Back from NYC

D and I had a great time in NYC. It was a mini vacation for us for our birthday's and we enjoyed every minute of it. Our first flight on Friday was canceled so we had to leave about 3 hours later. We got to our hotel about 4 and we relaxed and enjoyed our alone time. We finally set out for dinner. We walked around and found a great place to eat. It was neat because it kind of looked like a mobster place. The food was cooked downstairs, I guess to save space, but the basement looked like it might have secret doors and hideaways. But we had fun and enjoyed the different atmosphere. Saturday we slept in then got out and walked around. We went to St. Patricks Cathedral. It was simply amazing. I loved all the detail and craftsmanship put into that church. It would have been great to be alive when the church was constructed. I also would have loved to get an official tour to learn more about the history. We went to Rockefeller plaza and saw where the Today Show is and the skating rink. We then walked to Times Square. It was amazing to see all the people and all the TV screens. Very overwhelming and chaotic at the same time. It was neat to see but great to get away from all the action as well. We found a place to eat lunch and to warm up. It was really cold while we were there but it did not stop us. In the afternoon we walked in central park. It was amazing how quiet it was and it truly was very pretty with the snow and the carriage rides. It would have been great to run together through the park but we did not have that option since it was snowy and icy and I am very pregnant. It was great top walk through the park and that was my favorite part. That night we went to a great Italian restaurant and then saw Chicago. It was a great show and our seats were great. We were in the third row from the front and we were able to experience the show fully. We unfortunately had to leave early Sunday morning so we did not get to experience much more. We agreed that we need to go back a couple more times to enjoy more parts of NYC. I wish I brought my camera, but I did not want to take my large camera. So I do not have any pictures but we still have the memories.

It was great to get back to the kids. Julianne started basketball lessons with the local university. She had a great time and ended up being the other child so she basically got a one on one coaching lesson. So that was great.

The next day we celebrated D's birthday with a homemade cake and lots of singing.




Some sledding pictures.






Sledding ice burn.

Am I manic

Well my restless leg syndrome is obviously against me. Instead of nicely occurring between the hours of 8 to 10 at night this past week it occurred from about 10:30 to 1:00 ish and in full force. On Friday morning, as I was getting ready for work, I was looking at my sheets and noticed that there was a hole in my sheets at my feet. Granted we just put new sheets on Friday before we left for NY so I had only slept in the bed for 5 nights. D saw it and started getting concerned and said that I was manic. He was joking of course but that is how bad it gets. It is not as bad if it occurs between 8 to 10 at night because I can get up and move around but who wants to get up at 12 and walk around a cold house in your pajamas. I am tired of it and nothing is working. Additionally, the morning is the most calm period but having other obligations and being a morning person does not allow me to make up that sleep in the morning. Thankfully I only have a few more weeks, hopefully, and it will substantially subside. So I am completely tired and sleep does not feel like a pleasant activity anymore. I just dread it and wait for it to go away so that I can really sleep. It even occurs if I try to take an afternoon nap. At least I am getting ready for the sleep deprivation now. At this point I would rather be woken up by a crying hungry baby every 2 to 3 hours then try to go to bed only to have to move my legs every 20 seconds.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-this is a venting post so I am not very thankful right now.
-a temporary condition, is all I can say.

Nathan's belated birthday update

My sweet young son turned four a few weeks ago. He was so excited and kept asking when his party was going to happen. We had our family over and he really loved the attention and all his new gifts, like he needed anymore gifts. I cannot believe that he is four. It just seems like yesterday that he was a baby and now he is a big boy. He is pretty outgoing, talkative, and very snuggly and wants to lay in bed with me and read or play the DS a lot of the times. I love spending our Monday and Tuesday's together. We have such a great time and love to hang out with each other. I am hoping that when the baby comes he will not feel left out but I am sure that some of that will occur. I am hoping that since he is older he will experience it differently than the other kids. So we will see. I know that there will be an adjustment period and our relationship will change but hopefully it will be for the better.



He really wanted a basketball or soccer cake but he got this one. He was happy with his moms lack of artistic cake skills.








He loved his new punching bag. He still plays with it and it is ironic that it is Michigan since it give him even more motivation to "destroy it".

The following are house reconstruction pictures from a few weeks ago.






