted a hot dog & milk and had a fun time pointing out the "doggies" that walked by on Ontario since she had a window seat. At one point Reese looked over my plate and kept saying "Mommy I want chocolate!" over and over again and I kept looking around to see what she could possibly be talking about because there wasn't any chocolate on my plate. Turns out she saw the olive on the toothpick in my sandwich. We laughed and told her it wasn't chocolate but she insisted on having it...shockingly she ate it like it was everything she expected. The two nearby waitresses got a kick out of her.

She was in a great mood and was being silly with daddy

Then we let her loose in Chicago on the way to Navy Pier - no stroller, no leash just a toddler giggling & laughing as she ran down the sidewalk, it was fun to see the smiles on people as she walked by. We also got to see a horse pulling one of the carriages (thankfully she didn't want one)

Run Reese Run!

You should have seen her eyes when we got to the fountain

"Whoa!"

It was so fun watching her run around trying to catch the water shooting up from the ground

We left soaking wet but she had a ball...on to the Children's Museum

First stop is the fire engine!

And we couldn't pass up the doggie! Peek a boo!

I love this picture, looks like Daddy is a little more excited that Reese, she's even looking at him funny.

Couldn't pass up the musical slide! That we had to go down, over and over and over again

Then it was off to find dinosaurs

And what day would be complete without pretending to be a turtle?

or ride in a canoe

We also stopped by the log cabin for a healthy snack

Last stop was the water tables and another one of my favorite pictures. This adorable little girl came up to Reese and wanted to share the space where the water was shooting up like a fountain. She started talking to Reese and her reaction was priceless

After the museum we walked along the pier and got some ice cream. We opted to cab it back and Reese was sleep before we got to the parking garage. Another fun fall day!

Moving on up!

2010-10-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

Guess who got upgraded to a Toddler bed this weekend?

YAY! First we had to jump on the bed of course!

Then we'll pose for a picture

Aaaaaand she's out cold!

Shameless Plug

2010-10-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about the new Chocolate parties? They bring lots of yummy chocolate TO YOUR HOUSE! Now if that isn't a good reason to get the girls together I don't know what is!

Check out my friend Trish's website for more info or to host a party!

She also can help you accessorize for your party since she's a Stella Dot Stylist as well.

oh and did I mention that she's doing this to help support these three ADORABLE little boys?

Fall Fun

2010-10-04T00:06:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I love Fall? Today my mom, brother and sister-in-law came over for Family Fall Fun day! (Insert eyeroll from my brother and husband here)

My mom brought over some yummy chicken noodle soup & navy bean soup - perfect for this chilly Fall day. Reese was obsessed with the oyster crackers and basically refused to eat anything else until Grandma pulled out the pumpkin pie & apple pie and then she got all interested again -- of course!

Then it was time to carve the pumpkins! Here's a few pictures of the crew feverishly working on their pumpkins:

At first Tom wasn't too interested but once he got started the creative juices started flowing and I think I even caught him smiling at one point.

Grandma helped Reese with her pumpkin, didn't they do a great job?

And the final masterpieces....mine is the one on the far left

After carving our pumpkins we headed over to the Pumpkin Farm...you see we like to do things backwards in our family :) Unfortunately Goebbert's Pumpkin farm lost out because of the hour drive, we opted to drive to a closer one. I told everyone I still want to feed a giraffe and to put it on my bucket list.

So Johansen's Pumpkin Farm it was....

Reese arrived in style in her red wagon

Although I have lived nearby for nearly 10 years I had never been to this farm, it turned out to be really cute. They had an extensive petting zoo, train rides, bouncy houses, a corn maze, and pony rides - what more could a kid ask for?

First things first, how tall is Reese? Or Aunt Natalie, or Daddy?

And what is a petting zoo without adorable fuzzy baby chicks?

Reese also said hello to Mrs. Cow - MOOOOOO!

We continued the tradition - this was Reese's 3rd corn maze!

She practically dragged Grandma behind her as she ran through.

Come on Gra Gra! Let's GO!!!!!!

We had to stop for the....what the heck are these called? Face cut-outs? Shaun was mad because he wanted to be the cowboy not the pumpkin.

Next stop was the Pumpkin Express Choo Choo train

chugga chugga, chugga chugga wooo woooo!

