Wow so went to the doctor today everything is looking good and on track for baby Adam I am measuring exactly 33 and I am 33 weeks. My heartburn is keeping me up at night so he told me to pick up some Prilosec OTC it is once a day pretty expensive stuff so hopefully it works. While we were there we all got weighed because my kids just think it is fun to watch me and had to participate today. Isaac is 36 and some change and Noah is 32 and some change so when I am picking them both up holy 68lbs!! That is just crazy that my 19mt old is only 4 lbs lighter than my 3.5 year old. I know that they taper off pretty dramatically in the preschooling years but geez.. Chubby ubby.

I also picked up my groceries for my Thursday cooking session I have planned we are making 2- Tator tot casseroles, 2 cream cheese chickens, and 2 dijon pork chops. All sound YUMMY!

Tator Tot Casserole (freezer style)

2lbs Ground Beef
1 onion
1 10 3/4 can Cream of Mushroom
1 10 3/4 can Cream of Chicken
16oz Shredded cheese
12 oz Sour cream
1 bag tator tots

Brown Onion and Ground Beef, Drain, then layer the ground beef/onion mixture, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, sour cream, Shredded Cheese and top with Tator tots. Put in Freezer

Cook Day- Thaw overnight in frig and then 375 for an hour! May need a little longer if not all the way thawed in frig the night before.

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Cream Cheese Chicken

1 .7-ounce envelope Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup butter
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
1 10.75-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 8-ounce package cream cheese

Turn slow cooker on High. Place butter in bottom of slow cooker. When the butter has melted, add one envelope Italian dressing dry mix. Stir into butter until well mixed. Cut chicken breasts into 1" strips. Place in slow cooker and stir to coat with butter and dressing mix. Cover and cook on High for 2 hours. Remove chicken to plate to cool. Add cream of chicken soup and cream cheese. Stir to melt and mix well until smooth and creamy. Remove sauce from slow cooker and allow to cool. Place chicken and sauce into a gallon resealable freezer bag. Label. Freeze.

Cooking day- Thaw. Heat until piping hot and bubbly. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or hot buttered noodles.

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Dijon Pork Chops Freezer Recipe

4 boneless pork chops
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (can use plain if thats all you have but add a dash of italian seasoning)

In a bowl, combine Dijon mustard and Worecesterhire sauce. Lightly season the four pork chops with salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Then use a pastry brush to brush each side of the pork chops with the Dijon mixture, or you can use a fork to dip each pork chop in the mixture. Next, coat each side with the Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

Place on cookie sheet flash freeze in the freezer. After a few hours, place the pork chops in a freezer bag or container. You can freeze them in the container immediately, but flash freezing first will allow you to cook one or two at a time, rather than all four.

On cooking day: Thaw in refrigerator or cook directly from freezer. Set your oven to the broil setting and allow to preheat. Place pork chops on a broiler pan (or use a cookie sheet with a baking rack on top to allow the drippings to fall) and broil each side for 10-12 minutes or until pork chops are thoroughly cooked inside. (Adjust time depending on whether you thawed first or took directly from freezer.)

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Well ne ways so those are the o so yummy meals I am making doubles of on Thursday morning with the help of one of my cooking club members. Mrs. Shannon. Can't wait.

Wednesday play and learn starts back up and the boys just love love love love love play and learn so here we go again another year. Wed at 10-12:30.

Tuesday- Cleaning
Wed- Play and learn
Thursday- Cooking day
Friday- rest. Might go work out need to get back into that.
Saturday- Taste of Madison YUMMY
Sunday- another day of rest I hope..

Well that is our not to terribly busy week. My brother will be back this weekend and so next week we are back to the grind of school. Fun Fun.. Last week of summer!

Wow am I spent. 2 Full nights without much sleep is getting to me. I just can't shut my brain off. Too many things on my mind right now. Missing Nick. Getting the basement done to the point of occupancy. Baby Adam coming in 7 weeks more or less. His crib isn't up. There is no room in the room we are in for the bassinet and that isn't set up either. I just feel like nothing is ready.. I picked up diapers yesterday for Adam for the first few days but all the 0-3 clothes are still packed and there is no where to unpack them and put them. There is no bed for him out. The swings are packed. All the baby stuff is put away. He got a new outfit from my Aunt and uncle which is nice since most of his clothes will be hand me downs it is nice to have 1 or 2 outfits that are just his. But baby blankets, burp cloths, boppies, bed, clothes, bassinet, car seat, everything is put up and there is no room for him. I go through different things in my head of what I can get done to get this basement done quicker but I too am limited on skills and muscle at this point to do anything. I don't know how to put up z channel and I don't know how to ruff in plumbing. Hopefully after drywall I can learn to hook up outlets and light fixtures, and to hang the doors and I know how to put on door handles. I just feel useless at this point and afraid that nothing will be out or even ready for when Adam arrives.