These are current day pictures. The electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling have been installed and next week we are moving onto insulation and hopefully drywall after that.


Master bathroom

Master bedroom and bath

First floor expansion.

Another view of first floor expansion.


Belly shot



Kids decorating my birthday cake.


Everyone singing. So sweet.

I just have to vent for a few minutes about being pregnant. I generally love be pregnant and I have very few issues or problems. Yoga, swimming and keeping in shape keep me from having few aches and pains. I love the opportunity to have the experience of carrying children and know that it is a short term experience. I will miss it when the baby is out and the responsibility kicks in. What I am frustrated with is my restless leg syndrome. It has gotten worse with each pregnancy and I am tired of trying to lay down only to have my legs feel like they need to move. So I have to get up and move around when I really want to relax and stay in bed or on the couch. It happens almost every night and sometimes when I relax in the afternoon. When I am not pregnant it happens maybe once or twice a week and is somewhat tolerable. It is affecting my sleep and I become more irritated when it occurs. So I am looking forward to not expecting it to happen every night.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-my family
-being able to be pregnant and carry 3 happy kids (soon to be 4).
-Having the opportunity to add onto our house.

Holiday wrap-up

Well we had a great Holiday season. The kids were really excited about Santa and the Elf's hiding spaces did not get old. They loved waking up every morning trying to find him. The last few days he ended up in upstairs in their rooms and they thought that was pretty cool that the elf ended up in their rooms.

Julianne said that one of her friends did not believe in Santa and she did not really question it. Then D heard her say after she looked at her Santa gift that, "he is really real." So that was great to hear. I hope she holds onto that imagination and spirit. I know that the younger kids will probably find out earlier than she does so it will be nice to keep that dream alive.

My mom and grandma were in town so that was nice to have the additional company. D's mom and step dad came for Christmas Eve dinner and then came up in the morning for breakfast. We ended the evening by going to my sisters for Christmas dinner. The kids played really well with her kids and they had a great time.

Our New Year's Eve was spent at a neighbors house. Julianne spent the night at a friends house so we definitely missed her but she had a good time. We ended up leaving the neighbors around 11:15 and told the kids that the night was over. We got them in bed and was able to watch the ball drop by ourselves. So the Holiday season was great and pretty uneventful.

Nathan had an asthma episode a few days before Christmas. This was the first time he actually talked about it and expressed his feelings about it. He told D that his asthma makes him cry. I slept with him that night and he woke up around 1:00 am and said that he was scarred as he touched his chest. He was definitely breathing really rapidly so we did a treatment and I gave him some antihistamines. The next day he was better and bounced back pretty quickly. He must have had a cold because a few days later I got it and I did have a lot of junk in my lungs. So I am sure it affected him a little more than an allergy episode.

We are not back to the swing of things and regular life. The kids were tired today and told our babysitter that they needed some time off of school. So they are trying to adjust as well. The Christmas tree and ornaments are gone and the house is back to normal, well at least as normal as it can be with construction occurring. The addition is moving along pretty fast. They already have the inside framed and just this week we were able to go into the master bedroom. It looks like it will be a great space for us. The room is about the same size as our other bedroom we will just have a larger bathroom and closet. I am looking forward to the new, lighter space, the upstairs laundry room and our new mudroom. I still have glimpses of guilt because we don't really need it and our house is great without it. However, the space will be well used so I keep remembering that.

Pictures from my dad's early Christmas


Julianne loving her new Uggs

Nathan just had to try his new remote control car in the snow. We told him it may short the car but he insisted. Sure enough it did short the car but once it dried it worked again.

Cousin time


Waking up the girls on Christmas morning.


Santa gifts. Julianne recieved an American Girl doll horse, Mallory got a fairy house and Nathan recieved a Bat house.


Some Christmas chaos

We got Nathan a Nascar race car set. It is an older fashion on where you have the triggers and you try not to run the cars off the tracks. The kids had a ball with it.




After opening the gifts the girls had massive pretend play time.

Gigi got the boy cousins these spy glasses and they loved them.


Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-Our great holiday season
-Visiting with family
-Nathan picking our pink heart rocks for the girls
-Julianne and Mallory buying me dollar store rings
-The thoughtful gifts from D