Teething Stinks.
Posted on August 4, 2009
Poor little girl. I think she may be getting 3 or 4 at the same time. She’s usually ok during the day, but at night- oh its awful. I can only just hold her and rock her while she screams. I’ve given her stuff to nom on, like teethers, but she seems to like bags of peas. We’ve given her Tylenol and ora-jel. I think I’m going to try those herbal tablets too. And I’ve heard frozen bagels too.
For now, you just nom on those peas Lily. No one in their right mind wants peas anyway.
The Eyes Have It
Posted on July 11, 2009
So, I know you all are wondering where my camping pics are. (At least…I think you are. Well, are you? You should be! Wait…does anyone actually read these anyway? Or am I just going on and on about my seemingly important life thinking that people actually want to know this stuff because I’m the next awesome mommy blogger? Huh. Yea, I don’t really care. I like writing and posting pictures and pretending it’s important to everyone anyway. So, if its not true, let me stay in my bubble!! 
) Anyway, I’ll have them up soon! I just have about 8 bizmillion things to do including 8 bizmillion pictures!
I love these eyes.
The hair is a little crazy, but I’ll forgive her. Because her eyes are just so darn beautiful.
People have said she has my eyes. But mine are not this color. Mine are hazel/green. Ava’s are the color of her dad’s eyes. Grey blue. She might have my shape eye. I’m told she is the spitting image of me. But I actually think she gets it from Todd’s mom’s side. The Voltz side.
Either way, I love them.
Crazy loon with the beautiful eyes.
Now these are some amazing peepers too. Todd’s color again. Actually, just all around Todd’s face. But, I’m starting to think she may have my shape eyes. Curiously, I saw a picture of me today when I was about 6 months old and Lily looks just like me. So, really, I have no idea.
Now, that’s a Todd face if I ever saw one. Freaking love that smile. Either way, I love both of these faces like crazy. But their eyes, just might be my undoing.
Master Storyteller
Posted on July 10, 2009
The video speaks for itself. Enjoy.
Lemonade Anyone?
Posted on July 9, 2009
Guess what we’re doing tomorrow?
I’m so excited! Todd had this idea for a lemonade stand for Ava and the idea has kind of just taken off.
Ava made her own sign too.
She was pretty excited about it.
I’m pretty sure she’ll be at it for about 20 minutes tomorrow, but it should be pretty fun while it lasts.
Oh yea, and bottled water too.
So, if you feel like it, stop on by tomorrow around noon, have a glass of lemonade and help a girl out with her college fund!
Of Star Wars and Lazy, Rainy Independence Days.
Posted on July 4, 2009
Well, it’s Independence Day, my favorite holiday. I love the barbecues, the patriotism, the fireworks. I LOVE fireworks. I cried at my town’s display last year. Cried. If my town has anything, it has a great fireworks display. Sometimes I wonder if that’s all they spend their money on. Anyway, it’s wonderful.
Alas, it is almost 7pm and it’s still raining. It’s been raining all day. And it’s chilly.
And a Star Wars marathon is on Spike right now.
Sigh. Decisions, decisions.
Sit on the wet ground with a 4 year old and a 4 month old and watch fireworks, or sit in, cuddle with my family and watch Star Wars?
They look so cuddly. And they’re so into it, God Bless ‘em. As they should be. It is Star Wars, the most wonderful saga of all time. And Han is so deliciously handsome. I don’t blame them for wanting to stay in. Plus, they could get sick, in this weather. That would make me a bad mom. Forcing those loud banging noises on my innocent children in the cold, pouring rain. How mean. Yes, I think I’ll let them watch Star Wars. I might sit with them too. Just so they aren’t scared hearing all the loud banging noises going on around them. What a good mom I am.
P.S. Best line in the entire saga:
Leia: “I love you.”
Han: “I know.”
Me: Goosebumps.
Happy 4th of July everyone!! A big thank you to all of you who have served and are serving our country right now. Thank YOU for our freedom. Come home soon.
Todd's job.