Nick still has about 24 days till he is home. My brother will be here in a week to go back to school. We are still working on the potty training. I am working on getting meals ready for when Adam arrives. I still need to go tour St Mary's since I haven't been there yet and to preregister. Doctor appointments are every 2 weeks until the last month then every week. I am still waiting on my new debit card and pin number. It has been since Aug 12 th that we canceled the old one and put in for a new one. This is the longest I have ever had a card or pin get to me. Usually you see at least one within a few days. Plus we still have loaded weekends till the end of September. Well that is pretty much what is on my mind give or take a few things. Hopefully getting it all out and on paper will help me organize tasks at hand and put my mind at some sort of rest. I am just having a hard time shutting down the brain at night and when I think I am dozing off I dream of the stressers.

As for Nick being gone he is pretty much hating the life down there. Since this is a schooling you normally take right out of Boot camp. He is surrounded by some pretty young marines. Which of course means more rules to abide by to try to keep them in line still. So Nick is pretty stressed and hating it right now. As for Isaac and Noah they are warming up to talking to daddy on the web cam. Isaac will tell Nick a gazillion knock knock jokes and if you have ever played the game with him it pretty much goes
Isaac: "Knock Knock"
you: "Who's There?"
Isaac "(some item ex BANANA)"
you : "Banana who?"
Isaac: "Knock Knock" pretty much meaning you start all over. No punch line you just run down a list of items he sees or is on his mind. Usually food items. And this could go on FOREVER.

As for Noah well he is warming up to the idea of chatting usually after a few rounds of "where's Noah? or Where's Daddy?" He still gets a wee bit overwhelmed by the idea and will take breaks and run around the house.

As for our up coming September.. Busy Busy Busy
Sept 2nd Play and Learn Starts back up
Sept 5-6-7 Kody will be moving back up
Sept 5-6 Linda is coming up to visit and go to Taste of Madison with the boys and I
Sept 12 My Dove Chocolate party.. Super excited for this one..
Sept 13 My niece Rylee's Baptism
Sept 19 Wissbaum Family Reunion
Sept 23 Nick will be home
Sept 26 John Ferrons wedding (co-worker for Nick)
October 3-4 Drill weekend. yes Nick will be home for a week and half then off to drill again.

Like I said September is pretty nutsy. But it is following the pretty nutsy summer we have had already. Today My brother Kody is receiving his Boy Scout Religious Award at church this morning and then this afternoon he is getting his Eagle Scout award. We are soooooooooo proud of his accomplishments and were supposed to attend these events but after 2 days of no sleep and the boys not feeling 100% we will have to miss the festivities. Just know KODY we are rooting for you here.. If you listen closely you will here the boys say "Go Uncle Kody Go!" Well off to rest a bit and maybe get some laundry and house cleaning done this afternoon. Rest first because there is not enough Caffeine in the world to perk me up yet. I am SOOOO TIRED! Hope everyone has had a great weekend.

Well Going to do some cooking prep for when Baby Adam is born. Like I said before I am going to try to get 4-6 meals frozen each week for the next 5-6 weeks then rest the last 2 weeks. So I am gonna share the recipes on here in case anyone is interested in cooking them or just interested in what they are for maybe possible cooking them. So today I am working on 3 recipes and making a double batch or triple batch of each.

Creamy PB Chicken

6 Chicken Breasts
1/2t pepper
1/3c peanut butter
2T soy sauce
3T OJ

Add Chicken to ziploc bag. Remove as much air as possible. In a bowl mix all other ingredients together. Pour into a 2nd ziploc bag and seal tight.. Put both bags in a large bag to keep them together and Freeze.
Cooking Day: Thaw in frig overnight pour into crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with Rice!
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Beef Broccoli Soup

1.5lb Stew beef or cheap steak cut in cubes
3c. Chopped Broccoli
2 4oz cans of Mushrooms drained or 1c fresh mushrooms chopped
1/2c Celery Chopped
1 C carrots sliced
1/4c green pepper Chopped
1qt tomato juice
1/2c water
1/2t salt
1/4t pepper
1/4t thyme
1/4t oregano

Place all in bag except the water and freeze

Cooking day: Thaw over night in frig add to crockpot along with the 1/2c water Cook 8-9 hours on low

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Simple Salisbury Steak

1 can of mushroom soup
1/3c dry bread crumbs
1/4 c Finely chopped onion
1lb ground beef
1 egg beaten
1 4oz can mushrooms drained

Mix 1/4c soup, beef, bread crumbs, egg and onion. Shape into patties Freeze individually on parchment paper. Once frozen combine in ziploc bag. in another ziploc bag combine remaining soup and mushrooms

Cooking day: Thaw overnight in frig cook patties in skillet over med heat browning both sides. Stir in the soup and mushrooms bag. Reduce heat to low and cover and simmer for 20 min until done. Turning patties occasionally. Serve over rice or noodles.
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Onto our update on potty training

Well we have been trying different methods for a long time now with Isaac. My honest thought is that we started way to early and then once he figured it out he chose not to.. So he knows what to do when to do and how to do. He just stubbornly doesn't want to do. So we took a break for the month of August we just changed him when he needed to be changed didn't talk to him about it and didn't put him on the potty or anything. Monday of this week we started up a new method. 1st day is a freebee day then from then on a little punishment for peeing and pooping in the chonies (boy undies)!

Day 1 went super smoothly. No accidents. Isaac had a blast peeing on the new Froggie potty.