Uncle Shaun was too cool for the train so we made him our photographer

Next we headed over to the pony rides, where Reese was introduced to a pony for the first time. I was confident she'd start screaming and want off immediately but we waited in line anyway and wouldn't you know it...she LOVED the pony ride.

Here's a quick video for your enjoyment :)

As soon as we got off she threw a fit -- "Mommy I want a pony!"

Which she repeated over and over again for the remainder of the day.

Grabbed a shot of the sea of beautiful mums while the family hit up the bakery.

Natalie got some cherry turnovers for her Dad and I may have snuck an apple cinnamon donut..or two.

It was a gorgeous day to be at the Pumpkin farm, we really lucked out.

After Reese realized she wasn't getting a pony she promptly fell asleep on the couch -

1 tuckered out Toddler = successful trip to the pumpkin farm :)

Until next year!

Happy Day!

2010-09-27T23:40:00.001-05:00

Bears win! Reese is feeling better! (thanks to all who checked in!) and it's my favorite time of year FALL!! YAY! Let the fun begin!

First things first - the pumpkin patch this weekend and we've invited Grandma, Uncle Shaun & Aunt Natalie to join us.

Let's see if we have the essentials:
- Crisp Fall weather? Check! forecast is Sunny & 57
- Pumpkins - on the "to-buy list" along with knives & big spoons
- Apple & Pumpkin Pie - Check! (Thanks Mom)
- Caramel apples - Check!
- Soup - Check!
- Burning leaves...hmmm, kinda early - might have to shake a tree.

And now for the most important part...the pumpkin farm! I think we have might have this year's winner:
Goebberts Farm
They have Camels, Kangaroos, Llamas, Zebras, Tigers, Bear Cubs, Lions and even a Giraffe Not to mention, Owls, Macaws and Toucans. I want to feed a Giraffe!!!

I can't wait! Oh and I think Reese will really enjoy it too! ;P YAY! for Fall!

My poor baby

2010-09-22T10:04:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA, I've been taking care of a sick little girl. Poor Reese, she came down with a very high fever on Friday afternoon around 5:00 so we had to cancel our plans for a playdate at Tom's softball game which we were really looking forward to and of course it was gorgeous outside - the perfect day for a softball game. Bummer.

Saturday we were supposed to meet our friends Kami & Paul for brunch downtown at Grand Lux and see their little girl Avery, but alas that had to be cancelled too because poor Reese wasn't doing much better.

Usually her fevers go for two days or so and then she's better but not this time. Sunday we had a playdate scheduled with Heather, Jack, Luke, Abby & Audrey. Also cancelled. Booo! I had such a fun weekend planned for Reese but unfortunately these stupid germs had other plans.

When she woke up with 104 fever on Monday we went staight to the doctor and found out she had an ear infection in both ears and a cold - oh and her throat looked red too! Awesome. On the way home we had to pick up her medicine and I got her something to make her feel better since she has been such a trooper through all of this.

Behold "Doggie" # 186504 -- a pillow pal...perfect for a sick kiddo. We've been cuddling and watching Disney every since.

Her fever did finally break last night so we are on the road to recovery and hopefully Tom and I can get some sleep now. Having a sick kiddo is definitely no fun. Now let's just hope I don't sick after all this.

Always in our hearts & minds

2010-09-11T14:22:00.001-05:00

On September 11, 2001 8:46am I was driving over the Lockport bridge listening to "Mancow" on the radio on my way to work. If anyone is familiar with his radio show you know that he was quite the jokester but I disctinctly remember him pausing in a very serious tone and saying he just got word that one of the Twin Towers was hit by a plane and this was not a joke. News reports starting interrupting every channel.

15 minutes later I arrived at my office only to walk in and see everyone huddled in a conference room watching as the 2nd hit the south tower.

Silence...utter silence.

Shock, prayers, and love filled that room. The next thing I remember was our office frantically calling corporate to find out if anyone from the firm was reported to be in the Twin towers that day.

Sadly yes, 1 employee

David S. Suarez, 24, died while working in Tower 1 of the World Trade Center on Tuesday,

September 11, 2001. David was a consultant and was working as part of

the Marsh Inc. Oracle team. He was a graduate of Penn State University, with a major in industrial

engineering and his memory will live on in the hearts of his colleagues.

To all those who lost family or friends on that horrible day our hearts go out to you. Thank you to all the men and women who went on to fight terrorism and are still fighting today.

We will never forget September 11, 2001

Beauty Rave!