Posted on June 17, 2009
Inquiring minds want to know. About a week and a half ago, I posted on Facebook asking everyone to give us some thoughts and prayers. Todd’s job was hanging in the balance and we needed some prayer. But then I didn’t say much after that. Well, we found out the day before Ava’s birthday that Todd lost his job. We didn’t want to ruin Ava’s birthday, and then our anniversary with the news.
So what happened?
Todd started working for Superior Ambulance company in January of 1999, just before he met me. He’s been working there for ten and a half years. He’s been great employee and a great paramedic. He worked his butt off for that company. He even worked as the station manager for a time, which is a thankless job, and the stress seeped into our family until he had to step down. He’s been on the pediatric ambulance for two years now, and in my opinion, he has been a great asset to the company.
On May 15th, Todd was driving the ambulance Code 2 (lights and sirens). He came up to an intersection, slowed down, checked to see if it was clear, and continued through the intersection. He didn’t see the red 2009 mustang until it was almost in front of them. He cut the wheel and they ended up colliding with the front corners of each vehicle. Everyone in the ambulance was ok, the mom in the passenger seat had some whiplash. Todd got out to see if the guy in the mustang was ok. The car was totaled. The first thing the guy said to Todd was “I had the yellow!!” He told the cop the same thing. Intelligent man. Todd told the cop the truth, that he did not make a full and complete stop at the intersection, but he had slowed down to a slow roll. He could have lied, but there were cameras at the intersection. He figured it would have been worse. It is not illegal for an emergency vehicle to go through the intersection running lights and sirens without stopping.
So that was the end of it. So we thought. The accident report showed it was the other guy’s fault. Todd was faultless. He just had to go to a CEVO (van drivers safety course) training class. So he drove up to Elmhurst, Superior headquarters, and sat through the course. Several of the other people in the course got to leave early because their incidents were minor. But Todd had to stay until 4. As he was getting ready to leave, the CEVO instructor told him to stay and wait because the general manager wanted to talk to him. He waited for him to get out of a meeting. The regional manager ended up coming out instead. He told Todd basically that his job is at jepardy. It’s not illegal to go through the intersection running lights and sirens without stopping, but it’s company policy to make a full and complete stop. He said that no one in the company who had ever violated that policy had kept their job. They were going to have a meeting the next day (Saturday the 6th- D-Day conveniently) to discuss whether or not to let Todd keep his job.
So we waited. He called the Hope pediatric nurses (they hold a lot of weight with the company and they did not want to lose Todd) to put in a good word for him. A couple of them called and chewed out the regional manager for about two hours. Seriously ladies, thank you for that.
We got the call on Saturday evening. They had to let him go. They let him resign instead of firing him. But his job of ten years, what we thought was his very stable job, was gone. For, frankly, a completely bull shit reason.
But, we’re going to be just fine. The way things happened, the timing of everything, is so exact, it cannot be coincidence. Todd’s dad passed away almost a year ago. Todd was his only heir, and we received his 401K, his house, his car, his motorcycle, his possessions and a settlement from a disability case. The 401K was placed into probate for a number of months. The release date was a week before Todd was let go. The disability case settled a few days before he was let go. The money is enough for us to pay off our debt, our cars, put a down payment on a new home, and put some away for ourselves and our kids’ educations. We are still going to live within our means, I still keep my job as a photographer, and Todd has already been putting in applications for other jobs. But we are one of the lucky few to be secure. We are very blessed. God gave us exactly what we needed. If this had happened a year ago, we were staring at foreclosure, at bankruptcy. We would have been in serious trouble. I really don’t know if we would have made it.
With Todd losing his job, I’ve actually felt the stress in the house lift. Things are getting done around here. He is happy. He actually looks healthier. He hasn’t taken TUMS in a week and a half. He can actually grow a gotee. He looks good with a gotee. That job was killing him, slowly. Not so much the job, but the company. But he felt stuck. There was no way up, and no way out.