Day 2 went awesome until around dinner time when he had an accident in the chonies. Of course that means it was time for a little punishment. Which was to get a cool shower to clean off all the ick. Unfortunately I think he enjoyed getting the cool shower so about 30 min later he did it again. So back in the cool shower. So I decided to threaten no Chocolate malt with mom for dessert if he had another accident. And that seemed to clear it straight up we were back on track.

Day 3 another awesome day. We had a minor poop incident in the chonies in the morning so we tried the shower punishment again. So I made it a little bit cooler and hosed off more than just his waist and below. I went all the way up to his shoulders and he was not impressed with that. But we didn't have anymore accidents yesterday. And that included being out and about. We went to the school, the bank, and the mall. No problemo. So hopefully we are on the right track for having a fully potty trained almost 3.5 year old. I would like to point out he stayed dry all the way through nap time 12:30pm-4:15pm WOW!

So here we are DAY 4 and starting off strong.. Fingers crossed we keep up the awesome work.

Another blissfully busy day.

Update** on the Stolen money. Well like I said before the money is back in our account and the investigation was still going. I got a call today from the police officer to tell me that my card was used as part of the Nigeria scam. For those of you who do not know what that is let me fill you in. This is a scam where someone emails you and tells you that they live in Nigeria and need to leave the country and that they have all this money if they could just send you a cashiers check for XXXX amount of money then you can keep a portion and send them cash back to hide this from their government and to protect their family funds.. (THIS IS FRAUD DO NOT FALL FOR IT) N E Ways what happens I guess is that you email them back your address and they send you these cashiers checks to cash. Here is where my card number got used was that who ever stole my number used it to send these packages of Cashiers checks to the trusting souls that handed out their address for these checks to be sent to. So they scammed my card to send these and are scamming these people to get money.. CRAZY what a crazy freaking world. Luckily we found out about all this since one of the packages were sent to an Air Force guy on an Air force base and I called the base and asked the MPs to go question him about his package. So where as we have some answers I think those are the only answers we will get. And Honestly knowing this much doesn't make me feel better but I am not sure knowing more would change that. Maybe the one piece of info I would like is HOW THE HECK THEY GOT MY NUMBER!

Well the next 5 weeks I am going to make between 4-6 freezer meals in preparation for when Baby Adam arrives. I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow to get the supplies for the 2-Salisbury steak meals, 2 beef stews and 2 creamy PB chicken meals I am making this week. So tomorrow I need to pick up groceries and also I just got the email that our new crib needs to be picked up.

Also an Update on Isaac as a model**
Isaac helped my friend Becky with her window display for her photography shop.. She is an amazing photographer. And 2 of Isaac's Photos are up on the website and he is also in the window of her shop. here is the link if you would like to check out all the cute kids and their photos.
www.applebyphoto.com
-Click on the page
-Click on Galleries
-Click on Urban Kids
Isaac is on the 1st page 2nd kid down in the middle column and also on the 2nd page 3rd kid down in the middle column..
All the kids look great if you have time to check out all the photos.

So tonight we had dinner with Becky (yes same Becky as above) and family over at their house. We like to try to get the families together for dinner which means a lot of us.. Becky and Chris have 3 kids with a baby on the way and Nick and I have the 2 boys with another on the way so come Dec we will have 4 adults and 7 kids when we get together.. Crazy but fun. Chris and Becky are also going to be Baby Adam's God parents I believe I said this before so it is fun to get together and hang out when time permits. We grilled out and for desert made yummy o so yummy s'mores. Of course these are the boys first s'mores so I had to take the photos.



First small taste. Gotta make sure it is good before we go in for a big bite.



Isaac Checking it out not sure what it is.



First BIG bite.. yum



Oh yeah this is tasty mom.



And sticky look at the marshmallows everywhere!

What a great and fun adventure.. If Nick would have been there it would have been perfect.. I miss him something terrible. It is hard when you have such a great husband that helps out a lot and then they have to go away for a bit. You really appreciate how much they do for you and your sanity. Well 30 more days and he will be home.. Good night everyone.. Good Night Nick.. We miss you and love you!!

Well what a Saturday.

It was my Grandma Fuerstenberg's 80th birthday party and boy what Chaos (let's just leave it at that.) I am excited that our boys got to see my dad their Opa. This is Isaac's 2nd time seeing him and Noah's first. I wish he lived closer but we make do with what time we get. As soon as we got there my dad was ready to hang out and play, he threw the ball for Isaac for baseball and chased after Noah. He was a big help through the 3 bee stings (Isaac 2x and Noah 1x). It was nice to see that they warmed up to him so quickly I just wish we had more time.



Isaac and my dad playing baseball



another Pitch



My Dad and Noah eating lunch while I took care of Isaac's 1st bee sting.



My Dad and the boys. I wish I could have got a better shot.



All 4 of Us.. Again I wish I got a better shot.. My lil stinkers were not having it. Sad :(

Today (Sunday) We hung out at my mom's. Isaac and my mom made some tasty pancakes for breakfast and just hung out the morning. Isaac was being a little slow eating lunch so we took off later. Poor Noah was so tired he just climbed up in the recliner and passed out. We headed home and now I am just getting things clean, coupons clipped and the list made for grocery shopping tomorrow. We delayed our dinner with Chrs, Becky and family till tomorrow. It has been a long weekend.



