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Sooo... what's new?!
With it being so dead around here, I feel like I don't know what's going on with a lot of you anymore! 
So, off the top....
MC - How's your dad doing? Your niece? Did you finalize a house plan?
~Jen - How's your mom? Any plans for A's 1st birthday party?
Bobbie - Has your workload lightened up at all??
Rock - Any news on the job front for you or DH?
Dream - How's your mom doing? How did Monk's pictures go?
LM - How are you doing?? How is everything with A?
Brandy - How's the new job going? Did you end up saying no to the bowling alley gig this season?
Amy - Is the kitchen remodel done yet?
Ari - Any new job news or moving news?
jamesgirl - Things resolved with your parents yet? Any more new N8 pictures?
Kris - How's the working out going? Are you already into holiday hours at work?
Lisa - How's the wedding coordinating stuff going?
Hound, ntstultz and Amber - How are you feeling? Any nursery progress?
Tami & Susan - Would love more pictures when you're up to it! 
And a general - what's up to LT, Angi, Jill, Crimson, Kel, kidnicky, Jeni, Sam, Leigh, sparker, CJ, PM, nbecker
and a where the heck have you been (lol!) to.... Jene, Sara, Melissa, Linds, Paula, Katielake, ejay
I know there are definitely people/things that I would love updates on that I've forgotten, so please post your updates here even if I didn't list you above!
Re: Sooo... what's new?!
Well, it is going okay. I need to expand... get a website/facebook and get some more clients but I am pretty good at it and the client's I already have are pretty happy with what I've done. It is hard to find the time for everything though.
I'm feeling ok, GD sucks, but that's nothing new. I have to start going in once a week for an u/s to make sure everything is ok because of the GD.
I have the wall mural painted in the nursery, but that's it. Once we get the new windows and get them installed we can start putting furniture together and getting things organized
Nope on me/us... He's still working his temporary job - that ends on 11/1, but he can go back on unemployment, which is good. I applied for unemployment to supplement my second half but it's still in processing... I'm hoping to get a second PT job from an old boss, though.
My dad is doing amazingly well. He is has good as new. You would have never known 2 years ago he was having any issues.
My niece is also doing really well. She will still need at least 1 more open heart surgery, but they think they can push it off for a little while...probably will happen within the next year or so. My sis/bil/niece just moved to DC (well right outside DS) bc that is where he got stationed. I miss my niece.
Nothing finallized with the house plans yet. Still trying to put it all together. We know what we want, but DH has to draw it all out so I can make all the changes....lol. He is hoping ot have it drawn up in the next two weeks while me and the girls are on vacation.
Thanks for asking! YOu have a heck of a memory!!! lol
working out - going good. i see my trainer at least once a week (twice if needed). now i just need to utilize what he's teaching me (lol)
hours - seems like it!!! i swear the whole month of sept was 11:00 nights and oct is starting off that way too. ugh..... i don't even want to think about nov hours...probably will start having some midnight shifts in there.
Mom- she is doing well, remarkably well from where she was a month ago. She is standing and walking nearly on her own, her gout flares are lessening, and she is cleared by all her specialists to have Litho done on the kidney. Between her two kidneys she has one 100 percent functioning kidney. She still has the nephrostomy tube in and will probably have it in until they see if they can break up the stone in her kidney. Lately she has been having some major inflammation and pain in her knee and had to see an ortho yesterday....they did a million xrays and drained some fluid from her knee..hoping they can do some other shots to help her move better and gain some more strength. I go over there as often as I can, but she needed her honda back because she can get in and out of it better than her other car.
Monks pictures- He did not want to do a dang thing we asked him....he fell off the big wooden crate and ripped a big rip in the paper backdrop...haha. Finally Sam and Nichole decided to take him outside to get some photos and wherever they were he had his back to them....Oh man it was funny, but fun and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures. We got a few with him wearing one of Sr.'s ties, and I really hope a couple of those turn out well, he thought it was the most interesting thing ever.
Holy cow lady. You have a good memory.
Everything is good over here. I guess no news is good news, right?
You have a great memory!
Things are good, just busy with work mostly. Not a thing done on the nursery yet, but DH is taking next week off and wants to get it painted then and we'll probably switch furniture then too.
We're going to Kentucky for our 5yr. which I am very excited about.
Alex is 99% potty trained, at home at least. The sitter still puts him in pull-ups even when I send him in underwear. She says its for nap time, but I need to bring up to her that I'd like him back in underware after naptime. I think she just has her hands full and doesn't want to risk an accident with him eventhough he's always dry in his pullup.
There is a spark of some MIL drama (job related) so we'll see how that turns out. I pray it isn't anything at all. Seeing DH stressed about it isn't fun at all, even when he said "You were right", I still felt bad.