2010-09-11T10:39:00.002-05:00

So I'm walking through Ulta a few weeks ago and pass this gorgeous palette of eye shadows and stopped dead in my tracks .... it has every single color I wear all in one palette both matte and shimmer and includes a eye primer and dual eyeliner. I decide I MUST have this only to find out a few minutes later that there are no more in stock and they are sold out everywhere! I was completely deflated. I want this!!

The girl asks me if I want to go on a waiting list and I figured I could just get it online so I decline and head home. Search after search online proves it is not only sold out in stores but online too! WHAT?!

A few days later I decide to call the store back and be put on the waiting list and she tells me they actually found 1 in the back so I drop what I am doing and got it. It was WELL worth the wait and hassle, this palette is amazing.

It seriously lasts all day long, I don't have to reapply. Perfect for day looks and evening looks and it's easy to travel with. Geez I sound like a commercial. But honestly I don't rave about make-up very often but this palette is a MUST HAVE!

It 's back in stock on Amazon today for $44!

Shade Description:

Eyeshadows:

Virgin (nude satin)

Sin (champagne shimmer)

Naked (buff matte)

Sidecar (beige sparkle)

Buck (brown matte)

Half Baked (bronze)

Smog (golden brown shimmer)

Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer)

Toasted (taupe-bronzea)

Hustle (mocha shimmer)

Creep (near-black metallic)

Gunmetal (dark grey metallic)

Double-ended 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil: Zero (black) and Whisky (warm brown without sparkle).

Travel-size Eyeshadow Primer Potion: Original formula.

Labor Day 2010

2010-09-08T23:24:00.000-05:00

Labor day kinda snuck up on us. We honestly didn't realize that Tom had Monday off until....oh Friday!
Um, now what? Well we figured we could a) spend the weekend downtown and bring Reese to the Hershey store, Lego store, Children's museum, zoo etc. or we could jump on a plane an invade my sister-in-law's house in Arizona. We decided to roll the dice and see if we could grab a last minute flight and it actually worked out!

The flight there was good, well until Reese peed on me. Yep you read that right, I guess her pull-ups shifted during flight. Let me tell you how fun potty training is on vacation...especially in the bathroom on a plane!

We stepped off the plane into 104 degree weather. Whose idea was this again? Holy hotness! I nearly melted. Lucky my sister-in-law Kim has a gorgeous pool and we didn't waste any time getting into it!

Reese was SO excited to see her cousins, Keagan (8) and Karli (4).

They were inseperarable the whole weekend.

Since Uncle Tom and Aunt Lacey don't get to see our nieces very often

we decided to treat the girls to a movie.

Dispicable Me was the movie of choice...in 3D of course

All three girls piled into the theatre popcorn in hand.

I thought the movie was cute and the kids loved it.

Reese was still adjusting to the glasses

After the movie the girls helped Reese down the stairs (how cute!)

We got a sneak peek of what it would be like to have 3 girls and honestly we had a blast.

I could totally see myself with 3 girls and Tom did great too! My heart melted seeing him with them all.

After the movies we took the girls to Target and told them they could pick out whatever they wanted. (They were actually picking out their Birthday presents that Aunt Lacey was slacking on)You should have seen their faces. Complete disbelief. But leave it to the 4 year old to pause, think for a second and then ask if she could have an iPod touch. I then had to explain the fine print of the agreement :) But we headed to the Toy aisle and Keagan picked out a Barbie:

Karli chose a DVD and a toy horse:

and Reese picked out a little baby that of course she had to sleep with her that night

We also got to spend some quality time with my Mother-in-Law, Carole.

As you can see Tom definitely got some sun at the pool

Kim, Carole and I also managed to squeeze in a little girl time and went shopping.

Overall it was a very low key relaxing weekend and I'm so happy we went.

I hope you had a nice relaxing Labor Day!

Max is one!

2010-09-02T01:34:00.000-05:00

And just a state over our friends Marcie & Erich were celebrating little Max's 1st Birthday!

You may remember their picture from last year:

And here's this past weekend! Rocking an awesome football theme!

How cool is this cake?!

Happy 1st Birthday Max - we love you!

Acadia is one!

2010-09-02T01:04:00.001-05:00

Wow a year goes by fast! This time last year our friends Christine & Scott were just welcoming their baby girl Acadia into the world. You may remember this picture...

This past weekend we helped them celebrate Acadia's first Birthday!