My uncle came up yesterday while we were gone and got some more of the wiring done. Just a little bit more and we can get the inspections done and I can call in the dry wallers. We decided just to hire someone to help take the stress off me and our family.

Just 8 more weeks till Adam is due we are working to get this stuff done. We love our family for all the help and support. Thank you.

Dark and Early we dropped Nick off at the airport on Tuesday morning. The boys so far seem to be taking his absence pretty well. We lucked out that he is able to pay for Internet service use down there for in his room. So we get to chat with him at night with the web cam. Isaac is a little stand offish he just tries to jabber at Nick in a hushed tone that you can't hear anything while Noah is so confused by the whole thing when he gets too overwhelmed that Daddy is in the computer he nuzzles into me and hides his face. Hopefully they will warm up to the idea of talking to him like this for a while if nothing else they get to see him and listen to his voice while I talk to Nick.

Nights and mornings seem to be going smoother now that we bunked the beds. Isaac goes in and right to bed and leaves Noah alone. And Noah has been waking up and playing quietly till I come in and get him which leaves Isaac to sleep in a little bit. I hope this trend holds it seems to be working. I was afraid to bunk the beds because Noah is such a little monkey that I was afraid he would climb up to the top bunk and fall trying to get down. Luckily he only tried a few times getting stuck on the first step and getting upset that he couldn't get down I think this has deterred him for a bit.

Wednesday was a pretty crazy day not only for our family but for the drywall contractor we were getting a quote from. We had a quote scheduled for 10am and finally when all the nutso stuff subsided he got here around 3:45pm. Even with the excellent deal he is giving us for him to do all the work involved in the drywalling and insulating it would cost us $2350. So I think we are going to go through and try to get an idea of how much materials will cost and hope that our friends and family can come and help. Once the drywall is up and mudding and taping and priming done it seems like we can finish off the project pretty quick. I can't wait I am so ready for this to be D-O-N-E!

Well looks like another busy weekend ahead. The boys and I are heading down to Lancaster for my Grandma Fuerstenberg's 80th Birthday party. My dad will be there this will be the first time he has seen Isaac since November 2006 and the first time meeting Noah. So this should be interesting. From there we are going to crash at my mom's house and then come back up around nap time on Sunday. Sunday night we are having dinner with little Adam's Godparents to be and family. Should be another crazy one. Sometime in there probably Friday I need to get the grocery shopping in. I am also going to start doubling some recipes and put them in the freezer for when we have Adam. We are about 8 weeks away need to start preparing. The only thing he has so far is a brand new blanket. Well new in the sense we just bought it but his older brother Noah has already cuddled with it a little on the way out of the store. It is super soft so he was enjoying trying it out. I am also just waiting on notice to go get our new crib from the site to store delivery at Walmart since our old one had to be replaced due to recalls. So I still have a few things to get we need some Pampers Swaddler diapers. We do use cloth normally but I think for the first few weeks we are going to try to make life a little easier on Mom and Dad and put Noah and Adam in disposable for a while so we are going to get a big box of swaddler diapers and size 4s for Noah. I think once we have the diapers we are pretty set for him coming home I think we have everything else. I just hope we can get the basement around to move in down there so we have room for the bassinet in the room.

Well anyways I have the company who sold us the house coming by today. Our water heater is leaking all over the floor and I have a bucket under it right now and it is full so I am hoping that they can come and get this fixed under our one year home warranty! Like I said if it isn't one thing its another. I am ready for life to calm down for us for a while. 35 More days till Nicks home.

Well Geez what a weekend. I know a lot of my posts this summer seem to start that way so hopefully I can find a new opening line sometime.. I am so tired of this one. Well we got the call around 4pm Friday that Nick needed to pack his stuff that he would be leaving Tuesday to go to his Admin School for the Marine Corps. We didn't however get the official orders or flight information at that time. So friday night we started the scramble to get everything he needed together, clothes washed, hygiene items from Walmart. We tried to get as much together as possible so that we could hang out with the boys all day and then work on getting him packed at nights.. Talk about Long days and even longer Nights.

Saturday we hung outside with the boys and played and got more stuff done for Nick's packing but mostly we played and played!