I'm feeling good so far. This baby is way more active than Alex was. I'm taking yoga to get an hour a week by myself too which is nice even if it isn't much.
Other than that we're just enjoying fall!
I am in love with the new job. Still trying to be a bit cautious about my optimism...but I'm all around happy with it! I'm excited about where I'm working and what I'm doing! Next week we have a couple of open houses - one for the business and community leaders of Toledo and the other for local media...I have a bit part in this so I'm pretty excited about it. I love the fitness center we have in the building that we can use 24/7 (with all brand new equipment). I love the very short drive (although traffic still can suck big time).
As far as the bowling alley gig, I never officially quit, but apparently when I talked to the manager back in mid October and told him I could only do the hours I had previously and fill in elsewhere as needed, it wasn't good enough. While they never said anything, they never called as the season approached and I recently discovered they got two new young chicks in there. I'm relieved...I am finally to the point where I don't need the extra jobs, and I feel like I can have a life again. It is nice to know, though, that the regulars miss me!
Dang it! I told you I always forget people!
So add yourself to my "Where the heck have you been?!" list plus add in a How's B doing?
And more for the "where the heck..." list...
Laurie, Surfbetty, Cori
(and probably even more people that I'm forgetting. :-)
I am in the middle of my last semester of grad school. Both internships have started, and my comps exam is due in a month. I have so dang much to do right now it isn't funny. I am so glad that C is a helpful person because he has really done a lot around here for me.
I have also started to hit the exhaustion phase of pregnancy, so that isn't helping. I have my next appointment next week. I can't believe I am almost out of the first trimester already! I am saying good bye to my waistline, and realizing quickly that I will be needing new clothes soon because mine are just not comfortable. I hate things that touch my stomach!
Oh, and we have four weddings to go to in the next five weeks. We are both in one of them. So, I am preparing to say good bye to my bank account as well. lol
Our baby girl!!
Job-wise: A couple of new prospects! I will probably be teaching at a dance studio teaching ballroom here shortly.
Moving- We are all set to move at the end of the month. We both submitted our notice to our jobs last week and also let our apartment complex know that we won't be staying past this month. Right now we're just busy packing and trying to get rid of a lot of stuff. Our last move was quite the project so we're trying to make it not quite so big this time!
*Arianna & Matthew*
July 26, 2008- The Best Day of Our Lives
3 years married already??
Wedding "Highlight" Video from our Reception!
Wedding Planning Bio!! My Married Bio!!
Busy busy busy. Kids are great. I'm hanging in there. A....hmmmm. Well in recent light of some karmactic (lol is that a word) events, he realized how crappy of a dad he has been.
He has really been working on being around more for the kids, taking them places doing things with them etc. We are doing fun things as a family together too. It's been nice to do those things. But as far as us, there is so much hurt and anger between us that it's hard to look past. We've been through the whole song and dance of counseling and that stuff.
We, well I, am just in limbo as to what direction we are taking or making that big leap. Somehow he weaseled his way back in and sleeps on my couch just about every night. While it's confusing on what to do now.. it's just so darn hard to come home to 2 kids by myself and cook dinner, do laundry, and all that by myself. So with an extra body here playing with the kids or whatnot, I can have a few minutes to myself.
I can't go on like this forever but for now, i'm too busy to move forward with any big steps.
Monica!
How has B been? I have been thinking about you guys.
hmmm. Believe it or not, I have been pretty busy.
I work out M-F I've lost 20 pounds and 12 inches. Althought I need to get measured soon.
We celebrated B's birthday yesterday. We will be celebrating our 5th anniversary on the 15th and B2 will be 18 months on the 20th.
B finally went back to work after being laid off for a month, only to find out the contractor he went to work for wasnt paying the benys, so it looks like he is going to go to Fermi and work the outage which will suck and be nice at the same time. It's 6 week 7/12s.
I spend a lot of time with my mom. She just has a sense of "lost" to her. And overall I think she just needs someone to lean on and vent to. My uncles are not making any of my grandma's passing easy for her.
How Sweet It Is is always busy. I have come across my frist PITA client and have decided that I will not do any more for them.
So that's about it....I think.
Nothing too new here with us. My parents are still trying to work it out, which I think is a bad idea, but what do you do? I'm drained and numb from the whole situation. I have a feeling this will all explode in my mom's face again, but she doesn't want to hear that.
N8 is doing wonderful! He is picking up so many new words! He recently starting waving "Hi!" and it's so cute! He just turned 16 months on the 26th of last month.
My MIL is coming into town for the weekend, I'm so excited! She annoyed me a few times during my pregnancy, but since then, I've loved spending time with her! I chalk it up to her having to wait so long for a grandbaby, that when one was finally coming, she suffered temporary insanity. LOL!