Is this not the cutest little family?

And check out this adorable Birthday dress!

Don't forget the dimples!

The party was crawling with babies & Toddlers (literally)

and the youngest guest was only 7 days old!

Isn't he sweet?

Reese was thrilled that Aunt Carol (our gracious hostess) had turtles!!!

They were the hit of the party.

In fact Reese refused to eat dinner because ..."Mom, there are turtles!!"

So how do you tear children away from turtles?

Offer them Birthday cake and cookies of course!

Everything was so yummy!

The Birthday cake

I'm pretty sure the Birthday girl approved. :)

And when the sugar high came crashing down --- it's presents to the rescue!

Reese insisted on helping Acadia open her gifts

Christine & Scott live out of state so we were really excited they flew in to celebrate with everyone. We wouldn't have missed it for the world. Happy 1st Birthday Acadia!!! We love you!

In other news....guess who is rocking potty training?

We didn't have any accidents today!!

I think that deserves it's own celebration....now where are those cupcakes?

The ultimate test

2010-08-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

I was't kidding when I said you should get a Parenting certificate after achieving potty training. This is by far the most frustrating part of raising a child. Well.....I haven't had to deal with puberty yet so I'll only speak to the first 2 years to be on the safe side.

We started "Potty Bootcamp" on Saturday and it was a complete disaster. Let's just say that we are having our carpets cleaned as soon as this process is over. Sadly, Sunday wasn't much better. Sunday night I sounded the Mommy alarm and asked for help from those who have gone before me. I was sent a new ebook called "3 Day Potty Training - Start Friday - Done Sunday!"which was WAAY better in my opinion in terms of concept and actual practice than the "Potty Bootcamp" The book tells you not to hound the child, but when you see they are starting to 'go' to RUN them to the bathroom with a sense of urgency so they "get it" that when they have that feeling, it's time to run! So we practiced this concept on Monday and I'd say we were about 70/30 - accidents winning! I went to bed defeated.

Today we woke up to a new day but I didn't have high hopes. We started out the day with an accident and I was about to wave the white flag when.....what's that?! Is she going into the bathroom? Quick follow her!!! SHE DID IT! OMG! and within 20 minutes....she DID IT AGAIN! OMG! I am now one of those mothers, the ones shouting it from the rooftop! I now understand why parents get so excited and feel the need to tell perfect strangers about this accomplishment. After 4 days of seeing nothing but the four walls of your bathroom this IS a big deal! :)

I know we aren't out of the woods yet but I'm certainly celebrating the small victories!

Caution

2010-08-21T13:34:00.002-05:00

Caution, Caution! Enter at your own risk, Toddler potty training in progress.

We bit the bullet, cancelled all our weekend plans and are in full fledge potty training mode at our house. If we survive this we get our Parenting certificate right?

Wish us luck - here we go!

Update: 5 hours in I broke down and went to Target to up the anty.

Check!

2010-08-12T10:32:00.000-05:00

One more thing I can cross off the to-do list! 14 boxes were picked up by the Children's Cancer Society on Tuesday! Next project - I think we are going to have to break-down and replace all the crappy builder grade windows in our house. They are simply horrible. Sooooo who knows a window guy?

In other news Reese now has to have

13 doggies in her crib before she goes to sleep...

Tales from the Yard Sale

2010-08-09T16:34:00.000-05:00

Well that was.....interesting, Don't get me wrong, I know everyone is out to get a deal, but all I can say is WOW to the people that showed up on my lawn this weekend. You can't beat people watching from the comfort of your own home!! Yard sales certainly bring out some....interesting people.

Allow me to elaborate....

Exhibit A: For Sale - a brand new dress with tags still on it for the bargain steal price of $8. The woman asks me if she can put it on layaway. Um, layaway at at yard sale?! for $8? are you serious? If you need to make installment payments for $8 then perhaps you shouldn't be buying this? (just a thought) But I figured there must be a good reason (right?) so I said yes. The woman then proceeds to pull out a zip lock bag full of change and gives me $3 in pennies, nickels, and dimes and tells me she'll be back the next day with the remaining $5.

Exhibit B: For Sale - A large mirror that I probably paid over $60 for. Asking price $15 The woman asks what is the lowest I will go. I say $12, she repeats $10? Um, no I said $12. $9? No, $12. She continues to badger me until finally I freak out and say, I am NOT going any lower than $12!! She finally gave up but then just moved on to the next item where she tried to badger me down again. Then her friend joins in. I was thisclose to making a scene and telling her to get off my property.