Sunday Nick's parents came up to visit him before he boogied on out for 37 days. While they were here my Uncle Kurt was also here working on our electrical ruff in. So I was in and out hanging out with the family and running to Menards with my uncle to get more supplies. While my uncle was here he also helped me with a couple little projects.. The pin on our tub drain broke off and I couldn't get the plunger to stay up to drain the tub so we have been using the number 8 from the kids bath toys. But we got that off and now have a rubber plunger.. not as nice looking but much easier to work with.. Also I bought a metal basket for our fruit because for the life of me I couldn't find those baskets that hang must have got lost in the decade style. But the one I bought was too tall to fit under the cabinets properly so he cut off the handle for me.. VERY VERY helpful.. Little projects off the check list. As for Father in law he was a super help with Nick getting a last minute mowing in and weed whacking done. While my mother in law played with the boys. I was at Menards. So it was nice when I got home and almost all the yard work was done. Sunday Night Nick and I spent it getting his big uniforms together the Alphas and Charlies to make sure everything is together.. He has to take these ones due to the fact that he has to check in. In his Alphas and Graduate in his Charlies. So fun thing is that he hasn't worn these uniforms in a very long time.. his Alpha's were last worn when he checked into his Waterloo unit Jan 2005. So needless to say they are very tight on him but luckily they have all the right chevrons. Every time he got promoted we had them taken to his mother who helped us change the rank. So again still tight.. He is going to have to hold his breath and hope he doesn't pass out. I loosened his belt a little. But that only gave him an extra 1/2" or so in the jacket the pants were still super tight. I got to bed around 1130pm-12am and Nick stayed up working on more stuff and got to bed finally around 1:30am

Monday we ran to the bank. I had to claim the 26 transactions that were fraudulent on our account. Which meant claiming each deduction separately and having to fill out a separate form for each saying that I didn't authorize anyone to use my card and that I had no knowledge of the transaction till after the fact and that I tried to call the merchant to rectify the transaction and that the merchant couldn't do anything. Had to Write it 26 times. So we will get 26 deposits back with in 10 business days. And hopefully this mess will be done. We were very lucky that this was all that we were dealing with. I didn't lose my wallet so we didn't have to call all our cards also I got a free credit report to make sure we were limited to just use on the debit card.. So it is nice to know that there are no unknown accounts on my record. So blessings in the middle of the crazy. We also had to swing by the salon and get Nick a new high and tight so that he would be looking sharp. Again Monday was spent most of the day hanging out and playing with the kids and trying to keep explaining that Nick would be gone. At 3:30pm we got the orders and flight information. Turns out that Nick needs to be at the airport by 3:30am-4am Holy COW! So we get Noah to bed and then Isaac watched a few penguins episodes while I looked for an airplane coloring page to divide up into 37 spots for him to color one in a day till daddy flies home. I found one and got it ready and Nick and I explained to Isaac about the countdown airplane a couple of times hoping it would sink in. Isaac's response kept being no daddy stay home or that Isaac goes on the plane too. After we explained the countdown sheet Isaac got ready for bed and in bed at 8:30. And of course we have lately been dealing with the bedtime/morning issues. Isaac goes in at 8:30p and wakes up Noah since their beds were down together and next to each other they try to play at night. Which this same problem is that Noah wakes up earlier and wakes Isaac up again since the beds are next to each other and such. So 9:30pm last night we decided that we would try bunking them.. I am nervous to the fact that they are still little but the beds don't sit super high off the ground. So Now Isaac's bed is up top and Noah is below. We got the beds together and moved. Isaac climbed right up and was happy as a clam. Noah on the other hand kept trying to climb the ladder to get to Isaac luckily he gets stuck on the 1st step. So needless to say I was in there 2 maybe 3 times to rescue him from the 1st step where he held on for dear life whining.. lol.. Super cute.. I had a hard time telling him UH OH that isn't good maybe you shouldn't climb that. Without dying laughing. Nick finished packing and I found the portable web cam in case he has Internet connection. We were finally in bed for the night around 11:30p-12a.
Today we got up and got Nick to the airport at 3:45am-4am and he is off on his journey. The boys and I then slept till around 7am and here we are starting our day as usual. Hopefully the harder stuff won't come till later in the day most likely when they realize he isn't home for dinner. Maybe right now it just feels like a normal work day to them. Well 37 days and counting.

Well everyone we knew it was a possibility and I was more set on the fact that I knew he was going to go. Things were lined up to perfectly for working on the basement. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
So at 16:00 today 4pm for you all out there that aren't military clock oriented. We get the phone call that yes Nick is leaving for his new MOS school. He will be going down to North Carolina Tuesday morning (knowing my luck bright freaking early). So that gives us Saturday, Sunday and Monday to set up everything that needs to be figured out by the time he leaves. His work has to be called and his hours need to be pre-entered for Military obligations. His insane amount of military laundry needs to get done. Luckily our regular laundry is done I have been prepping for him needing the machine. He needs to get packed. Our boys need to feel loved and told that daddy will be gone for a while. Prepping them is the hardest they both now know when he is gone and feel the pain of him being gone and usually reek havoc on me for a while till they get it out of their system. But I am the mom I can take it. We need to get another Lawn mowing in then hopefully my brother can help me do the mowing while Nick is gone since I am allergic to grass clippings and my skin flares up something awful. Mostly it is a mental prepping right now. Nick was pretty set he wasn't going to go that the chances were pretty slim to none so right now it is about prepping him to go. He misses us just as much as we miss him. So again Nick will be gone until Sept 25th so that is going to put a huge kink in all the plans that we have for the next few weeks. It is really hard right now being big bellied and all and trying to keep up with the 2 boys on my own. So if we don't make obligations or events we are invited to we are sorry but hey I am doing the best I can.