Only thing going on for me is my countdown to our 5 year wedding anniversary trip to Cancun!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 26 Days! WooHoo! Sooooooooooo excited!
Hmmmm Angi, I think that sounds like an interesting story. I'd like to hear it!
I haven't posted lately either...been crazy.
Husband got laid off again...kids are driving me nuts...I hate my job...and I'm sick of school. My moms going in for double knee replacement tomorrow and the past two weeks have been "I need this and I need that." Non-stop. She's worse than a toddler and I swear this surgery better get her more self-sufficient or I'm going to murder her.
That was my pity-party.
Thanks for asking Merin!!! Busy busy busy here...KP's in kindergarten this year and right now she's running CYO cross country so she has CC practice 3nights/week plus meets on Saturdays. She also has tap/ballet 1night/week and we just joined the Girl Scouts...throw working full time and taking care of a 5 month old on top of that and basically you have me so busy I can't even sit down til 9:30 at night most days! But, I'm enjoying it. Having a baby the 2nd time around has been SO enjoyable. I think that, having had KP already, I'm so much more relaxed and just "meh" over things...it doesn't bug me when he cries, I don't freak out about every little thing, and I'm just having a ton of fun with it. Plus he's a total mama's boy, which I LOVE (esp since KP was always so attached to P!). P cannot deny him though, as PJ's got the blonde hair and blue eyes just like he and KP have. I cannot make children that look like me, apparently!
I turned 32 last week, which I'm learning to embrace
We just pulled our boat out of the water this past weekend which makes me enormously sad, but I'm enjoying cute fall clothes 
I finally made it back into my pre-pregnancy size (I know I posted some freak-outs about that before here!) and I am growing my hair out, it's about shoulder length now and I'm getting another Brazilian Blowout tonight, I love it SO very much, best thing I EVER did for my hair, EVER! I'm thinking of taking the kids out to Oak Openings or something this weekend and trying to take my own portraits of them with my new Rebel...
So as you can see...nothing new really
I haven't even lurked in a while
been super busy with the kids and the dog and soccer and homework (kindergarten homework is crazy), I start a new job in a couple weeks, I'm dating someone, I finally filed for child support, and their dad cut his visitation down to 48 hours a month because it's too much of an inconvenience to come get them.
I'm exhausted
So with our kitchen in pieces that means no Halloween party hosting for us
Work is going, less busy than before. DH is crazy busy at his job; 12 hr days/6 days week, so he's tired all the time. Also meaning that little gets done at home, and I don't get much time for myself between cleaning/laundry/cooking/taking care of the dog and doing kitchen reno work. Not sure when I'll get to read those Harry Potter books I just got... Busy all.the.time.
I just posted about TJ in a post above this one, but things are going pretty well. Its been great having Terry back home. He was gone for 3 weeks in Kansas for work. It was really lonely but I think it definetly brought us closer because we missed each other so much.
We bought a new camera, a Nikon D90. We were debating back and forth between Nikon and Cannon but settled on the Nikon after Terry did some research into the 2 brands. I love taking pictures with it, if only TJ cooperated most of the time! I'm looking forward to using it for all of the upcoming 1st holidays and his first birthday and things like that.
I am currently fighting with TJ because he doesn't want to sleep through the night anymore. It was just getting up 1 time(around 2:30am-3:00), but last night it was all night long. I'm so exhausted its not even funny. I dont know if this is just a phase babies go through around 9 months or what but I need to find a way to get him back to sleeping all night.
I still have BOTB but we will not start trying for #2 until next year. I want our kids to be around 2 years apart but I do not want a winter baby, I'd like a spring/early summer baby. Hopefully it happens as quick as it did last time!
Married My Best Friend On May 23rd, 2009
Our Little Man is Finally Here!!!
<a href="http://s292.photobucket.com/albums/mm29/nrb0509/?action=view
Aww, thanks for remembering and asking Merin!
My mom is doing ok. She wants to live, so the docs came up with another "last" chemo mix of 3 different drugs, so she is now back on chemo. It was really rough on her and she was going to stop it, but they cut it back instead and she is better. She has been coming by bus the past couple weekends to see and spend time with A, as I try to get the house ready for A's party.
We are having A's 1st birthday party a couple weeks early, since most of our friends will be out with their kids on Halloween. I'm excited! Poor DH though.. his parents and sister are not coming. I guess the party is in the the middle of his parent's vacation (thanks for not telling us when this was)and his sister has to work (she couldn't be bothered to ask off or ask to switch). Oh well, there will be plenty of people there to celebrate. A is doing great. She has been sitting, talking, rolling and crawling for several months now. She is just growing up so fast.. too fast!