God set a path. He had a plan. There is no doubt of that for us. He started setting things in place a year ago, maybe more. His dad passing was a tragedy, but it was a blessing in disguise as well. Todd losing his job was horrible, or it could have been. But it’s given us a lot of possibilities. He’s going to go back to school for nursing. We can do that now. We’re going to be ok.
God truly works in mysterious ways. Whether you believe it or not. Thank you for the prayers and thoughts and blue light. 
Happy Birthday Ava!
Posted on June 7, 2009
What a great day!! Ava and I were a little late to her party. That’s what happens when you try to make cupcake pops when you have two kids and a deadline. But, other than that, the whole day turned out great!! Drastic difference from last years fiasco. But we’re not going to mention that. Or the screaming. Or the kicking. Or the singing over the screaming and the kicking. We’ve forgotten all about that. Well, Aunt Cheryl says she still needs time to get over it. Understandable.
No, this year was lots of smiles from everyone including the birthday girl. She even said “Thank you!” after everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. She opened all of her presents and she loved them all. All of the kids had a blast at the splash park- that was such a great idea! Harrison, my friend Joanie’s son, said “This was the best party EVER!” Just so you know, that’s kid-speak for I’m the most awesomest mom ever. And the cupcake pops were perfect! Everyone loved them. I’ll have that recipe for you next post.
Meanwhile, here are a billion pictures from Ava’s party. Enjoy!!
Opening presents. Her hair was cute. She has a new thing with pulling out her clips and hairties.
Hudson is going to be a linebacker. He told me.
Haven, helping Ava out.
And the big one. Love this face.
A new Barbie bike!!
Tylor, diving in head-first.
Collin, stopping to model for me.
Sophia, trying out her sea-legs.
Ava and Haven were practically attached at the hip!
Aunt Fran and Abby
Ian scouting his next victim.
Cupcake pops!
Happy Birthday Dear Ava!
Yum-O.
Lily was the life of the party.
Sophia and those baby blues!
Chloe between screeches!
The beautiful Natalie and Becky. So awesome to see you Becky!!
Little Miss Abigail.
Lily finally up to see what all the fuss is about.
And the beautiful birthday girl who believes the party never ends. Love you, my big girl.
A last look at my 3 year old…
Posted on June 7, 2009
*sigh* They really do grow up too fast, don’t they?
P.S. Dontcha love the shirt? I bought that for Todd when we were dating. Time flies.
Zoo weather!
Posted on June 4, 2009
I love going to the zoo! (I love my new lens even more…)
Ava loves to go to the zoo too. (She loves it more than she loves my new lens.)
Lily spent most of her first trip to the zoo like this. Completely uneventful for her.
I was a little sad because my favorite two elephants were not on exhibit. Affie tragically passed away last week and Christy was mourning. I hope they find another elephant for her soon- they are very social animals.
But, we decided to make a day of it and we had a blast! We even went to the new dinosaur exhibit. Ava loved that! They really did a great job with it.
We saw lions…
And tigers…
And bears! (Insert Wizard of Oz line here.)
Oh and leopards too…
(Did I mention I love my new lens? I did? Ok. I’ll just keep quiet now.)
We also saw dolphins and seals and sea lions, but I just can’t figure out how to take pictures of them under water through the glass. One day…
Oh look! Lily decided to join us!
Playing at the Children’s Zoo.
This one cracks me up…
One day I will go to the zoo and not take my camera. I can’t tell you how many pictures I have from zoo trips. But none this good. Thank you lens. I love you.
Brave, but not TOO brave.
Posted on June 4, 2009
Lately, Ava has gotten a lot braver. She used to be so overly cautious, the wouldn’t even jump down from a curb without wanting help. The other day at the park, she was climbing up this ladder contraption thingy that I wouldn’t have even attempted. I was quite surprised.
Grandma has this swing thing at her house, hanging from a tree in the back yard. It basically looks like a frisbee on a rope. You sit on the frisbee and swing. Ava loves it. But, not for swinging. She would rather use it as a boomerang. It’s much more safe that way. I agree.
