Totally random....

Where has the week gone??? I've been so busy that I everything has fallen behind -- which includes blogging!! So, since I haven't blogged much, I'm warning you, this is going to be one random post!

Random thought #1 --

Our Friday playgroup has been something that the kids and I look forward to all week. We get together with a lot the neighbor kids and just hang out -- sometimes it's at one of our houses, sometimes we go swimming, sometimes we take them on a field trip, and sometimes it's a picnic in the park. Today we went to Dewey Park, and as always, it was great fun. Andrea, Danyel, Julie, Carolyn and I all brought the kids down for a little picnic, and the kids played their little hearts out. I forgot my camera at home, and missed out on several great photo-opts. It was such a gorgeous day -- 80* and not a cloud in the sky.... Even though it was great fun, I was a little emotional.... Since Katherine will be starting preschool next Wednesday, this will be her last playgroup in quite a while. Actually, I'm not sure if she'll be at "playgroup" until Thanksgiving break. UUUUUUUGH! I'm soooo not ready to let go of her yet. It's killing me I tell ya! Since she sees most of the kids every night outside after dinner, I'm not sure she really cares (or realizes that she'll be missing out on the fun) so clearly I'm the one with issues!

Caleb and I will still be going to playgroup every Friday. We'll have to leave early to pick up Katherine, but at least he'll be able to see his little friends all winter long! Katherine has school on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, so I've got lots of little activities with him planned. Monday is story time at the Clive library, Wednesday is Kindermusik and on Friday we have playgroup. I'm really looking forward to the one-on-one time with him, but will still miss having Katherine with us. Yea- I'm going to be a total mess next year when she's at kindergarten all day and heaven help us all when she goes off to college!

Random thought #2 --

Katherine desperately wanted a scooter last year for Christmas, and being the type of Grandma that my mom is, she wanted to get Katherine the gift of her dreams. Gotta love that! Anyway, when I told her to go ahead and buy it, I had envisioned the three wheel model -- probably pink with streamers and decorated with some type of Disney Princess or Barbie stuff all over. NOOOO, not my mom.... she picks out this two wheel bright red retro Schwinn model (which she deemed to be the "best") and gives that to Katherine for Christmas. In my mind, this just wouldn't do.... Katherine had never been on a scooter....how in the world would she balance on two wheels, and how would she "really" like this bright red number??? And most importantly, how could I tell my mom that her gift wasn't exactly what I had in mind???? So here I am kicking myself for not assigning this all important gift to Santa, and wondering how I'm going to convince my mom that her gift is "too old" for Katherine. Thankfully, my mom realized that she needed the three wheel pink girly model and bought that for her, but insisted that we keep the Schwinn.... Fine by me! We're all happy!! Gotta love that! LOL.

So all summer long Katherine had been riding her three wheel pink scooter, and getting along just fine. She looked adorable on it and was really mastering the balance thing... However, the Razor started popping up all over the neighborhood, and Katherine insisted that she was big enough for her two wheel scooter. My initial thought was NOOOOOOOO WAY! Part of me didn't think she was ready for a two wheeler, and the other part of me feared that the kids would laugh at her bright red retro model. It's much bigger and bulkier that all the other Razors in the neighborhood, and definitely not as sleek. Thankfully, Katherine is not a wallflower and really doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her or what she does. I LOVE THAT ABOUT HER!!

On Tuesday night we had an in-home visit with her preschool teachers and Katherine INSISTED that we haul it out of the basement. So out it came, with me cringing the whole way. But not Katherine, she was so proud of her new wheels and couldn't wait to show it off to all her friends. We now affectionately call it "the mobile" and all the kids line up to take turns riding it. I guess I was wrong! And thankfully so!

Random thought #3 --

We found out this week that Matt's office will be relocating to West Des Moines. Aviva recently acquired a piece of land out by Jordan Creek and plans to build in the near future. (I attached the link with the full story if you're interested -- just click on "Aviva"). Which begs the question -- Do we stay in Johnston or move out west???? There's so much I love about Johnston -- our friends, our neighborhood, the small town feel, really everything.... And I shudder at the thought of our kids going to Valley High School. I coached debate there for a while while I was in college, and it's just too much ... too big, too much money, too much peer pressure, too easy to get lost in the shuffle... So who knows???? I know we can't stay in this house forever -- especially after baby #3 arrives, but I'd really like to stay close to here.... We'll have to see, it'd be so nice for Matt to have a 5 minute drive to work, so I'm not ruling it out.

Random thought #4 --

I feel like I have the body of a 12 year old... No, I haven't lost a bunch of weight and stopped shaving my legs! LOL... I've got bumps and bruises all over my body. It's embarrassing really... Here's the lowdown --

I took the kids to the Playground for Kids last week. I was chasing Katherine though this inflatable obstacle course and as I was going down the slide, I must have put my elbow down on the slide. I ended up with a good size burn on my elbow and it keeps breaking open. Soooo frustrating. I love looking down and seeing blood all over!

Tuesday night I came down with a case of pink eye. Don't ask. I have no idea how I got it, but let me assure you, it's lovely.

Wednesday the kids and I went to the zoo with Andrea and Julie's hubby. They've got this cool new play structure in the petting zoo area and it's got lots of nooks and crannys to hide in. I was playing hide and go seek with the kids and decided to stand up at an inopportune time and totally banged my head. OUCH! The result was this super huge bump on the top of my head that still hurts every time I touch it, and combing my hair about brings tears to my eyes.

Yesterday the kids and I went to the park and Caleb wanted to go down the big enclosed curly slide, but was afraid to go on his own. So I put him on my lap and squeezed though the tunnel. Only I could find a way to skin my knee on the inside on of the slide going down!

And -- I've got a blister on my foot. No idea how it happened, but just add it to the list!!

So yea -- physically I'm a mess!

Random thought #4 --

Matt is going to be gone all next week. He's leaving Tuesday for NYC and he'll be gone until Thursday night for some conference. Friday morning he's leaving for Iowa City to see his beloved Hawkeyes play and staying at the Sheraton downtown. They have a two night minimum, so he'll be home until Sunday morning.

I originally thought of taking the NYC trip with him and bringing along a girlfriend for a couple of days of relaxing, shopping, sightseeing, great eats, and maybe a Broadway show. But then it dawned on me.... Wednesday is Katherine's first day of school, and given the choice, I'd choose her every time. How in the world could I not be there for her first day???

Random thought #5 --

Caleb -- Every day he's talking more and more. I'm constantly surprised by the things he says. It's so cute..... Matt and I are starting to wonder if we've got a class clown on our hands. We went out for dinner on Tuesday to this little Mexican restaurant that serves the most delish chips and salsa in the world. It's pretty authentic and they've got music constantly playing in the background. Caleb hears this, stands up in the booth and starts dancing. Not just swaying to the beat... the kid is totally groovin' and movin'. Then, after every bite, he starts making sound effects for himself. He sounds like half truck half animal.... Dinnertime was quite the show. LOL.

OK -- we're off to Rick and Danyel's house for pizza and cards/pool. Matt's parents bought us a great bottle of wine for a "congratulations you passed the CFA" present. So we're cracking that open as well. Looking forward to it!!