As for my previous posts. The UPS fraudulent charges are starting to come through and clear on our account. I had a wee bit of hope this morning thinking that some of them were denied but that was not the case. So once all 30 charges come through I will call up the police officer assigned to the case and hand over the rest of the numbers. And then I get to go into the bank and claim the $860 to get reimbursed. Again I am thankful that Nick's Card was not compromised and that he still has access to money during his travel time. I would hate to have to send him with a lot of cash. I have never felt comfortable carrying around a lot of cash and I don't think he does either.

As for the Crib we went to Wal-mart and returned it yesterday and they gave us cash back for the amount we bought it for. None of the cribs in stock were what we were looking for so we hit the online again and found a nice crib normally $160 on a special sale for $120. It has been ordered today with help of my Oma and Mutti we should be getting it between 8-26 and 9-1! Now I just need to ask the neighbor to help me bring it in the house.

I had my last monthly doctor appointment today and will be going to every 2 weeks for 3 appointments and then every week until we have the baby. We will be at St. Mary's for this wee little one. I was hoping for Meriter again but the medical chart systems are interlinked with St Mary's and Dean so I won't have to worry about transferring medical charts and keeping it update.. So one less thing to worry about.

So there is our update! We are sad to see Nick go but it needs to get done. It was either now or next year. So tomorrow we are going to have our new Donut Saturday tradition and hang out with the boys and get everything packed for Nick so it will be a pretty busy weekend but come to think about it what weekend so far this summer hasn't been crazy busy.. So here we go again. I just hope the boys take it a little easier this go round but I am not going to hold my breath.. So please send me good patience vibes since I know they will be lost and confused on why daddy is gone.

Have a nice weekend!!

Well just a wee bit stressed. Week started out pretty good. But Wed I took the boys to Noodles and Company for Lunch after spending 2.5 hours at my brother Kody's school for our volunteer time to find out that my debit card was denied when I tried to pay for our meal. Talk about embarrassing and annoying especially since I know the exact total that should be in the account. Well turns out someone got a hold of my card number and worked up $860 of charges on 30 transactions at UPS! Seriously UPS what the heck are they shipping. GEEZ Well so we canceled the card so at least no more transactions can be tried with it. I spent most of the afternoon. Wait Correction ALL of the afternoon on the phone with the bank and the UPS both pretty much useless at this point since the 30 transactions are pending and have not cleared on the account. So I can't get tracking numbers to give to UPS to find out who is doing this until the transactions clear and I can't claim to get my money back until the transactions clear because technically the money is still in my account I just can't use it for my construction payments due to it already being tagged for these 30 UPS transactions. So I am at a stand still right now.. The only thing I feel like I accomplished was getting my card canceled which I did immediately after finding out that someone is charging something on it. So now I get to wait 7-10 business days to get my card back and a new pin number. I also pulled my credit reports to make sure that they are all still good and safe. There are no unknown accounts attached to my name! So I feel blessed that this is limited to my debit card but at the same time confused since I have my card and haven't used it on line is such a long time that I am lost on how they got my number. I feel so vulnerable right now it sucks. Luckily Nick's card is linked to our account but has a different card number so his is still safe to use. Whew considering I need to pick up groceries and it seems like no where takes Checks anymore. hmm So please say a little prayer that we can get this all figured out and quickly so that I can get our construction money back so we can work more on the basement.

As for the basement I am waiting on my 35 pieces of 10 foot long Z Channel to be delivered today. We lucked upon a drywall company owner who was nice enough to order these pieces for us at cost and is sweet enough to deliver them to our house.. I feel so blessed when you can still find people out there who will go out of their way even in this hard economy to help someone who is trying to get a project done on a materials only budget. Not an easy thing to do! But what a blessing he is to help us in this manner. So now we are hoping that on Saturday my Uncle Kurt will be able to make it up and hopefully we can get the rest of the wiring ruffed in and the plumbing ruffed in and he can show Nick how to put up the Z channel. Then come monday (fingers and toes and eyes crossed) maybe I can call in the 4 inspectors for next week. Once we get the go ahead. We have wonderful friends who said they would come help muscle up the drywall. Again working on a time line since one of those wonderful friends will be heading back to finish up his college degree this semester at UWP! So Prayers for everything to run smoothly because I think the stress is getting a little high on the meter right now. I am hoping to get a few hours in at the vita store maybe I can use the money for a spa pedicure :D! I found a great place that is only $35 for a works spa pedicure.. And I mean the WORKS! whoo hoo.

Well so that is what is going on I know a few people have been calling and I have been to busy with all this to really explain my nutsoness so I thought I would post what is going on.

Well another crazy weekend behind us I am not sure how many more of these I can take this summer. I feel our budget stretched to the max with all the travel and weddings and showers and events and of course the massive amounts of Gas our van has guzzled this summer. Well I know I posted that the boys and I were going to stay home this last weekend but literally an hour and half before Nick had to leave we decided that we would go along.. So in about an hour and half we finished dinner, cleaned up, packed up the boys' stuff and my stuff, toys, dvd player, movies, pack n play well you get the point. Crazy whirl wind of packing.

