Spiderman!

THIS is who greeted me first thing this morning.
Ry is going through a costume phase.  Well, it's lasted on and off over a year, so perhaps it's not a phase?
I've finally had to make the rule "no sleeping in costume!" after we'd put him to bed in pjs, I'd return a few hours later to check on him and find him sweating in full costume.  So..weird!?
Sometimes, when we are driving somewhere, we will arrive and I'll turn around to tell them to hop out, and our favorite superhero is peering back at me. Crazy!  =)

Transportation Museum

In a moment of insanity, errr good mothering, Krista and I loaded up all the kids for an afternoon adventure.

Fun at the Transportation Museum!

Choo! Chooo!

Our train lover was CRAZY happy to be here!

Julia: "Ryan, who are you going to marry?"
Ryan (ignoring her): Silence.
Julia: "Ryan!! WHO ARE YOU GOING TO MARRY?!"
Me: "Ry, your sister is talking to you."
Ryan: "Aggg. I am not going to marry anyone!"
Julia: "How come?"
Ryan: "Because I am going to have a busy job on a train, and I won't get to see those kids too much."

So. Not. Kidding.

...the air conditioner went out today.

...beginning next week, you will be able to reach me at the hospital psych ward!!!!?!

Life As We Know It...

..has sorta been a train wreck.  Seriously.
I'm having trouble keeping up. TGIF!
In the last 7 days:
- Learned baby sister's cord is wrapped around her neck 3-4 times. My OB actually said, "But don't panic."  Yeah, right.
- Sought the advice of multiple others in the medical field about what this means.
- Broke down in tears on several occasions hearing the advice.
- Had a plumber come and tell us the water heater is about to go out and we need a new one. ASAP.
- Been without water on and off for hours at a time as the the basement plumbing is completed.
- Been without internet or home telephone service on and off the last 5 days?!!?
- The washing machine broke mid-cycle..full of water, soap and clothes!
- Learned how to siphon water with the garden hose out of the washing machine.
- Went to the hospital for a non-stress-test after not feeling baby move for a morning.
- Hospitalized for pre-term contractions and given 2 injections to try and stop these.
- Got in a tiff with my OB because he keeps telling me to "not panic about this cord!" and refuses to keep a closer watch on her as others are recommending.
- Hosted a Premier Design's Jewelry Party (FUN!)
- Had to lay down multiple times because I just didn't feel like I could get enough air in my lungs to be standing.
- Called about a zillion maternal-fetal OB practices BEGGING them to take me as a third-trimester patient.
- Was turned down by about a zillion practices as soon as they heard about the cord issue. (Liability, schmialability! Grr!)
- Was asked by my goofy Ryan why I am talking to so many Drs on the phone, was it to save our baby from dying? (Possibly the most serious I've ever seen him be).
- Wanted to HUG Chantel a nice nurse at Dr. Webb's office who said I could come in for a consultation after I harrassed her three times on the telephone!
- Learned yesterday after this consultation and ultrasound that she has (THANK YOU GOD!!) unwrapped herself all but once! While we were watching her on the ultrasound she was trying to bat the remaining cord away from her neck/face.

My hero. Ok, it's not really Batman, but when you let your 6 year old son loose with the camera, it comes back with photos of train sets and super heroes. =)
My hero this week has been the hubby.  He's managed to:
- restore our internet and telephone service after a trip to Best Buy (which seriously, shouldn't be called Best Buy...it should be "More-Expensive-But-You-Get-It-Faster-Than-Ordering-Online-Buy."
- FIX the washing machine after ordering two parts online. THIS was amazing to me..someone who grew up in a house where we fixed NOTHING.  When something broke, we didn't TELL my dad, mom just called the repair serviceman out or bought a new one.  So, when Jeff and I first got married I really doubted some of his handyman abilities, but time and time again I have been shocked and impressed.  The perks of the engineer mind and the savings of $2K!
- Texted our pediatrician (LOVE DR. STAHL!) while I was hospitalized about what we needed to do next and took charge.
- Didn't even make a face when the nurse said I needed to be on "pelvic rest". Sorry babe!
- Made tough decisions about staying with my regular OB or "breaking up" with him to head to a specialist seem like black and white when I was in agony.