Exhibit C: For Sale - a brand new edge hog - used only 1 time. The wheels were still clean for goodness sake! Retail price $100 asking price $60. Guy runs up to the table and asks if I will take $20. Seriously?

Exhibit D: Car screeches to a halt at the end of our driveway and a guy runs up to me and asks if I am selling any trophies. I said we don't have any out but I am desperately trying to get my husband to unload some of his, let me go ask. Tom gives me an old trophy and I ask how much he wants for it. He says I dunno, $1? Okay...I start to walk away. Then Tom says, Wait! ask for $5 and see if he bites. I said that's ridiculous, but I'll try. So I walk out with the trophy and the guys eyes light up like I am bringing him a naked woman. I tell him my husband worked very hard for the trophy and wants $5, the guy doesn't even flinch and pulls out $5, thanks me repeatedly and then runs back to his car. LOL! Okaaaay.

Exhibit E - For Sale - DVD player less than a year old. Asking Price $15 (marked down from $25 mid-day) The man comes up and asks my lowest price. I tell him $15. He tries for $10, I laugh. No, $15. But I only have $10. I say sorry. Then he brings his parents over and they very obviously hand him $2. Now he tries to get me to sell it for $12. I said no, $15. He proceeds to show me an empty wallet and tells me that's all he has and he's borrowed the last $2 his parents have. I say, well, perhaps they can look in their car and come up with the extra $3. Deflated he walks in a small circle around my driveway and then hands me $15 -- AHA! I win! I win! I called his bluff -- YES!!!! Lacey -1 Yard Salers - 0

Exhibit F - The hoarder. She shows up early on Day 1 and proceeds to ask me if I have any Richard Simmonds tapes. Um....no. But my mom was selling some cassette tapes. The woman tells us she doesn't own a cassette player but then proceeds to purchase 10 cassettes. ?! Okay. From there tells us how 'beautiful' all of our things are and how nice our yard sale is. After about 45 minutes she finally leaves.....only to return shortly after to READ all the cook books my mom has for sale. After about 25 minutes she brings them all to the table to purchase but then proceeds to tell us she doesn't cook at all and she got in a fight with her daughter about coming back so that's what took her so long. This continues all day long..,. Rinse and repeat. She buys something, leaves and then comes back. I think this woman was at our house for approximately 6 hours over the course of two day yard sale. Really?!

Exhibit G - It's 5:00, the yard signs have been pulled in, most of the tables are down and I am packing up the leftovers into boxes to donate to charity. A car pulls up and 4 woman dressed as if they were going clubbing complete with 5 inch heel walk up the driveway. They proceed to UNPACK all my boxes looking for deals. Who does this?!

Exhibit H - The day after. So the yard sale was OVER on Saturday, or so I thought. Around 10:00am the door bell rings. Puzzled at who it could be, we open the door to find a gentlemen inquiring if we still had an item he regrets not purchasing on Saturday. Sorry we sold it. Two hours pass....the door bell rings AGAIN. Who is that?! Another woman who regrets not purchasing something yesterday and wants to know if it is still available. No sorry, sold that too! Good lord people, the yard sale is OVER. Stop ringing my doorbell.

Have I mentioned that from here on out everything goes to charity?! I simply cannot deal with the public.

The good news is we raised enough money to buy 4 new tires and an oil change for the SUV and there's a ton of space in my basement now :)

Where's Lacey?

2010-08-03T13:30:00.001-05:00

I didn't forget about you guys. I am just swamped between work being super busy and preparing for the mother of all yard sales this weekend I haven't had any extra time to blog :( My mom dropped off half her house to sell and I am selling half of our house so between the two, my garage currently looks like a hoarder lives here!! I'm in garage sale pricing hell, but I need this stuff GONE.

Everything must go! So if you're in the neighborhood this weekend stop by!

A little about Lacey

2010-07-29T10:57:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd shake things up and answer some questions so my readers can get to know me a little bit better. If you have more questions for me, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Are you a morning or night person?
I'm mostly a night owl, it's not unheard of for me to be still up at 2am

Do you believe in life on other planets?
Yes, I believe there has be another heartbeat somewhere else in the Universe, I think it's a little naive to think that we are the only ones here.