We got to the hotel at around 10:30 on Friday night.. Noah slept a wee bit in the car on the long drive but was awake upon arrival to the hotel. We got all unloaded and a movie in the DVD player and finally got the boys down.. Nick and I didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

Saturday morning the boys and I hit up Ihop for breakfast and then headed to the family Museum in Bettendorf, IA.. Let me tell you it was a very cool place.. We spent 3 hours there going from area to area. There was a weather area, a play house with yard and fun area, Music area, crazy mirrors, a body room to learn about your heart and parts. We even did a little pottery. Never made it to the outside stuff it was way way to hot. 3 hours later I was dragging the boys out so we could go to lunch. They would have loved to spend the rest of the day there. We grabbed lunch then headed back to the hotel for naps. Around 6:30p Nick was finally released and back at the hotel for us to go out to dinner. Granted our boys normally eat dinner at 5:15p so I spent a while keeping them happy till Nick got back. But Mostly they just terrorized the room we were in. We grabbed a bite at Ruby Tuesdays and then headed back for some swimming. And again got everyone to bed around 9:45p-10p after baths.



The boys at the family museum playing in the 1917 Model T Roadster.. Yes it was a real Car not just a model.



Noah having a blast running around the play area.. He must have run up and down this sensory oriented corner a gazillion times.



Isaac cooking some "everything" soup.. Even included the frig magnets. Isaac has recently discovered he loves to want to cook and help cook and pretend cook. The movie Rataouille sealed that for him.. Now we just need to buy it.. It was a sad day to return it back to blockbuster.



A play Firetruck.. Had a blast on that.



The boys keeping themselves occupied till dad was back from drill. They kept climbing in and out of the TV stand lol.




Sunday was the big Family day at the unit. I brilliantly navigated the area (hhahaha) and got us to the unit after packing up everything and loading up the van. The boys had a blast on the bouncy house and blow up slide area.. Isaac got his face painted and we got to socialize but pretty much spent the whole day at the bouncy house and blow up slide! Amazing the focus they had for that area. Finally the Marines were released around 3:30p and off we went back to Madison. We swung by Platteville and ate at country Kitchen and then continued on home. So after unpacking and tossing kiddos in the shower everyone was pretty much out by 9pm.



Isaac the clown.



Noah's smiley he didn't want his face painted



oh the hours we spent in this area..



WHAT A WEEKEND! WHEW!

On more news we are on the waiting game. Nick's name is down for 2 different MOS schools this year and one list for next year.. Our fingers are crossed for next year but he still has a chance that he will be gone from AUG 17- SEPT 22. So we will see. I am hoping that we get a little more than a 24 hour notice so that we can put in his hours for work and get his stuff in order. It is hard to be on a last min notice like this but that is the military way. Hurry up and Wait is the name of the game and we are all the players.

As for future things.. I am am 30 weeks today so 30 down 10 more to go.. Give or take. This coming up weekend is either not going to be busy or we are going to be running around getting Nick ready to go. then we have my grandma's 80th Birthday party the following weekend. and then my brother is getting his Eagle award cermony the weekend after then labor day weekend and if Nick is still home he has a field Drill the 2nd weekend of September.. Oh the craziness! Also come Sept 8th my brother Kody will be back up living with us and Starting his Sophmore year of High school.. A mist the craziness we are still working on the basement. Tonight I am making my Opa's favorite recipe to cook "Soup you can eat with a fork" for the family and I am heading out to a mommy dinner with one of my favorite mommy friends Becky! Hope every one is having a great summer.. Mine seems to just be NUTS!

Well I am sitting here trying to update my blog while Noah is eating his Iced Animal Cookie. Or was eating his Iced Animal cookie it is now mostly stuck to my leg. Another Pretty crazy busy week. On monday we went to the sprinkler park by our house with the boys and my brother everyone had a great time.. While Kory and Isaac ran in the water Noah tried to avoid it and Dad and I just laughed. We might have to hit it up again on Sunday.. We are supposed to get some warm weather rolling in.


Kory getting cold



Isaac running and having fun



Noah trying to avoid the water as much as possible.



The boys trying to get the water started again!

I am in serious need of a new camera.. The shutter on mine keeps delaying my shots which means I miss a lot of good ones.. I am hoping to save up for a Nikon D40x or something comparable to one of those and then I may give up going to Sears to get their photos I will just take them myself. As for fun of the boys..

Isaac rented Ratatoulie it is a Disney movie about a cooking Rat. And now loves to pretend to make recipes and cut veggies and cook for you it is down right cute and hilarious. His singing voice is just getting better and better along with his library of songs he knows by heart. During the day we will randomly be blessed with a tune or 50. Noah is starting a long this line too He loves to mumble/hum the ABC song,Twinkle Twinkle, and Apples and Bananas in hopes that you will follow up with the words.. He has down the tune just needs to work on pronouncing the words or letters. Noah loves to follow Isaac around and do everything big brother is doing I hope that they will always be such great friends. I can't wait to see how their dynamic duo does as a trio.

Thursday was Nick and my's 4 year wedding Anniversary. 2nd year we spent together. We did a family dinner instead of getting out by ourselves. So it was fun we all packed up and went to Isaac's 2nd to last swim lesson for this season. Then out to TGIFridays for dinner. Isaac was busy pointing out all the items on the walls while Noah kept trying to rub his grubby paws all over dad's arm hair.. Funny Funny.