Next week is going to be a breeze.  It HAS to be after this week!

Basement Finishing, Part 1

We'd always planned to finish out the basement someday, but our plans got moved up in schedule a bit when we learned we were expecting baby sister earlier this year.

The room to the right here will be Jeff's office. He'll be getting kicked out of his current home office in about 7 or so weeks.

Future wet bar.

Family room/playroom.

Built in shelving/tv straight ahead, storage behind, bathroom and workout room to the left.

3,2,1!

Ry and Uncle Patrick ready to launch the rocket!

Juls thinks it's pretty cool too. She ran and caught this one on the way down.

A boy and his toy.

Love!

Blastoff

Ryan had a memorable afternoon learning to blow things up with the rocket and launcher Uncle Patrick and Aunt Crystal gave him for Christmas.

Happy Birthday To Me!

It was a full birthday day. I dropped the kids off at Kids Bible Camp in the morning and headed to the OB and got to hear our sweet baby girl's heartbeat.  Then Jeff and I went for a fancy-schmancy lunch at my favorite sandwich shop, Jimmy John's (I'm a high maintenance girl, ha!).  Then I picked up the kids, we spent the afternoon together, and headed to the KBK carnival in the evening for fun and games (hot!).  Jeff then headed to his softball game, and the kids and I couldn't head home until we stopped in The Cupcakery for some celebratory cupcakes!  

Always surprising us by her food choices and mature taste buds, Juls chooses the lemon cupcake...

Baby Colin

Colin Anderson Rudd meets his brothers.  

Isn't he super precious?

Daddy love.

Ryan and Julia are in love with their newest nephew already!

Girlfriend Lunch

I've got some of the BEST girlfriends! Here are some of "the notorious 9" crew at a Peel lunch.

Amanda, Kel, Em and I pose with Ryan as he shows us some moves. =)

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun 4th hanging with family at the pool and then spending the rest of the day cheering on the Cardinals. (Thanks, Mr. Busch for the tickets!)

The munchkins pretending to be statues...one of their favorite pastimes these days. I can't figure out WHERE they ever got this idea from!?!

Happy 4th of July!

Look Who's Getting Married...

Emily!
And she let our little flower girl enjoy a bit of heaven by helping her open presents.

Julia hangs out with her new best friend Melissa.
(Who bribed her way into this position by sharing her cupcake!)

Bridesmaids, bride and flowergirl. =)

High school girlfriends!

Tommy The Turtle + Mystery Egg

Ryan was super bummed that we wouldn't let him buy a turtle on our Destin trip. He saw a little one in a gift shop and has yet to let us forget about it. My parents found this little guy in their landscaping and brought him over to try and appease our little man.  Mission successful. 

After a few days in captivity (and seriously, in my opinion torture by a 6 yr old and 4 yr old!) we convinced Ry it was best to let his little friend go free. That if he was so happy staying at our house, he would stick around, and if he missed his family he would be free to go off and find them again.

While spending time with Glammie and Papa, Ryan found this egg near their house. 

Of course, we had to bring this little piece of nature home too.  Papa said whatever was inside was no longer living.  Naturally, my little guy had to remove it from it's location and bring it home.  (Thank you, mom! AUGH!)  I did check with our scientist neighbor to make sure it wasn't a snake egg or anything.  She confirmed it was most likely a duck or goose egg. Ewww!

Ice Cream, We All Scream!

I think Ryan's favorite part of playing teeball is the post-game activities.  Ice cream!  Here, he asks us to pose for him to take a photo.

Family Lake Week 2011

Excited kids heading for the boat.  Julia has been growing out her hair, and it's finally long enough for a ponytail.  On another note, I just want to squeeze that little tush! =)

Jeff bought a wakeboard and this was our first trip with it.  He wasn't disappointed with his newest toy!

Julia decides to take the plunge and goes for her first (I think??!) ride in the tube with Daddy.

Uncle Brian, Lucas and Tyler chill and watch to let us know when our skier/wakeboarder/tubers are off.

Ry gets cozy with Aunt Amy.

Uncle Jeff and Ry let us throw them around on the tube for a bit.

And photo proof Glammie even went for a ride on the tube!