Do you have any bad habits?
Yes, I fully admit I have project ADD. I can't seem to start a project and finish it, I always seem to have 12 projects going at the same time and it drives my husband crazy.

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
My ears are double pierced and one ear has the cartlidge pierced at the top. I only wear 1 set of earrings at a time nowadays. I think tattoos are trashy...yeah I said it.

Do you prefer sweet or salty foods?
Tough call but I'll go with sweet foods

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
To cure stupid people in public

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Ideally if it didn't affect my kids and we had the money, I'd love to live different places (Sweden, Italy, Austria, Australia, Hawaii, Belize) But for right now I'd settle for a move to California where I don't have to be cooped up on a house 6 months of the year.

If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on?
Sadly a million dollars isn't that much money anymore! I'd first pay off debts and buy our dream house. Then I'd secure a nice retirement for my mom and Tom's mom and secure Reese's college education. If there was anything left, I'd invest it for our retirement.

What do you think about right before falling asleep?

I'm currently worried about a few old friends of mine that are suffering from depression and wonder if there is anything I can do to make the realize how wonderful life is and to embrace it.
I worry about my 92 year old grandfather whose health is failing.
I worry about my mom and her retirement
I worry about being able to have more children
I think about how greedy our country has become, the oil spill, how the laziness and self righteousness of few people in power have affected so many in this economy and it makes my heart hurt.
I think about Reese's future
I think about how distant some of my friends are becoming and how I am always seem to be the one reaching out to them. I think about moving to California and wonder if anyone will really miss us.
I think about starting P90x. That thought usually exhausts me and then I finally fall asleep :)

What is one regret you have:
Our wedding location. Had I known that all the people that said they were going to come were going to drop out, I would have gone with my first choice and had my wedding on Trunk Bay in St. John.

What is one thing you like about being an adult?
Freedom to make my own decisions

What is one thing you miss about being a kid?
Being completely carefree where something as simple as a stream of water could entertain me for hours.

What is one thing you would change about yourself?
I never really cared for how my nose looks

What is your dream job?
I think I want to own an excursion of some kind, where I only have to deal with happy people that are on vacation that are always excited to be there. I also think I want it to involve water...so kayaking, canoeing, white river rafting...taking retired couples out on a yacht. :)

What personality traits do you look for in a partner?
I found him!!! Caring, intelligent, supportive, patient, health conscious, someone who balances me out, makes a good father, spouse and is confident in himself

What were your favorite childhood television programs?
I loved Fraggle Rock, the Muppets, Smurfs, the Jetsons, Degrassi Junior High, Growing Pains, Cosby Show

What's your favorite animal?
Cat

What's your favorite color?
Kelly Green

Would you rather have a million dollars or true love?
True love

Bring on the drama

2010-07-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

Reese's dramatic rendition of 'Ring around the Rosies'

lle

Meh January Schmanuary

December

Fast Forward

10 years later

Times of impact: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes.Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. 2819 dead from 115 different nations. 343 Fireman/paramedics, 23 NYPD, 37 Port Authority officers.

In our hearts and minds forever. We will never forget.

It's a ...

3rd time is the charm?

I'm back!

Reese's Party

Happy 3rd Birthday Reese!

Take me away!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Birthday Tommy!!

Pretty Pantry

YAY!

The Easter Bunny was here!

Easter Eve

MIA

Fertility challenged

Mom's visit

Saying Goodbye

Celebrating 92 years!

They know.

Time to move!

One Year Later

Are you sitting down?

Coronado Island

Yoga & Ponies

A fresh start

Good-bye 2010!

Merry Christmas!

Santa came! Santa came!

Merry Christmas Eve!

RAOK

Table Fiasco

Keeping Busy

One week later

Kudos to my brother!

Good Luck Tsunamis!

Two little Olsen angels

We're here!

And we're off!

Saying Goodbyes

Happy Halloween!

Let the chaos begin!

We're Moving!!!

84 degrees in October!

Moving on up!

Shameless Plug

Fall Fun

Happy Day!

My poor baby

Always in our hearts & minds

Beauty Rave!

Labor Day 2010

Max is one!

Acadia is one!

The ultimate test

Caution

Check!

Tales from the Yard Sale

Where's Lacey?

A little about Lacey

Bring on the drama

Times of impact: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m.
Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes.
Time they took to fall: 12 seconds.
2819 dead from 115 different nations. 343 Fireman/paramedics, 23 NYPD, 37 Port Authority officers.