The boys and I were supposed to accompany Nick down to drill this weekend for family day but it has been a long crazy busy summer that we have decided to stay home and take it easy.. We are in serious need of some R and R this weekend. So Nick will be off to drill tonight.

Tomorrow the boys and I will keep up our new donut saturday mornings and head out to Lane's Bakery and then we will probably just hang around the house relaxing. So everyone enjoy your weekend.

Ok So saying it again.. Another busy weekend. whew

Thursday- my step dad brought up my brother for the week and also finished the HVAC ruff in.. Yippee. 1 ruff in down 3 to go. Then inspection time.. Then we are having an insulation and drywall party with some friends... :D Getting closer yet so far away.

Friday- I got up and got some grocery shopping done.. ALONE.. Which is nice and lonely at the same time. We then went to check out Isaac's Photos from our friend Becky.. She owns a photography shop and is amazing.. http://www.applebyphoto.com/index2.php the day we had the photos taken Isaac wasn't too cooperative but after seeing the photos.. She did an amazing job getting the most handsome shots.. I had such a hard time picking the free 8x10 for helping her with her new window display. If I was rich I would have bought all of them. The background for the shots was the city.. It was an awesome play on taking kids 3-8 and having them in Urban vintage clothes and posing around the city like they were doing their Senior class photos.. So it was really neat to see them. Afterwards we ran to Culver's to get something to eat and then headed to Sergainians to get a quote if we did the whole basement in carpet. This includes the hall, stairs, playroom, and the 2 bedrooms which will be about $4000 which is about $1550 cheaper than the other quote but at the same time the other quote was for basement specific flooring that is supposed to help in case of a little bit of water. So a lot to think about but I think we may go with the basement specific flooring and just break up the project into 2 parts.. The bedrooms and then save again for the playroom hallway.. We have a really nice remnant that we put down there when we first moved to help while the kids played and my brother stayed down there.. So. We shall see. We spent the rest of the day hanging out in the yard or the house.

Saturday- Another fun Donut Saturday morning.. I think Lane's Bakery workers are starting to get the gist we are doing this every week they are really enjoying talking to the boys and playing with them when we get in there. The weather was predicting 40% showers all day and it was a wee bit dreary outside so we thought we would try to attempt the zoo and if it rained we would boogie out. So we got there at opening time 9:30am and the zoo was so quiet it was like we had it all to ourselves.. So of course we let the boys run. Why keep them in the stroller if you don't have to? Of course they enjoyed this especially Noah who is usually my stroller buddy he takes off too quick. We again fed the Goats.. But Noah got to give it a whirl this time.. I was in serious fear for his fingers since he kept trying to see the goats teeth. And we got a great up close view of the tiger. Afterwards we went to the play area and took a ride on the little zoo train. It really doesn't go far or long but Isaac and Noah just had a blast so maybe we will have to find a train exhibit with rides. From there we hit the carrousel. By the end everyone was pooped and time for a nap. Again another nice night to stay and play in the yard and hang out at the house.. We did run and grab some movies from Block busters. So we got a couple of those to watch still.



Everyone measuring up to the polar bear.



Our up close visit from the tiger.. Thank goodness for glass.



Noah intent on checking out the goats Teeth



Isaac's favorite part of the zoo.. Feeding the goats.



Waiting with our token for the train ride.



Sunday- Busiest day of all.. Of course. What a way to end a busy weekend.. Have an even busier last day. Well woke up and headed out to the Butterfly exhibit at the botanical gardens. Inside their indoor area they have a ton of awesome flowers and butterflies. After seeing all the cool things inside you trek around the outdoor gardens and visit all the areas and get your passport stamped in each area in the book. So 6 stations 3 books to fill (Isaac, Noah and my brother Kory) and then of course Isaac wanted to stamp his hand since he already had one for the entrance to the exhibit.. So he had the 6 outdoor stamps creeping up his arm.. lol His arm is covered in Butterfly stamps and he of course is enjoying counting them over and over again. From there we went to Michael's for the free icecream the boys got for filling up their passports with the stamps. So you read right dessert then lunch... lol.. By the time we got back everyone was wiped.. I think everyone took a nap.. Not 100% sure since I was out along with Isaac and Noah. After dinner we packed up again and headed out to the Mad-City Water ski show team's weekly show at Lake Monona... Holy Packed.. Next time we are packing dinner and get there a lot earlier.. Amazingly we didn't find too bad of a parking spot.. It included about a 5 min walk. Everyone had a great time watching the show. And the skiers did amazing despite the crazy choppy water. All in all it was a great show.. The Mad-City team are going to be on there way to Nationals next weekend they are that good. It really made me miss my waterski show team days.. :( Sad So after we got home everyone was pretty darn pooped. We threw in a movie and slowly slipped kids into bed.



Butterfly in the indoor exhibit



Noah checking out all the mounted ones.. Look at that smirk.. lol.



Isaac checking out the Koi fish and Goldfish in the water.


Sweet Rewards for a long exploration through the botanical gardens.



Eating snacks at the Waterski show...

Wow.

What a weekend.